Monday, June 30, 2008

Recent Etsy purchases

I am a etsy seller at www.prettypiratedesigns.etsy.com .  I am also addicted to shopping on Etsy.  Luckily I have been selling things to fund my addiction. I thought I would share some of my recent purchases and the sellers who brought them to me. 



Metal vintage 80's hair bow


Next 2 necklaces (real working watches)



Bow necklace and following  cameo ring


Monday at the beach

My friend and I went to ocean beach for our last jaunt while she is in town.  It was a beautiful day and so much fun to see the beach!

My outfit
T-shirt-pack of 3
Vest-was my grandpa's (vintage)
Jeans-ross
Brogues-vintage, etsy
Socks-cant remember
Coat-f21 long time ago
Sunglasses-Vintage



It's not glass, but jelly fish

Saturday night impromptu party with rocks tars

While at the park across the street , we met a guy from Seattle who was on tour with his band. He ended up hanging out with us all day.  His band is called Emeralds.  Later in the evening a bunch of his band members and other folks joined us at our house for a party.  They were all so friendly and sweet.  We had a great time. 

My outfit
Dress-vintage I shortened it
Metal pin-(top of dress) vintage 
Metal hair bow- vintage etsy
Tights-marshals
Boots-vintage etsy


Ian-first guy we met at the park
I love his tee shirt
Ian and the singer of the band (on the right)
check out the singers boots, they were rad (click on photo for more detail)
Ian and the singer 2
Other friends

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Comments fixed

I just got a note from Ms. lady Smaggle that my comments were not working, I think it's fixed now. Sorry to whomever was trying to comment. I will have more interesting stuff up soon. It's been crazy having a friend in town. I always get anxiety when people are visiting because I feel like I have to entertain them. It can be exhausting not having time to do the things that I normally do. The funny thing is that I haven't been doing much besides walking around a ton, I guess that is exhausting on its own.   I did get around to using my friend as a model for some  vintage clothing that will be up soon on my Etsy account. As soon as I get a chance to measure and list, I will.  I will also let you know when it's up.


Vintage shirt and 70's high waisted jeans with braiding on the back pockets

Vintage tent dress with matching over coat
Vintage cherry print baby doll dress
Vintage 70's fairy dress
Vintage bib front with kite print dress

Monday, June 23, 2008

Monday Funday

My girlfriend and I did some shopping today.  I still have a bunch of places to take her for shopping purposes as well as sight seeing.

Shirt-Marshals
Necklaces-ross, marshals, local designer
Jeans-vintage Levi's
Shoes-Kenneth Cole
Bracelets-Random thrifted


Sunday Night Adventures

My former housemate and great friend is here to visit for a week.  I met her at the train station, then ended up walking around the hood for a couple hours.  I found this bow purse at a street vendor, literally on the ground of the sidewalk.  I thought It was amazing and I asked the gentleman how much and he said 3$, no way!  It's real leather and the strap can be adjusted to wear as a fanny pack and, or a hat as I have worn it here.  I am excited to have found it, as I am going to be making another one or few to sell.  I have tons of salvaged leather and have now found the perfect thing to make with it.  





Outfit details

Shirt-Vintage (from recent fave things post)
Necklaces-Etsy and randoms
Bracelets-randoms thrifted
Belt-Betsy Johnson
Jeans-High waisted hudson (best jeans ever)
Coat-vintage 60's with built in scarf, its an amazing design
Shoes-Vintage

Friday, June 20, 2008

Favorite things, vintage shirt edition

Here are some of my favorite things, Im onto shirts, so I decided to do vintage shirts cause they are always my favorite.    


Vintage Butterfly shirt!

This is my all time fave, I love, love, love this shirt
More detail of the crystal and pearl neckline
60's fringe shirt, super fun!




Vintage metallic brocade

Vintage ethnic vest, love it!

Sexy Librarian

I found this lovely Brooks brothers dress at a thrift store some time ago, I believe its 80's, but it has a older vibe about it.  I wore it once, then decided I looked like a librarian in it.  It's beautiful fabric and I had originally wanted to cut it up and change it around but never got around to it.  So I decided to put it up on Etsy.  It was on Etsy for a couple months and didn't get much action. This morning I decided to cut it up finally and make something I love out of it.  It's just a beautiful dress and I wanted to give it a new life. I cut off the sleeves, made it into a v-neck which is much more flattering on my large chest, and hemmed it up about a foot.  For the final touch I added a bow that I made with some of the left over fabric.  I think it turned out so great, and with only taking about a 1/2 hour it was a great project.



Thursday, June 19, 2008

Sandra Backlund








After watching the current facehunter show in stockholm, I was so inspired by Sandra Backlund's work.  Her concepts and execution are exquisite.  I could stare at her work for hours and still keep finding unique things to look at.  Her knitwear is more like sculpture and her geometric pieces are so well balanced.  If you have yet to see the new facehunter show, check it out, Yvan interviews her and you can see some of her current collection.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Follow-up to yesterdays post, The Skinny on Global Body Images


Headline from nov 14 2006
"Anorexic model of Brazil dies" (her below)


A model at a John Galliano show in 2005




Excerpt from a article By: Kate Carter  "The Skinny on Global Body Images"

Spain—Power to the Pear-Shaped
The Spanish government recently measured the bodies of more than 10,000 women to help create new guidelines for the clothing industry. The government is trying to promote a healthy body image and recalibrate current sizes, which are based on pre-1975 models. According to a WeNews story, the study concluded “that Spanish women come in three basic shapes—hourglass, pear, and barrel—which consumer advocates say should serve as a more accurate base for sizing.” It’s not rocket science, but it’s a step in the right direction.

France—Crack Down on Skinny
The French parliament is working on a bill that would levy fines and possible prison sentences on those who encourage “extreme thinness.” Wonder what the French prisons will look like if that bill comes to fruition …

Tonga—Size XXL Rules
Being fat is a status symbol in Tonga (an archipelago in the South Pacific) where reports show that more than 90 percent of the people are overweight. Tonga is starting to advertise itself to the larger world as a place where plus-size travelers can come to feel skinny.

Nigeria—Fattening Rooms
According to BBC News, rich Nigerians sometimes pay to visit “fattening rooms” to pack on the pounds. The news report describes a fattening room in the city of Calabar as a place where patrons can eat, sleep, and—well, that’s about it.


Mauritania—Wife-Plumping Farms
Although the trend of force-feeding young Mauritanian girls is on the decline, a BBC News report says about 11 percent of young girls there are still force fed in order to catch a husband. Says the director of a fat farm: “When they are small they don’t understand, but when they grow up, they are fat and beautiful. They are proud and show off their good size to make men dribble. Don’t you think that’s good?”

Italy—Arrivederci to Emaciated Models
The Italian government has helped push guidelines on the age and weight of models. There was initially some resistance among Milanese fashion houses, but they eventually realized that beauty is broader than bones.

New Zealand—Fat Immigrants Not Welcome
According to the New Zealand Press Association, an Englishman with a body mass index of forty-two was denied entrance by immigration officials. He didn’t pass the government’s new fat test.

Hollywood—That Foreign Land
Jennifer Love Hewitt, after being photographed in a bikini and scrutinized for her non-anorexic curves, blogged: “A size 2 is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size 0 doesn’t make you beautiful. I love my body. … To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini—put it on and stay strong.”

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It's pretty crazy how it all differs across the world.  There seems to be more awareness going on lately which is great.  Sorry to be bombarding with this topic but i had to repost this article after I read it today.  It was just too close to what Lady Smaggle originally brought up and got me started.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Attainable beauty?

Gotta love Lady Smaggle, she is not only hilarious but spot on, on many topics. She recently did a post about the changing image of models in the last 10 years. I grew up with more curvy, natural athletic models. Today the models are so thin that they look like they are on speed aka Amy Winehouse. I understand that some people are naturally skinny, I was a super thin kid, being 5'10 and 121 pounds throughout high school. I was athletic and could eat whatever I wanted. I also did some modeling as a young girl, I was awkward back then and was still curvier than the models of today being that I have always been blessed or cursed with large breasts. But of corse this changes as you age. I am comfortable with my body and confidence is something that is important no matter what size you are, this is a result of maturing and growing up. Thanks to lady smaggle for bringing this up and being just plain awesome! Just look at the difference.  I also threw in part of one of my neg sheets from 1993 blury but it's me.