Answer #1

For everyone that played the game I posted in regards to my recently thrifted finds the first answer is...

3/B

"I come trimmed with rickrack. Made in "Switzerland" the label says."

Dress/Cardigan/Purse: Thrifted
Shoes: Ye olde Monoprix

I hope that everyone is having a good weekend!

Today I'm a "L-I-L-F"

According to my friend who took this photo, I looked like a L-I-L-F (which means 'Librarian I'd like to f___k')...

I think librarians are cool, so it's all peaches with me!

Wrap 'dress': Thrifted (previously blogged here)

Slip: Thrifted
Shoes: Monoprix
Leather purse: Thrifted
Sunglasses: ??

btw.. Thanks to everyone who played my little game. I'll start revealing the answers tomorrow!

Just in case you did not know...

fyi: Cleaning while listening to The Who leads to less cleaning and more leaping around in a shoddy imitation of Pete Townshend. Not that I am doing that or anything....

(photos from vh1)

Now back to my regularly scheduled cleaning...

Playtime...

A few days ago I acquired a few new things at the thrift store I practically live at. Knowing most likely I'll have photos of me in them since I plan on wearing them while my friend is here. In the meantime I figured instead of taking limp clothes on the hanger photos, we could play a little game with my new finds.

Playing is simple: match the pattern to the description...

#1

#2

#3

#4


Match with...
A. Gunne Sax I am not but I am still a delightful 70's era peasant dress.
B. I come trimmed with rickrack. Made in "Switzerland" the label says.
C. If it was the 80's, I'd wear this jumpsuit on a Club Med holiday.
D. I have no clues for what I may be, except a pencil skirt was made with me.

A letter to the thrift gods.....

I'm indebted to you for the years of thrilling finds and most recently you've been extremely generous to me. All the lovelies I've come across in the past few weeks makes me in awe of your magical thrifty powers. This week I came to realize that while I am in no way ungrateful for all the thrifty goodness, I only have so much room in my suitcases and increasingly have found myself passing on treasures that you have so kindly provided. I'll always have room for a few things here and there, but what I've been finding goes way beyond the "here" and "there". One could say it may require me buying another suitcase if I do not watch myself. Of course I am a rational and reasonable person. So I've kept strong and steered clear of many thrifty thrills, albeit with a pang of sadness in my heart.

Some may think "Well why doesn't she just avoid the darn thrift stores until she leaves?". You know as well as I do that I am 100% incapable of any such thing. Especially since the shops I frequent the most are in neighborhoods that I am pretty much always in for various reasons. How can I resist taking a little peek since I am in the area anyways?

If it is not too much to ask, may I request that maybe you stop with the delights for just a few weeks? I'll very soon live in a new place... On the days where I find myself longing for the days in Paris and seek consolation by going to a thrift store, I'd appreciate some of that thrifty magic. Quite possibly much more than I would now.

With that said...

Thanks for the shoes!

Your faithful thrifter,
Roxanne

P.S.
I pretty presume that you are all dudes, thus me referring to you as "gods" rather than "goddesses", since a woman would be much more understanding and not put me in such a situation in the first place.

Disheveled is the word on the day..

It's been over two weeks since I last documented an outfit of mine. Most of my days have been spent mulling around my flat and as a result my outfits have been either boring or repetitive. Surprisingly today I had one of those "half-asleep - throw on clothes and go out the door" outfits that actually worked. Everything served a purpose: the tank dress is a bit short so I added shorts, it was breezy outside so I added a cardigan, stepping on glass totally sucks so I needed shoes. I'll even admit I woke up with my hair still reasonably pulled back in the bun and thought "screw it", I left it alone and wandered out the door to the laundromat. Despite the casual nature of today's ensemble, it seemed to attract strange pervy dudes like flies!?

The shorts I'm wearing today are new favorites of mine, I thrifted them two weeks ago and have been wearing them regularly ever since. They were intended to be shorts for men but since when did I care about such things as labels? The tank dress I thrifted about a week ago. I got something of a discount after the woman at the register proclaimed that it was much too short to be considered a dress. So she charged me the shirt price!

Everything is thrifted, the t-straps I posted about previously, and the
vintage woven purse is a personal favorite of mine.

Thanks to Dr. Marten they'll be dancing in the streets...

Ever since spandexpony posted about her recent purchase of a lovely floral pair Doc Martens, for the life of me I can not get the song from The Young Ones episode "Oil" out of my head.



I highly recommend checking out The Young Ones if you've never come across it before. It's one of my favorite shows.

I ponder things like moving, visits, & birthdays

Though I still have some time before I move, a friend will be visiting me for his birthday about a week from now and then *poof* just a few days after he goes I will leave Paris. So, the way I see it, I have a week to finish packing the bulk of my stuff. Otherwise I'll have to gleefully tell my friend "Happy Birthday, your helping me finish packing". Being the good friend that he is I'm sure he would not mind in the least but since I like to pretend that I am a good hostess, I'd want to avoid such situations.

Since I'm running out of time, I'm not going to force myself to worry about things like the ideaboards. Yes, I've only done two so far and I feel rather silly about skipping them already but what can I do?


A few days ago mister.boyfriend celebrated his birthday, my good friend will be celebrating his in little over a week, and my own will be just a few short days after I return to the USA. All this recent pondering on what to get them got me thinking what I'd wish for me.

I'll keep any corny thoughts to myself and stick to listing the material wants...

I rarely NEED anything.. but I can not hide from the fact that these heels from Re-mix Vintage Shoes would go perfectly with 98% of what I own. The lovely olive green color would definitely rid me of my "I always wear black shoes because they go with anything" funk.


I have not purchased anything from Delia*s since I was about 16 (gosh, I feel old) but this camera tee thrills me to no end. I can even name the models on it. Even from the tiny picture! I bet half the owners of this tee can not say the same...


(image from sewalot.com)
A sewing machine would be the most useful gift for me right now. I plan on starting my own business soon (or at least working for myself as a designer of exciting things) and I've been coming up with ideas galore. It all sounds great in my head with the exception that I need a sewing machine in order to execute many of my ideas.


Of course nobody is going to buy me $400 Fluevog's for my birthday. Nor do I expect them to. I'm just mentioning them since I've been lusting after such boots for quite sometime and I may just have to go rob a bank for my pretties.


With that said.. I hope that everyone is having a good weekend!

As my roommate makes out like a bandit...

Right now I'm in the middle of something like a moving slump. I'm so tired of sorting and making decisions, that I just want to chuck what remains into the trash and be done with it. With less than 20 days, at times I feel like I am skirting along the lines of panic but thankfully today I've officially finished going through everything that I had stashed in odd places (i.e. the dark recesses under my bed) and what remains seems slightly more manageable. I might even start packing the first suitcase tomorrow...

All the while my roommate has (gleefully) been the recipient of my purged clothes. Being around two sizes smaller than myself, she's the ideal candidate for the stuff that does not fit or fits rather unflatteringly on myself. Like a lovely red "wiggle" dress I thrifted 2 years ago. The flimsy material hung to every lump on my body making me look along the lines of a overcooked sausage. Of course my roommate looks awesome in it but I was still sad seeing the dress go no matter how much it looked like crap on me.

----

Despite getting closer to the move, I'm still thrifting. Much less actively than a few months ago but I've still been indulging myself once a week. Strangely enough, even though when I buy something at a thrift obviously I'm acquiring one more item to move, I've found it has been a good motivation to keep on purging. Finding a really cute dress that fits well gives me the motivation to let go of a few items that look less than great on me.

Besides, I'm moving from Paris to the middle-of-nowhere. Who knows what thrifting will be like in my future?

(You can click on the photo for a large version.. It might make it easier to see the patterns on my recent finds....)

I love the seemingly "random" pocket on this dress...

This came with a matching fabric belt but I think it will look better with a contrasting belt...

There are thin stripes in the two white bands and it snaps up the front... I'm sure this was supposed to be a smock of sorts but I shall wear this as a dress regardless of its original intentions.

It does not look like much on the hanger. I passed by this about 6 times before I thought "what the heck" and grabbed it.. I'm glad I did since it looks much better on than flopping around on a hanger.

The print on this vintage shirt dress totally sold me! It hangs sort of strangely on the hanger but looks quite nice on...

The dresses were 3€ each and most were found on a rack of unloved housecoats/robes... Sorry I don't have pictures of me in them. I'm not feeling particularly photogenic right now.

ideaboard #2 // Irma Vep

When I say "Irma Vep", I'm not talking about the film where Maggie Cheung flounces about in latex. I'm thinking more along the lines of the femme fatale in Louis Feuillade's silent serial Les Vampires.

The lovely Musidora stars in this 10-part serial that brings to life Irma Vep. As a member of the gang "Les Vampires" she slinks about dressed in a skin-tight black costume and commits an array of dastardly deeds.
I won't go into the details of the serial, but the bit that made me go "wowie" was when Irma Vep makes her dramatic appearance at the theater dressed very much like a bat.


Prior to the first time Irma Vep came to my attention, I had long been a fan of the illustrator/author Edward Gorey. One of my favorite stories of his is La Chauve-Souris Dorée (or The Gilded Bat).


So it is very possible that I might just have a thing for women dressed as bats (or wish to be one my self).

ideaboard #2 is a sitting room inspired by the past, wickedness, and Irma Vep. The cabinets could be suitable to hold a small library (books on poisons maybe?) or to showcase heisted goods before they find themselves in the hands of the highest bidder. Seating is plentiful in order to accommodate many persons involved in the latest plot. A sideboard behind the sofa could store snifters and a variety of liquors (who doesn't love a drink while plotting?). Finally, table lamps would provide mood lighting and could be moved in order to view maps or other bits of information better.

Wallpaper // "Bat and Poppies" fabric @ Arts & Crafts Home
Cabinets // Elliptic Library Cabinet @ Jayson Home & Garden
Chair // Queen Ann Arm Chair @ Baker Furniture
Lamp // Alhambre Table Lamp @ Bellacor
Distressed Sideboard // Napoleon Sideboard @ Jayson Home & Garden
Damask Pillow // Brown Vintage Damask 17" Square Pillow @ Lamps Plus
Map Pillow // Antique World Map Pillow @ Lamps Plus
Sofa // Scrolled Arm Sofa @ Baker Furniture
Chairs // Regency Tub Chair @ Baker Furniture
Small Table // Paris End Table @ Decorati

When I started planning this room I found it was the perfect opportunity to use a favorite print design of mine "Bat and Poppies", a wallpaper designed by M. P. Verneuil in 1897. While rather surreal (Bats with poppies??), it is a beautiful design and would be a fine touch to this room.

Image credits: "Qui? Quoi?" etc poster from the wikipedia entry, still from the movie I had on my hd but could not find a reliable source online, book cover from goreydetails.net, "Bat and Poppies" wallpaper achome.co.uk.