herringbone + cable knit

Photos by Neil!

Vintage herringbone coat - thrifted

Cable knit crop sweater - Three Feathers Vintage

Cable knit tights, high waisted denim shorts, black button up - American Apparel

Suede mary janes - Topshop

It happened - cold weather hit Nashville. Time to bust out this 1980s Working Girl coat, which I happen to love the more I wear it (big, loose shapes in short lengths are what I've been wearing lately, for some reason).

Another recent find are these suede mary janes from Topshop, which will be my staple holiday shoes this season (I bought some last year only to return them since they were a bit too big). I love the versatility of mary janes.. that rare shoe that looks good with tights, ankle socks, or bare legs. The chunkiness of the heel makes this pair a little less feminine, which I like, and the lack of a hardcore crazy platform in the front means I don't feel like a streetwalker in them. After searching through dozens of pairs online, these have to be my favorite ones.

Sorry for the random blurry nail photo, I had to show you guys the new glitter polish from AA. I kind of like it (probably because it reminds me of my preteen Limited Too days).

Super distracted tonight - doing some last minute sewing for my holiday lookbook, which I'm shooting tomorrow! I just ate McDonalds and watched an episode of Twin Peaks with Neil (we are really obsessed with Twin Peaks and that is no understatement), so I'm not very focused at the moment.. give me an hour and I will be productive again (hopefully). Happy December!

vintage sale

In order to make room for my holiday lookbook this week, I've marked down all vintage items in the shop - most items at 10 or 15 dollars! Check out the sale section today. Really awesome Gilda Radner photo found here.

thanksgiving and a giveaway winner

This weekend has been a blur of good food and good company. Neil's family came in and we had a few friends over to share food with us.. chocolate pecan pie, collard greens, cajun spiced turkey, all sorts of southern goodness. Not many photos to share, sadly - I was caught up in the holiday-ness and forgot to take pictures. But this is the outfit I wore (thrifted silk blouse, handmade red velvet skirt) and here is our simple table setting and our new old farm table (constructed by a local woodcrafter, we couldn't love it more).

And now for the Dalena Vintage giveaway announcement.. the winner is Sarah J! Congrats, Sarah! Thanks to all who entered.

Happy weekend! Filling some last minute orders today, hoping to get in a belated Sewing Saturday post. How great it feels to have a whole sewing room to myself now.

badlands

Screenshots I took last night of my favorite Terrence Malick film, Badlands. While the film's cinematography isn't quite as beautiful as Days of Heaven, the film itself is much better - based on the story of the Starkweather-Fugate murders of the 1950s, the film follows a young pair around the dusty, flat landscapes of the west as they leave behind a trail of unfeeling murders in their wake. The movie is all at once stark and coldly sentimental, almost an amoral fairytale, about the loss of innocence and love. And Martin Sheen is brilliant in it.

Style-wise, I've said before that movies from a specific era trying to capture another time period are always my favorites (The Lover, Amadeus, Paper Moon), and Badlands is no exception. Inevitably, the time period the film was shot in shines through in a way, and you can see the early 70s in scenes with sun-drenched fields and Sissy Spacek's red hair hanging loose, in her light wash button up and dark jeans. The androgynous seventies meets 1950s bobby socks and mid-length gingham dresses, perfect. Throughout the film, Martin Sheen is dressed in a white tee, dark wash jeans, and a denim jacket - simple and effective (a welcome change from the plaid button up and suspender look that Nashville hipster men seem addicted to, pretty sick of it by now).

More screenshots here. I did some research on the Starkweather-Fugate murders after watching Badlands, and for once, it seems that real life was more messy than film. Their spree was intense and brutal, and the movie is more forgiving to its main characters.

On a happier note, Neil and I are prepping for Thanksgiving activities this week! We ordered a pine farm table for our dining room, and it's coming in today - just in time, because my in-laws will be coming to Nashville tonight and we're hosting a small Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. Lots of traditional fare.. turkey and greens, potatoes, bread pudding, apple pie. Can't wait.. I plan on taking more photos than cooking, hopefully, so I'll share them with you soon (and I'll delay the Dalena Vintage giveaway announcement for one more day, so enter now if you haven't already)! Happy Thanksgiving to you American ladies.

all that glitters

Digging myself out of a million boxes to share some recent finds with you guys. The holidays seem like the best time to bust out metallics and a tame amount of glitter, so I've been preparing lately - stocking up on a few things I've been coveting and some good thrifted finds from this weekend.

The vintage leather skirt and polka dot blouse will probably hit the shop next week as a part of my holiday lookbook, but the wool swing coat is headed to my closet. I've wanted a loose, short swing coat for awhile now, and this one makes me feel like I actually have legs when I wear it. Have you guys seen the metallic American Apparel polish in stores? I love the silver one too, but our store doesn't have it yet - just the bronze and gold, which are equally cool. The other Mac polishes are from my sister (can't wait to wear the green!), all perfect for the holidays.

And the gold sequin ribbon is officially a sneak peak of a dress I'm working on for my holiday lookbook.. coupled with a shot of Alexa Chung from her latest Madewell collection. My sister bought me a gift card to Madewell for my birthday, still deciding how to use it (there are too many good things in that store). The metallic loafers are some thrifted flats I found shopping with Lauren yesterday, a two-dollar alternative to these leather ASOS creepers.

I don't know what I was talking about when I said we only had a few more days of crazy before it calmed down again, because things are still crazy. But the best kind of crazy.. unpacking and settling in sort of crazy. Getting my sewing room ready so I can complete some orders and have Sewing Saturday posts again - finally - sort of crazy. Hope you had a great weekend!

dalena vintage giveaway

Leslie Torbett of Dalena Vintage has all the luck - while other vintage hunters struggle to find cute 1980s floral dresses in thrift stores, Leslie is curating a collection of pieces anywhere from 50 to 100 years old, all in pristine condition and elegant taste (like this cotton Edwardian dress or incredible 1960s wool shift). The Austin, Texas-based seller has an eye for high end pieces in name brands and rich fabrics like silk, chiffon, lace, and velvet.

Dalena Vintage recently released their Holiday Lookbook, filled to the brim with moody shots inside a turn of the century home with brilliant wallpaper and dark wood trim. In every photo, you catch a glimpse of a wintery dress - some in cream lace, others with beautiful scalloped necklines, all wonderfully holiday-worthy.

Now for the extra good news. Leslie is offering a $50 Dalena Vintage credit to you as a giveaway! In perfect timing, too - right in time to use it towards a dream holiday dress or Christmas present.

To enter, simply comment on this post telling us what your favorite piece is in the shop. If you'd like to enter again, share this giveaway on your Twitter, blog, or Facebook, and send us the link in a second comment! The giveaway ends one week from today (November 23), so be sure to enter before then.

Happy Wednesday!

leader of the pack

More Petra Collins love - one of my favorite photo shoots of hers. I love the combination of the bird print tee and those great daisy shorts, very nineties.

Slowly getting out of the craziness, now there are only a handful of busy days before some restful ones. Thanks for the words of encouragement last post! I'm feeling more sane this weekend. After I ship out orders, the rest of the week will be spent putting things in their proper place at our new home (it's filled with boxes and bags and all our stuff right now) and plotting a holiday lookbook, which will debut next week! Happy Sunday, you guyz.

white walls wood floors

I'm taking a quick break from work to eat lunch and share these photos with you guys. Life has gotten me down lately.. it feels like I'm behind on just about everything. Custom orders, wholesale orders, unpacking, painting, blogging. I wanted to do an outfit post this morning but didn't have time to because of sewing catch-up. It could be my constant diet of crackers, mac and cheese, and leftover Halloween candy making me depressed (we've been dividing our time between my parent's house and our new place and haven't really had a chance to pick up groceries or anything healthy). Maybe I should eat a salad or an apple or something like that and it'll pick me up.

Either way, these photos help me feel better - they remind me why Neil and I are doing all of this painting and maintenance in the first place.. in the pursuit of a cool, clean space that's all our own. I'm really obsessed with white walls with crown molding and old fashioned wood floors. And whitewashed brick, tall windows, built-in bookshelves, walls covered in mismatched art and frames, farm tables with distressed antique chairs, old chandeliers, classic wood shutters, a cross between super modern and weathered vintage. Searching for my dream piano too. Still trying to figure out my design style (dressing myself in the morning is way easier than decorating a living room), but it's been a fun process.. especially since Neil and I don't have the exact same style and coming to agreement on colors and decor is a good lesson in listening.

All photos courtesy of The Selby. Happy Thursday!