France Gall

Are you familiar with France Gall, French teenage ye-ye singer of the 60s? She is my 60s ingenue inspiration. I've had an ongoing love affair with her music over the years; her songs are so catchy that I often find myself wishing I spoke French so I could sing along! She's also just so charming; she had a certain wide-eyed innocence and earnestness that makes it hard to take your eyes off of her. She seems like she was a really sweet, nice gal who you definitely would have wanted to be friends with in high school. I really like her hair, too! Here are some of my favorite music videos of hers:




That dress is to die for!


Not exactly the super-coordinated Beyonce dance moves of today, are they?


The mischievous Serge Gainsbourg wrote this song for her (as he did many of her songs). Unfortunately, she was much too naive to realize what the song was actually about, and was unprepared to deal with the fallout.


Dave and I might play this one at our wedding, since we met on the internet. <3

I Brake For Yellow Dresses!

Every year around spring/summertime, I find myself drawn to ridonculously bright, cheery yellow dresses. I'm not even sure it's my color, since I have such pale skin, but I'm also a brunette, so maybe it's okay after all? One of my style icons is Shelley Duvall's character Millie in Three Women, always looking fresh and pretty in her yellow frocks. I should really buy that movie so I can grab some screencaps to share with you; I can't really find any online and it's such a pretty film. Why aren't there more people blogging Millie's style?



Oh, gloves. Please won't you come back into fashion? I have a small collection of my grandmother's old gloves; I'm sure you'll be seeing them here from time to time as I do wear them!



Yellow dress: Vintage, Mam'selle by Betty Carol, via lefthandendeavor's etsy shop
Tights: Banana Republic
Shoes: Calvin Klein
Blue-and-white-striped gloves: Vintage, grandmother's

A Trip To the Market

The Broadway Market in Buffalo is a vibrant place. The kind of place your parents take you when you're little, and perhaps you don't appreciate it so much at the time because you're lost in a sea of grown-up legs, but get nostalgic for when you're older. The colors, the crowds, the culture, the history... the food! Pierogies, sausages, butter lambs, and sweets as far as the eye can see.



Going down the escalator toward the market. I was so excited!

The market was established in 1888 by a group of Eastern European immigrants. Despite all of the economic tumult, fires, urban decay, etcetera that Buffalo has experienced through the years, the market still exists today! It's open year-round, though it's most famous for its Easter wares. People from all over Western New York come at that time of year. I hadn't been there since I was about four years old, and it's still exactly how I remember but better since I'm now an adult and can buy my own cupcakes. Actually, maybe that's not such a good thing, considering how much Dave and I OD'd on the sweets that day! Out of control!



Case in point. Hot cross bun!



Whatcha got there, David?



Oh yes, that's right. Chocolate-covered Peeps.



Bustletown, USA



Perusing his options.



I made a matryoshka friend! TWINSIES
Matryoshka tee: RipT
Shorts: Plastic Island via Modcloth
Maryjane sneakers: DKNY
Vintage bag: Morris Moskowitz

I hope to go back someday soon!

Gallery Hoppin'

Well, I'm back after an extended internet hiatus. My grandfather passed away, and I just didn't feel like posting for awhile. I simply wanted to rest and spend time with family and friends. But this blog is just a fledgling thing, so I don't want to leave it unattended for too long. I've been meeting so many fun new people and I miss that!

So to dip my toes back into the blogging waters, I thought I'd share that I attended two gallery openings in the past month! Dave's We Robot art show debuted on March 19, so of course we had to go! I got myself all gussied up, though the pictures don't really do the outfit justice (not a fan of my cardigan awkwardly sticking out my jacket). But I like my shoes, so the outfit goes up anyway!



Cropped military jacket: From my favorite local boutique
Black cardigan: In my closet since forever
Ruffley buttercream 50s blouse: Picked by my mother at an estate sale, might go in the shop
Skirt: H&M
Tights: Who knows?
Shoes: Harajuku Lovers
Vintage bag: Morris Moskowitz



Dave was one of several artists featured. This wall is covered with his art and that of another artist, Candace Keegan. The robots she paints are adorable!





I'm sorry, but I thought this dude was bad-ass. I forget the artist's name, was it Chris Hausbeck? He made quite a few impressive metal robot sculptures. If you're in the Buffalo area, there are just three more days to see the show, and it's definitely worth seeing. More photos can be found on Dave's Flickr page, if you're interested.



Another art opening just a week later! This one was at the College Street Gallery in Allentown, which is a wonderful co-op run by photographer Michael Mulley. Pay a small monthly fee, get yer art up on the walls, and you keep the money from any sales, minus a really teensy commission fee. It's a great way for newer local artists to find exposure for their art. It's very affordable too; a couple of months ago, Dave and I bought an amazing line drawing-style painting of a hot pink t-rex! I'm standing next to another piece I like in the above photo. Wish I had an extra $150!



It was too dark out to take any really good outfit photos, so Dave took artsy light-trails pics instead. I like it.

Dress: Marc by Marc Jacobs (bought on super-sale on Gilt)
Matching pale pink vintage gloves: my gran's
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell
Vintage 20s or 30s clutch
Mystery tights

I have a backlog of posts, so you'll hear from me soon! Thanks so much for reading!

A new dress, indie press, and a gorgeous day.

Vintage 50s dress: Violetville Vintage on ebay, handsewn - can you see the little pink polka dots on the collar and sleeves?
Vintage coat: Carven Paris, gift from my mother
Vintage purse: Morris Moskowitz
Knee-high tights: Target
Headband: mylavaliere on etsy
Heels: Jeffrey Campbell

I got a brand "new" (vintage), long-coveted 50s dress in the mail on Saturday! When Dave suggested we attend the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum that afternoon, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to debut the dress. It was such a gorgeous day, I almost didn't need my coat!



We also saw the first little flowers of spring; I asked Dave to take a snap for me. They were such a pretty purple. Grow big, little ones!




The manuscript library is in a really pretty old church.


Crowd shot! I don't know; I'd like to share more pictures of the interior, but I don't want to overwhelm you guys? They're mostly just crowds with pretty windows in the background, so maybe not.

I was very surprised to find that the ladies of Worn Fashion Journal were there! I thought that maybe the girls manning the table were local contributors or something, but it turns out that they were actually the founders/editors! I was so flabbergasted to see them there that I really wish I'd stopped to talk to them a little bit more! They were so nice, and one of them even liked my dress(!). I'd only ever looked at the website in passing, and have never come across the print edition, but after flipping through issue #9 I knew I had to pick it up. Let's just say that I'm now officially a fan. I'm really impressed that these young women are producing such an amazing, quality publication. The photos are gorgeous, the words are engaging, the subjects are actually topics I'm interested in, and the paper feels really, really nice in my hands. And somehow it's all really affordable? I'll definitely be getting a subscription when I have the extra cash. Good job, girls!

Robot Art Show!

Dave's showing some paintings in a gallery for a ROBOT-THEMED art show (awesome!!!) - it opens tomorrow night! The robot with the exploding chest in the banner on the right is one of his pieces. I'm so proud and excited for him. If you're in the Western New York area, I hope you'll come check it out! The deets are below:

Queen City Gallery
617 Main Street (Market Arcade)
Buffalo New York 14203
716-856-2839
M-F 11-4pm


"We Robot" A Mixed Media Celebration of Our Metal Friends


Opening March 19th 5-8pm


David Pierro, Candace Keegan, Michael Trampert,
Ross Chirico, Michael Mulley, Chris McGee, William Herod
Chris Hausbeck

On view through April 23, 2010

Spring Style Inspiration: Luella

Spring is finally showing her pretty face in Buffalo! Okay, I say "finally," but the truth is that early-to-mid- March is pretty early for spring to break around here. Nevertheless, I am so, so, so glad to see her. I'm starting to bust out the dresses and reveling in wearing color once again. No more winter neutrals for me! The ever-wonderful label Luella is providing some pretty sweet inspiration for me in this regard. Plenty of pop-in-your-mouth, Easter eggtastic colors, anchored with just a few basic neutrals for good measure. I love the 60s-inspired suiting, ladylike coats, and structured separates. Oh - and that polka dot print! Just what I'm craving right now. Witness the magic:









Images from style.com.