tie one on

i had intended for this entire post to be dedicated to bow ties, but when i went searching for inspiration pictures i’d collected, i couldn’t find too many of them! which is really too bad because bow ties are such an easy and inexpensive way to add interest to a collared blouse! i really see no reason why these little pretties have been reserved for people like dr. seuss!

but since it is a rather bold statement, i have pictured some loosely tied ribbons and bows as an other example of a more casual way to pull off the look, which would only require a quick trip to the fabric store.

anyway, the saddest part of this post is that my mom has given me several different vintage bow ties over the years, which i have stashed away so well that i can no longer find them and fear that they might be gone forever. i will never forget a particular pink and maroon striped tie with little rhinestones on it… but now i have something to rummage for on my thrift store and antique shop outfits!

what do you think? would you sport a bow tie?

column a: the sartorialist, some girls wander, our paper moon
column b: torunn, alexa chung, copenhagen street style

mi familia pt. 3

this series of family photos is neverending, so i hope you all are enjoying them ok. this time i’m focusing on some fun shots of my grandmother and her brothers and sisters. this photo up top is one of my absolute favorites. they’re all having a little barbeque in the park.

from right: my great aunt cecilia “chila” cortez, my great aunt mary barbo with her husband ruben barbo, my great grandmother lorenza “blanche” roque, my grandmother evalina perez, and my great aunt ophelia “giche” bowers.

seriously, people in my family have the sweetest nicknames ever. speaking of nicknames, i actually have my own, which was given to me by my uncle ruben (who happens to be pictured above). he used to call me “blondie” because despite my naturally dark brown hair today, i was naturally blonde as a child. no joke. i’ll give you photographic evidence sometime.

now back to the pictures:


my grandmother, evalina roque perez


my grandmother, evalina roque perez


great aunt cecilia “chila” roque cortez


cecilia “chila” roque, cortez, albert roque, johnny roque, lorenza elizondo roque


ophelia “giche” roque bowers


mary roque barbo

in the spirit

man o man, the christmas spirit has finally hit me today. as in, i’m seriously grumpy today. i hate to be a debbie downer, but i have to say that today is just not my day! i’m not sick, nothing bad happened, i just don’t feel 100%. one of those days, as they say. whoever they are.

so i actually wore this exact outfit last week, but i never got around to taking pictures of it. since i wasn’t in the mood to think of an outfit today, it was an easy choice. it’s just a mix of this outfit, which i wore a few weeks ago, and this outfit, which i wore last monday. and because the lovely ms. lulu letty totally rocked some red tights with a pair of salvatore ferragamo flats the other day, which is what i wish i had instead of these old flats. but more than anything, it was just an excuse to wear these 110 denier tabio tights yet again. they are my most favorite pair of tights right now. better than my merino wool wolfords. they’re just such a thick, comfy knit, a dream to wear… and i want them in every color. hm, that is actually enough to lift my spirits just a tad!

and now i am off to do video editing because i really want to be able to post the first calivintage field trip tomorrow. oh, the anticipation!



wearing:
cashmere cardigan, j.crew
vintage plaid blouse, thrifted
interlock mini skirt, american apparel
110 denier tights, courtesy of tabio
flats, juicy couture
vintage coach dr. bag, ebay

i want a satchel

i can no longer resist the urge to make x-mas lists! i was trying to avoid it because looking that list in the face would be like coming to terms with the fact that i might have a problem. seriously, the list is incredibly long and never-ending and well, sometimes i don’t like to think about how materialistic i can be. but i’m over it. so here is something very high on my wishlist this year: a satchel.

let me start by telling you that my number one splurge would be in a mulberry bayswater, which is technically more like a shoulder tote, but seeing as how i’m not quite ready to drop $950 on a purse just yet, i have taken comfort in the multitude of satchels i’ve been seeing around lately. they have such a simple sophistication and are obviously a classic. i’ve been keeping my eye out in the thrift store, but no luck just yet. so instead, i’ve got my sights set on the much more affordable and fashionable cambridge satchels. i’ll take a batchel (satchel with a top handle) and a music bag, please!

column a: alexa chung, copenhagen street style, style clicker
column b: hel looks, clever nettle, lah lah is here


cambridge satchels.

spots and stripes

i know my last post was about bike style, but i did not turn around and hop on my bike today. (though i do think this would be a nice outfit for a ride on a warmer day.) but instead, i had some super fun and super secret business to attend to. i’m back from that, and now i get to spend the rest of my afternoon getting work done so i can premiere my first calivintage field trip, complete with video. weee!

anyway, in honor of the unseasonably cold weather we’re experiencing here in california, i decided to go out and stand in front of some interesting cacti and succulents. they look so pretty, but i’m sure they’re feeling just as cold as i am out here. though i do have an extra layer of smart wool socks hidden underneath my riding boots, so i’m doing just fine. the only thing i wish i had was a nice pair of vintage gloves. maybe in a lipstick red, no?

i kinda really need to do some shopping. hopefully this weekend! besides looking for new clothes and accessories, we really need to get some heavy curtains for the apartment. like most buildings in the area, our apartment has zero insulation and the same creaky old windows that were built with the house back in the 20’s. this means that when it actually does hit freezing here like it did last night, we all get a little too chilly indoors!

oh hello, little hummingbird! so nice of you to stop by.

wearing:
vintage navy blazer, thrifted
vintage striped dress, ebay
skinny belt, urban outfitters
little heart tights, tabio
knee socks, drug store
vintage nine west riding boots, idol vintage
vintage coach purse, thrifted

cycle chic

i thought it was pretty fun to tell you all about my past as a cake decorator, so today i thought i’d tell you another little known fact about myself: i’m an avid cyclist. i don’t race or compete in any fashion, but instead, i enjoy going on long bike tours to explore beautiful places. though i do have to admit that i haven’t been riding my bike nearly as much as i’d like to lately… but that’s ok because i have plenty of neat trips planned. and there’s nothing like pretty girls riding cool bikes for a bit of inspiration!

some of my most notable and favorite rides include the california coast! one summer, me and my boyfriend rode from here in the bay area to southern california along the highway one, which winds along the coastline. at night, we camped in state parks. we thought it was so fun that we decided to turn around and try another part of the coast the next summer and we rode from arcata, ca (up near the northern border) back down to the bay area! that stretch along highway one was even more epic and glorious than the first ride, especially when we did a detour through the lost coast. amazing.

we’ve also done shorter rides and combined biking with hiking as well. it’s a pretty economical and fun way to travel.

column a: audrey hepburn, ricor, sea legs snapshots, julie michelle photography.
columb b: allister ann, melbourne street fashion, nike rebekah, shorpy, sergey komarov

the above images were all taken from copenhagen cycle chic. a really cool blog with daily updates of fashionable people on bikes. weeee!

baby it’s cold outside…

and it’s getting colder… (10 points to whoever can name that song!) so for the past couple of months, i’ve been collecting inspiration pictures of winter outfits on the calivintage tumblr. last night i came across a new street style blog that i hadn’t seen before (styleclicker) and found the holy grail of winter outfits, so i decided to finally do a little post. i don’t know that it will ever get as terribly cold here as it does in places like stockholm or copenhagen or even new york, but i think i’ll still take a few tips from these outfits. anyway. when dressing for winter, it’s all about color and proportion. taking simple items like coats, scarves, tights, maybe a bit of fur, and turning it into something chic!

all above images found via styleclicker.

column a: garance doré, turned out, the sartorialist

column b: hel looks, ida on lookbook, easy fashion in paris

a jeans and t-shirt kind of day

no, i did not take anyone’s suggestions for today’s outfit. i tried and tried and made a big ol’ mess in my bedroom, but in the end i decided to go for a plain old jeans and t-shirt look. well, now i’m wearing a t-shirt, but i did wear the lace shell for a couple of hours and will probably put it back on when i go out tonight. but really, i just couldn’t help myself. i had to wear the new custom jeans i got from indidenim! they are exactly what i asked for: high rise skinnies with a 12″ leg opening and a slightly longer length. they fit like a glove. especially since i gained a few lbs while eating constantly during my long thanksgiving weekend. seriously. but those will drop off in a few more days anyway. and i’m not complaining. the food was delicious.

anyway, i actually went on a little field trip to the indidenim offices as part of a new feature i am going to be introducing to the blog. i’ve decided to start a series in which i go on various field trips to local small and independent businesses that i love (vintage shops, boutiques, etc), take a few behind-the-scenes shots, and report back to my blog to tell you all about it. it will include video. think of it like mister rogers’ neighborhood when he went on tours of factories, except i’ll be showing you how to pick a custom pair of jeans instead of how crayons are made. more on that very soon.

but in the meantime, i will be trying some new outfits with the suggestions and ideas you gave me. i might even wear leggings. who knows? such mystery, such intrigue…

wearing:
cashmere cardigan, j.crew
vintage lace shell, estate sale
custom made high rise skinny jeans, indidenim
platform ankle boots, payless
vintage coach purse, thrifted

mi familia pt. 2


jose perez and family

thank you so much for the overwhelmingly positive response i got from my first post of old family portraits. i didn’t think a whole lot about it at first, but after posting them i felt very good about contributing my teeny tiny bit of history to the public archive. i don’t know if i’ve ever really seen such old photographs representing mexicans in america from that long ago besides the ones i’ve found in boxes in my grandmother’s closet, so i’m very glad to share them, and i do have more!

i especially appreciated hearing from threadbared and fashion for writers, who were both very happy to see representation of people of color in vintage photographs and are both going to be posting some of their own vintage family photos on their blogs soon. very cool!

anyway, for my next installation i’ve decided to post some more casual shots. the portraits i posted in my last post were very old, from as early as the 1910’s, so i imagine it was a much more eventful thing to get your picture taken. they got dressed up in their best clothes and patiently stood in front of the camera with an expressionless gaze. as time moved on, cameras became more commonplace so we start to see more relaxed shots. i particularly like these because those are just the types of dresses i love to find at estate sales!


lorenza elizondo roque (my great-grandmother) and family


mary elizondo espino


lorenza elizondo roque


lorenza elizondo roque

calivintage on glamour.com

wheee! you guys? i don’t know if this is just too much shameless self-promotion, but i just get so excited when i get featured on style sites. yesterday i discovered that i was the subject of a glamour.com feature about how to “fake” your new winter boots. i was so flattered reading the super cute article! you should definitely go check it out and tell me what you think.

and why not throw in the original picture in full-size just for kicks? also, a lot of people were concerned about how well the socks stay up. the sheer tights hold them in place because the two different knits sorta stick together. but that’s just my experience! anyway, i really think i’m going to need to try another variation on this outfit very soon. perhaps today, who knows?

wearing:
j. crew wool blazer, ebay
ruffle blouse, j.crew
vintage levi’s cut off shorts, thrifted
sheer stockings, drug store
over-the-knee socks, drug store
blimey platform oxfords, seychelles
vintage dooney and bourke purse, thrifted