Inspiration: Vintage Photos

I have many, many blogs on my Google Reader under the heading of “Fashion Inspiration”, and the list grows week-by-week. When I post about these blogs here, I am trying to cover various styles and aesthetics. Hopefully you will find something from which you can draw inspiration and ideas.

For today: Shorpy Historic Photo Archives. Not every photo posted here has people in it (and I love old photos even without people!) but the ones that do are absolutely golden.

How do you draw inspiration from such photos without going completely vintage? Pull elements from outfits. For example, men could imitate the three-piece suit or – even better! - the shirt collars that I adore. Ladies could easily adopt the fur above (faux fur, if you like) or the adorable little hat she wears so confidently. Just a few things to keep an eye out for when you go secondhand shopping: don’t simply pass over that “old fashioned” $3 blouse or pair of shoes will an eye-roll. Pick it up and imagine the possibilities.

Back in January, the Sartorialist discussed the charm of historic/old photographs too. (I know, I know, I am always talking about Scott’s blog…but it is amazing!!!!)

Inspiration: Xiaoxi Zhang

This adorable gal, Xiaoxi Zhang, is a great inspiration for anyone trying to craft vintage-inspired outfits. Her sketches and fabulous outifts never cease to amaze me. Visit her at It Is Nancy’s New Blog.

Building a Wardrobe Week 1: Discovering Your Colors

Welcome to Part 1 of a series of posts on how to build a versatile, fashionable wardrobe on a budget, because you really need the basics before you can start playing with anything quirky or trendy, or even set your own personal style.

What colors you wear are extremely important. You want to wear colors that are going to compliment your skin tone, your hair, and your eyes, not clash with them or (worse) overwhelm your lovely natural coloring.

The first thing you need to do is figure out what “season” you are, i.e. what colors suit you best. There are a couple ways to do this. You could use some of your monthly clothing budget to pay a consultant from Color Me Beautiful to do it for you (my mom took me to see a consultant for my sixteenth birthday) or you could do it yourself. Many websites have tutorials, step-by-step instructions, or even quizzes to help you figure it out.

Once you know your season, I strongly recommend you buy the corresponding swatch from Color Me Beautiful. For example, I am an Autumn, so I own this swatch. The color swatches are indispensable when you are starting to shop; after a time your eye will get used to picking out the colors you can wear and will no longer need to carry the swatch with you.

I was approached last week by a male friend who said he liked the new blog but wondered “what about the guys”? Colors are key to male wardrobe as well — you don’t want to wear a suit or tie that clashes with your natural skin tone and coloring (God’s gift to you!) either. Here is website with a flowchart to help figure out your season and recommendations for suit, shirt, tie, shoe, and even briefcase colors that will compliment you.

"Etsy Finds"

For a great daily digest of color and quirkiness to help you define (and re-define) your personal style, sign up for the Etsy Finds newsletter here. Although the digests feature finds in housewares, bath & beauty, furniture, and just about anything else you can think of in addition to clothes, accessories, shoes, vintage, and jewelry, it is a great resource for new and interesting wardobe pieces. Just make sure you browse and resist the temptation to buy – stick to the budget!

Budget stats

I’ve reset my budget stats to start afresh for the month of February. What do you do with the unspent $$$ for the month? Go on a shopping spree? NO! Bank the money and save for your next investment piece (e.g. that pair of amazing $150 boots at the secondhand store or that awesome suit jacket that probably won’t be there next time you go).

Also, I have decided to branch out a bit and save $10 of the monthly budget for books about fashion. We’ll see how that goes.

Gentlemen, take note.

Scott is once again right on the ball…girls like a man (and a wardrobe ON a man) that can age gracefully. Please don’t be too trendy.

Anyway, read Scott’s lovely post, the nicest thing I’ve seen today.

High Fashion Temporary Tattoos?

Believe it or not, yes.

The models showcasing Chanel’s Spring 2010 collection wore chain-link temporary tattoos around their wrists and legs. I am quite taken by this look though I know for certain I would NEVER be able to pull it off myself.

If you also like the look and could wear it well, you could go the cheap “I want the same look for less” route or you could wait until mid-February and invest in the Chanel packet of 55 temporary tattoos selling for $75. It could be your new spring accessory!