caramel lady

coat  zara

blazer  vintage

sweater  forever 21
skirt  thrifted
shoes  chie mihara

necklaces  the vamoose
bag  marc by marc jacobs

I have to admit I'm enjoying the cold weather. I'm a gal who enjoys wearing many layers, as evidenced by these photos. You probably noticed a rather new addition here: boots. I've had the hardest time finding the perfect boots. When it comes down to it, I'm not much of a boot person, much in the same way that I'm not a pants person. I like boots on other women, but every time I try a pair on I just feel like an impostor. They're never quite right. And of course every pair that makes me think, "Oh I finally found the perfect ones!" end up being over $400. So what did I do? I broke down and went with the dream boots, the unattainable ones that I'll be paying back for who knows how long. But look at that dreamy suede in the perfect shade of caramely brown! And the contrasting laces! And the perfect chunky wooden heel! And the shape... don't even get me started on that beautiful shape! The search is over, my fancy friends. I bit the bullet. I found boots that don't make me feel like an asshole and I couldn't be happier with them.

P.S. Congratulations to Hannah, winner of the Purple Deer giveaway! And thanks to everyone who entered for your sweet comments!

sponsor fancy fine

It's almost December and I have just a few spots left open for sponsors... so all you girls and boys with cute vintage shops, here's your heads up! If you're interested in sponsoring Fancy Fine and want to know my rates and other details just send an email to hi@ashleyording.com. It's cheap and I love supporting adorable shops where I already spend my hard-earned pennies... don't be shy!

P.S. The image above is a still from one of my all-time favorite movies, Troop Beverly Hills. I must have watched it 5,000 times as a child, and I can only imagine what kind of terrible (and wonderful) influence it's had on my life. That is pretty much exactly what I looked like coming home yesterday morning from the flea market. Phyllis Nefler will always be one of my dearest style icons.

holiday shopping party!

This is my "something exciting" I mentioned yesterday. Many of you may already have heard about this, but for those of you that haven't... I'm hosting my first vintage pop-up shop! It's something I've been wanting to do for a long time and I'm very excited. Francesca will be helping me stock the top secret location (a.k.a. Fancy Fine Headquarters, ha) with beautiful vintage clothing, accessories and hopefully some goodies for the home too. There will be holiday-theme cocktails and treats (duh) and me with a giant dopey grin on my face. If you'd like to attend just send an RSVP to hi@ashleyording.com. And if you miss this one don't worry your pretty head... there will be more!

made of mauve

cardigan  j. crew
dress  h&m

belt  vintage

Slouchy in mauve. I love it when the weather is verging on cold but the skies are still sunny, which seems to be the ongoing case here in San Francisco. Tomorrow morning I'm going to the flea market bright and early to look for treasures. I'm very excited because I'm stockpiling for something exciting, something I will reveal to you tomorrow.

thankful for lace

photos by Cecilia Austin

A few lace blouses from my collection, one of them currently on it's way across the sea to Kathryn of the beautiful jewelry line The Vamoose. She sent me some of her fantastic necklaces and in exchange I sent her some pretty lace things and other goodies. I'm wearing two of the necklaces right now, and I must admit it's hard to take them off. Photos soon!

Hope you all have a wonderful (and yummy!) Thanksgiving!

a purple deer vintage giveaway!

I won't lie, I would love to keep this sweet velvet and silk fascinator for myself. It seems like the perfect thing to wear with pretty Autumn-colored dresses and prim little coats. But instead I'm offering it to you lovelies as a giveaway sponsored by Purple Deer Vintage! The giveaway is open to international readers and the fascinator will fit all head sizes (good news for people like me who have trouble fitting into most tiny vintage hats). The shop has a million other amazing goodies right now, so take a peek... before I buy everything! (I'm dying for this bag.)

To win this lovely dream, please leave a comment with the following:

1.) What is your favorite item in the Purple Deer Vintage shop? (I know, it's hard picking only one.)

2.) How long have you been visiting Fancy Fine?

3.) Your email address!

Good luck to everyone who enters... I will announce the winner on November 30th!

fancy friends #01: jessica ward

I'm excited to reveal the first installment of Fancy Friends, a new Fancy Fine feature that had been knocking about in my head for a while. I'm lucky to have many stylish lady (and gentleman!) friends who collect vintage, and I though it would be fun to give you a peek into their closets and homes. Our first Fancy Friend is Miss Jessica Ward, an x-ray technician by day and a vintage-wearing doll by night. She lives just a few blocks away from me with her cats Sebastian and Rhoda. I've known Jessica for almost 6 years and I've always admired her whimsical sense of style. She's a girl who knows what she likes and has a knack for finding the most splendid vintage dresses and shoes and mixing them with new things. She also has the best laugh of anyone I know, which often puts me in bad-joke-overdrive just trying to get more laughs out of her. Here's a little peek into her world...

(There are tons more photos after the jump... be sure to click on "read more" at the bottom of this post!)

Sebastian, the coolest cat ever.

Jessica has so many amazing prints in her closet! I wish I could have shown every single piece here.

polyvore party

Here are a few photos from the Polyvore party I attended on Thursday. The cupcakes were just as delicious as they looked, and there were all kinds of stylish blogger ladies roaming around. It was held in this crazy amazing building that I would love to live in... all huge windows, huge rooms and exposed ceiling beams. Keep the holiday parties comin', world!

Victor was a sensation (as usual) in his dapper suit. Looking so fine.

This photo was taken before I really got going. There was so much food and I basically ate everything I laid my eyes on. That plate didn't really stand a chance between my hands and my mouth. Class!

For those who care: I wore a vintage dress with a cardigan I found at Salvation Army many years ago. And in conclusion, it's only fitting that I share one of my latest Polyvore creations, composed of things I will never be able to afford...

guess who's a guest!

photo by Cecilia Austin

So that exciting surprise I mentioned yesterday? Well, I just so happened to receive my first invitation to guest blog, and that blog happens to be Sally Jane Vintage. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the blog, it's only the creme de la creme after all! Not to mention Jennifer did the loveliest post about Fancy Fine a while back that still makes me smile. I was beyond excited that she asked little ole' me to be one of her guest bloggers. And the other gals she asked just happen to be my other absolute favorites. Gush gush gush! But enough of that, go take a peek.

pony up

photos by Cecilia Austin

blouse  thrifted

shorts  vintage

tights  hue

shoes  asos.com

I went to a party last night hosted by Polyvore. I'm completely addicted to that site, so it was fun to see a room full of people who are just as obsessed. And the food... they had quite the spread, and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't my main reason for going. I did meet a few charming ladies who blog, and Victor (who was looking dapper as always in a vintage 60's suit) stole the show by being all handsome and sharply dressed. I'll share the photos I took sometime soon. And tomorrow I have a little surprise to share that has made me absolutely giddy for the past week...

I will now leave with you a hilarious drawing Victor did of me and him. I always call him my churro because he's, um, tall and brown. And apparently I closely resemble a corn dog. So....

horoscopes & beaded collars

 

cardigan  vintage
top  vintage
skirt  vintage
shoes  vintage ferragamo
bag  kuma by salvor

I am not a horoscope person. I have a lot of girlfriends who are very into astrology, and while it does hold some fascination for me, I've always taken it with a grain of salt. However, today I found myself reading this epic horoscope for the month of November and it was filled with strange coincidences and interesting predictions for my sign (I'm a Pisces). It gave me chills in the best possible way, not because I necessarily believed everything it said, but because it echoed the way I've been feeling lately (which is, in a word, inspired). My mind has been a swarm of ideas lately and reading this long thing felt strangely personal. So the planets are aligning and I'm having a burst of creativity at exactly the right moment? Maybe so! Or maybe it's a bit of silly coincidence and I was just happy to read something encouraging. Either way, I'm secretly hoping the rest of this month will indeed be "breathtakingly special and once-in-a-lifetime rare," just like the horoscope said.