The Craft Begins

I am totally enamored with Harmony Scott’s delicate, intricate wire-wrapped jewelry.

She has such a great sense of color and composition.  When I heard she was based in Aspen, CO I was sure that everything would be totally overpriced but I think that everything is more than reasonable, especially given the amount of work that goes into each piece.  She’s got a lot of designs ranging from the simple and elegant to the wonderfully ornate – so, something to appeal to everyone!

Spring is officially here, with all of the hailstorms and tornadoes that it tends to bring in the middle parts of the country.  However, the storms bring rain and I’m just delighted at all of the flowers that are making their debut performance in my garden.

These lovely necklaces from Elva Fields are a great way to really celebrate springtime.  I love the vintage elements and the bright, punchy colors.  How very delightful.

How amazing are these swim suits from Miss Fancypants?  When I saw these originally posted on Happiness Is I almost fell off of my chair.

How much fun would it be to style a shoot like this?  The undergarments are pretty awesome as well.  See the whole shoot here.

Suddenly, nerdy is hot again.

I’m so excited about this eyeglass company.  Their glasses are super-affordable, they ship for free, they let you try on glasses at home for fit for free, and for every pair you buy they donate a pair to a person in need. Plus they’re totally zexy.  I’ve been searching for frames like this for ages and have a hard time tracking them down.  What’s not to love?

When I was in college I only got to take 2 electives in order to graduate on time.  One of the ones I took was African Dance.  It was probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever done.  You have so much fun, learn to let yourself be free, learn how to dance and shake and groove and generally have an all-around good time.  Our teacher was from Ghana, and so he made sure that we all wore traditional wraps made with wax-print fabric from Ghana to dance in.  He also used to dance around us whipping people with his towel who he complained of having “a sad ass” when what you needed was a “happy ass” which he then proceeded to demonstrate.  Awesome, but neither here nor there.

I really became enamored with the look of the wax print fabric out of Ghana.  The technique originated in Indonesia but was brought to the gold coast many years ago and spread out from there.  Africans have taken this technique and really made it their own, infusing the textiles with colors and stories that are important to them.  What’s really interesting is that a lot of the designs that you see on these textiles are actually of Dutch origin (see an interesting article here).  No matter where they come from, I think they’re fantastic.

You can buy many different patterns online – here and here are the places that I found the prints above from.

Though the fabric is beautiful by itself, there is some clothing being made from it that’s really interesting and innovative.  One such company is Wafrica, that creates Kimonos from this fabric.

I don’t know when I would have the occasion to wear one of these, but I love the concept.

The Dutch company that is apparently responsible for the vast majority of these designs is called Vlisco – I think that their ad campaigns are simply awesome.

Stay turned – more about African wax print fabric coming soon!

Let me preface this by saying – I almost didn’t go to prom.  I’m sure that it was a magical mystical night for some, but I was going alone and I had just the right amount of attitude at that age to see it as completely ridiculous.  I did end up going (just to say that I had) and managed to snag myself a fabulous vintage dress.  I’m pretty sure that I went to prom just so that I could have an excuse to wear the dress.  I actually sewed a dress for my best friend for prom – I’m ashamed to admit it, because it was made out of patchwork corduroy (as she was a hippie) but it was awesome.  We had toyed with the idea of the duct-tape prom dress but at that point the tape only came in silver and black so it wasn’t that interesting.

Duct Tape Brand has an annual scholarship contest for whoever can create the best prom getup out of duct tape.  I found myself browsing the gallery and I was astounded at the ingenuity and creativity that was on display.

Look at all of the pinstripes and patterns!  And I believe that a few of these were nothing short of an engineering feat.  Simply amazing.

And, as much as I typically hate doing this, these prom dresses were too cool not to show off.  So I give you, without further ado, my prom picture.

Oh yeah.

I don’t know about you, but I am so excited about the direction that men’s fashion seems to be going.  Be gone, skinny girl jeans with the giant butt pouch your pre-pubescent behind couldn’t dream of filling out!  Be gone, baggy shorts and white tube socks and sideways hats!  The future is stylish, and you had better get on board.

It could be because of the recent rise of popularity in shows like Mad Men and the new Tom Ford movie A Single Man, but I’d like to think that it’s because people are sick of dressing like slobs.  Thankfully, you can create the look yourself by stopping in someplace as mainstream as J. Crew (where the above suits are from).  And nerdy glasses are hot again!  Let’s just say that Colin Firth is really pulling off those glasses.  And then there’s Julianne Moore’s hair- I wish I could wear mine like that every day!

Just because I love this picture, I’m going to have to post it again.  Felix doing his best Mad-Men impression – you too can achieve the look with a decent pair of specs, and most importantly, a good watch.  Not a big chunky thing, but an understated and tasteful timepiece.  A classic car doesn’t hurt either.

Stylish, well-fitting jersey basics?  Count me in!  I especially love the stripes in this line.  I’ll have one in every color.

I cannot get enough of these fabulous earrings from Owlita.  They’re over-the-top but I think that the natural materials balance it out nicely.  What could be easily called a “statement piece”.  Sign me up!

Holy cow.  Did you know anyone nearly this stylish when you were a teenager?

I sure didn’t!  I mean, yeah, there were some people who were kind of stylish, but never to this degree.  I know that these kids are putting their best foot forward because they’re posting their pictures on the internet, but wow.  I’m seriously impressed.

Now I’m feeling slightly terrible about the way I dress most days.  I should probably step it up a notch.   Here’s the site if you’re looking for some fashion inspiration.

And I’m sorry, but now that I’m looking at these pictures, I’m thinking “what do these kids do?”.  Surely you couldn’t dress like this for an actual job and get away with it.  Maybe I’m wrong.  In a record shop, maybe.  Do they still even have those anymore?

I’ve tried experimenting with resin over the years, with varying degrees of success.  The people at Dinosaur Designs seem to have elevated resin to an art form.  Unusual jewelry and housewares can be found at their online shop.  From their website:

Olsen, Ormandy and Rossler have managed to intersect the boundaries between art, craft, design, fashion and business without pause, and have applied the same creative energy and focused vision to each new opportunity. They have forged an important place for themselves within Australian design history, not only through their longevity and popularity but also through the distinctively Australian character of their work, with many of the colours and forms they use evoking the casual lifestyle and vibrant natural landscape of Australia.

I like how organic-looking everything is, which is a real contrast to the raw material that they’re using.  I’m already plotting what I would do with one of those fabulous bowls.a

I’m not usually a huge fan of jewelry on men, but I think I would make an exception for these interesting pieces from AK Vintage.

Their women’s line is pretty gorgeous too.  Everything is made from vintage chains and vintage leather gloves make an appearance in the detailing.  I like her pieces because it sort of looks like a collection of great little finds from an estate sale strung on a chain.

Greenheart is a Chicago-based shop that sells fair trade goods that are as chic as they are socially responsible.  You can get stylish duds without having to buy something made by a sweatshop in China.  I think that it’s important to vote with your dollar, as it’s the most effective impact you can have on the world.

They’ve got clothing, accessories, paper goods, kid’s toys, and more.  And their prices are very reasonable.  What’s not to love?

If you’re looking for something special for an event or party, and you love vintage, look no further than Hemlock Vintage.  This plaid gray number is one of my favorites.  There’s not too much in the shop at the moment, but there is the promise of more to come.

This line of jewelry would be great for someone who doesn’t wear very much jewelry, or finds one thing and then wears it forever.  You can pick any number, letter or symbol.  My favorite is the {.  It’s a  nice twist on the monogram necklaces for someone who doesn’t necessarily want to wear their initial around their neck.  You can find the whole collection here.