Part 2: Fall 2012's Obligatory Extra-Long Fashion-Themed Post

UnoCosa by Dusty Rose Vintage.

Agnès, by Garance Doré, Winter 2009.

From Hel Looks, March 2008.

Molly Ringwald from ?

New York Subway Car, 1985, from Smithsonian Magazine, via here.

Nina, designer of Toujours Toi/Family Affairs. I love this photo, the decor, her outfit.

Iris Palmer, via here (google brought me there). She has the best hair and fantastic style.

I had planned to finish writing this post the day after Part 1, but school and the need to get rid of clothes/the wish to gain some kind of a disposable income (aka etsy) got in the way. The good thing is, I still like the list I made almost a month ago. I feel more confident in attempting to find some of the items since I now know I did not write them down because I saw this photo or that person wearing them on the day I added them, and plus, I now have silly stories about trying to purchase or find almost every item.

So, in a few words, what interests me these days:

-fuzzy, textured sweaters in angora or mohair;
I was inpired by Stevie to have a look at what H&M had to offer (as you know, I'm pretty iffy about where I shop, but I was curious) and bought a beautiful burgundy 70% angora sweater. Then I went out and a) remembered an aweful incident of my youth where one of my uncles got an allergic reaction to my angora sweater and couldn't stay less than 4 meters aways from me for the rest of the evening, b) realised that although 70% is great by most stores' standards these days, I should still keep my 80% and up standard for knits anyway, and c) thought that blablabla it wouldn't last, and blablabla charity shop cheaper. So I returned it. A good 10 minutes after purchase. Story a) won't keep me from buying one if I find it - I don't see my uncle that often, and I have other sweaters - but I freaked out at the thought of buying something that might not last me long and cost more than 10$. I mean, I don't mind pretty high prices if I know I can trust the quality of the product, but middle-range priced, unknown quality items scare me. Silly, I know.

-anonymous clothes;
i.e. an amazing pair of high-waisted, black cord slacks I found at a charity shop and adjusted.

-my own classics rather than some 'ultimate classics' which are currently... in fashion (not that they are necessarily mutually exclusive);

-drop-waist dresses;
I don't own any yet.

-skirts and tights;
Although I wear them on most outfit photos I have posted so far, I actually mainly wear pants. But since I fell down the stairs at my work and ripped the back of my favourite jeans (I have sewn them back, but they don't look the same), I have been back into my other bottoms options. Also, for some reason, thick tights make me feel like I'm both wearing pyjamas and ready to dance.

-funny, interesting details like a bit of glitter or some silly socks;
I really like the idea of wearing shoes and socks (like above), or a dress and tights that are the same colour. I remember reading in Cheap Date's Guide to Style: "Shoes with opaque tights the same color elongate the leg. It always looks a bit strange - in a good way, and you can pull off a bright color like red with dull clothes" (118).

-pushing myself out of my comfort zone, but not too much.
Earlier this month, I finally gave in and bought the Family Affairs Roxanne skirt in leopard print I was obsessed with. It hasn't arrived yet, but I keep dreaming of fun ways to wear it. A very small, but exciting challenge for me.

Very vague, n'est-ce pas? I'm pretty much repeating the same thing from one style roundup to another, but oh well, I always like doing these lists since they help me get a better idea of my own taste. I'm sharing it because I enjoy reading other people's (this is today's hint to 'write your own version in the comments,' hehe).

Also, happy Halloween :)

Irene & Irene Vintage Etsy Update

I just wanted to take a break from our regular programming to make a bit of shameless self-promotion. In other words, I have updated more than three items at once to my etsy shop, Irene & Irene Vintage and I thought I'd mention it over here. I added shoes ranging from size 6 to 8, and I have a good number of other things to add in the next few days. As per usual, if anything strikes your fancy, I reward you for reading my words and shopping at my store by giving you a 15% off coupon code: PARENTHESES 15. Now back to my homework.

Part 1: Fall 2012's Obligatory Extra-Long Fashion-Themed Post

Bob Dylan, 1965, by Richard Avedon via expectingrain

Bob Dylan and Suze Rotolo, 1963. Photographer ?

Irina Lazareanu, 2011, from livincool via tfs

Lately, I have taken to visiting the archives of some favourite streetstyle blogs, more particularly the years 2006-2008, since they feel in a way fresher and more exciting to me than a lot of recent shots. This overall feeling might be due to the fact I got my first part-time job in 2006 and started to truly be able to experiment with clothing subsequently, with good and bad results but always with a clear image of what I was aiming for. That image hasn't changed much --Irina Lazareanu and early to mid-60s Bob Dylan are still my two biggest sources of inspiration!-- but I realize I now have the wardrobe I wish I had back then, mostly full of quality second-hand stuff. Seeing photos of people whose style has more to do with actual streetstyle rather than internet-style--and I am guilty of this too--is very refreshing and inspiring the second time around.

It is obviously paradoxal for me to be discussing the idea of a 'purer' streetstyle over the internet, and posting 'inspirational' images over the same medium when I cast it as a cause of staleness in streetstyle, but I feel streetstyle is becoming increasingly homogenous. Either that, or I'm now less naive, and have been desensitized by seeing so much of it. At the same time, I do still feel a flutter in my stomach when I visit Hel-Looks, for instance, or when I look through the aforementioned archives on Garance Doré's blog. I think she captures well my current feeling concerning streetstyle when explaining why her covering of fashion month was done mainly by video:

"There are thousands of photographers bumping into each other to get shots of more and more elaborate outfits, even more dressed up than what’d you see inside of the shows. The clothes feel very new, the photos become a little repetitive, and everyone photographs the girls that have become the street style celebs without even really questioning their looks."
Sept. 17th, 2012.

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with finding inspiration through the internet, but I feel I (we?) should be diversifying my (our?) inspiration sources. The internet makes them easily available, which is all the more why I try to post visual content that hasn't been circulating ad nauseam.

I'm cutting this post in two (see title), and I'm reserving the archive photos for the 'inspiration, lately' part I have started compiling. I just realised there was no use in making one super-long post about two interrelated but distinct ideas.

Anyway (!!), I am, as always, very interested in hearing your opinion on the matter. I feel fashion and style can always use more criticism, and that this is the best platform I have to discuss such things.