Essential Spring Piece: OOAK Skirt!

OOAK means one of a kind, in case that was like "huh?" for you.

We have scoured etsy for you for the most fabulous, (mostly) thrifty, unique handmade pieces there are to be had (within our taste parameters, of course).

We're going to go a little heavy on the purple here, so bear with us...

From left to right, top to bottom:
Patchwork by ChopstixWaits, custom, $75
Matroyshka skirt from madebylovewithhannah, Cotton, made-to-order, $68
"Pink is the New Black" by our favorite skirt shop, AKattyWampusTale, OOAK, $56
"Funky Skirt" From Nancy's Needles and Pens, $15
Slip skirt with applique by sewsewsuckurtoe, custom, $23
Orange "flirt skirt" by RaspberryBaby, only $29- multiple sizes available!
Batik hippie skirt from Marudhara of Thailand, $20!
Gorgeous coral print skirt from econica, cotton/linen, a splurge but worth it at $90
Black/white print from BoutiqueMiaByCXV, custom sizing, $42.99
Tie-Die with lace by LucidOpticLab, on sale for $15! (We may steal this one)
And finally, "Mangosteen" purple ruffle cotton pointy-hem skirt from cottonfields, $15!

We think buying whatever is at the mall shops or wherever else people shop for work clothes is sort of... boring. We don't want to risk someone else wearing the same piece! Ha. Maybe we have a problem with this need, but we certainly enjoy finding special, individual pieces.

Happy handmade hunting!

What we're wearing today: Victorian Edition

Today is a "professional dress" day at work, which means that Houston, we have a major problem. You wouldn't say that "conservative" is a part of our general repertoire, but our boss actually said "wear THE MOST CONSERVATIVE THING in your closet." Technically, this would be an interview suit, but technically we are also NOT a size 8 right now and so technically we'd be busting out of said suit. So, the hunt was on for an outfit to cover up all of our naughty bits but not make us look like one of the Duggar girls (shudder)...


We chose an ankle-length black linen skirt with a drop waist and ruffles at the hem, quite similar to this one from Organic Bouquet (although without the drawstring). We absolutely adore ruffles, especially in black (again, the whole "punkish girly girl" thing is our favorite). They add so much texture and interest to what would otherwise be such a plain and, yes, conservative, look. We got our skirt at either Marshall's or TJ Maxx (oh, the love!) for under $20. If you have the time and patience to pore over the racks, you can find such incredible pieces, especially beautiful fabrics for a fraction of their original cost, like silk, linen and cashmere.

Up top, a plain black long-sleeved crewneck from Mossimo at Target, from the clearance rack, less than $7. We don't understand paying a lot of money for a T-shirt; therefore, we refuse. Our cleavage hasn't been this covered up since it was snowing- we keep checking to make sure it's there!

And over that, a simply divine burgundy velvet blazer with yet more ruffled trim... ours is from Kohl's, Apt. 9 brand, and was deep in the seasonal clearance racks at $17! We are still kicking ourselves for not grabbing the black one, too.

We absolutely adore a nice tailored velvet blazer... especially one with princess seams, "locked and loaded" construction (as Stacey and Clinton would say) and beautiful feminine detailing. We found this beautiful vintage piece on Etsy...

At $44.00, it's a bit of investment to us, but it really does look to be in pristine vintage condition, and look how gorgeously it shows off the model's curves! Yowza!


We also spotted this absolutely incredible equestrian-courtesan-gypsy-inspired corset jacket on a site we'd never seen before, Chinatowner, for $55. It's polyester, which is sad, but still, we're fairly sure we might die if we don't own this soon. Oh, the lace, the satin ribbon, the flared hem and bell sleeves, the *drooooooool*

Style Icon of the Past: RAYANNE!

If you were a child of the 90s like we were, you remember (and presumably loved) My So-Called Life. We personally worshiped A.J. Langer's character, Rayanne, the bad girl with the fabulous personal style. (True, we should probably be commending the costume designer, but it's difficult to tell where A.J.'s character and her own taste diverge...)


It is virtually impossible to find any good photos of most of what she wore, but there were myriad amazing Punky Brewster-esque color and pattern combinations, lots of BIG jewelry, and fun hair (bleach streaks, mini braids, big pops of color in accessories :) ). While of course we can't all walk around sporting our brother's flannel shirts anymore, lest we be mistaken for home bums (and as adults we should probably eschew the backwards baseball cap), we can still take some lessons on individual dressing from this fictional icon. Here, seemingly the only posed photograph taken of AJ during this time period, we have a gorgeous textured gold-and-copper tunic over light stonewash jeans, a batik scarf and a leather hobo bag, accessorized with what appears to be (are we wrong?) a phone cord wrapped multiple times into a bracelet, big silver earrings and colorful plastic barrettes. Could her hair be any more gorgeous, cascading in those lovely little waves? We should all be so lucky. Nothing here matches, it's possible she could be considered slightly insane, and yet it's so.freaking.perfect.

In this rather poor-quality still from the show, Rayanne mixes bold colors and floral prints for our absolutely favorite "punkish girly-girl" look. How cool is she? The headband is divine. She did always go for that oversized blazer/flannel thing, and we believe in flaunting what you got a little bit more zealously, but still, so much fun. Claire looks like somebody's grandmother, doesn't she? We also commend Ricky's adventurousness with color and pattern (and eyeliner), but let's stick to Rayanne.

When A.J. walks the red carpet, she can certainly look amazingly glamourous in some astronomically expensive gown, like all of the other stars... but we like to see her in something a little bit bohemian, with a lot of personality, like this adorable summer shebang. We LOVE a simple tank with an embellished skirt- this one has beading, embroidery, beautiful fabric, AND a matching satin ribbon tie. Excuse us, we just fell off our chair. We have to admit, though, that we wouldn't have gone with the white sandals here. We think that soleless jeweled t-straps would have been totally gorgeous (you know about these? Gypsy embellished heaven!) Or, since barefoot probably isn't an option, a strappy metallic sandal, to pick up the beading in the skirt, would have looked less clunky. To pick up a fabulous wrap skirt of your own, check out Etsy shop Siam2U, a one-woman show in Thailand, for only $25!! Happy hunting!

Tonight we're talking about handbags.

We know that some of you girls are tied to your uber-expensive Louis and whatnot (and why did every girl I know work at Coach at some point?), although we have to admit, we totally and utterly do.not.get.it. We used to get by on Army-Navy surplus and/or street fair bags (and for some reason people have a real penchant for gifting us small purses... we must have fifteen of the things). However, we recently splurged on what (to our thrifty selves) is an expensive (=Benjamin) handbag. This was because, after searching hither and thither, nigh and high, it was the most appealing in every aspect; however, especiallyso since it is made from what appears to have been a ridiculously 80s purple leather jacket. HoakonHelga is a genius!

No pictures really do it justice- mine nor hers- but you can trust me that it's beautiful, and the perfect size (about a cubic foot ;). It's true that you never know when you'll need to jam, so pick a bigger one than us if that's a concern.

Recycled/upcycled, whatever you want to call it, used leather has all kinds of benefits to the earth, including fewer toxic chemicals used in tanning, less water used in washing, and of course, since no one is going to wear a cropped, pleated, shoulder-padded, eggplant purple leather jacket anytime soon (I'm surmising), keeping good material out of landfills. We don't have to mention the spiritual and environmental necessities of using as much of an animal as we can if we have had to kill it- but we just did.

Another bag designer I absolutely adore on Etsy is alkdesigns. Just plain gorgeous work.

!
Let's hope she fills up her shop a bit more.

These two amazing bags are under
$100 and $50, respectively,
and have so much personality and were created with such exquisite detail, saturated color and beautiful fabric that it almost hurts us to not purchase both. We hope they go to a good home.

Get something that isn't like everyone else has; after all, you're going to have it on you more than just about any other accessory you'll own!