inspiration

i saw "factory girl" for the first time yesterday, and while i thought the movie was just fine...the clothes were amazing. with my passion for mod fall dresses i'm thinking of getting the "edie sedgwick" haircut above. it's a huge change for me...but it's just hair, right? (i've already started looking for big, vintage earrings on ebay!) what do you think?

autumn wardrobe

this past weekend i started planning my autumn wardrobe. i scoured ebay (for hours and hours) and found some lovely dresses for cooler weather. i have won three so far and have about five or so to go. they are all some combination of the following: brightly colored, boldly printed, intricately detailed.

here are the ones i have won already.



as sad as i'll be to see the warm weather fade, i'm totally looking forward to snuggling into these dresses.

random blog tuesday

are you kidding me? apparently i'm one of the last people to know about the preteen blogging wonder, Tavi. (she was in T Magazine already, for crying out loud.)

check her out.



um...yeah she's 12. here's her blurb from her about me section.

Hi there! I'm Tavi, but when I make typing errors I'm Ysbo. Throughout my blog you will find small references to 80's films, as well as inside jokes that will at first come off as creepy, but will not compare to the creepiness of my Van Montgomery-esque smile. My dream haircut would be some type of cross between the YSL bowl cut and the hair of Daft Punk music video characters, with a little Bob Dylan. I'm married to a high schooler pirate. I am not a Harry Potter fan, but I totally dig his specs.

wish i had been that cool at 12.

some good, ole fashioned fun

note to self: (part II)

and these eyes
---------------->
need to go with the aforementioned hair.

image from hollystadler.com

note to self:

somehow, we have to make this
--------->
happen with our hair.

image from eternal child's a/w '08 collection.

impulse purchase

i was checking out ebay this morning and came across this dress when it had just a few minutes left on the auction block. i typically put a lot of thought into my purchases, but this was too pretty to let go. (it is made of silk and fully lined in taffeta. i'm a sucker for a well made dress in EXACTLY my size.) i'm not in love with the neckline...at least the way the picture shows it...so i may play with that a bit when i have it in my hands. other than that, i am very pleased.

ebay dresses for everyone - part two

it may seem like a lot of the vintage dresses on ebay are for smaller women, but depending on your shape, there is a decade out there for everyone. big bust/hips? 40s/50s full skirted dresses. bulgy tummy? late 60s/early 70s tent dresses. pear shape? 70s a-line halters. anything is in style if it looks great on you! (seriously.)

listed below are all the dresses i found for my wonderfully hourglassed friend. (all the dresses have a 38-40" bust, 30-34" waist and mostly open hips.) just click the photo to get to the auction.

the fun and flirty


the bright and pretty


the sweet and casual


the simple and elegant


happy bidding!

ebay dresses for everyone - part one

i recently had a cookout for my friend's birthday. i wore one of my many maxi sundresses i got from ebay (you know i'm obsessed, right?) and when i told some of my girlfriends that it came from ebay, i got the usual response of shock and admiration. things were said like:

"how does it fit you so well?"
"i can't find anything, ever, on ebay."
"did you get it altered?"
"i can never find things in my size."
"i just get nervous about buying something without seeing it."
etc.

i spoke with one of my girlfriends specifically, and at length, on the subject of buying for a more voluptuous girl on ebay. today, i am here to demystify the art (yeah, i'm proud) of finding the perfect dress on ebay (in part one) and to offer my voluptuous lovely several options i found for her (in part two). so...here we go.

the how-to of ebay dress shopping

1. know what you like. there are thousands and thousands of dresses on ebay. it can get overwhelming fast. have an idea in mind before you start looking.
   
2. use the search bar to your advantage. once you have a dress/shape/color/era/size in mind, search for that. most people are very descriptive in their titles so you won't lose a lot of viable options when searching. (my recent search terms have been "maxi" and "psychedelic", separately.)
   
3. know your range of measurements exactly. this is really the most important bit because you aren't going to be able to try on this dress until you own it. you can use this incredibly brief, but instructional guide from vintagevixen.com to help you figure out how to measure yourself correctly. (make sure you have on the same undergarments you would when wearing a certain dress. i have a few sets of measurements depending on whether or not i'm wearing a bra with a dress and even which bra i would choose to wear.)
4. really look at the details. again, since you aren't going to be able to touch the dress before purchase, make sure the seller's photos give you a good idea of the quality of the fabric and the craftsmanship of the dress. always ask for more photos if you are intrigued but not yet convinced.
5. read the fine print. most sellers will only let you return a dress if they can agree with you that they described it incorrectly. some people list measurements in a funny way, have rules about paying by a certain method or time period, or may not mention the flaws or overall quality of a dress. once you have found your virtual vintage dream dress it can get expensive if you're bidding against many others who feel the same love and adoration you do. cover your ass and know all the details so when you finally win your dress it will be an amazing investment and not an unreturnable mistake.

that's the basics. once you start doing it more often (honestly, the hunting becomes addictive) you will hone your craft. you will learn exactly what you like and what looks great on your body and will feel damn good with the barrage of compliments that will follow your new vintage dress around town. with the single link below, i open the door to an exciting new world of clothing to you. be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.

ebay>women's vintage clothing>dresses

food centric friday

i always read the ny times dining and wine section...after all, food is my favorite part about living in nyc. the best bit is the weekly restaurant review because i have a mental list of places that i'm trying to tick off...and a little guidance never hurt.

image from nytimes.com

this past week i found the worst restaurant review i've read in a while. frank bruni reviewed the very trendy restaurant ago *pronounced AH-go...how pretentious* and the article went from zero to vicious and biting pretty quickly.

i hope you love it as much as i did.

i needed a dress for a wedding

and this is the dress i won on ebay. it fits me perfectly and looks stunning with some 40s inspired pale yellow leather platform, peeptoe, maryjanes *did you get all that?* that i bought on a whim when i found them on the sale rack at DSW. hopefully i'll get an outfit picture of this one.

hat hair

this got circulated around the office the other day and it was too great not to mention here. i have absolutely no context for these images...so just enjoy...hair hats.
want some closeups?

random blog tuesday

i found bottom half nude through another cool site i read occasionally so i figured it couldn't be that bad...and i was totally wrong. it is great. it seems to just be entertaining blather from intelligent people with no real purpose...but i love it.

from the about section on the blog:

"Dear God, what have we done.

Semi clothed and sitting in a row in a large light filled space, Mary Pearls, Marty George and Benjita the Creaker became compelled to impart, well, what would otherwise simply go bandied around the workplace and perhaps slip through the nibble fingers of those who might also like to enjoy some of this nonsense. It’s just another blog, sure, nuts and natter and the like, but rather than just telling it to ourselves, we thought maybe you might like to take a peak too. Hold tight…"

check it out to waste some time and get fun things to email your bored friends.

project catwalk

since i don't have cable tv, i rely solely on the internet to provide my entertainment when i want to veg out on the couch at home. i recently discovered the british version of project runway *called project catwalk* and fell in love.

i've read about many project runway fanatics that are disappointed by the show, but give me cute guys with a gorgeous accent and i'll watch almost anything *sad but true*.

so...the show...

these are the contestants:
with host, kelly osbourne:
and these are my favorite contestants:

*not surprisingly all cute men with cute accents!* from left to right: tom is a menswear designer who brings a sporty influence to everything he does. clinton won south african designer of the year in 1998 and hasn't seemed to make a name for himself after he moved to london...he is incredibly talented. and my favorite is ross. he is adorable up and down...and his fashion sense is totally cutting edge. see:
and now...some of my favorite outfits from the show:

the clothes had a decidedly british influence as did the show itself. honestly, it felt more like project catwalk was more about the designers themselves than it was about the clothes they designed. and what kept me in the show was ross...see more cute pictures below.

if you are interested in watching the show, you can find it on surf the channel. while the quality isn't stellar, it works if you are an addict like me. enjoy!

ebay dress of the day

i am still loving the super long length dresses. the print on this one is gorgeous and the back tie detail makes it even more interesting.

the summer of love dress

price: $21.00
bids: 3
end time: 10:49pm EST

happy bidding

prints on parade

with the past couple of days being soft, sweet dresses, i wanted to remind you of my love for bright color and bold patterns. enjoy!

the op-art "business in the front, party in the back" dress

price: $9.99
bids: 0
end time: 5:50 pm EST

the psychedelic maxi dress

price: $20.00
bids: 1
end time: 1:51 pm EST

the grecian sheath dress

price: $27.65
bids: 7
end time: 10:43 pm EST

the looks better on dress

price: $14.99
bids: 0
end time: 2:17 pm EST

happy bidding!