Tuesday, July 31, 2012

I Just Can’t Like It


I want to like this dress:



I really do.  But, I just can’t.  It’s just not right for me and it makes me pose like an idiot.  I’m perfectly capable of idiotic posing on my own; I don’t need the help.

This dress just seemed like such a good idea when I thrifted it months ago.  I mean, it’s red; I love red.  And it has stripes; I love stripes.  And it’s vintage; I love vintage.  And yet, I don’t like this dress.  I even took the time to hem it above the knee, thinking that might help.  It didn’t.  

At first I didn’t wear it because I wasn’t sure how to style it.  But, I like the styling today.  I think the ankle strap flats (Hive and Honey via Piperlime) and the thin belt (Steven Madden) are good choices.  Just with a different dress.  Luckily, my friend Alex has agreed to take this dress off my hands, which leaves me with just one more never worn dress in my closet.  After I wear that, I’m shutting my Nosh Opping Expedition down.

I’ll finish it up this weekend with look at my expedition log and a retrospective of everything that didn’t make the cut.  And then Maurice and I are flying home (he’s going to live in the backyard).

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Monday, July 30, 2012

Shopping for Giants – How to Thrift


Although I provided a large list of where to shop online in this post, and information on how to shop online in this post, most of my shopping is actually done at thrift stores.  I love thrift stores because, as Sal points out every season, there are very few current trends that you can’t find at thrift stores.  I’ve stated that fast fashion retailers (like H&M, Zara, F21, etc.) can be useful for trying out trends on the cheap, but they really can’t hold a candle to thrift stores in that regard.

And, unlike fast fashion retailers, thrift stores also contain high-quality, well-made garments for the same next-to-nothing price.  (Unless, of course, your thrift store has decided to charge more for items they think are vintage (yes, you, St. Vincent’s!)).  I’m not going to tell you that you’re going to find the studded velvet Miu Miu pumps of your dreams at a thrift store; you’re probably not.  But you can find some great pieces.

Here are my tips for thrifting like a giant.

One, be patient.  Seriously, proper thrifting should probably take much of the day, if not all day.  For me, it takes all day.  Especially for my trips to Portland; I like to map out all of the thrift stores I plan on hitting for the day.  This website is a national thrift store directory that I use to locate thrift stores in Portland and plan my day from there.  I usually allot a couple of hours per thrift store; some take longer and some take less.  Just remember, you need to allow enough time to go through the racks andto try stuff on.

Two, go west young man, go west.  Or, if you’re on the West Coast, go east.  Essentially, go where the people aren’t.  Thrift stores in big cities can be pretty picked over and a lot of the time the prices are higher due to the increased interest in thrifting (Darn you, hipsters! (angry fist shake to the heavens)).  On the flip side, thrift stores in smaller towns (usually inland for most of us) are lower priced and/or haven’t been plundered by the mobs yet.  And while you probably won’t find any DVF or Gucci at these stores, you can find a lot of great items, often handmade.

For example, I love driving to the smallish town of Albany, Oregon and thrifting there.  That’s where I found this fabulous handmade coatdress:



Three, thrift on vacation.  Thrifting on vacation is a great idea because even if you’re in a bigger city, there is a good chance the locals have already perused the selection and weren’t interested.  And you know what they say; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  What they locals pass up may be the perfect piece for your closet.

For example, I bought one of my very favorite skirts while on vacation in Santa Fe last spring; I wear this skirt all the time:



Four, size ain’t nothin’ but a number.  Especially when it comes to vintage.  Sammy, at Sammy Davis Vintage, breaks it down in this post, but basically, modern sizing and vintage sizing are completely different.  I have vintage dresses in size 20 that fit me perfectly.  I also have some from the 80s that are a size 12.  If you like something, try it on.  Don’t depend on the tag to tell you whether or not it can go home with you.


Five, buy petite.  I know it seems counter intuitive when you’re six foot and a size 14 to buy petite pieces, but trust me, it works.  Especially if you’re a fan of midi skirts.  All of my midi skirts are thrifted and most of them are petite.  I think they’re probably ankle length on the less tall, but on my giant self, they are the perfect midi skirt length.  This is true for dresses as well.

Here are some petite pieces I've thrifted:

Petite Dress

Petite Skirt

Petite Dress

Lest you think petite dresses won't fit your wider shoulders, they often have shoulder pads and are cut to allow for those.  I just tear the should pads out, insert my no-padding-needed broad shoulders and couldn't be happier.

For more, non-giant-specific tips on thrifting, I’d suggest this post of Sal’s and this post of Sammy’s.  I'd also suggest exploring their blogs further; they are both great resources on thrifting.

Happy Shopping, All!

Gracey

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Stylish Lens serie - FW - Paris

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     Hanneli Mustaparta and Candice Lake 
     2 well-known talented bloggers
     Photo by Easy Fashion Fred

Patricia - Grand Palais - Paris

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       Patricia - Grand Palais - Paris
       Patricia is a blogger ( Miss Cherie Paris), model and artist
       Photos by Easy Fashion Fred hebergeur imagehebergeur imagehebergeur image

Anya Ziurova - FW Paris

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      Anya Ziurova at Chanel - Grand Palais - Paris
      Photos by Easy Fashion Fred   hebergeur imagehebergeur image

Magic Purse - FW - Paris

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      Magic Purse - FW - Paris
      Photo by Easy Fashion Fred

Forever Blue - FW- Paris

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      I remember this blue lady is a taiwanese hairdresser working on Chanel Show.
      But I lost her name. Maybe she can send me a mail to fix that ?
      Photos by Easy Fashion Fred hebergeur image hebergeur image

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Saturday Stuff and Things

Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday.  I didn't work and while I intended to still post, I didn't even log in.  Instead I got some sun, ran some errands, broke the washing machine and pinned a bunch of crap to Pinterest. You can follow me on there, if you're interested, by using the button on the right.


And now on to the Saturday Stuff and Things.

Last Saturday I went to a Jazz Concert at Cathedral Park in North Portland.  I had never been to Cathedral Park but I wanted to go after seeing the lovely pictures Stacey at Gray Skies takes there.  And it was as cool as I'd hoped.  The St. John Bridge has lovely Gothic, cathedral-like construction:









The park is right under the bridge and it was the perfect setting to listen to jazz on a hot summer's day.


On Sunday, I went to see Florence + the Machine at Edgefield and it was the best concert I have ever been to.  Her voice is even more magical in person and she is a great performer too.  One thing that surprised me was how personable she was.  Funny even.  For example, she told us all about her Portland adventures saying she got the "whole Portland experience" because she went to Powell's Bookstore (where she bought a 90s copy of Virgin Suicides), went to Voodoo Donuts and in a coffee shop heard two men with full sleeve tattoos discuss where to get the best line tattoos.  And when her hair fell from dancing, she borrowed bobby pins from the crowd to pin it back up.

Anyway, this is Florence:

Sorry it's not a great photo; I was mesmerized by her voice.






And here are some pictures of The Machine:



Seriously, best concert ever.

Although, I anticipate the concert I'm going to today will be pretty fun too.  We're going to a music festival of 80s cover bands.  Yes, it's pretty much my dream music festival.  We're going to see Journey cover  band Stone in Love, Bon Jovi cover band Steel Horse, and, for the first time, Guns and Roses cover band Appetite for Deception.  So excited!!

Finally, I am obsessed with the new song by The Killers, called Runaways.  Please to enjoy:




I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Gracey


Friday, July 27, 2012

Hi Ha Hou !

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      I am a little upset by visitors who pin-up my pictures by hundreds on Pinterest (here) 
      or anywhere else.
      Most of them don't even write a comment on Easy Fashion and they re-post pics without legend.
      They just take the pics and run ! Do you think you help me doing this ? Or do you want to kill
      my blog ?
      If you really want to post on Pinterest, well dot it ... But don't act like pickpokets. Ok ?

      Fred - Easy Fashion Paris


      I will tell you later about Web Sites that steal my pics on a daily basis.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Waists Are Like Eggs


I worry about the waist on this dress:


Specifically, I worry that it’s a drop waist; or an almost drop waist.  I don’t like drop waist dresses on me; for my body, waists are like eggs; they’re better when they haven’t been dropped.    And this dress looks like its heading towards being dropped or at the very least drooped.

I know a dropped waist can be nice for the short-waisted, but I’m not particularly short-waisted so they just look funny on me.  In fact, the only reason I hadn’t worn it before was out of concern about the waist.  But I think belting it worked fairly well:



Which is good because outside of the questionable waist, I really do like this dress.    I love the length, the print and the colors.  And I think it’s another floral that will work well for fall with tights and boots.  Today, however, I paired the dress (vintage, thrifted) with the woven belt (thrifted) and nude platform sandals (Banana Republic). 

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Like that ...

                                                                                             CLICK TO SEE MORE




                                                                                              sandals: zara,
                                                                                              jeans: zara,
                                                                                              shirt: thanks to Romwe (here),
                                                                                              sunglasses: ray ban,
                                                                                              watch: michael kors,
                                                                                              ph. Maja

Quick late night post before my offline vacation ... ;)
I picked my ultimate summer piece, ripped baggy jeans, then i added some sequins, matched sandals with this shirt, and took a black strapless bra, cause im that kind of person! Rule breaker! ;)
Just to mention, that i want be able to reply on your questions and emails in next couple days (it will wait for me to come back), but be sure to follow me on the Instagram (@vanjaam), Twitter or on Facebook page, which will try to update!
Enjoy in July! 

p.s. huge thanks to my beloved sister Maja for making these photos!



Mauve and Mock Dots


This blouse looks like polka dots from far away, but is actually a teeny, tiny floral print:



I love polka dots, but I love the idea of mock dots too.  In fact, I like pretty much everything about this blouse.  The only reason I don’t wear it more often is that it’s fairly short.  I know, I know, crop tops are in.  But, I can pretty much guarantee you that the bare midriff trend is not one I’ll be participating in.  You’re welcome for that.  Also, midriff is a weird word.


In order to avoid baring my midriff (sadly, repeated use doesn’t make it less weird) today, I paired the top (thrifted) with my mauve skirt (vintage, thrifted).  This skirt was originally a rather awkward length, so I hemmed it above the knee which allowed me to wear these ankle strap flats (Hive and Honey via Piperlime) that I can’t seem to stop wearing now that I’ve rescued them from The Giants Closet.  I also added a vintage Sarah Coventry double pendant necklace (via Red Fox Vintage).

Because this top works well with skirts with a higher waist and I have quite a few of those, I’d say it’s definitely a keeper.  And so is this particular skirt; it’s actually proven to be a pretty good closet workhorse for me, especially now that it's shorter.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Boy’s Club


Alternately Titled: Gracey Wears Khakis


These are the only khakis I own.  I have had them for years and if I’ve ever worn them, I don’t recall.  They just aren’t really my style.  I know a lot of women wear khakis, and with great success, on a daily basis, but to me, they feel like menswear, which I do NOT know how to style so I usually avoid borrowing from the boys.   Today, though, I thought I’d give it a shot:






Is it truly androgynous?  Probably not.  But, it’s a level of androgyny I feel comfortable with.  And I really do feel like the looser fit of the pants, the neutral color palette and even the tie-neck blouse are a nod to menswear.  I paired the pants (Gap) with a semi-sheer black sweater (Target) layered over a cream bow blouse (Old Navy).  I also added black suede heels (Me Too via Nordstrom Rack).  I could have gone with flats, which may have been more authentic, but that would have put this outfit way outside my comfort zone and I am not that adventurous.

This outfit is actually a result of my heading back into the Valley of the Duplicates in The Giants Closet.  I have these same pants in grey also and have this same sweater in beige.  I’ve worn the grey pants at least once before, but am not sure I wear either pair enough to warrant having/keeping two pairs.  As for the sweater, I wear the black version fairly frequently, but don’t know that I’ve ever worn the beige version.  Because it’s beige.  I’m just sayin’.  But, I’ll try to wear both of the other pieces this week and decide if I really need all four pieces or just one pair of the pants and one of the sweaters.   Or any of the pants and sweaters.  So many decisions…

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

High Fashion Chanel Lady - FW - Paris

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      High Fashion Chanel Lady - FW - Paris
   
        On dit que seules quelques centaines de femmes dans le monde seulement disposent de moyens suffisants
        pour s'offrir une robe de haute couture. Selon les créateurs, les robes coûtent de 15 à 25 000 euros pour
        débuter et sont sans limite supérieure de prix. 
        La robe aux magnifiques broderies que porte cette jeune femme russe (?) habillée Chanel de la tête aux 
        pieds est sans doute dans la fourchette (très) haute de prix ...
        Text and Photos by Easy fashion Fred 

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