since loulou loves you recently came out with a set of pretty floral headbands, i’ve been dying to get my hands on one! and while i know she would highly recommend that you go pick one up from her shop, my budget isn’t allowing me to do so at this moment. so i think i might have to go out and do the next best thing and do it myself! so i went back through my archives and plucked a few of my favorite images of girls with flowers in their hair as inspiration for a little project. all you’d need are a few supplies from a local craft shop: wire, florists tape, and an assortment of synthetic flowers. easier said than done, i know! so while i’m trying to turn thought into actions, i’ll admire these lovely photos.

anna karina, loulou in one of her creations, pandora, alexanne, from the film sedmikrasky (i highly recommend!), kelly shoestrings.

as a little follow up to yesterday’s post about vintage inspired swimwear, i thought i’d share some of the images i’ve been collecting over the past several months of the perfect round sunnies. once again, the sun refuses to come out and play, so i’ve had to seek refuge indoors, in front of the computer screen waiting for summer and planning out all the outfits i’d wear if the weather was warm and sunny. sounds like someone needs a vacation!

above: mr. newton, turned out, vintage photograph by andre zucca, the sf style, lulila.
below: vintage photograph (correct me on the source if you can), cafe mode, chic muse.

with all of the gloomy weather we’ve been having this spring, it’s hard to imagine that summer is right around the corner! but looking at photos of awesome vintage swimwear and browsing for vintage inspired suits is certainly getting me in the mood! i’m sure some of you have seen these vintage photos before, but for those of you who haven’t, they’re all by the photographer nina leen for life magazine in the 1950’s. i recently found them via my vintage vogue.

above: summer nostalgic bikini and natalie one piece

above: basketweave print bikini and polka dot v-neck one piece

above: beach blanket bingo two piece and beach blanket bingo one piece

mr. newton: paris in the spring
ok, so i don’t have legs for days, but this outfit is still seriously tempting me to get some teeny tiny pastel shorts to prance around in when the weather gets warm. wait. it should be warm right now! what is up with the weather, dude?!

loulou loves you:magic garden, flowers for you
gah! this week lou lou of loulou loves you came out with her collection of one-off floral headbands, and she styled up this pretty outfit to give us a peek. not only do i want every single headband, but i die a million deaths thinking about how amazing that dress is. this summer will be the summer that i find the perfect lace dress!

stay fancy free: what we got up to
ok, don’t you want these two lovely ladies to show up on your doorstep and take you out for a night on the town? i don’t even have to break down all the reasons why they look all kinds of awesome. i just want to go out for a beer with them!

radar zine: daily
i kinda cheated on this one. it wasn’t from this past week, but it just came round my tumblr dashboard thanks to darling days this week and i just really love the way her hair matches her coat and she has the coolest pair of white tights! want.

hanneli mustaparta: cream on white
indeed, this simple combo of cream on white is something i’ve been meaning to try for ages. they’re two colors i never think to put together, but they really are quite nice side by side. oh, and her awesome cape, sunglasses, and confident strut are definitely helping.

from top left, miss ukon spring 2010 lookbook, the clothes horse, vintage photograph (i will give you a cookie if you can find me the source!), style bubble, and cocorosa.

after writing a post about wallet searching a couple weeks ago, i got to thinking about my ideal handbag. i tend to go for pieces that are uncomplicated, simple in design, high quality, and practical. the only problem is that they don’t tend to come cheap! my solution to this problem is still the one that i recommend the most: vintage! my absolute favorite purses are vintage coach because they are made with super thick, high quality leather. i mean, they’ve already lasted this long… and they pop up in thrift shops all of the time for really affordable prices. i have a solid collection that i’ve been building up over the past several years, and while many of them are starting to look a little worse for the wear, i discovered that they can easily be refurbished with a bit of leather dye, as demonstrated by little ocean annie.

so while i know i’ll continue buying my favorite vintage purses, i can’t help but notice that there are some pretty awesome handbags with the same promise as my old standbys. they clock in at a bit of a higher price, but they’re not going to set you back nearly as much as your typical “it bags.” so after a lot of searching, i’ve whittled it down to my top 4 picks (in no particular order) for simple, practical, and high quality handbags:

clare vivier messenger tote: the most notable aspect of this bag, besides it’s clean and simple design, is that it is made of reclaimed leather! it’s the next best thing to thrifting a handbag, only without all of the tireless hunting. when this style is available in brown, i think i just might have to make an investment!

cambridge satchel: made of a thick and sturdy leather, you know that this baby will take at least a year of wear and tear before the leather begins to soften. then once you’ve broken it in, you know it will last for years more to come.

foley + corrina mid city tote: i have always been drawn to this twofer tote! i like that you can carry it with the shoulder strap as a purse, but that it unfolds to become a larger tote with handles if you decide to fill it up with a few goodies on a shopping expedition.

radley london grosvenor: their spring lookbook caught my eye when it featured these lovely bags being worn by equally lovely ladies riding around on pashley bikes. once i was drawn in, i recognized that this satchel style purse is actually quite nice! all of the pockets and compartments are certainly convenient for storing all sorts of little accoutrements.