Polka dotted dotty

Vintage dress & bag, thrifted
Vintage milkglass bracelet, thrifted
Vintage charm pins, made by me
Target socks
Seychelles heels
Forever 21 cardigan

I have two navy & white polka-dotted dresses; one that isn't vintage that I hemmed much shorter, and this one. Both were thrifted and of course this is my favorite! It's kind of flapper-ish with its tiers and straight shape-- my favorite kind of dress. I've posted about this bag before but it really is the roomiest thing ever.

(Also, I went all the way to the post office today to mail things and totally forgot it was a holiday! This always happens.)

Giveaway winner!

The winner of the CSN giveaway is number 5 (after accounting for extra entries and eligibility), MicroImp!



Congrats to you and a big thank you to everyone who entered!

Love Love Love

Things I've been up to this week when not working and/or obsessing over upcoming traveling..

• I like to draw sort of silly, cartoony, big-eyed girls and recently came up with her:
  

I've been trying to draw more, like always, although I never seem to do it! I think she accidentally looks a bit like Mademoiselle Robot. With pink hair.

• Kater of All This Happiness just wrote a brilliant post on The Virgin Suicides and the cult of girls (us!) who cite it endlessly as a main summer inspiration. She posted gorgeous, dreamy photos and described perfectly the style and inspiration that oozes from that book and movie. The movie is lighthearted, the book not so much, and they're both a delicious way to spend a terribly hot and endless summer. It's not even just the aesthetics of the film that are so appealing, it's something about the entire mood of that story. And the soundtrack, obviously.
  

A couple of very Virgin Suicides-esque dresses from Modcloth (I really love the first one):

Peppermint Patty Dress and Macaroon Dress

• This week I'm reading Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld and Alan Moore's Lost Girls. I just finished a Doctor Who novel called Beautiful Chaos because I can't seem to stop reading them. What has everyone been reading so far this summer?
  

Embroidered dress & NEWS.

My mom thrifted this dress for me last year-- she's very good at finding weird things that I'll love! It's very Mexican-embroidery-meets-sixties-mini. I'm pretty sure it's handmade; the stitching is all over the place on the inside and the interfacing for the embroidery is actually crumbling a bit. It feels very heavy and important though, which is my favorite thing about vintage clothes. It's a little big but I don't care!

I didn't mean to go so long between outfit posts but I've been working a lot and living in work clothes and pajamas. Also, I have huge news regarding the next chapter in our lives (that sounds so cheesy, but it's true!) and I've been concentrating on the details of that. Basically, my partner is a nurse and has been looking into travel nursing. We would pick cities in which we want to live and then live there for three to six months at a time while he's on assignment. It seems to be the perfect adventure--completely out of our comfort zones--and exactly what we need at this point in our lives. It'll be a chance for me to take a post-grad school break before looking for a librarian job, and him a chance to get lots of experience and work in different environments.

I've been a bit afraid to talk about it too much for fear of jinxing it, and I'm still nervous that something will happen and it won't work out, but I'm too excited to be completely quiet. Hopefully we'll be moving in August, but we're not even sure where we're going first! Ahhh!

(And the blog posts that come from this should be fun! )


Embroidered vintage dress, thrifted
Ashley Judd boots
Target socks
Thrifted ring, Modcloth bunny ring

Anyway, my hair! I can't believe I've almost made it-- there's just a little bit of black left in the front. The cut is boring, I know, my bangs always do this weird awkward thing but I'll fix that once everything is one color. It just feels so in-between now that I haven't bothered with it very much.

Four days left for the gift card giveaway!

Gift card giveaway!

The lovely people at CSN recently asked if I wanted to do another giveaway, and of course I do! This time it's for a $60 gift card for any of their 200+ stores. CSN has everything from bathroom vanities to modern home furniture to swanky leather bags via their Luxe store. They even have a pet supply site full of adorable cat and dog accessories.

I put together a few suggestions below (bright clutches and weirdo pillows!) or obviously you can pick something out on your own.

Vyntage Foldover Clutch ... Eel Skin Framed Clutch

Milan's Imaginary Friend Pillow ... Change Your Life Pillow ... Picos Penguin Pillow... Glamour Girl Pillow

To enter:

♥ Become a follower/subscriber if you aren't already, and leave a comment below.
♥ For extra entries you can tweet, post, and/or put up a facebook link back here- just make sure to tell me about it!

I'll choose the winner next Sunday (May 30th) via random.org.

**Unfortunately this is open to US residents only. The next giveaway will be open internationally, promise!

I was a teenage fairy

I just love this wig. I badly need to pick up some wig detangler spray, though! Poor thing. Although I kind of like the slightly crazy/messy look going on here.

Rainstorms are supposed to continue throughout the week; great for my plants, not so great for those of us who drive a scooter. Yikes. But I thought I would take advantage of the super green yard and break between storms for a little fairy-inspired photoshoot.

I found this dress on Etsy sometime around NY Fashion Week when I was so into the Marc Jacobs dreamy dresses and pale yellows. My favorite part about it is the tiny covered buttons and scalloped lace. I also finally bought a camera remote, which is totally obvious in most of these photos! Oops.













And a normal one:




Dress, Fruit Salad Vintage
Vintage silver heels, Songbird Industries
Target patterned tights
Disco bracelet, Florida vintage shop
Rose ring, New Orleans shop
Urban Outfitters headband

Shop Update Sunday

Nightgowns & rain boots!

1. '70s Rubber High-Heeled Rain boots, size 7 (from my closet, actually!)
2. Darling Bright Yellow Gown & Peignoir Set, size M
3. Dreamy '60s Blue & Cream Peignoir, size S/M
4. Long & Fluffy Pink Nightgown, size S
5. '70s Sheer Doll-like White Peignoir, size S/M

Don't forget about the big giant 20% off sale still going strong! ^_^

Love Love Love

I know I know, I keep promising new blog features and never deliver, but I mean it this time! I love the idea of a weekly roundup post because, like Gala Darling said about her Things I Love Thursday, it kind of forces you to look for happy things throughout the week.

Things I'm into:

Karen Elson. I already loved her because she's redheaded and gorgeous and married to my one true love Jack White, but now her album is out on May 25th and I'm terribly excited for it.

V & Foam Magazines via ontd & Google

• Lady Gaga's Little Japanese Monsters I love it!

• I mentioned it in the last post, but The Hunger Games and Catching Fire are just so excellent.

• And speaking of reading: Booklist's Top 10 SF/Fantasy for YA, 2010

• My fun new crush on Kristen Stewart. Maybe it's because she reminds me so much of Shane from The L Word.

Elle UK (July 2010) via Team KBitch

Like a mockingjay

I thrifted this dress ages ago but only wore it for the first time yesterday-- with the length and my height, I was kind of afraid it would look grandma-ish. I actually really liked it though and it's perfect for the warm weather. The necklace is from Etsy, but I can't remember the shop right now and it isn't showing up on my list of purchases. I originally ordered it to wear at my wedding, but of course I waited until the last minute and it didn't arrive in time!










Thrifted '70s dress
Ragin' Daisy pink ring
Seychelles heels
Etsy necklace

My hair is still transitioning! It's so uneven right now, but I think after one or two more trims all of the black will be gone.

This week I finally read The Hunger Games and have gotten about halfway through the sequel Catching Fire. Has anyone read them? I've been meaning start this series for months now! Dystopian societies are my favorite societies. ♥

Shop Update Sunday

Blue Wig Me is the new model for the shop! Any excuse to wear it more. It gives me something to hide behind, which is nice because I'm so ridiculously terrible at modeling.

1. Pink & Gray Ballerina dress (M/L)
2. Beaded Milk Glass Screw-Back Earrings
3. (relisted) '70s Blue Suede Pencil Skirt
4. (relisted-SALE!) '80s/early '90s Pink Tiered Cotton Skirt

Don't forget about the 20% sale going on until June 5th! Everything in the sale section is already discounted; I figured that was easier than dealing with the reimbursement/new invoice business. :)

St. Augustine

While visiting our friends in Florida, they took us to one of their favorite vintage shops in St. Augustine called The Way We Were. The owner, Barbara, was an incredibly sweet and knowledgeable lady with an obvious passion for vintage. I want to go back just because she was so nice! My friend goes there all the time and Barbara was so pleased to see her-- she's kind of the Florida equivalent of my Ruth. She had a few amazing old hats; one was sculpted asymmetrically with a spray of feathers coming out of one side. She said something like, "You can't be shy when leaving the house in that!"

I don't think I'll ever tire of exploring vintage and antique shops, even though I've slowed down my buying over the last couple of years (if I didn't, my apartment would look just like one of those shops. It already kind of does.) I love the whole aesthetic of vintage shops, with mannequins and mirrors and random old clunky things and tons of fur and silk.

My friend Jenn (above!) bought a mini-tiara and that gorgeous '50s lace dress she's wearing in the photo. She's also wearing a Victorian sun hat, which is hilarious-- I knew they existed, but imagining Victorian people at the beach is just ridiculous.

I can't wait to show off the dress I bought, but I'll have to wait until I actually go out somewhere to wear it. It's much too pretty and delicate to be an everyday dress!

I wanted so many of those furs but had to resist.

New in Pansy Lane Vintage..

Click the photo to visit the shop!

1. Delicate pink babydoll nightgown-- lacy and adorable!
2. Super unique butterfly applique boots
3. Navy secretary dress with matching patent belt
4. Super big and roomy cream leather patchwork bag
5. Green suede & gold studded purse
6. (relisted) Gorgeous sheer floral bow blouse

ALSO! There is a sale going on through June 5th-- an extra 20% off will be taken from everything in the SALE category! Either wait for an updated invoice or I'll refund the difference through Paypal.

Outfit roundup

Maude dress
Target socks
Delias oxfords
Disco bronze bracelet, New Orleans boutique

Back from Florida, all graduated! The ceremony was awesome but very hot. I was wearing so much fabric (plus that stupid hat!) and we had to sit through all five billion undergrads before it was our turn, and that hood was very chokey and heavy. Complain complain. But it was fun. And hot.

Thrifted denim romper
Target footless tights
Forever 21 sequin flats
Thrifted black cardigan

I don't have any more week-long trips until July so the next two months I should be able to just focus on the blog and other happy things. In Florida I mostly wore boring, comfortable clothes but on the trip down I did get to wear my newly thrifted denim romper! The other outfit was from earlier last week-- I didn't like the pictures too much after taking them, but they grew on me. And I do love that print. It seems that floral dresses will always bring out my early '90s side.