now we request your full attention as the flight attendants demonstrate the safety features of this aircraft

i've been sick for the last few days and have been wearing comfort clothes as a result. today, being friday, i'm hoping to hit the town after class so i made a bit of an effort despite waking up 20 minutes AFTER i have to leave for work in order to arrive on time.



dress: thrifted in champaign-urbana on my visit there this past weekend
tights: anthro
belt: salvation army
boots: thrifted from etsy

i SWEAR i'm going to get the frock swap rolling. my plate has been full to the point of overflowing for the last couple of weeks and i'm taking this weekend to get things in order - study for an upcoming test, clean my room, drop off laundry, wax eyebrows, open new bank account. i'm also trying to get third fridays back up and rolling and hoping to meet with some friends about that. perhaps i'll squeeze a thrift shop visit or two in there somewhere. at any rate, i hope to have something or another to post this weekend. . .

happy friday!

xo audrey

sick leave

sorry for the lull in posts, this blogger's sick and taking the day off tomorrow to recover. if i accomplish what i hope to (who sets goals for their sick day? when you work/go to school as much as i do. . .) then i'll have a nice clean room to take some frock swap photos in tomorrow and hopefully get that ball a-rollin'.

until then, be well, sleep tight and sweet dreams!

xo audrey

h&m dressing room

went out last night long and hard and woke up super late this morning, kept my hair in the ponytail i slept in, put on an old reliable outfit and dashed off to work. feeling extremely hungover today and so instead of posting anything new, here is something else that i'm waiting for: i've seen this jumpsuit on a mannequin in the h&m window every day when i walk by (there's a shop across from my office) and wanted it, but haven't stopped in to try it on; i finally got in last night, but the only size they had left was an 8, and it's a little baggy. lucky for me, the mannequin is wearing a 4, and they've promised it to me when they change her outfit.



the jumper i posted a couple of days ago came, but it's a little big and i can't decide if i should get a smaller size or just exchange it for something else all together. hard to determine how much a small will fix.

off to champaign for the weekend to visit my beautiful sister esther. hope everyone has a good one!

xo audrey

99 ways to cut, sew, and tie your t-shirt

is a book i have wanted every time i've seen it in the last 3 years or so, and i thiiiink today i'm just going to break down and buy it. i'll try to post one every couple of days if they jump out at me. maybe i can get myself sued for copyright infringement!

until i obtain said book, however, here is an amazing way to alter a shirt that i stumbled across on that blog i mentioned yesterday, publicpersonae. the girl in the video has a blog of her own: childhoodflames.blogspot.com.



she acts like i imagine i would if i posted a video tutorial: awkward and stoned. i find it charming.

edit: upon further exploring the girl's blog, i discovered that she is only 16. HOW IS IT THAT ALL OF THESE CHILDREN CAN AFFORD THIS STUFF?!? regardless, i take back the "stoned" comment. although it is certainly possible.

enjoy!

xo audrey

today sucks

and i am stuck at work waiting to hear back from people so it looks like i may not make it to class tonight, which feels me with a terrible sense of guilt and dread. work has been manically insane today - clients rushing in and out, last minute requests being barked at me over shoulders, the same 4 clients calling over and over as if they have their phones set to speed dial digital kitchen every 12 minutes. but, work is work, and i am grateful for a job and even more grateful for a paycheck, so i digress. if i miss class and keep my job, i'll take that trade.

as such i'm not going to bother taking photos of today's ensemble (it's not a bad one, tho) but instead post some real gems i found today, and one that i am expecting in the mail *any minute.*



and, quickly, a few sites you should all check out:


www.publicpersonae.com blog by a girl who worked at dk freelance for a bit. full of things i want so bad but can't afford.

nasty gal vintage genuine vintage and vintage-style clothing, impeccably hand picked by the nasty gal herself.

bijules heartbreakingly beautiful and stomach-wrenchingly expensive jewelry. i. want. these. earrings.


that's all from me for now, folks -

xo audrey

forgot my glasses

this morning. my room is a goddamned disaster. every night i swear to myself i'm going to clean it, and every night i instead climb into bed, push the clothes, gloves, headphones, and other crap to the side, and nestle down with a book/hulu/this american life until i fall asleep. i've managed to collect my laundry and drop it off, but that's about it. i expect once i finally get all the clothes off the floor and put away my outfit potential will grow exponentially. (clearly i am a nerd even without my glasses.)

annnyhow. today wearing one of the oldest pieces of clothing in my closet. (i use the term closet loosely, as all of my clothes are stuffed into a bookshelf cube. all the clothes, that is, that are not laying my floor in a lush, very expensive carpet.) i got this dress at a thrift store in chicago right when i moved up for school. i pretty immediately took it home and butchered it; it was before i did any sewing and i have always been very impatient and rather careless when making amendments to garments, so the hem, which i meant to just shorten, is asymmetrical, and the straps are simply tied around my neck. still, i love it.



dress: thrifted
cardigan: akira chicago
tights: hue (anthropologie)
shoes: pour la victoire!, via shopbop

i actually stumbled across the same dress, in different colors, on etsy a year or so ago and bought it, and shortened the hem properly this time.



there are some cute and similar options on etsy right now. . .




numero uno via easystreetvintage, and the second dress is from putonthatdress.

keeping pretty busy today - i'm gonna go make a sandwich. hope everyone enjoys their tuesday!

xo audrey

USO

good morning! i hope everyone had a lovely valentine's day. mine was pretty uneventful. i DID, however, make it to the flea market, and find something i have been searching for on etsy for awhile.

a note: i feel kind of weird posting pictures of myself in a bathing suit on here, but i figure a. pictures of me in much skimpier swimsuits than this already exist on facebook and b. we're all adults and, you know, whatever. i think this one is pretty modest.



got this awesome, never-worn, pinup style swimsuit from the same girl that sold me the white/turquoise dress from a couple of days ago. she also taught me something very handy for anyone who buys vintage clothes online: i noticed the suit hanging on a rack, but the tag said it was a 10/11, which in modern sizes would be way too big for me. she explained that at some point in the early 80s clothing manufacturers switched over to modern sizing standards, but before then a 10/11 is the equivalent of a 2 or 4. so if you are buying clothes that are more than 25 or so years old online, and they list the tag size, keep that in mind. i also got the gloves at the flea market, from another girl who has a store near me in williamsburg. they match my coat perfectly and have lovely little pearl buttons at the wrist. the combo makes me feel like i should put rollers in my hair and do a song and dance for our troops.

i had actually been eyeballing vintage suits on etsy for the past week, and these two were already in my shopping cart:




these are both for sale at ladylydia's shop, a very reasonably priced store based out of new zealand.



and this one i just stumbled upon this morning, and i LOVE, from bigyellowtaxivintage.

last night i tossed and turned until about 5 am, so it seemed fitting to wear a pajama shirt to work:



shirt: vintage pj shirt, from mi madre
skirt: american apparel
belt: vintage, mom
tights: old, mom
shoes: vintage, etsy

my hair is so awkward right now. i'm trying to stay strong.

happy monday!

xo audrey

80's night

happy friday! and bonne long weekend, to those of you fortunate enough to get one. i, unfortunately, have to be at work bright and early on monday, but i do get the night off of school. . .

a nice, quiet night last night; had a belgian dinner at petit abeille and then walked over to coffee shop with a friend from chicago, had a couple of beers, and went to sleep. i have class tonight, and friday nights have turned into girls' night with a couple of classmates; i think our plan tonight is to go to the pyramid club for 80's dancing. i tried to dress appropriately.




shirt: forever 21
pants: american apparel
boots: etsy
necklace: mama
socks: american apparel
note: that is a little ponytail! so little it is almost indiscernible. but it's there.


i really really really want some roller skates. i've been scouring etsy daily to try to find some that are fun and would fit, and so far i've come up with these:



i love the trouble this person went to to create the hideous backdrop. that's two ugly fabrics and 3 fake plants.

anyhow, i plan on hitting some thrift stores and quite possibly the flea market this weekend, so i'm keeping my eyes open for some skates. speaking of, a quick shout out to my little brother colin who totally broke his leg last night and is in the hospital. play safe, kids, and i'll post any finds later this weekend!

xo audrey

baby's first gateau

we have officially moved on to cakes in school, thank jesus. i love bread, don't get me wrong, but breakfast bread is a different thing and not nearly as exciting. this is our first cake: a layered genoise soaked with framboise, filled with raspberry jam, iced with buttercream and bordered with caramelized almonds. YES. it was really fun to make. i get so much satisfaction from smoothing out the icing and creating perfect angles, and for those of you that haven't tried buttercream, you MUST. it is divine.

after class i hopped on the jmz just in time for rain to start, and after exiting dashed into the nearest bar to meet some folks. it turned out to be dodgeball team night at boss tweed's. the experience was rather like i imagine attending a state school would be. lots of guys in team t-shirts and spiked hairdos playing beer pong and duck hunter. when in rome - we played a couple of rounds (my team won both times. all that softball wasn't for naught,) realized it was past 1 am, and headed home, where i did not go to sleep as promptly as i should have.

it is a glorious 52 degrees in new york today, so i decided to celebrate with my new favorite dress. i found this at the flea market when i went a couple of weeks ago and i love its simple elegance. it's probably a bit dressy for work, but i thought after yesterday's cootie cutters (fuck you rod) i'd class it up a bit.




dress: vintage 60's silk crepe, according to the sweet girl i bought it from.
shoes: dsw

after loving this dress so much, i scoured etsy for some similar things:

this one via "pantastic"'s shop; lots of cute things, very reasonably priced.



samesies. this from deargoldenvintage. good stuff.



and that's all she wrote. . . until she writes some more.

xo audrey

my little pony

i used to be obsessed with these things. one of my clearest memories from childhood takes place when my family and i lived in student housing in los angeles; one of my neighbors was a friend of mine, but kind of a bossy girl, and told me that i should trade her my favorite my little pony for two of her dumb ugly ones. she bullied me into doing it, and i cried for hours until my mom went over and made her give it back. anyway.



my dad remembered how much i loved them as a kid and put one in my stocking this year. it was a really sweet gesture, but now i just have this my little pony standing awkwardly on my already cluttered desk in my apartment, and so, i think i want to make it into a necklace. like a nice long one. some my little pony bling.

what do you think? too weird? i strive to get the looks i used to in chicago here and brooklyn, and maybe this would do just the trick. it would be so easy. one trip to the hardware store would do the trick. hmm.

check my style in an eagle shaped mirror

it feels like spring! i'm taking full advantage and wearing a very silly outfit. i was taking pictures this morning and realized that there are very few places i can think of that would allow me to wear such foolishness to the office. i mean, these shorts are basically glorified underwear. i guess i justify it by wearing tights underneath. anyway.

last night was so much fun! a couple of friends came over, my roommates were both home for once, and we made all sorts of chicken nuggets (chicken and cheddar! dino nuggets! morningstar chik 'n' nuggets!) and tater tots with various sauces (well, various mustards) and hot dogs and drank 24 oz pbrs and spliffed it up. after dinner we all ate miracle berries and sat in a circle exclaiming over the extreme sweetness of lemons, but the relative indifference of guinness. received many tempting texts beseeching me to go out, but something about chugging guinness and eating a pile of lemons after all that cheap meat just made me want to go to bed. which is exactly what i did. and had yet another dream about having long hair. this one got so detailed as to having me come out of the shower with it wet and blowdrying it - flipping my head upside down to get some volume, the whole bit. what does it say about my psyche that my dreams are so. . . empty? (maybe just that i was stoned.)




shirt: american apparel
shorts: also american apparel
tights: anthropologie
shoes: pour la victoire
rings: forever 21 and quickly dying my fingers green



the shoes are new, and i love them. someone twittered about shopbop last week, and frankly i probably would have been better off if i had never known such a thing existed, but they do have some pretty remarkable sales, and these babies were like 75% off [the originally ridiculous price.]

tonight: class, sweet delicious pastry class. apparently monday was the last day of breads (for now,) so i think we move on to petit fours? of course, that's what i thought last time, too. i guess i am just anxious to start making cute little things. i went to a fancy dinner on sunday and one of the amuse bouches they served were something i had made in class. it was both exciting and somewhat disappointing. knowing how something is made takes a little bit of the magic out of it.

and maybe after that i'll finally get my ass out on the town. i've been going to bed early since i got home, which is great and all, but i need a fancy cocktail in my life.

xo audrey

frock swap

i have a vague idea that i'd like to put into action. i have lots of clothes that are beautiful, but not on me. i'd love to post photos and size information for stuff i'd like to get rid of, and have other people do the same. maybe you could sign in and do a guest post? would any of you out there be into this idea? yay? nay?

nerd cool

hello everyone! i come to you this morning with crusty eyes and unshaven armpits. i'm sorry, but it's true. i flew back from chicago yesterday afternoon (missing the check-in time for my flight by exactly 8 minutes, i had to bump to the next flight, which got me back in at 5:05) and took a car straight to work, where i had to put out some fires and straighten some things out from the apparently disastrous temp that was here for me. i got out at about 8 o'clock, wandered around forever 21 for about an hour, then headed home (realizing upon alighting the train that i had left my suitcase at my desk.) i wandered down bedford for awhile, picked up a 24 oz stella, and headed to la superior, an amazing little mexican place near my apartment where i bumped into a friend of a friend. (at what point does a friend of a friend become a friend? hanging out without the friend present? we made vague plans to do so. i may have a new friend soon.) i ate tacos and scooped corn with mayonnaise and cheese and cayenne out of a cup and sipped my beer and read richard russo. i used to be very self conscious about eating out alone but i have grown to absolutely love it, as long as i have a book handy. i think it lends me a certain mystique.

after that i very nearly headed back to the lower east side to meet some friends for drinks but decided to take advantage of my proximity to my apartment and just head home. which i did, and it was grand. i woke up at 8:39 this morning (9 minutes after i should have left my apartment to make it to work) so i scrambled into the clothes i wore yesterday, tousled my hair, threw on my glasses (GLASSES! they came! they are miraculous! and i think i like them!!) and ran out the door. so i changed into this when i got to work this morning. stealthily. i don't think anyone noticed.






top: actually dress, from anthropologie
skirt: forever 21. featuring crinoline and everything! i love it.
tights: anthropizzle
boots: vintage, thrifted from etsy
necklace: rachel
glasses: real, not fake hipster asshole glasses. just for the record.

in tonight's episode. . .

i struggle to carry my jammed-full duffle bag all the way to queens. and then all the way to williamsburg. but not, no, to greenpoint.

i wander around the city in awe of the crisp lines and colors all around me, previously just a loud blur.

i regret for the nth time that i haven't remembered to wear gloves with my coat.

i finish empire falls, then sit in quiet mourning for a few moments that a book i have so enjoyed is, alas, fin.



happy tuesday, everyone. . .

xo audrey

tight tights

so, i got off work yesterday and wandered back to williamsburg and stopped in this lingerie store called the brooklyn fox. i browsed around the store a bit, headphones on, fleet foxes serenading me, and bumped into a display of bebaroque tights. i have been obsessed with this things, but only in theory, for awhile; i even posted about them on margot's blog a couple weeks ago. they are made in the uk, though, and sell for like $80 a pair online. but for whatever reason the fox sells them for $40 a pair, so i got some. and i am in LOVE with them. i think i am going to take an old pair of tights and try to make something similar with them.





shirt: anthropologie
skirt: american apparel
belt: vintage via momma
tights: bebaroque via the brooklyn fox
shoes: dsw
bracelet: necklace from H&M

i'll be in chicago tomorrow and see some of you lovelies then. . .

xo audrey

hump day

happy wednesday! the week is halfway over! it's been an exhausting one already. last night rachel and i had a few people over and we made breakfast for dinner - rachel handled the baked eggs (with asiago cheese, sauteed spinach and onions - absolutely delicious) and i made orange cinnamon french toast out of some bread we'd made in class on monday. bloody marys were consumed. and a good time was had by all.

tonight i have class and then am meeting up with a bunch of people at beauty bar to celebrate the (temporary) return of andrea, an old producer here who now lives in chicago. after that i'll head to chloe with some other friends.

speaking of chicago, i'll be there this weekend! my friend dee is having a benefit for her gallery. if you are in the chicago area, you should come saturday night! it should be a really good time, and dee is the best of good people.

anyhoooow, i totally lucked out this week and got some unexpected cash in the mail, so i have a couple things to post; first yesterday's outfit:

(the full length shots all turned out blurry)



vest!!! bought it at the flea market. talked the guy down to $20. it needs some small mending and the shoulders kinda make me look like a football player, but i LOVE it.

yesterday i allowed myself to buy something at anthropologie, given my recent windfall:




dress: anthropologie
belt: anthropologie
tights: anthropologie
ring: forever 21
shoes: dsw

i guess anyone can make a good outfit out of a bunch of stuff from anthropologie, but whatever. i think i have tried this dress on in the store like 5 times but never let myself buy it, and this one is about a size bigger than i would prefer, but i'm going to do some hemming and hawing and it was 50% off and i am done justifying it.

see you chicagoans on saturday. . .

xo audrey

happy monday

good morning everyone!

i hope everyone's weekend was as lovely as mine. weekends like this make me so happy to be alive and in new york. highlights:

+ 40s and karaoke on friday night
+ brooklyn flea market, photo-taking, agyness deyn-spotting, tamale eating, hot toddy-drinking saturday
+ manhattain-brunching, spramps-hanging, and superbowl-watching sunday

i made some *amazing* finds at the flea market. i'll be wearing/posting them later this week.




the full set is on facebook, so you can take a look there if you want.

until then, nothing too crazy today, but it's in the mid 40s in new york today! i am able to wear a coat without an ugly coat underneath! life is good!




shirt: american apparel
skirt: american apparel
tights: anthropologie (HUE brand)
belt: vintage, thrifted at salvation army
shoes: purchased at lori's in lincoln park on my last venture to chicago
necklace: mama's

xo audrey