Sadly it is Monday, (again?!) but happily it is also Mad Men Monday!  I will continue to post Mad Men inspired posts from both vintage and new shops for the rest of the season.  Last week I highlighted that cute little pink tweed number and this week I have an amazing vintage vendor to highlight.  When it comes to sourcing clothing for posts, I have found twitter to be such an amazing tool. For example I found the lovely @nodtomodvintage via another twitter peeps #Follow Friday and this brown dress won me over.

The blue dress might be pulling a little more mid-sixties, but it’s so stinkin’ cute I couldn’t not include it.  Please let me know if you have an inclusions for upcoming Mad Men Mondays.  I am really enjoying these.  Oh and last week I rocked a very Peggy dress to work to celebrate the first Budget Retro Mad Men Monday.  I will post it next week and take a vote on if you think it is work appropriate or if I look like a 10 year old. ha!

I love the shear top and the beautiful pleating and this is the perfect length to avoid weird looking calves.  My only thought is that this beautiful model is actually too thin to show the true lines of this wiggle dress, so if you have some curves show them off with this dress.

The collar and cuffs drew me in on this one and this color blue is my favorite color.  I love deep royal blue on brunette’s, it’s very complementary. Both dresses are from NodtoModvintage on Etsy.  Click the images to check out the store.

Okay, that has to be my lamest header to date?  It is just so early…I am not thinking straight.  Please offer me a pardon on this one.  Well in all fairness Victoria has been flashing her goods about town for years now, but for the most part her and I never mingled in the same crowd.  Sure I might have visited her Pied-à-terre a few times to get a fancy fix, but I just don’t really speak the language.  Maybe it is all the PINK gear with letters on the bum?  Well somehow, Victoria got wind of my apprehension and went and sent me an unsolicited catalog.  My husband actually made fun of me when it arrived with a “seriously?”  ha!  I thought I would give it a quick little glance, I mean you already know I have a hard time resisting any type of glossy pictures and I must say I was a little shocked with what I found.  They actually had some cute stuff. Like really cute stuff.  Stuff “WE” would wear.

I decided to log-on to the site an…Wow! their shoes are pretty stinkin’ fabulous.  One pair in particular caught my eye for both looks and affordability.  Then the very next day I saw them posted on Pretty Bourgeois and I knew I was not the only one picking up what Victoria (and Colin Stuart) were putting down.  Spectator’s for work and play are my all-time favorite. With no further ado I give you some fall loveliness.

SIDEBAR:  I am still searching for black flat spectators (in womens or childrens size) to wear to work.

In addition to all the tips I offer to purchase cute and affordable clothing, I really feel like I should offer up tips on preserving and taking care of the clothes and shoes you already have. People like lists right?  Short, easy to read snippets of information,  easy to suggest?  Well here you go:

1. Remove discoloration/yellowing from vintage clothes that have been sitting too long (or just plain dingy whites) with BIZ.  BIZ is an enzyme cleaner and it works miracles–I use it for just about everything including wine stains and  oil.
2. Hand wash dry clean only clothes with a mild castile soap.  I have recently started to hand wash all of my cashmere because the regular dry cleaning was too harsh.
3. Reinforce seams on blouses that are fragile. If you are nervous to do it yourself, take it to a tailor/seamstress. I would rather spend $20 to keep a unique vintage piece alive than put that towards a cookie cutter top.
4. I like to use multiple lint and fuzzball removing tools to keep things looking new.  I have the lint brush that works like Velcro, the tape version in small and large, and the electric version (I even have a back-up in case it dies)
5. Purchase a steamer. This investment is crucial for any gal with vintage goods.  The steamer provides several functions, it sanitizes, (especially those vintage things you are scared to wash for fear they might disintegrate!) it cuts wrinkles and it can also remove odors.
6. My favorite “budget” thing to do is to buy a Forever 21 (or similar) bargain dress and then have it custom tailored to fit me perfectly.  This can make a so-so polyblend dress look like a high dollar purchase.  Last summer I bought a handful of $20-$30 dresses and spent between $15-20 per dress to have them tailored—it was worth every penny.
7. Visit the cobbler! I don’t think enough young gals utilize the cobbler, which is just insane.  The cobbler can be used for preventative care—i.e. buying affordable Target shoes and then having rubber soles added before you begin wearing them so the shoes last longer.  The cobbler has also given continued life to 2 pairs of boots that I refuse to let die.  I spend about $25 a year (a piece) to keep these boots soled, polished and heeled which may seem odd, but to replace them would be $150 a piece. Never under estimate the power of a little TLC and polish! (Same guys for suede, don’t be scared to use a suede brush to perk them up.)

I have been toying with the idea of featuring a Mad Men inspired outfit every Monday while this season is airing.  Thoughts?  It might be fun to include both new and vintage ideas.  I won’t task myself with finding replicas of cast outfits, but just cute late 50’s to early 60’s looks to pay homage to the only show that gets me excited to watch tv.

SIDEBAR: I had a lovely, lovely weekend filled with long overdue cleaning, mending, shopping, reading and pampering.  The hubby was working so I got caught up on a little “me” time.  I was just about over the edge on Friday, so take note that I am now a sane, happy girl.

Now back to the post at hand, Mad Men Monday.  As I went back and re-read my lovely September issue magazines this weekend I re-assessed my dog-eared articles and found a super cute ad in Lucky Magazine for Kmart.  Kmart has been a little behind the bar with their clothing and it was refreshing to see them out with clothes that a grown gal might actually wear. I went to the site today and they have also made huge improvements to the online shopping experience too! (The navigation is still a little sketchy, but leaps and bounds from where they were.)

The outfit that caught my eye is this retro pink number.  I love the 3/4 sleeves, the texture of the tweed and the well-placed asymmetrical button.  Oh and the ruby red mary jane’s—sign me up!
I would probably go for an ivory blouse under this, with my pearl stud earrings to soften all the pink.   This entire get-up is under $80!!! I think this would probably be more of a Peggy outfit.

TGI-Freakin’-F!  I don’t know if I have ever wanted a Friday so bad in my life.  And on top of it being Friday, it is also my work summer party.  Now I think it is more of a casual affair, but I am dreaming that it is a more formal event.  I  have chosen some affordable summer finds to attend the party in my head.  I will probably have jeans and tennies for the real life shin-dig. This set is from ModCloth.  They make me want to eat a popsicle or some cotton candy while walking down a sunny pier!

*This line-up was supposed to to have 6 dresses…but the image editing process just threw me over the edge!  Again…TGIF!

And by succa I mean succulent, obviously!  These fine little plants have all but won me over recently.  I was overly confident in my green thumb until I moved into this apartment and managed to kill my first few attempts at a home garden.  It is still unknown what I did to harm the little fella’s, but it was a pretty fast death, so little suffering occurred.

The death prompted me to take a little trip to start over. I can’t remember the last time I went out with the sole purpose of purchasing plants, but I was happily surprised by all the varieties.  My mom and my uncle Gary are fabulous gardener’s, so I have always been around plants…but I guess I wasn’t not paying enough attention.  My mom had suggested succulents when I complained about killing my first lot–she stated that they needed very little attention, but then I thought that I might like something a little more needy.  Why should I want a plant that doesn’t want me?  ha!  I have decided to think of my jade and aloe plants as stubborn and independent…just like me!

I found a gal on Etsy that sells a lot of varieties.  I especially like this little nobby fella to the right.  Her store is appropriately named Succulents Galore.  I also decided to find some fun planters of the vintage and unique variety.

The terrarium is just stunning (and this seller knows how to stage photos!), Milk glass is what I used for my wedding and still my FAVORITE, and then the crying baby needs no explanation.  Imagine some spikey aloe coming out of his head.

*all items are very budget friendly!

Have you ever met someone and instantly liked everything about them?  I like to think that I have been blessed with a great skill for discernment or as my family calls it, my “spidey” sense.  I am drawn to quality peeps, and Shanda McCloskey is one of them.  I met Shanda last year when I worked with her husband (the uber smart, Ben).  I had obviously heard a lot about Shanda as our office was small and open, and Ben sat within spitting distance of me (not kidding) but when we actually got to hang out I was captivated by her genuine sweetness.  She is just one of those people you want to hug for no reason at all.

Now I could very easily continue on with her dazzling attributes (including her Georgia drawl) but my goal for this post was to actually talk about her talent as an artist.  Shanda is an illustrator and she specializes in children’s illustration.

Clicking through her site gave me vivid flashbacks to Mrs. Passino’s class in 3rd grade reading James and The Giant Peach.  Childhood is all about imagery and Shanda is offering the images that could make even the simplest of tales come to life.  I picked a few of my favorites to showcase.  I used to love finding characters that looked like me as a child and her site just puts a big smile on my face as I see what she is offering to a new generation of dreamers.

Now, I obviously had to find a fun vintage tie-in to this tale.  Beyond her children’s illustration she also supplies art work for albums.  Her work on Zach Williams’ album cover for Story Time is very Hardy Boys and very adorable. I love the coloring!  And by the by, have you heard Zach’s album?  If not, it is available on iTunes right this very second! (you can also go to his site and get a little sample…perfect summer music).

I hate starting conversations with an apology–it feels either really desperate or really guilty–I think I am both, so  I need to apologize for my absence.  I haven’t created new content for the blog for a week!  The only way I got any posts done last week was because I did a marathon night of pulling content together.  I was in the lovely NYC for a short and sweet tour with my client and then I was off to Ohio for the weekend to see family and drop the little man off for the school year.  It was very sad to not make waffles this a.m. or hear a sweet little “Good Morning, Kendra.”

I am going to try to get caught up on life in general this week and hopefully have some great posts for you.  There has been loads of Mad Men chatter, but please don’t spoil anything for me–I was in a car last night and missed the premiere.  oy!

“A Matryoshka doll or a Russian nested doll (often incorrectly referred to as a Babushka doll – babushka means “grandmother” in Russian), is a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other. “Matryoshka” (Матрёшка) is a derivative of the Russian female first name “Matryona”, which was a very popular name among peasants in old Russia. The name “Matryona” in turn is related to the Latin root “mater” and means “mother”, so the name is closely connected with motherhood and in turn the doll has come to symbolize fertility.” Stated by Wikipedia.

Now this particular version does not offer any little mini’s inside, but what it does offer is a darling little sewing kit.  Which seems to coincide with the motherly roots of the name. This is a perfect purse or desk companion.  How many times have you had a button fall off, or a skirt rip?  Maybe I am abnormal, but I would say at least once a week I (or someone in my general cube area) have a minor trauma that could do with a little touch-up.

If this were half sewing kit/half first aid kit it would make my Christmas gold list!

I will say that one thing that is evolving out of this recession is stinkin’ cute clothes for reasonable prices.  I have loved “most” of the Target designer collections to date, sadly I could not pull off anything from Alexander McQueen’s line but Proenza Schouler and Erin Fetherston were just right!  Now we are graced with Anna Sui!  Can you believe it?  *sigh* I am posting a few of the favorites here, but I think I will actually be up crazy early the day they go on sale(Sept. 13th) to snatch a few of these girls up!

*Just a side note: I am traveling for work this week so I may miss a post or two.