october round-up bargains

Walking by a good vintage store with huge signs saying 50% off everything, is very difficult, not to say impossible. So I didn't, I went inside Emmaus last Wednesday. I had in mind that I wanted to get a new 60's nightgown, and I found a perfect ice blue one immediately. 50 kronor, thank you very much.



I already have a few of these, cos they're like candy, and I love them. Not only are they super cute, but also very soft and comfy. This one turned out to be very warm though, so it'll be perfect when winter's here for real. We had a short snow scare the other week, and it's not supposed to snow in October, really. Fortunately it melted almost straight away, and this week it's been milder and just as autumn should be. Crisp and clear skies showing off the last remaining colours clinging to the trees.



I also found a couple of polyester dresses that only cost 30 kronor each, so I took my chances with them without trying them on (I was out during my lunch break). After buying vintage dresses for about 15 years, at least, I'm pretty good at knowing what works, and what doesn't. First, I saw this cute gold flower, like a built-in-brooch.



The rest of the dress wasn't too bad looking either, I'm guessing it's from the 80's, although a bit plain. But plain makes the best base and I already had something in mind.



I thought this belt would go perfectly with the dress, and I was right. It looks great! And the dress is a perfect fit too, so I'm very happy with that bargain.



The other dress was more of a long shot, because I knew the 70's shape wouldn't work. But there was something about it that I liked, and for 30 kronor it's no biggie if it becomes a project I don't take on for a while. I need to figure it out for a while, what would be the best solution.



I like the details around the neck, but the sleeves are way too big, as is the rest of the dress. It's in very good condition though, and I love the colour, so I have faith in it's makeover. Whether I keep it as a dress, shorten the sleeves, tighten the sides, or make a 2-piece instead. I'll keep you posted on the progress.



Another project that's been waiting for my attention I finally got around to today, and I'm very happy with the result. It's the maroon 60's dress with the beautiful purple lining, that had a bit too pointy collar wings for my taste, and also the neck was a bit too big. I wasn't sure how to alter it when I started, but in the end it came out like a polo neck, with a peep hole, which I think works quite well with the dress as a whole. I've put tiny hidden buttons on the inside of the collar, otherwise it'll be a bit difficult to put on.

Hope you all had a good week, and a good October, as it ends today. Happy Halloween!

particularly pretty penguins pt. 4

I've been feeling a bit green lately, but haven't done much about it. When I say green I don't mean the fact that I'm a vegetarian, or that I try to be environmentally friendly as much as I can, or that I'm envious of someone, I mean the colour green. That I want to dress in green, and surround myself with green stuff, which I haven't really done that much. So I thought I'd take this opportunity and spread some love of Penguin Classics Covers yet again, this time around: the great ideas series in green. I saw some of these books on the book fair in Gothenburg, and man do they look great! Not only is the design great, but the printing is immaculate too. Not that I would expect anything less when it comes to Penguin (and no, I'm not sponsored by them, although I wouldn't say no if they asked).























How about that lot? I wish I could wear these covers as clothes. I bet they would look good on me.

Speaking of looks, I'm not quite done with the blog makeover, but will leave it like this for now anyway. Hope you can live with it. Otherwise think of a way I can compensate you for it. Maybe another giveaway soonish? Something graphic? Hm, I'll have to think about that for a bit.

design disruption

I'm not a big fan of templates, but I'm trying my best to make some seasonal changes with the help of them anyway. It's slightly frustrating, to say the least. Still of lot of things that needs tweaking, as you may or may not notice (I guess if you're not in my head, which I certainly hope you're not, you won't know what it is that I want to accomplish), but at the moment I'm too tired to keep moving things around so I'll leave it as it is. Apologies.

Meanwhile, check these pretty flowers out and have a nice week. Oh, and if you have any tips or tricks about blog design, please don't be scared to share!

proving the point of a principle

I usually stick to my principles, for better or for worse, and I haven't caved in to temptation and bought the gorgeous but seriously pricey dresses I posted the other day. Instead I went out during lunch last Wednesday and bought 3 vintage dresses at Humana, for the price of not even half a new dress (159 kronor each to be exact)!



The "problem", apart from being a shopoholic, is that the Humana store (on S:t Paulsgatan) just keeps getting bigger everytime I go there, and obviously gets filled with more clothes! My knees got weak when I realised how much more clothes were there this time, and I knew deep down I wasn't gonna be able to leave without something, and that for my own good I SHOULD NOT look at everything. Which is way easier said than done ... Even though I was only browsing really quickly, being out during my lunch break and everything, apparently I still had time to try on 3 dresses and buy them.



This dark turquoise dress with black diagonal stripes and puff sleeves is very 80's, but matched with the right accessories I'm gonna make it look awesome! I just love the colour and the neckline and the little round black buttons on the sides. I'm sure it'll look great with a black cardigan on top, which is pretty essential this time of year.



A little black polyester dress with a chinese collar didn't stay unnoticed for long, it's just a perfect everyday dress that can look very different depending on how and with what you wear it. I've already got big plans for it! Being sleeveless of course it'll be good for summer too, but I'll make good use of it before that, since summer is about 8 1/2 months away ...



I really like the white print, which looks like percentage signs. Not sure when it's from, maybe late 60's, early 70's, but could also be later. It doesn't have any tags whatsoever, so might be homesewn, by someone pretty skilled because the details around the neck and shoulders are impeckable. I think I'm gonna wear this with a white cardigan to work tomorrow, it'll be a good way to start the week.



Dress no. 3 is this lovely grey, red and pink piece, a Danish design from the 70's, by the look of the collar. It looks a bit dull just hanging like this, but has got a great fit and is so comfortable. Not sure about the material, it's like a woolish polyester, but not that thick. Excellent for autumn/winter though.



I love this checkered pattern, and I think it's great to combine grey with red and pink, classic and fun at the same time. I've also got both red and pink cardigans and tights, so a lot of good combinations will be made with them. Today I started with pink tights, and going out for grocery shopping earlier I wore a red coat and felt nice and colourful. I do think it's important to wear as much colour as possible during this dark season, to sort of cheer yourself up, but somehow I still end up wearing so much of black.



I don't hate 70's collars actually, but I know a lot of people despise them. Sometimes I think they look really good on the right things. I didn't think this dress needed that much of wings though, so I fixed it last night and thought it came out pretty nice.

In the last week I got 4 dresses, so I'm gonna make a serious effort not to get anymore for a while now. Wish me luck, I'll sure need it!

Maybe I should have a giveaway of an old dress I don't wear anymore, I've got quite a few of those too ... Lemme know if that would be interesting. Now it's time to make some pancakes!

dreamy dresses

I'm in love. Seriously. Just look at this amazing piece of clothing! I love love love it! It's a Bettie Page Clothing dress and I truly believe it was made for me. The colours, the cut, the collar, the buttons. Thank you very much. The only downside is that they didn't just give it to me, and I don't pay this much for a single piece, as a principle. Maybe it's a silly principle, I don't know, cos it's not that I couldn't afford it if I really wanted to. I just don't like paying a lot for anything, I like bargains and getting many things rather than just the one item. I've always been like that, and can't just change. In case you're wondering what I won't pay for the perfect dress, it's $137.



While on the subject of lovely new dresses, I also found this dreamy thing at Sivletto. It's from Fever and costs £74.99. I do love the cut and the colour and the pattern a lot, but mostly I love that it's called Calligraphy dress, even though I don't know why. As far as I can see it's got a rose pattern, and roses are not calligraphic. But I find that intruiging, has it by any chance got a calligraphic lining that doesn't show in the picture? Will my calligraphic skills improve when I wear it? Did a calligrapher design it? Either way I love roses almost as much as calligraphy, but this is also above my principle price so I guess I'll just keep dreaming of finding it in a vintage store eventually, when some crazy girl with my size has gotten bored with it. It could happen you know!

10.10.10

... aaaaaaaaaaaand I'm back! Seems like it's been ages, but maybe that's just my perception. I finally feel back to normal when it comes to the never ending flu, even though I'm scared to jinx it. Another thing that's back to normal is that I'm finally rejoined with my husband, he landed in Stockholm a week ago. So in celebration of that, my recent birthday and getting well again, I went and got myself a new vintage dress the other day, from Emmaus by Slussen.



For some reason all the pictures I took of it came out blurry, it's the weirdest thing! It's never happened before, I probably took about 10 pictures. It must be something with the fabric, which is polyester of course. I believe it's from the 60's, and I love the colour and the versatility of it being rather plain, so it'll look great with a turtleneck underneath or cardigan on top. I am thinking of sprucing it up a little, with some buttons or a ribbon, but at the same time it's really good with a non busy surface for adding brooches and necklaces and such. Anyways, I paid 120 kronor for it, and it's in mint condition, so well worth the money.



I got a pink dinosaur for my birthday from a friend! So cute! It's from the great store Stockhome, that recently opened a branch just a block from my house, a kitsch heaven. Although I do my best not to add that much more to all the kitsch I've already got, it's obviously much appreciated when friends help me out instead!



My husband got me a new Kimmidoll, so now my little Japanese doll collection grew to four. It was the perfect size to fit the rest and it's so adorable I almost wanna carry it around the whole day to look at it. But I won't, because that would be crazy. Being crazy in my own home is one thing, but hey come on, there are limits!



Taking care of that dilemma was getting another great gift from my husband though: a Kimmidoll purse! Obviously purses are made for carrying around, so that's what I'm doing now. When I leave the house that is, I don't carry it around in the apartment so much.



If you saw my reaction opening these gifts, I bet it would be kind of hard to guess my real age, but I don't really care. I'll be happy as long as I get to show my ID card when I buy wine (in Sweden you have to be 20 to buy alcoholic beverages in the stores, and let's just say I've been legal for quite some time).



After buying that lovely dress the other day, I was also in the mood for some jewellery, and went across the street to Fröken Söt's little shop. They've got some nice clothes there too, but most things are either too small or too expensive for my taste, and the shop is packed with stuff, so it's a bit difficult to browse. After looking at almost every piece of jewellery I finally got this peacock brooch for 60 kronor. It's kinda tacky, I know, but I like it anyway. Paired with the right things, I'm pretty sure I'll pull it off. It's not like I'm known to be Ms. Sophistication either, so what does it matter if a part of me is slightly tacky? I'm cool with that.



From about 10 different owl design necklaces, this is the one I choose in the end, for 199 kronor. It's not vintage, but I do believe it's molded from a 60's design, because I've seen a similar design on this website for vintage owl necklaces. If you're at all into vintage jewellery, and owls in particular, you have to visit this place, it's quite overwelming! I haven't checked everything out by far yet, it just never stops. And it's a little bit frustrating seeing all these lovely design, and knowing they're not for sale too.

In other news autumn is well under way now, and I'm loving it still. But it's a matter of weeks until all that loveliness of crispy air and flaming leaves might turn into a grey, soggy, miserable existence instead. So I'm gonna do my best to appreciate it while it lasts, and when it changes, I'll just stay indoors with tea and blankets and socks and the best tv series I can find.

What is your best recipe for surviving winter?