Today is one of those days during which I cannot seem to get warm, even though it isn’t that cold out. I seem to remember late November being much colder last year. I went out to the gym in shorts today, though not comfortably. Hopefully there will be snow soon. I am eager to see it piled on my windowsills.
There are new things in the shop! It seems like I am always listing vintage rubber boots from the 1960s or 1970s. Alas, I keep finding them and they keep selling. I wouldn’t mind keeping a pair for myself eventually, but I already have some Hunter boots I bought last year and my closet badly needs reductions, not additions!
Vintage Cream & Hunter Green Striped Sweater
Vintage Creamy White Hand Knit Balaclava
Vintage Embroidered Loafers – Size 5.5
Vintage 1960s Navy Blue Wool Dress
Vintage Purple Velour & Net Hat
Vintage Etienne Aigner Black Flats – Size 7.5
Vintage Wrangler Burgundy Velour Blazer
Vintage Chocolate Brown Kork Ease Wedge Sandals
Vintage Bone White Suede Oxford Brogues – Size 6
Vintage 90s Black Leather Granny Boots
Vintage Navajo Inspired Suede Ankle Boots – Size 6.5
Karen of Small Earth Vintage tagged me with the below questionnaire. I like the word questionnaire. It seems so official, like how luncheon sounds like a much more important meal than lunch.
Olden times, with shorter hairs.
1. Your hair? A bunch of stuff on top of my head that is rarely attended to.
2. Your favorite food? Probably the grilled cheese sandwich, in all its iterations.
3. Your favorite drink? Sweet sweet Coca Cola, if we are being honest here.
4. Your dream/goal? Someday I really want to learn how to make cheese. And quilts!
5. Your hobby? Knitting, cooking.
6. Your fear? Moths.
7. Where were you last night? At my mother’s house, dropping off my niece.
8. Something you say all the time? Looking good, feeling good.
9. Something that you’re not? Calm.
10. Wishlist item? I really want a hammock!
11. Last thing you did? Ate oatmeal.
12. What are you wearing? Old old jeans, a white tee shirt, a blue hoodie, and white socks. (a sort of horrifying combination of pajamas and workout attire).
13. Your pets? Three cats – Gordon, Bucket, and Jehu.
14. Friends? Dispersed widely.
15. Missing someone? My old friend Molly B.
16. Something you’re not wearing? Glasses.
17. Your favorite store? The Salvation Army or Stanley’s Produce Market.
18. Your favorite color? Yellow, all shades.
19. The last time you cried? I cried the other day when I was chopping shallots.
20. Whens the last time you laughed? Just about two minutes ago.
21. One place that I go to over and over? Lots of places, but the most hilarious place I repeatedly visit is the Mars Cheese Castle. I love cheese curds!
22. Where do you eat? At home a lot, and lately quite often at Earwax in Wicker Park.
Recently Jennifer of Sally Jane Vintage was kind enough to answer some questions. Jennifer has excellent style and taste, and is quite a prolific blogger! She seems to live near an endless stream of abandoned buildings, picturesque woodsy areas, and bucolic rural spots – her photos showcase so many!
What is your name, and where are you from originally? My name is Jennifer and I am originally from Birmingham, Alabama.
Where do you live currently, and what are your favorite things about the place? I am currently living in eastern Pennsylvania. My favorite thing about living here is the history! B’ham was founded as a post Civil War city so it’s relatively new in the scheme of things. I’m always fascinated when we visit cemeteries around here (sort of a morbid favorite pastime) that we find graves of people that signed the Declaration of Independence or served under George Washington. Plus we just bought a house that was built in the early 1860s and we’ve had way too much fun visiting the Historical Society and researching its history.
You have mentioned on your blog that you worked a full time job in your former life. What kind of work did you do and how do you currently spend your days? I had a really kooky job working as a personal assistant to a very wealthy, very eccentric man when I was living in LA. He owned a high-end boutique on Melrose Avenue and I spent my days in a windowless office doing things like sneaking tribal shrunken head through customs at the Canadian border, having collections of taxidermied chickens fumigated, translating French documents into English (I don’t speak a word of French!) and convincing MOCA to open an exhibit a day early so Mr. Important could see it before he spent the weekend baking in Malibu. Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up. It was crazy town all day, every day. But it did afford me the opportunity for lots of gratuitous celebrity sightings, which was pretty fun.
Your style has evolved quite a bit over the last couple of years. What inspired the change? I think becoming more comfortable with myself has led me to fall into my own look. Living in LA there’s a lot of pressure to be trendy (especially when you’re working among the fashion industry as I was). Now that I’m working on my own, I can dress however I like. I don’t see many people in the town where I live wearing vintage – all the girls here live in sweatshirts and boot cut jeans with tennis shoes. That’s just not me. I rather like getting up and getting dressed in the morning. I’m usually the only one wearing a dress to the grocery store around here.
You have a very definite, signature look. Do you find you consciously gravitate toward your this or does it happen more organically? Really!? I sort of always feel like my look is all over the place. So I guess the answer to that is, it happens organically. I tend to feel uncomfortable wearing an outfit that consists of all new clothes, so I’m always wearing something vintage, even if it’s just my shoes. That’s really the only “rule” I have when getting dressed.
What are your all time favorite vintage pieces? My favorite has to be my great grandmother’s 20s silk flapper dress that my mother gave to me for my birthday last year. It’s much too delicate to be worn, but it’s so pretty to look at!
How do you find all those awesome abandoned locations to do your photo shoots? Exploring abandoned sites has been a favorite activity of ours for several years. When we were living in Alabama we published a book called Ruins of the Dirty South about a community that we photographed that had been abandoned after a nearby polluted creek flooded and ruined all of the homes. We were so drawn into the stories we found left behind that it sparked an interest to search out more stories. We’ve been exploring ever since.
When you’re out shopping for vintage, what items do you make a beeline for? I have sort of a routine down – first the dresses, then skirts, then shoes and bags. After that I make my way through the blouses and sweaters. Then I always make a run through the men’s and children’s sections just in case something amazing is hiding out there.
Who are your style icons? This is always tough for me to narrow down but I’ll try… Jane Birkin, Audrey Hepburn, Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker. I’m sure there are more, but I can never think of them on the spot!
What are your current favorite blogs? I’ve got waaayyyy too many blogs on my Bloglovin’ feed right now! There are so many amazing blogs out there it’s hard to keep up. It seems I discover a new one everyday. Right now some of my favorites are The Selvedge Yard, Hollister Hovey and Magic Molly.
Thanks, Jennifer, for answering these! Now I want to get my hands on a copy of your book!
I am always really happy when photos don’t quite turn out. A long time ago, my friend Jason took a photo of me that made me look like a pock marked, middle aged, male child molester. It was my favorite photo ever, but sadly it was lost to a digital picture netherworld some five years ago.
I am not a particular fan of Thanksgiving, but this year it was okay. On Wednesday I got a haircut, and I am quite pleased with the results. It has been a good week.
Yesterday was a pretty big day for us – we bought a house! It was a pretty crazy experience, as the house to which we are now shackled is one that has been lurking around since the beginning of our search, though we had essentially ruled out actually buying it at several points during the process.
After we initially looked at fourteen houses last week, we narrowed it down to two. Then we found out over the weekend that the man living in the house we ended up purchasing died on Friday. When we returned to tour the house again, the widow was home and gave us a very surreal and emotional tour of the property. Because we are under no pressure to move, we put in a very low offer and expected a bit of haggling to happen. To our surprise, the woman came right back with a counteroffer only slightly higher than our original offer and has agreed to give us some furniture as well.
All in all, the extreme bargain we got coupled with the serendipitous manner in which we got it leaves us feeling pretty calm and happy with how it all worked out. Neither of us expected to be finding the perfect place so quickly, but we are excited to be the new owners of an enormous 1906 house with gorgeous character and, bizarrely, a 1980s whirlpool hot tub smack dab in the middle of our bedroom.
Anyone want to rent a loft in Chicago?
I have been adding a few new things to the shop each day. Or trying to, anyway. Old things are wrapping up and new things are beginning and everything feels a little hectic! I made a goal to go to the gym every day for the rest of November (Thanksgiving excepted) and to finish three knitting projects before the end of the month, as well. I am hoping I succeed!
Vintage 1950s Red and White Gingham Dress
Vintage Linen/Rayon Magenta Pleated Skirt
Vintage Olive Green Short Sleeved Linen/Cotton Sweater
Vintage 1960s Red and Yellow Cotton Print Mini Dress or Tunic
(this dress is super adorable with a print of chicks and tulips on it!)
Vintage Teeny Tiny (size 4.5) Classic Brown Leather Ferragamo Heels
Vintage Navy Jonathan Logan Trench/Rain Coat
Vintage Black Suede Over the Knee Boots
(these are such amazing quality – I hope someone snatches them up quickly!)
Vintage Rosy Pink Button Front Dress
Vintage Hand Knit Colorful Beret
Vintage Preppy Red, Navy & Grey Sweater Vest
Chris took this photo of me at the Hoover Dam. A new bridge is being constructed there. At the top of the arch, on which the men walk up and down with the aid of a rope banister, is a port-a-potty. It was awesome to see but man, having to walk on something like that is pretty much a nightmare scenario for me. Thinking that there are people who casually void their bowels perched high above the tamed Colorado makes my head explode a little.
My old boss was featured on that old sandal Chicago Looks. She does have a pretty great sweatpants-beret-red lipstick thing going on most days. I am avoiding posting a photo of her here because looking at her face reminds me too much of her business partner, aka the most vile human on the planet.
When I am an old lady, I hope my style is close to that of Grace’s. Comfort with a bit of flair!
I have been a little remiss in posting shop updates here, and I have tons more stuff to list. I have been finding such cute stuff recently. Sometimes vintage finding feels so lucky, and sometimes it is such a bust! I was glad to come home and hit the jackpot after a disappointing attempt in Vegas. Thrifting in Vegas was depressing at best.
I really wish I was keeping those red gloves, but I already have plenty of gloves as any good midwesterner ought.
Vintage Coral Colored Belted Sweater Dress
Vintage 1960s Camel Wool Very Warm Winter Coat
Vintage Bandolino Woven Oxfords – sold!
Vintage Raspberry Red 1980s Gloves
Vintage Mohair Colorblock Sweater Vest
Vintage Avocado Green Plus Size Dress or Jumper
Vintage Rubber High Heel Ankle Boots
Vintage Brick Red, White, & Blue Ruffled Western Blouse
Vintage Black & White Chevron Print Dress
Vintage Black Suede Italian Made Ankle Boots
Vintage Men’s Plaid Pendleton Shirt Jacket
Vintage Grey Suede Patchwork Slouchy Ankle Boots
Vintage 1960s Burgundy Leather High Heeled Mary Janes
Vintage Woven Tan, Red, and Navy Burlap Tote Bag
Vintage 1980s Abstract Colorblock Sweater
Vintage 1980s Grey Nylon Snow Boots
I’ve been trying to be more in the habit of bringing my small Sony digital camera with me when I go out and about in the world. So far, so good.
