liebemarlene vintage

Maury County

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:05:00 +0000

It's funny how much more fun it is to visit my parents now that they live in Tennessee. Not that it wasn't before--I've always been a homebody and I've always loved to spend time with my family, but when they lived in the boring old Illinois town I was brought up in it wasn't half as much fun. But about two years ago they moved to Tennessee and it suddenly became one of my very favorite states to visit. Honestly, it's so pretty! Plus there's so much history around that we never have to drive far to discover something interesting.

We're especially lucky that my mom works at a local tourism center and knows a bunch about 19th century Maury County and has good Civil War-related tales and ghost stories. On Saturday she took us to a nearby town called Mount Pleasant for lunch, and after that we drove all around the country side looking at plantations. I had no idea there were so many around there. It's odd how they will just kind of pop up, a lot of times looking really out of place next to run-down country gas stations or random trailers. My mom pointed out a few that were owned by members of the Polk family, including an amazing one called Rattle and Snap. Well, it's not really open to the public so we couldn't get close enough to take a decent picture of it, but one of these days I'll try to sneak closer.

We did get to walk around the grounds of a nearby church called St. John's, which was built around the same time as Rattle and Snap, around the 1840s. It's not really in use anymore so it really had an eerie feeling about it, with its stone walls and iron gates and its little Victorian graveyard. There were some Confederate graves from some soldiers who died in the Battle of Franklin, and supposedly some soldiers passed through on their way to Franklin? Well, I need to read a lot more on it.

After that we went to see another plantation, Elm Springs. It also ended up being closed, but that just meant we could wander around the place on our own, though I was sad I didn't get the chance to visit a funny Southern gift shop! They're the best. But maybe a gift shop and tour guides would have sort of ruined the experience of walking about the grounds and seeing the tiny little family graveyard and trying to imagine what the place was like during the Civil War. My camera battery died before I could take all the photos I wanted to, so I'm sure I'll be going back.

Christmas in Tennessee

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:49:00 +0000

Photos by Drew (with magical new Christmas camera--more later!)

Skirt and shirt: thrift stores
Shoes: Chie Mihara knock-off d.i.y.
Necklace: '30s penguin cracker jack on a chain
Coat: Anthropologie birthday gift from Drew
Sparkly tights from Tabio

(If you want to know what Lauren's wearing, go to her blog!)

I forgot to do a Christmas Eve post yesterday, so here's a Christmas day one to make up for it! Drew and I drove to Tennessee yesterday and have been busy ever since with Christmas Eve cookie parties, early morning present opening, and playing with my niece and nephew and Lauren's new dog Bloom. And eating and drinking wine and spiked egg nog and watching Christmas movies like Christmas in Connecticut and It's a Wonderful Life and the '70s musical Scrooge, which is my dad's big favorite. It's been really lovely to spend so much time with my family and to have Drew here too.

When I was a kid it seems like Christmas was a lazier sort of a holiday . . . my sisters and I would open our presents bright and early and then would go off and play with our new toys 'till we had to eat, not bothering to change out of pajamas unless we had to. These days we're still lazy but we do dress up. Taking outfit photos today was lots more fun than usual since I had my sisters with me to be silly with and to loiter in front of strange houses with, all the while probably boring poor Drew with inside sister jokes and fashion talk. (Both Ashley and Lauren have over-the-knee boots already and look so cute in them that I might have to just give in to the trend and get a pair)

I didn't have a new dress to wear--instead I'm just wearing an old thrift store skirt and a half-sheer '90s one I got a week or two back. I kept it simple so that my new tights would stand out. They were another gift from Tabio, and are more sparkly than you can tell from these photos . . . perfect for Christmas day!

I was going to take a bit of time off of blogging, but I don't know now. Supposedly my mom and sisters and I are going to an old plantation for tea tomorrow afternoon, and after that my sisters and brothers-in-law and Drew and I are going to Nashville, so blog posts might be hard to avoid! I also want to show you some of the things I got for Christmas. Oh dear. Blog vacations might have to wait.

PS, don't you think my sister Ashley should start a blog? (she has an Etsy store!)

PPS, hope you all are having a lovely holiday month!

New this week . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:42:00 +0000

1. Grunge floral dress and cable knit cardigan . . . . . . . 2. 1970s peter pan collar dress

3. 1970s plaid smock dress and Dooney & Bourke bag. . . . . . . 4. Plaid shirt and faux leather skirt

5. Brown corduroy jumper . . . . . . . . . 6. 1970s cable knit sweater and 1960s plaid skirt

7. Laura Ashley wool mini dress . . . . . . . . . 8. 1970s peter pan blouse

9. Black velvet illusion dress . . . . . . . 10. 1970s velvet-trimmed plaid dress

11. Navy lace-trimmed day dress . . . . . . . . . . 12. Rothschild wool princess coat

13. 1970s white ruffle dress . . . . . . . . . . . . 14. 1960s navy lace dress

Holiday knitting projects . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:35:00 +0000

Do you remember those Barbara Prime knitting patterns I was talking about wanting to make for my niece and nephew for Christmas? I finally finished the squirrel and the lamb, just in time for my trip to Tennessee. I thought I'd be sick of knitting by now but I think I may have caught the bug again . . . it's funny how that will come and go. Most of the time I'm too lazy for knitting, but these days there's nothing better than knitting while watching TCM--the other night I re-watched Remember the Night and just about cried--why is Barbara Stanwyck so perfect in holiday films? I think that the Christmas season just makes me a little bit more corny and wholesome. And it's been so weirdly cold for Atlanta that I'm finding out the hard way that I don't really have a good scarf or gloves or hat to wear out.

The problem is that I don't really know where to look for patterns these days! For the longest time I'd only make things from really old knitting pattern books--mostly '30s and '40s stuff. I thought that all the new patterns out today were pretty awful--well, maybe not awful, but it was just about impossible to find a pattern for a good, simple sweater that wasn't junked up by criss-crossing cables or funny lacey edging or showy sleeves. I couldn't find a knitting blog I liked for the life of me.

I have a feeling that it's a little different these days, that maybe there are other knitters who are on the same wavelength. I came across this blog the other day and got super inspired by it. Do any of you know of a great knitting blog to recommend? Or maybe one of your own!

Photo from Copenhagen Street Style . . . . . Toast Shetland Pullover . . . . . I can't remember where I found this picture, but here are some patterns that are extra close.

Anyhow the idea of spending a few lazy days with my family for the holiday without any knitting project to work on kind of makes me antsy so I already have the yarn bought for a big grey cowl scarf. I first saw the photo above on Fieldguided (another blog that's been really inspiring me lately!) and thought the girl was wearing a cowl, but now that I look at it again I think it's really just a big old scarf. Oh well.

Sweaters end up taking me a long time to make, but I'd love to get around to making the super simple, soft-wool one I'm always crossing my fingers I'll find in a thrift store. Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to make it in any color you wanted? Maybe even with stripes? Of course extra simple patterns are so hard to find. I may have to just dig around my vintage '60s ones I have somewhere.

But before I get to that I think I should finish a sweater I started knitting for Drew's dog Rufus. Well, the one I was making was ugly, and Rufus is extra cute so I think maybe I should maybe find a pattern to make a better-looking sweater like the one above. He's so tiny that it will probably take me two days!

New Year's Dream Dresses

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:12:00 +0000

A photo from tba's Spring 2010 collection (stolen from this amazing post on Mademoiselle Robot) . . . . A look from Chelsea Rebelle's Spring 2010 collection.

The other night The Apartment was on TV, and it was the scene where it's New Year's Eve in a crowded restaurant, and Shirley Maclaine was dressed up in her sparkly, off-shoulder dress and streamers were flying through the air and everybody was singing, and we said, New Year's isn't like it used to be! It's such a fantasy sort of holiday for me--it's almost more fun to plan for it and to pretend-shop for fancy dresses to pretend-wear than it is to actually live it. Not that it isn't fun. Last year we shot fireworks off of a roof and I tore holes up my sheer heart tights while climbing down the ladder. I wore a black and white dress from the '60s that really isn't all that different from the black and white Jonathan Logan dress I'll be wearing this year.

Left to right: D&G dress (I don't usually like D&G but this is like a '30s Ruby Keeler dress that you don't even have to cut short!) . . . . . Duskin Party dress . . . . . . Marc by Marc Jacobs heart dress.

I'm actually really excited about the dress I'll be wearing, but that doesn't stop me from pretend-shopping for a fancier one. My absolute dream dresses are just about any of the ones from Erin Fetherston's Fall collection, which was maybe my favorite of hers. It's all so fancy and so impractical unless you're a pretty little starlet with lots of premieres to attend, but that's what I like about it. The dresses are too fancy even for New Year's Eve--or at least New Year's in Atlanta. If I wore that little silvery tulle thing to the Clermont Lounge I'd get laughed out of the place, so I guess it's good I'll never own it or anything like it. The dresses at the top are a bit more practical, and that tba one especially is just as pretty and makes me wish I had something pale pink to wear for New Year's instead of the traditional (for me, at least) black and white. But I do like my dress and I can't wait to do a post on it!

Some looks from Erin Fetherston Fall 09

Argyle and glasses

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:17:00 +0000

Photos by Drew

1960s dress: Kinfauns on Etsy
Coat and purse: thrift store
Glasses: Ebay (via Drew)
Shoes: Seychelles
Tights: Tabio

When I was in New York I remember seeing a girl with a grey vintage coat, braided hair, and green argyle tights, and I had a moment of style envy and wished like anything that I could pull off a pair of argyle tights. I even almost bought a pair of plaid tights in Uniqlo, but I got too scared in the end. So when Tabio offered to send me a pair I couldn't say no.

So here's the outfit I came up with to pair them with. It's not one-half as good as the girl in New York's, but then I'm still sort of timid about argyle tights-wearing, so I kept it simple with my thrift store grey coat, boots, the purse that I always carry, and a wonderfully A.P.C.-ish smock dress I bought off of Etsy that you can't see since I was too much of a baby to take off my coat. It was in the 30s, which is a big deal for Atlanta!

I also wore the glasses I almost forgot I had. Drew found them off Ebay a few years back and I got my prescription in them, wore them a few times, and then banished them away to some messy drawer. Seeing pictures of me wearing them makes me want to throw them back in the drawer, but at least my eyes got a rest from my contacts for a few lazy weekend days!

Shop stuff . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:50:00 +0000

No store update this week--I won't be home next week to ship things out so I took the week off of listing. Instead of taking pictures and writing up cheesy descriptions I went to thrift stores all week long, so I think that there'll be some extra good things up next week. Oh, and the next batch will be going up and ending on a Wednesday, just so the ending date doesn't mess with everyone's New Year's Eve festivities. But after that it will be back to the usual Thursday listings!

Just so you know I'll be out of town for the last part of next week, so items paid for after Wednesday morning won't be shipped out 'till the next week. And if you'd like to select a faster shipping service so your dresses/sweaters/things get there by Christmas just let me know!

Back to the new stuff . . . in a way I'm sad I didn't get to photograph the rest of it because I really do like it. There's a definite theme going on, I think . . . lots of navy, lots of plaid . . . An A.P.C.-ish plaid blouse/leather skirt, another simple wool sweater, a Laura Ashley plaid wool dress, and of course that cabled cardigan above that reminds me so much of The Edge of Love that I'm tempted to keep it.

Blue Christmas

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:15:00 +0000

I have my New Year's Dress bought already, but I couldn't really think of what I wanted to wear to Christmas this year. First of all I don't think I've ever bought a real Christmas dress as an adult. My mom always took us Christmas dress shopping when we were kids, and I have wonderful memories of wearing frilly velvet things to school recitals and church concerts and to boring things like The Nutcracker. When I got older I didn't really see the need to buy a dress just for the holidays . . . especially since Christmas itself is usually such a lazy sort of holiday, not really a dress-up one, unless you have holiday work parties or if someone makes you go see The Nutcracker.

But this year I've been wanting to find a dress to wear, and when I found this Marc by Marc Jacobs dress on accident at Neiman Marcus I figured it would be my Christmas dress, even though it's blue and not particularly holiday-ish. But I kind of like blue for Christmas right now. . . It's definitely prettier than black, and while for New Year's I'm satisfied with black and white, for Christmas I like something different. Plus, you can get away with extra cutesy-ness on Christmas. I don't know if that's true or if I just made it up, but it seems like it should be true.

Anyway I didn't end up buying that dress, even though it was on super sale. Drew said it reminded him of that little pale blue dress I bought on Etsy, and I had to agree with him. It would be a silly waste of money. So I won't be wearing it to open Christmas presents and eat cinnamon rolls and Frango Mints after all, but I did a little pretend shopping to find dresses that would be lots better anyway:

1. Built By Wendy Weekend Wool Ruffle Dress: In college I used to be into sweater dresses that were super bright and '80s, and I wore them so much that I didn't want to see another sweater dress for years afterwards. But now I kind of want one--even an '80s one wouldn't be so bad, provided it was somewhat subtle and in a good, non-bright color. But do you know what would be so much better? A simple sweater dress from Built By Wendy.

2. and 3: Dresses from tba: I found out about this label on Mademoiselle Robot, which come to think of it is where I find out about lots of tempting, out-of-reach European brands! I wonder why it is that Urban Outfitters UK is so much more magical then the one we have here?

4. Anthropologie Belle-of-the-Ball Dress: Every time I go to Anthropologie (which has been about once weekly lately!) I see this dress and get tempted to try it on, but something about it scares me. I think I'd look scary in it so I just take something else to the dressing room instead. Maybe I should give it another try, though. I'd feel naked in it worn alone, but with a black cardigan it would be a great dress to wear to Christmas dinner.

5. Charles Anastase Big Dot Dress: I always love it when Charles Anastase dresses show up on Opening Ceremony's website because they're so much fun compared to everything else on the site (not that everything else isn't pretty great). The model always looks happy rather than moody or mean-faced, and she sort of makes me feel that if I bought a Charles Anastase coat or dress I'd be smiling non-stop too. Well, I probably would!

Now I guess this post is kind of anti-climactic, because I have to say that the outfit I'm wearing for Christmas isn't going to be blue. It's not even going to be a dress! For my fantasy Christmas I'd be wearing Charles Anastase, but to my real life one I think I'm going to end up wearing a skirt and blouse I found at the thrift store today. But honestly I'm so excited for Christmas that what I wear hardly is going to matter at all. Sort of.

Charm necklaces and '30s Cracker Jacks

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:53:00 +0000

I don't do too much writing about jewelry on here, I know. I don't think I'm a big jewelry person--I never got my ears pierced 'till I was 25, and then only wore earrings for a couple years before I got bored. Bracelets don't like to stay on my wrists too well, and rings always end up either getting on my nerves or getting lost behind the dresser. For some reason necklaces are different, though. The best of them--the simple, plain jane non-statement piece ones--are easy to put on and go with just about any sort of outfit without junking it up or clashing funny. Well, I guess I used to like bigger and more flashy necklaces, but these days I like the simple charm necklaces best. I like chains in different lengths that you can mix and match a la Alexa Chung (sorry I mention her so often--she's just an inspiration!).

But those sorts of necklaces are weirdly hard to find. You can't really find a good one at Urban Outfitters or Top Shop that doesn't have some kind of corny bit thrown on--maybe a flying bird or double chain or--worst of all!--one chain with different sized links that just don't go well together. Do you know who has some good ones? Erica Weiner. I swear I'll buy one of her necklaces one day, but for now I'm doing searches for cheap vintage charm necklaces on Etsy, which ends up taking forever, but there are some pretty great ones on there. So far I've bought two: the little rhinestone necklace on the right, just because I didn't have any smaller, daintier necklaces; and the Catholic medal necklace. I'm reading this book and I'm kind of wanting to convert. (don't get mad, Becky!)

(sorry for the blurry photo! I have shaky hands!)

But I think that my favorite of my new necklaces has to be the penguin one, and it's not really new at all since it was a d.i.y. project (if you could call it that!) making use of a cutesy old necklace I never wore. I tore off the cutesy charm and exchanged it for the equally cutesy (only better) charm that I bought at an Illinois antique store years ago. The ladies who worked there were nice but they were always making fun of me for the strange things I'd buy . . . mainly fur headbands and '20s photos and bakelite bangles that probably fell off and got lost in a cornfield somewhere. When I saw their big collection of old celluloid charms from 1930s cracker jack boxes I had to buy a couple, even if I had no use for them at the time. I was obsessed with the '30s and couldn't really resist them. So I kept them hidden away in a little celluloid box my mom gave me, and they somehow made it through two moves, and now that I've discovered them again I'm tempted to buy a long skinny chain for every charm.

Piedmont Park

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:36:00 +0000

Photos by Drew!

Jacket, cut-offs, and purse: thrift stores

'70s tuxedo blouse: birthday gift from Lauren and Neil

Necklace: antique store

Hair bow: belt from a '30s dress

Tights: Target

Shoes: Dolce Vita

Here, finally, is a menswear inspired outfit! In the posts I did about tomboy looks last week I did a bunch of whining and worrying about my inability to put together a tomboy look that would still feel like me, but a bunch of you left good, sensible comments about it, telling me to just throw girly elements into the mix. So I wore my little boy's trench coat with the tuxedo blouse that my sister and her husband gave me for my birthday, and topped it off with un-tomboy-ish shoes and a bow in my hair.

Oh, and I wore cut-offs! Cut-offs and tights make up the sort of combination I never would have imagined getting into before this year, but girls like Alexa Chung and The Cherry Blossom Girl have done the just-about-impossible and have made them pretty rather than tough, and more chic than rebellious. So this outfit owes a ton to the both of them.

Piedmont Park's another type of place that we for some reason only go to when it's just about too cold to enjoy it. On Saturday morning we walked a loop around the park, took photos, and left as soon as it started to rain and as soon as our fingers got too cold to function. But it's really a wonderful place. According to Wikipedia it's the Central Park of Atlanta, with its winding pathways and castle-ish stairs and random lakes. There are always lots of people there, usually doing un-romantic things like playing sports games and walking their dogs in the dog park, but in the past I think it must have been really beautiful. When I'm there I like to see the monument on the spot where the Cotton States and International Exhibition took place and then try to imagine the place back in 1895, with Booker T. Washington speaking and Buffalo Bill holding his crazy old Wild West Show. It's pretty amazing to think about!

Counting down 'till Christmas . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:49:00 +0000

I never got around to doing a Saturday post this weekend--it was just too busy, with all our Christmas-preparing and December things to do. Since it was supposed to rain all weekend we got up early yesterday to take some outfit photos (those will be up tomorrow!), but then it turned out to be not quite so rainy as weather.com said it would be. Well, it might have rained a little yesterday afternoon--we spent it inside the dance club mall again to buy up the last of our Christmas presents. It was wonderfully busy. Just about impossible to get into or to find a parking spot, but Drew said he likes it when the mall is busy like that, and I think I have to agree, even if it does make shopping a little bit nerve-wracking. At least it keeps me from buying things for myself that I shouldn't.

Little Rufus making his debut in Cupcake magazine . . .

So I did lots of pretend online shopping when we got back. And then I found out that this online magazine called Cupcake is up and running and I got extra excited. If you haven't seen it yet you should check it out! It has a pretty layout and features with some really good artists and photographers. And I have an interview in there too, with some extra rambly answers, and a photo of me and Rufus from last Christmas!

Last night we did un-Christmasy things like go to an art show that Drew was in, and it was so cold that it felt like I was back in Illinois in December. Except instead of Illinois snow we got depressing old rain and weird foggy skies that stuck around 'till the next day.

We were crossing our fingers that it would snow today when we went to buy a Christmas tree. It didn't, but at least it was cold enough to be sort of festive. I wore the dress in my shop just because it's too good not to wear out Christmas tree-buying and tree-trimming at Drew's house, with the seasonal classics station on! Except we didn't finish putting ornaments on the tree yet because we went to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox instead. It was terrific, and I'm not just saying that because Jarvis Cocker was in it. It was the perfect ending to a great weekend, and I can't even really get too sad about its being over because it just means that Christmas will be here sooner!

New this week . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:56:00 +0000

Lots of things I'm excited about this week, from menswear tweeds and cardigans to a fox motif sweater that I'm extra tempted to keep (but I won't). And that '60s d.i.y. version of the See By Chloe dress is in there too!--I finished it, but when I put it on I looked more Wednesday Addams than Alexa Chung or Tennessee Thomas. Oh well, better luck next time.

PS, exciting shop shout-out! Thanks a million, Jennifer Romolini!

PPS, sorry for the runs in my tights.

1. 1970s fur-trimmed leather jacket . . . . . . .. 2. 1960s corduroy day dress

3. Rose print corduroy mini dress . . . . . . . . 4. 1970s calico cotton dress

5. Wool fox knit sweater and navy wool shorts . . . . . . . 6. 1970s tweed jacket and corduroy mini skirt

7. Laura Ashley wool jumper . . . . . . . . . 8. 1970s mustard cardigan and floral mini skirt

9. Denim mini smock dress . . . . . . . 10. Nautical black and white dress

11. Sheer blue ascot dress . . . . . . . 12. 1970s burgundy dolly dress

13. 1960s black velvet mini dress . . . . . . 14. Red mini dress with pearls

Wendy Bevan's '70s looks . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:33:00 +0000

Here's a complete turnaround from yesterday's post; I was actually getting a bunch of photos ready to do a '60s inspiration post when for some reason I got some paranormal urge to check Wendy Bevan's facebook page, where I found her new (eh, last month-ish--well, I really don't know when) editorial for The Independent and decided to post it instead. Isn't it lovely? And so very 1970s? I'm not usually drawn to that decade, even though I love a lot of the clothes that came out of it and still wish that a lot of the soft perms would come back into style so I wouldn't get teased by family members for getting one. And I have an extra fondness for the '70s since it was really my mom's decade, the one she grew up in and learned to love clothes in. I like hearing her describe outfits she'd buy at the mall in Dubuque, Iowa. And I wish she would have held onto them, even though I bet you anything they'd look funny on me. All those earth tones! And laid-back bohemian-ish things that look amazing on some girls but would look so costumey on me.

Oh well--these photos make me want to try '70s looks anyway. I already have that floppy hat from Urban Outfitters and few '70s long sweaters that I usually only end up wearing in my apartment. Now all I need is an overgrown field and a big head of curls; how on earth do they do that?

Winter pastels and pretty things from down under

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:52:00 +0000

Lonely Hearts sweater . . . . . . Vivetta Tonia dress . . . .Karla Spetic Lux dress.

Remember how I spent most of last week blogging about how I wanted to start dressing a little less girly and how I wanted to start wearing tweed blazers and corduroy and other tomboy things like (maybe!) pants? And then how I followed it all up with an outfit post that was about as un-tomboy as you can get, complete with frilly dress, sequins, and the color pink? I just can't seem to make up my mind-- at the moment I'm kind of stuck in the middle somewhere between girly and tomboy, cutesy and tough. I keep checking Shopstyle.com for A.P.C. dresses on sale, and I bought a tweed blazer today at the thrift shop. But then there's another part of me that's only drawn to the frilly and that wants to buy up little tulle holiday dresses that I don't really need.

So until I can make up my mind I'm limiting my online shopping to fantasy shopping, and the Australian shop Maximillia is about as fantasy as you can get. It's full of little fairytale-ish dresses and lots of pretty things, not all of them Australian, but all unashamedly girly. Lots of lace and tulle, pastels and bows, and leaning-more-on-the-pretty-than-tough-side labels like Vivetta, Lonely Hearts, and Sretsis.

They also carry a label called Ruby that I just found out about yesterday. I know nothing about it other than the fact that it's based out of New Zealand and that it looks to be an in-store label. But I'm definitely into the softness of the collection, the vintage-esque styling with the tweed blazers and cardigans . . . But I think I like the color scheme most of all. Well, that and the bows and sequins!

Ruby Boutique Autumn 2010 Collection

Birthday coat (and dress, part two!)

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:05:00 +0000

Photos by Drew!

Anthropologie coat: birthday gift from Drew
1960s rhinestone bow dress: estate sale
Polka dot tights: Tabio
Purse: thrift store
Boots: Seychelles
Sequin headband: gift from my mom
Sequin gloves: gift from Drew's mom

It was such a busy weekend that I forgot to write a blog post! Which was just fine with me . . . last week I was sick and trapped in my apartment all week, so by Friday once I started to feel better I was anxious to get out. We did lots of low-key things like go get sushi, go to the monthly antiques/vintage clothing market (no luck!), go to this wonderful new bakery in town. And then we went to the dance club mall yesterday because I was so behind with Christmas present shopping that I got nervous whenever I even heard a Christmas carol come on the radio. I'm just awful in busy, crowded places, though. In the end I decided to do all my shopping online, and I'm actually just about finished, which is nice. It makes me excited for Christmas again!

Yesterday night we had a dinner party, so the only place we really went to was Whole Foods to go shopping. But we did get to sneak in a blog photo shoot at Oakland Cemetery, which apparently we took blog photos at one year ago today! Strange. Something about the place just works for sort of holiday-themed photos . . . I think it's the Victorian feel of it, plus those magnolia trees and the newer graves with red velvet bows tied on them . . . it's strangely cheerful, which explains the extra goofy photos this time around. Plus I was excited to take pictures of the coat I got for my birthday from Drew . . . it's that Anthropologie one that was on my wishlist before, and it's even better than I imagined it would be. It makes every outfit look better and more glamorous, and it makes me want to wear black more often! (Why don't I?)

And here's that pink '60s dress I found at an estate sale, too. Does it fit me that well? Not really, but the length is so great, and the color's so perfect that I don't even mind that much. Maybe I'll get it to a tailor eventually, but right now I'm finding that it's the perfect holiday dress.

New this week . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:32:00 +0000

1. 1970s blue mini dress . . . . . . . . . . 2. Blue peter pan mini dress

3. 1960s gingham dress and '60s cardigan . . . . . . 4. Red princess coat

5. Black nautical mini dress . . . . . . 6. Laura Ashley plaid wool dress

7. 1970s gold print dress . . . . . . . 8. 1970s cropped sweater and mini skirt

9. 1990s green party dress . . . . . . . . 10. 1960s velvet bow dress

11. Green velvet skirt, 1960s blouse, and Aquascutum tweed blazer . . .. 12. 1990s black velvet dress

13. 1950s white eyelet day dress . . . . . . 14. 1960s black wool dress

Tomboy (mostly) thrift store finds

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:17:00 +0000

Lately most of the things I've been buying for my closet have been from thrift stores, and most of those are sort of happy accidents--things I mean to buy for the store that I put on and just can't part with. Don't you especially love it when a pair of shoes or style of coat or something you've been searching all the online stores for ends up popping up in the thrift store, for a tiny fraction of the U.O./Anthro/Topshop price? Or when you find something at the thrift store that's bordering on ugly and wonderful and you're not even all that sure it will work, but it ends up being a wardrobe staple for years and years? I'm crossing my fingers that will happen with all of these . . .

1. '80s Tweed coat: This was my favorite coat to wear 'till Drew got me the black coat for my birthday (more pictures coming soon, I think!), just because it's so different for me. It's kind of shapeless and a bit '80s minimalist, and when I first saw it in a thrift store I left it behind because I wasn't too sure about it and because it was sort of expensive (for a thrift store). Then a few days later I went to New York and really wished I had that little '80s coat to wear, just because it was so much less cutesy than the Manoush one I did bring. I love that Manoush coat to bits, but being in New York always makes me feel extra self-conscious about being cutesy. When I'm there I want to look a little tough and not too Southern.

So the next time I visited the thrift store back home I went straight to the coat rack and snapped up the coat. And it was half-off day too! I wore it a few days only to have the inner lining rip completely out, but I just took that as a sign that it was meant for my closet rather than the store!

2. Navy trench coat: I found this yesterday for the store, but got it home and decided to keep it for a bit. Does anyone else have trouble finding a perfect trench coat? I've been looking all over--I search online and I try on tons of (always too long!) trenches at the thrift stores, and at the dance club mall I drag Drew into kind of boring stores like J. Crew and The Gap. Well, I always find things at those stores online that I love, but for some reason the stores themselves are always downers. I think that it might be the music they play. My ideal trench is the traditional light tan color, kind of short, but long enough to cover the hems of short dresses and skirts--it is maybe like this one, only a little bit longer and a lot cheaper. It's definitely not like this blue one I found. But right now this is the closest I can find, and I do love the shape of it, and the fact that it's not as thick as most of my coats. It will be good for abnormally warm Atlanta winter days.

3. '70s paisley shirt: One thing I realized this Fall is that I had only one or two button-up, kind of menswear-ish shirts, so when I found this one in a thrift store I knew I had to keep it. It looks boring, but it has a great shape, honest! A few weeks back I think I wore it three days in a row.

4. Black oxfords: I looked all over for a pair like this and was just about to buy a new pair of oxfords that were sort of expensive and not exactly what I was looking for when I found these on Ebay, for about one-third the price. I don't know what I did before I had shoes like these! I'm usually self-conscious in flats, but not these . . . they have a way of making outfits look a bit more pulled-together somehow and they make dresses and even cutesy coats look fairly tomboy.

Inspiration: Tomboy Style!

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:27:00 +0000

Photo from Teen Vogue, via The Fashion Spot.

Remember how a few weeks ago I wore a sort of tomboy outfit and went on about how I was inspired by menswear style, only to go straight back to talking about and wearing frilly, girly dresses? I hate how fickle my style is . . . I'd love to be able to pick a look and stick with it, but no matter. It's fun to wear a frilly dress one day and a tweed blazer the next, and--who knows--maybe one day a pair of pants? I still have to get around to putting together a decent outfit with the pair I bought a few weeks ago.

So I think I'll just keep on taking those baby steps towards wearing full-on menswear. Things like bowties and oxford shoes aren't so scary when you can wear them with little corduroy skirts and simple dresses (who else keeps stalking the A.P.C. website for the sales?). And right now I'm kicking myself for leaving behind a perfect little tweed blazer in a thrift store today, especially whenever I look at that last street style shot below.

1. Anthropologie Cabled Cardigan . . . . . 2. U.O. Lark & Wolff Corduroy Skirt . . . . 3. Monki pants . . . . 4. U.O. wingtips . . . . 5. Mini Market bowtie . . . . 6. A.P.C. NY Bag

Photo from Copenhagen Street Style . . . . . . . . . . Photo from The Streethearts

Orton Plantation (and my birthday dress!)

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:57:00 +0000

Photos by Drew (thanks a million!!)

Dress: 1385
'90s blouse and purse: thrift stores
Tights: Target
Shoes: Dolce Vita

Before we left for North Carolina one of Drew's friends told us that we needed to go see Orton Plantation, so we got up extra early yesterday to make a stop there before heading back to Atlanta, and I put on my birthday dress for some blog photos. Oh dear, it was early, and we were both kind of out of it, but it was hard not to get excited as we pulled into the long path that led to the place, completely surrounded by great big, Spanish-moss covered trees. After you pass the avenue of trees you suddenly find yourself on a tiny road with jungle-like marshes on each side--signs tell you to stay in your car for your safety! Drew told me it was because of the alligators, and I didn't really believe him at first, but I think it's true. We felt like we were in Florida again.

The plantation itself is a strange sort of place--beautiful, and a little bit unexpected. The main part of the house was built in the 1700s, with additions built on later in the 1800s and early 1900s, and it really looks like a traditional antebellum plantation . . . big and white, with great big columns and gardens everywhere. It looks like the kind of place you'd find in the Georgia countryside, only when you reach the end of the carefully laid out garden paths you start to feel like you're in the jungle again, and the palm trees and marshes and sandy paths would definitely be out of place in the plantations here around Atlanta. Also I don't think I've seen plantations quite so old around here . . . It was fascinating to read a little bit about the history of Orton, to see the little Colonial graveyard, or the centuries-old rice fields that look out onto the water. Mostly I think it just makes me want to do some more North Carolina exploring.

Greetings from North Carolina!

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Thanks for all your holiday and birthday well-wishing! I ended up having a terrific time at Drew's family's house at their house in North Carolina, though unlike our Christmas here last year it was actually cold this time! Seriously, most of my family was in Northern Illinois (Galena!) for Thanksgiving, and I don't think it was all that much colder there! Well, maybe a little. It was lots of fun. We ate lots of desserts (pumpkin pie and cheesecake and these amazing birthday cupcakes) and drank eggnog-spiked coffee and rum-spiked eggnog, and then tonight we watched a parade of boats lit up with Christmas lights! I wore the coat Drew got me for my birthday--well, I'll show better pictures of it later, along with my birthday dress. Hope you all had a lovely holiday/weekend!

New this week . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:09:00 +0000

1. 1960s Anne Fogarty wiggle dress . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 1960s red velvet dress

3. 1960s pink bow party dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. 1960s yellow lace mini dress

5. 1960s green wool jumper . . . . . . . . . 6. Cream lace blouse, grey pleated skirt, and Bruno Magli heels

7. 1960s white lace trimmed dress . . . . . . . . . 8. 1930s reworked mini dress

Thanksgiving (and stuff)

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:49:00 +0000

Today I'm sort of tired and under the weather, and it's my (real!) birthday eve, so I'm going to be lazy and take a break from thinking up blog posts and put up this portrait instead. Isn't it lovely? It's by Emily Harper, who has a great blog full of whimsical little illustrations and pretty things. Emily said she tried to make this portrait like a silent film star one which just makes me like it even more . . . Portraits that make you look better than you are in real life are the nicest. Plus this one makes me want to track down a navy flower headband.

I'm going to be in North Carolina for Thanksgiving, so I don't know how much I'll be posting over the next few days. But auctions are ending tomorrow night like usual, and there'll be a small (but good!) update, too. And I'm sure I'll get around to taking pictures of my birthday dress! I hope all of you here in the US have a great Thanksgiving and that all of you meat-eaters eat extra turkey for me (I kind of miss it). I think I'll just eat extra chocolate instead.

A forest through the trees . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Photos from Church & State's Fall 09 Collection, A Forest Through the Trees

The Portland label Church & State always makes me think of Elizabeth Hawes, for some reason. I think that it's because the clothes they design are always the good, simple American clothes that Elizabeth Hawes was always talking up in her books. They're pretty clothes that don't try to be anything they're not . . . they look perfectly at home in the forest and oceanside settings they get photographed in, and I can definitely picture them on the cute girls of magical Portland as they ride their bikes around town and visit flea markets and go to concerts and do all of the magical Portland things there are to do. (I'm jealous!)

November things . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:17:00 +0000

Pictures by Drew

'50s blouse: Ebay

Wool shorts and Dooney and Bourke bag: Etsy

Shoes and jacket: thrift stores

Hat: Urban Outfitters

We spent this weekend doing holiday sorts of things like celebrating late November birthdays and scrambling to get gifts bought and things ready for the Thanksgiving trip we're taking Wednesday. I always forget how tiring this time of year is . . . it makes me extra lazy and sort of useless. I ended up breaking my estate sale-visiting streak by sleeping in both days this weekend, but it was a birthday weekend so I kind of let myself be lazy. My real birthday's on Thanksgiving, but I don't think birthdays that fall on holidays really count. So on my new birthday (really, Scarlet's birthday--November 20th!) Drew and I went to this wonderful dessert and coffee place in town called Cafe Intermezzo (Lauren, that's where we went with you and Neil!) and had oreo cheesecake that tasted like Kinder Eggs. I wore my Zooey Deschanel goes to a premiere dress, and then I also wore it last night to our friend's birthday party, oh dear.

This is the outfit I wore during the day yesterday, before it got cold and rainy and before I needed to dig out my winter coat. It's kind of my half-hearted attempt at menswear-inspired style . . . Lately I've been wanting to wear more tailored looks and more blazers and things, but I'm way too scared to go all out and wear pants and heel-less shoes. I just don't feel like myself in them! So wearing shorts over tights is a baby step for me. Silly, I know, but do you ever feel like you've pigeon-holed yourself into a fashion corner and you just have to stay there? There are always a bunch of things I want to change up about my style, and I guess right now it's the mandatory-dress-wearing/cutesy-ness of it!

Today it was cold and back to winter coats and long-sleeved dresses. We braved the dance club mall to go gift-shopping, and as busy as the place was it did manage to make me excited about the holidays. I can't wait to take off Wednesday for Thanksgiving with Drew's family, and then I can't wait for Christmas in Tennessee with my family--I want to see Lauren's new puppy! Plus I get excited about the little things, like putting up a Christmas tree and drinking (spiked!) eggnog, and baking cookies and eating way too many of them. Tonight I'm going to bake a pumpkin cheesecake. And maybe watch Silent Sunday!

Estate sale dresses . . .

rhiannonleifheit@gmail.com (Rhiannon) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:56:00 +0000

Before this week I hadn't gone to an estate sale in a while just because they're sort of nerve-wracking events. For one thing they're hard to wake up for, especially when you know you have to deal with Atlanta traffic (the worst!) and maybe even worse, pushy fellow estate sale shoppers And once you manage to push your way to the clothes closet you're probably 78% likely to find it stuffed with '80s power suits and '70s maxi dresses.

But this week I didn't have a good enough excuse not to go to the two I found, so I went, and I actually found a couple things! And it wasn't bad! They were probably the most pleasant sales I've been to in a long time . . . . the other shoppers were nice and had smiles on their faces, and one of the sale had a big rack of '40s dresses, even if they did turn out to be kind of expensive and not my size. So instead I found a '50s eyelet dress, a '60s white lace-trimmed dress, and a '60s party dress that I just might keep. I wore it last night when we had a celebration for Scarlet's birthday and an early one for mine (I think I'm changing my birthday to the 20th this year in honor of her!), also I think I might wear it tonight, too. It doesn't fit me the best up top (those '50s and early '60s dresses never do!) but it's so pretty that I kind of don't even care. I think it reminds me of a Zooey Deschanel-goes-to-a-premiere dress.