Showing posts with label how to wear vintage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to wear vintage. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

What the Art Teacher Wore #66

Monday Funday: I love how in the summer, Monday suddenly become my fave day of the week. It seems to hold the promise of an entire week of doing whatever I want...which on this day meant catching up with friends. dress: vintage, thrifted; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; shoes: old, BC Shoes 
Hey there, dudes. Lemme apologize for the delayed What I Wore post (as I know you've been dying to see me wear yet another dress). I blame my lack of posting entirely on having a severe case of Star Wars-itis. Watching Darth Vader dance to Michael Jackson's "Bad" will do that to a girl. It's a slow recovery but I'm taking three doses of The Force a day, so I should be good to go here shortly. 

In other news, I stumbled upon some paintings by Edward Hopper recently and I just kinda fell in love all over again. These paintings say "summer" to me...in a lonely Mid-Western kinda way. I spent a lot of hot summers living in the middle of No Where, Indiana, earning a measly wage detasseling corn and working at an egg factory (where I lasted two weeks). I hated it at the time...but these paintings make me long for it again, just a pinch. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 
Gas, 1940. I had gas in 2013 but it didn't look anything like this. One thing that always strikes me with Hopper's work is how clean everything appears. Like the attendant just took to the entire landscape with a leaf blower. I remember loving his work in college for the vintage appeal. My painting professors weren't too keen on his "flat" style of painting. But which one has their work in the MoMA, hmmm?

Jo in Wyoming Painting That's Josephine Hopper, Edward's wife for more than 40 years. An artist in her own right, she influenced his work and brought out his competitive streak. It seems when she would paint something, like two houses behind a dead tree, a similar motif would appear in Edward's work. In college I attempted a painting with the viewpoint inside of a car. Needless to say, mine wasn't nearly as awesome.
Everything Breaks Tuesday: Seriously? It's my summer vacay and it seems everything else decided to take a hiatus too. It started with the washing machine then the mower died and finally my sewing machine just up and stopped at the final stages of this dress. This isn't exactly how I was hoping my summer would start out. dress: vintage, etsy; gianormous flower: moi; sandals: Lucky Brand
Edward and Josephine Hopper in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, 1927. According to this website, this photo was snapped of the couple just three years into their marriage. When they wed, Jo was 41 and had been a successful painter in her own right. At one of her own shows, Jo recommended the work of Edward and his career took off from there. I think I'll have to do some digging to see some of the works of Jo Hopper.
Morning Sun, 1952. Josephine Hopper served as Edward's model. Not only did they live together, but they also worked together in their very small studio space. For that reason, they had a rather explosive relationship that often involved domestic violence. This is why hubs and I treasure our alone time. Otherwise hubs just might end up with a black eye. Again.
Wednesday: I do believe I spent the grand majority of this day putting together a lawn mower with the help of a good friend. I love that it's shiny and red. And that my grass is no longer knee-high. dress: vintage, Buffalo Exchange; belt: vintage, gift from a friend; owl sandals: Anthropologie
Summer Evening, 1947. Dude, you know this painting isn't realistic. I mean, c'mon, where's the bright blue bug zapper and the constant swatting away mosquitos? This looks like one of those serious "look, I'm breaking up with you" convos I heard many a summer night. Sigh.
Tiki Room Thursday: Hubs and I arrived in Orlando on Thursday and went almost immediately to Disney World. Would you believe that of all the times we've been there, we've never tried the legendary Dole Whip? Holy cow, what we've been missing! Hubs likened it to ground-up-Smarties flavored ice cream. I convinced myself it was healthy and indulged twice. dress: old, Forever 21; sandals: old, Target; flower: H&M









Room in New York, 1932. Geez, Rear Window, anyone? I wonder if Hitchcock saw this painting before creating his 1954 classic. The vantage point and feeling of loneliness definitely reminds me of that movie.
Jawa Friday: Oh, don't you worry. There will be plenty of Star Wars photos to come. This here's a sneak peak. dress and hat: made by me, diy here; sandals: Chacos

Second Story Sunlight, 1960. Reading about Edward Hopper, I was surprised that during his career he was often compared to his contemporary Norman Rockwell. Um, no. I mean, I can appreciate the Americana portrayals by Rockwell...but that's all are: portrayals. Idealized illustrations. The difference is that Hopper seems to shine a very bright light (like, literally) on a stark and empty existence. Where, when it comes right down to it, as frightening as it may seem, all you got is you.

Cape Cod Morning, 1950. And who knows if that's what Hopper actually believed or intended? But the beauty of being a viewer of works of art is that you play a vital role in deciding just what a work of art is "saying." And these works by Edward Hopper speak volumes to me. What do they say to you?

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

What the Art Teacher Wore #26

Back-in-the-Saddle Monday: I ventured into my classroom for the first time since the last day of school on Monday. So much to do, so little time! dress: Anthro, sale from a couple summers ago; sweater: Anthro, great sale going on now; rope sandals: Nomadic State of Mind. bird belt: made by me
Well, I suppose I should have titled this post What I Wore Last Week as I'm a bit late getting this up. I've got an excuse though: hubs has a lovely week's vacation and we are currently taking multiple road trips. We just spent the last couple of days in a very hot St. Louis visiting good friends, dining at awesome spots (Ted Drewes Frozen Custard -- oh my!) and hitting some of the best vintage shops I've been to. This town is a thrifty girl's dream as I've never seen so many vintage, consignment and thrift shops in one area. I'll be certain to share those shops and my finds with you in the nearish future.

And, since I'm such a sharer (actually, not so much, I got poor marks on such in kindergarten), I thought I'd share with you some little-known-kinda-embarrassing facts about me along with my outfit photos. I'm calling these little segments True Confessions aka I Was Too Lazy to Find Artwork that Matched My Outfits So I Went With Random Photos on my Camera Instead.
True Confession #1: Because I take my own outfit photos with a ten second timer, I have to scramble to get in front of the camera. This scrambling often leads to the cat getting stepped on, me running into chairs and, well, the unexplainable, like what you see above. I have more doofus photos like this then I care to admit.
When It Finally Rains, It Pours Tuesday: And pouring rain plus rope sandals, it turns out, do not go together well. Der. dress: my fave vintage shop in Knoxville Four Seasons Cottage, so excited I get to go there at the end of the week! flower: H&M
True Confession #2: I love GnR. Yes, seriously. This is my ride-into-work rockin-out music. I play Appetite for Destruction loud and proud with my terrible singing to boot. What can I say, I was an influential tween in the late '80's with a severe case of hair envy. And who doesn't wanna be Welcome(d) to the Jungle? I mean, after all, they've got fun and games.
A Little Work, A Little Play Wednesday: I used to have these Strawberry Shortcake Sheets that said: A Little Work, A Little Play, All Add Up to a Berry Nice Day. I couldn't agree more. I worked in my room and then met up with a good friend. We shopped, dined and shopped some more. dress: The Hip Zipper, a vintage joint here in Nashville; headband: Pangea, a groovy little shop in Nashville as well.
True Confession #3: My hubs and I have a severe addiction to haunted houses. Not the kind that are really haunted but the ones where we pay money to enter a dark building and actors chase us with chainsaws and bloody masks. Starting as early as September, we begin attending these houses and we love every minute. So much so, I recently purchased the above fabric to sew a dress for the occasion. Muwahahaha.
Finishing It Off Thursday: Dress, done. Windows, done-r. Feelin' pretty accomplished, done-est. And to think they put me in AP English school. Silly teachers. dress: made by moi, you can read more here; sandals: Frye
True Confession #4: Aside from having multiple doofus moments on my camera, I also have way too many of this sweet girl. Every time I see her all snuggled up and sleepy, I take a dozen photos which I promptly download and doctor on picassa. Can you really blame me? I mean look at dat sweet widdle fuzzy face!
Friday: I forgot to mention that on Wednesday, when catching up with my buddy, I also was the recipient of her closet-clean-out. And her closet is Uh-Mazing. I managed to score some dresses, a coat and this top from Anthro. skirt: Anthro, picked up at the resale/vintage shop Paris Market; belt: by me; sandals and necklace: old, Target
True Confession #5: I have a mad sweet tooth. I mean, it's bad. Candy must be consumed after every meal (even breakfast). I almost always have a bag of candy with me...although these 110 temps have made that nearly impossible. I just might have to invest in a mini-candy-cooler.


 And there you have it, all the things you never needed to know about me. If anything, I'm sure this is a boost to your self esteem: "...well, at least I'm not as crazy as that candy-eating-for-breakfast, Guns-and-Roses-singing, haunted-house-addicted cat-lady." 

Yep. It could always be worse.

Enjoy your week, kids!









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