What We Bought: Halloween Costume at Oona's

Our all-time favorite little vintage store, which we've frequented since we were a Vamp-lipsticked, clove-smoking, angsty little teen who hung out at Cafe Pamplona writing bad poetry, is Oona's in Harvard Square, where we stopped in to check out their "Experienced Clothing" certainly monthly for a good portion of our life.


On our latest visit-- our first in too long, definitely-- we found it much the same as always, with the owner working the counter and the shop's namesake, her daughter, working too, along with a couple of other awesomely amiable employees. It's a tiny place and we were afraid that with their sizeable Halloween section (replete with everything from gorgeous prom dresses to psychedelic mod minidresses to purple shiny bootcut leggings!) it would be mobbed, but it was just fine. They expect the next few days to get progressively worse, so we recommend that if you haven't figured out your costume and you're local, you check them out sooner rather than, say, Friday.

Anyway... we switched up from the original plan of Madonna c. Like a Virgin due to the sheer seeming impossiblity of finding huge lacy crinolines and non-revealing bustiers and tons of cross necklaces and granny boots for little money... in a similar genre but definitely more of an idol to us is Cyndi of course.

Our (crappily collaged) inspiration board:



Here's the work in progress:



Pink lace long-sleeve, campsite offer of $4 at Oregon Country Fair
Black sequined v-neck, Oona's, Studio 1940 brand, $10
Tutu, new at Oona's (from China, sad, but handmade tutus are expensive!) $18
Turquoise cotton skirt, Oona's, $5
Purple asymmetric chiffon skirt, Discount Dance Supply, $17

We're going to add black leggings, our pythonesque scrunchy boots, lots and LOTS of bracelets and other jewels, and crazy makeup and hair of course. We won't be able to rock the bangs, unfortunately, but we'll do something big and 80s and colorful, anyway.

We shall see how it goes! What are you doing for Halloween?

What We Wore: Flamenco Wednesday

Love this skirt. Adore this skirt more than we can say, even though the bejeweled waistband is starting to fall apart and we'll probably have to remove the whole thing. But the trim, and the silhouette... ah it was love at first sight (TJ Maxx, under $30 but no exact recollection).


Please pardon the really terrible nighttime photograph (death for the crappy cell phone shot, even more so than usual)...

This looked way better at the beginning of the day... by nightfall the sweater had stretched and wrinkled a bit and the hair was a total nightmare, but we wanted to share anyhow. Perhaps we should keep things like this to ourselves.

We're just guessing here but we think the sweater was about $15 at Filene's Basement. It's viscose. What the heck is viscose? Oh, OK, it's a type of rayon, basically. Which makes it sort of, kind of natural (made from cellulose, or plant fiber). Not so bad.

Boots: our faux python stretchy/scrunchy new-ish stilettos, $30 at Famous Footwear over the summer (detail shot here).

Happy Hump Day!

Shopping in Your Own Closet!

The change of seasons is upon us! With the passing of the equinox, it is time to start thinking about Hallowe'en, unbelievably enough! (We didn't really get a summer here in New England).

Whether you're in the Northern Hemisphere and experiencing shorter days and crisper temperatures, or just warming up to Spring Down Under, you'll probably have to do some seasonal shifting of your wardrobe (unless you're in a clime where you can wear the same breezy items year-round, or have gigantor closets. Unfortunately for us, we are in neither position).

We have a storage unit in the basement, which we pack up twice a year with garment bags and Rubbermaid containers filled with off-season clothes and bedding and then haul up and down the stairs. (We group them into Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter so as to spare ourselves doing this four times in a year!)

For those of you with small closets and no supplemental basement or attic space, some lovely storage options we've seen recently include stacks of vintage suitcases (with the top one used as a side or bedside table), vintage steamer trunks, and of course underbed boxes (buy risers if your frame is low to the ground, and hide them with a lovely bed skirt! Check out these great options from Jeri's organization blog!) Or, make use of high ceilings and construct shelving all the way up (and get yourself a proper stepladder while you're at it).

One of the most exciting things (for us anyway) about this grueling process is discovering pieces we had completely forgotten we owned. This past weekend we found, tucked away in a bin at some unknown time, a lovely vintage cropped lavender motorcycle jacket. When did we buy this? At what thrift shop did we find it? It must have been last winter, because we have definitely never worn it.



Quelle cuteness, no?? We think it's 80s... it is "authentic style" brand. Isn't the iris color just divine? OK, maybe only if you're obsessed with purple. We don't normally go in for pastels, but this we couldn't pass up (evidently). Who could have known that cropped motocross and other wee leather jackets would be so "in" this season, too? (Not that we care about being "in"... we'll wear whatever we like and trends can shove it, we're just happy when things we like are widely available!)

We heard a fancy leather-cleaning remedy the other day which we'd like to share, also. And by fancy we mean totally thrifty and natural and easy: egg white. Apparently raw egg white on a soft cloth will take leather stains out. We will be trying this immediately.

Other things we're excited about for fall in Boston: all of the colored tights we bought over the summer, and the black boots we got on clearance, together of course! Corduroy! Velvet! Cashmere... aaaaahhhh... (don't forget to check your Goodwill or Savers for cashmere sweaters we got both our baby pink and our deep purple ones at thrift shops!)

Have you found anything fabulous in your seasonal shift that you had forgotten about? What makes you happiest about the change in your part of the world?

Happy shopping-in-your-own-closet!

Fall Footwear For Less (of course)

We're really not interested in thinking about fall yet, being as we've barely made it to the beach yet this summer (to be remedied further tomorrow) ... But we suppose it's time to start at least considering it before it sneaks up on us too much.

There are a bunch of boot trends happening for fall, including victorian/granny boots, western-inspired, knee-highs, foldovers, over-the-knees, and booties. Bold color is big, as are retro and innovative shapes.

We found a few cool affordable pairs on Etsy, which you might want to snap up if they're your size, as they're all singular vintage! (Most of the fall recommendations we've seen have topped $200 new, so be green and thrifty and find something unique).

Paisley Pointy-Toe Tie-Back Foldover Booties, $14, at AshasVintage, size 9



Knee-high Leather Boots, $14, at Trends4Today, size 7



Hot mama 80s boots, $14.99 at AufDeMaur, size 8



Crochet-vamp victorian granny boots. $18 at Reruns, size 8



Western-inspired bootie, $18, at VintageOrphans, size 7 1/2



Cherry Red Foldover Flat Boots, $20, at HellCatVintage, size 6


Totally Awesome 80s white strappy boots with RHINESTONE HEEL DETAIL, $20, at SimplyMaggieMay, size 9



Purple velvet slouch boots (more rhinestones!), $23, at LillysCloset, size 6



Kitten heel knee-high boots (great to dye, perhaps?), $22, from TreasuresInAnAttic, size 8 1/2



Perfect 70s vegan leather knee-high boots with buckles, $24.00, from PaintedSoulDesign, size 6



Black suede tall boots with RIBBON-BOW OPTION! (We would so do that), $24.99 at PlumberryVintage, size 7



80s scrunchy-vamp red kitten heel ankle boots, $25.00 at DayliteandDark, size 7



European granny boots, $27.95, from bOmode, size 8 1/2




Cheetah-lined red foloder ankle boot, $28.00, from Saminator, size 5
(if you have bigger feet check out these similar ones in a 7 1/2!

Hope you enjoy these rad options and are inspired to buy vintage!