Monday, July 13, 2015

Lumpy Friends: Adding Fun Finishing Touches to Some Looks!

While I don't often add too much embellishments to my outfits, I do love the extra finishing touches a cute brooch or sweater clip can make to a look!


So when one of my all time favorite shops, Cats Like Us, asked me if I would be interested in checking out their newest addition to their accessories, super cute felt brooches by Lumpy Buttons, I jumped at the chance! All it took was a quick browse through Lumpy Buttons designs to know these cute little brooches were right up my alley! These super cute brooches are all made in the US, are thick and sturdy, and are not only beautifully embellished with embroidery but many also feature beading!

One of the brooches I picked out was this Cute Pineapple Pin Brooch! I love the Hawaiian and tiki allusion a pop of pineapple conjures in my mind! But I also love pineapples because they always remind me of the song "It Couldn't Please Me More (A Pineapple)" from the musical Cabaret where the guy gives his lady love a pineapple as a token of his love and admiration.

For a matchy matchy look I paired my pineapple with my Collectif Tullulah Tropical Toucan print dress. This sarong style dress is such a perfect match with the pineapple brooch not only because of the tropical theme evident throughout the print and sarong style of the dress, but also because there are pineapples in the print of the dress! So much fun to do it up super matchy matchy!






Cute Pineapple Pin Brooch by Lumpy Buttons from Cats Like Us


For another look I paired the pineapple brooch with my Trashy Diva Zebra Bows Varga dress. What I love about pairing it with this dress is that the pineapple really becomes front and center being the pop of color in the dress! It gives the dress a completely tropical look that's super summery and fun!




When I saw that Cats Like Us were carrying Lumpy Button cat brooches I couldn't resist picking one of these kitties up! Though honestly, I wouldn't have expected anything less of my cat loving friends at Cats Like Us than to ensure there would be some kitties in the mix! <3

While it was a no brainer for me to pick up a kitty brooch, just which one to pick out was a harder decision. These kitties came in lots of color combos and to make it even harder, some had closed eyes with embroidered flowers and some where open eyed with beaded eyes. I ultimately picked the black and red combo (my husband's choice actually ;)) and got the kitty with the closed eyes and embroidered flowers, the Kitty Pin in Girly Red.

In another matchy matchy pairing I paired my kitty brooch with my black and red Retro Dita Dress by Folter. While the colors were a spot on match with this dress, I love that the brooch gives this dress a whimsical kitty element. As the saying goes, put a cat on it! And I don't mind if I do, thank you! <3



Kitty Pin in Girly Red by Lumpy Button from Cats Like Us


Because I was having so much fun playing around with all the pairing options with these brooches, I made up another look, a two in one if you will, with my Trashy Diva Smoked Leopard Cage dress. The smoked leopard dress already has the definite kitty theme going on with the leopard print so I thought it was an obviously adorable pairing to pair the kitty brooch with this dress!

In one look I wore the brooch and dress together with a red vintage bolero. I love how the black and grey of the dress and red of the bolero are glued together by the black and red in the cat brooch. I feel this look has a well-balanced appearance with the grey and black in the dress tied well together with the big pop of red of the red bolero by the addition of this brooch.


 


In another look I wore the brooch with dress alone without the bolero. When worn together, just the dress and brooch, this brooch adds a perfect pop of color to the dress! Subtle, yet sweet, and all kitty!









Saturday, July 11, 2015

Outfit of the Day: Triple Outfits for a Long Fourth of July Weekend!

I do love dressing in themes!


I think I love it so much I even do it unintentionally at times, as was the case over the long fourth of the July weekend! I hadn't noticed before putting this blog post together but as coincidence has it I ended up wearing reddish and bluish tones all weekend long over the red, white, and blue weekend.

On Friday, I got to take the day off of work and instead of spending all my time indoors I went out with my friend to Half Moon Bay for a beach outing! It was a wonderful day. We stopped in the downtown area for some lunch and a little window shopping then headed to the beach for a bit of tea on the beach!




On Saturday, I drove out to San Andreas to where Tim was camping with this friends. We spent the better part of the day out at the lake there soaking up the sun and enjoying the water. I got home just in time that night to see all the fireworks at home!

Then, while Sunday was a lazy and relaxing day for me at home, on Monday Tim and I and a bunch of our friends went out to the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. We had a great time riding the rides, playing laser tag, eating fish and chips, and eating chocolate covered ice cream cones.

What about the outfits though, you may ask? Well here they are!


Outfit of the Day:
Friday:

For a day at the beach I opted to wear my Trashy Diva Aloha dress in Tropical Sangria print. I paired this with my black flats but only for driving and walking around downtown. For the beach part of my day it was all about the comfy flip flops! For when it got chilly (and boy did it get chilly) I brought along my peach cardigan which I got from Target a couple years ago. 

Trashy Diva Aloha dress in Tropical Sangria- Front View

Trashy Diva Aloha dress in Tropical Sangria- Front View

Trashy Diva Aloha dress in Tropical Sangria- Side View

Trashy Diva Aloha dress in Tropical Sangria- Front View

Trashy Diva Aloha dress in Tropical Sangria- Front View

Trashy Diva Aloha dress in Tropical Sangria- Side View

Saturday:

For fourth of July I chose to wear any easy to wear teal dress by Lush which I got a few years ago from Nordstrom Rack. I paired this with my black flats for driving and my flip flops for the lake. For my day trip I packed up my wicker cat tote which I got from ebay a few weeks ago!

Teal Lush dress- Front View

Teal Lush dress- Front View
Teal Lush dress- Side View

Monday:

For Monday I wore my new Bernie Dexter Paris Pinup dress in BBQ print. I've been desperately searching for the Beatrice dress in this print (the version with the contrasting black shelf bust) for over a year. While I'm sad I have never found the Beatrice dress for purchase I was over the moon when I saw that Bernie Dexter brought this print back!

For Monday, we were originally planning on having a beach BBQ so I had this dress all picked out. Though we never got around the the BBQ part of the day, it was great to finally get this dress out in the closet! I paired this dress with my ankle strap flats by Blowfish and a black cardigan from the Gap for when it got cooler at night.

Bernie Dexter Paris Pinup dress in BBQ Print- Front View

Bernie Dexter Paris Pinup dress in BBQ Print- Front View

Bernie Dexter Paris Pinup dress in BBQ Print- Side View

Bernie Dexter Paris Pinup dress in BBQ Print- Front View

Bernie Dexter Paris Pinup dress in BBQ Print- Front View

Bernie Dexter Paris Pinup dress in BBQ Print- Front View

Bernie Dexter Paris Pinup dress in BBQ Print- Close Up











Thursday, July 9, 2015

Matching Your Dress To Your Teaware Part 17: Rockets in July!

I hope you all in the US had a wonderful 4th of July holiday! 


Tim was out camping with friends that whole weekend but I was able to drive out to them to spend time with them by the lake, had some great BBQ, and even got home just in time to see all the fireworks going off! With all the fireworks exploding in the sky, I thought this rockets teapot by Paul Cardew and my Bernie Dexter Rockets dress would be a perfect teapot and dress pairing to feature for early July!

This beautiful novelty rocket teapot has an incredible shape and amazing metallic embellishments on the lid, base, and decorative windows on the rocket. I love the geometric shape of the spout and that the handle is a fin on the rocket. Also, I love the blue color of the rocket and that it gradates throughout the body of the teapot. Such a super cute and interesting tea pot. It is made in the UK by Paul Cardew and can be found at allteapots.com.


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Blue Rocket Teapot designed by Paul Cardew, photo: http://www.allteapots.com/598.htm

What a lovely tea it would be to pair this teapot with my Bernie Dexter Rocketship dress! The Bernie Dexter Rocketship dress is a blue dress with small colorful rockets throughout the print. Like the Blue Rocket Teapot, geometric shapes are a continuing motif on this dress and can be seen in the over-sized collar and cuffed short sleeves which have a geometric angled cut to them. Also, like the Blue Rocket Teapot, the Bernie Dexter Rocketship dress (while very slightly) has metallic embellishments in the rhinestone centers of the buttons at the shoulders and cuffs of the sleeves.

Bernie Dexter Rocketship Dress- Front View

Bernie Dexter Rocketship Dress- Close Up

Bernie Dexter Rocketship Dress- Close Up


How I would have loved to pull up a chair and pour myself a cup of tea from this gorgeous teapot while wearing my Bernie Dexter dress watching fireworks on the fourth of July! Such a perfect pair they are!












Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Outfit of the Day: Tipsy Wine Tasting Party

The weekend before this past holiday weekend Tim and I got invited to a wine tasting party at a friend's house


It was a great idea really-- everybody bring a wine to share, bring a cheese pairing if you are so inclined, and everybody get to tasting! I don't think I've ever tasted so many different wines in my life, not even during Napa wine tastings! Plus, we learned some things while we were there.

My hostess friend did a great job with her table spread. Everything was well thought out and arranged beautifully! Really, she put Martha Stewart to shame!


Outfit of the Day:
Because I was sure there was going to be some tipsiness going on over the event I decided to wear my Heidi dress in Tipsy Elephant print from Pinup Girl Clothing. I paired this with some black flats and a fancy little fascinator. I brought along a pink cardigan but ended up not wearing it in the end.

Pinup Girl Clothing Heidi dress in Tipsy Elephant- Front View

Pinup Girl Clothing Heidi dress in Tipsy Elephant- Front View

Pinup Girl Clothing Heidi dress in Tipsy Elephant- Side View

Pinup Girl Clothing Heidi dress in Tipsy Elephant- Front View

Pinup Girl Clothing Heidi dress in Tipsy Elephant- Front View

Pinup Girl Clothing Heidi dress in Tipsy Elephant- Side View




Wednesday, July 1, 2015

My Most Special Dress

I will be the first to admit that I have a lot of dresses


I've been buying and wearing retro style dresses since about 2008. It all started with wanting to get a retro style swimsuit (I picked an Ester Williams maroon one piece, which is still one of my favorite swimsuits I own today).

It was while I was looking through the internet, looking for a retro style swimsuit, that I discovered there were tons of retro style dresses out there! So much so that when I first started buying (which started slowly then escalated quickly) I had such a hard time not wanting to by every single dress I saw and loved! Since 2008 there has only been more and more brands that have come into the picture as well as more retailers that supply them. It took a while to get there, but I'm becoming better at being selective with the dresses I buy. Over the years as well, I have gotten better at going through my closet and letting go of the dresses in my closet I want to keep and which I should get rid of because either they just weren't me, they didn't fit quite right, or for whatever reason I know I just would never wear them.

All this is just to say do not take it lightly when I say this dress is the most special dress I have in my closet!

Out of all the brands I have bought over the years I have come to find that Trashy Diva, a small dress company out of New Orleans, is my all time favorite brand. I love their designs, I love the quality of their dresses, I love that they use fabric that would have been appropriate for the period they are trying to recreate (mostly rayon, cotton and in rare instances silk), and I love that it's retro yet can totally be worn out and about without being too costumey or too "young". Because my love for Trashy Diva soon turned into an obsession, it's no surprise that over time I discovered and would pine over some of their earliest dresses. What really drew me to their earlier dresses was not so much that they were rare, or even that they were 100% silk (which is I admit completely awesome), but that some of their oldest prints were the most awesome, quirky, original, creative, and beautiful prints I have ever seen on any fabrics ever!

While there are many prints in their earlier collections that I completely admire and love, one that always stood out to me was their Hurricane Ladies print! It is a black print with grey storm clouds, rain, and little pink ladies holding pink umbrellas throughout. The story goes that Trashy Diva released this print soon after Hurricane Katrina in true New Orleanian fashion perhaps to say Hurricane Katrina happened and it was awful but it's time to rebuild and continue living.

While I have long admired this print and had it on my dream wishlist I never in my wildest dreams expected to actually ever see it in person. In my mind, there was a small part of me that believed it must be made of unicorn fur and magic! Something so beautiful must have some magic in it somewhere truly!

Well despite all odd, chances, and probability the universe shined down on me when a wonderful angel of a women contacted me and with so much extraordinary generosity, extreme kindness, and enormous thoughtfulness decided to gift it to me!!!! I could not believe anyone in the world could be so extremely generous!!!! Words cannot describe how wonderful this women was to gift me something of so many dreams! I still cannot believe my luck or her generosity. It is a gesture and a gift that I will treasure all my life. Because of this unworldly way in which this dress came into my life, it is and will remain by far the most special dress I have in my whole closet. <3 <3 <3 I could never thank the angel of a women enough for the gift she has given me!

And I should add, this dress is everything and more than I ever imagined it to be. And yes, I am still convinced it must be made of unicorn fur and magic! Even more so them before!!!


Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Hurricane Ladies- Front View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Hurricane Ladies- Front View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Hurricane Ladies- Side View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Hurricane Ladies- Front View
Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Hurricane Ladies- Front View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Hurricane Ladies- Side View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Hurricane Ladies- Close Up

Trashy Diva Hurricane Ladies, Close Up



I plan on taking this beauty with me for my first ever trip to New Orleans which is a place I've wanted to go since I was in middle school obsessively reading Anne Rice's vampire chronicles, dreaming of walking through the Garden District and French Quarter, where I would imagine Lestat behind every closed door, as well as hope to find and spy on Anne Rice's house and Trent Reznor's house.

One day I'll finally make it out to New Orleans. In the meanwhile, for a first outing in my unicorn dress Tim and I went out to one of my favorite restaurants, Angeline's Lousiana Kitchen in Berkeley. I thought it was quite fitting. :)


Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen, Berkeley, CA

Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen, Berkeley, CA

Hush Puppies at Angeline's

Beautiful Benigets at Angeline's! Cafe du Monde I'm coming for you next!