the clothes 2011

Boston terriers, typewriters, and wild horses add personal charm to Samantha Hahn's vibrant watercolors. Her inspirations include, "fashion photography, nature and Brooklyn." All seem imbued with a dreamy, even retro quality that certainly bring some brightness into the greyest days.
all images courtesy of Samantha Hahn

It may almost be December, but I'm still managing to rock bare legs without fear of frostbite. To repeat myself: it is quite nice to live close to the water and in a warm state again. This outfit is clearly inspired by the lookbook I shared last week. I'm still lacking the perfect nude flats and teased hair, but the style is slowly getting there. I ought to re-watch some Brigitte Bardot films for further inspiration.

This week's movie pick is a mix of the lighthearted and serious; a romantic comedy and a film on social themes and justice. The Talk of the Town stars Ronald Colman, Cary Grant, and Jean Arthur who fall into a typical romantic triangle. However, mixed in with the growing emotions is a discussion on politics, society, and law.

-It’s the holiday season, so there are many parties and gatherings to attend. You want to look fancy and fun, but it’s actually usually freezing outside. So many party dresses are sleeveless or strapless, which means you often have to hide their beauty behind shawls or cardigans even indoors. This dress has sleeves; once you step inside and remove your winter coat you don’t need to layer anything on top. Strapless dresses can be chic, but shivering never is.
-One of the reasons we all gather and celebrate this time of year is because the year is ending. Instead of looking backwards, why not look towards the future and all the potential next year is teeming with? This dress with it’s futuristic-by-way-of-the-60s vibe reflects an optimistic, forward-thinking mindset. It also makes me want to watch scifi movies made in the 60s and 70s...
-All of my friends would describe me as shy; a wallflower even. At the party I am the one standing against the wall bopping a little to the music (even though I love to dance). Since I’m terrible at initiating conversation it’s nice to have clothes that do the talking for you; a statement dress like this draws attention and can be a great conversation piece. I've definitely started conversations with different people after receiving comments on my sometimes eye-catching footwear or some other article of clothing.
The tights are also lovely and will look equally cool with ballet flats and floral dress for everyday wear (they’re quite thick and warm too). The shoes are a nice basic and pretty comfortable. I used a Sharpie pen to make the gold stud on the side of the shoes black because I think they’re more versatile this way. With such a statement dress I think it's important to keep the accessories rather minimal and quiet.

Inspiring streetart from Milan proves that graffiti can be beautiful. via Wooster Collective

So, I was looking for elegant long leather gloves (preferably vintage) to wear with my capes, but I came across these colorful and quirky ones at Modcloth and couldn't resist. I'm definitely someone who needs to wear gloves in the winter and so many of my coats seem to be 3/4 length sleeves. The length of these is perfect and the colorful patches really sets them apart. They're a lightweight knit, but still very cozy.

I've worn this H&M star print dress (it just looks like polka dots since I didn't post a close-up) more times than I care to count. It's been styled in summer, fall, winter, and spring, but the remixes remain fairly basic. I'm sure it would look great with a variety of colors thrown on top, but I always seem to reach for it when I'm feeling like wearing classic black and white. What I really love about this dress is it's shape; it's always classic and works well for my figure.

I went in for a cut and color because it had been months and I was quite tired of cutting my own bangs! The hair stylist asked if she could try this strange crimping iron on my hair...I said yes and this is the result. It reminds me of the finger waves from eras past, or mermaid hair. Rather pretty, but definitely too much effort to attempt often. Minimal effort is basically how I would explain my hair and make-up routine. I wish I could get into cheek contouring or the perfect teased hair look, but I'm rather unskilled in that area and too lazy to study it. I only mastered milkmaid braids last year and that is a neat trick because it keeps my hair out of the way all day.

Happy Thanksgiving to you! Much of my family (and a friend woot!) has gathered to celebrate by overeating lots of home-cooked goodies my mother and I have been preparing for more than a week (no lie). I found these vintage pictures of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on NYPL's online archives and went a little swoon-y for them. How fantastic are the vintage balloons?

*photographs via NYPL

I bought this dress last year after I saw it on Niotillfem and the dress reminded me of ice cream...I guess you can call this my "fan-girling" dress. It always makes me feel a bit too young and pastry-like, but I still like to throw it on occasionally for variety.