At the moment. I’m sick of green. A kryptonite river. Harassment by trashy green tourists that walk at a snail’s pace. The burgeoning green grass of the Great Lawn at Millennium Park (YES, I AM A HATER. I have allergies.). Despite these negative green-laced events, green is one of my favorite colors, and frames five things that I am currently obsessed with.
1. Stickers and Donuts loves Maira Kalman. Featured in the NY Times this past Friday, The Robin Hood Foundation has renovated libraries in 62 schools throughout NYC. With the aid of Pentagram, a global design firm, the project commissioned several established artists (Maira Kalman, Cristoph Niemann, Stefan Sagmeister, Yuko Shimizu) to create murals for the libraries. I encourage you to flip through the slide show in the NY Times article, because the murals are amazing! Below is a picture from Cristoph Niemann’s mural. THE DINOSAUR’S TEETH ARE BOOKS!!@#@!#@!:
2. As my last post mentioned, I traded Chicago for NYC a few weeks ago. I had many new experiences (befriended a synthesizer-playing scientologist..which I THOUGHT WAS A NORMAL NYC THING, but after consulting with various natives, apparently it is an anomaly, went to the American Museum of Natural History and Babycakes…), and I notably visited Uniqlo for the first time! Chicago is imperfect in many ways, and here’s another complaint: There is no Uniqlo in Chicago.
Walking into Uniqlo is like sticking your head in a sanitary barrel of Runts. So many colors! All neatly stacked! I am convinced that Uniqlo is the best place to purchase excellent basics (and neat graffic t-shirts). I’m apathetic towards American Apparel: the sub-par quality clothes are overpriced, it often has questionable (borderline-costume-y) clothes, nothing fits me properly, and Don Charney disturbs me. Uniqlo has cheaper, better quality clothes, and they fit me! Also, if you purchase pants, they will tailor them within two hours for FREE! I returned to Chicago with half a suitcase full of Uniqlo purchases. (I reasoned that the sales tax is cheap in NY, and that THERE IS NO UNIQLO IN CHICAGO.)
3. Ira Glass, oh how I love thee. For me, Ira Glass falls in the “older male crushes of Tricia” category; a category which also includes Jarvis Cocker and Anderson Cooper. His voice is so melodious that when I listen to This American Life, I feel like a sorority girl listening to male a capella. I trudge through the voids between new episodes by catching up on the old episodes, which aired when I wasn’t yet cool enough to listen to the show. My current favorites: #328- What I Learned from Television (where Ira Glass gushes about being a die-hard OC fan, and his reaction to Seth and Summer’s conversation on This American Life) and #374- Somewhere Out There (full of unconventional love stories).
4. Whereas seemingly everyone was downtown getting drunk for St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, I went to Knee Deep Vintage, a store that I have wanted to go to since I returned to Chicago. Knee Deep Vintage is the best vintage/thrift store that I have ever been to. Located in wonderful Pilsen (even the manholes are glorious, and you can get both Mexican hot chocolate AND chilli lollipops), Knee Deep Vintage is full of treasures. The store’s great selection is reflective of the owners’ exceptional taste. Apparently, they go on adventures across the country to gather things for the store (source: nice stranger who spoke to me on the train). Everything is priced reasonably, well-organized, and neutral smelling. I bought one navy and white dress (pocket!), AND THE MOST MAGNIFICENT KELLY-GREEN BELT. It’s made of lots of metal plates that are sewn on an elastic band. It’s a little heavy, but if I ever get attacked, the belt will be an effective weapon!!!
5. Yesterday, Kitsune Noir featured the new movie poster for WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. I am very excited for the release (I do, after all, own a Where the Wild Things Are journal), however, scary kids movies (Coraline, good grief) traumatize me. I am determined to find someone willing to see the movie with me.
I have to give credit to Tricia for thinking of this one, and for making me feel, for a moment, as if I could be both as smart as Rory Gilmore and unemployed!
Rory Gilmore was the star of the now-defunct series Gilmore Girls. Rory lived with her young mother Lorelai, and they bantered back and forth for seven seasons. Rory was smart, witty, and had great journalistic-inspirations. She just happened to be almost exactly the same age as me, so I followed her through high school and college, and in her final season when she graduated (from Yale), I graduated college, too. (And also BAWLED for the entire episode because Rory was graduating, and I was graduating, and it was the end the series.) Anyway, Tricia & I love Rory, and so did my college roommate (who I think would like nearly everything on this list).
The point of this list is TWO FOLD. FIRST FOLD: Rory is smart, fun, and classy. SECOND FOLD: Because I am unemployed, and I am like Rory, we are now pretending Rory is unemployed, and would like to get gifts for use during her new-found free time. Is that too complicated? Tricia and I are complicated people.
Yesterday, I introduced you to Rhiannon, exposed her tepid feelings towards being compared to Rhianna, and hopefully convinced you why I am currently (always?) obsessed with everything Liebemarlene. We’ve reached the end, and I would now like to share with you some of the things that Rhiannon is currently obsessed with. And because I couldn’t resist, I’ve also included some of my own comments. In the guillemets. Why guillemets? I’ve always wanted an excuse to type “guillemets.” GUILLEMETS, GUILLEMETS, GUILLEMETS!
1. Lillian Gish
2. Reading about the Great Depression «The photo above is by Dorothea Lange, a wonderful photographer who took amazing photographs that encapsulated the consequences of the Great Depression.»
3. Apple Cider
4. 1940s Christmas films
5. Long necklaces
6. Velvet
7. Peter Pan collars «Psst! Esty and eBay are great places to find lacey peter pan collars.»
8. Coupon code sites «Now, more than ever, a lot of newspapers have been publishing many articles on ways to save. They almost always include coupon code sites, like RetailMeNot. If you’re planning to purchase something from a pretty big website, it’s a smart idea to check a website like RetailMeNot first. You could save quite a lot!»
9. 1920s hats now that my hair is short
10. Finding ways to antagonize my brother-in-law, Danny the Antagonizer
11. Finding ways to antagonize the jocks next door
12. 1970s Edwardian style
14. Vintage knitting patterns «A neat resource for vintage knitting patterns is Vintage Pattern House’s Etsy store. Not a knitter? Brighter Fusion’s Etsy store is full of vintage sewing patterns!»
Tricia’s Notes (!) & Picture Credits
The font is “Jane Austen” (swoon), which is downloadable at dafont.com. Except when noted, all images were taken from Liebemarlene Vintage Look Book. Vintage knitting pattern from Vintage Pattern House. Also of note! I didn’t make the fancy frame adorning the picture of Rhiannon! It was her boyfriend, Kumar! I can’t emphasize enough, I hope to one day have photo editing skills as tight as his.
Earlier I introduced you to the illustrious Rhiannon, who runs a lovely store (Liebemarlene Vintage!), blog (Liebemarlene Look Book!), and a central hub for her little internet empire (Liebemarlene!). Just by glancing the images featured on the previous post (I had such a hard time choosing which ones to feature!) and (perhaps) perusing her flickr, you can tell that Rhiannon has a visceral ability to put together flawless ensembles! I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ask her a few questions…OKAY, I CAN’T FOOL YOU WITH MY MODESTY. THE SCROLL BAR TELLS ALL! I actually, as you will soon find out, pummeled her with questions regarding her style and feelings on Rhianna. OH, and I set up fictitious scenarios regarding Bill & Ted (& George Carlin) and a fiery building. Wee!
1. If you were to sell the movie rights of your autobiography, whom would you want to play you? Black and White, Sepia, or Technicolor?
I think I’d want it to be a silent movie in the late 1910s, which I suppose doesn’t make any sense chronologically, but oh well! I’d love to have Mabel Normand play me–someone silly for sure. And old silent film blurry black and white with frilly costumes would be good!
2. How would you describe your style? How has your style evolved with time?
Right now my style is very old-fashioned and pretty girly, though a little bit less so at the moment than usual. And I feel like my style is changing all the time. For instance I never, never cared about fashion at all until I was around 18, and when I got into it I dressed pretty weirdly, going through all sorts of faux punk/hipster/’80s hooker phases throughout my college years, and after that regressing and going a little bit cutesy.
3. What/who inspires you?
I’m inspired by old movies, other fashion blogs, street style blogs, magazines like Lula … As far as the people around me are concerned I’m probably the most inspired by my boyfriend since he owns his own business and makes a living out of designing and being creative and strange (in a good way).
4. Do you have a favorite outfit?
No, it probably changes every week. Right now I’m into lace tights and dark colors, but my favorite outfit might have to be one I’m dreaming up–it’s a ’60s Christmas party style outfit with black tights, black shoes, some sort of clutch purse, and a dress from Ebay that’s on its way as I write this.
5. Based on the selection of items in your store, it seems like you always sell your best finds! This theory, however, conflicts with how I imagine your personal closet to look like (ie, an assemblage of the most perfect items/the best place in the world to play dress-up). How do you decide what to sell, and what to keep? Is this decision easy?
Thank you! Oh, it’s really hard. When I buy for the store I try to go with only things I’d wear myself, so it’s really hard having to sell it all. I try to be strict with myself, though; I’ll keep something only if I really, really love it or if it’s something I’ve been looking for. A lot of times even if I do keep something I’ll end up selling it a few months later anyway.
6. What is on your Winter wish list?
I just bought the coat I’ve been wanting to buy, so what I’m really looking for now is a pair of long leather gloves to go with it (and to replace the pair I lost last winter–I’m always losing gloves!). I’d like a few sweaters, maybe a pair of thicker knit tights for the colder months.
Whenever my sister, Ashley, and I go to garage sales together we’ll drive around looking for the ones run by little white-haired ladies. They always have the best things.
7. As a superb scourer and thrifter, do you have any shareable secrets to finding wonderful things?
I don’t know if I’m superb, but thank you!!! I guess the best thing (but probably not the easiest) thing you could do is to go to the best thrift/vintage/antique stores around you as much as you can, just so that you don’t miss out on anything. Other than that I find the most things at thrift stores, but I’ve found lots of funny little accessories and treasures at estate sales and garage sales. It might not be nice to say I guess, but “old lady garage sales” are my favorite ones by far. Whenever my sister, Ashley, and I go to garage sales together we’ll drive around looking for the ones run by little white-haired ladies. They always have the best things.
8. Let’s pretend you have access to a magical phone booth. To be more exact, Bill & Ted’s phone booth (a disguised time machine). You are allowed to pick one year/location to travel to. Which year would you pick, what would you do, and who would you want to meet? (more…)
There are a couple of factors that led me to blogging.
I absolutely adore Rhiannon Leifheit, the mastermind behind the Liebemarlene empire. A vintage dealer based in Atlanta(ish), Rhiannon has a distinctive, romantically whimsical style. She manages a vintage clothes and accessories store, blog (filled with lots of visually exhilarating outfits), and website. My favorite fashion blogger, Rhiannon is an absolute fashion inspiration.
Rhiannon has been featured in quite a few magazines, including Lucky Magazine (Lucky Girl August 2008!!!), Marie Claire, and Bust! For some mysterious reason, issues of Lucky Magazine magically appear in my mailbox, and when I saw Rhiannon, I squealed like a chubby pig. Contrary to other high-traffic fashion sites, Rhiannon focuses on impeccable design, rather than specific brands. Thus, I never find myself questioning, “Well. That’s cool that you got a free Ed Hardy hat. It is, however, hideous and you are a failure.” I may be cruel, but coming across one of these sites reaffirms Liebemarlene’s unquestionable superiority.
The many iterations of the “Rhiannon outfit” (FYI- she has a collection of over 700 outfits on her flickr) exemplify her undying love for vintage. Rhiannon is, undeniably, a vintage princess. She excels at seamlessly integrating new pieces (like Forever 21 cardigans) with dainty dresses of undiminished elegance. Oh! I also love how her pictures are frequently scenic! Her Southern-forests-mansion adventures make me jealous! She brazenly explores a myriad of eras, fabrics, prints and colors.
Red ruffle dress!
eee!
The houndstooth-y sweater is fantastic!
So many colors! I don’t think I have ever seen a coat as colorful as the 1960s plaid coat in the top left hand corner! The kelly green dress is so lovely too!
The thread that weaves through Rhiannon’s style is her penchant for exceptional details. Lace! Pleats! Prints! Rhiannon’s eye for detail is especially visible in her accessories!
YES, I AM CLASSIFYING THAT BIKE AS AN ACCESSORY! (It’s perfect!) Although sometimes subtle, these wee details capture the complexity of Rhiannon’s style, and dose her ensembles with extra grandeur. My complements attest to how much I want to be Rhiannon’s friend! (So I can foray into her closet, of course!) I am delighted to present to you an exclusive interview with Rhiannon, where she discusses her love of old movies, the 1930s, and shares some tips so you can be a super thrifter like her!
LATER TODAY: INTERVIEW WITH RHIANNON TOMORROW: CURRENTLY OBSESSED WITH RHIANNON (HURAH!)
Tricia’s Notes (!) & Picture Credits
The font is “Jane Austen” (swoon), which is downloadable at dafont.com. All images were taken from Rhiannon’s flickr or Liebemarlene Vintage. Finally, the framed logos in the introductory picture and magazine captures are from her website, and were frillified by her boyfriend, Kumar. I aspire to one day have photo editing skills as tight as his.
Okay, you caught me. I’m addicted to AMC’s original series Mad Men (hint: if you need to catch up on episodes slash the entire series slash you tried to netflix it but so did everyone else, this might help.)
Most of the show takes place at an early 1960s ad agency.
Do you wish you were part of the show? Or is that just me? I know I wish, at the very least, that I could drink that much alcohol at work. Also, it would be nice to be alive when Marilyn Monroe was considered the epitome of hotness (great for those of us who want to continue eating).
Here’s a list of the Mad Men-related products shown at the top of the page:
Want to see more? I’ve got a picture of all the characters (I wrote on it with my notes). Also, a general trailer if you haven’t seen the show. (more…)
