On a recent trip to NYC, I went out for a run & spotted some fabulous KJL cuff bracelets in the window of a vintage store. Unfortunately, such pieces coast around $300, even on eBay (yes, I checked.) With J still between jobs, such an expenditure is not an option.
A couple of days after I got home, J & I needed to make a "mall run" & I decided to see if any of the stores had similar cuffs in stock, or perhaps something I could customize. I found a plain, hinged black plastic cuff bracelet on sale for $7 at NY & Co. Then I checked a few vintage stores for a broken pin or brooch that I could use as an ornament (I generally dislike altering old jewelry if it still "works") but found nothing suitable. I went through my jewelry armoire at home & came across a gorgeous old rhinestone brooch that I hadn't worn in ages because its pin back was glued on at the wrong angle, which made it impossible to get the piece to hang right on a jacket or dress. I pried the pin back off, got out the super glue, & went to work. I'm pretty pleased with the results.
Friday, June 24, 2011
DIY Rhinestone Clamper Bracelet
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Due per Due silk sundress - fabric detail
Ouch. I've been a bad, bad blogger. After I posted the sundress pic below, I realized I hadn't written a single word in my invisibleclotheshorse guise since 12/7/2010, a/k/a my birthday. Sorry! There were the holidays, & a show ("The Mikado") & there was also... wait for it... another layoff of Mr. Altocat. On 12/23/10. Really. Nice timing, no? Jobs are insanely scarce in his field these days, so it seems some employers feel quite free to get a great deal of quality work out of staff members, then dump them without warning.
So, I haven't been the most cheerful critter lately, & didn't want to infect the blogosphere with a series of rants about the alleged economic recovery being a load of bunk, people not appreciating hard work, etc. I've been doing enough of that in person. That said, I'm also trying to take better care of some things I've sorely neglected over the past three months, like reading (my book club is helping a lot with that!), cooking, the house, & yes, this blog.
Fashion always helps lift my spirits, but I can't spend like I used to. We have debts to pay off & are living on a drastically reduced income. I'm actually rather enjoying going back to my twentysomething ways of buying mostly vintage clothing. It's (usually) cheap, it's "green", & it seriously reduces the odds of my ever showing up at an event in the same dress another woman is wearing. I still browse in stores & look at "regular" shopping websites, & I've slipped a couple of times, but I'm doing pretty well in terms of not buying anything that isn't a replacement for a worn-out item & not using credit cards. I'm no paragon of financial virtue, & I probably never will be. I'd also be lying if I said I didn't pine for the income J & I had three years ago, before the economy tanked. We probably miss travel the most - used to visit New York & South Beach pretty frequently, went to Florence for my birthday in 2009, & were dreaming of more European destinations before our recent bad news. For now, we have to stay put, but at least we can do so in style.
Thrift score - Due per Due silk sundress, $4.
Spring is sprung in Baltimore. Well, sort of. Over the weekend, I noticed a few blossoms on trees during a morning run, & today, I awoke with a scratchy throat & slightly congested sinuses, which sent me into a bit of a panic until I realized that it's late March - pollen time!
I had the urge to go thrift shopping over the weekend, so I headed for the Value Village on Eastern Avenue, a store that has yielded some pretty amazing finds over the years, including a California Pottery "gypsy girl" figurine, a St. John skirt, & this dress. The brand is Due per Due, which I'm only vaguely familiar with, & since a Web search turned up their site, but with collections from 2008 listed as current, I fear they may be out of business. This is 100% silk, lined, & set me back all of $4. Not only that, the red shoes in the print are almost identical to the Faryl Robins I'm wearing in this picture! I always enjoy sundress weather, but I do hope we get a bit of spring (70 degrees, please, not 50 & not 90) first. If anyone has info on Due per Due, please post, & thanks!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Miu Miu Harlequin Shoes
After our Bergdorf browse-a-thon (see post below), J & I had a delicious lunch at 3 Guys on Madison Avenue, then decided to check out some of the consignment shops in that area. He had warmed to the looks of the floral-trimmed pumps as I walked around in them, but their price tag still put them in the "no way!" category, so he was only too happy to point out the lovelies in this picture... also by Miu Miu & $80 at La Boutique (1045 Madison Avenue.)
While I was trying these on, we spoke to a very nice couple, around our age & stylishly dressed. The wife sighed when she saw these & said "I could never get away with those where we live!" That came as a surprise; I'd assumed they were from New York, & said so, which made her laugh as she'd thought the same about us. Turns out they hailed from North Carolina - I'm not sure which city or town, but apparently it's one where high fashion doesn't go over well. I'm only too familiar with that, having grown up in a small town in the era of acid wash jeans & overpriced Benetton rugby shirts, but preferring to copy outfits from old movies or the pages of Vogue.
When I moved to the east coast, I assumed most people would be familiar with fashion, even if they didn't care much about it or dress unusually themselves, but I still get a fair amount of snark for the way I look, & sadly, much of the negativity comes from other women. Actually, it seems to be getting worse. Are we living in ultra-conservative times, aesthetically speaking (don't get me started on politics!) or is my age the main reason for the dirty looks & occasional not-too-nice comment? Are "women of a certain age" really supposed to relegate ourselves to boxy business suits, Crocs & polar fleece, or $400 jeans & way too much Botox? Sigh. That's too depressing to contemplate, especially since today is my 41st birthday. I'll just keep flying my retro freak flag high & remembering all the smiles & kind remarks I get when we go to New York.
The Ones That Got Away... For Now
Greetings, readers; long time, no post. My apologies, but this has been a rough year in the Altocat household. Over the summer, J was let go from his job with no warning, so we had three anxious months of job-hunting, & during that time, we lost our beautiful, sweet, 16-year-old boy cat, Winston. Things have improved; J is once again employed, & we've adopted another furbaby, Fabrizio, who is a giant, 7-year-old kitten & loves to chase his older sister, Carmen. It just took me a long time to feel like writing again.
Very few things will inspire me to type away like fabulous design, & the shoes in this picture are among the most insanely gorgeous things I've seen in ages. I had the privilege of trying them on at Bergdorf's shoe sale last weekend, & even though J's initial reaction was "I really don't like those!", I fell in love. My most comfortable pair of heels is by Miu Miu, so there's more going on here than looks & a label. Alas, even at 30% off, their price tag was far too steep for our current budget, so I had to leave them behind, but am asking friends to keep an eye out for a truly super sale. They are haunting me - I've never had an actual dream about footwear, but these might inspire one - so I had to share this picture (from the Bergdorf Goodman website) with you.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Anthro Chorus Girl Romper
I don't think I've owned a pair of shorts in two decades - not even for working out. Most of the shorts I see in stores fall into two categories - they're either of "Daisy Duke"-esque length & cut for 16-year-olds with thighs the same circumference as their ankles or they're so boxy & matronly that they may as well carry a tag which reads "For When You've Given Up". Even Bermudas are hard to rock if you're 5'3", which I am. So, even though I live in in area where summer temperatures frequently top 90 degrees & the humidity reaches steam room levels, I have stayed true to my sundresses & lightweight skirts.
Occasionally, I'd watch an old movie that featured Broadway dancers - "42nd Street" or one of the "Gold Diggers" films - & become insanely jealous of the cute little rompers some of the girls would have on in the rehearsal scenes. I'd wonder why on Earth no one made shorts outfits like that nowadays. Well, at least for the moment, they do. Anthropologie has had some darling rompers this year & there are plenty of vintage ones on eBay as well. (Check out the one I'm wearing in the post below.) One of my online friends very sweetly RAOKd me the romper I'm wearing in this pic - thanks again, V!
How long will this trend stay around? As with most trends, that's anyone's guess, but I hope rompers will be with us for at least a year or two, & even if they go "out", I may well continue to wear them. I firmly believe that "dressing casually" & "giving up" are not synonymous, & outfits like this one are excellent proof of that. Oh, & they're comfy, too. Do you have a romper you're loving this summer? If so, where's it from?
Monday, July 12, 2010
Biker Chick
Talk about arriving in style! Okay, so I don't usually dress quite this well when I bike. I generally ride very early on weekend mornings, which means I leave the house in gym clothes & no makeup. I'm a tan-phobe, so I'd have to wear pretty serious SPF if I biked in the afternoon, & many drivers in this city are so completely clueless that I'd fear for my life if I tried to cycle in "real" traffic.
That said, I'm tempted to make my bike more than just a piece of workout equipment. I had to work early yesterday morning, all by myself, so I decided to try commuting on two wheels rather than four. (Since I was working solo, I felt free to arrive sweaty & disheveled, then "fix up" later.) I left the house 90 minutes before I was due at work; the ride, about seven miles, took just over one hour. Along the way, I encountered very few cars, but I did discover that there are more hills on my commute than I'd realized - whew! I loved the sense of connection that I suddenly had with the all-too-familiar streets & the buildings on them. All those cool houses I've admired for years looked even better with just air, not a car window, separating us.
So, did I ride home? Um... no. As I said, I'm a tan-phobe, & being of 100% Northern European ancestry, I can broil like a crab cake even with SPF 85. My husband picked me up after work; we put my bike in the back of his car & drove home. So much for being "green", but at least I got a good workout & had a very pleasant commute.
This morning, I went back to commuting by car, & as usual, the experience was pretty nasty. (How on Earth do some drivers manage to take up two full lanes with a Ford Focus...?) Even with a combustion engine at my disposal, I have to allow at least 30 minutes for my 7-mile drive to work, mostly due to stop lights & traffic. Once again, I considered leaving my car at home & biking to work on a regular basis, as two of my colleagues do. That's probably not realistic for me, but perhaps my husband & I can ride our bikes to local restaurants & summer festivals on weekend evenings. That way, we can burn off some of the food & wine we consume, connect with our hometown in a fun way, & save a little gas money. I don't agree with those who think that people who believe in climate change have to live "off the grid" to be true to their ideals; that's far too unrealistic. I feel that if we all made some small changes (& perhaps one or two big ones) the world would be much better off.
