i went vintage shopping in seattle this weekend and scored some amazing high-waisted cuffed sailor shorts, beautifully altered from authentic wool US Navy pants! they even have the original tag with the sailor’s name inside, a lace-up back and all the buttons on the front. they fit perfectly.
 
(sorry, my camera is still lost, no photos)
my friend and i almost got in a catfight over them when i yoinked them off the rack. then i almost had a score-gasm when i saw the price tag. only $7!!
ok, so maybe it’s not quite as good as eve’s “love” accessory, but who needs drugs when there’s the thrill of the bargain hunt?! maybe that’s why all those filthy rich celebri-whores, even with their ginormous chanel and dior-filled wardrobes and never-ending charge accounts all end up in rehab eventually. perhaps their retail therapy (or simply paying their Zoe-bot) just doesn’t work quite as well as it does for us bargain-istas. we have to work, save, scrimp and endlessly search, and be creative to look good, but it sure can pay off!
then again, i guess pretty clothes are my prozac, i’m just that shallow.
EDIT: really truly photo here.
Hello, I’m back from IEP hell, I apologize for my absence.
Although I’m sure my power animal is a whale, I love obscure animals on my clothes and my husband got me this amazing handpainted badger necklace from Etsy and my mom got me this beautiful embroidered Praying Mantis Tee from Nordstrom Rack for $16 for my birthday. The necklace is my talisman from evil and the shirt is so soft and cozy (and I’ll bite your head off if you try and steal it from me).
 
I paired them with my new mauve twill city shorts and my chocolate mary jane Crocs (I know there are those out there that hate Crocs, but they have obviously never owned a pair. These are the first model that are actually aesthetically pleasing. I feel like a futuristic Wednesday Addams hippie farmer in these and since I like to garden AND cook, I can wear these all day brewing beer, pulling weeds and cooking a ginormous meal and they are no worse for the wear. So with this cute new style, Crocs have gone from “functional: yes, stylish: no” to “functional: yes, stylish: YES!”. Ok, now just let me step down from my soap box….) and voila, I feel like I could snatch a humming bird out of mid-air and use my spiny left foreleg to impale it through the chest.
UPDATE: I found the tee-shirt here but unfortunately, unless there’s a Nordstrom Rack in your town, it’ll cost you $44.
thank you so much for the birthday wishes, oh stylish readers! we had a great one. a birthday present-funded shopping spree, and a birthday party to follow. i think we spent about 3 hours saturating the Nordstrom Rack Outlet with our twin drool. Eve went with quantity, while i opted for quality. of course you can’t really lose with Nordstrom’s quality.
Eve scored a sweet royal blue tunic (pictured), a wicked black tee with a preying mantis design embroidered on the front, a hoodie, a stupidly sexy brown sweater dress (she and her husband mysteriously disappeared when she tried it on for him), a pair of adorable dark wash cropped jeans with button details (pictured), some brown tweed bermudas, and a pair of white hot linen short shorts.
I got only a few classic investment pieces: a sultry green Michael Kors keyhole maillot with gold hardware, a divine cotton mini shirtdress with trench styling and a drop-waist, and an amazing tan linen swing jacket by Mac & Jac which i completely fell in love with and finally decided to whisk away with me despite the “sale” price of $60 (i heart birthdays). it’s just one of those pieces that you know you’ll still love in 6 years, something that could class up the laziest of outfits and make you feel like audrey every time you throw it on. i also grabbed a cotton pinstriped pinafore top and a pair of aviators. and then we raided payless shoes for sandals.
so here we are being silly downtown on the most temperate and beautiful birthnight a pair could ask for…
 here’s what we’re wearing:
on amber ( i decided to go strawberry blonde with brunette lowlights for my birthday. i rather like it, but now we look slightly less twinish)-
chiffon babydoll with geometric pattern, a gift from the mother-in-law.
brown nylon short shorts, army navy $15
eve’s Enzo flats, my $2 thrift store bracelet and $3 target necklace (once again)
on eve -
blue tunic and cropped jeans, nordstrom rack, a gift from mum (under $30 for both)
paisley 70′s stewardess scarf worn on head, thrift store 50 cents
my steve madden peeptoe flats, $26
on both – handmade person pins, Niece Sophia originals, priceless.
our birthday may be over, but the party has just begun. we can’t WAIT to get to the coast. it’s hot in the valley!
Loafers are the new flat. I love loafers! So hot with knee highs and a skirt, so coy with capris, so geek chic with skinny jeans. And now I am the proud owner of a pair of vintage Cole Haans! Check it:
I found these at the thrift store for $3.99.
I pictured the previous owner as being a Diane-Keaton type. She had a loafer addiction and decided to leave her plumber husband to run off with her accountant to Fiji and write her first novel. She only had time to grab her Enzos and her Coaches before her flight (Besides, she’d worn them on their honeymoon to Paris back in ’84). Her husband couldn’t look at them and tossed them onto a thrift store parking lot on his way to an AA meeting.
(All prices include shipping)
 Crocodile penny loafer $24.99
 Coach Sig. Driving Shoe $74.87
Miraculously, Eve, who was about to turn 3o, had been wanting to feel classic and luxurious but was also broke. Her feet happened to be the same size and have the same contours as Diane’s. So the Cole Haans and Eve lived together, through beaches and brewfests, happily ever after.
 White Driving Mules, $31.49
I just feel so hip in these, I don’t care that people will say, “Haha, I had a pair of those in high school. I used to wear them with my paisley vest and my bunchy sox…with my jeans tucked in!!!”
Happy Birthday to me!
My dear friend Angie threw a naked lady party the other night, have you guys ever BEEN to one of these? SUCH a great idea. Unfortunately, my arms were so full of bags of clothes and shoes when I left my house that I completely forgot my camera to document this frantic and ecstatic event.
Basically, what a Naked Lady Party consists of is a bunch of ladies bringing their old clothes, shoes and jewelery to the party and swapping with their friends (that is if you consider a bunch of half-dressed, inebriated girls, “ladies” and the process of flinging mounds of clothes all over the place whilst giggling and squealing, “swapping”). Well, I tell you what, even if it was just sitting around awkwardly and civilized (aka., baby shower), it would be worth it because I SCORED hardcore on Friday night! I must thank my mother for my quick snatch skills, as she birthed my 4 siblings.
Here are some of my favorites:
Tank top with buttons (Forever 21): FREE
Silk 3/4 sleeve turtleneck (Ann Taylor): $0
Corduroy a-line skirt (Zinc): a hay penny
Military zip-up (Stussy!): a few brain cells
Red button-up with mandarin collar (Vintage): years of searching
Sleeveless print top (Sele): $$$
Grey hoodie with tiny stars (Forever 21): Nada
The coolest thing about a Naked Lady Party is that you don’t feel as guilty getting rid of some of your cuter stuff that you just can’t bear to give to some anonymous, nameless face. Instead you are giving them to your friends, seeing them look radiant in them, and with the other eye, scoping out their pile of treasures. AND, you’re saving the environment and a few little sweatshop hands.
Everybody get NAKED!
|
Painfully Hip Local Links
Sunglasses Shop. Shop for Miu Miu Sunglasses
All images were either created by the Painfully Hip Design Collective, used with permission, or found on the web and believed to be in the public domain. If any images that appear are in violation of copyright law, please let me know and i will remove them immediately.
Thanks for reading,
Amber
painfullyhip at gmail.com
|
