Here is the final step of my Ebay shop overhaul. I’ve been wanting to hire a real proper model for the store for this whole summer, and when my photographer friend Jamie told me about Sarah I knew she’d be perfect. Not only does she love fashion and have adorable personal style, but she likes really good music (helpful on a photoshoot!), is a ton of fun, and has Rita Hayworth hair.
I got so tired of seeing photo after photo of myself in the store, and I can’t tell you how happy I am with the way these pictures turned out. Thank you, Sarah, Jamie, and Drew for your help! (Drew also made the new store graphics though he’ll probably tell me not to write that)
Otherwise everything else in the store should be the same. As always, you can get to the auctions by clicking on the descriptions below.
Hope you like it!
1. 1960s green floral mini dress, 2. Star print mini dress, 3. 1970s paisley ascot dress, 4. 1960s blue plaid mini dress, 5. Laura Ashley floral sun dress
6. Pale pink floral print dress, 7. 1980s black polka dot button-up, 8. 1990s black floral print mini dress, 9. 1960s fuchsia floral print wiggle dress, 10. 1950s blue plaid day dress with rhinestone buttons.
11. 1990s floral print mini dress, 12. 1970s white button-up and 1990s floral skirt, 13. 1960s swiss dot peter pan dress, 14. 1990s floral ruffle blouse and safari pleated shorts, 15. 1990s black floral mini dress, 16. Navy and cream paisley skirt.
Model: Sarah W. at Click
On Sunday night after we got back from our trip to the Nolan House I was digging around online trying to be a detective and find some secret information about the place. Somehow I ended up at Georgia’s Digital Library, which in turn led me to the magical Vanishing Georgia archive. It has thousands of photos from Georgia’s history all scanned in and labeled, and going through it is pretty much heaven for history nerds.
There are photos from as early as the antebellum times, but my favorites are these from the ’20s and ’30s, if only because they remind me of settings for Carson McCullers novels and Flannery O’Connor short stories, complete with dusty old downtowns, crooked and abandoned shacks, cotton fields, barbecues, and river baptisms . . . .
New Zealand collection Tuesday is back! At least for now. This collection is the debut from an Auckland label called neverblack, and I don’t know a thing about them except that they design the sorts of airy dresses and edgy pieces in pale colors that I like best from southern hemisphere designers. I love everything except the shoes, but that’s just a styling thing, and the flower crowns kind of make up for them anyway.
Photos by Drew
1990s rayon tank top: thrift store
Boater hat: My Breakfast Shop
Skirt: thrift store
Sandals: Chelsea Crew
Old Coach bag: thrift store
On last November’s trip to the abandoned Nolan House we took tons of photos and even a video, but we’ve been talking about visiting the place ever since because, really, it’s too magical of a house to visit only once. I think I want to start going there yearly or even every six months, if only to see how it changes over time. Fortunately not too much changed since the last time we saw it. Drew said that the back of the house was rotting out a little more–I definitely noticed more holes in the floorboards where you could (scarily) look straight down and see the grass below. There were less bees, but also less posts holding up the staircase railings. The outside of the building looked pretty much the same, except that the little split rail building in back got torn down, and that was probably the saddest change of all.
Things we saw today: lots of bees, dead butterflies in spiderwebs, grasshoppers, horses, a cicada (in shell), and a gigantic owl sleeping in the rafters over the front balcony. It was the most amazing thing; we couldn’t get any close-up photos of it, but I think it might have been a barn owl (is that the kind of owl David Bowie is in Labyrinth?).
Our main reason for going back was to scout out locations for a project we’re working on with a friend. It is refreshingly non-blog related, though vaguely fashion-related, and I’m sure I’ll be posting about it eventually! But we couldn’t go there without taking blog photos. Even if all my outfits these days are quickly cobbled together from what I find in the thrift stores and maybe more practical than interesting. Today it reached 100 degrees! And strangely I’m ok with it.
I first read about Lisa Muscinesi a year back when the street style site Nast did a profile on her and her style, and I remember loving the sort of the ’70s-ish things she wore and also wishing like anything that I were the kind of person who could pull off wearing little dresses in such a casual chic way. If I’d paid more attention in college French classes I would have learned that she has a store in Paris called Cancan that’s full of wonderful things from wonderful labels like Sretsis and Minimarket and Carin Wester.
Plus she might be one of the nicest fashion people I’ve met so far! She was nice enough to take the time and answer some questions for the blog . . .
1. How would you describe yourself and what you do?
A parisian woman with mediterranean roots, who has 2 beautiful daughters, a store in Paris (opened march 2009), an online store (may 2010) and a passion for travelling (a trip around the world for 2 years in 2000/2001).
2. What made you want to open up a shop?
In France, between the very expensive designers’ stores (Colette, Maria Luisa) and the mass-market stores (H&M, Zara, New Look), you have many mid-range brands, which all look alike so much, let’s say “very inspired by the parisian Isabel Marant look”. I got personally a bit tired of this style (although it’s pretty much admired abroad !). There are very few interesting multi-brand stores here and that’s why I decided to open my own with the idea of selling edgy, original and affordable items.
3. What inspires you and the way you dress?
I would say that my word, although it may appear a bit out of fashion, is Glamour. I’ve always worn bodycon and high waisted clothes, anything that would enhance feminity. But the inspiration can come from so many different things : Burlesque, Courrèges 60′s style, Woodstock hippie style… I’m definitely not into one very specific style.
4. How do you go about choosing what to buy for your shop?
I always try to find brands which have a very unique style. Their collections should be orignal, well cut, high quality and reasonably-priced. Many conditions, not so easy to find !
5. Do you have a favorite fashion film?
Lately my boyfriend, who is a Nanni Moretti fan, made me watch his movie called Bianca (1984) and I was really amazed by the beauty and style of the main actress, Laura Morante. She wears very simple and unglamorous dresses and jackets and she is so classy and fascinating. You can easily understand why the main character is obsessed with her ( a story of “”voyeurism” with all the absurdity of Nanni Moretti’s movies).
6. Which decade(s) in fashion history inspires you the most?
I really couldn’t choose one. I like high waisted pencil skirts from the 50′s, short trapeze dresses from the 60′s, fringed shawls from the 70′s, Thierry Mugler’s agressive style from the 80′s… My inspiration is definitely inter-decades (!).
7. What are your favorite things in your shop for this season?
I love to wear myself the following items : the silk printed dress by Stine Goya , the preppy blouse by Camilla Norrback, the high-waisted skirt and crop top by Carin Wester , the shoulder ruffles fierce jacket by Ida Sjostedt, the 60′s inspired structured dress by Minimarket , the girly peplum dress by Sretsis , the crop knit tops by Warmi, the batik frou frou skirt by Carin Wester .
8. What styles are you looking forward to wearing next season?
I can’t wait to receive the new collections and to wear : Antipodum crop tees and skater skirts (pictured below), Minimarket long printed aztec coats, Ida Sjostedt long fur coats, beautiful printed dresses by Louise Amstrup, El Delgado Buil coloured leopard knits, Warmi hoods, long sequin jackets by Something Else, Shakuhachi cut-out dresses, long oversized cape coats and chunky knits from Stine Goya (pictured below).
Photos . . . . . 1: Lisa Muscinesi in her shop; 2. the outside of CanCan; Lisa photographed by Sophie Arancio for Nast; 3. a scene from Biana; 4. looks by Carin Wester and Sretsis in the CanCan shop; 5. Fall 2010 looks by Stine Goya and Antipodium.
