Blue Blazer Makeover!

When Tanya showed me this adorable, albeit dated, Sassoon blazer she'd scored for a buck I was a little skeptical. Yeah, it was cute. But we've both accrued a truckload of retro jackets throughout the summer, and I wanted to see something fun and different. Fortunately Miss T was already one step ahead of me!

She had an idea to cut it higher in the back like a jacket she saw on a favorite blogger here. Different indeed!

When we met for an afternoon of relaxation, (i.e. a mani-pedi) recently, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to do some co designing and brainstorming on how to make this beauty come to life! We've both been so busy, but leave it to us to literally pin the jacket to Tanya's body while waiting for our chairs at the nail salon! (See this post here!)

I took it home and marked the jacket with straights pins and took in the sleeves, the side and back seams, as well as the cuffs, which I shortened by about 2 inches. Tanya's frame is very petite, so the whole jacket had to come in a full dress size all around, but we wanted to maintain the integrity of the pockets so we made sure to cut where they were still functional...

And the result?

 A super cool tailored piece that Tanya unexpectedly wore in a very relaxed and layered way.

 The best part?

 The decision to keep the pockets in front, but raise it higher in the back. A-DOR-able.

And that's how you do a color-blocked, drool-worthy, blue-blazer for a buck!

Love, 

Noa B

Blazer - $1 Redesign

Black Honeycomb Shell - $1 Thrifted Find

Cargo Jacket - Free People

Silk Gray Pants - Via Buffalo Exchange (Label Unknown)

Shoes - Ash

Secondhand Star + Model Shakedown Part 2

Here's round two of some of our favorite pics from the shoot. Our photographer, Karri Bowman has a way of capturing the very essence of what our designing and styling is all about.

{It really is all about mixing good shoes and designer pieces with unique ones!}

I'm wearing the redesigned vintage porter shorts (also seen here!) They are my most favorite redesign we've done. I wear them ALL. THE. TIME. I'm also rocking the redesigned gold lapel jacket (see Before & After here!)

Adrienne (below) just killed it in our designs. This gorgeous girl is a model and actress and took each piece to a whole new level by creating a "character" for each one. Noa and I are a bit obsessed with her.

Above, a twice redesigned Nautical Dress (see two other versions of it here!)

See what I mean about nailing it?

Remember when I wore this vintage orange dress here?  I love how Noa styled her in a much more Rock n' Roll way.

{I know we can barely see what Noa's wearing in this shot, but can we please talk about the amazing hair and muscle tone!? Yowza.}

And then there's Bramli... {sigh}

She took my "Pretty in Pink" dress (seen on November Grey here) and made is sultry and naughty somehow. {Maybe it's those eyes...}

It really is all in how you wear it, ladies! Hope you enjoyed the shots! As promised, we will be selling some of our designs, but more importantly, it's all about opening your mind to those all too often "looked over" pieces that can be tweaked and tamed into something amazing.

Remember, if you don't have the master sewing skills (like Miss Noa B) - all you have to find is a good tailor.  {A sultry stare and serious character motivation never hurts either!}

All my love, 

Tanya D xx

Secondhand Star + Model Shakedown: Part 1

We recently got together with our favorite Secondhand Star photographer, Miss Karri Bowman to shoot some of our latest creations... and let's just say, it was a night we'll never forget. Here's your first peek!

Noa is wearing one of our first redesigns, shown as a tutorial  here on November Grey, and here on SHS. Tanya's little sister, Lisa is wearing the nautical jumpsuit, last seen here.

Adrienne is wearing a thrifted $1 dress worn as a top, and Noa's DIY feather skirt  - see tutorial here!

Lynn is wearing a beaded redesigned top made into a jacket (tutorial coming!) and a thrifted silk skirt.

Tanya is wearing a beaded blue dress redesign (see tutorial here).

)

Noa is wearing a thrifted jumpsuit tailored to perfection.

Stay tuned for more pix and a blue blazer redesigned tutorial this week!

All hair and makeup by Lisa Dempsey and Noa Bolozky

Photography by Karri Bowman

www.noabolozky.com

www.lisadempsey.net

www.karribowman.com

DIY Feather Skirt!

Hey Ladies,

Are you as excited as we are about these amazing, holiday, feather skirts that have been seen all over the runway? We love this from little, black gem from ASOS, and this neutral one from Calypso St Barths! So they inspired us to create this season's hottest look with an old, thrift store piece and some fabulous remnants! 

On a thrifting Sunday I found this blah, black mini skirt for a buck. I didn't really care about its appearance other than it being a decent fit, because I was looking for something to use as a building base. I snagged it for a buck and got busy prepping it for a renovation.

 

I measured and cut about 4 inches from the hem, which was also kind of wavy and dated.

Then, I got down and dirty sorting through some trims. I'm not a pack rat at all. In fact, quite the opposite. However, as luck would have it I had saved some extremely expensive trims from my design days over 15 years ago. Who knew they'd be back again, and so on point with trend?

I had three styles to work with: mixed browns, Indian inspired, and jet black. And I decided to combine all three for two reasons:

First, I didn't have enough for a whole skirt in one tone, and second, the mixture of colors created a more casual feel to the garment. At about 15$ per yard back in the day, I figured, waste not!

So I got busy, and pinned and draped and pinned and stitched!

 

And the result...? A fall friendly mixture of colors and tones for any occasion

There were so many ways to rock this trend. I loved mixing this skirt with a nubby sweater as well as with a rock and roll t-shirt. But the easiest thing right out of the closet was a basic, black blazer and some booties along with a hat, to give a little Fosse, Broadway appeal. 

As a final touch, in-between the tiers of feathers I added a row of large size sequin discs, and below, a row of black, beaded fringe for some razzle-dazzle.

And there you have it. One trend, one used skirt. One kick ass, holiday bottom. Check us out next week when we reveal our jacket re-vamps and some new love for old items. 

 Love, 

Noa B

Skirt: Thrift 1$
Trims: M&J Trims New York
Jacket: Thrift, 1$
Booties: Dior
Earrings: Re-sale boutique, Manhattan
Fedora: H&M

Chain Gang Vintage Jacket swap!

Well, it's that time of the year again, blog-a-holics! Time for a fashion swap and a chance to win another vintage treasure!

At Secondhand star we are going on our third, (hooray) swap-a-thon. The first for us featured a wraparound skirt found by the brilliant, Belle de Couture. (See here). The second gave away silk pants, (chosen by yours truly, here again). And this is is the best yet! A tribal print jacket chosen by our latest member of the swap team, Devon, from devonrachel@blogspot.com.

Each of us has a unique voice when it comes to styling a one-of-a-kind item. I decided to go the whole-hog, and opted for an 80's, giant bow detail.

I'd found this funky, re-sale, designer top in east LA for 3$ and couldn't wait to pair it off with something. The big, floppy bow can be tied in front or worn down the back like a scarf.

The earrings are another, recent, vintage find. They just screamed, "your grandmother's closet-"-but in a good way...

And I actually needed retro shades today as it was blisteringly bright outdoors. These, (again) remind of the maroon colors my mother wore in the late 70's/early 80's...

A pair of black, suede booties and American Apparel riding breeches finished it off. A little eclectic, but hey, fashion is all about risk.

I do love these heels for fall. They've got the new and improved, front tassel/fringe and a decent spike to boot.

Ready for the best part? This very jacket can be yours! Simply head on over and visit Jen at Belle de Couture and enter to win it yourself! So, who's up for some Dynasty re-runs!

Love,

Noa B

Jacket: Vintage, (swap via www.devonrachel@blogspot.com)
Shirt: Re-sale
Pants: American Apparel
Booties: NYLA
Earrings: Vintage
Shades: Liz Claiborne

Busy Busy, but big, big plans!

Noa and I snuck away for a quick girl-time meet up at a nail salon recently. We've both been so incredibly busy lately, that it's been tough to do all the designing and thrift/vintage re-doing that we're accustomed to. So we literally (no joke) pinned a jacket in the corner of the salon, right next to the new Katie Perry OPI line. We got a few strange looks, but made the most of our time, and were also able to settle into some much needed relaxation for the both of us. Stay tuned next week for some awesome renovations!

With Love, 

Tanya D

(For details and pics of my entire look - go here!)

Trend report: Denim does it

I recently pulled this tear from In Style magazine's August issue. The long, denim shirt was such an easy look that I instantly wanted to wear it.

As it so happens, I had a fuzzy vest that I'd bought on sale from F21 during the winter. And I had fringey boots from Michael Kors which I'd loved for years but not gotten a ton of wear out of thus far.

All that was needed to complete this look was a long, denim shirt. And guess what I found last Sunday at my favorite thrift stores' "dollar" sale?

You guessed it! Denim shirt! For a buck! All it needed was a single replacement button.

Tanya and I shot this look to remind ourselves how wonderfully easy and inspiring it can be to rip out a page or a look we love and then re-create it so effortlessly via thrift. True, you won't always find your "key" piece on the first round, but you'll usually find at least one out of every three or four things on your list that will put you on the path towards your fashion goals for a fraction of the price.

And is there anything more enjoyable than emulating a tear sheet for a $1.00?

Happy thrifting!!

Love,

Noa B 

Shirt: via dollar thrift
Boots: Michael Kors, Nordstrom, 4 seasons ago
Vest: F21 Online

Brave: For "T"

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the word "brave". What does bravery mean? How do we define it? How do we see it in others? And how do we characterize individual acts of bravery?

I don't want to get too deep. After all, this is a blog, not a confessional. But for me, part of bravery has derived from making peace with myself, embracing the way I look, and then being a bit more public about it. Part of the beauty of blogging is seeing how bold others are, and letting it inspire you to do the same!

I bought this American Apparel jumpsuit about 3 months ago with Tanya's gorgeous sister Lisa. We were working on a two day video shoot together and after work, we went a'thrifting and I came across this sheer number. Lisa is brave, and she would've worn this baby weeks ago!

I however, am less so. Don't get me wrong. I love my fashion. I love this jumpsuit. But I was feeling less bold than my petite counterpart. So it sat in my closet all summer waiting to see the light of day.

Today, I decided it was light enough. And out it came for a trial run in the sun. Now I'm brave, but I'm not crazy. It, (and I) still needed a little coverage...;)

So I threw on, (and off) this white, linen blazer I just nabbed at the Sunday, dollar sale. Crisp white just felt so apropos.

I added gladiator heels and a bunch of gold and turquoise jewelry.

Plus a rad, vintage, leather belt that kinda makes me look like Wonder Woman.

So there you have it. A moment of bravery, and then it's back on with the linen jacket so I can go grab a cup of joe and feel just a little bolder, a little braver, and a little proud to be me. I hope you all do the same.

(Dedicated to my fabulous styling guru Tanya Dempsey, who never, ever has a problem being bold, brave, fashionable, and cutting edge. I do this one for you)!

Love, 

Noa B

Jacket: Vintage, (1$)
Bodysuit: American Apparel
Necklace with dragon: Ideeli
Earrings: Tiffany Kunz
Turqoise: Oahu
Chain: Vintage
Bracelets: F21
Shoes: Charles David
Belt: Vintage