Fashionable Face: Alison Sudol

Do you recognize this lovely redhead? You should! She's none other than Alison Sudol of A Fine Frenzy.

I don't remember how I discovered Alison's music, but, one day in 2007, I realized I had been frequenting her myspace multiple times a day for weeks. So I ordered her album, One Cell in the Sea, and was hooked. And like any good friend, I got all my besties hooked as well!

Alison is known for her ballads (especially those reminiscing past relationships - what could have been, what she's glad is gone, how to move on, etc.), but her latest album has a good mixture of upbeat and slow numbers. If you're new to her music, I recommend any of it! But for a quick taste, listen to the following:
"Almost Lover"
"Near to You"
"What I Wouldn't Do"
"Swan Song"

Beyond her beautiful tunes, she has incredible style. In many ways, I feel like we should be style sisters. 

We both love...
* Vintage outerwear, hats, and scarves
* Mustard yellow
* Long hair
* Pretty dresses
* Feminine, delicate details (lace accents, high waists, and floral prints)

Alison often looks like she stepped out of another era but was slightly modernized, leaving her completely current yet unique at the same time. Now that's difficult to pull off! I feel like that's how vintage lovers should be though. It's not necessarily about being a complete "replica" of an era - it's about making it work for the here-and-now, mixing modern and vintage creatively. Does that make sense?

xoxo,
Sarah

Check out this cute stop-motion video of Alison!

Asian Market

I was out and about town this afternoon, so I decided to have my sister snap a few pictures of my outfit. We were out with my mommy looking for very specific items for making Asian cuisine, so I have some "scenic" pictures of the marketplace throughout my post. Enjoy!

We finished off the day with some boba tea (technically, mine was a boba smoothie). It's always such a delicious treat. I was drinking it so fast that I kept getting a brain freeze!

What I Wore:
* Plaid Shirt - under $25 - Forever 21
* Jeggings - under $25 - Pac Sun
* Trench Coat - under $35 - Old Navy
* Vintage Purse - FREE - my grandma's closet
* Tall Boots (my latest obsession!) - $50 - local boutique
* Braided Headband - $2 - Claire's

In other news, I've decided that I should start wearing lipgloss and/or lipstick again. Typically, I just prefer my Burt's Bees lip balm, but I need more color going on. I'm feeling bright pink or dark red for some reason...

xoxo,
Sarah

P.S. My friend Travis just reintroduced me to Gavin DeGraw, and I'm loving the song "Dancing Shoes" from his newest album Free. Take a listen!

The Brooklyn Bunch

Top: Ingrid Michaelson, Greg Laswell, Jenny Owen Youngs, Bess Rogers; Middle: Lauren Zettler, Rosi Golan, Ian Axel, Katie Costello; Bottom: Peter Bradley Adams, Allie Moss, Allison Weiss, Greg Holden

There is an ever-growing number of indie artists based out of Brooklyn, and I am a huge fan. After seeing many of them together in various concerts and videos, I've noticed that they are more than individual artists. Many of them are really good friends, and, depending on who is headlining, you might even catch a few backing during another's tour. It's really cool to see that kind of community among artists. 

Not long after discovering this cool little community from Brooklyn, my bestie and I decided to dub them "The Brooklyn Bunch." For us, it all started with Ingrid Michaelson's tour last year. We had heard that Bess Rogers and Allie Moss were backing, but we didn't know anything about who was opening. And then we met him, Greg Holden...it was love at first word! Yes, his charming British accent got me, but his music drew me in because of its honest lyrics and beautiful melodies. Not surprisingly, I snagged his EP at the concert and looked him up on myspace, where I later discovered even more artists like Ian Axel and Rosi Golan. 

Since my blog has been dry on the musical inspiration lately, I'm sharing a playlist with my current faves from The Brooklyn Bunch (click the link for my mix on iTunes). Enjoy!

And check out this awesome cover of Go West's "King of Wishful Thinking" by Lauren Zettler and friends. It's always been one of my favorite songs, and I love what this group did with it!



Oh! And since this is a FASHION blog, I can't end without commenting on the style of The Brooklyn Bunch. In general, their looks are carefree, relaxed, and thrifty.  The girls wear vintage boots, skinny jeans, and basic tees or blouses, paired with knitted scarves and hats. And the boys rock shaggy hair, plaid shirts, and dark-rimmed glasses. These looks definitely work for them!

xoxo,
Sarah

Concert Fashion

A while back, my besties and I went to a concert featuring Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. I have to admit that I was only slightly familiar with Grace, but I left the concert inspired and blown away by her powerful pipes. Just listen!



Yes, I definitely recommend giving Grace a listen, but let's get down to concert fashion real quick...

As every fashionista knows, musician or not, a concert is not a concert without the perfect outfit. I've always thought it important to think about the concert venue and music genre before going.  For example, when attending folk concerts, I usually dress in vintage-inspired prints with moccasins or my mom's cowboy boots from the 80s. That same outfit wouldn't feel quite right for a punk rock concert--I'd prefer an edgy vest and screen tee.

Anyway, since the venue for Grace Potter was pretty casual (standing room only), and I didn't know her genre too well yet, I decided to wear something comfortable and typical "me-during-FALL." So I threw together a look with one of my favorite shirts and signature skinny jeans:

What I Wore:
* Plaid Button-Down Tunic - under $20 - Forever 21
* Gray Skinny Jeans - under $25 - Pacific Sunwear
* Slouchy Boots - $8 - Ross
* Vintage Purse - FREE - my grandma's closet
* Vintage Coin Necklace - FREE - my grandma's closet

xoxo,
Sarah

P.S. Hope you enjoyed some new scenery in my photos today!

Oh, and you might notice that I have a hairband around my wrist. That totally reminds me of a post one of my fave bloggers, Brittan from What She Should Have Worn, wrote recently. Check it out: Hairbands are NOT bracelets

Red, Black, & Gray

Have you ever wondered what my style is like at work? Today is your lucky day!

Now I wouldn't say that I wear red, black, and gray on a daily basis, but I have been a color repeater the last couple days without even realizing it. Mostly, I think I am just obsessed with my red cardi because I only wore a few of the other items twice. However, I still managed to come up with an outfit showing off the same flavor. You'll even notice gold accents in both.

Outfit #1

What I Wore:
* Gray Dress with Black Belt - $18 - Ross
* Long Red Cardi - under $15 - New York & Company (SALE!)
* Black Tights - FREE - my grandma's closet
* Vintage Purse - FREE - my grandma's closet
* Black Flats with Gold Buckles - under $15 - Ross
* Skinny Black Headband - under $4 - ULTA

Outfit #2

What I Wore:
* Black Shirt with Peter Pan Collar - under $20 - Dillard's
* Gray Pencil Skirt - $20 - Target
* Long Red Cardi - under $15 - New York & Company
* Vintage Belt with Gold Buckle - under $1 - thrifted
* Black Dotted Tights - about $5 - Target
* Black Oxfords - under $15 - going out of business shoe sale 
* Vintage Purse - FREE - my grandma's closet
* Black Skinny Headband - under $4 - ULTA

Which outfit is your fave?

xoxo,
Sarah

FALL is in the air!

Happy fall everyone! Isn't it the most WONDERFUL time of year? I certainly think it is - especially now that the air has that cool crispness about it, and I can finally pull out my collection of boots, outerwear, scarves, and hats.

Boots won't be leaving my feet for another six months, and I'll probably add a pair or two along the way. With winter just around the corner, I'll continue my search for this year's perfect coat, even though outerwear is always on my radar despite the season. I never grow tired of discovering yet another gorgeous coat.

I am also ready to bring out my scarves, even debut a few new ones. Thanks to my mommy and our de-cluttering extravaganza over Labor Day, I have an even larger collection of vintage scarves. It's great when you know the origin of your vintage - I love that my grandmothers and mother wore many of the things I rock around town now.

Oh, and I've decided that I want to wear hats more often in the coming months. Growing up, I was quite the little hat girl, but I moved on at some point I guess? Anyway, since I recently became reacquainted with my lovely red beret and hunter green cloche (both WAITING for a day out), I'm ready to become a hat-wearer once again.

As you can probably tell, I'm excited about fall and am enjoying it thoroughly!
I've already started layering my clothes...

Foundational outfit - dress, skinnies, and boots

Adding my accessories - scarf and purse

Closer view of that scarf - thank you Anthropologie NYC!

Got my trench, and I'm ready to go!

What I Wore:
* Floral Dress - $17.80 - Forever 21
* Gray Skinny Jeans - $25 - Pac Sun
* Ruched Scarf - $30 - Anthropologie
* Leaf Earrings - $4.80 - Forever 21
* Trench - Old Navy (don't remember price - had it for years)
* Gray Boots - $8 - Ross
* Vintage Purse - FREE - my grandma's closet

Hair:
* I twisted my hair into a loose side bun and secured it with two decorative hair slides (from Anthropologie). Thick slides, like these, work best.

xoxo,
Sarah

In other news, Mumford & Sons is my new favorite band.

A lovely Saturday afternoon

Apart from it being a little toasty outside, this past weekend was really fun! On Saturday, I visited my little sister (as in younger). We ran around town doing some of our favorite things:
* Tried local dining - Bacon cheeseburgers (3 bucks!) and fountain drinks
* Got snow cones - Cherry & cream is my fave flavor! <3
* Breezed through some thrift stores
* Talked, talked, and talked - What are sisters for?


Anyway, my lovely sister snapped a few photos of my outfit while we were out exploring. Enjoy!

What I Wore:
* Striped tunic/dress - $15 - Forever 21
* Jeggings - $22 - Pac Sun
* Vintage belt - FREE - my grandma's closet
* Moccasins - $15 - made by me from a kit (bought locally)
* Vintage purse - FREE - my grandma's closet
* Leaf earrings - $4.80 - Forever 21
* Sunglasses - $5 - local boutique

Here's a better shot of my earrings from a photo booth session with my macbook (haha). I wear these almost every day right now...in anticipation of fall weather. Just get here already!

xoxo,
Sarah