The Pajamafication of Style

Have you noticed that there is less and less style out there? Where are the people with style? Why is every one out there walking around in some kind of co-opted sleep or athletic wear when they are neither sleeping nor athletic? Why? My two favorite fashion snobs recently referred to it as the pajamafication of America. In other words. People are trying to make laziness and apathy seem like a style, but it's not.  

Everywhere I go everyone looks the same. No matter the weather; no matter the occasion.  The dress code in this country is: Ultra (almost shamefully) Casual.  I went to a funeral a few weeks ago and was surprised to be the only one  not just wearing black, but dressed up in any way.  I've been to a few weddings like that too.  Church? Check.  Holidays? Check.  Work? School?  A nice dinner out? Check, check, and check.  No one dresses up for anything and that stinks, because it's not an income issue; it's an effort issue.  

Not only does no one dress up, no one dresses out.  No one dresses differently from anyone else anymore either.  Where are the rockabillies, the punks, the mods and twees?  Where are the goths, steampunks, cowboys, and skaters?  Coquettes, preppies, anyone? Where are all the new fashion groups people are inventing?  Where is anyone wearing anything other than disgusting athlesiure or sloppy jeans and tees?  I'm going to say this again because it bears repeating: Finances are not the explanation.  Creativity and effort are free.  A lot of the very best fashion niches were based on having no money and still creating outfits that had maximum self expression.  

Where'd they all go?  And, not on social media, it's easy enough to fake style there.  Where are the fashion subcultures, the interesting, self expressive people in real life?  I'm beyond bored with jeans, t shirts, athleisure slop and the complete lack of effort that goes into wearing them.  (Although, I will say that it's much more physically demanding to wiggle into stretchy pants than it is to just slip on a dress, so the effort saved is mainly...mental? spiritual?)  If you see the any of the niches that used to say I am me, I'm unique, and I want to I express it, will you tell them I'm looking for them, because I really miss them.

Outfit Info:  Bernie Dexter Polka Dot Dress and Petticoat are thrifted, Bag is vintage, YeMak Sweater, B.A.I.T. Heels

New Bernie? Bingo!

I am so glad that Bernie Dexter has kept her business going!  It would have been such a great loss to the vintage fashion community if her dresses went away.  I had my eye on this Kelly Dress in Bingo Card print from Unique Vintage for several months, and waited for one of their amazing sales so I could bring it home.  Golly, am I ever glad I did, this bingo card print is even better in real life and the Kelly is one of my favorite styles.

Outfit Info:  Bernie Dexter Kelly Dress in Bingo Print from Unique Vintage

 

Hot Off The Frill

Summer is here and it's time for all those lovely traditional pastimes that I enjoy so much.  I hesitate to label them as American because so many places in the world do these same things in warmer weather such as cooking outdoors.  One of my favorite summer recipes is something I picked up while we were living in Japan.  Fire up the grill and toss on some sukiyaki (thin sliced marbled ribeye), let it cook just a minute or two on each side until crisp and then serve with raw cabbage leaves cut into pieces and drizzled with a soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, crushed red pepper, and sesame oil sauce.  That's it.  So simple, so light and delicious, and perfect for summer.  

In honor of grilling season, I thought today's outfit should be this Bernie Dexter On the Grill dress that I thrifted last year.  I didn't see too many dresses come out in this style during Bernie's heyday, but I wish I had because it's so flattering!

Outfit info: Bernie Dexter Dress and petticoat are Thrifted, Heels by BAIT

When Bernie Met Jess

Not to be that girl, pun intended, but I was Twee before it was a term.  Before Bernie Dexter had a brand, and looong before Jessica Day set my heart aflutter with her dress/cardi combos on New Girl.  Before it was called "Twee" it was just loving vintage and wearing 1950s/60s dresses with cardis and flats or full skirts with a cute button down and some canvas tennis shoes.  My muses were Marlow Thomas and Audrey Hepburn to name a few, and I adored that style era so much, I sought out vintage pieces (none of which ever fit my modern frame) and even tried to track down vintage sewing patterns so I could make my own (also very unsuccessfully at first). However, thanks to fellow vintage lovers like Bernie and Jess, these styles became far more mainstream and easier for me to find rather than having to try to create my own from old sewing patterns, or risk destroying my true vintage pieces with overuse.   And for that I am forever grateful.  

It's always fun when two icons I love intersect and a Bernie/Jess combo has to be the ultimate in vintage/twee fashion.  While I don't personally own the exact dress in question, I do own a version that released at the same time and with the extra bows and flourish, I think it's even better.

For some reason, this particular Bernie/Jess dress hasn't really lost any of it's value over time.   Whereas I paid about $50 for mine, this other style still routinely list for $150-$200.  It's lovely, to be sure, but I suspect most of the value is in who wore it and when. Can't say I blame them for that.

Outfit Info:  Bernie Dexter Dress and petticoat are thrifted, Cardi is YeMak, BAIT heels, Amazon canvas sneakers

 

Autumn Was a Lamb

    Autumn was a lamb. I spent the better part of autumn going outside for afternoon sunbathing and wearing light cotton dresses, enjoying every warm moment while it lasted.  Winter is already roaring like a lion. I look forward to the cozy winter days indoors, bundled up by the fire, reading an old favorite or a vintage page turner, but this year, because we've been working on our house so much, I'm afraid the cold season is upon us and we are woefully under stocked on firewood.  So, as the rain and sleet are falling outside my window this morning, I'm writing this from under the covers.  I've already dashed out to feed and water all the animals and run right back in to stoke the fire without overloading it on the precious pieces of firewood that we do have left, and wrap up to keep warm.

    As soon as this little cold snap passes, we'll get back outside to cut more firewood, so I'm not really worried about the length of the winter, but this first pass has been rough.  Even our 20 year old tabby cat has given up laying on my feet and snuggled as close to the fireplace as she possibly can.  It's hard to believe it was only two weeks ago that I the leaves were vibrant and the fall sunshine lit up the woods to create this beautiful evening in the photos for today's post.

Outfit Info:  Bernie Dexter Kitchen print Kelly Dress, Betsey Johnson Bag, B.A.I.T. Heels, Betsey Johnson Necklace & Earrings

Iconic Style

There's a huge emphasis right now on "individual style."  Throngs of attacks have been launched against shows like What Not To Wear for essentially telling people that their personal style was horrid, throwing everything away, and stripping them down to a few shopping rules, and then sending them home in a cookie cutter style.  

Personal style is a wonderful thing, the trouble is that most people are not interested in having truly unique style, they just want to look good without thinking too much about it.  And many people who have individual style...well, it's bad.  Guidelines or fashion rules aren't really a bad thing, and I'm sorry to say that most people don't want to go it alone, they want trends to follow and rules to cling to so they can just get on with their lives while feeling confident they look good.  And now we can't do that.  Everyone is left to their own devices, which means some confident, creative individuals are feeling total freedom and loving every second of it, and, yes, looking good doing it.  While nearly everyone else is kind of feeling lost at this point and just wearing the very safest and most thoughtless of outfits: jeans & t-shirts, active wear as regular clothing, etc.  And really...not just looking awful, but feeling awful about themselves too.  Not everyone can handle freedom and not everyone wants that kind of limitless freedom.  In other words, cookie cutters work.

 

If this much freedom feels like utter chaos to you, if you are feeling overwhelmed and lost instead of free, or worst of all you just hate the way you dress and don't know how to change it, the best way to start is to find your own style icon and mimic the hell out of them until you get your footing.  One of two things will happen:  1.  Over time, you will isolate the key things you love about their style and begin adding in your own touches until you have a style that can be called uniquely yours.  Or, 2.  You'll continue just mimicking that style and go on living your life.  Occasionally people will say, "you like just like X," and you'll say, "thank you, I love her!" or more aggressively, "how dare you speak to me!"  Read the situation on that before responding.  By simply using a person whose style you admire, over time you realize what it is you like about their style, what works for you and what doesn't, and begin incorporating elements from others you admire or simply from great pieces you find until you find your look and what looks best on you.

Today's post is dedicated to a great style icon, Bernie Dexter, whose likeness features on this dress from her company.  Important to point out that her own icon was Bettie Page and yet she now has her own brand and style.  We all just need a little guidance now and then and there's nothing wrong with that.

Outfit Info:  Bernie Dexter Dress, Leg Avenue Petticoat, B.A.I.T. Shoes, Jessica McClintock Clutch.