It's a Ball Gown Type of Tuesday

So Marc is singing limericks at the top of his lungs this morning (don't ask) so I can't concentrate hard enough to write write something. Therefore, instead I'm just going to talk shop.

Specifically, gown...shop. Like I said, can't concentrate. Anyways, you know how you have all those fancy dresses at the back of your closet that are earmarked for weddings and fancy, sweeping affairs? Well pull 'em out- it's time to dust them off and give them a spin around town!

This tie-dyed little number was a gown I wore to a wedding a year back, and I find that anytime you pop a jean vest over something it instantly turns casual. So that's exactly what I did, and got  away with dressing up like a princess for the day without getting strange side-glances from strangers.

Note: This will not  work with cupcake prom dresses. I'm just gonna put that out there so tomorrow I don't get furious comments on how you got cherry slushies thrown at you because of your confused attire.

Side note: If you got that slushie reference we're instant friends, and expect a handwoven friendship bracelet in the next 2-3 business days ;)


You know who else is a pro at the whole nonchalant-gown-wearing business? Linda from Trendy Teal and Ali from The Drawing Mannequin. In case you need more inspiration ;)

Dress- Zaras (horrible story: I bought it for $100 and THE NEXT DAY it was on sale for $50. The tears I've shed.)
Vest- AE
Purse- H&M

PS- don't forget to follow along on Facebook!

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Lost in Drawers

Sooo a little bit of confusion! I'm actually not on the road, I'm already in Seattle (thankfully). I'm just recounting the Oregon Trail-esque road trip I had to take to move from Chicago to here because it was rather eventful. But a big thank ya nevertheless for all the "STAY STRONG GIRL, STAY STRONG"s I got from you ;)

And speaking of Seattle, here are some neighborhood shots that I thought were extra charming.

Also, let's talk about my outfit. This pretty, rose number was gifted to me (and on my birthday at that!) by the sweet husband & wife duo of Lost in Drawers. They have a store of vintage dresses that range from $20-$30, and its brimming with sailor collars, floral patterns, and casual and date dresses alike.

But seeing how I'm really, really tall, most dresses end up looking like ice skater outfits on my frame (boo!) and I'm forced to whip up clever layering to not moon people as I walk. This time around I took an idea from Hannah of The Braided Bandit and layered a longer dress under a shorter one. You know how obsessed with chambray tops I am, so I decided to put that love on steroids and went with a chambray dress. I love how it turned out! Whadya think? Would you ever try that?


Dress- c/o Lost in Drawers
Jacket- H&M (old)
Purse- UO
Chambray dress- from my shop, Bear and Twine
Ribbon- randomly found in a junk drawer (lolz)
Sandals- H&M (old)

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PS- Flash Sale

For today only, this sweet, vintage floral blazer is $20 at my store! Don't miss your chance ;)

See measurements and descriptions here: http://etsy.me/11DAiii

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Still on the Road. Still Dying a Little Inside.

We’ve come to day two of the road trip and my hair was inching its way towards a rats-nest fashion and my nerves were frayed. They were FRAYED, people. My indestructible 90’s nokia phone kept freaking out and changing cell providers as we crossed state borders, including one called “Bug Tussel” in Wisconsin. Like, I don’t even know. Oh my sweet bumpkin children, what is going on over there in the Cheese State?

But that wasn’t the reason why my resolve was rattling, no. The reason was that on the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota, the sky opted on turning a sinister shade of angry that was the color of forewarning. And as I peered through the windshield with absolute dread, the sky decided it was bored of waiting and erupted, letting lose a black storm from its pits and sending us into a scene straight out of Twister.

It wasn’t even rain. It was more like a faucet turned on and our little minivan was being assaulted right under it. The clouds weren’t even clouds, but these black-and-blue bruises that were literally melting out of the sky and trying to touch the horizon. The wind was trying to topple us over onto the car in the next lane and no matter how fast the windshield wipers wiped, you couldn’t see a thing.

And the ludicrous thing was that these crazy Minnesotans were all used to it, so they were still speed-racing down the highway like Crash Bandicoot at 70mph as I was snailing through with my hazards on. You can bet I was wide-eyed and white-knuckling it the whole time as I was trying my best not to T-bone someone. That and I was trying my hardest not to close my eyes as I screamed my way down the span of the highway.

And this assault went on and off for a day and a half. A DAY AND A HALF. I was cradling an ulcer by the end of it. The storm was about 110 miles long, and whenever I heard the GPS still persistently murmur from her time-out corner under the pillow “Make a. U-turn. Now.” I wanted to listen to her. Oh how I wanted to listen to her.

But as we crossed into North Dakota the storms, thankfully, tired themselves out into steady drizzles, and we passed wet, red canyons, rolling farms, and sloping, never-ending hills. At that point the highway wasn’t a highway anymore but an abandoned road that snaked its way across acres and acres of green land. It was like I was trapped in a Western, and instead of tobacco tucked away in my cheek and reigns in my hand, I had cheez-its and a Dodge Caravan.

I mean...it’s just as romantic...

And how boss are these high waisted polka-dot pants? I feel so Audrey Hepburn while walking around in them, though I'm sure she never paired a polka-dot with a happy, striped sweater =P

Sweater- Vintage Gap, for sale in my store HERE

Pants- F21 (recent)

Shoes- UO (recent)

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Meet the Sponsors!

ETSY| TWITTER| FACEBOOK| BLOG

The California Dream, for me, is about natural fabrics, beautifully draped silhouettes, creative embroidery, and love of color... all of which compliment the free-form lifestyle that we live on the edge of the continent. I specialize in pieces from 1960s and 1970s, when West Coast flower children had an intense love affair with Art Nouveau and Victorian motifs. 

What are your Summer Solstice Plans?

The Summer Solstice is a big deal in my witchy town, so we'll be staying up all night looking for fairies on parade (it's their big night out!), drinking elderflower champagne, and playing music. I just started using a vocal loop/delay pedal in our group jams, so I can pretend I'm Grimes/Austra to my heart's content!

ETSY| PINTEREST| FACEBOOK

Vera and Victor are time travelers -- anachronistic treasure hunters of a bygone era. We are but visitors here, spending our days in dusty attics and our nights in dimly lit boudoirs. The aroma of antique books is our cologne, we sew our clothing with the threads of time and when we sleep, we rest our heads upon a pillow of folklore and fairy tales. Thank you for having us here.

What are your Summer Solstice Plans?

And as for our plans for the solstice: Mr. Vague and I will be celebrating our 6 year anniversary together! It will also mark our 5th year of being in the vintage clothing business! Hip hip hooray! And we've only just begun :)

ETSY| BLOG| FACEBOOK| TWITTER

Intertwined Vintage is a hand picked collection of clothing, shoes, and accessories hailing primarily from the 80's and 90's. I'm shop owner and stylist, Meghan Virginia. I aim to keep the shop stocked with a quaint collection that draws inspiration from such style genres as hipster, boho/gypsy, menswear inspired, cottage chic, and 90's grunge. Come check it out!

Also, I'll be celebrating Intertwined Vintage's 1 year anniversary on July 9 with the launching of my new style blog at INTERTWINEDVINTAGE.COM. Yay! Like my page on Facebook for updates and sneak peaks leading up to the launch!

BLOG| @ACQUIRINGSHELBY| YOUTUBE| PINTEREST| TUMBLR

Acquiring the Taste is my journal. It's a place to express those occasional profound observations of the world, to share the simple craft project, or to discuss current happenings on the internet. I like to create and I like to learn from others. So this is a simple invitation, and simple welcoming, to my place, where opinions are given and voices are heard.  

What are your Summer Solstice Plans?

How will I celebrate the summer solstice? After some researching (and by researching I mean reading a wiki-how on celebrating the summer solstice), I've decided to celebrate the summer solstice by creating a summer to-do list. For instance, I must buy some popsicles, then eat them in the tormenting Georgia heat. Then I will bask in the air conditioning, make my own windsocks and dream catchers or decorate t-shirts. Then I will make cute little video skits, and maybe after that I will watch the day recede into the night from the living room window. Perhaps once all that has been done, I will watch a movie or read a book and reflect on how life can be so complicated and simple all at once. That sounds like a pretty good summer to me. 




ETSY| FACEBOOK

My little shop is stocked with vintage midwestern clothing, accessories and housewares. I'm especially drawn to mod floral prints, cute dresses, kitsch and anything boho, western or prairie.

What are your Summer Solstice Plans?

To organize my ever-expanding vintage stash, read a lot of great novels, and eat as much s'mores ice cream as possible!

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From Chicago to Seattle We Go, Part Deux

THE CLIFFHANGER HAS BEEN LIFTED.

So not only did my butt hurt from sitting in the car and my brain numbed from staring at nothing but concrete, but our navigation system decided to get dementia and become utterly lost. Right as we passed through Chicago and left it behind in our rear-view mirror, the GPS had it in for us. As we started making our way West, the little machine said in its calm, robotic voice “Make. A U-turn. Now”.

Uh…no? You little minx you, we won’t fall for that one! But she kept at it, stubbornly sticking to her lie that Seattle just so happened to be behind us, even though my fold-out map clearly said we still had 2500 miles to go. Was this contraption rigged by our…parents?

If we followed it, I’d probably be led straight back to my mother’s bosom, wouldn’t I?

Instead of following her into the lion’s den, we popped her off of the windshield and muffled her under my Winnie the Pooh pillow and kept heading straight. But after a few minutes we heard her stifled whisper again as we were approaching a ramp. “Recalculated”, she said.

Nay, she PROMISED.

And so wanting to give her one last chance, we took her advice and hooked a swift right onto the ramp she recommended.

And so we took the ramp off the highway…and then a second recalculation took us onto a second ramp onto the highway. Then onto the same ramp off the highway. And then onto the same ramp onto the highway. We were making figure-eights like Michelle Kwan. 

I nearly punted it out of the window right then and there. We were going to road trip the old school way from then on: with sunglasses on and a finger inching its way across the veins of the map folded-out in our laps.

And seeing how I usually can’t navigate myself around my own neighborhood, this should have ended in a disaster. Such as us crossing into Alabama and me turning towards Marc with a silent “..ohhh” on my lips and a pained expression on my face.

Yea…

Also, isn't this dress just the bees knees? It's the Vintage 1970's Coffee Date Dress in my store. An afternoon with a date in it is so full of promise. The hair braiding, the pink lipstick, the clouds of perfume, and of course, the dress. Nothing but a flirty but demure little number will do. And if it has long sleeves and a busy pattern? Well then, the poor bastard won't know what hit him ;)

Dress- for sale in my store HERE

Clutch- UO (recent!)

Sandals- H&M

Belt- F21 (recent!)

Bracelet- Nepal

PS- Come follow me on Facebook, which may or may not be even more fun than my blog ;)

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From Chicago to Seattle We Go!

So about two week ago I threw all my clothes haphazardly into cardboard boxes, tetrised them into a soccer-mom minivan and vamoosed from Chicago and drove West for Seattle. The decisions I’m making this year are spinning me into a somewhat existential identity crisis. What with me trapezing through Asia and then uprooting my life and running West like some panhandler, on paper I sound like some tamberine-shakin’, wander lusting gypsy. But in reality I’m like this suburb kid who wears vintage dresses because I don’t like how scandalous the youth is dressing nowa days. Seriously, WHO AM I?

For now I’ll just settle with the fact that I’m an oxymoron and tinker around with the soul searching later. 

As for my stint with running away from home, do you know how long it takes to drive cross-country from the Midwest to the real West?

Oh, THREE DAYS or so. You know, no big.

I was absolutely convinced I’d be in my own medieval torture box on wheels, stuck for three days passing bored cows with dead eyes that were munching on grass and, I, smelling like a boy whilst eating McDonald breakfast biscuits the whole way through.

The absolute horror.

But three hours into the road I was munching on gluten-free Chex with my feet up on the dashboard, listening to the echoing ethereal strings of Fleet Foxes while the wind from the rolled down window was happily brushing the hair out of my face. And at that given moment I miiiight have been forced to admit that I didn’t hate road trips as much as I vehemently swore I did.

But as the hours slowly ticked by and we started crossing time zones, the novelty wore off and I was forced to retract that statement. It. Sucked.

And I will tell you why tomorrow, muahaha #CLIFFHANGER


PS- this is me being crazy with prints. I like it. See how I styled this same skirt over HERE!

Shirt- actually a romper, for sale in my shop HERE!
Skirt- borrowed from Ashley of The Southern (California) Belle
Earrings- H&M (recent!)
Sandals- UO

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Sweet Vintage Lady

 
Let's talk vintage. Specifically, navy vintage dresses with pleated skirts, coin prints, and sailor collars. This dress was gifted to me by Gladys from Sweet Vintage Lady, a store with more nautical dresses, floral rompers, and gingham picnic dresses than it knows what to do with. And as Gladys puts sweetly about the premise of her store, "Each piece at my store has a past story to tell but most importantly, has a lovely future to be enjoyed."

And as a bonus treat, Gladys is offering 15% off to her store with the coupon code "MESS15"!

And it's no secret one of my favorite things to do while styling is taking an old fashioned dress and giving it a modern touch. I know a lot of people are intimidated by vintage because they think of the outfits worn like during the Louisiana Purchase, but Goodwill does not sell hoop skirts or bonnets, people. 

With this dress, I wanted to keep true to its nautical feel, and so I layered a striped shirt on top of it and cinched it with a belt to make it look more pulled together. And there you have it- a simple summer outfit to go strolling around in.

Dress- c/o Sweet Vintage Lady
Shirt- H&M
Belt- CK (thrifted)
Penny purse- Forever 21
Sandals- H&M (last year)

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