Updon’t

December 1, 2014December 1, 2014Leave a comment

My hair being worn in any way other than down is a rare sight. If I’m being honest, I don’t much like the way I look with my hair up, but that feeling flip-flops. When I had short hair I didn’t mind having an exposed neck, and quite often when I was growing it out I would just throw my hair into a top-knot and go about my day (the top-knot was way better than the weird length it was at). But now that my hair is long it has become a pseudo-invisibility cloak of sorts. It hides all the things I am a bit self-conscious about (forehead, ears…), silly things really, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way sometimes. The other reason that my hair often stays down (or in a side braid) is that my hair is thick. When I’m at dance rehearsals I won’t even bother trying to put my hair up and out of my face because inevitably it will fall out after 2 minutes of moving around. The only way to ensure my hair will stay put in a bun or pony tail is a whole lot of hairspray and bobby pins galore. So what’s with the low bun in these photos then?! Well, sometimes after I take photos I realize my hair was covering some interesting and pretty details of my outfit. I really didn’t want that to be the case with this cardigan. I’ve been wanting to photograph this vintage dream for awhile and I originally thought I wouldn’t do so until around Christmas time…but well it’s close enough now, and there is no rule saying I can’t dress it up with a fancier holiday-inspired outfit later on like I intended. I’m still unsure how I feel about this low bun – although it’s still sort of on the safe side since it’s covering the things I always try to hide – I doubt it will become a go-to hairstyle for me, but I’m really glad my giant mane was not in the way of getting some nice photographs of the beautiful bead-work on this 1950s mohair cardigan.

*photos by Ryan

Cardigan: vintage via Carousel Antiques
Blouse: thrifted
Skirt: vintage
Coat: Vintage via Gisela and Zoe Vintage
Shoes: Sylvie and Shimmy
Scarf: H&M
Purse: vintage via Public Butter
Tights: old ballet tights

Behind The Scenes / Winter Whimsy

November 25, 20144 Comments

On Saturday I made my way over to Brantford, ON to style and work on another photoshoot with Gerald, Annya and our model Emma. About 1 month ago I was given some pieces from Mode Laboratory’s SS 2015 collection and was waiting for the perfect time to use them. While the pieces are indeed Spring/Summer I thought they worked splendidly with our wintery photoshoot. There is something so magical about winter landscapes and a model adorned in white and pastel pieces. Mode Laboratory’s pieces are whimsical in and of themselves and I think they were a match made in heaven for the work that Gerald produces. I’m uncertain when I’ll be able to show you the final images, but for now, here are a few behind the scene photos I took during the shoot.

Sur Ma Tête / The Mildred

November 20, 2014November 20, 20146 Comments

Meet Mildred, a lovely 1940s black pillbox hat covered in feathers, sparkles and a super sexy veil – the temptress of my vintage hat collection. I received this hat from Billowy Vintage, owned by Jessica, one of the many awesome vintage sellers I have met through instagram and etsy. Its the sort of hat I imagine one would wear to a funeral in bygone eras, or something your mistress would wear, or like a really fashionable vampire (yes, I’m still watching Buffy, and I probably won’t stop referencing it until I’m done). My style has changed a lot since I was a teen, so much so that almost nothing I wore then would I wear now (that’s probably the case for a lot of people), but I can imagine my former goth self would have worn this hat. The dark and sexy feel of this hat is the very thing I love about it. It’s unlike any of my other hats, and for that it’s a very dear piece in my collection.

Name: Mildred
Age: 70-75yrs (1940s)
Talents: She’ll make you feel like you’re the only one, her feathers give an air of elegance, under her veil she’ll keep all your secrets, on the most somber of days she’ll brighten it with her sparkles
1940s hat: vintage via Billowy Vintage
Blouse: thrifted

Break The Cycle

November 18, 20145 Comments

I’m not sure if it’s the weather or some other factor unbeknownst to me, but I’ve been feeling a bit down of late. That down feeling usually manifests into obsessing over some particular thing in my life that I believe needs fixing. In this case, my home. Moving is always a transition, and while it’s been over 1 month, I still don’t feel like everything is as it should be. Our home leaves a lot to be desired – there are many things about the construction and interior of the house that have left me a bit baffled. It’s small things like maybe repainting some cupboards and reorganizing some rooms that could make the whole place better suited to my taste. But the problem I have – and have always had – is I never look at each thing that needs to be tackled as a separate. I look at everything all at once, as a whole, and it makes me feel like there is an endless amount of things that need to be done, and how can little ol’ me do ALL of those things right now?! It’s a horrible way to look at a problem when you need to tackle something. It becomes this cycle of not doing because you are thinking about how much needs doing, and you become so overwhelmed by it that nothing ever comes to fruition. Sheesh, right!? Does anyone else have this problem? Maybe even tips on how to get out of this cycle? At this point I’ve taken to reading Not That Kind of Girl (not the book I’m holding in these pictures, but this one is way prettier – sometimes I buy old books just for their pretty covers), listening to Serial podcast and re-watching the entire series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer just to get my mind off my new-found obsession with wandering around my apartment thinking of all the things I’d love to fix and then wanting to run away from my house because I’ve made myself incredibly overwhelmed.

Anyways, a day in the life, I suppose. I hope you’ve all been having a far more cheerful time, and if you’re not, at the very least, you know you are not alone.

Pinafore: TLO
Blouse: thrifted
Cardigan: thrifted
Tights: Target
Shoes: Sylvie and Shimmy
Bow tie: handmade

Sur Ma Tête / The Ethel

November 12, 2014November 12, 20144 Comments

Meet Ethel, probably the silliest gal of all my hats. Silly mostly because she sits right atop my head (kind of like a turban) making sure you don’t miss her for even a second – she is in no way understated. Another pillbox hat, which I probably have a thing for. This one is an old girl, and you can tell – there is some staining (as you can see in the second picture below), and the ribbon and twisted straw that has been basket woven together are coming a bit undone in some places, but I love her all the same. I got her at an antique mall in NY State. I saw her just wasting away on top of a shelf and knew if I didn’t take her home, someone probably wouldn’t, although I can’t be sure of that because she’s pretty awesome.

Name: Ethel
Age: 60-65yrs (1950s)
Talents: stands out of the crowd, doesn’t give a shit what nobody thinks, has a darling bow to make her tough exterior a little more sweet, when worn she shares her wisdom from her many years of experience, and just a real hoot!

Dress & hat: vintage via antique mall in NY State