Christmas 2010: The Gifts

I accidentally came across last years Christmas post in my archives recently. It was neat to go back and see all the gifts that I got, and I figure it'll be even neater in ten years when some of those gifts are novelty items! For that reason, here's a little recap of *some* of my favorite gifts from Christmas 2010.

Jewelry. All of these pieces are from my sister – we went all out for each other this year! Most of the things we bought were animal themed. There was an owl hat, a fox bag, a kitten shirt, a deer ring and notebook, a horse necklace, and a snake scarf. It's ridiculous how much we love animal prints and designs! 

Mad Men. Jake got me the first season for Christmas last year, and that's the only bit of Mad Men I've seen. I loved it so much, but unfortunately, we don't have cable so I haven't been able to see the rest. My parents were sweet and bought me seasons two, three, and four for Christmas! I'll have to wait until the summer to see season four. It's still on preorder!

Bunting. But not just any bunting. Bunting made of old maps! My sister and I exchanged wishlists via Kaboodle (I highly recommend the site for wishlist-makin'), and this was one of the items I had on my list. So happy she got it for me! It looks nice above my t.v.

Ladylike things to wear. My sister bought the collar from my Kaboodle wishlist, too. I'm so excited to pair it with my dresses. Most of the detachable collars I have sit tightly around my neck, so it's nice to have one to wear with some of my lower cut pieces, too.

The purse and hat were a gift from my Delightful Dozen Secret Santa, Jen of Jen Loves Kev. I was absolutely blown away by how well she did with my gift. How on earth did she find such lovely items that matched my taste so well? Bravo, Jen! I can't wait to style them for some photos. Thank you!

Ladylike things to read. The Encyclopedia of the Exquisite was a gift from Jake. We set a pretty low spending limit for each other this year, and I'm so pleased with what he got me. He said he spent three hours on Amazon searching for a gift before this 'similar item' popped up. I'm absolutely *in love* with it. I can't put it down! Let's hope for a mini review soon.

Family photos. One of the most heartfelt gifts I received came from my Mimi in Mobile. She knows how much I love hearing about my family history, so instead of getting me a gift, she took the time to scan in tons of old family photos. She sent the scans along with handwritten captions telling me who each person was. My favorite photo is the one of all the girls on the beach. According to my Mimi, three of the women are my grandfathers sisters.

What did you get for Christmas this year?

P.S. Congratulations to Samantha of A Glimpse of Glamour. You're the winner of the Paloma Vintage giveaway.

Looks Like Mad Men: NYFW Inspiration

When I found out I'd be attending this years New York Fashion Week, I was terrified at the thought of packing. I stress out when I pack for weekend trips to Jake's parents house—which is probably the only other time I've had to pack this summer, not counting Bonnaroo—so the thought of packing for a big, four day long trip during the most fashionable time of year scared me! I knew if I wanted to avoid the stressful, anxiety-ridden collapse, I'd have to get started early.

My original plan for today's post was to show you the inspiration behind my Busby Berkeley look, but I decided to hold off on that for a couple of days. Most of the inspiration came from the 1933 musical film, 42nd Street,  but I couldn't find any noteworthy stills from the movie. I casually decided to look it up at my schools library, and it turns out they had it—all I needed was a school I.D.! I plan to watch it sometime this weekend, and hopefully I'll be able to get some better movie stills to show you.

That's just one look of the bunch though! I'm trying to a little research for each outfit, and I'd also like to do an inspiration post for all of them too. It'll be a little teaser of what's to come in NYC. 

I thought this editorial from the September issue of US Vogue was great fall inspiration too. It reminded me that I have no idea what the weather's like in NYC during this time of year? So, NYC friends, can I wear sweaters and tights in September, or do I need to stick to the light cardigans and bobby socks? Regardless, the colors from this editorial are incredible.

Source: So Much To Tell You

Etsy: The Sixties & The Seventies

1.Zebra Romper
2.Wooden Love/Faith Signs
3.Sunglasses
4.Deadstock Polka Dot Maxi Dress
5.Psychedelic Slit Dress

6. Falling Flowers Dress
7. Lime Shift Dress
8. Tooled Wallet
9. Mad Men Coat Dress
10. Peter Pan Collar Floral Blouse

11. Yellow Fondue Pot
12. Hand Screen Printed Paisley Print Sweater
13. Orange Nylon Blouse
14. Orange London Fog Trench Coat
15. Yellow Snap Shoulder Blouse

16. Red Zipper Front Dress

17. Striped Shirt Dress

18. Mexican Embroidered Blouse

19. Liberty Print Dress

20. Red Jumper Dress

21. Red Coat Dress

22. Polo Blouse

21. Vibrant Spring Florals Dress

22. Pink Bubble Hem Nylon Blouse

23. Ivory Peter Pan Collar Victorian Lace Blouse

I finally added some more pieces to the shop last night, but this time I went with a  60's/70's inspired theme! I know it's kind of a stretch from my own personal style, but when I first started thrifting for my store a couple years ago, this seemed to be the vintage I was drawn to. Maybe it's because it was so obviously vintage and easy for me to recognize, but whatever the reason, it's been hanging on my dress rack for way too long and desperately needs to find a home before Goodwill gets a hold of it. I priced everything super low for that reason. Most things are under $30! It seems like I get a lot of really retro pieces given to me too, either from friends parents or grandma's, or sometimes even because they saw it at the thrift store and thought about me. I never sell any gifts though! I'll only sell an item if they bought it with the intention of me putting it in the shop. When I posted these photos on Facebook last night (you should friend me, btw!) I had a girl offer to give me 25 vintage dresses that she was planning on dropping off at a thrift store. You already know what I said.

Since these looks were so far away from my style and since I was super duper busy leading up to this shoot, I got really lazy with the styling and put the girls in the same shoes and socks the whole way through. I'm a cheat and ripped the black shoe/sock combo off from the Orla Kiely fall lookbook, but then again, who could blame me?