kate of schwurlie

Kate (Brighton, UK) keeps a wardrobe consisting of lots of black and tan pieces (a girl after our hearts!) from being anything but basic with menswear inspired pieces like pleated trousers, metallic accents, and the occasional burst of color.  Lucky for us, she regularly features DIY tutorials to create or alter vintage-inspired tops and dresses. Follow Kate on her blog, Schwurlie, or through her Lookbook. 

One of Kate's D.I.Y. projects.

My inspiration mostly comes from people I see around in the street. I live in the center of a city so simply looking out of the window in Starbucks can leave me wanting to go shopping / make millions of new things. I like websites like hel-looks.com, hoyfashion.co.uk and lookbook.nu too. I don't regularly read that many blogs but I recently discovered aglassjar.blogspot.com - she always looks nice and comfy. I also like Japanese fashion so magazines like Egg, Popteen and Zipper are inspiring to me, as well as Korean fashion. Apart from that, I am very very very much inspired by fashion of the 50s and especially the 60s (and 80s to some extent) which may or may not come across in my outfits, I don't know. I hope so! Very generally, I like 'ladylike' fashion as much as I like fashion that is vaguely androgynous, though I'm not sure whether that really comes out in my outfits.

(Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony Sunglasses and Sonia by Sonia Rykiel Shift Dress)

I think these sunglasses so cute and bright. They don't look like they'd be particularly helpful in the sun, but nevertheless I'd love to wear them with something black and white like this Sonia Rykiel dress.

(ASOS A-Line Shift Dress)

I also really want a simple shift dress for summer and while I'm on ASOS, this is perfect.

(1960s Pop Art Houndstooth Crop Cardigan from Young and Ukraine) 

Not particularly summery, but I've been looking for a houndstooth jacket for ages and ages but have never found the perfect one. This cardigan comes pretty close, but I still need to find me a jacket.

(Zipia Coat)

The coat from Zipia, I love light blue, I love the simplicity of it, it would just generally be good to have.

(Vintage 1960s Florsheim Ramblers from Pure Vintage Clothing)

White low heels would look amazing with shift dresses and white tights.

(from http://www.cosstores.com/)

dana of days of dane

We were thrilled when Dana started Days of Dane just a month ago, having developed a little style crush on the way she mixes classic pieces to perfection via other corners of the internet. She knows a thing or two about when to invest in your wardrobe and when to buy for the short-term, and she was nice enough to give out some pointers!

Hey! I'm Dana. I'm 23 and live in Brooklyn. Living in a big city like this means walking. A lot. Which also means a lot of exposure to the elements, whatever they may be for the season. I get overheated really easily, so I tend to be a bit lazier and just go for whatever is most comfortable. At some point, though, I realized that it shouldn't actually be that hard to be comfortable and cute at the same time. It's okay to have fashion and function in the same outfit!

As such, let me introduce you to some of my favorite pieces for the summer:

(J.Crew City Fit Chino Shorts)

The J.Crew City Fit Chino Short. I have these in two colors and anticipate getting maybe one or two more. I have khaki and navy, which are basically the two best colors to go with anything summery. These are nearly indestructible, and the khaki ones have been through 3 summers of bike riding and beaches and bars and are still in great shape.

(H&M Floral Sundress) 

A cheap, well-fitting sundress. Never underestimate the possibilities of a sundress. They're so easy to just throw on and look good, especially if they're of a jersey material. Airy, adorable, and great with sandals. You're probably going to wear it out by the end of the season, so there's really no reason to spend too much on it. Just make sure it fits you well!

(American Apparel Denim Shirt) 

A denim shirt. I got mine oversized because I can wear it tucked in or as a tunic or unbuttoned as an overskirt. It's perfect with the sleeves cuffed up.

For footwear!

(Swedish Hasbeens for H&M) 

Strappy sandals and a good pedicure. That's pretty much it. Keep your toes aired out when it's 80º+, okay?

My fashion inspiration comes primarily from comfort. If it's cute, basic, and comfortable, I'll buy it. I don't like things with ridiculous prints or too bright colors; I go for classic for the most part.

Here are some of my favorite designers:

Karen Walker, like, a lot. I took notice around her AW ’09 line and fell madly in love with the SS ’10 line. It’s preppy, it’s well cut and it’s got a little bit of quirk that is just so Karen. I think it gets better each season…

 

(AW ’09 &  SS ’10 from style.com)

 

(AW ’10 & SS ’11 from style.com)

(from karenwalker.com)

A designer with a similar aesthetic but way less accessible financially is Stella McCartney, whom I also swoon for. Her Resort 2011 line was just Too Much:

(Resort '11 from style.com)

I can’t NOT want to wear that, you know?

I also recently found out about Colenimo, who just so happens to make my dream wardrobe:

(from colenimo.com)

Basically, when it comes to hot weather, just be comfortable. I'm really of the opinion that if you love what you're wearing, it could be a sack and you would still rock it (though I'm sure some argue with that!) Oh, and sunscreen and lots of water! Sunstroke is nagl.

Thanks, Dana! 

emily

Emily's style has been my object of envy for quite some time now.  Apart from being the owner of everything I want (looking at you Edith A. Miller dress...), she's always fun and bold in her fashion choices. While I tend to gravitate towards more toned-down and basic outfits, I still think every outfit needs that quirky, Emily pop (coining a new phrase here). She doesn't have a style blog yet, but for now, you can follow Emily on Tumblr.

(thrifted denim jacket (originally abercrombie kids lol), elizabeth and james dress, ash boots)

( thrifted dress, urban outfitters wedges and belt & edith a. miller dress, kate kanzier loafers)

(karen walker sunglasses, topshop dress, chloe sevigny for opening ceremony platforms)

Current Inspiration

The Pixies, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Velvet Underground
Valley of the Dolls, Hal Hartley movies (especially Adrienne Shelly's characters)

312 - http://trois-douze.blogspot.com/

eric of calivintage - http://calivintage.com

 natalie of natalie off duty - http://natalieoffduty.blogspot.com/

Wishlist

(Raglan Touring Dress from loup charmant)

  

(Glastonbury Dress from Pixie Market, APC Madras Floral Dress from Bows+Arrows)

(Gee WaWa Maria Fisherman Sandal from endless)

 

(Silk Canyon Skirt from Madewell, Lindsey Thornburg Indigo Celtic Darby Dress from Bonadrag)

Thanks, Emily!

georgia of the velvettes

If my ego were a bit larger, I might think that Georgia ( from Cristchurch, New Zealand ) gets dressed in the morning with the intention of making me smile.  But, being a relatively sane person, I'm fully aware that she's following her own sense of style and if her love of unique patterns and eye catching colors cheers up someone across the globe, that's just icing on the cake.

My wardrobe basically consists of sheer, unashamed whimsy and novelty, with a scattering of basics for contrast. I live in a cheap old gray cardigan from Zara and black tights, but everything else is massively varied, and fluctuates wildly in print, shape, size... and what kind of cute animal it depicts. I guess a lot of my inspiration comes from actual animals and my desire to not only live in a giant zoo with at least 2 of every species (*not* an ark) but be clad in garments depicting their beautiful little faces all the time. 

Oh man, not til I attempted to put this together did I realise the actual proportion of my wardrobe that is animal-esque. Wow, what a revelation, I'm actually a bit embarrassed. It was never a conscious choice that half my wardrobe would consist of cute little creature-prints, but I'd say it's a portent for my life as a crazy cat lady.

Currently, were my tax return to come through at a billion dollars, here's what I'd be buying:

 

(Fawn skirt from Aristocrat and That on Etsy,  Olympia le Tan Moby Dick Clutch)

(Anthropomorphic postcard set by Beat Up Creations on Etsy)

 

 (Skirt from whenwewereyoung on Etsy (purchased by Georgia!))

(English fox pin from Portuguese Vintage on Etsy)

(Leather sparrow bag by Broundoor on Etsy, Bear Dress by Lu Flux)

Thanks, Georgia!