Irene & Irene Vintage shop update

1950s Lemon-coloured pleated blouse (S)

1980s Midnight wingtip oxfords (6.5/7)

pre-1950s Dandy vest (M)

1980s Pleated polka dot skirt (S/M)

Sunset seashell decorative belt (XS)

1970s Coral blossoms crop top (S/M)

Here are a few items that have been recently added to the shop. I'm hosting a secret sale until August 5th, so if anything strikes your fancy, don't forget to enter the coupon code PARENTHESES20 at checkout to receive 20% off your order!

Summer? Summer.

By Danny Lyon, via the ugly earring.

via superbomba on flickr.

by Jeff Luker.

Are you melting already? I am.
Earlier today, I unsuccessfully attempted to trick myself into believing I was on a lakeside, reading with my feet in the water (... while I was in reality in my bedroom with my feet stuck in a tiny bucket). How are you coping with this heat?

Zbigniew Rybczynski

Excerpts of short films by the amazing Zbigniew Rybczynski. Please watch all of them, they're all excellent in different ways. 



Housekeeping

What weeks I have been having! I am currently working full time as an unglamourous 'fine' grocery store cashier, and all my time and energy have been sucked up by my job. I should eventually get a better schedule which should allow me to do other things, like answering e-mails, or cook good meals for myself for more than two days a week. Although I have no idea whether I will have children or not, or whether I will be freelancing or working from home --or have anything in common with those women, actually!-- in the future, I have been enjoying reading the balance posts on A Cup Of Jo. If those women can take care of themselves, of children and have some kind of a balanced life, so can I with my little job! I should be able to water my houseplants properly, feed myself good food, get some rest and still have time to discover interesting things. I am working on making the most out of my days, and writing more frequently on this blog will be part of that.
Nancy has passed on to me the "7 things about my style" award (is it called an award, or is it a quiz?), and I am pretty excited about sharing some of my favourite things with you as soon as I can get some properly lit photos.
That's what's up, what's been going on, and what's coming next! xo

La Conga Blicoti

Don't worry, I'll eventually stop talking about that movie... eventually...
In the meantime, here's one of my favourite songs from the soundtrack, by the amazing Joséphine Baker:



If you have seen Midnight in Paris: I must say I am still puzzled as to why her character dances to her own record though... Any thoughts?

Note to self and other projects

I went to see Midnight in Paris for a second time tonight --you know, under the excuse that I might NEVER be able to see it again in theatres and all and all, excuses excuses, but well, this movie left a particularly great impression on me-- and I once again came out of the cinema with a very optimistic view of life in general, of the worth of hard work, and a taste for starting many projects. Amongst those projects, repairing my sewing machine in order to work on this little piece inspired by the movie:

(Stills from Midnight in Paris)

Of course, I'm no great seamstress, but I'll be satisfied if I can produce some kind of a ribbon-trimmed knee-length shift dress without a pattern. Wish me luck (or let me know where I can find a basic pattern on which to base my dress, so I need a bit less luck hehe)!

Also, American expats in Paris in the 1920s:

Bernice Bobs Her Hair

(Albert Levy, via Nearness of Distance-- I cannot find any info. about him, but more of his work here)

(By Jacques Henri Lartigue)

(Awkward crop of a future etsy update)

(I had started writing this post weeks ago, waited to have photos to show you, forgot about it for about a month, let my hair grow back a bit, remembered it and well, here it is finally because you guys all know how much I like talking about my hair dilemmas as well as hearing about other people's hair dilemmas.)
Ever since reading about Claire's hair dilemma some time ago, I had been feeling like a haircut was in order; nothing drastic, just refreshing my usual collarbone-length bob. I hadn't visited a hairdresser for some time, and had had friends cutting my hair for me or did it myself. But when I walked by a hairdresser announcing "haircuts for 18$, walk-ins welcome" I thought, why not? Well, I was quite wrong. Really, I should have cut my hair myself. With my eyes closed. Using a swiss knife. The hairdresser was lovely, but the cut she gave me, not so much: she cut my hair a good three inches shorter than I had asked her, which would not be so bad if she had cut it well- I had been tempted to try a shorter hair style for some time, but could not decide to take the plunge. It looked so choppy, that I kept trimming bits everyday until I gave in and got some good hairdresser (also known as 'Lesbian Haircuts for everyone', I kid you not) to fix it for me.

A bit of a Bernice Bobs Her Hair kind of story (you can read it here, please do!), although it was no life-changing experience for me, oh well. I'm now aiming towards something like this, if I can figure out how to get some kind of a wave in my pin-straight locks (any recommendations?).

Have you ever been forced into a hairstyle you ended up liking?