Put A Bow On It

Vintage Top via Laced with Romance, Vintage Skirt via Pre to Post Modern, Chinese Laundry Platforms, Earrings via Maya Star

Photos by Chelsea Laine Francis

This is what I wore to the Pieceology Vintage pop-up at Byron & Blue in East Austin this past Saturday. I was going for a 1970s boss babe look and I have to say, I think I nailed it. If I were alive back in the 70s I'd have definitely been kicking butt and taking names in this outfit.

As much as I love this look, can you believe I almost didn't even buy the top? I wasn't sure if I'd really be able to pair it with anything, but I took the chance because of how well it fit me and I'm SO glad I did. I've actually already styled it several different ways like with this denim skirt and also with a pair of cropped jeans and some wide-legged floral pants. I love the late 60s, early 70s sort of iconic collar, and of course the bow tie which was the biggest selling point for me. And how could I not pair it with these 70s inspired platform wedges? The perfect combo IMO and although the top + skirt + platforms combo is fantastic, it's also a bit... neutral, so I went out and bought these bright pink tassel earrings to give the look a fun pop of color. I'm so happy with the way it turned out and the pop-up was a lot of fun, too + I was super grateful Chelsea came out and captured all the excitement. What better way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon in Austin, TX?!

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Gold

H&M Top, Zara Skirt & Heels, Cleobella Bag (similar), Storie in Italy Necklace

Photos by Chelsea Laine Francis

Lately I've been loving on all things sparkly and shiny. I bought this pair of heels and this gold skirt at the same time, both from Zara. I've been trying to incorporate more color into my wardrobe this year and these two purchases were a small step in that direction.

I'm also planning on wearing this skirt with a really bright, fun crop top to a big SXSW event I'm vending for Pieceology Vintage tomorrow! Yep, I'll be at Swan Dive here in Austin tomorrow from 12-6pm for The Wild Honey Pie showcase. I've been a huge fan and attendee of this event for a long time and am so excited to be a part of it this time around. I'll have all my vintage goodies there plus there will be tons of great music, some rad giveaways, and free drinks! If you'll be in town come hang out! You can RSVP here.

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Pups + Pieceology Vintage + Pop-Up Markets

Full looks via Pieceology Vintage
On Leah: Trench Coat, Plaid Midi Skirt; On me: Plaid Midi Skirt

Photography: Chelsea Laine Francis
Models: Leah Fleischner + April Onebane
Styling: April Onebane (Hey, that's me!)
Location: The Paper + Craft Pantry

I've been wanting to post these photos for a while but hadn't got the chance to do it. Let me tell you the story of how this adorable shoot came to be.

My friend Leah has modeled for Pieceology Vintage several times. She's the best. And for our last shoot together I ask her to bring her sweet pup Yogi along to take some photos with. But then, once we met up I realized I had two vintage plaid midi skirts, one my size and one Leah's size. I started envisioning how cute it would be if we both had a pup to take photos with together in the skirts... It happened to be raining that morning we were supposed to shoot so we went to a coffee shop to wait out the storm. While we were there we met a guy and his Corgi. I thought, "You know what? I'm just gonna ask him if we can borrow his dog for the shoot!" So, I did. And he agreed! That's how this sweet shoot was possible. Sometimes you just gotta ask for what you want! You may be surprised at the answers you receive.

Anyway, all these pieces are going to be available this Sunday during the Vintage Mini-Market at The Paper + Craft Pantry in Austin, TX from 12pm-5pm. I'll be there with three other awesome vintage vendors: Curious Prints, The Distillery Market and Love Ding. Sips will kindly be provided by Chameleon Cold Brew and Zilker Brewing Company. If you're local to Austin come hangout with us and shop all of our vintage goodies. BONUS!!! I'll be offering 25% off all jacket and coats + select sweater. Hope to see you there. Happy weekend, y'all!

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Pieceology Vintage + Moth Oddities: Across the Terrain

Across the Terrain | Pieceology Vintage + Moth Oddities Spring Lookbook 2016

Wardrobe + Styling: Pieceology Vintage + Moth Oddities
Photography: Moth Oddities
Models: Nico Flores + Divinity Veloz
Location: Austin, Texas

Here are a few shots from the Pieceology Vintage Spring 2016 lookbook, "Across the Terrain", in collaboration with my friends Moth Oddities. Yana and Ian are the co-founders of this online vintage shop based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Yana shot these awesome photos with a disposable camera she bought off eBay and I'm so in love I just had to share them here!

I met Yana and Ian through my friend Gina who I've talked about here on the blog before. Gina is a vintage buyer for PVTG and Moth Oddities and when I was visiting her in California in December Yana and Ian just happened to be passing through while on a big cross country road trip (follow their travels on Instagram @mothoddities with #mothtravels) so I was able to meet them. They told me they'd be hitting Austin at some point and I immediately asked if they wanted to stay with me and/or collaborate on something while they were in town. They obliged and here we are! They came in town a couple weeks ago and we put together this very badass, Texas-themed lookbook. It was so much fun + Yana and Ian are such nice people, not to mention they were extremely respectful guests during there stay at my house. I'm so grateful that I've had the opportunity to meet such awesome people through starting this little business of mine. It's pretty rad.

Anyway, the full lookbook launched today so go check it out on the PVTG site now! You can shop all the looks there as well and be sure to visit Moth Oddities web shop, too. They have some majorly swoon-worthy vintage, y'all!

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On The Move

Full Outfit via Pieceology Vintage, 1960s Weekender Suitcase via Ora Grace Vintage on Etsy

Photos by Chelsea Laine Francis

This suitcase. Stephanie brought a similar style when we went to Marfa and I just knew I needed one, too. So I took to Etsy over the Thanksgiving holiday and snagged one up. I later decided it'd be a great prop for Pieceology Vintage shoots and I think my instincts were right!

The intent with a lot of my shoots for the shop is to get photos of my clothes on real people to add to the website when I need to update it with new product. I was going to list this awesome 1990s canvas sport jacket and this circa 1970s green sweater skirt I purchased from Italy but I ended up selling them both over the weekend at my West Elm pop-up. Things could be worse, am I right?! Luckily Chelsea took a bunch of photos of other pieces as well so I still have lots of material to work with and there will be new vintage goodies on the site later this week. So stay tuned for that! And bonus, I just love this outfit, so instead of wasting these photos I decided to share them on the blog. Sold product and a cute outfit to post on the blog? That's a win-win in my book.

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New Series Intro: Mixing Vintage With Modern

Free People Coat (similar), Banana Republic Jeans, Interlaced Goods Blanket Scarf, Brixton Hat, Vintage Boots via Charm School Vintage

Since starting Pieceology Vintage I've realized a lot of people are afraid to wear vintage. I'm not really sure why that is, but through chatting with people about the subject I've come to gather that it might have to do with a bit of a stigma people have around vintage clothing. I get a lot of comments like:

"Oh, I can't pull off vintage."
"I don't know how to style vintage." 
"I'm not cool enough to wear vintage."
"I can't ever find vintage pieces in my size.
"If I find a piece that's my size it still doesn't fit well."
"Ew, old clothes, do they smell?"

I love that last one... yes, sometimes they smell, and that's why we have washing machines. But seriously, broaden your horizons people! Vintage is actually fun and I'm here to show you that anyone can wear it... and I know that's true, because I've personally styled many different body types, personalities, age groups, etc in vintage and they always look absolutely fabulous in it! What's more, you can wear "old" clothes with all those new clothes you already have in your closet.

In this series, my intent is to feature one vintage piece every couple weeks and incorporate it into my modern wardrobe styling it three different ways for three different occasions. All other pieces will be new. This is my little attempt at showing you that you CAN wear vintage and still look very cool, put together, current, and on trend (if that's what you're into). And there's one other thing. Each outfit, with the vintage element included, will truly allow you to feel unique in what you're wearing because, guess what? It's vintage and odds are pretty good that no one else will have it! Who doesn't want to feel unique in what they're wearing?!

I'll be starting this series next week so stay tuned for the first installment of Mixing Vintage with Modern! Until then, here are a few recent outfits where I wore one vintage item and all of the other pieces were modern.


Vintage Overall Dress


Vintage Denim Shorts

 
Vintage Boots

 
Vintage Top


Vintage Top


Vintage Poncho

 
Vintage Jumper

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