Last week, I had to do something I haven’t done in years: work in an office (I know, I’m spoiled. Don’t hate me!). Sometimes I help my hubs with his job, but it’s always from home. When I found out I needed to help him at one of his company’s headquarters and see other real live employees face-to-face, of course my first thought was, “Dear Lord, what am I going to wear?!”
I purged all my professional clothes years ago, and although I knew this office was pretty casual, I definitely couldn’t get by with anything in my own closet. Actually, I did have ONE thing from my own closet that I was able to wear—my tweed vintage culotte overalls—one of the greatest pieces of clothing ever made, in my opinion! Aside from that, my personal wardrobe is the most random thing you can imagine. You might think ten different bipolar people all shared my closet. Fortunately, I have racks of vintage around me, and hubs told me he wanted me to wear vintage anyway. So I got to have fun mixing up my own little funky vintage cocktails.
I confess it wasn’t easy at first. Tori and I don’t exactly shop for “outfits” when we go vint’ing. We mostly collect statement pieces that are very specific on their own. Most of my clothing clashes with vintage terribly. I had way more failed attempts than successes, but was very amused by the process. The things that did work, however, rocked. Here are a few that that I fell in love with:
Vintage blazers are definitely a no-brainer for the office. This Rattlesnake Blazer isn’t on our shop yet, but it’s coming oh-so-soon. I’ll be honest, I’ve been afraid to try wearing this masterpiece in public since we found it. First, I generally don’t like animal prints. On animals, they are amazing. On people, they’re just weird to me. And though this isn’t really an animal print, it’s pretty close. Second, I can be quite shy, and I don’t usually wear loud things when I have to be around people I don’t know. Tori is my opposite in this regard, and I love her for it. She’s so ballsy! Anyway, despite my apprehension, this blazer has been taunting me for weeks, begging me to wear it. I kept trying it with blue jeans, and it just wasn’t working. But I finally tried it with this old forgotten black mini of mine, and BAM. Perfection! Now I adore this blazer, and I want to wear it everywhere. I’m sad that I can’t keep it forever and ever. And ever. What? I have to sell it? NOOooo. Don’t remind me! My precioussss…
Bosworth Pencil Skirt and Gillian Blouse, both coming soon to the shop. Did you see the latest episode of Mad Men, “Signal 30”?
Peggy AND Joan. Magnificent! Pencil skirts with pussycat bows should never go out of style. I adore them.
This is our Danger! Skirt, and though it’s not really all that professional, it is stinkin’ cuuuuuute! I’ll take any excuse to wear it. If I were a ballerina, I’d never take it off.
This combo was by far my favorite. This vintage wrap skirt is so darling! Short, but not too short. Our Faye Blouse has become one of my new favorite tops. It belonged to Tori’s grandmother, but she named it after Faye Dunway. It’s so feminine, so delicate, so versatile. I also love this top because I had one that was nearly identical in third grade. I liked to wear it tucked into a black velour miniskirt with little red cowgirl boots. It’s the one getup I always wanted to wear to school, but my mom wouldn’t let me—so this outfit is a little dream come true. Now I just need some boots. I’ll see if I can take care of that this weekend.
I also paired this top with a little Forever XXI dress that I found during the trip. I fell in love with the little ruffle collar and the almost-not-quite-long-enough hemline. I made sure to wear some shorts under it. ;)
My personal vintage wardrobe is pretty small right now, because I’m picky and I’m still warming up to wearing it in everyday life. But thanks to opportunities like this, and Tori’s constant encouragement, I’m able to branch out little by little.
I’ll keep you posted as I try new things.
This post was written by Amber.
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