OLD HAT

The newest addition to my old hat collection.

PANTS, MAGIC PANTS

I call these trousers my Magic Pants, because twice in a row I have worn them to work at an event of some kind and shoved cash in the pockets, only to conjure from thin air the forgotten bills days or even weeks later. The shirt is old and silky-soft, and will probably start falling apart the fifth time I wear it. And the shoes! They are the shoes I have been looking for since ninth grade. They're the shoes I wish I had worn to my first high school dance. Soft suede, ankle straps, solid heel and a tiny little peek of a peep at the toe. I will wear them until the day they go all Silver Hornet on me. Sadly, they're second-hand and the name is completely rubbed off the inside, otherwise I would tell you and we could all devote ourselves to tracking them down in every single color ever made.

Best of all, I was lucky enough to wear this here outfit to the A Détacher Fall 2012 show at Pier 59 Studios on Sunday night. As happy as I was to have a standing ticket, I was pretty dang excited when I nabbed a front row seat once all us rabble were allowed to file in and fill in any empty spots. I felt a liiittle bit conspicuous snapping away with my clunky SLR whose shutter goes off like a demented robotic baby bird, but if I've gotten even one decent shot of the fiery red-orange tights in those taupe and tangerine wood soled platforms, it'll have been more than worth it. Thank you Caitlin once again for inviting me, you made my day and my (Fashion) week!

new in

I've been in a state of financial paralysis recently, waiting for freelance checks to materialize in my mailbox. It's been a while since I've felt like I could splash out on new socks, let alone anything mildly pretty or impractical. Thankfully, however, I seem to continue to find ways to squeeze milk from the stone, and all three items above are recent acquisitions on credit from Buffalo Exchange and Beacon's Closet.

The trousers are actually a pair originally from Urban Outfitters by Lark & Wolf that I was obsessed with this spring but could never justify buying full price, so I was mighty excited to find them at Buffalo Exchange--the same day I came across this vintage Laura Ashley blouse. It's so long I can almost pass it off as a dress, and when I tried it on with some cutoffs around the house, the tails were hangin' loose out the leg holes. Maybe not such a good look? But I'll worry about that come warmer climes. The hat is from Beacon's, and I'm starting to feel like it might be the kind of thing I can only really pull off when it's finally so cold out that people start wearing things that look like live animals on their heads. Or maybe when I finally turn into Queen Latifah. Whichever comes first, I guess.

Prettified Organic

I was fortunate enough to receive a pretty little package all the way from the UK the other day. Inside were two collars made by the London-based line Beaumont Organic. They had gotten in touch with me the week before to invite me to participate in a styling contest and, after I got a bit more acquainted with the brand and designer Hannah Nicole's stance on the importance of promoting organic cotton, a cause I very much support, I knew I had to say yes! (Did you know that cotton is by far the world's "dirtiest" crop, covering 2.5% of the world's cultivated land but using 16% of the world's insecticides? That shit is toxic.)

I decided to wear my favorite collar with one of the amazing dresses that recently arrived from Pistenine Vintage. The dress is actually by Young Edwardian, but I think it must be from the 80's or early 90's, as I'm used to seeing more romantic, 70's peasant-style pieces from the brand.

Anyways, please leave a comment letting me know what you think! The deadline for submission is, ahem, tomorrow--oooops! If I'm gonna win this baby, I'll need all the positive affirmations I can get ;n )

in the pink

Last week, I had the immense pleasure of meeting up with photographer Charlie Rubin. We went for a walk around my neighborhood, and he snapped some photos of me being a goof and wearing a pair of flaming pink linen Ralph Lauren pants. I only wish I had found those pants back in May. It would have been one of those summers, haha, you know: the kind that takes you wherever the hot pink pants lead you...

short and sweet

Vintage/secondhand everything, except the bag from L.L.Bean Signature

It may be the middle of September, but dang if it isn't still plenty hot enough to rock the cutoffs (the sweater even proved stifling after a couple blocks.) Spent the morning in bed and the afternoon wandering around the city, eventually stopping in to Kinokuniya to pour over back issues and books on interior design for tiny spaces. Speaking of which--Anja is trying to get together a clever "subscription service" for the amazing Fudge Magazine over on her blog, worth checking out if you live someplace where it can be hard to find (so...just about anywhere outside of Japan itself!)



My reward for not succumbing to FNO hysteria Friday night and spending $23 on a bottle of nail polish? A single, perfect stem of Tuberose from my favorite strange old flower man at the Farmer's Market. He told me a story about some rich idiot who bought 40 stems ("bah, the price doesn't matter!") for his hotel room, and woke up in the middle of the night choking on the overwhelming perfume. Aaaaah, rich people problems!

tear drops will fall

Dress: secondhand
Boots: Vintage Dingo brand
Bag: L.L.Bean Signature

I'll admit, I've been fighting off a pretty wretched case of post-vacation blues these last few days. It's just so hard knowing that I wont be able to visit home again until around Christmas (hopefully) which means many months of no cabin, no best friend, no cats/birds/sheep, no family and no farm. And it'll be a whole year until I can make up for all the warm weather things I somehow failed to do this summer (Swimming! Kite flying! Skim boarding! Rollerskating in empty parking lots!) All this exacerbated by finding out that I lost about a third of the film photos I took, mostly of Dag and her sweet cat Zowie and her beautiful home...SOB!



ANYWAYS, today I forced myself to put on my brightest dress (handmade in India! It was a diaphanous One-Size-Fits-None until I took it in quite a bit) and get busy running errands. I ended the day with a nice set-down in the little park near our apartment, trying to remind myself that all of NYC isn't concrete and grime and sirens and dudes who sit next to you in Barnes & Noble and make weird/awful snuffling noises every twenty seconds until you wanna punch them in the head...



Also, I'll admit, this is basically the exact same thing I wore last week while sipping tea and eating mini red velvet cupcakes at the Rebecca Minkoff headquarters. The designer and her team were sweet enough to invite a few bloggers around to have a look at all their gorgeous shoes and bags. The colors! The textures (namely: BUTTAH.) The things that handbag dreams are made of...

Sunshine Superman

Just checking in lightning fast from my "office", aka the back seat of my car, where I'm able to nab some hippy's wifi signal floating around out here in the forest. We made a flower crown for a friend's birthday last week, while we hung out and read Fudge and Norwegian Folktales. Can't believe I've been here almost two weeks already and, more importantly, that I only have two more left...

siren festival

antique handmade Russian blouse/Cheap Monday shorts/Saltwater Sandals/second hand bag

Saturday afternoon, I made the train trip down to Coney Island to see the Pains play at Siren Fest. This blouse usually hangs on my wall, it's so pretty and ancient. But every now and then I like to take it off display and out into the real world for some fresh air (and, in this case, plenty of sweat.)



Honestly, as far as the festival was concerned I was mostly excited for the endless array of tasty foods available (final tally: one fro-yo, one corndog, one soft serve cone, one lemonade.) In the end, despite all the sugar in my system, the day was bittersweet since Alex and the band left right after playing for a five week European tour. I wont be seeing his pretty face again for over a month! Which sucks ass. At least I'll be spending the better part of that time in Washington where many cats, ducks, chickens and various forest creatures await to sooth my sorrows!

tie your mother down

On Monday, I had an Important Meeting to attend. Accordingly, I was forced to play a little game I like to call "Dress Up Like You're a Fully Formed Human Girl With More Than a Passing Interest in Personal Style!"



It's been so hot lately, and I've been spending so much time mopping up cat barf (pet-sitting, you are a cruel mistress) that I've kinda been letting things go to shit around here, so it was nice to have an excuse to actually plan an outfit for once. Anyways, obviously, I decided that tastefully wrinkled tie-dye was the way to go!! In the end, it was a whole lotta hoopla for a rendezvous that lasted all of ten minutes. But I think I nailed it!



P.S. Please check out my new shades! They kinda make me feel like a goof and they kinda don't stay on my face. But I'm also kiiinda in love! I have been sans sunnies since some time in April when my last pair of fake Clubasters ate it in the bottom of my purse, and no, I have no idea how I've survived summer thus far without my retinas frying like bacon...

dream about me

Yesterday, I wore one of my very favorite summer shirts. It makes me feel like a pixelated rainbow...or maybe like I just stepped out of a Depreciation Guild music video??

Happy long weekend!

spots and stripes

I'd like to take this opportunity, and this outfit post, to introduce you guys to my newest sponsor: Spotted Moth! I blogged about the fun new shop a little bit ago, and now, happily, they've taken up semi-permanent residence in my sidebar. (Speaking of which, if anyone else is interested in having an ad up over yonder, shoot me an email. I'd like to get everything squared away by July 1st, and it's first come, first serve, so time is tight!)





When they offered to let me try out a piece from the shop, I immediately honed in on this Oh Barnacles! Dress. It caught my eye with its simple shape and classic navy stripes, and won my heart with thoughtful details like pockets and a drawstring waist (meaning it's nicely adjustable to various measurements and fit preferences.) As a reminder, you can use the code RINGO at checkout over on Spotted Moth for a 15% discount. I'm hoping we can do a giveaway as well some time next month for you guys!



And while we're on the subject of giveaways, there's a semi-Pains of Being Pure at Heart-themed giveaway, involving one of these brand spankin' new tote bags, in the works! I'm planning on timing it with the debut of our little travel video from February, so stay tuned :n )

hot times call for simple outfits

Truth be told, this is not what I wore today, or even yesterday (for that you're gonna need to tune into Turned Out next week!), this is from thursday, since today was way too hot and muggy to give a rat's ass what I looked like. Seriously, I think I sweated half my face off. The weather here is making me miss the West Coast like mad, because even though I hear that summer is only just starting to rear its head over there, you guys know that once it finally settles in, it's gonna be gooooood.



My new flats from Pop Fizz Vintage, with cute lil' roses on the toes. Aaaaw! I've been sans a pair of black flats for way too long, you can't imagine how frustrating it is when the only pair of comfortable, flat, closed toe shoes in your closet are bright green (or maybe you can?? In which case, I pity both us fools!)

many happy returns

I knew I was going to be spending all day Monday dragging around armloads of garment bags in and out of subway cars and up and down stairs (cuz nobody's paying for my taxis 'cept me!) so I went for something nice and loose and comfortable. I ended up having to jettison the jacket pretty quick though, I was running a serious sweat factory halfway in to my first drop-off of the day (John Galliano no less! Ooh lala.)



I seriously wish I could just wear these pants every damn day. Knowing these things exist in my closet makes shoving myself back into a pair of skinny jeans feel like a prison sentence. Plus honestly, those things are really starting to look kinda stale and boring. Is anyone else welcoming the eventual, if only partial (still never gonna be into wide-legged anything, not for me thanks!) decline of the painted-on look?

red ahead

Not gonna lie, it's kiiinda driving me crazy that my nail polish AND my toenail polish are pretty much the EXACT same color as my shirt today. But I'm working through it (since I'm waaay too lazy to actually do something constructive about it. Nah. No way.)



Anyways! These are my absolute favorite new pants in the world. I got them at Buffalo Exchange, but they are originally from H&M, although sadly they don't seem to be in stores anymore. I would seriously consider taking them somewhere and having five identical pairs made in five different fabrics. I have such a rotten time finding trousers that fit how I want, and these are so comfortable and slouchy without giving me balloon thighs or bubble butt. Proof that miracles do happen!



I'd also like to have about a dozen copies of this belt made. It is my number one best belt, and I will be so sad when, someday, it falls to shreds, or flies to bits after an epic taco feast, or something equally sad/delicious ("Taste my sad, Michael!")

Lady Liberty

We spent today walking around the West Village, peeping into windows and admiring all the stately stoops and beautiful old doors and brick and ivy and, well, everything that money and a great real estate broker can buy you here in NYC.



Not gonna lie, I definitely pulled this dress out of the bottom of my laundry bag, which explains the rumples. It was so humid today that stepping out of my door was sort of like giving my outfit a steam bath, and I'm happy to report that as I sit typing this several hours later I'm quite wrinkle-free.



I found this sweet little blouse at Beacon's Closet a couple days ago, it's made from genuine Liberty of London fabric but has a bit or staining here and there so it was quite cheap and, well, quite free after my trade-in. I love tops like this that you can button all the way up (trend alert!) and still have a bit of room to breath.

Fair Weather

Last Saturday, I rounded up a few friends and headed to the newly opened Hester Street Fair. Just as I was leaving, I bumped into Eddie (aka Mr. Newton) and he snapped my photo for his blog (one of my very faves for streetstyle.) I'm wearing a pair of vintage overalls I got in Harajuku (I was sure that they must just be Levi's or something that were brought over from the US, but they have old Japanese tags and everything!) as well as my wonderful jute bag from bOmode Vintage.

The Fair itself was really fun, relatively small but packed to the brim with things to smell, touch, buy, and more importantly EAT! I'd been dying to try a lobster roll from Luke's Lobster for ages...so I did! And then I had a ginger brew...and a fancy bacon/maple/cream cheese-filled macaroon. All that, supplemented with bites of Alex's raspberry hibiscus popsicle and pulled pork sandwich, and I was pretty much in heaven. I took some film photos with my Canon that I'll share just as soon as I get them developed.

winning combination

This is my favorite combo at the moment: silk button-up, new cardi, leopard belt, jeans and boots. It got so cooold over the last few days, I really need to beef up my sweater collection, and fast.



Heeeeey guysssss...uh, anyways, I just scored this cardigan the other night, it's nice and soft and I want to replace the buttons with something dark brown and covered in woven leather. Then it will be the ultimate!

changing my spots

I think I've finally figured out why leopard is the one and only animal print I can tolerate in such large quantities: when examined closely...the spots look just like flowers! I can't believe this only just occurred to me. That is so, totally it you guys, because heck knows how much I love me a flower print (and flowers too, while we're at it...)

This button-up is my most recent leopard purchase, bringing the tally in my wardrobe up to 4 whole pieces, where only a few months ago there was none.

bohemian rhapsody

Aaaaah whhhooooa hey guys! I know, outfit posts around here have gone kinda kaput since I moved into my new place, but I finally got off my ass and braved our chilly back patio to show off this flowy little number I recently scored.



It was one of those big crazy hippie mamma things, complete with stale Nag Champa fumes and everything, but after amputating several inches off the bottom it's now a little more "downtown boho chic" ahaharr. Anyways, I'm off to Jersey for a couple days for a brief rendezvous with a certain world traveler...and the better part of his extended family.

Have a good one!!
<3
me