NEW IN SHOP!

Read more...

AT HOME WITH COURTNEY WILDER

For quite awhile now, I've been toying with the idea of doing short interview style features in this blog on my most fashionable and favorite lady friends, emphasizing on their personal style, their homes and how the two influence each other. It seemed most fitting to me that my "test subject" and first feature should be done on Courtney Wilder, as she is not only one of my favorite dressers, but is incredibly intelligent, well-rounded and talented. She also has an unbelievably gracious heart - when dealing with a nasty breakup 2 years ago, Courtney was the first friend to invite me into her home, where she shared with me a bottle of fancy champagne, convinced me that he wasn't good enough for me anyway and showed me her most impressive collection of Sassy Magazines. Now, that's what I call a fabulous friend!

Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to Courtney, where in the photo above she is wearing a gold silk, vintage top, a skirt by H&M, woven tights from The Gap, Vintage boots from Pre-to-Post Modern, glasses from See and a killer vintage necklace that reminds me of a very femme set of brass knuckles from Local Honey.



Me: Tell me a little bit about your home and how it reflects your personal style.

Courtney: I've lived here for 4 years now, and it's a perfect space for me in that it's an older building, with hardwood floors and almost kitschy wood panelling. I think my love of vintage comes from my love of history, which my dad, who was originally a high school history teacher, instilled in me. I love clothes and objects that either have a story to tell, being older items, or that serve as a reminder of things past if they're not vintage themselves. There's a saying that people often feel they were born 50 years too late or 50 years too early; I definitely feel I was born 50 years too late! I admire the slower pace of the past, as well as its greater appreciation for quiet pursuits. I almost certainly ascribe the past a kind of perfection it didn't have, but hey - that doesn't matter, as the inspiration it gives me is very real! As you can see from the furniture, I love the aesthetics of mid century modern and early 60s design. However, I also enjoy being surrounded by things I love (and can't throw anything away), which keeps me from going all the way to a super clean, minimal aesthetic. I prefer having the warmth that objects like records, books, and other assorted bric a brac give. The artwork is a combination of things that are merely decorative (the Mexican movie poster screen prints over the TV), local art (the Harry painting over the couch), and art by and of my family (the "you were there" screenprint by my bike was designed and printed by my uncle, and the painting over the bookshelf is of my mom, done by one of her coworkers when she was about 24). I also have some of my own photography around, to remind me that I should be doing artistic things and that I've done things in the past that I like!

Me: What are your influences as far as dressing? Are any of these influences similar to that of how you decorate your living space?

Courtney: I would say my influences in dressing mirror those for my living space. I like the tidy sophistication (and sometimes the craziness!) of the past, and I feel more comfortable in skirts and dresses than pants. Looking nice is, for me, akin to feeling nice! My exterior tends to mirror my interior. I love bold colors mixed with interesting patterns. Why just throw on something boring? Enjoy the choices you have and flaunt what colors and patterns make you happy. Hunting for vintage clothes is a hobby, and sometimes I just can't help but admire the ballsiness of a certain piece of clothing, like a really crazy pattern, or what a relic of a past time it is. I often feel that people in the past were much more adventurous in their dress than we are, and I love that. So often I can't help buying those weird, outlandish pieces that reflect how crazy past fashion got, even though what i actually end up wearing tends to be more toned down. I've got a whole bin of things I just couldn't resist! I love to embrace my femininity, but try to exhibit the type of femininity that reflects brains as well as beauty (and sometimes brawn!). I don't really follow designers much, since I rarely spend more than $20 on any piece of clothing and think following trends is tiring (not to mention a bit too tied to consumerism, which i think has become insane), but in my limited exposure I always admire what Marc Jacobs is doing. I get far more inspiration from street style blogs than the runways.



Of course, I had to get a snapshot of myself with my lovely interviewee. Above you can see Courtney wearing a vintage dress that she found on eBay, a thrifted cardigan sweater, goldenrod tights from Macy's, an Express belt and BCBGirls heels. As for me, I'm wearing a Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket, high waist knit skirt from Target, a vintage/thrifted scarf and Calvin Klein Boots.

Also, be sure to check out Courtney's radio show, Selective Memory, on WRVU on Thursdays from 11AM-12PM (you out-of-towners can stream it online). She also writes a column for the Nashville City Paper called Wilder on Wine and is one of the founding DJ's of Nashville's favorite dance party, Left Can Dance.

Larger versions of the photographs used for this interview can be found on my Flickr.

Read more...

NEW IN THE SHOP!

The MouseVox shop is, once again, stocked with some seriously cute & unique finds in a wide variety of sizes. Be sure to take a peek, see what's new and don't forget to bid your max early - I've received so many emails over the past few weeks from ladies who didn't bid in time & missed out on something fabulous! We've also got some serious sales happening that I'm sure you'll want to take advantage of. Check out the shop and see for yourself all of the cuteness we have listed.

In other news, I feel as though I've had very little time for blogging about anything interesting, as of late. This week has, yet again, been busy, busy, busy. Between MouseVox stuff, an editorial shoot for a magazine ad I'm working on and a really fun side project that I have plans on divulging the results on tomorrow, my free time has been sparse. Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way, though. I think if I didn't have a dozen things going on at once I wouldn't know what to do with myself!

Read more...

QUEENS OF VINTAGE

Queens of Vintage is a new, wind powered website that I've been frequenting since their online debut in December. The articles are always interesting and informative with very user friendly navigation (I don't know about you, but this is so important to me). Best of all though, the contents of this site are dedicated to all things vintage! I was pleased as punch to see a vintage blazer that's up for grabs in my little shop featured on the site's homepage, being used as one of their 'instant wardrobe update' examples.

Here's what Vintage Queen, Lena, had to say about my blazer:

Queens of Vintage loves nothing more than a mint condition vintage piece in a decent size and this 100% wool jacket ticks all the boxes: it’s in excellent condition and a size medium to large. Imagine wearing this with a beret, A-line skirt and pussy bow blouse for that 70s Bonnie and Clyde look, or pair with a pretty dress and hair bow ala Blair and co.

See the rest of the article here and also be sure to check out their 'Top 100 Vintage Queens' - you'll probably see a couple of famliar faces!

Read more...

NEW IN THE SHOP!

We've stocked the MouseVox shop with some truly adorable & unique vintage finds this week. Be sure to check it out and see for yourself! All sizes are available, so we've got a lil' something for everyone!

Read more...

CHICTOPIA

Hello! I've created an account at CHICtopia. If you have an account as well, find me there ---> HERE!

Read more...

YSL, DIOR, OSCAR DE LA RENTA, LACOSTE, FURS ---> SHOP IT!

We've rung in the new year in the best way possible by bringing you a BEYOND STELLAR vintage update with some amazing, hard to find and seriously coveted vintage gems - YSL, Dior, Oscar De La Renta, Izod Lacoste, Gunne Sax, Members Only & fabulous furs in addition to smart 40's/50's day dresses and our standard unique threads. All of these fab finds are in a variety of sizes ranging from XS-L, so you must take a peek and place your bids for that one-of-a-kind must have we know you don't want to live without!

Read more...

NYE & WHAT'S TO COME

The montage of pictures above are from NYE. Steve Cross was nice enough to take some pictures in the studio and these are some of my favorites with some of my favorite pals. I threw a nice party with a good crowd of about 20 friends. So, it wasn't too big, the house wasn't overcrowded and everyone seemed to have a nice time. I really couldn't have asked for a better night. It was low key, which is what I wanted and I got the chance to act silly with my friends, stuff my face with delicious snacks (hello, goat cheese pesto!) and not worry about finding something awesome to do because I made it happen right at home. Thanks to all of you who came out to celebrate NYE with me this year!

For the past 3 days, I've been seriously out of comission with the flu. I think my body just finally felt the need to tell me to take some time off because I've been going non-stop for like 2 months. After 3 days of soup for almost every meal, green tea & honey in abundance, daily rosemary infused hydrotherapy baths, lots of emergen-c and some good ol' fashioned r&r, i'm starting to feel on top of things again. Needless to say, there will be no new listings in the shop tonight, but I have a batch of stuff ready to post tomorrow night, so look forward to that! In fact, I've once again decided to re-work my posting schedule and plan to list new vintage every Monday & wednesday night with new 'buy it now' items on Sundays. My one resolution for the year is to stay more focused and organized. Sticking with a schedule for my MouseVox stuff falls under the umbrella of organization I hope to be able to accomplish. From past experience, I know if I can just stay focused I'll be able to work less hours and devote more time to other projects I have on my long growing list of things I need to accomplish this year.

Read more...