Nicole Orabona | Frivolous Universe

Xasual Xmas: Fur-Lined, Acid-Washed, and Draped in Velour

By: Kelly Lynae Robinson

26-12-2011

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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Candy Apple Red for Christmas

By: Kelly Lynae Robinson

19-12-2011

Kelly, Kelly and Nicole, Nicole

K: Dressing for a Christmas party is always a conundrum. Chances are the event will be photographically remembered, which creates the need to look festive but most-of-all fabulous (and only a tad foolish). The outfit I conjured up for Charmagne’s white elephant gift exchange was as follows: sweater I found on a bench and candy apple red palazzo pants.

N: You look cold.

K: I am. These vintage palazzo pants are made of the thinnest, cheapest polyester around. They came in a set with a matching turtleneck/tunic and tie belt for four bucks. I bought them in a rush of glee over the dramatic volume and color, but they will not stay in my wardrobe long. Too cheap and poorly constructed. Turns out even in the 70s JCPenney was shit. Someday, I’ll hunt down a quality vintage pair , preferably in a print.

K: This loosely knit sweater doesn’t do much to keep out the breeze either.

K: I first put a red coral necklace with this outfit, but it was too heavy. These earrings my sister made keep the neckline clean.

K: My winter topper of choice: 60s men’s Pendleton wool coat plus wool wrap.

K: I love how these pants move.

N: At the beginning of the month, my better-paying, second job offered me some prime weekend shifts, so I quit my slightly-more-fun first job, allowing me to have more free time and more money! My now former-manager still invited me to his Christmas Party, though. I said “fuck it” to the ugly sweater theme and hauled my butt to Harlem in style in this 70’s Mr. Topper of California turtleneck and olive pleated skirt. My outfit was a big hit with the other party guests, who were pleasantly surprised to find out it was entirely thrifted and cost me about the same amount as their Cosby sweaters.

N: Nothing says Christmas like vintage polyester. Also, you may remember this skirt from our Autumn themed post last month. It’s ridiculous number of pleats and heavy material make it a great skirt for the colder months…so. much. fabric!

K: Oh, my! I love your little Christmas tree.

N: When in doubt, match your earrings to your belt. These gold squares have the tiniest little diamond* on the bottom corner, but it was too hard to get it to show up in a photo.

(*may-or-may-not be a real diamond)

N: Ok, I lied before. My zig-zag tights are the only non-thrifted part of my outfit, I got them from American Apparel last winter. The t-strap shoes are though! They may potentially be vintage dance/character shoes, which is one of the reasons I love them. That and the the fact that they are the exact same color as my belt.

K: Repeating motif! The rectangles on your shoes, belt and earrings all work together. A pro always styles down to the details.

K: I got an early xmas/late birthday present in the mail this week. This print:

K: Eeek! Isn’t it spectacular? I love the color choices, the stippling, the suit. I love that her skeletal hand looks like it’s grabbing her crotch. And I LOVE that the artist titled it “Lovely Couple”. *Sigh* Seriously, I would wear that suit. Check out more of Matthew Wade’s work here, here, and here.

Alas, this is our last Monday before Christmas, so we leave you with our blessing:

May your Christmas be rich in love and cheap in cost.

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What’s Mine is Yours… Is Mine Again!

By: Kelly Lynae Robinson

12-12-2011

Kelly, Kelly and Nicole, Nicole

K: My mom bought me this skirt six years ago at – get this – Coldwater Creek. I was supposed to be helping her shop when I spied black lace and gunmetal gray taffeta. I’m not sure if my peals of ecstatic praise convinced her to buy it for me, or if I came right out and asked for it. Either way, I wore it once. It was to a wedding with a cream sweater and black tights and shoes. How predictable.

Anywho, having never properly worn it, and having recently acquired a black silk, tiered, ruffled number of similar proportion, and having no money with my boo’s birthday around the corner…
It’s boo’s.

N: After picking out the skirt to wear to a friends play, I decided I needed to pair it with the least-fancy thing I could find…enter crew-neck wool sweater! I got this 100% merino wool sweater for a couple bucks at a thrift store last winter, it’s supa cozy and looks & feels much more expensive than it actually was.

K: Now you’ve done what I could not, dress it down and make it minimalistic and chic. I love a color palette of interesting neutrals.

K: Did you pick these earrings first thing, or did you try several?

N: You know me too well. I tried several earrings on before settling on these gold tear-drop earrings from Lucky. I picked them to match the gold in the belt.

K: Very unexpected. *Polite smattering of applause*

N: At first I tucked the sweater into the skirt before adding this thrifted leather skinny belt. It was too bulky and the elastic waist-band of the skirt looked cheap. Keeping it un-tucked also made it more casual.

K: Kitty dish.

N: The tights actually have a nice cable-knit texture that you can’t really pick up in the photo. I thought the chunky-ness of them set off the formal-ness of the skirt much better than an opaque tight.

These Kenzie mary janes I’ve had forever, but they are still some of my favorites. I seriously re-glued the soles on about 3 times before paying to have them re-soled.

N: In the days before my big move, Kelly and I spent many hours going through my clothes to decide which ones would make the trip with me. Since space was limited, I left a box or two behind with her to send to me once the weather changed and she got a good wear out of them. (hint-hint, nudge-nudge)

K: I wore this sheer purple blouse, sheer black hooded tunic and sheer sparkly tights (and a pair of lace-trimmed bike shorts for my modesty) to Story Story Night and Bethany snapped pictures at the Red Feather after party.

N: This blouse features some of my favorite traits that I look for in clothing: it’s sheer, has poofy sleeves, and cinches in at juuust the right spot on the natural waist, so naturally it’s one of our favorite thrifted finds. I decided to pack a black blouse in a similar silhouette, so boo got to hang on to this one for a while.

K: I got one query that night about why I was wearing my hood indoors. Kim jumped in and said, “It just doesn’t work without the hood.” Why? It just doesn’t.

N: I’ve always paired this blouse with something high waisted, be it tapered pants, hot shorts or a skirt. Though I’ve had some great outfits with that combo, I love how you layer it over the tunic here!

K: Chandelier earrings, platform sandals and socks – my favorite evening accessories… for now.