Miss Monroe.

The other day I was eating at an old fashioned hamburger shop in San Francisco, and they had a poster of Marilyn Monroe on the wall. She was lifting weights. It was the first time I had seen this image, so I was surprised it was her. We see so many images of this fashion icon, but it is rare to see her lifting weights. As it turns out, Marilyn was quite the tomboy and always competed with boys when she was a child. I love to hear these stories about style icons who are more than they are made out to be. Here is the picture of Marilyn!

I came across another photo of her wearing this striped top. Marilyn was the perfect style icon.

I love her shirt. It inspired me to find this dress, a handmade item on Etsy!

You can buy it on Etsy from Silks Story for $69.99.

Here are a few runway shots also sporting the nautical stripe.

Antonia Marras, Fall 2011 RTW, simple and elegant.

Douglas Hannant Resort 2012 - Such a creative Stripe!!

An oldie but goodie, Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2009 Couture.

Ruffian Spring 2011 RTW - I love the way this stripe was used!

Sorry to be all over the place today, but I was given too many amazing things to look at.

Russian Textiles

A few years ago a friend got me into an amazing Russian Textiles show in San Francisco. It was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever seen. It was a private collection of a Russian Textiles enthusiast/historian. I am going to be a little bit of a scholarly textiles nerd today, but I wanted to share a couple of textiles from that show because they were truly amazing. I was lucky enough to walk away with a book featuring the beautiful textiles from the show. (And by lucky, I mean I couldn't pass up buying Susan Meller's book). She signed it too!

The most amazing part about the textiles featured below, is that they are well over a century old, and they still have the perfect balance of design and color that we would expect in today's market. Beauty never changes. The two textiles below are both art nouveau designs from the late 19th/early 20th century.





If these two pieces weren't enough on their own, notice how they used the second textile on the inside of a little boy's coat. It was such a beautiful surprise to open the jackets and see the stunning fabrics that graced the interiors.

This reminds me as a designer that for me, surprises are always pleasant ones.

A little BOHO

So I was inspired by the 1969 vintage photo I posted yesterday, and I pulled together a little boho number with vintage pieces from the 1970s. Also, I have to give a shout out to Dab Chick Vintage Gems for making the gold chain cuff. I've never seen anything like it and I LOVE. I pulled everything from Etsy today, so it's all one of a kind. Check it out:

Suede Shorts $75.00 Etsy (Seller: EHClassicVintage)
White Blouse $18.00 Etsy (Seller: DressYourDrawers)
Sunglasses $42.00 Etsy (Seller: Mellowdayss)
Cowboy Boots $59.99 Etsy (Seller: VintageCowboyBoots)
Gold Chain Cuff $128 Etsy (Seller: DabChickVintageGems)
Earrings $35.00 Etsy (Seller: TriniEmpress)

The earrings and the cuff are handmade items, all other pieces are vintage. Hope you love everything as much as I do. Happy Hunting!

Hitting the books...

I was lacking inspiration today so I decided to look through a book I've had for a while, "Vogue" a history of Vogue Magazine through illustrations and photos. My little brother gave it to me for Christmas a while back. He has given me a few fashion books which has been incredible. Fashion books are not something I normally spend money on, but I will always be grateful for eye candy. I decided to just share a couple of my favorite images today.

The first image is a photo shoot featuring Cindy Crawford in St. Tropez from 1991. Beautiful, classic, amazing fashion photography - at its best. Photographed by Helmut Newton, she is wearing a Giorgio d Sant'Angelo crystal studded bikini.

The next photo is very vintage...1969. It features Marisa Berenson in an Yves Saint Laurent minidress. This is back when she was one of the highest paid models in the world. She shot the cover of Vogue shortly after, in 1970. As amazing as this photo is, it was the dress that caught my eye. Everything from her jewelry to her boots would fit in perfectly in today's urban setting. This reminds me how much I LOVE Vintage!! PERFECT rockability.

I honestly would have shared more but my arms cannot hold up this book very long on my teenie scanner. Hope you enjoyed today's post.

Alexander McQueen at the MET

Can we just talk about Alexander McQueen for a second? He has been on everyone's minds lately because of his exhibit at the MET in NYC. I am heartbroken to be missing it. I know he has inspired me on a number of occasions, as well as countless others around the world. Here are a couple of highlights from the exhibit that I could find online.

If any of you happen to be in NYC before Sunday 8/7, please make it over to the MET to see the work of a modern genius.

I'm back!

Sorry to everyone for the hiatus. I've been really busy with our estate liquidation business and watching baseball and haven't had time to post! Today is going to be a bit of a shortened version of the usual, but I'm pretty much in love with the ensemble I pulled together.

I'm going to be singing at the wine fest on Treasure Island (San Francisco) in early October. I want to have a fabulous 1940s dress for the occasion since I primarily sing music from that era. I was inspired by a favorite dress on Etsy to create this ensemble. I will be keeping my eye on it, although it might be a shade out of my budget. The shoes were a surprise to work beautifully with the dress, since it was a totally separate incident when I came across them. Ed Hardy can be thanked for those beauties. I love how it updates the dress. I love taking something incredibly vintage and making it modern and edgy. Check it out...


And of course what is the perfect dress without the perfect lipstick? I selected Viva Glam I by MAC, it is the perfect shade of red and it also helps support men, women, and children living with HIV & AIDS. For more information you can go to www.maccosmetics.com.

Lipstick: Viva Glam I by MAC $14.50
Red Pill Box Hat: Vintage Etsy (seller: BombshellPaperDolls) - $14.85
Cuff (with Shakespeare Quote): Etsy (seller: Uniqueartpendants) - $25.00
Vintage Dress: Etsy $215.00
Shoes: Ed Hardy (Zappos.com) - $69.00 (Free shipping!)

Thank you to all of my followers for checking in!! It means a lot. Happy hunting! (For fashion of course!)

Don't fear color!!

A few years ago I worked in a corporate office for home fashion goods. I was a part of the creative design team. We were sitting at a table in our conference room discussing product, and when I looked around the room, I noticed for the first time that I was the only one wearing color. I was surrounded by gray and black. This is in a creative group! As time went on, I noticed this wasn't a fluke, I was the only one who wore color every day. The other designers were trying to pass Navy off as color. I'm sorry, I love a smart navy blue jacket like everyone else, but color, really? I think people feel that black, navy, and gray are safe. A lot of people don't know how to put color together and they feel silly. I'm saying don't be afraid of it! We could all use a little more color in the world. If nothing else, use nature to inspire you. I've always said nature does it perfectly.

A co-worker at the time, and now a good friend, showed me a picture one day of her native Brazil. The photo was so inspiring, and I remember saying it was my heaven. Here is that inspiring photo:

The buildings and people are so beautiful and COLORful! I imagine that to be a happy place.

What better way to express color than with birds of paradise. This beautiful tropical flower was growing on the side of the road and I snapped a picture of it on my blackberry while walking to the post office.



I pulled together a little ensemble based on this palette. I didn't use all of the colors, because you don't have to in order to make it work. If you're doing solids, I would advise no more than 3 colors. If you want to incorporate a print, you can go crazy. =)

Orange Dress: Nordstrom $44.00

Necklace: Etsy (Seller: Dejoc) $34.00 (Includes matching earrings)
Shoes: by Black Rooster $44.70 Available on Zappos.com
Blue Leather Purse: Etsy (Seller: TheLeatherStore) $135.00

For home goods I would suggest scaling the colors back even more. A neutral base allows for easy updates. The rug, pillows, throws, all of these things can be changed out to update a look. Check out how I accessorized with these colors in home decor.
Painting: Etsy (seller: LubaLubin) $500.00
Solid Yellow/Orange Pillows: Etsy (seller:  DreamPillows) $20.00 for the pair
Pink Silk Pillow: Etsy (seller: Mazizmuse) $55.00
Reclaimed Wood Tables: Etsy (seller: TheSteelFork) $910.00
Greenwich Sofa: Pottery Barn $1899.00
Vintage Uzbek Rug: Ebay (seller: uzcraft 777) $249.00 (4x6 - this is a steal!)
Medicine Bottles: Etsy (seller: ckaufmannpotter) $17.50 (pink) and $15.00 (gray)

A couple of beautiful picks from Gucci - Resort 2011: