etsy shop update! chambray dresses and knee high boots.

Vintage CHAMBRAY Mini Dress

Vintage Navy and Cream LACE Coat

Vintage 1970's Leather KNEE HIGH Boots

Vintage HIGH WAIST Polka Dot Skirt

This and more, including Liz Claiborne high waisted trousers and a puff sleeve dress with a pretty potted flower pattern.

Well, I found my Valentine's Day dress this weekend! I'll be posting about it this week.. I've got to wear it for an outfit post before Valentine's because I can't wait. Sunday is just too far away.

Happy Monday, all!

rainy day reds and pinks.. and a giveaway winner!

Thanks for your patience, everyone! Now for the Dailee Dose giveaway winner announcement!

The winner is... Kathy! Congratulations! The floral cameos are now yours and will be headed your way soon.

Today was a rainy day, which means I had a lazy afternoon doing very little. Here is what I did.

I packaged up Etsy items for some of my international friends.

I grew a Valentine's Day tree.

I stamped things.

I ordered Neil's Valentine's Day gift. No pictures, I can't give anything away! More on that later.

And.. I started a project. By "started", I mean thought about.

(The magazine is Ready Made, and the project is a great and easy way to remake a vintage dress. Can't wait to cut up this pink polka dot one, which I'm going to start as soon as I finish this post.)

Besides that, today I drank coffee, ate cookies, and watched cheesy Sherlock Holmes movies. Tomorrow will be productive, I swear.

What are your weekend plans?

the blues are still blue. chambray bows and sailor shorts

Photos by Neil!

Men's Chambray Button Up - Urban Outfitters (..and stolen from Neil)
High Waist Navy Sailor Shorts - Forever21
Chambray Polka Dot Bow Band - Forever21
1940's Fringe Tan Heels - gift from Rhi

Have you been hearing a lot of talk about the color blue lately? Well, so have I. Here's my take.

I've been lusting after these shorts ever since I went to Forever21 and reserved a pair when they sold out about a month ago. The double breasted buttons and cuffed legs are absolutely lovely.. but I also fell in love with this great chambray bow headband when we were in the store today. White polka dots! And when you can purchase a headband at Forever21 for less than four dollars, there isn't much incentive to spend time making one with supplies that cost about the same.

That doesn't mean that my plans to make a black lace bow hair comb tomorrow are canceled. I've been dreaming up the perfect Valentine's Day dress, and if I don't find it during my friend Lauren and my weekly shopping trip on Saturday, I'm going to reconstruct it from something I have - an old slip or the like. And while I dream of it, I can make hair accessories that will match my perfect dress.

And while this Urban Outfitters dress isn't in line for what I'm imagining for Valentine's Day wear, it is something I want desperately. And this UO jumper. And this lovely button up skirt Anja is selling. Oh chambray. I might just have to post about you.

Hey, and a random thought for you all. What is your take on fashion design school? Have any of you attended? I'm wondering what programs are worth it and if the whole experience itself is worth it, or if teaching yourself has more reward. What do you think?

(AGH! I completely forgot to announce a Dailee Dose giveaway winner today! Because I wanted to give you all enough warning to get your entry in, I will extend the giveaway until Friday afternoon! So for all that haven't entered, here is the original post..)

shop update! valentine's day lace and velvet.

Vintage Valentine LACE Dress in Peach

Vintage Tiny Fit MILITARY Blazer and 1980's Pleats and HIGH WAISTED Trousers

1970's Braided MACRAME Belt with Wooden Buckle

Vintage Sheer LACE Blouse

Shop update! Including the Gunne Sax dress I wore in the snow post this past week and a pretty spring linen dress in cornflower blue.

I'm also currently working on adding a ton of items to the sale section, as well as marking down current sale items. Definitely check it out!

vintage valentine's day greetings

A favorite holiday hobby of mine is looking at vintage cards, and Valentine's Day does not disappoint. You can find all sorts of greetings - from the cutesy to the strange - in Valentine's Day cards. But they're mostly just cutesy. And awesome.

(All vintage greetings for sale via Etsy - here, here, here, and here.)

I found this little guy at an antique mall last weekend.

If you're looking for a card that's a little less old, Urban Outfitters offers some great wooden sweethearts. And you can always opt for something a bit more anatomically correct.

Shop update tomorrow!

edwardian hair and gunne sax red velvet

Photos by Neil!

Red Velvet and Lace Gunne Sax Dress - Thrifted

Black Lace Up Zodiac Boots -Tennessee Antique Mall

A Tennessee snow today!

Recently, I was looking at my sister Rhi's blog and came across this great old post of hers about the Edwardian actress Gabrielle Ray.. Ray's hair bewitched me a bit, so I wanted to try something similar with my own. It was surprisingly easy - I just twisted chunks of my hair and pinned them loosely to the top of my head.

The dress I'm wearing is a Jessica McClintock Gunne Sax dress that is ridiculously petite - I couldn't get it on until I trimmed the sleeves - but I absolutely love the red and white velvet and lace mix (especially with Valentine's Day coming up!). I thought it would be a perfect dress in the snow, so Neil and I did a mini photo shoot with it this afternoon.

When it snows in Nashville, everything - literally EVERYTHING - shuts down. Moms go to the grocery store the day before to stock up on food items, schools close sometimes 24 hours in advance just in case. I did some shopping for my store update on Monday this morning, and it only took about three blocks before we saw a car turned painfully on its side in the ditch. Two miles later and we had seen a total of five cars beaten by the roads.

But man alive, was it beautiful! It was one of those light, slushy snows that makes everything it touches seem weightless. And I love what snow does to the nighttime.. it's almost as bright as day out there. The sky's a reddish peach color and the ground is a stark white.

So besides a bit of shopping and some picture taking, Neil and I had a lazy day. Neil made a homemade chicken pot pie and we bought some light red wine to go with it, and I baked more muffins for dessert. Today was definitely a chicken pot pie and baked goods kind of day.

Do you have any fun weekend plans? (and random last note.. have you guys heard about Alexa Chung designing for Madewell? Velvet dresses, high waisted pants, peter pan collars, vintage children coats as inspiration.. does it get any better than that?)

interview and giveaway with christine of dailee dose jewelry and handmade!

An interview and giveaway for today!

Lovely Christine of Dailee Dose has an eye for vintage inspired jewelry. She puts the greatest creative philosophy - create something new from something old - to use with her own individualized spin.. Making vintage pieces new again, she also manages to retain their soft, vintage aesthetic in the process.

Whether she's reconstructing a lace dress from an old negligee, wedding antique storybook illustrations to wood cutouts, or creating feminine, ruffly undies from vintage fabrics, Christine has a real penchant for creating and upcycling - and all with a bit of an edge.

Tell us a bit about yourself!

Hello! My name is Christine, I’m 21, and I live in Marlton, New Jersey with my boyfriend Derek and our two cats, Eve and Rogue. We both grew up here and were high school sweethearts. It is our dream to move off together someday and have a charming little house of our own in a place much more satisfying. I love to create all sorts of things, and I am obsessed with vintage, fashion, sewing, art and jewelry. I collect vintage dresses, fashion magazines, vintage fairy tale books, kitschy house wares and knick knacks, and any other cute things I can get my hands on.

What led you to start making jewelry (and clothing, too)?

Ever since I can remember, I was always making something. I used to sketch a lot growing up, and I even used to paint one of a kind dolls. I studied art during my middle school years and in high school I took four years of fashion design classes. Sewing was always a strong passion of mine, but I didn’t actually start creating jewelry seriously until this past year. I stumbled across Etsy in 2008 and instantly fell in love. I always knew that I wanted to work for myself, and this was the place that would allow me to do that. I just wish I would have started Dailee Dose sooner!

Do you have a favorite creation that you've made?

I really love the pieces from my Alice in Wonderland collection, since I am secretly obsessed with the story (I think I have seen every Alice in Wonderland movie there is..). The red reconstructed slip dress I made for Valentine’s Day is another one of my favorites.

You find such great pieces to put together! What are your shopping strategies?

Thank you! But I don’t think I really have a strategy, I usually just sort of stumble upon things! I spend a lot of time supply shopping on Etsy and in thrift shops, and I look for anything vintage or unique that I can turn into jewelry. For example, I just recently found the cutest vintage wooden Easter ornaments that I want to turn in to necklaces. Lucite cabochons, cameos, and Cracker Jack toys are the best.

What inspires you the most?

I like to work with several different components at once, and the beads and fabric themselves inspire me the most. When I am shopping for supplies, I usually know right away how I want to use an item in a design. I love to use vintage fabrics, like old curtains or linens, and upcycle them in to something pretty and new. I read a lot of fashion blogs and browse online boutiques all the time. And anything frilly and girly, with lots of lace and ruffles, always catches my eye.

Any future plans for your shops that we should be aware of?

I have only just begun with Dailee Dose, and I am super excited! I am currently focusing more of my attention on my clothing designs, and I am working on a Spring/Summer line that will consist of rompers, shorts and skirts, lingerie, and cotton dresses in pastels and floral prints. And of course there will be even more jewelry, as well as a fuller inventory at my vintage shop, Officer Sweetheart. I plan on launching a website for Dailee Dose later this year as well.

Thanks, Christine!

As for the giveaway.. you have your choice between these two lovelies!

These feminine floral cameo earrings..

Or this kitschy cool deer hair bow!

All you have to do to enter is comment on this blog post and let us know which is your favorite find of the two! And if you feel like sharing, we'd love to hear how you plan on styling your giveaway choice.

The giveaway is open for one week and ends on Wednesday, February 3rd. I'll announce a winner then!

In the meantime, don't forget to check out Dailee Dose, as well as Christine's two other shops - her vintage store Officer Sweetheart and her supply shop, Colinette Supplies.