Recent pics!

It has occurred to me that it has been an awfully long time since the last time I blogged, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and clear out the images on my cell phone.  So here goes!

My retro-rific lunch at Johnny Rocket's (University and Euclid) this weekend.  Classic cheesburger, fries and a vanilla malt, all served in nostalgic surroundings with Elvis playing over the speakers.  Ordinarily I like local diners best, but this was closest and I was hungry.  Yum!

My weekend breakfast: a pear-apple, brie and honey crepe at Cafe Marcel on 4th Ave.  I don't know how I held off eating until I snapped this perfect pic because it was utterly scrumptious!  I am having a hot lavender mint tea with my crepe.  Beautiful cafe with a lovely outdoor seating area and the menu is just incredible!  You can also find them on Facebook here.

Meet my new ride!  It's a 1957 Challenger 500, a beach cruiser lovingly restored to life by the great folks at Bicas!  Along with recycling great bikes and giving them a second life, the folks at Bicas will offer their tools and expertise for $4/hour and offer classes to teach you how to take apart and maintain your bike.  I spotted this beauty among the bikes for sale and fell in love.  She is so much fun to ride and I now have my basket on the front so she is my primary commuting bike now!

Recent pic.  With the recent hair cuts, I'm pretty much back to my natural hair color.  I really did love going red but I love being a blonde again.  Less hassle and it lends itself to the classic bombshell look!

How to wear vintage jewelry - Daily snap

I have always wanted to do these but I've felt a little self-conscious about snapping pics of what I'm wearing.  But today's mix came out great and I figured, what the heck?  Vintage jewelry is awesome and mixes so well with modern pieces.

Just got off work so forgive me if I look tired...

Art Nouveau period screw back earrings, easily one of the oldest pairs I own.

My hair in a snood

Earrings: vintage screw back, circa 1910s
Necklace: modern pendant by Courtney Davis
Snood: made by my mum!
Barrette: made by yours truly
Sweater: thrift store find (Say What?)
Lipstick: Maybelline in Very Cherry

Outfit Snap!

I seriously love my new digital camera!  The pictures I can take are soooo much better than the one on my cell phone which is what most of my images have been taken on!

My shirt is an awesome thrift store find, this time the St. Mary's Auxiliary Thrift Store (St. Mary's and Silverbell).  I usually scour the men's section for small sized western shirts and I snagged this one for $4.  Red is one of my favorite colors and I love the handkerchief print and pearl snaps!  Western shirts were popular from the early 1930s thru to the late 1950s so I have a few in my closet just to get a bit of that pin up feel along with making my inner cowgirl happy!  The red rose in my hair is a barrette of my own creation.  The earrings were found discounted after Halloween at a Walmart years ago and they feel so Southwest, Dia de los Muertos that I bust them out all year 'round.  Makeup: eyebrow pencil is Wet 'n Wild, Mascara is by Rimmel, lipstick is Rimmel "Red Alert".

Outfit Snap - polka dots

Just a couple pics I snapped a while back while getting ready for work.

Makeup: eyebrow pencil is Wet n Wild, mascara is Rimmel and lipstick is Covergirl NatureLuxe in peony.  My shirt was found at Savers for about $4.  My earrings were a birthday present from one of my best friends Christy!  My super-cool cat glasses were found in Jerome, Arizona while on a road trip at a little place called the House of Joy.  It had been a historic bordello and now its a small shop catering to those of us who can't get enough of pinups, tassels and historic nudie pics!  You can't really see it from the pictures (I need to get me a photographer) but I'm also wearing a snood in my hair from How Sweet it Was on 4th Ave.

The Red Lipstick Chronicles

...or how I went from this:

June 2006

...to this:

May 2011

Needless to say it was a wee bit of a transition.  As a teen into my very early twenties I was obese, acne ridden, shy, wore no makeup and had a penchant for oversize black t-shirts and jeans.  I grew my blond hair out to the small of my back and wore bangs that made my overweight face look even rounder.  I loved lipstick but felt uncomfortable in it, almost always removing it as soon as I put it on.  I dyed my hair strawberry blond in high school but the red faded out almost immediately.  I just didn't have the resources to keep it up.  Makeup made me look a little better but it aggravated my acne so that I only wore it sporadically.  To this day I rarely wear more than eyebrow pencil, mascara and lipstick and when I do wear foundation its usually a tinted moisturizer.

Then I met Will and moved to Tucson.  The subsequent changes in my diet and exercise habits helped me drop 70 lbs gradually and kept them from coming back.  My acne went away.  My confidence increased and my naturally outgoing personality came out.  I ditched the bulky tees for retro inspired clothes, western shirts and began putting more care into my appearance.  I cut my hair off, too short, but I growing it out to my shoulders.  About a year ago the elements of my own personal style started coming together.

And the trigger was a Halloween costume!  Will had introduced me to the AMC show Mad Men earlier last year.  I went as Joan Holloway, he went as Don Draper.  I dyed my hair red, bought my first pair of clip on earrings and wore red lipstick and winged out black eyeliner.

 Will and I, Halloween 2010

Will and I, Halloween 2010

(Forgive the hair! It was too short for the style and the hairspray was starting to fail after too much bourbon and fresh air!)

I was hooked!

I felt sexy!  I felt strong!  I was compared to pinups and classic Hollywood starlets.  Quite a rush!  (Ironically, only two people recognized who I was supposed to be.  Oh well!)

While I don't dress as Joan on a daily basis (though I do show up at the coffee shop with a beehive from time to time, just for my regulars who are Mad Men fans!), some elements stuck.  The hair for instance.  I love being a redhead.  My blond hair was pretty, particularly when it went down my back, but my red feels more natural than my natural blond, for some reason.  People treat me differently too.  Instead of "Blondie" they call me "Red"; instead of being taken for a ditz, I am a fiery, sexy chick.  The earrings started a collection obsession that hasn't abated yet.  I've collected so many vintage earrings that I've had to start selling them.  And the red lips of course.  I now own a half dozen different shades of red lipstick and I wear it almost every day.  It makes me feel good about myself.  Happy.  Like I just had a bubble bath or treated myself to a bit of dark chocolate.

How did you discover your own personal sense of style?  Do you have a signature color or bit of makeup of clothing that makes you feel super special?

My biggest style influence

Without a doubt, my Grandmother!  Carol Arter was held up to me at an early age as the epitome of style manners and class.

Tom and Carol Arter, c. 90s.

I remember watching "I Love Lucy" reruns on Tv Land with my dad while I was growing up.  He used to chuckle at Lucy's antics and then would tell me about how my grandmother's hair used to be as bright red as the famous comedienne's.  Years later I found out that Grandma used to dye hers red.  I was following in her footsteps and didn't even know it! (Coincidentally I discovered that Lucille Ball dyed hers as well, as did Rita Hayworth).

My collection of vintage earrings is quite large and sometimes I like to just get out my jewelry box (I have one with small divided compartments I keep just for the antiques) and just handle them.  I was doing that a few months ago and I had a vivid memory of my Grandmother's jewelry.  I only rarely went into her bedroom out of respect unless she sent me up to fetch something for her.  I remember her mirrored dressing table and sitting beside her hair brush was a small tray with a mirrored bottom holding all her pretty clip on earrings.  She favored pearls if I remember correctly.

One of my favorite stores on 4th Ave, How Sweet It Was, displays their vintage jewelry in the exact same way.  It's probably one of many reasons why I find it hard to be in that store without buying something.

There is a picture of me that is famous in my family.  I was two years old according to my mother's handwriting on the back, and was visiting my Grandma.  Apparently I must have loved red lipstick even then because I am wearing what must have been a good part of a $30 tube of Estee Lauder all over the bottom of my face.  (My guess is that I have having trouble keeping the lipstick in the lines as it were so I just kept making it bigger so it would look good!)  Mom used to say she was terrified her Mother-in-law was going to get angry but apparently Grandma just rolled with laughter.

The Great Lipstick Escapade, 1986

I envision my Grandmother as she looked at my age, a sassy redhead in an airline stewardess' uniform.  Now there's an image to try and live up to!

I love you Grandma.