Fun with Fuscia

Okay, I have to admit, I'm not a super girly-girl. Yes, I love frills and skirts and billowing dresses, but when it comes to pink I'm nearly always "out".

However, a few months ago I assessed my New York style closet and realized that 80% of my wardrobe was black. Apparently you can take the girl out of New York but...

What better way to embrace color than in thrift? Where trying something new doesn't have to break the bank?

When I came across this adorable, vintage Milly NY dress, I decided to shun my ritualistic black for some bright, candy pink ruffles.

It was a departure. I mean, can it get any brighter than this? Still, adding some sky-high Jessica Simpson heels in black started to make it feel a little more "me"...

 With a detachable bow-belt, this was as girl-y as I've ever been--and I loved it!

Plus, pockets, pockets, pockets! Need I say more?

But the clincher was the asymmetrical ruffles. So over-the-top but so charming too!

It just seemed like the perfect little number for an afternoon cocktail party!

 And I know a friend who makes the perfect afternoon Bloody Mary's...

 Yum, seriously, I need more of these occasions to get dresses for.

But I guess for me, the moral of this story is to try something different every once and awhile, even if you don't think it's "you". Because maybe "you" isn't always who you thought you were!

Happy Hunting!

Love, 

Noa B

Dress: Milly New York: via thrift

Earrings: Boutique, Abbot Kinney

Heels: Jessica Simpson

Vintage skirt and so many ways to wear it!

We love vintage. We love bloggers. And we love when they all get together and collaborate--like today!

Secondhand Star teamed up with November Grey and Belle de Couture to bring you each of our interpretations on this skirt, worn three different ways by three different gals:

I loved the pocket details and apron wrap around style of the skirt, so I wanted to make this look really clean.

I added a vintage scotty dog belt to help cinch the waist.

And I couldn't resist the fedora to keep it from getting too preppy...

 Bangles brought out the gold belt detail.

 And high, gladiator platforms put some street back into the country apron, swing cut.

But it's still a girlish enough skirt to want to twirl in!

So here's to wearing it your way! How will you do it? By winning this skirt! Head on over to November Grey and see how!

Good luck!!

Love, 

Noa B.

Long lost twins unite!

You know how magazines love to show celebrities stepping out in the same outfit? It's that double shot with a "who wore it better" tag? Well not us! We love to style each other and borrow one another's favorite clothes!

Sure, we may have different modes of fashion, but we do also love a lot of the same things, so it's not surprising that we were both drawn to these nearly identical suit sets found many, many miles apart. (Did you read the story here?)

Tanya loves jumpsuits with a passion that could border on obsession.

While I just adore maxi dresses and sweeping skirts...

We're both fans of the little details in these suits. On mine, the grommets on the empire waist really add pop.

And pairing nautical stripes with pearls is a must for me...

While Tanya kept the accessorizing low-key, so she could wow with her statement red lips and va-va-voom hair. 

And of course we had to re-cut the long-ish sleeves on both finds, into a modern, almost military finish...

But the key always lies in the details... Like this sash that wove through the grommet detail...

And simply showing your own unique and individual way to rock something!

For the love of fashion and friendship, 

Noa B.

Jumper #1: Pantsuit, Out of the Closet, Westwood

Jumper #2: Skirtsuit, Last Chance Thrift, Decatur

Long lost twin-suits!

On a recent trip to Georgia I decided to take a swing through some thrift stores to see if "Hot-lanta", (as it is popularly known) would have some sizzling finds. (And boy did it ever)!

I picked up an 80's, Liz Claiborne power dress that kind of reminds me of a Robert Palmer video vixen.

I also stumbled upon a pair of adorable, baggy, harem pants in polka dot. Heaven! Not only did I score some great little numbers we'll be bringing you down the road, but I stumbled across a find so unusual that I had to share...

Not long ago, Tanya and I found an amazing, navy and white pant suit while filming a short, video segment.  We couldn't wait to get started on the alterations...

Then unexpectedly, (and amazingly) I found the nearly identical polyester suit here in Atlanta, this time with a skirt attached instead of a pant! It was fate! Like long lost twins, we reunited the pant/skirt/jumpsuit.

It's amazing that you can fly across the country and find the same, vintage garments on opposite sides of the continent. It seems they wanted to be together--so we obliged.

Stay tuned to see how we wore them--tomorrow!

Love, 

Noa B.

Porter Shorts ~ Winter/Spring

When Noa and I found these GIANT red knee length shorts at our local thrift, we had to laugh. The laughter quickly settled once we realized what we could do to them.

They've passionately become one of our favorite SHS pieces... from Winter to Spring, we've already found a dozen ways to rock them...

Check out November Grey for current complete Spring Styling on these beloved shorts!

Look 1: Zara top, Stuart Weitzman heels.

Look 2: Vintage Ann Taylor Top, Vintage belt, F21 heels.

Kisses xx

Tanya D.

"Hot"-Lanta! What I saw...

On a recent excursion to the east coast, I decided to check out Atlanta's thrift and vintage scene.

While Decatur and Atlanta have a variety of great, inexpensive, "last chance" goodwill stores, (and I hit them up accordingly) today's featured finds unearthed themselves in a little neighborhood known as "Five Points".

Two rad stores I visited were Rag-O-Rama and Stefans's.

Rag-O-Rama is a buy/sell/trade kind of store. The warehouse sized operation provides fashion forward looks picked by discerning buyers on a daily, "come and swap your stuff" basis.

Conversely, the owners of the venerated Stefan's travel the country in search of true, vintage garments. Both were incredibly fun to browse. Rag's is an immense cafeteria of clothes, while Stefan's is intimate and elegant.

 

At Rag I grabbed my "usual" fave, the ever-present, little black dress. (I seem to find one on nearly every thrifting trip). I also pounced on a color block tank and some adorable blouses. 

The staff was charming and helpful, and I walked out with a variety of items in new colors for spring as well as a bundle of accessories, all yanked from the 50% off rack!

At Stefan's the experience was like walking into a mini costume house. There were a variety of wearable, and affordable garments, all in perfect condition, as well as a number of high end pieces stretching across rounders and wall displays. It was like being on set with a fabulous wardrobe department at my fingertips.

 Adorable, Marilyn-esque suits and blouses were stocked wall to wall...

 Items ripe for spring dotted the ceiling displays in crochets and cotton eyelets.

Color blocking was all over Stefan's!

 And there was still the requisite, red party dress in the window...

Complete with matching, red cavalier ensemble--for the man in your life!

 There was velvet and lurex, pill box hats in leopard fur, and satin as far as the eye could see...

 But I couldn't leave without purchasing something really outrageous--like this fabulous hat in honor of the late, Liz Taylor...

Atlanta, you won my heart.

Love, 

Noa B

Little Black Dress: Iconic!

Well, we hate to be redundant, but can you ever have enough "little black dresses" in your closet? There's one for every occasion, and if you're a fashionista, you know you can never have enough variation when it comes to hem lines and styles.

We found these two killer minis at "Out of the Closet" Venice. Tanya's was a perfect little flapper inspired number, (with pockets no less)! Noa's was a tailored, retro-eighties piece with a high waist and Gibson Girl, pouf sleeves.

The details alone on each of these were so cool! The cutaways in linen, the fringe made of looped jersey...

Sometimes if you're willing to dig you can find the perfect fit with no alterations needed. As always, we paired our finds with soaring heels and some perfectly detailed accessories to pull it all together. 

We couldn't resist the chance to snap them in the beautiful, fading light of the early evening before we left for dinner in Hollywood. Ever unsure of getting a reservation? Put on a little, black dress... And see where the evening takes you!

Happy LBD hunting ladies!

On Tanya:

Earrings: Alvera Street downtown

Booties: Sam Edelman

Scarf: Vintage

On Noa:

Earrings: Charlotte Russe

Cuff: Vintage

Heels: Sigerson Morrison