Zooey Deschanel...My Vintage- Meets- Modern Style Icon

Hi Lovies!!!

Now that Autumn is back in full swing, I've been slowly becoming re-addicted to my favorite TV shows!!! Most television series are having their season premiers in the next few weeks. I can't tell you how excited I am for Once Upon a Time, American Horror Story...Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother and Parenthood (all three of these had their first shows of the season this past week), Modern Family and more!!! As you can see we have a full DVR queue!!!

One of my favorite shows of all time is New Girl staring Zooey Deschanel!!!! I totally adore this show! It is ridiculously funny, the writing is amazing!!! And the cast...LOVE THEM! They are HILARIOUS!!!!!

Of course my favorite characters is Jess, played by one of my favorite celebrities, Zooey Deschanel! Jess is an awkward, quirky but totally awesome, late 20s to early 30s something who lives in a loft with three guys. All of whom are like her family. Of course there are epically funny adventures that ensue in every episode. Some scenarios are so totally ridiculous and out there that I practically pee myself with laughter (yes, I know that that is TOTALLY not lady like but it's so true)!

I love Zooey in this role. I secretly hope that she is a lot like Jess in her real life. I love the fact that her character on the show carries on Zooey's real life love affair with vintage and vintage style clothing!

Zooey is great at pulling off a "vintage meets modern" style. While I mostly prefer full on vintage clothing I love the way she makes vintage style clothing work for her. It gives me ideas on how I can wear clothes with a vintage-y edge without going all the way. Some days it's just easier to give a taste of vintage. On those days I channel my inner Zooey.

She is always super adorable!!!

I would TOTALLY love to be her bestie... and in my mind... I AM!

I first became a fan of Zooey's when she did the Christmas film, ELF, with Will Farrell. Yes, of course, I loved her first because of a Christmas movie, hehe!

And I've remained a fan ever since. I also love the music duo she is apart of called She & Him. They make super cute old school sounding tunes. They're music is great to relax to with a good glass of wine and your favorite book.

And... If you are looking for a super cute blog/website to read that is fun and full of girl power try the website Hello Giggles founded by Zooey and two of her friends. It's a cute little site that features a host of different bloggers who write about everything from politics to relationships to off the wall DIY projects!!! It's one of my favorite things to read when I need a little pick me up. 

One of my favorite things about Zooey Deschanel I found out about while randomly browsing TV and coming upon the show Who Do You Think You Are?. This show takes different celebrities and delves into their family history and finds out their ancestry. Well, on the show about her family she came to find out that her family has a Quaker ancestry and two of her ancestors were vital to the abolitionist movement and were part of the Underground Railroad! It was quite and interesting show and made me love her even more. If you come upon a repeat episode of it you should watch it!!!

Ok, I think I'm done fan girling for the day! I just love celebrities who have great vintage style. Who are your favorite celebrities who wear vintage???

Hearts and hugs

Visions of 50's Coats Dance in My Head

Yes...that's right! I'm coat shopping.

I'm not rushing summer along at all but it's cooled off significantly in the NYC area. I'm sure we have a few more sweltering days left but I'm feeling like the cool weather may come along sooner rather than later. Last year we had the first of our cool days shortly after the first week of Autumn.  The way the weather is looking now, I wouldn't be surprised if that happens again this year. By that time, winter wear will be in all the stores and online. Not to mention cool weather outerwear will be at some of it's highest prices. Even for us vintage lovers. So...why not start the hunt now and beat the rush. And the cold. I don't want the weather to sneak up on me. Especially since I need a new coat BADLY.  The one I have is 2 years old and while super cute (a princess coat, which I still love) is not vintage. I need something that is not going to clash with the rest of my wardrobe on days I decide to go totally vintage or vintage appropriate. Last year was the beginning of my style change. I wasn't ready to invest in a vintage coat until I knew for sure that I loved my new look as much as I felt like I did. And...I did...Now, I am in the (long) process of switching my wardrobe season by season, it's easier on the purse that way.  It went over quite well for the spring and summer, now it's on to fall and winter. Rome was not built in a day, so goes my vintage (and vintage inspired) wardrobe.

On to the coats!!!


I love the look of the fitted coat with a full skirted bottom. So that's what I think I'm aiming for. Something like the blue one here.

Image Source

And this one is gorgeous!

How pretty is this one! Listed on Etsy by Dear Golden

Image Source

I LOVE the color of this one from Hollie Point, although this is definitely not an "on my way to teach" type of coat. It has special occasion written all over it!

I also like the look of some of the more roomier, over sized coats. They look terribly warm, comfy and stylish.





How fashionable is this lady? The hat is a beauty too!

Image Source

Love!

Image Source

I think this one would be perfect for everyday wear.

Image Source

So those are my general ideas as far as coats go. I'm brainstorming and window shopping right now but plan to purchase early to mid fall. More than likely early fall.

I also need to get shoes (yes, the dreaded shoes thing again), boots that I can wear when it snows and hats. Can you believe that I don't own one vintage hat yet?!?!?!? I don't know why but it never really crossed my mind until recently! Basically, I just need winter wardrobe help. I think I have most of the fall under control. I'm just nervous for ridiculous cold winters we normally have. I want to be prepared so that I don't have to worry about it later.

I know some fellow bloggers have started posts on cooler weather clothes. I also know there is plenty of posts out there from years past with some great advice on vintage winter. If you know of any, send them my way!!!

Hope you all are having a fabulous August 8th!!!!

Until next time

xoxo

If I Had a Million (Etsy) Dollars

Oh! The weather is so nice today!! Not a cloud in the sky and the temperature is perfect at 72 degrees!!! So what am I doing? I'm online looking at dresses!!! I know I should be out enjoying the weather but I can't help myself! 

Here is what I have been eyeing on Etsy. Most of it I would NEVER buy for myself unless it was a splurge for a special occasion. Well, my birthday is in 2 months so maybe that counts!

These are from the FABULOUS Mill Street Vintage. Who doesn't just adore this store. It has some of the prettiest dresses I've ever seen!!

( I've been eyeing this one for a while)

(This is the prettiest color ever!!)

(How cute is this 1940s number?!)

This 1940s sundress comes from Hollie Point. I love the color and the pockets!

I literally gasped when I saw this dress from Rocco Vintage. My favorite color combination.

And these from 1919 Vintage

(How darling is the blue gingham?!? Such a sweet dress. I could imagine wearing it to a romantic picnic.)

A pretty 1960s number from Trunk of Dresses. Another store that I window shop from daily.

And I LOVE this 1950s blouse from Garb Oh Vintage. 

Ahhhh... ok... now that's out of my system.

I guess I'll go out for a nice long walk with Honey and Givenchy. And maybe make some banana pudding...Yes, that sounds like a good day in the making!

P.S. Bunny and I are supposed to be getting together again this coming Sunday. If that happens I'll be sure to take pictures of our shenanigans!! 

OH!!! P.P.S! Go over to Dividing Vintage Moments. Joanna has the cutest giveaway going on. It's her Glamour Girl giveaway!!! It features a "Glamour Girls" dvd, a C.D. and vintage bracelets.

xoxo

Have a lovely day, dolls!!!

All About Marlene... My Latest Style Obsession

I have a new obsession... I don't know why it's suddenly come up but it's there...

I'm totally obsessed with Marlene Dietrich!

And why wouldn't I be? She is the epitome of old Hollywood glam!

Marlene was born Maria Magdelene Dietrich in 1901 in Germany. When she was a child she put her first and middle names together to come up with the name Marlene.

She began her stage career as a chorus girl on the vaudeville circuit. She began to do small roles on stage and screen with her debut screen appearance in 1922. She had her first breakthrough movie roll in 1929 as Lola-Lola in "The Blue Angel". She played a cabaret singer who turns a professor's life upside down when he falls in love with her. The movie contains her signature song "Falling in Love Again".

She went on to make many movies including "Morocco" and "Shanghi Express". She defined the image of the Femme Fatale in her movies. Most of her movies had a strong sexual overtone for the time when they were released. She was sexual and unapologetic about it.


Her since of style was impeccable. She pushed the envelope between feminine and masculine. She looked amazing in pants suits and tuxedos.The film "Morocco" is the film where she famously donned a tuxedo and sang to and kissed another women.  This has made her an icon in the lesbian community (that and the fact that she supposedly took male AND female lovers in her lifetime). I've only seen the film in it's entirety once but I think I've found a link for it on youtube! I can't wait to see it again.

Here is a clip of the song!  It's totally hot for it's time! The film also earned her an Oscar nomination.

She looks incredible and you can't help but  to crush on her a little. Whether you are man or woman. I love that about her!  She proved that a woman could be appealing in a dress as well as in what was mostly considered men's wear at the time.

I'm totally thinking of getting Honey in a Marlene look for an event soon. She says she loves the look so I'm already on the hunt for 1930's style clothing for her! Can't wait!!! I'm reeling her in guys!!! Slowly but surely!

Here is the inspiration for her outfit.

How ridiculously fabulous is that!!!!!! I could go on and on posting photos of her. There are hundreds of them. Each one more gorgeous than the next.

UGH!!! That FABULOUS 30's brow!!!! swoon!!!!

Whose vintage style are you currently obsessing over!!! It's usually Audrey for me but Marlene has captured my heart lately!

xoxo

Memorial Weekend Blues...plus a little Nikki Hill and A Splash of WWII

Okay. So maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. My Memorial Weekend wasn't too bad...but it wasn't the best.

For starters, Honey and I were supposed to go to NC for her annual family reunion. Well, we couldn't find a reliable baby... I mean puppy sitter so I had to stay behind. I insisted that she go because she hasn't seen her dad and little sister in, literally, 5 years. It didn't make sense for her to stay home too. I really thought it was important for her to see her little sister. But that also made me Honeyless for the holiday weekend.

So what did I do? I sulked. Well, Friday I did. I made a run to Target to get a bath mat and tablecloth. $50 later I went home. Why is it that you can NEVER leave Target with only the things you went in there for. You go in for batteries and come out with socks, mittens, Yankee Candle Co candles, a water hose and all sorts of other random things!!!!

Oops totally off subject now. Anyway once I got home  I ate snack food and veggie burgers and drank wine.  And I watched The Lucy Show (no, not I Love Lucy, but The Lucy Show. The show she made AFTER I Love Lucy. Its on HULU if you are interested).

Saturday night I got my butt in gear and went out with Jordan from Jordan's Vintage Kitchen! It was our very first time meeting. Boy am I glad she decided to move to NYC! She's like my new vintage soul sister! We have a lot in common and are both complete dorks! LOVE HER!!! Anyway, we went to see Nikki Hill perform at a tiki bar here called Otto's Shrunken Head.

 OMG!!! I'm SOOOOO glad I got to see her perform again! I first fell in love with her in Vegas at Viva. Now I have to admit I have a sort of lady crush on her. She's a sweetie and she is FABULOUS live! It was completely crowded and sweaty and AMAZING! It felt like we were at some back in the day speakeasy or juke joint. I...LOVED...EVERY...MINUET...OF...IT!!! I think Jordan had fun too! We were both head bobbing and swaying wishing we could jive! The night was an absolute blast!!! We had so much fun in fact that I forgot to get a picture with her! It's okay. We plan on getting together again soon.

Here is a clip of a small part of the set she did.

Sunday night was filled with more sulking and cramps...yes...that happened...Moving on.

So that leaves today. Memorial Day!

Well, I decided to go to the WWII exhibit at the NY Historical Society that Bunny from Bunny's Victory blogged about in this post.

It really was a great exhibit! The  NY Historical Society did a thorough job of documenting NYC's roll in the war effort. It was filled with little tidbits of info and fabulous photographs. There was a little movie theater in the middle of it where they showed one man's war experience that he had documented in home movies.

There was one wall with a touching letter from a solider to his fiance telling her how much he loved her and how determined he was to come home to her. As you read further down you found out that the poor solider actually died in combat and was never able to see his bride to be again.

Then there was a painting as you exited the exhibit that totally made me tear up. It was a painting of NYC celebrating the end of the war. Above it was written the word PEACE. UGH! I'm totally not doing it justice but I couldn't take any pics because of museum rules. Bummer. But this was the perfect way to spend Memorial Day.

I stopped at the Museum store and picked up a copy of the exhibit's companion book and another really cool book called "Double Victory...How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win WWII"

 The companion book WWII & NYC is the perfect book to go along with the exhibit.  It literally walks you through everything you saw at the Historical Society. Here are some photos from the book...

The other book, "Double Victory" is about the role of African American women during the war. I'm only a few pages in but so far it's a great read. I wish I would have had this book when I did THIS post on the same subject. Here is a peek.

I also got some (not so great) pictures of my outfit today. It felt totally springy out so I wore a totally springy outfit. It was the perfect outfit for the weather we were having. I got tons of compliments all day! Sorry the pics aren't the best quality. Like I said, I'm by myself this weekend so these were done with the timer in our bedroom. And the lighting stinks but you can get the gist of the outfit.

I just wore a simple vintage gingham skirt with a crinoline and a white cardigan I picked up at Marshall's the other day.

Here is a camera phone pic of the hair and makeup...again, sorry for the sucky quality.

And that, my friends, was my weekend. Now that it's all said and done I guess it wasn't too shabby after all. Now I'm sitting here eating Keebler Fudge Sticks and waiting for Honey to call and say she's close!! Geez, I need her to get here soon. My snacking has been out of control!!!!

Happy Memorial Day!


xoxoxoxoxo