Frivolous Universe

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Tag "skinny jeans"

Kelly Lynae and Nicole Orabona inspired me with yesterday’s post of David Lynchian virgin-cum-vixen silhouettes.

I’m moving to the other side of the world in less than 24 hours, and when I’m stressed out my body tosses weight like cargo off a gangplank. During lean times, when I feel I have the proportions of a praying mantis, I rely on the figure-enhancing magic of 1950s and early ’60s silhouettes—with a modern twist.

 Platonic ideal of a linen jacket: Elizabeth and James (Fancy Pants, Boise)

Bennett chino in poppy and tank top: J. Crew

 Silver cat bracelet: gift

Mulholland Drive, Laura Herring, Fashion, Frivolous Universe

My favorite movie is David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. I love Mulholland Drive for its low brass, American notes (Winkie’s, Los Feliz nightlight, Club Silencio) contrasted with Naomi Watts and Laura Harring’s agnès b., workaday Parisian wardrobe.

J. Crew, toothpick jean, skinny jean, Elizabeth and James, Donald J. Pliner, Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, tank top, flats, zebra flats

Zebra flats: Donald J. Pliner

From the rhinestones on Betty’s coral-colored cardigan to the black halter dress Rita wears to Club Silencio, the girl is in the details.

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, J, Crew, Elizabeth and James, toothpick jean, Donald J. Pliner, zebra, flats

Photos by Bethany Walter

Screenshots from Mulholland Drive (2001)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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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Drink and dance and laugh and lie,

Love the reeling midnight through,

For tomorrow we shall die!

(But, alas, we never do.)

—Dorothy Parker, from Death and Taxes

 

We all have a place that holds us to the fire, whether we call it our hometown, holidays at our in-laws’ house, or a workplace where we are in over our heads. Whatever the GPS coordinates of our Waterloos may be, our battlefields have this in common: a constricting, strict Saturnian energy. These are places where we rarely get what we want. Instead, each time we visit them, we’re hammered by defeat.

Boise has been this place for me. After a break-up, a job loss, or the kamikaze free-fall of a functional degree of health, this is where I end up. But in not giving it up so easily, this town has taught me a necessary lesson: to stop asking what I want out of life and to start figuring out what life wants from me.

Sometimes the cues are subtle. Other times, getting what I need feels a lot like being dragged behind a bulldozer. It takes time, discernment, and synchronicity to find one’s stream in life. It takes faith to jump back in. When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad—I get my ass to dance class.

Today I stumbled through a ludicrously up-tempo Zumba class at the downtown Y. Because life’s hard and I believe a well-cut profile on the dance floor can warm even the bleakest heart, here’s my ode to dance halls, dance class, and the spirit that revels despite it all.

Happy Holidays. Xo K

 

Silk blouse with shoulder ribbons: FlyNow (Bangkok Paragon)

Mod silk tie: Bangkok Paragon

Skinny jeans: “The Legging” by Current/Elliott (Barneys CO-OP)

Sneakers: faux Vans (blackmarket)

Plaid shirt: ZARA (Bangkok)

High-waisted jeans: ZARA (Bangkok)

Gold flats: custom-made (Hoi An, Vietnam)

Friend: DJ Boots (The Blue Cat, Phnom Penh)

Khmer dance lessons from the soldiers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Battalion 169 stationed at Preah Vihear

T-shirt: Kim’s Karate (thrift store)

Skinny jeans: Hudson (Macy’s, Boise Towne Square)

Sandals: faux Gucci (blackmarket)

Friend: Farrah K.

Woodstock photo dress: ZARA (Bangkok)

Jade rosary: Burma

Woven clutch: gift (Indonesia)

Friend: V Boots

 

 

 

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