even the ones that are publicly declared as cute. My hatred stems from many negative experiences with birds. After a bird-poop-on-head incident three years ago, I cower whenever a pigeon gets within five feet of me. Every time a pigeon disturbs my space, I contort my face in unsightly ways, and scurry towards the other direction. My mother also cared for a ridiculous number of birds, which always smelled incredibly foul. The bird odors did not dissipate until a raccoon mama and two raccoon babies got into the cages, and murdered the trapped birds. Blood. Bath.
Despite my hatred towards birds, I seem to enjoy bird OBJECTS.
RECENT BIRD-THEMED ACTIVITIES IN THE LIFE OF TRICIA:
Inspired by my recent behavior, up-up-up above are bird objects that I, a bird hater, enjoy.
1. Poetic Home is one of my favorite blogs. Run by Grace Light, a photo stylist (!), Poetic Home features perfect vintage and vintage-inspired treasures that all have a twinkle of grandeur. (Grace has impeccable taste! Look at her antique library card catalog!) In January, she suggested turning old bird cages into lamps (GO LOOK!) The birdcage curtain is as adorable as baby bunnies. Frolicking in a meadow. With chicks and tulips.
2. Good Morning! Vintage Bird Hairpins from Hella Good, $6
3. A CAST-IRON bird bottle opener. What a whimsical way to open a 40. I keed… Wonder Wings Bottle Opener, $9.99
4. For some reason, this cute bird reminds me of an old man who buys a ridiculous car…like a ferrari (I know nothing about cars), just to feel young again. Apologies, I have a weird little mind. barkingbirdart’s Etsy shop is adorable, and full with limited edition (numbered!) prints. Bird Dressed As A Superhero print from barkingbirdart’s Etsy, $18
5. I want to be best friends with ohhellofriend. First, my default phrase when I see a friend is…”hello friend.” Cosmic? Serendipitous? “FORESHADOWFORESHADOWFORESHADOW!!(?) I can imagine our (me and ohhelofriend) meeting; we would both say “hello, friend,” AT THE SAME TIME. Second, she runs one of my favorite (no HYPERBOLE here). Third, her blog is glorious. owl stud earrings from ohhellofriend’s Etsy, $3.50 (I would get these myself, but my ears not pierced. I am afraid of pain. Womp womp.)
6. Early Bird Sugar dispenser from Anthropologie, $14. There is also a matching birdie that doles creamer, but no thank you. I drink my coffee black. It reflects my soul.
7. Owl Warm and Cozy Mug, $15.99
8. My friend, Angelica, frequently wears a really lovely felt bird pin, and I’ve always wanted one for myself. These pins come in three colors, which translates to three different ways you can present yourself to the world. “I’m feeling romantically delusional today, I will wear my red bird pin.” Little Bird Pins from Threekeys’ Etsy, $3
*For the purposes of this post, “birds” = “the (prolonged) flyers of the aves class.” I support penguins.
Although Heath Ledger’s Frankie Valli solo (on bleachers!) in 10 Things I Hate About You is exceptional, I prefer the scene where pugnacious Patrick Verona lights his cigarette with his bunsen burner(!) My appreciation for silly science things stems from my previous life as a science nerd (behemothic-I-want-to-make-a-glow-in-the-dark-tomato-plant «TRUE STORY» proportions).
I recently passed by foursided, a picture-framing gallery in Lakeview, which had the most glorious vintage science posters in the store window. My eyes twinkled. One poster featured a ring stand-hugged flask that floated above a bunsen burner (cliché image, I know), while the other poster discussed vision and wavelengths (lots of colors!). Often featuring magnificent hand sketches and an elusive sans-serif “science” font, vintage science illustrations are gorgeously quirky. Apparently there are others that share my fascination with vintage science illustrations, because I FOUND A LOT OF NEAT THINGS. Here is a selection of my findings, in science lesson form.
1. FACT! Flexor muscles allow you to bend your joints. These tins serve as the ideal hiding spot for little trinkets, and as a good reminder of the often overlooked flexor muscles. Tiny Tins (Flexors) from aminyitray on Etsy, $10
2. FACT! Fuzzy bugs are more pleasant in sketch-form, rather than alive-crawling-on-your-leg-form. Fuzzy Wuzzy Insect Pendant from Schmutzerland on Etsy, $27
3. FACT! KING PHILIP CAME OVER FOR GOOD SEX. Do you remember biological classification? No? Silly child. Well, perhaps you should get this BALLER SHIRT WHICH HAS A VINTAGE IMAGE OF MAJOR PHYLA. For those of you who are concerned about how others will respond to your new shirt, FEAR NOT! It comes in two color combinations! Light blue (shown above), and brown (shown below in a clo-clo-close-up image of the shirt) Tree of Life shirt from isotope on Etsy, $18 (Note: isotope has lots of interesting vintage science shirts, so I highly recommend that you take a peek.)
4. FACT! Reindeer = Caribou. These cards don’t feature an authentic vintage illustration, but after sifting through lots of science encyclopedia images, I couldn’t resist including these cards. Also, I like reindeer. Reindeer Antlers letterpress cards from Springtide Press on Etsy, $18
5. FACT! Vena Cava is a fashion label that occasionally makes pretty things, but generally bores me. DOUBLE FACT! De-oxygenated blood travels through the superior and inferior vena cava. TRIPLE FACT! The aorta is the largest artery in the body. Aorta and Vena Cava ring from aminyitray on Etsy, $40
6. FACT! Girls and boys who use skull-adorned pocket mirrors are excellent at hand to hand combat. Skull Pocket Mirror from badgeland on Etsy, $2.49
7. FACT! Without the Moog synthesizer, we would be without many hottt electronic tracks. Note detail below! Moog Synthesizer Schematic shirt from isotope on Etsy, $14
8. FACT! Biology purses are cooler than rolling backpacks. Biology Book Purse from prettytheory on Etsy, $40
9. FACT! Wearing a necklace that shows an injured hand proves that you are not afraid of blood, bitches, and hand to hand combat. Wounded Hand Pendant from aminyitray on Etsy, $25
10. FACT! The experience of reading any book can be improved if you use a tuberculosis, diphtheria, and tetanus bookmark. Yum. Bacteria Bookmark from DamageNoted on Etsy, $1.75
Final note: If you really like vintage science illustrations, you will love this Flickr pool.
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.
1. 50s Silk Blue Swing Dress, indigolace on ebay
2. Adrienne Vittadini Silk Scarf, sarmar04 on ebay
3. Lacina Top, Anthropologie, $39.95
4. Sunglasses, Forever 21, $2.99
5. Chirp and Tweet Dessert Plate, Anthropologie, $14
6. Red Wool Princess Coat, shop blue bird on ebay
7. Cupcake Apron, Boojiboo on etsy, $28.75
8. Painted Rose Hairclips, Forever 21, $2.80
I have to dedicate this post to my co-worker, Patrick, who recently lent me season one of Pushing Daisies. The exchange went somewhat like this.
Patrick: Would you like to borrow my season one Pushing Daisies DVDs? [Read: I would like to have someone to discuss Pushing Daisies with on Thursday mornings. Please watch quickly, and get caught up.]
Tricia: Umm…okay.
He gave me the DVDs, and I watched. In one day, I watched six episodes. Consecutively. Yes, I understand that this fact is a little embarrassing. Which is why, after the sixth episode, I left the apartment to get a cupcake. Then I returned, and resumed watching.
Produced by ABC, Pushing Daisies is the most whimsical, wildly imaginative TV series that I have ever watched. Visually, Pushing Daisies resembles a love child between Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Tim Burton (Ignore the biological impossibility! Imagination!). Since Amelie is my favorite movie, by far, it makes sense that I am utterly smitten with Pushing Daisies. There are even a few parallels between Pushing Daisies and Amelie!: the Pie Hole (Montmartre café), Chuck (English-speaking Amelie!), costume design, and the first episode of Pushing Daisies even features a song from the Amelie soundtrack!
The plot revolves around Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with the touch of his finger. After reawakening the dead, Ned has a minute to retouch the person. If he doesn’t, the dead thing stays alive and someone else dies in exchange. Finally, if he touches anything that he had once revived, the thing stays dead forever. Make sense? I hope so. Ned and Emerson, a Private Investigator, use Ned’s extraordinary gift to solve murder crimes (and cash in on the reward money). Originally, this plan worked well, until Ned had to reawaken his childhood sweetheart, Chuck (!@#!@$%!$!@#!$%!!!!)
Ned can’t bring himself to un-reviving Chuck from the dead. Which is great, because I ADORE CHUCK! She is brilliant! Witty! Quirky! Charming! Adventurous! Oh, Chuck! How I wish I could be you! Chuck is a hybrid of Zooey Deschanel, Rory Gilmore, and AMELIE. Some of my favorite fictional/real people! So many exclamation points! Furthermore, Chuck always wears the most sparkling clothes! She pairs wonderful dresses with perfect little cardigans! Chuck joins Ned and Emerson, and the show chronicles the team’s sleuthing adventures.
So after six straight episodes of Pushing Daisies, what do I think about? How can I be like Chuck?! I subsequently went to this Pushing Daisies fan site (where all the pictures in this post are from!) to oogle at the Pushing Daisies cast (mostly Chuck). Chuck wears a lot of 1950s swing dresses, and ebay is the perfect place to find them. The dress up, up above has a Chuckish silhouette, and is well-tailored too! On trips to the morgue, Chuck frequently wears bold-colored wool coats, sunglasses and scarves so Mr. Coroner doesn’t recognize her. (Her disguises are kind of fruitless, but I enjoy seeing her disguises nonetheless!) I wear nearly as many cardigans as Mr. Rogers, and Chuck seems to be the same way too! I’ve always fawned over Anthropologie’s dainty cardigans. They’re always so cozy and detailed! Chuck also enjoys lovely hair things: Audrey Hepburn-sized hats and flower hair clips! When she isn’t at the morgue, Chuck helps Ned bake pies (and even suggests that the Pie Hole should serve CUP PIES…CUPCAKE-SIZED PIES…panda-precious!), and wraps herself in cute aprons. Lastly, a perfect plate for the Pie Hole’s famous Three Plum pie. Yummy!
I love books. I love reading them. I love looking at them. I love stacking them. Sometimes, I love them without ever even reading them (*gasp* weren’t you an English major in college?!).
“Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired[...] produces such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can[...] read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity[…] we cherish books even if unread, their mere presence exudes comfort, their ready access, reassurance.” —Alfred Edward Newton (1863 – 1940)
Books can be pretty, and to enjoy the aesthetic pleasure of cover art, page layout, typography — that I do not think is a sin. Here are a few other people who agree with me, and some of my favorite places to travel for my aesthetic love of books.
Above: From a post about What it Is by Lynda Barry
This is my favorite book blog and I recommend an immediate RSS subscription. The author, an amazing illustrator in her own right, and provides scans from sketchbooks, children’s books, comic books, craft books, and any other kind of page turning instrument with pictures or gadgets.
I love this site because it reveals (1) the artistic innards of books, (2) books not on best seller’s lists. She clearly spends time selecting pretty pages to preview, proving that the title of her site should be something more like Book By Its Cover and Great Examples of Inside Pages Too (can you tell I’m a writer? I thought so.)
2.
Covers
I love this site most because the main page’s grid layout gets me all excited about book covers every time I see it. You can click on each cover to see a larger version and commentary. They update every week, and it’s another book blog I wouldn’t hesitate to subscribe to.
3.
Flickr Sets
Above: Image from the Old-Timey Paperback Book Covers group pool on Flickr.
Veer recently posted about a flickr collection featuring scans from mid-20th century books. This got me scouting around for more flickr sets. Here are some of my favorite finds from group pools: Mother Goose Illustrations, The Retro Kid Pool, and Old-Timey Paperback Book Covers.
4.
McSweeney’s
Above: Image from NY Magazine
According to me, McSweeney’s consistently publishes some of the best-looking books on the planet. You’ve already seen my review of Maps & Legends, printed by McSweeney’s, and you can browse around for even more on the McSweeny’s site, either in the Books section or in the McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern section (the McS’s lit mag). These books are all better in 3-D, though, a lot of them have secret openings, layered covers, or some other graphical gimmick that I can’t get enough of.
5.
The Book Design Review
Above: Image from The Book Design Review
Ironically, you should not judge this page by its header because it’s full of cool book covers and book cover discussions (ironically my friend Marmalade pointed me to this at almost the exact same time I was posting it, and now I’m trying to think of a pun about being “on the same page” but it isn’t going well).
In summary, you should judge book covers by their book covers. In order to do so, you should visit the following places (right click, open in new window): (more…)
