Estate Sale Finds: Marimekko Jumpsuit

Okay, this find isn't technically from an estate sale, but an eBay auction I'd had my eye on.

I do love me some Marimekko, and I'd spied this sort of odd looking jumpsuit in a striking black and white graphic pattern (Ryppypeppu, apparently). It had strange ruched elbows and butt and some stains, but it was interesting enough that I stuck it in my "watch" list.




On the day the auction was ending, I checked back and it was already at $46. I decided that was already more than I wanted to pay for a sort of novelty item, and didn't give it another thought until I saw what the final auction price was.



Apparently $46 would have been a very, very good price for this little number. Who would have known?

Animal Fashion - Givenchy Fall 2011

I know this is kind of old news in the fashion world, but the Givenchy Fall 2011 collection was crawling with feline femme fatales. I really liked the velvet cat caps that the ladies were all sporting, and though I might not wear it in my every day world, I'd totally consider it for a bike helmet.




A $2000 bike helmet. Meow.


image 1, 2 | image 3 from Glamour, Spain

DIY: Succulents in Vintage Egg Cups

I got inspired by this idea over at Roy Joy and decided to put a vintage twist on it using vintage egg cups!

I scoured ebay, etsy, and thrift strores for vintage egg cups, and eventually ended up with a set of vintage hobnail milk glass egg cups and a set of vintage Japanese tea cups.

Next, I collected a variety of small succulents. Finally, I hit the farmer's market for extra pretty eggs and then.... voila! A few succulents for Easter, with an awesome vintage twist.





Get the full DIY instructions on potting succulents inside of egg shells here.
*special thanks to Jenny for being my partner in crime and snapping some of these pix

Estate Sale Finds: Midcentury Crochet-er

I always think its funny when the same person that has something rad like this light fixture in their house, also is the kind of person that crochets new necklines onto lavender Macgregor sweatshirts:

What I'm Wearing: Scalamandre inspired prints

I stumbled upon this awesome vintage dress the other day with an obnoxiously loud zebra print and contrasting collar that I knew I had to have:



At first I thought it was just because I wanted to look like the interior of the Kate Spade dressing rooms, decked out in a bright Scalamandre zebra print wallpaper:


..but while researching the origins of that wallpaper, I stumbled upon these images of the Royal Tennenbaums, also rocking the same print:



I feel like both Kate Spade and Wes Anderson are totally rooting for my outfit.

Estate Sale Finds: Sewing Stuff

Estate sales of "sewers" are always fun because it often helps me feel better about the stash of unfinished projects that I also have sitting by my machine. I'm always glad that I'm not the only one being inspired by fabrics and notions and then not having time to actually make them into something. I think it is that there is so much potential in an un-cut pattern and pretty fabrics and trims - I have almost as much fun just imagining the finished products that can come from raw materials as I do trying to sew them together.


The real gems of this sale were two pieces of really amazing vintage Marimekko fabric from the early 70s. I love Marimekko, and I'm almost too afraid to actually cut this stuff up and use it. The pressure to make something great is kind of paralyzing:



Any projects you're excited about? Sewing triumphs?

What I'm Wearing: Vintage to work

I picked up this beaded beauty at Community Thrift Frock Shop on our awesome Vancouver trip.  To wear it to work, my outfit logic was that monochromatic grays kept it professional despite having a flashy phoenix on my back.

Sweater: Vintage
Dress: Calvin Klein
Belt: Ann Taylor Loft
Tights: Old Navy

Vintage Inspired: Girliepains Paper Cameras

I stumbled on the Girliepains paper printables the other day, which have all the cuteness of old vintage cameras with better colors. You can print em, cut em, fold em, and glue em into a whole army of perfect paper pretties:




And wouldn't it be cute to hide a gift inside the toughie design? The lid comes off and makes a perfect little box:



You can buy the PDF from her for a whopping $4.50, and then print and fold as many of these cameras as you can. I may have already ordered them in every color.

Animal Instinct - KORIN Mugtails

My brother and his girlfriend gifted us the cutest set of mugs for Christmas. They know that we like both animal heads and tails in this house.

Mugtail by KORIN

Shop Preview: Dresses

We've got lots of new things trickling into the shop -keep your eyes peeled this week for some fun stuff like these:







You can follow us on Twitter to know exactly when we post new items!

Estate Sale Finds: Wiglets

Big hair is big these days, and I'm seeing more and more "sock buns" and other tricks to give people even more body than hairspray might be able to. I stumbled on a few fabulous finds at an estate sale to remind me that DIY home hairpieces and wigs were pretty commonplace at one point, and I wonder if there may be a resurgence some time.

"Add a Bang" for all the turban wearers out there:


100% Human Hair "Wiglet" for a little extra lift on top:



I bought the wiglet thinking that I might brush it out and experiment a little with it (sorry add-a-bang), but I' haven't been brave enough to wear it out and about yet.

What do you think? Would you ever sport some hair that wasn't yours?

Vintage Organization: Trays

One thing that keeps me organized is to have certain places where it's ok to throw stuff. One such spot is a place for the jewelry that I wear a lot.  I found this vintage tray at an antiques mall (similar ones here ).  I love how it looks at the end of the day when my ring and watch are sitting in it.





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(this is part of our vintage organization series)