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

noel vallens: new york was his town

last night, rick and i had a very woody-allen-manhattan style date.  roaming the streets of new york, we escaped the rain by ducking into the planetarium.  we heard a lecture about the stars, moon and galileo’s discovery of four of jupiter’s moons.

photo via Alfred Gracombe

the hayden planetarium itself is a magical and beautiful place.  afterwards, we were pretty much the only people in the natural history museum, and we got to explore some of the dinosaurs and elephants unattended.  (only we forgot to take photos! eek!)

my only regret (besides no dinosaur photos) was not being dressed a little more annie-hall-style for the outing.  but then again, i loved it so much that i’m already planning my next trip back to the lecture.

it was pretty amazing, except the lecturer kept referring to this summer triangle of stars as a slice of pizza, and one of the moons of jupiter as having a cheese pizza-like quality, with little bits of anchovies.  all of the pizza talk made me very hungry, so rick and i had to immediately find the first pizza place after the lecture.

this dress was an attempt to add a little color to a very rainy, dull day.  it used to be a below-the-knee frumpy dress that i took the scissors to and give it a new baby hem.  i’m learning that i really need to start taking some “before” pictures.

and then i rode off on my motorcycle. that i found on the street.

vintage dress - reshaped and redone, evan picone thrifted blazer, f21 belt pulled from a different skirt

joelle van dyne: the owl that calls upon the night

in case you couldn’t tell from the title of our blog, i have a thing about owls (well, and twin peaks). i’ve been collecting anything owl-related for as long as i can remember. my mom kindly added this owl-printed corey lynn calter skirt to the collection.

today i played a little game, thinking of as many outfits as i could that involve the skirt. i like to do this when i get something new, or when i’m debating getting rid of something but am not totally sure yet.

thinking up one or two outfits is usually easy- especially for me, not having any color in my wardrobe. but trying to do, say, 5 dissimilar looks sometimes forces you to be a little more creative. these photos are just a start.

for look 1 i paired the skirt with the birthday boots from fiorentini & baker that i’ve been wearing non-stop, plus an off-the-shoulder givenchy top i found in a consignment shop (where my friend may k described it as “unnerving”, immediately convincing me to buy it whether that’s what she intended or not).

this shirt poses several problems to me. for one, i don’t know what occasions are appropriate for an off-the-shoulder top. also, the name- i’m not quite sure how to pronounce ‘givenchy’ (i mean, my first instinct is give-EN-chee which i KNOW is wrong… ghee-vahhn-SHE? ghee-VAHN-she?).

and since it is a somewhat unusual top, with puffy sleeves filled will tulle so they stand out from my arms and make crunchy noises, i know that someone will ask me what kind of shirt it is. and i will reply “oh i found it in a second hand store”, hoping that will be the end of it. but i will not get off that easy- someone will say “but who MAKES it?”. shit! at which point i will without a doubt mispronounce the name. sort of like when i told the glamourai, in perfect ohio-an style, that my bag was made by “LAN-vin”.

since i don’t often change my earrings, i had to give a close up of this enormous pair from rachel leigh. they’re clip-ons, and they kind of hurt, but i feel very rachel-zoe-esque when i wear them so i’ll endure the pain.

on to look 2. i was excited to receive these bright yellow socks from ‘we love colors’-  yellow is one of the few colors i’m not afraid to wear. i’m not sure i’d wear them out just like this- it is a little too similar to what my high-school-aged self would wear. but i think they’ll be nice with ankle boots.

look 3- the accidental pirate blouse. and nude boots. need i say more?

okay i will say ONE more thing about this look- here is a close-up of the necklaces- 2 vintage owl pendants and a little talon from talonalia, which is a nice alternative to the pamela love claw necklace.

look 4- pretty much a yawn. but i wanted to point out these jcrew toothpick cordury pants. in my humble opinion they are the perfect amount of skinny and short. and if you’re looking for a pair, check in-store rather than online, because these were a lot less there than listed on the website.

let’s call this look 4a- it is pretty much a joke, but i couldn’t help trying the skirt on as a one-shoulder top. it seems that i’ve gone from bar wench to pirate to matador all in one post- yowza! so much can happen when you play the ‘how many ways can i wear this’ game.

look 1: givenchy shirt, corey lynn calter skirt, fiorentini & bakers boots, rachel leigh earrings

look 2: jcrew blouse, lux sweater vest, corey lynn calter skirt, we love color socks, loeffler randall shoes, antique lace and ric-rac in hair

look 3: vintage pirate blouse (no tags), corey lynn calter skirt, vintage michel perry boots

look 4: jcrew cardigan, corey lynn calter skirt worn as a shirt, jcrew toothpick cordury pants, c label shoes, antique lace in hair

noel vallens: brainy brainy

in nyc all of a sudden it went from winding-down summer days, to what felt like full on winter.  but then we finally got a few days of pleasant fall weather.  it’s my favorite weather for clothes, where it’s chilly enough to wear fun tights and little jackets and blazers, but not full on winter coats and snow boots.

i love this tweed wool skirt, but the length was making me feel a bit school-marm-ish, so i decided to let my legs throw a little lace-tights-party.

this little pyrite necklace was a recent creation of mine.  i love pyrite so much!  i think it all goes back to my childhood when i was obsessed with all gems, and…all rocks pretty much.  but pyrite was always my absolute favorite.  i think it was because i always thought the rock people had to slip up and let some real gold through sometime.

so, i’ve gotten a few comments on my recent daily wear of my glasses.  my eyes are recovering from a little scratch, so i’m on glasses for a bit…so it’s a good thing that earlier this year i completely stocked up on a million pairs of new glasses.  i found out that you can buy glasses (frames + lenses) online for something crazy like $8 to $40 a pair.  so, i went a little crazy and could now wear a different pair of glasses every day of the week.

these are some of my favorites, but you definitely have to dig through the sites to find the good ones, because there are some horrible ones on there, AND you can’t really try them before you buy….but when you can get a whole wardrobe of glasses for $15 each, it’s worth the risk. this is pair that i’m wearing above, and this website has all of the sites, and has a ton of information.

thrifted wool skirt, pyrite cluster necklace, thrifted sweater, seychelles heels, tights (i can’t remember), freeway glasses, thrifted evan picone jacket

joelle van dyne: the lady in rrreeeeddddd

i came across this ruffled morton myles red dress in the shop capricious traveler on etsy (check out her shop- lots of great stuff!). since i shy away from wearing color, i was a bit put off at first. but then i read this in the description: “A little designer info- Morton Myles gained almost instant celebrity in 1961, when Jacqueline Kennedy wore his blue sleeveless linen dress on the cover of Look magazine for a family photo. Mrs. Kennedy had purchased several of his designs.”

well well well. if it’s good enough for a kennedy, it’s good enough for me.

when i received the dress, i loved it the moment i pulled it out of the package. but when i put it on, it didn’t quite read ‘jackie o’. it read more like… ‘sad, mumsy, yet desperate and creepy SWF at office xmas party’. so i went at it with a needle and thread.

and voila! after a little shortening of the hem and sleeves, i think it’s much more modern. since this seemed like an especially special vintage dress, i decided not to go with my trusty baby hem- i felt guilty thinking about permanently altering the dress. so instead i made a thick fold of the hem, then folded up a 2nd time, and hand sewed it to the dress’s lining.

i left the ruffles cascading slightly longer than the hem- still deciding how i feel about that.

i feel the need to make an apology for the title of this thread, particularly if it has left you with the chris de burgh song stuck in your head for all eternity. i just couldn’t think of any other quotes about a red dress, and it seemed appropriate.

at some point a couple years ago, my boyfriend and i were arguing over the lyrics to part of the song (i’m constantly mis-understanding song lyrics- the words i’m hearing don’t make any sense, and yet i’m always 100% confident i’m hearing them correctly… anyone else like this?). so he downloaded it in MY itunes. why? because he was embarrassed to have it in his own music library. you KNOW i made him repay me that 99 cents.

so now every once in awhile when i have friends over, and am trying to show off my ‘cool’ (it is never cool) music to them, without fail, my itunes shuffle chooses to play ‘the lady in red’. and everyone is all ‘yeah, right, your BOYFRIEND downloaded it’.

moving along.. adding the furry vest to the dress was a foregone conclusion. i have to wear it just a few more times before it’s too cold. OR before one of my friends throws red paint on it. and not because they are peta members- just because they’re so sick of seeing it. lately when i show up in it, i can see them inwardly (or sometimes outwardly) rolling their eyes, in an ‘AGAIN with the furry vest?’ kind of way. they are so against the love that can blossom between a girl and a vest.

aaanyway. i had to add a close-up of my THIRTY DOLLAR PRADAS. i wanted to make sure everyone could appreciate the fact that i have on very tall heels. so tall i feel like a tranny when i’m wearing them, but nevermind. they are THIRTY DOLLAR PRADAS so i don’t care.

vintage morton myles dress, prada wedges, marc by marc jacobs turnlock teri bag, black halo belt

pattern: moss stitch bow headband

so, first things first this  morning.  congratulations to Clare from Between Laundry Days for winning the crochet bib necklace!  yay!

and today, i have a simple little knit pattern.  this photo was actually taken a while back, but i’m thinking of making everything out of these bows.  necklaces? bow ties?  bracelets?

this bow headband is so simple to make, it doesn’t really warrant the creation of a pattern, but here it is anyway.  i just used the brightest yarn that was laying about the apartment, but pretty much any substitution would work.  and the variations are endless.  for my next one, i’m thinking BIG.  and floppy.

the idea for this knit bow came about after seeing this crochet version and thinking i want to knit it.  and i want it to have texture (i.e. the moss stitch).

Materials
- Worsted weight yarn (I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Solids and Heathers) Less than 1 skein
- US #8 knitting needles
- size G crochet hook

Gauge
18sts and 24 rows = 4”

Notes
Gauge, nor yarn weight is critical for this project.  For a larger or smaller bow, add or decrease cast-on stitches, making sure to keep the total number an odd number.

Seed stitch pattern: K1, *P1, K1.  Repeat from * across.
Repeat for all rows.

PATTERN

Main bow:
Cast on 13 stitches. 
Work in seed stitch until work measures 5.5 inches.
Bind off in pattern. 

Loop:
cast on 5 stitches.
Work in seed stitch until work measures 3 inches.
Bind off in pattern. 

Headband:
Using crochet hook, chain stitch 3 ropes about 20 inches long (or size to fit around your head).

Piecing it together:
To make the bow, wrap the loop around the center of the main bow and stitch it together on the backside.  Run the 3 crochet chains through the back of the loop and join to the beginning of the chains.

joelle van dyne: early flowers of all things

i mentioned earlier this week how i have always liked the philip lim rosette dresses, and sometimes tried to copy them. i couldn’t come close to being able to afford one when they were new, so i assumed i’d never be able to own one. BUT…

last weekend i had a perfect afternoon- i met up with friends at the Met to see a preview of the exhibit ‘american stories- paintings for everyday life’. then we had afternoon tea in the museum (LOVE). then we explored some of the fancy consignment shops uptown around the museum.

we weren’t having much luck in any of the shops- they were all seriously overpriced. but just as we were leaving the last one, i spotted some white fabric peeking out of a clearance rack, and pulled out this dress! it had been marked down many times and was an extra 40% off… it ended up being quite affordable. why knows why it took so long to sell? could it be the fact that it’s basically an enormous flour sack with some flowers on the bottom? i don’t know. but i’m glad it is mine.

since i was wearing a special new-to-me dress, i wanted to wear other special things too. these boots were my birthday gift from the boyfriend. he did GOOD, huh? since the ann d single lace boots don’t seem to be in the cards for me, i think these are a nice replacement.

this year it seems like NYC went straight from summer to winter. it’s already too cold to wear fall jackets, so i’m trying to get in every last bit of wear i possibly can from my gryphon fringe jacket before i have to pack it away till next year.

in the end, i had to throw another jacket over the gryphon, which i was not happy about. i only look happy here because noel was making me laugh, telling me i look like a linebacker. or was it frankenstein? i can’t recall.

to make myself a little less unhappy about wearing a boring old peacoat, i spent the morning at work making these little pinwheel designs on the lapels with safety pins. i may try to decorate the whole jacket. as you can see, the jacket is also ‘decorated’ with some white furs.

meet the culprits: my cavalier king charles spaniel girls, harper and millie. they climbed all over the coat as i was trying to take a photo. they’re always helping me with my DIY projects in this way, so i thought i should finally introduce them.

one last thing- my favorite of the painting from the Met exhibit. ‘a reading’ by thomas wilmore dewing.

3.1 philip lim rosette dress, gryphon fringe jacket, fiorentini & baker boots, banana republic pea coat with safety pins, balenciaga pistachio city bag

noel vallens: a skirt only a mother could love

this is the story of my trash treasure skirt. one day a week or month or so ago, i spotted a sign for a stoop sale not far from my apartment. since it was getting late in the afternoon, i was scurrying as fast as i could to get there before everything was gone. unfortunately, the location was unclear and no stoop sale in sight. however, in my frantic searching, i saw a mysterious bag of items near (okay, in) a big trash bin.

never one to pass up some treasures, i took a little peak. i’m sure this was just leftovers from the recently ended stoop sale. right?

just when i was about to give up, i noticed a little gold glimmer shining out in a bin full of grime and grit.

i pulled it out to get a good look. someone had given it a lot of love and wear, and it had definitely seen better days. the fit was all baggy and length too long, so i decided to take it home and give it a makeover.

after chopping a bit off, taking it in, and giving it a better shape…it’s finally ready.  tonight, i was walking around my neighborhood wondering which one of my neighbors threw out this little treasure, and what they’d do if they saw me wearing it around.

trash skirt is worn with the weardrobe dress, courtesy of modcloth, who was nice enough to send the dress out to all of us conference-goers to see how each us styled it up.  i thought the pleated neckline was a perfect compliment to the gold glitziness of the skirt. paired with a vintage faux fur collar and some handmade jewels.

this is a double animal outfit. double predator animals. the lion was a great find at a neighborhood stoop sale for something crazy like $1.

and the snake was a little something i picked up this weekend at a yard sale near beacon, ny. i also got his black snake twin, but he’s missing a tail and needs a little work.

this little guy, barkley, wanted to be a part of the photoshoot. apparently, he loves having his photo taken (he was very excited).

i pretty much put on as much gold as i could find in my closet. these earrings are little something i made over the weekend. they are chunks of pyrite on a chain… and they’re my favorite earrings at the moment.

and finally, everything wouldn’t be complete without gold, shiny heels.

skirt found in the trash, modcloth weardrobe dress, stoop saled lion belt, yard saled snake bangle, self-designed pyrite earrings, seychelles gold platforms, vintage faux fur collar, gap jacket (thrifted), self-designed necklace, oliver peoples glasses