A belated tribute to Amy Winehouse.

It's been a week or two since Amy passed away, and I've noticed, like every dead celebrity, so many people are now fans. I seem to recall everyone calling her horrible names and criticizing her for her addictions and problems only a short time ago. Amy was perfect by no one's standards. She'd been an alcoholic for many years. She was bulimic. She indulged in a plethora of hard drugs. She fell in love with the wrong men. However, I can tell from the lyrics she wrote that she was deep and intelligent. She had a poetic mind. There aren't many songwriters like her anymore.



Ever since I learned of who Amy was (probably about five years ago), I've followed the news on her, always hoping she'd get healthy and STAY that way. I was desperate for her to finally release her third album. I'm sure her record company will jump at the chance to make money on a posthumous release, but I really wanted to see Amy back on top again.



I'll miss her...

New etsy store, The Betwixt Boutique

So, I decided I wanted to create a more recognizable image for my etsy shop. I made a new one, and this time I named it "The Betwixt Boutique."

Here are some of the lovely vintage items you'll find in my shop:







I've haven't been much of a fashionista lately, if I'm honest. I started a new job in March at an optometry office. This is my first job that I've actually worked full-time. I find it hard to much of anything after work, because I work long hours. There's little reason to put anything nice or exciting on. I'd like to find some less boring work clothes -- especially pants. It's a work in progress.

I promise I will post some personal outfits soon. I swear!

Penelope Tree: 1960s Fashion Model

Check out Nasty Gal's neat-o feature on Penelope Tree!

Dang, I like the 1960s more and more! Poor raccoons, though.

Here is some more information on her:

"Penelope Tree (born 1950) is an Anglo-American former fashion model whose long legs and good looks made her an icon of the late 1960s. She was the only child of Marietta Peabody Tree, a socialite and Democratic political activist, and Ronald Tree,  a bisexual journalist, investor and MP. Tree is a great-granddaughter of American retailer Marshall Field and of American educator Rev. Endicott Peabody. Tree's family objected to her career as a model, and when she was first photographed at the age of 13 by Diane Arbus, her father vowed he would sue if the pictures were published."

Talk about crazy!

Source: Wikipedia of course.

Yesterday's outfit: Lace trapeze top and knee-high boots.

The weather has been lovely! Here is a recent outfit of my own featuring my handmade glass pendant from last's year's Renaissance Faire.



[caption id="attachment_734" align="alignnone" width="421" caption="I made the outer-space background myself. I am totally artsy and unique."][/caption]

I hope you all enjoy my "Myspace" camera angle photography skills. I need a tripod, desperately. And a new camera too.

The top was found at Ross for around $9. The boots are Rocawear, and were featured in a previous post, last year. The pentagram pendant was purchases for $2 at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire from the glass-blowers.

My recent thrift store finds.

I have had some pretty extraordinary luck in thrifting lately. I now have a full time job, so I have been focusing on finding chic things that will fit into the constraints of my work dress code. I shouldn't really say constraints, as it's not that rigid for women, but I have to say withing dressy to business casual. When you think about it 40 hours seems like only a small portion of an entire week, but it really feels like most of my time is spent at work, so when I get home, I have no reason to change and nowhere to go, so I am feeling fashion deficient lately.

Anyways, enough of my blubbering, and on to my treasures!

[caption id="attachment_722" align="alignnone" width="490" caption="Silk/chiffon sheer leopard skirt, Miss Ruth's Time Bomb (vintage boutique), $14."][/caption]

Sadly, as awesome as this skirt is, it doesn't fit me. And it is badly damaged, but I am going to use it for my mannequin (who seems to fit it perfectly) for the purposes of pairing it with other items for etsy photographs. This skirt is definately old. I am thinking at LEAST 1960s era.

[caption id="attachment_723" align="alignnone" width="490" caption="Black denim vest, thrift store, $3. Printed maxi skirt, same thrift store $3."][/caption]

I found this black denim vest at the animal shelter thrift store for just $3. I'm beginning to have quite the vest collection! The maxi skirt buttons up all the way in the front and also cost $3 from the same thrift store. Here is a better shot:



I can wear it to the beach or to work. I like that kind of versatility.

[caption id="attachment_726" align="alignnone" width="490" caption="Lush red velvet skirt, $2, from a vintage boutique's bargain bin."][/caption]

I had hoped this awesome velvet skirt would fit me, but unfortunately it's a little too big. This one is probably going to find its way into my etsy store.



This is a better representation of the skirts color. Reminds me of red wine. (Yum.)

[caption id="attachment_728" align="alignnone" width="490" caption="Crazy tribal print maxi skirt, thrift store, $3."][/caption]

I am madly in love with this skirt. Of course, with my dumb luck, the first time I wore it I popped a button off of it, so I have to sew a new one on, but that's because I am not used to wearing maxi skirts and caught the hem when walking. Here's a closer look at the print:



Well, that's it for now. I have a batch of vintage jewelry to show off next time. Stay tuned, and let me know what you think of my finds with a comment!

I love Kat Von D so much that I almost hate her.

Just check out these disgustingly good outfits:



[caption id="attachment_712" align="alignnone" width="468" caption="See? I have an almost identical lace button-up. We were meant to be."][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_716" align="alignnone" width="490" caption="She has Jeffrey Cambell shoes. Why can't it? (For free? Please?)"][/caption]

"I can't take it no more baby. And furthermore, I don't intend to." Janis Joplin remembered.

I heard a lot of Janis Joplin growing up. What drew me to her was her looks. She was unapologetically plain. She never wore make-up, and always had frizzy hair. She wasn't Twiggy skinny, she wasn't Brigit Bardot pretty. She was a breath, no, a gust, of fresh air. She made us realize that you don't have to be conventionally beautiful to be sexy.

[caption id="attachment_692" align="alignnone" width="430" caption=""On stage I make love to twenty-five thousand people, and then I go home alone.""][/caption]

But Janis wasn't all confidence and sex-appeal. She had her weaknesses, and her own methods of medicating them. Like many people in the public eye, she felt an emptiness. She had everything -- fame, fortune, fans, drugs, famous friends, but despite it all, she couldn't find real happiness. On stage, she felt like a goddess, connecting with thousands of her fans, but when the show was over, she was left feeling distant, isolated, and alone.



How Janis died is just as fascinating as how she lived. Her death is one of those bizarre, had-t0-be-fated coincidences that makes you think, "Gee, if only one thing had been different, she'd still be here." Janis was addicted to heroin, as so many of her contemporaries were. Her dealer always had someone test his stock before selling it (as more cautious dope dealers do), but when he got the particular batch that killed Janis, his tester was out of town. Assuming it would all be fine, he dealt it out anyway. Ain't that life for you?



She had been laiding down tracks for a new record. After a day of recording, she retreated to her hotel room for the night. She shot up with the herion she had purchased earlier. Only moments before her death, Janis stopped by the lobby of her hotel to get change to buy cigarettes from a vending machine. The hotel lobby worker reported her as seeming completely normal. She bought her smokes and returned to her room. It is at this point that she collapsed, falling next to her bedside table, her face smashed into the hotel room carpet and a cigarette in hand. The batch of heroin was several times stronger than what she was used to. She wasn't the only one to die from this batch.

[caption id="attachment_696" align="alignnone" width="365" caption=""When I sing, I feel like when you're first in love. It's more than sex. It's that point two people can get to they call love, when you really touch someone for the first time, but it's gigantic, multiplied by the whole audience. I feel chills.""][/caption]

It's just bizarre. All of our greatest artists die unnatural deaths. It's as if we only have them on borrowed time.



Janis may have been plain in looks, but she spread her peacock feathers with her wardrobe, donning knitted vests, lush velvet poet blouses, chiffon, and feather boas wrapped in her hair like ribbons. Maybe it was a mask, but her fashion sense influenced a generation of women to step out from the geometric, understated, and precise wardrobes of the early sixties. A lot of young women stopped wearing waist constricting dresses in favor of flowing chiffon tops and bell-bottom jeans. The silhouette was changed forever. Janis has yet to be forgotten. She's still quite fresh in popular memory. She'll never be irrelevant.



"People expect Janis Joplin to be a tough bitch, and say I start talking to them like a lonely little girl--that's not in their image of me--they don't see it. Say you meet somebody you've heard about, you don't ever see them, you don't see who they are and who they need to be recognized as, you see who you need them to be." -- Janis.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOTEDnQ4Fvk&w=480&h=390]

Featured Fashionable Item: Vintage Train Cases

It's sad that people don't use these all that often these days. Vintage train cases are like mini-suitcases, intended for carrying luggage or goods for short trips. Think of them as predecessors to the "caboodles" of the 1980s and 90s. I have two myself, one that I use to keep my "for sale" jewelry.

This is my favorite of the two:





It says "Lady Baltimore" on it. How cute?! I got it for $2 at the local charity thrift store. Haven't seen any as good as this one since. Not like I need more stuff... But this is great for me to use to carry all my handmade/vintage jewelry from place to place and makes for a great display too! I'd like to get a few more like this to use for displays at consignment shops/other places that will allow me to sell my jewelry (when I get to that point).

Here are some lovely train cases I found on etsy.com. All relatively affordable too. Click the images to view the sale pages.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="567" caption="From etsy seller PocketFullofHeirloom. (When I first read the name, I mistook heirloom for herion. Eeek, I jump to conclusions when I read.)"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="From etsy seller Carolsthreads."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="570" caption="From etsy seller rustmagnet."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="479" caption="From etsy seller WellWudJaLookAtThat."][/caption]

Street Fashion - Early Spring 2011 Trend Spotting

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Pastel colorblocking, from chictopia.com"][/caption]

Color-blocking (wearing simple, one color garments all of different colors) seems to be on the rise again! I am not into mixing blues and oranges myself, so if I try this, it will be with pastels like the woman above.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="A great 70s-esque look: flared jeans and kimono style sleeves."][/caption]



The skinny jeans craze has finally ebbed enough to make room for flares and bell-bottoms again! People still appreciate how flared trousers create a balanced silhouette. This woman has a very 70s look going on, which in my opinion, is and always will be CHIC! I love flowy tops and brown leather.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Bird prints are in. Strange but awesome."][/caption]

I've been seeing fabrics with birds on them pretty often lately. It's cute. I have also seen kangaroo prints.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="60's style empire waist dresses."][/caption]

Another common sight right now is empire waist dresses and tops. (Empire waists are below the bosom, much higher than the natural waist.) Dresses with waists like these were very, very popular in the sixties.

My "trend-spotting" is in no way meant to make you feel like you need to follow the trends. I'm just observing and offering inspiration. I am the kind of person who likes the classics way more than the trends. If what's trendy happens to be cute, I might imbibe but following trends that one doesn't even like leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyways, happy Wednesday! Here's to hoping Saturday comes fast! (That's my Friday.) Weeeeee!

Remembering a Hollywood Legend: Elizabeth Taylor dies at age 79 (March 23, 2011)

Today one of Hollywood's most loved actresses passed on at the age 0f 79. Elizabeth Taylor has faced the limelight since she was a child. She will be sorely missed. Let's reminisce on the Elizabeth of the past...





[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="From her most talked about role as Cleopatra."][/caption]

Rest in Peace

Elizabeth Taylor

1932 - 2011

Sewing free t-shirt cutting with Kat Von D and a Thrifty Cent life update!

This is probably something a lot of you have already done, but there are a surprising amount of people who have never customized a clothing item themselves. I started getting experimental with my clothes in junior high. My "creations" looked a little shoddy back then but I've gotten pretty good and tailoring my clothes (except jeans. Too thick and I am too cheap to buy a denim needle for my sewing machine. Quit judging me.).

Here is a step-by-step video tutorial of how Kat Von D (I have a small obsession) cuts her t-shirts. No needles involved. You just need scissors and a shirt.

My workweek has been pretty hectic and all around dumb this week. I am half-way through an eight-day stretch of work at Dollar Tree, AND I just got a new full-time job, soooo I worked two jobs today! I put in my two-week quitting notice today, as in I told a manager. It is not bittersweet, it is purely sweet.

My new job is at an optometry office (seems better to just say eye doctor place). I just did a two hour get-briefed-on-every-thing-at-once session today. I will be the new receptionist, but I also get to do the pre-exam eye tests, like administering the air-puff machine and all those fun gadgets. That part is appealing to me. I think it will be fun to shoot sharp gusts of air at someone's eye. There is another machine that magnifies the persons eye and you have to try and center a little circle on their pupil, but it's a challenge since pupils don't hold still. However, there is a lot of less fun information to memorize, like the scheduling procedures and all the various insurance company policies. (That's actually terrifying. I am nervous.)

This new job marks the end of three years of dollar store reign. (I have worked at both Dollar General and Dollar Tree. Sadly, I never got the chance to add Family Dollar to my resume. Shucks.)

Anyways, if you're reading this, what would you like to see more of?

[polldaddy poll=4733158]

<3 Thank you for your feedback and comments. They mean more to me than you know. <3

Featured Fashion Icon: Rihanna

[caption id="attachment_643" align="alignnone" width="490" caption="Rihanna is just too cool."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_644" align="alignnone" width="405" caption="I kinda want to try this hairstyle. Makes me miss having red hair. (tear)"][/caption]



Rihanna uses black to maker her red hair look even brighter... and she's wearing all-black the right way! Mixing different textures of black like shiny fabrics (leather, PVC, pleather, vinyl, etc) with soft matte fabrics (cotton, linen, chiffon, silk, etc) together.

[caption id="attachment_652" align="alignnone" width="422" caption="Looks to be a Grace Jones inspired look."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_650" align="alignnone" width="468" caption="Sheer stripes! She wears dresses like this a lot, and it looks good on her."][/caption]

Who are your fashion idols?