Back to Basics

Back to Basics

uyguguygu   07.00   Comment  

It's easy to look polished when you have an arsenal of fitted blazers in your closet to arm yourself with. I chose this one in a lightweight wool from Brooks Brothers to wear over a fitted french cuffed shirt. When I was in college I'd buy french cuffed shirts from the men's department and put darts in them Katherine Hepburn style. Luckily, Brooks Brothers does the same thing so it's a whole lot less work to wear a french cuffed shirt these days.

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Both the blazer and shirt are by Brooks Brothers. Can you guess where the jeans are from? Yep...Madewell's Skinny Skinny! The shoes are old anthropologie. I switched the regular shoe laces out for some vintage ribbon I had sitting around because I wanted them to look a little less lumberjack and a little more...Marie Antoinette. The belt is from Calvin Klein.

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Bonus Photo: The outfit shoot location I chose happened to be near the venue for ComicCon here in Denver! As I was taking pictures The Avengers walked past me and I couldn't help but flag them down to be in a photo...

Junkyard Wonders

Junkyard Wonders

uyguguygu   06.00   Comment  

How many of you have ever read the book The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco? It's one of my favorite children's books. I had the pleasure of using the book in a reading unit I taught this year and the kids really loved this book in particular. The premise of the book comes from Patricia Polacco's own childhood and is about a little girl who ends up in a special education classroom with an exceptional teacher who was able to inspire the students to create and learn through creating.

I have to make a confession - until yesterday I've never been in a junkyard before but I've read about my fair share of them. Many of you who know us well know that my husband, J.R. is restoring a vintage Porsche and auto salvage yards have become his "thing" in this process. He found out a Porsche of a similar model had been dropped off and was there to be (for lack of a better term...) cannibalized. He wanted to head over straight after church and I wasn't opposed to going along to look around, having never been to one. I also bargained for a shopping trip to my favorite grocery store on that side of town and a trip to my favorite Indian Food Restaurant and he was more than happy to throw that in after inspecting the car at the salvage yard.

Clearly, my shoes were not very practical but I know why Kate Middleton wears L.K. Bennett frequently for appearances - this pair is made for walking! I liked how out of place I looked among the rows of cars and since I had my camera in my car and was able to get a few outfit photos there. The light was pretty much perfect - all those cars act like foil reflectors!

We didn't find the part for the Porsche we were looking for - someone had gotten their first and had taken the entire circuit system out but we were able to pull a few things for our primary car including a quarter panel to replace the dented one from an incident with a dear up in Estes Park many summers ago.

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I'm wearing the Pansy Corset Trench Coat by Anthropologie, which is no longer available but can be found on ebay using this search.  I'm also wearing Madewell Skinny Skinny jeans (like always...sorry...it's pretty much the only cut I wear right now), L.K. Bennett Sledge Pumps, and a Hurley T-Shirt I borrowed from my husband's closet (Similar color in a woman's cut here...on sale, too!). The belt is from Calvin Klein. 

Denim & Lace

Denim & Lace

uyguguygu   15.57   Comment  

I raid my husband's closet quite a bit - oversized and cosy sweaters, comfy lounging T-shirts, half of his cycling gear, and most recently this coveted Levi's Cycling Commuter Jacket. I first spotted this jacket from across the room at a party, and unlike anything I've ever experienced with a person, it was truly love at first sight. I made a beeline to the person wearing the jacket and started asking about it - there were little reflective tabs on it, back pockets, a vented back, longer than average sleeves, and all sorts of functional and beautiful details. If you know me I insist on everything being functional and beautiful in my life and this jacket easily met both criteria. I talked the jacket up so much he must have thought I was flirting with him. In reality, though, I was just flirting with the jacket. 

Not too long ago JR and I went to the Levi's store and I saw it, the coveted jacket, on sale for next to nothing. We bought one for JR. I've been "borrowing" the jacket wearing it once a week with various outfits ever since. 

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I'm wearing the Levi's Commuter Jacket over a brand-less lace dress purchased at Buffalo Exchange. The shoes are from Urban Outfitters so long ago they don't even sell then any more. I'm wearing the same two vintage turquoise cuffs and the Wild Horse Feather's equestrian themed bracelet as the last post. The necklace was purchased in Alaska this summer and made by an artist who's card and name I've sadly lost! 

Windows and Light

Windows and Light

uyguguygu   07.00   Comment  

I collect old windows. White ones, with wobbly, old glass that's become unsteady over the years. I have far too many and they have all been found in dumpsters from the frequent rebuilds a lot of the old houses have had around here. Denver is a city that is very much "out with the old, in with the new," particularly when it comes to architecture. It's very frequent to see an old house being torn down or gutted completely down to the supporting frame to put in a new house or rebuild the old one to the point where you have no idea when it was really built. I've been known to salvage little architectural details like windows from the dumpsters instead of letting them get tossed. 

I keep the windows gathered all in one spot up against a wall. Behind it I have Christmas lights I shoved behind them (this was the backdrop to our tree this year, and I liked the lights in back too much to take them out) and they illuminate our house warmly in the evenings. The windows give one of our enormous, blank walls some texture, and leave the wall open for me to photograph against because they are easily moved. Today I decided to use them as the backdrop they usually are, and add more textures in front of them - wool socks, a faux fur stole, and a white dress woven with pattern and trimmed with lace. 

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There's a whole lotta vintage going on in this picture - the stole, dress, and belt are all vintage. The shoes were purchased from Anthropologie several years ago, and the socks are smartwool and keep my feet toasty warm!