outfit: seeing double

calivintage + hackwith design house hdh basics plus

it’s been a little while, but my sister erica is finally making another appearance on the blog! it took a bit of coercing on my part, but i was really excited to do this shoot with her to talk about hackwith design housethey recently updated their hdh basics line to include even more of their classic styles in a larger range of sizes from xs to 4x. a common complaint that my sister has is that plus sized clothing offerings aren’t the same as the cute stuff you find in straight sizes. i know it’s not easy, but if more brands would hire multiple fit models, they could scale their sizing up or down to fit a broader range of people, so that everyone can enjoy the same garments instead of being relegated to only one section of a shop.

case in point: we were both able to get this easy wide leg jumper and be twinsies haha. no, we don’t match like this every day, but it is great that no matter who asks us where we got our jumpsuit, we know that they can go online and find it in their size. and that’s exactly how it should be!

i’m wearing: hackwith design house wide leg jumper, vintage blouse, vintage handbag, maryam nassir zadeh sophie sandals, steven alan bryce sunglasses in peach crystal

erica is wearing: hackwith design house wide leg jumpereasy kimono in white, pons avarcas, clare v. petite kenya bagg-star raw caramel crystalline sunglasses

calivintage + hackwith design house hdh basics plus
calivintage + hackwith design house hdh basics plus
calivintage + hackwith design house hdh basics plus
calivintage + hackwith design house hdh basics plus

an ode to vintage flax

calivintage - vintage flax

i’m not sure if you follow our vintage shop on instagram, but if you do, then you know how much we love vintage flax brand. whenever i go out thrifting, i pay close attention to the textures of the fabrics to try and pluck out anything made of cotton, linen, silk, or wool. and whenever i find something by flax or eileen fisher or brynn walker or any one of those brands, i always do a little happy dance. i especially like the ’90s silhouettes. they often come in matching pant sets or as oversized jackets. dresses are harder to find, but occasionally i score something really amazing like this beautiful rust colored linen duster dress. it has a sort of artsy vibe to it, the type of clothing our mothers wore when we were kids that seemed way too grown-up while we were going through our doc martin and baby tee phase, but that is so perfectly nostalgic now that we’re older. the other thing i love about a lot of these brands is that they tend to be oversized and able to fit a wide variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate our ever-changing bodies. i’ve gone through two pregnancies in the past several years, so i really appreciate being able to find clothing that is not only beautiful, but that is forgiving enough to be worn no matter where my body is in the process. we all have our ideal goals in mind, but that doesn’t mean we should wait until we look exactly the way we think we should in order to wear beautiful clothes. flax has generous sizing for the plus sized woman and a petite size for smaller gals.

and let’s not forget the most delightful thing about flax: the positive affirmations on the labels! i just looked through my closet and found two labels that read–in all caps, “UTOPIA IS A STATE OF MIND” and “I APPRECIATE MYSELF SINCERELY I LOVE MYSELF AND EVERYONE DEARLY” they always give me a good chuckle. the brand is actually still around, but sadly, they no longer feature these fun labels. i think we should petition them to re-release a collection of some of their ’90s styles and to bring back the labels! perhaps we’ll have to do a flax + calivintage collaboration!! i kid, i kid.

erica is wearing:
vintage flax brand duster dress
swedish hasbeens peep toe high

calivintage - vintage flax
calivintage - vintage flax
calivintage - vintage flax
calivintage - vintage flax