a floral collection

I am forever collecting vintage millinery flowers, wherever I can find them. The two on the right were dug out of an old hat box at the Golden Nugget Flea in Lambertville, NJ, and the lovely specimen on the left was found at the Alameda Flea Market back home. I have a pretty decently sized pile of these now and I usually try to leave them scattered about on my vanity so that I can admire them. There is something about the fading colors and frayed edges that draws me in.

candy

Went a bit wild at the candy store yesterday, but I couldn't resist these pastel sweets. Easter candy is my favorite.

newly acquired

A few new frocks hanging on my bedroom door, all vintage except for the polka dot Karen Walker number.

New goodies, including glittery socks from Opening Ceremony, two matching vintage brooches, and an Anthropologie coin purse.

I've been collecting a lot of fake food lately and these glittery grapes are my favorite find so far.

good as gold

I'm obsessed with these dreamy gold heels from Anthropologie. They pretty much check all of my boxes right now in the shoe department, and I can't wait to break them in. I think Donut quite likes them too!

bathing beauty

Summer is going to be 1,000 times more awesome now that I'm the proud owner of these old lady style "fashion swim caps." I found them both at a funny little souvenir shop in Maui and I couldn't even believe that they still make these styles. I had been searching all over for a vintage version but everything I found was a bit too expensive ($40 and up), but these babies cost me only $15 apiece, which I thought was quite the steal until I did a bit of research online to see if my finds were dead stock and I found you can buy these for even cheaper, and they're brand new. The boringly named SwimOutlet.com sells them both for under $9, the solid version here and the multi version here. So if you're looking to turn heads at the pool (for all the wrong reasons), you're welcome. I, for one, simply cannot wait to protect my hair in true grandmotherly style.

Of course, I must admit the vintage ones are extra special, even if they don't come as cheaply...

Last two images via Pinterest & Glamour Splash.

newly acquired

I don't think that I will ever, ever stop collecting vintage. Whether it's a perfect 1960's party dress, a slightly tattered beaded pouch, or some strange brooch, I just can't get enough. An addiction? Quite possibly, but there are worse things to be addicted to! These bits and pieces were found at a flea market in Philadelphia and a vintage shop in St. Augustine. It's fun for me to hunt for things on this side of the country, things I may not have ever found otherwise. Although I do sometimes wonder what magical things I'm missing out on back in the Bay Area. Fortunately I will have an entire day this weekend to poke around all my old haunts in San Francisco before I head off to Maui for a much needed vacation. I'll be sure to share my finds with you!

A pretty silk ascot and a hilariously strange duo of photos (I love that someone stuck a dog polaroid in there).

A funny little 1950's floral hat I found in St. Augustine, Florida.

A tiny mirror with googly eyes and glitter eyebrows? I'll take it.

glitter & lace

Two new additions to my wardrobe: glittery dream shoes from Kate Spade & a 1960's dress from Etsy.

newly acquired

I have added a few lovely things to my various collections lately, and by few I mean many piles. My makeup collection in particular has just become way more spectacularly colorful and fun thanks to a generous box of goodies from the wonderful Lime Crime. My new favorite thing is the lavender lipstick, a color I'd been searching high and low for but nothing came close until this magical shade. I also now possess just about every color of shadow you could imagine so I think all of you should come over for a slumber party so we can do each other's makeup.

This seafoam dream dress is another new addition to the collection, courtesy of a sweet lady at the Alameda Antiques & Collectibles Faire who took pity on me and gave me a great discount because I was nearing the end of my flea market funds. How amazing is that lace? And the scalloped hem? And the matching jacket? Perfection.

This sweet little neck tie is a gift from my lovely new sponsor Christine of Flapper Girl. Her shop is filled with this style, the Lady Tie, in a bunch of different colors and patterns. It's the perfect thing to wear with collared blouses and dresses. I have my eye on this mustard-hued beauty as well.

A few other newly acquired goodies: that amazingly girly robe (so perfect for glamorously lounging around my apartment and making my roommate laugh) and a few pretty dresses (1960's lace, 1970's green silk chiffon). Okay, so now it's time for a bit of spring cleaning and purging so I can make room for all these new things! Sidewalk sale, anyone?

pairings

striped socks  c/o tabbisocks

maryjane shoes  goldenponies

polka dot socks  hansel from basel

velvet wedges  urban outfitters

Two new favorite pairings, one a bit schoolgirl and the other a bit Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver.

fancy new shoes

Beautiful new heels from ASOS and a dumbstruck Donut.

(She's probably just amazed that I can squeeze one more pair of shoes into the apartment.)

an inebriated rabbit

coat  thrifted
blouse  vintage from ver unica
brooch  vintage

This rabbit brooch is one of my prized possessions. I found it at the Vintage Fashion Expo (perhaps my favorite event of all time) last year. One look at those huge teeth and loopy drunk eyes and I was deeply smitten. In fact, buying this brooch set me off on a bit of an animal-brooch-buying frenzy. I have quite a collection now of completely silly brooches like this one and I can't seem to stop just yet. I just feel like the perfect inebriated fox brooch might be waiting for me if I look hard enough...

calling cards

After many failed attempts to design my own perfect business cards, I decided it was time to turn the task over to someone more skilled than myself: Rifle Paper Co. to the rescue! Their personalized calling cards caught my eye immediately so I sent my photo and soon enough I had these adorable cards in my hands. Even the little boxes they came in are adorable, wrapped in red and white twine. Now the hard part will be actually giving them away to people!

new favorite shoes

I only received a few gifts for Christmas this year but they were quite magical ones. Victor set the bar way too high for any future gift giving on my part by giving me a new MacBook. It's my first Mac and the first computer I've ever owned that isn't a hand-me-down and covered in someone else's lame stickers. I also bought myself a few Christmas gifts, including these dreamy vintage Ferragamo flats. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them on Etsy. The color, the mix of suede and leather, the oxford styling... I couldn't have conjured up a more beautiful shoe! 

I went home (to Santa Rosa) to visit my family over the holiday and I couldn't leave without hitting up my favorite vintage stores from my youth. I left with a beautiful navy blue silk wrap dress, a purple satin polka-dotted romper (a cross between Lolita and Disco Rollerskating Queen) and a few other treasures I will share with you soon. I also found some things for the Fancy Fine shop which I'm still hoping to launch next week. Stay tuned, dears!

newness

I acquired several new (vintage) dresses last week and I couldn't wait to share them. The one above I found at Held Over and it has the most wonderful ruffled collar and bow combo. And the sweet little number below (found at After Life) boasts one of the funniest tags I've ever seen: High Casual Sensuous. Makes me want to start a band with that name... it would be smooth jazz, obviously.