Spring Frocks

{ dress from Luv Stoned Vintage } { shoes from Jeffrey Campbell }
{ curls = two hours w/a teeny little curling iron }

It's so gorgeous out today!! 75 degrees + sunny + birds chirping... it's like a Disney cartoon sans some of the creepy Disney stuff.

Nice weather means that it's finally time to pull out those spring dresses. Unfortunately it also means that my allergies are coming right along with everything else. My seasonal allergies just seem to cripple me at times. I've got a doctor's appointment in the next week, but in the meantime: do any of you suffer from the springtime sneezes? How do you cope with them??

Bohemian

{ 1, 2, 4, 5 } { 3 } { 6 }

This incredible unseasonably warm weather (which is taking a slight siesta today - we have snow everywhere) has led me to 100% believe that spring is like, three days away. Every morning while getting dressed, I have a little conversation with myself that involves wondering whether I can wear platform sandals yet. I can't, but I have settled on open-toed shoes a few times.

And since spring is almost surely, very nearly here, I can start thinking about summer too. Summer is filled with floaty bohemian dresses + skirts, and I've begun adding to my collection of 1970s dresses a little ahead of time:



Dress number one was a lucky thrift store find ($5.00 people!!) - it needs mending in a couple of places, but it's lovely nonetheless. Dress number two was an ETSY purchase from the very lovely Sally Jane Vintage.

Weekend homework: Let's collectively wish for spring, and it will be here in no time!!

Kimono

Country Living recently had a feature on how you should be lounging around the house in a pretty kimono instead of an old bathrobe. Most of the pieces in their story were new, though I can't help but be drawn to the feel, patterns, and look of antique silk kimonos instead.

New Additions

Ever since I got my Fox dress form for the shop, I've been looking for an older version that's got some distressing to it. Though unless you're very lucky, they're typically a pinch on the expensive side, especially as more and more people look to use them to sell online.

These two Bauman dress forms were being sold as a pair, and I purchased them with every intention of selling one. So they arrived, and of course, they're both gorgeous.gorgeous.gorgeous in person, each with its own unique pattern of water stains and wear.

Then the hemming + hawing + lip biting started: which one do I part with?

Well, there's no harm in both of them just *resting* at my house for awhile, you know, while I choose, right?

Want It Now: Vintage Cat Eye Glasses

{ 1 } { 2 } { 3 } { 4 }

When I was younger, I had to have braces, and I had five years of allergy shots. It seemed to me that the one thing that I didn't need to have help with - vision - was really the only thing with a pleasing solution. Nearly all of my relatives were (as I saw it then) blessed with the need for glasses.

Thankfully it doesn't seem to matter any more whether or not you have less than perfect sight - pretty frames have become accessories in the same way as jewelry: a little extra ornamentation never hurt anyone, right?

Swing . Time

First of all, no, not swing time like that. Get your mind out of the gutter!



Swing time as in, "Hello my newest vintage coat acquisition." A Lilli Ann Striped Swing Coat! I wasn't really looking for a new coat, but happened upon this on eBay and just couldn't pass it up.

I was on my way out the door and asked B. to quick take a photo with my iPhone. Of course, he tried to make me laugh, and I tried my very very best not to, which resulted in kind of a scrunched up half laugh. Ce la vie...

Looking for a similar coat? Try: {1} A different version of the same coat here from Brown Fox Vintage; {2} A mohair swing coat here from Pretty Little World Vintage; or {3} A leopard swing coat, newly listed on eBay, here

Vintage . vs . Runway

A recent issue of Marie Claire magazine had a fun spread on really vivid pieces for fall. I was immediately attracted to a gorgy bright kelly green sweater coat... until I saw the price tag. The coat, by Les Copains, was listed at $2895.00. Not gonna happen.

The coat was especially a tease as I'd remembered something very similar from a vintage shop in Cleveland... something very similar that I had, of course, not purchased.

Though as luck would have it, it was still there on this last trip!



Mine has a little wear ("character") to it, though as it's virtually the same coat, and substantially less $$$, I'll take it.

More . Kimonos

I can't seem get enough of vintage Japanese kimonos lately. This new group will be photographed promptly and stuck in the shop over the weekend!

Wouldn't it be kind of magical to have a brick & mortar that just had racks and racks of vintage kimonos? Daydreaming...

Vintage . Finds

Yesterday there were a whole slew of pretty vintage dresses to be had, though my favorite find has to be this rayon number from the early 1940s. She's in rough shape - there's more than a pinch of discoloration + she has a smattering of tiny holes - but the bright print against the black was sort of irresistible.

Yesterday's search also yielded this gorgeous vintage Pierre Cardin leather case. The interior is in excellent shape, and the exterior is perfectly distressed/worn; I think I'll end up using it as a very oversized clutch.

I'm off to do more shopping today - though it may be of the more damaging kind, i.e., Chanel, LV, and then Anthropologie - wish me luck!

What are your plans for the long weekend? xoxo

Vintage . vs . Runway

I really adore this kind of an all white look. It's clean and pretty, unfussy, and still has an air of nonchalance - as though you'd be equally ready for a day of wandering about shops in any metropolitan city, or strolling along a beachy coastline.

The Michael Kors SS 2011 look on the right will set you back $395.00 just for the top, or you could have the lovely vintage set from Allen Company, Inc. for a guilt-free $36.00.

Green . for . Winter

Jacket, purse, and cardigan all from Mammal & Lamb

Margaret . Smith . at . Mad . Girl . Vintage

Oh swoon. These are GORGEOUS!! I feel like I'd want a whole shelf of these pretty little things to display somewhere - kind of like art pieces, but a pinch more magical (and portable!).

Both Margaret Smith bags are available at Mad Girl Vintage.

Vintage . Vs . Vintage

When Free People first started selling vintage, I mentioned that it was quite lovely, well-photographed, but also a little pricey. Well, apparently the folks behind Vintage Loves didn't think it was pricey enough, as the garments are now kind of insane.

For instance, the Tweed Coat on the left rings up at $798.00, before tax. For that, I suspect that it must come with a few loose diamonds in the pocket, but for one reason or another, they're keeping it hush-hush.

If you want a coat of the same style, but much prettier (and priced for sane people), there's the New York City Tweed Coat, on the right, from Sally Jane Vintage. At $88.00, it's got a cute fur collar and gorgy burgundy color + you're buying from an ETSY seller as compared to a large company!

1960s . Love

Mustard Autumn Dress, Sequin Shift, and Silver Fox Princes Coat all coming to Pretty Little World Vintage soon!

Sunday . Morning . Auction

This morning we got up quite early and drove to an auction that promised some lovely furniture, records and stereo equipment (for B.), and lots of vintage clothing (for moi)! The furniture and the records ended up going ridiculously high, but I did sneak away with some pretty little garments, mostly lace and satin pieces from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.

Much of it will need some loving care and a pinch of mending, but it was certainly well worth the trip!

Shop . Preview

While it may not be cooler yet for everyone (still 90 degrees here), September is definitely time to start thinking about pretty fall/winter coats! I can't wait to start layering and wearing cozy sweaters and jackets again.

These vintage pieces, plus a few other goodies, will be hitting Pretty Little World throughout the week.