Bi Monthly Bangers - Jan/Feb 2019

Truth be told, January and February are probably my least favorite months out of the year. Where I live, it tends to be miserable dark and cold for both of those months. My city has also been graced with the coldest February in something like 40 years. Sorry to start this off with such a bummer. Good things can still come out of my least favorite time of year. Here are my bangers for the beginning of 2019.

Vintage Vibes

After Christmas, I don’t have much of a budget for new clothes. Also despite everyone and their dog Kondo - ing their entire lives, thrift stores in my area have been kind of lacking. So I did what any logical person would do, and cut my hair. After swearing off of having bangs, they are back. They also brought their new friend bob along too.

Late to the party, me and my partner had started watching The Marvelous Ms. Maisel on Amazon Prime. So far we have managed to marathon almost the entire first season. If you got prime and haven’t checked out this show yet do it up. The costuming and set design is superb, and the show is so funny.

Cosplay and Conventions

Beginning of the year was a dash to pull out my Hawke costume and clean it up for a really awesome Dragon Age photoshoot. If you are interested in checking out the gallery of photos I got of my Hawke you can check it out in my last blog post here. We went out to a local farm, hung out with some horses and climbed into a hayloft.

I also decided to clean out and declutter my craft room. There is so much stuff in my room that I keep holding onto, just in case I need it one day. Really I need to come to terms that if there is a day I need all those jars hiding in my closet, I’ll forget they are hiding in there and just buy more. Along with getting rid of random crafting items, I threw away some costumes in some less than great shape. It was an odd feeling throwing away my Bioshock Elizabeth costume away.

Geek Goods

So basically the only thing I have been talking about on twitter lately feels like The Umbrella Academy. In February, Netflix released their adaptation of Gerard Way’s comic. It has been a series I’ve been waiting for since I heard of it being a thing. The adaptation of the comic was great and so much fun to watch. Needing a new show to watch, do this one.

Additional Articles

Bon Appetit sister site, Healthyish, did their feel good plan for the second time this year. If you are hunting for some new, quick and relatively easy recipes you have to check them out. We also went to Jasper this winter for my partners birthday. It was my first time staying at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, and it was so lovely. Bonus points, I got to see so many animals. If you haven’t checked out this really great article on Polygon yet, do it up. You won’t be disappointed by this person very large Red Dead Redemption horse.

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Vintage and Retro - Seattle

Vintage Seattle - 8 shops to check out on your next trip

A couple months back, I had written up a quick vintage shopping guide for my trip to Portland I did in 2018. Since that one was so popular, I decided it was time for round two. Seattle is another great west coast city to go to if vintage shopping is your jam. They have great food, and a bunch of really rad shops. Not being a Seattle local I can't say I am an expert of Seattle vintage shopping, but here are a few that I've checked out and loved on the couple trips I've had.

Rove Vintage. This shop is great if you are on the hunt for more of a 70s old band tee shirt vibe. This store is pretty rock n roll grunge with rows of denim and leather jackets. If you are more into a mid century aesthetic, they do have a few hidden 60s gems that hide in their rows, but I wouldn’t go out of your way if you have 0 interest in the later chunk of the century’s style. Although it is nicely located making it an easy walk from Capitol Hill, and other good nearby shops and restaurants.

Dress From Pretty Parlor
Cardigan from Dancing Days

Pretty Parlor. This shop has everything I desire in a vintage shop. Well curated pieces spanning the middle of the century. Everything is color codes and there is pretty much something for most people’s budget. Store pets?! Honestly I wish I lived in Seattle just so I could routinely visit Pretty Parlor. I suppose I will have to settle with constantly visiting their Etsy shop. Located in Capitol Hill, this place is an easy visit if you are staying in that area, or even downtown. They do have more than just really rad dresses, lingerie, shoes and handbags for femme folks. Tucked away in the back they also have a bridal section that my heart craves to see, and lots of menswear in the front of the shop. On my last visit I purchased a lovely fall colored shirt waist dress.

Revival. If you are more of a trendy instagram vintage lover, this is probably more of the place for you. Revival’s main focus seems more leaned towards local artist’s pieces which is rad as all get out. If you are very fashion forward, or have that super chic family member you need to buy a gift for, this would totally be a place I would suggest checking out. Even if you aren’t that person I would still suggest checking it out if you are in the area. They do have dedicated space for used and consigned pieces of clothing, and there were definitely some older pieces of vintage in there.

Le Frock. Come here if you have money to spend and you are all about that brand name stuff. I swooned at the rack of dress suits that I will never be able to afford (and probably fit) Le Frock is located on Pike, just down the street from Rove Vintage. I do get the sense that they are trying to gear themselves more towards class of humans who need to wear business attire most days. Still a lovely place to peek into to see if they have something on sale.

Lifelong Thrift. Okay so maybe not the type of vintage shop that the rest of the places on this list are, but still a lovely place to check out. It’s a pretty large place, stock full of stuff, so make sure you have the energy to properly look through it. It is a thrift shop after all. When I was there last, I found 2 cute velvet hats that were about 5 dollars each. If you take a look at their website, you can also see that they are a non-profit, support their local community and those with chronic illnesses.

Cardigan - Dancing Days
Skirt - Lucky Vintage

Lucky Vintage. I didn’t realize during my stay, but Lucky Vintage actually has three shops through Seattle. I had been to their Ballard location, but they also a U district and a Pioneer Square location. Their clothes span from the early 1900s up to 1990. Their Ballard location Instagram is one of my favorite accounts to follow. They are constantly posting fantastic flat lays of pieces that are currently in their store. If you spent any time with me over the holidays, or have peeks over at my social media, you’ve probably come across my cream plaid wrap skirt that I bought there. Everyone needs a wrap skirt for holiday meals in my opinion.

Trove Vintage. Up in Ballard is this very cute shop. It’s a femme dream, with soft lace and frills on dreamy vintage dresses. It is a little more on the pricier end, but very well curated. They also have a bridal section to their store too. If you have something you need a nice new (to you) dress for a special event, you might have luck here. Don’t expect to find anything masculine here though. There is pretty much no menswear to speak of here. Even finding a pair of pants will be a challenge.

Bon Voyage Vintage. It was my first trip to Seattle when I popped into Bon Voyage. If memory serves me right, we had just left the underground tour and saw that his place with still open. We peeked in and the space was full of punk kids, hanging out and drinking. Okay turns out they also have some rental space in their off hours. Fast forward to my next trip, we actually visited during store hours. So automatically this store gets bonus points for having a dog in their shop. They also had such a range of styles in their shop. Most of the things you find here will be later in the century, and more punkesque of style (see above for reference to my first visit) but they do have some more mid century stuff sprinkled through. There are a pair of wool sailor pants I had bought there with the intention of wearing all the time before losing too much weight for them.

Any of your favorite shops that aren't on this list? Let me know. I am always looking for an excuse to go to Seattle again, and check out all their good shopping.

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Garb Gathering - Springtime Portland

Welcome to a new casual series of posts here! In these posts I will be going into the details of some of my favorite outfits and the pieces that make them up. Earlier this year I got to travel to Portland Oregon for my anniversary with my partner. 

Day One

For the first full day of our trip, we rented a car to go venture to the coast to do some sight seeing. It was going to be chilly and I knew I would have to throw on some layers for hanging out by the ocean. First we drove down to cannon beach, just a couple hours from Portland, and then up to Astoria. I needed something that was cute enough to walk around town in and take photos, but also be comfy enough to wear sitting the car for some time.

Sunglasses- Derek Cardigan
Rain Jacket - Borrowed
Teal Collared Dress - Hell Bunny
Bee Cardigan - Dancing Days
Black Tights - Dynamite
Not Pictures - White Keds Shoes


Day Two

We had to wake up early to drop off the car that we had rented the day before to drive to the coast. Afterwards our plans were to bike down to the science museum to go check out the submarine tours they had. This called for comfy black stretch denim to bike around in, and Doc Martens to walk around in. Throw on a pull over a collared shirt and call it an outfit. When it got chilly in the evening I threw over my grey blazer and big scarf to keep me warm

Rock Star Jeggings - Old Navy
Hawaiian Shirt - Thrifted
Black Pullover - Thrifted
Aimilita Doc Marten Boots
Grey Wool Blazer - Simons Canada
Plaid Blanket Scarf



Day Three

Anniversary Day! We had reservations at a nice restaurant in downtown Portland. After spending the day wandering around where we were staying, we went back to our Airbnb to change (and nap). I had brought one of my favorite dresses along with us. I had earlier in our trip bought a pair of navy eyelet gloves and cropped black 50s jacket from a vintage shop. The hat I wore was also bought for a steal of a deal just the day before. With black netting and feather I feel like it pulled the entire outfit together.

40s Hat - Magpie Vintage (Portland)
Floral Dress - Pretty Dress Co
50s Embossed Floral Crop Jacket - Hattie’s Vintage (Portland)
Navy Eyelet Gloves - Hattie’s Vintage (Portland)
Black Tights - Dynamite
Leather Shoes - Naturalizer


Day Four

It was our last full day in Portland. We had very little plans for our day, other than going for breakfast at Mckennins School and then a swim in their heated salt water pool. The day before I bought a lovely mustard yellow wool shirt, that went perfectly with the bee cardigan that I had brought along with me. As someone who hates throwing on clothes while wet, I made sure that I wore a skirt so I didn’t need to deal with the stickiness of pants on wet legs after our swim. I threw on my fedora to hide away my not so clean hair.

Black Wool Fedora - Lids
Yellow Wool Shirt - True Vintage from House of Vintage (Portland)
Bee Cardigan - Dancing Days
Pleated Black Skirt - Vintage from Velour (Calgary)

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