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According to the Urban Dictionary, a complisult is “a backhanded compliment.” Example: “That’s such a nice dress. It does wonders for your figure.”

Julie Miller, thrift store fashion, Idaho fashion, vintage clothing, vintage dress

One night a few years ago, through an amber haze of whiskey fumes and cigarette smoke, a close friend of mine confessed, through tears of laughter and apologetic overtones, that I had unwittingly acquired a nickname amongst my friends – “The Complisult”. She explained to me that I have this “endearing” way of paying people compliments by insulting them.

As soon as she said it, I realized just how horrifyingly appropriate my nickname was. I’d never been able to put my finger on it – this thing that invariably happened when I tried to joke with others – and now here it was, staring me in the face. The Complisult. It’s a little like thinking you’re Batman and suddenly discovering you are in fact The Joker.

antique blue velvet sofa, Julie Miller, vintage clothing, cocktail dress, white leather boots

Now that I’m aware of my hapless talent for complisulting people, I diligently monitor my words. But old habits die hard, especially when one was only made aware of said bad habit a relatively short time ago…..so at times The Complisult still makes a vengeful return, giving me a nasty case of foot-in-mouth disease.

Julie Miller, white leather boots, antique furniture, vintage cocktail dress

The silver lining to this affliction is that it’s made me work damned hard to make lasting friendships. The evening these photos were taken, I had the good fortune of hosting a few of my most prized friend acquisitions – Jessica, Kelly, and Bethany – three of the five other women who post on this blog. Not to mention, I have one hell of a manfriend, who built our lovely home, and a dog, Ed, who is so devoted to me that he lays at the foot of the tub when I shower and hugs my hand with his tiny white paws every time I scratch his furry little chest. Just look at those eyes he’s giving me! it’s love.

Classique leather boots, antique jewelry, miniature dachshund

All of my loved ones, save Ed of course, have fallen prey to The Complisult a time or two, but they stick with me, and we adore and revere each other. It’s a fine thing. So I raise my Tyrconnell filled glass to the FU broads, Dustin, and my Edmund – here’s to sticking with it, and building love.

vintage clothing, antique mirror, Erin Cunningham, Idaho art, Tyrconnell whiskey, Hazel Cox

About the Outfit: This fantastic vintage cocktail dress was designed by Julie Miller, and made sometime in the mid ’40’s. Kelly gave it to me for Christmas, that classy dame! The boots are made by Classique, so essentially they are cheap knockoffs of some designer brand. But hey – they are actually leather, and I picked them up for $4 at a thrift store, so……

And in case you’re wondering, that stunning painting pictured behind me is by one of my all-time favorite Boise artists – Erin Cunningham.

antique gold bangle bracelets, antique gold ring, opal ring, Voumard watch, elk ivory ring, Tyrconnell whiskey

About the Jewelry: My earrings are, no surprise here, handmade by Hazel Cox. The watch was Dustin’s grandmother’s, and is by Voumard. The gold bracelets are from my great-grandmother in Greece. The ring on my left hand is gold, diamond, and elk ivory – designed and made by Glade Davis. The one on my right ring finger is a Greek gold filigree piece from my great-grandmother, and the one on my middle finger is a gold and opal piece from my grandmother.

thrift store fashion, vintage clothing, Idaho artJessica and I, extolling the virtues of quality-made vintage clothing in my cozy home office. Many thanks to Bethany for another round of fantastic photos.

 

 

 

 

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Kelly: This is the face I made when I saw it.

Nicole: And this is the face I made out of jealousy when I saw it:

K: The vintage coat of my dreams at Acquired Again Antiques in Hyde Park for $40.00. Obviously the 70s are my spirit decade, but this gray leather, shearling-trimmed coat has a lot more going for it than its date of birth.

K: I love the high-drama silhouette. I wouldn’t have fallen for this coat if the collar was one inch shorter or if there were one panel of shearling on the hem, rather than two. An interesting neutral like this stone gray is also a huge plus.

N: Goldilocks’ dream coat…juuuust right.

K: I’m very inspired by menswear, especially of the 70s and 80s. This coat is an amalgamation of two coats that I love in David Cronenberg’s 1980 film Scanners.

K: With the collar down, it looks like the khaki trench with a rounded shearling collar worn by the protagonist, Cameron Vale, played by Stephen Lack.

N: In a perfect world, I will find a coat like Jennifer O’Neal’s and we can recreate scenes from the movie.

K: If you haven’t seen it, Scanners is a science-fiction horror film about a group of people (good and evil) who have telepathic abilities. It’s developed a bit of a cult-following due to it’s graphic special effects. Talk about gore galore.

K: With the collar up, my soul-mate coat reminds me of the camel coat Cameron wears to track down a fellow scanner in his art studio.

N: I’d also like to point out how similar your hairstyles are in these two pictures.

K: If you’re going to brutally intrude in the minds of others, you might as well match your scarf to your necktie.

K: Anna found these vintage Chanel crocodile pumps at a thrift store in McCall for $8.00 (no foolin’). They’re only mine because she couldn’t cram them on her feet, despite considerable huffing and puffing. I am very grateful.

K: Another Anna-sponsored accessory, I bought this vintage barrette at a cocktails-and-costume-jewelry party at Anna and Dustin’s on Friday evening. This is my first attempt to branch out into more interesting hairstyles (not that we don’t love a top-knot).

K: What would I do without Jason Andrew Willford, who takes my pictures when it’s below-freezing?

N: I wore this weeks outfit to be an extra in a film a co-worker of mine is directing/producing/co-writing/starring in.  Her impressive resume also includes professional styling.  I sense a potential Frivolous guest…

K: Ooo, I hope so!

N: The coloring and stripes of my vintage Summit Sportwear wool skirt remind me of the pinstripes on this suit from Scanners:

N: Instead of a boring white collared shirt, I’ll  pair my pinstripes with a denim bustier that used to be a dress. (Note the pairing of the slutty top with the ultra conservative bottom.)

K: Perfect time to drop our newest FU-aphorism: subtly slutty!

N: I got the dress at Lux and wore it one time.  It looked like this:

N: It was way too short and had a weird frill on the bottom.  The decision to cut off the skirt to make full use of the awesome bustier was one of the greatest I have ever made.

K: Are you sure the weird frill was the only reason you couldn’t wear it after that night? Have you forgotten?

K: Or, dare I remind you?

K: Ahem, excuse us. It’s really not fair to show Jeff Goldblum like that. He’s really beautiful for the first half of David Cronenberg’s 1986 body-horror film, The Fly.

 

N: His hair is an inspiration.

N: Since I don’t have an awesome Scanners coat to keep me warm (yet…), I have to top my outfit off with this vintage wool sequined sweater, also from Acquired Again.  This sweater is definitely a soul-mate piece. It’s 100% wool and sequined everywhere…such cozy armor!  In spite of being made 50’s, it is still holding up pretty well. Or maybe I should say because it was made in the 50’s, when people cared about quality, it’s still holding up pretty well.

Here is a closer look, along with thrifted black and bronze belt and my bustier-ed boobs.

N: The Ladies Garment Workers Union label, size 8 tag, cut and detailing tell me this skirt was made sometime in the mid-to-late 70’s.

K: I love knowing that my clothes were made by someone making a living wage, even if it was almost 40 years ago.

N: The sweater is also vintage. The tag at the antique store said 50’s.

N: Check out the awesome detailing on the bottom of the skirt.

K: You should let me borrow this one, now that you’ve blogged it. I have a teal silk top that cries out to coordinate with that piping.

N: Details, details, details: black textured tights and black boots and black drop earrings and black and bronze belt  When combined with the sequined sweater, the black accessories help make the denim and wool suitable for evening wear.

N: The bustier top may not seem winter-friendly, but paired with the heavy wool skirt, tights and the cozy wool sweater, I was sweatin’ before long indoors.

K: All black accessories could be boring, but the interplay of the different textures (denim, wool, suede, and sequins) is totally unexpected. Love the muted color palette.

N: Cherry blossoms by Sean Wyett of Black Cat Tattoo.

K: Sean has done all of my tattoos.

Is this picture of Jeff Goldblum going to be in your steamy dreams or your nightmares? Let us know in the comments!

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Nicole: It’s officially getting cold here in the city.  No snow yet, but cold. Which only means one thing.  I finally get to wear the best thing I purchased before leaving Boise…the acid-washed, fur-lined denim jacket I bought for 35 dollars at The Lux.  I can wear a tank top under this baby and still be warm.  So. Wonderful.

Kelly: Viva la acid wash! A subtle, sophisticated color palette does wonders in modernizing this much-despised fabric of the 80s (even by some of our fellow bloggers. Gasp!) I love the muted blush, blue, and caramel with a jewel-toned pant.

N: I picked this outfit to go with the jacket: high-necked blush polyester blouse and teal jeans, both purchased second hand.  The jeans are originally from American Apparel. I got them for eight dollars. They usually run around $65.  Woo-hoo! I  love a good, frilly high collar.  So demure…that’s why I wear a black bra underneath.  You don’t wanna be too demure…

N: I love that this thrifted taupe belt has a taupe buckle, as well.  Belts that are one solid color are great because you don’t have to worry about matching gold or silver fastenings to your jewelry.

K: Word, and taupe is a much more interesting neutral than black or brown.

N: My good friend Jaime gave me this antique pendant as a going away gift.  On the back, she had engraved “fall down running.”  I paired it with this crappy old H&M tassle-chain necklace to add a little more texture. I love all the detailing on this blouse.  Pleats and ruffles and poofs, oh-my!

K: This blouse is one of my favorites of yours. We bought it on one of our first thrifting trips when the wide world of blouses first opened up to us. The racks in Savers were full of vintage blouses both ugly and lovely.  For some reason, instead of giggling at them and passing on to the next thing (because blouses are for grannies) we tried a bunch on and found a handful that worked. Not just for grannies.

N: I always aim to tell a good color story when I dress.  These multi-color knit socks have both the blush from the blouse and the teal from the jeans and they make the bottom half of my outfit 10 times more interesting than if I just wore my jeans straight with the black booties.

K: We’ll say it again – details, details, details!

K: Nothing says, “Why the eff won’t it snow?” like my 90s silver velour turtleneck and Christmas-present-from-Nicole jeans. This turtleneck is absurdly out-of-fashion, so I took pity on it at the thrift store and took it home. I bet I can work it into some divinely textural layered looks. Remember the floral shirt Nicole found at the yoga studio?

N: These jeans were in the same backpack.  My ass was too big for them, so I shipped them off to Kelly.  Maybe they were sad to part with the blouse, but it’s all for the better. Really.

K: These pants fit my ass like they were spray-painted on. I could have tried on 85,000-ish pairs of jeans at the mall and not found a pair that fit me this well. I feel that they were meant for me… and most importantly freeeeee.

K: I crocheted two more pairs of these alpaca mitts for gifts this year after making this pair for myself.  This belt buckle is too big to fit between the belt loops, so I improvised. Jeans not recommended for cowboys or wrestlers.

N: I love the mixing of so many textures.  Velour, wool, knits, plaids, denim…so cozy!

K: For some reason this masculine-inspired outfit cried out for a luxe, feminine shoe. When I wore these vintage purple suede pumps in a previous blog, it was with a sweeping skirt worthy of their old-fashioned charm, but I enjoy the contrast of wearing them with jeans and a flat cap.

N: A jeans and heels combo is usually so expected and boring.  Rolling up the cuffs instantly makes the line more interesting.

K: Plus a wool, vintage, thrifted jacket with a contrast color under the collar. Many thanks to Bethany for my pictures.

For us, frivolity and frugality go hand in hand.

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