vintage jewelry | Frivolous Universe

Ice Princess . . . of the foothills?

By: Bethany Walter

24-02-2012

While the other FU ladies are waiting for this winter to be over, I am happy to have a chance to crown myself with this fur hat. Nearly twenty years ago it traveled all the way from Russia with one of my father’s colleges from whom he bought it. In all the time since it has hardly been worn. This last Christmas my father gave it to me. He may never have thought to before my converting to a life of frugality and second hand thrifting. Before the expected gift to give was brand new and cost money.

Brocade coat, Russian fur hat, Anne Klein Neiman Marcus pencil skirt, Liz Claiborne black leather heals

Brocade coat: McClintock Collections, Ishi Nights (Boise boutique 5 years ago)

All of my gifts my family gave me that Christmas were second hand and it was the best one I had ever had. There wasn’t that feeling of waste from giving or receiving an obligatory gift. There also wasn’t any embarrassment from receiving or giving a more expensive gift.

Russian fur hat, vintage chocker necklace, lipstick: NAR Heat Wave

Vintage fur hat: Russia, gift
Lipstick: Heat Wave by NAR cosmetics
1960s vintage gold bead choker: inherited from grandmother

Notice the drape of the fabric and the buttons on the collar.

Leopard animal print and gold chain belt: Talbots (The brand is just a guess)
thrift store, gift (price: $5)

Yes, I mixed bling and animal print with a conservative Victorian brocade. Juxtaposition is one of my favorite fashion dos.

Anne Klein Neman Marcus pencil skirt, fur hat, vintage JH Collectibles blouse

Pencil skirt: Anne Klein, Neiman Marcus, thrift store (Price: $5)
Vintage 1970s white draping blouse: JH Collectibles, thrift store (Price: $3)

Liz Claiborne leather heals

Leather heals: Liz Claiborne, thrift store (price: $3.49)

The world of second hand has changed my relationship with people and material wealth. Once great expense is taken out of the equation of giving, the worth of a gift becomes thoughtfulness and creativity. I feel I have more to give people and they feel they have more to give me.

This perception of the value of a gift has also expanded to my overall value of material wealth. I see things that cost money and things that don’t more on the same plane of worth. It is a freeing feeling to see things this way because I am not hoarding my belongs and focusing on the monetary expense. Thrift store shopping and second hand has open me up to a bigger life of generosity.

Anne Klein Neman Marcus pencil skirt, fur hat, vintage JH Collectibles blouse

Thrift store shopping = wealth + generosity

Thank you to Kelly and Anna for some extremely beautiful photos.

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CAN YOU HEAR ME? Because My Outfit is Shouting as Loud as It Can

By: Kelly Lynae Robinson

20-02-2012

K: Your clothes are talking. There’s no use fighting this. Every detail of your life that can be observed, will be observed eventually by somebody and compiled to determine what kind of person you are. My clothes are talking, and I’m not going to worry about how it is unjust because clothing is a terrible indicator of character. I’m much more interested in my clothes saying something exuberant and playful to whoever is listening.

N: I mean this in the most feminist way possible, but my clothes (and yours) are saying, “Grow some mother-fuckin’ balls.” Take all your most extreme pieces, go against your first fashion instincts, and put them together in an unexpected way.

K: In my wardrobe, there are no supporting roles. Every item gets to be a lead – all the time, mostly because my clothes are all divas and refuse to be shunted to the chorus of endless black accessories. This vintage 70s polyester tunic is a statement piece on it’s own. Why not pile on, not one, but three more: sparkly metallic blue leggings, cowboy boots, and an antique Turkmen necklace? The vintage Pendleton wool coat is less of a statement, more of a frostbite defense. It is not warm lying in the rocks. Not at all.

N: By late winter, it’s easy to pick out your the most boring, supporting characters in your wardrobe and put them together any old way because you’e lazy and just want to stay warm. I’ve been in a total winter-hating mood lately, and instead of putting another plain-old sweater with jeans, I decided to go on textural over-load. I paired vintage brocade vest, blue velvet shirt (seen in previous post as a skirt!) and tweed skirt (that’s part of a suit) with my cowboy boots. For warmth I added one more layer of 70’s leather trench coat with awesome lining. It ain’t warm posin’ next to books.

K: We’re both wearing thrifted cowboy boots and beaucoup de statement pieces! It ties together! We’re such good bloggers. Why am I straddling barbed wire? What kind of fucked-up patriarchal imagery is that? (Can we say ‘fuck’? Are we doing that now?)

N: This is the internet. Of course we can say fuck. People say and do way worse things on the internet these days. Mythrifted cowboy boots are from Ariat, and are totes legit cowboy boot. Such a great find. The purple tights are the only non-thrifted part of my outfit. The American Tourister Bag I picked up at a vintage store in Washington D.C.

K: Your purple tights make a memorable color palette with the orange tweed, blue velvet, and taupe. The eye-wateringly bright psychedelic print of my tunic oddly fits with the shape of my Armor Bijoux pendant.

N: I love all the colors in this tunic. It’s an absolute statement piece, and doesn’t need much else to compliment it. My pieces are mostly staples with great textures. Combining them makes them even more special. I added 3 necklaces to my textured layers to give them even more depth. A picture necklace made by Carrie Applegate, vintage silver pendant given to me by a dear friend when I moved to New York, and semi-boring H&M chain to finish out the look.

K: My pictures were taken by Bethany and Anna. Wowzers. I’m sure lucky to have those two pointing their lenses at me.

N: My new friend/co-worker Rylie took my photos the last two weeks. Hope you all are enjoying pictures outside of my apartment for once!

A week from today, Nicole comes back to Boise for a week of frivolous fashion. Stay tuned.

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“Business Casual” – unprepared, but (hopefully) no one’s the wiser……

By: Anna D.

08-02-2012

Anna

What does one do when packing for a quick business trip to the snowy north-country? Throw random garments in an overnight bag and hit the road without giving your attire more than a fleeting thought, of course!

I arrived in McCall on Monday with a cushy 10 minutes to spare before my first of many meetings. Fortunately, I wore a fantastically comfortable hand-knit wool sweater over layered cotton tank tops, my favorite pair of jeans, and wool lined waterproof leather boots that are so cozy they may as well be slippers. By pairing these items with some key accents – raw silk scarf, Hazel Cox earrings, and turquoise Navajo pawn ring – I managed to pull off a great “business casual” look.

This feat of comfort and fashionability reaffirms my gripe that there is absolutely no excuse for people who show up to work, school, or public in general for that matter, in sweats. Shame on you public sweat pant wearers! If I wanted to see you in your jammies, I’d stop by your house at 7am. Didn’t your mother teach you common decency? Oh wait, I guess we learn our social behavior from celebrities now…

Shame on you, Madonna! Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you get to be a slob.

How embarrassing – these girls must have forgotten to change
out of their PJs before leaving the house!

4 hours later, meeting #1 out of the way, and I am unpacking my things at Ma’s house. This can’t be right – I’ve only packed one blouse, a pencil skirt, a pair of jeans, a couple sweater vests, and a pair of heeled boots that look quite comical when worn in snow country…….double check. Yep, that’s it. What the hell was I thinking? Apparently I was thinking, “Gee, I’d sure love a sprained ankle and a good outfit challenge during my two full days of meetings!” Sigh……challenge it is. Here’s what I came up with:

Outfit Attempt #1

Not only did I pack just one blouse, I happened to pack a vintage Sakowitz silk number that I’ve never worn. I’ve certainly tried, but the big, billowy neck bow has always stopped me short. The color is positively swoon-worthy, and the silk is top-quality, but that damned bow! It’s just so….bow-like.

My first attempted outfit was with a silk-cotton blended sweater vest by August Silk, a pair of grey jeans by Abercrombie, my steadfast black leather boots, and my trusty companion – the glorious brown suede Bonnie Cashin purse. Not quite feeling this one though…..let’s try again!

Outfit Attempt #2

I love the color palate here, but this is a mess of a getup for the winter McCall climate. The black wool pencil skirt by J. Crew is the quintessential “business attire” staple, which I’m sure is the reason why I threw it in my suitcase, and the bone-white leather booties are a fantastic modern answer to the ho-hum black leather heels that most dames wear in their business attire, but neither of these items will do in 6 feet of snow. However, the beautiful, creamy white knit wool vest with braided leather covered buttons by Sentex of Australia is getting closer……so warm, so elegant…

Side Note: I love that my Worthington tights perfectly match the warm brown of my vest buttons, the bone hue of the booties pair perfectly with the vest, my Hazel Cox earrings have a stripe of true red that matches the blouse, and the turquoise in my ring is complimentary to the blouse. And note how the knot of the silk tie mirrors the knot in my ‘20’s era beaded knot necklace, a lovely gift from Kim Philley. Details, details, details!

Outfit Attempt #3

Well, here it be – the outfit I finally chose as the one to wear during day #2 of a long day of meetings. It pulls the best from both blouse explorations, and creates a look that stands out but is still understated. I wanted something unique and fashion-forward, but had to make sure I felt comfortable in what I was wearing in order to focus on my tasks rather than fretting over my attire. And as per usual, everything here was purchased at a pittance from various thrift stores.

This humble fashion feat begs for one last declaration of shame……..Hillary, WHY?? It really is completely unnecessary to wear such god-awful business attire. Please, next time you peer into your vast closet of polyester pantsuits, reconsider. The fate of our nation’s image rests largely on your ghastly clad, foam-padded shoulders, and how can anyone be taken seriously when dressed head to toe in a single and oft unflattering color? Just……please, reconsider.