joelle van dyne: TKO closet

the past few weeks i have been doing some major editing to my closet. i had the idea of getting rid of almost everything that is not some form of white or black. i’ll keep a few pinks and yellows because they’re the colors i like to use for highlights. but i will certainly get rid of anything with a colorful pattern.

one major inspiration for my color palette is the thomas keller oreo. this was not exactly a planned inspiration… it came about with the fact that i ate quite a lot of them while doing my clean-up in order to alleviate any anxiety i was having over tossing half my clothes. the TKOs really worked some magic though, in calming my nerves, adding to my gut, and reminding me that my wardrobe would do well to more closely resemble the TKO: simple, subtle, and not-too-sweet.

i actually love colorful outfits, but i have a hard time putting them together, and i feel a little uncomfortable, and not-myself when i wear one. i also feel guilty when i see a cheerful, patterned item in my closet that i consistently fail to reach for. so i force myself to wear these things once in awhile… but, i’ve decided i don’t want any of my clothes to stress me out, or require effort, or feel like a chore to wear.

so i went through my messy, overflowing dresser, and unearthed lots of forgotten things- old tees, ill-fitting jeans, sweaters i shrunk in the wash and couldn’t bear to part with.

i made ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘maybe’ piles. the ‘yes’ went back into my dresser- now i can open and shut my drawers without a battle! the ‘no’ pile went down to the giveaway section in my building’s basement. and the ‘maybe’ pile has been sitting in a bag in the back of the coat closet. if i miss anything in the bag within the month, i can get it out. if i forget altogether what’s in there, it’ll be taken to the basement too- so far i don’t miss anything!

this past weekend i found a true appreciation for my new wardrobe plan when packing up for a trip to Boston (where i attended an AMAZING psycholinguistics conference- it was so inspiring- and also managed to fit in about 15 minutes of vintage shopping with a fellow fashion-and-cognitive-psych-loving colleague, which i will tell you more about later).

aaanyway. i have been traveling quite a bit in the past few months, and packing this time was much easier. i didn’t pressure myself to pack something ‘cheerful’ because there was nothing of that nature left in my closet! and most of the things i have left coordinate well, so i was able to pack fewer items to create more outfits.

this blouse from pangs on etsy was a no-brainer for my ‘yes’ pile of clothes, as well as for my suitcase for boston. it’s both simple and intricate at the same time.

this is how i wore it last summer, in one of my favorite outfits ever.

and here is basically the same outfit again, looking, i think, completely winter-ized. i swapped out the yellow scarf-belt and added my vintage studded suede belt (which ties in the back with long fringe). and instead of my white chloe shoes, i wore my loeffler randall gillian pumps. the black sweater vest is from urban outfitters and has a cute pleated shape in the back that unfortunately doesn’t show up here.

one thing i didn’t put on for my photo but wish i had- my long black leather gloves. i think they added a little more dimension to the outfit. but i forgot them and left them in the bag when taking photos. oh well- next time.

hopefully i will continue to have an easier time coming up with outfits using my TKO system. i’ve decided that everytime i have doubt, or am tempted to order some bright spangly thing from etsy, i will:

1. eat a cookie, obviously

2. look to one of my favorite bloggers for inspiration (that’s her, above). i used to be obsessed with this gal’s impeccably edited wardrobe and killer style back in my stylediary days, and was very excited to see she now has a blog. so if you are considering leaning more TKO than ROY G BIV, check out her site!

oh! and i almost forgot to add- thank you for your suggestions last week on where to find more vertically-striped tights! that was very helpful and i’m now much less hesitant to wear/ruin my current pair.

also, to answer a question- my nail polish in those photos was essie’s chinchilly, a very pretty grey.

vintage lace blouse, vintage white pencil skirt, urban outfitters sweater vest, loeffler randall gillian shoes, miu miu bow bag, antique gold bracelet

noel vallens: winged glamour

inspired by the vintage glamour in the sky, i sometimes walk into work more suited to take beverage orders and help out with heavy luggage than my actual work.  sometimes, i even get the occassional (frequent?) question, are you purposely dressed like a flight attendant??

this is actually an outfit i wore to death over the past year, and i’m surprised it’s never made an official visit to the blog.  one part parisian scarf, one part vintage stewardess.

the dress was a little something rick picked up for me in ohio long ago, and paired with a vintage scarf.  of course, everything is thrifted except the new boots.

vintage dress, vintage jacket, frye lace up boots, vintage scarf

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joelle van dyne: super furry animals

today i decided to make some long-overdue introductions of a few pieces of clothing. first off, these vertically-striped tights. i got it into my head that i NEEDED vertical stripes on my legs about 2 months ago. these were unexpectedly hard to find! i ended up getting this pair on ebay, and now i’m really scared they’ll rip since i don’t know where to get a backup.

next up, these patent leather bow shoes. you may remember my affection for what i call ‘granny shoes’ from this past summer, when i practically lived in a pair of mustard yellow sandals from aerosols. for me, comfort and style are equally important in a shoe- i won’t wear it if it’s comfy but ugly (no uggs here), or if it’s stylish but pinchy (darn loboutins).

i got to see a sneak preview of some upcoming shoes from sofft a couple weeks ago, and i have to say, there are many pretty things to look forward to!

this pair was a gift (thanks sofft!) and i LOVE them. the patent is great for fall and winter, and i adore the big bow and overall retro styling. and even though the heels are 3 plus inches, they have been very walkable even from the first wear. win! the style name is ‘fleur’ if you are interested.

new york weather is beginning to require warmer and warmer jackets every day. this beauty from gruhche on etsy is making the chill slightly less depressing. there are so many positive things to say about this jacket: sweatshirt material that looks dressy, big snack pockets, huge hood, faux-fur lining, aaaand… REVERSIBLE! YES!

for work, i wore the fur on the inside. i don’t necessarily give much thought to looking professional at work (i’m lucky i don’t have to), but i do my part when i can.

here’s the outfit underneath. i’ve been reserving the striped tights for work outfits to try to tone down the goth-and-or-hipster vibe i think they can give off on their own. there’s nothing like a jcrew blouse and dana buchman skirt to balance out something with too much personality.

now, i tried to do a day-to-evening look showing the reverse side of this jacket. it didn’t work out very well for several reasons. for one, i wear the same type of outfit no matter what time it is, or where i’m going.

also, while this really WAS my evening outfit, the camera flash was bouncing off this garage door, making things really bright, so these photos look like they were from the daytime, when really it was around 10pm.

anyway, is the hood of this jacket not awesomely deep? i can hide my entire head and MORE in there if i want to. so it could multi-task as a bear costume if necessary (i may or may not have used this as a reason to buy the jacket).

here is the evening outfit underneath the jacket. i pulled my ruffle skirt up to wear as a shirt- i think the fit is much better this way actually. then i threw on my alice & olivia skinny pants, which feel like sweat pants. add a pinch of urban outfitters lace shawl, a dash of mctega gilded animal necklace (which warrants a much more detailed post since it is one of the best things i own), grab the fiorentini & baker lace up boots, and there you have my evening look. suitable for laying on the sofa watching ‘30 rock’ reruns and eating licorice. or whatever.

outfit 1: gruche jacket, jcrew blouse, dana buchman skirt, ebay tights, sofft shoes, miu miu bow bag

outfit 2: gruhche jacket, dana buchman skirt, alice & olivia pants, fiorentini & baker boots, mctega necklace

noel vallens: urban cowgirl

although this shirt has been hiding around in my closet for a while now, it took a while for it to make an appearance.  it’s a rich, warm plaid and the material has the best texture…almost like gauzy cheese cloth.  it always felt a bit too cowgirlish paired with jeans, but with a skirt it feels a bit more balanced.

and this coat is a favorite of mine that also took a while before it made it’s debut. a little leather thrifted treasure i found that unfortunately doesn’t have a big window of new york wear time.  even though it’s leather, it’s built like a blazer and not very warm.

so, this weekend, i was really excited to come across a bunch of vintage charms.  i found a few of these little hearts, and set it up with a chain to make this necklace…

…which i think turned out pretty adorable.

thrifted plaid shirt, vintage pencil skirt, seychelles heels, diy heart pendant necklace, vintage leather blazer

joelle van dyne: hey mom, look what i made!

for awhile i’ve been trying to come up with a piece of clothing that could be worn under a blazer or cardigan, to add some texture and visual interest to an outfit without creating a lot of bulk when tucked in.

inspired by some rejected white tee shirts (shrunken, too see through, etc.) that have been taking up space in my sad fabric supply because i refuse to throw them away, i came up with the idea of making this… bib? vest? (noel wants to call it a ‘dickie’ but i refuse).

it’s the simplest DIY project imaginable, but since my abilities do not extend much beyond the simplest projects, i made some instructions so it would seem more complicated. read on!

here are the main supplies. i took a tee shirt and cut out the back, keeping the neckline in tact, then cut out the sides to the width i wanted. i left the side pieces on the bottom of the shirt in tact too- these will be used to tie the vest around your back when it’s finished.

here’s what was in the big bag o trim. i felt kind sad using it because it was so pretty sitting on my desk in a fluffy pile. i bought some of it at m&j trimming especially for the project, and also mixed in random scraps i had laying around.

so step one is to start at the bottom of the vest/bib/shirt (so that each successive layer will cover the seam of the last) and pin on your first trim. then, sew it in place.

once you have the first layer on, add the second so that it’s covering your seam. i only had one beige colored thread to use on the whole vest, and it didn’t quite match ANY of my trim- that’s why i wanted to keep the seems pretty well covered. note to self: buy some white thread.

so you keep repeating the first two steps until the whole shirt is covered. basically you’re just sewing straight lines until you get to the trim of the neckline. for that, i only covered about half of the neckline- enough to go around the front of my neck, leaving room in the back to be able to tie the tee shirt off. and i made sure to choose a beige trim for the neckline to match my thread, since the seam would be visible.

the last step (if you want) is to snip the neckline of the tee shirt in the back so that it’s two pieces you can tie together. i did this only because my neckline was too stretched out.

SO. this is super duper complicated, i know. you’re probably all out of breath and sweaty at this point, just trying to follow along. a prolific seamstress like myself sometimes has a hard time simplifying her methods for the masses, you know? but if you’ve made it this far, great! because now it’s time to see the finished project.

voila! i’m so happy with it. it fits perfectly under my lovely target blazer, and does not have to be tucked in because you can tie it right above the waistline of whatever you’re wearing. i hatehateHATE when i tuck something into a pencil skirt, and think i’m looking all sleek and professional, only to look in the mirror later and see a lot of rumpled, lumpy business beneath the skirt around my mid-section. i do NOT need more bulk around my stomach, thankyouverymuch.

here’s a closer look at the finished product. for now i’ll be wearing it with blouses, sweaters and jackets, but i think it will also be cute in the summer over a tank top.

oh, and that crochet thing at the top of my skirt is not part of the skirt OR the vest. it’s a table runner that i bought in a junk shop pinned around my waist.

the reason? i nabbed my white skirt from a thrift store back in Ohio- i was excited that it was my favorite clothing color, and fit perfectly, and was $1. so i overlooked the fact that it’s made of 1. linen and 2. silk. UGH. i sit in this thing for 5 minutes and it’s a crinkley mess. so the table runner is meant to detract from the wrinkles. i think it worked pretty well.

diy vest/bib/thing, target blazer, thrifted vintage skirt, jcrew blouse, chloe shoes, miu miu bag

noel vallens: say something pretty

a few weeks ago, the neighbors were having a moving sale, and i found a skirt made out of beautiful fabric that looked like it belonged on the wall of a victorian mansion.  unfortunately, the shape was long, unflattering, dowdy and just too big.

you can see, in this completely normal standing-on-my-couch pose, just how unflattering this skirt was.  finally - i remembered to take a ‘before’ photo.

so, last night i set to work putting in two gigantic darts into the back of the skirt.  since the zipper was in the side seam, those couldn’t be taken in.  and i wanted to maintain a flat, straight front, so no action there either.  so, those two darts in the back had to bear the weight of 1) making the skirt my size and 2) bringing the waist-line from hip to waist level.

i think it’s now a much better fit…

next, i chopped off several inches, gave the bottom a new baby hem, then used the extra fabric and lining to make an extra long tie-belt that wraps around twice.  i had envisioned more of a really thick tie-belt with a big knot tie, but i didn’t really have too much extra fabric to really make the one i wanted.  but, this will do.  but i’m now becoming worried that my entire closet is going to be made up of my neighbor’s clothes.

the fabric is a cream and yellow, and my general habit is pair everything with black.  but i decided to go with the grays and creams.

joelle and i had a fun fall photoshoot in battery park.  while we were hanging out, throwing leaves up in the air, we had some bystander-photographers actually make a photo request.  apparently the first 3 times of me throwing leaves wasn’t enough for them to get their shot.

reworked thrifted banana republic skirt, f21 shirt, h&m cardigan, seychelles heels, etsy lion necklace

joelle van dyne: with bells on her toes

anyone with even the most minute knowledge of my fashion sense can attest to the fact that i like to decorate things. my style is not simple, or minimalist, or effortless. rather than wearing 1 ring, i wear about 8 on any given day (sometimes several on the same finger). i pile on bangles. i add ribbons and bows and brooches to my jackets. i replace plain buttons with sparkly ones. i always have a lace slip peeking out from under a skirt.

but i have never decorated my shoes. it just never occurred to me! that is, until last week when i received some shoes clips from absolutely audrey. 

i mean, what an idea! how is it that i never felt the gaping void in my wardrobe where shoe clips needed to be?! and clearly, these clips are the gift that keeps on giving- now that i have them i’m brainstorming all the various ways in which to make my boots and shoes better (because better = bedazzled). 

for brunch on saturday, i spruced up an otherwise dull ‘weekend ballerina’ look by clipping these beauties to my loeffler randall boots, and stringing a rhinestone necklace around the ankle.

for a dinner party, i donned an accidentally kinda sorta gothic lolita esque ensemble (note to self: white lace + white petticoat + white skirt + baby pink shoes may not be the best mix). i verrry seldom wear these thrifted givenchy heels- they’re pretty hard to walk in. the heel is very high, and they’re about a full size too big (which might actually be a good thing, since i can fill them with pads). so they have sat in my closet forgotten for quite some time.

but imagining how cute the shoes would look with a little extra sparkle gave me the extra push i needed to limp around in them for a night. and i’m glad i did- i’m getting more accustomed to them. i really like the combination of the overly pointy toe with the hoof-like heel.

now this might be one negative aspect of the fabulous shoe clips: on self-proclaimed ‘casual thursday’ last week, i hastily threw on ripped jeans and some old dirty converse, BUT felt like i was looking all cute and dressy because i rhinestone-ified the sneakers.

nothing sloppy about this outfit, right?? 

anyway, i’m very thankful to absolutely audrey for this wonderfly glittery gift, which is making me feel like all my old shoes are new. and if you’re interested, these clips are the “wish” design on the site. i now have my eyes set on the “katerina” and the “eva”- i’m imagining the possibilities of wearing not one but SEVERAL clips on each shoe. i’m realizing that a girl can never have too much shoe bling.

outfit 1: h&m sweater, dress (worn as a skirt) and tights, loeffler randall emmy boots, absolutely audrey shoe clips, vintage rhinestone necklace, marni bag

outfit 2: free people lace shirt, hanii y skirt, black halo petticoat, givenchy shoes, absolutely audrey shoe clips

outfit 3: ka sweater, rag & bone jacket, genetic denim jeans, converse sneakers, absolutely audrey shoe clips, balenciaga pistachio city bag

noel vallens: electric youth

yes, so i’ve been slacking a little this week, as joelle pointed out, but after traveling to the lovely state of new jersey for the week (and hardly doing any ‘partying’) i’m back just in time to wander around downtown newyork to find fake green astroturf to lay around on.  it looks real though, right?

this dress was collected during my electric blue phase.  joelle said she would only support my electric blue habit as long as i didn’t have a tan.  seeing as how that would never happen, i somehow managed to find a million electric blue items without even really trying.

and even though it is really cold around these parts, i refuse to actually wear a proper coat yet.   i will not give in to winter in november.

oh!  and i was inspired by the lovely erin from calivintage…

…to give my bangs a little trim.  erin is so completely adorable, and has the most amazing vintage style.

vintage electric blue dress, thrifted boots, h&m belt

joelle van dyne: if it's not love then it's the bomb

since noel is slacking on her posting this week while she is partying it up in new jersey, i thought i’d post these gorgeous photos i took with may kasahara over the summer. i realized i had posted this one shot awhile ago, and then never posted the rest, which was a huge mistake. 

here we are, taking a romantic stroll along the beach in brooklyn.

a close-up of may k. she owns so many badass leather clothing items. her boots are from aldo, and her jacket is all saints, with a studded belt worn as a scarf.

i’m wearing a vintage victor costa dress that i SOOO wanted to steal! the neckline is amazing. i think this is the perfect LBD.

here you can really see the tans we achieved on the beach.

moving on to an abanonded warehouse-type building that had something to do with the military back in the day. may k is wearing a vintage cape, and i’m wearing a geren ford dress (same as in the halloween photos below), and a gryphon vest made entirely of beads, plus some over-the-knee boots that i also wanted to steal.

a slightly closer shot of the vest. i must admit i haven’t worn it since this photo shoot- i’m always afraid it’s going to snag on something and the whole thing will fall apart! i should get over the fear and wear it though.

after our visit to the warehouse, we decided to fly off in our CREEPY FIGHTER PLANE. i’m not sure exactly where we were in brooklyn- i get all turned around when i go anywhere by car as opposed to the subway- but it felt like we were in another world.

you could see a lot of the machinery inside the plane- i’m really afraid of flying and i don’t think this helped.

last but not least, we found a ROCKET. what??!! it was so strange seeing all this stuff laying around. of course, the area was fenced off and locked up, but it wasn’t all that hard to get in and explore. and play dress up. i hope i can find my way back there one of these days.

come play with us forever

one day last summer when noel and i got together to take some photos with rick, we decided to do a few shots where we intentionally tried to look alike, since people are always mixing us up.

while noel is not into creepy photos and scary movies, i sure am! so the thought of some ‘twin’ photos brought 2 things to mind. for one, this diane arbus photo. i had it hanging on my bedroom wall as a kid next to a photo of my mom and her twin sister.

and then of course the shining twins. creepsters!

we actually scared someone in the warehouse where we were shooting.

come play with us

forever and ever and ever

so, halloween is fast approaching, and it is my favorite holiday of all! the boyfriend and i are both very much into horror movies and eating candy. so all week long we’ve been lounging around eating chocolates and re-watching some of our favorites. i’m trying to put together a list:

• opera (dario argento) (my favorite horror movie- not a favorite of the bf, unfortunately)
• suspiria (dario argento) (hilariously awesome)
• bird with the crystal plumage (dario argento)
• deep red (dario argento)
• black sunday (mario bava)
• the brood (david cronenberg)
• don’t look now (nicholas roeg) (thanks to this movie i’m afraid of all red hooded coats)
• ghost story (john irvin)
• the vanishing (george sluizer)
• the kingdom (lars von trier) (this is a danish tv mini series- lars von trier gives a short recap of each episode at the end, which is an epic WIN)
• the wicker man (robin hardy- NOT the new one)
• rosemary’s baby (roman polanski)
• nosferatu (f.w. murnau)
• picnic at hanging rock (peter weir) (maybe not technically a horror movie, but it is really freaking creepy, and is one of my top 3 movies ever)
• eraserhead (david lynch)
• freaks (tod browning)
• the exorcist (william friedkin)
• the innocents (jack clayton)
• phantasm (don coscarelli)
• the changeling (peter medak)
• blood and black lace (mario bava)
• black sabbath (mario bava)
• the haunting (robert wise)
• the legend of hell house (john hough)
• pan’s labyrinth (guillermo del toro)
• anything alfred hitchcock

i’m sure there are some i’m leaving off- i am terrible with remembering names and titles. anyway, we’re always looking for new scary movies to watch, so i would love to hear your favorites!

outfits: joelle’s dress is geren ford, and noel is wearing one of my vintage dresses. we’re both in aldo maune wedges