vintage outfit

Charcoal & Sienna

May 17, 2021 by The Partial Ingredients

When it comes to personal style, where do you get your color palettes for your outfit or closet? When I’m in need of some aspirational color goals, I usually turn to nature for guidance. This look was inspired by a recent early Spring hike in the canyon. This marled mini dress from TopShop (now sadly closed/absorbed by Asos) was a perfect addition for my neutral color scheme in my closet. Where I hiked in the canyon was just beginning to turn green due to recent rainstorms, and the reappearance of wildflowers added an injection of whites, purples and yellows to the landscape. The overall appearance of this landscape was mostly a mix of reds, blacks, greys and browns, hence the color scheme for this dress. The area I hiked was also home to a wildfire several years ago, and there’s still a lot of evidence of that in the landscape with the blackened trees on the hillsides. Yes, if you were wondering I am a total dork when it comes to colors.

Now back to the ‘fit: these vintage Bruno Valenti shoes add such a beautiful pop of color into any neutrals based ‘fit. Do you ever look back at your thrifting finds, and think how lucky you were to stumble across them? These simple lace-up booties look great with just about everything — from skinny jeans, to skirts, to dresses. They have been an A+ addition to my closet recently. Also love the added vintage vibes to every outfit without looking dated or “costumey.” That’s one thing I try to be aware of and actively avoid when shopping for anything vintage. Does it make you look like you’re an extra in a period movie? If the answer could possibly be ‘yes,’ avoid at all costs!! Or not, you know, whatever floats your boat, lol.

**Outfit Details:** Dress: TopShop; Tights: Target; Shoes: Bruno Valenti; Necklace: Vintage/thrifted; Bag: LeatherStrata

Vintage Reds

April 2, 2021 by The Partial Ingredients

I’ve been all about neutral tones lately, so it seemed fitting to mix things up and go with a little pop of color for early Spring! I have also been just a tad obsessed with shirt dresses, like this vintage Laura Ashley dress thrifted from Poshmark. Poshmark has such great vintage finds — gah! I want them all. >.< These lace-up Bruno Valenti shoes are also a vintage find from Poshmark, which have been featured in a couple of posts already because they go with so many looks. Maybe it’s me but I find shirt dress styles with a fit & flare shape to be the most flattering of all dress types. Gonna have to give a hard pass on all those trendy, shapeless “shift” dresses thank you very much! I’ve tried to make those work and have always failed, and you know what — I feel pretty okay about it. It’s more important to dress how YOU look best, not what the latest trend dictates. I also love how vintage dresses tend to offer a little more in length, unlike a lot of modern styles that are usually mini dresses. It is always a letdown when you find a dress you love buuut it’s so short that the only way to make it respectable is with tights or leggings, waaah. It’s just not that practical at least for the hotter Summer months.

On a related note, I also recently got in touch with the dance wear brand, “We Love Colors,” and they were generous enough to provide a sample of their tights. The ones I’m wearing in this post are their Microfiber Nylon/Lycra tights in Charcoal. It is a bit ironic that a brand called “We Love Colors” reached out to collab since I happen to be a neutral fanatic with an aversion to bright colors. So of course I chose their least bright color available, duh. But if you are a color fan, they have SO MANY options — and so vibrant too! Just check out their nifty guide of color options. But alas, I’m more of a black or charcoal gal myself with tights and leggings (which is perfectly fine because they have plenty of neutral options too). As for the product itself, I like the material of these tights. They seem to be made with a more durable material and are overall better made than other brands. Unlike most tights, which fall apart in like minutes it seems, these ones have held up! It’s also cool that this brand also makes most of their styles in men’s sizes as well. While I have more leggings than I know what to do with, I might try out their leggings next. If those work out I am officially sold on this brand! All styles are dyed in the United States, and are reasonably priced, so check them out if you’re looking for new tights, leggings or even workout/dancewear.

**Details**: Dress: Vintage, Laura Ashley; Boots: Vintage, Bruno Valenti; Tights: We Love Colors; Bag: Leather Strata (Etsy); necklace: Etsy

Charcoal & Plum

January 31, 2021 by The Partial Ingredients

It’s funny how fashion can transform something kitsch to vintage cool seemingly over night. Growing up in Small Town, Wisconsin during the 90’s, I saw A LOT of camo and some variety of these wolf t-shirts. It was basically the Wisconsin uniform unless it was hunting season — then you’d wear blaze orange whether you were actually hunting or not. Indeed, a full uniform of blaze orange at the grocery store was pretty normal from September to December. The hunters can keep that look but I am fully on board with incorporating these graphic tees into my wardrobe. I’m not even sure what you would call this style? I’m sure somebody has branded it somewhere — let me know in the comments what this style is!

The one I’m wearing from American Eagle is clearly inspired from vintage wolf t-shirts. However, if you’re not fond of wolves, you’re in luck because these t-shirts offer a menagerie to pick from. The ones I’ve seen most often (usually on Etsy) have some combination of eagles, bear, bison, or deer. Some are new and some are vintage on Etsy, so if you’re after the real thing check them out. While I do love the vintage ones, I thought the graphic on this wolf tee from American Eagle was really well done. I would call it more kitsch-inspired than full on if that makes sense. I think this one translates a little better to modern taste while still providing a bit of 90’s nostalgia.

Another vintage item featured in this look are these fantastic Italian leather lace-up shoes that I stumbled across on Poshmark recently. That app is such a great way to find vintage stuff during COVID, even though I do miss going into second hand stores. These arrived with some light scuffs so I polished them up with Lanolin, a byproduct from sheep’s wool. Lanolin is such an effective leather protector. If you’re looking for a natural leather protector and waterproofer for smooth leather (not suede), this is the product you want!

**Outfit Details:** Tee: American Eagle; Cardigan: Madewell; Jeans: AG Corduroy Jeans; Shoes: Bruno Valenti – Vintage

High-Low Summer // Demeter Fragrance Review

August 29, 2020 by The Partial Ingredients

It’s almost September and I’m feeling a bit ambivalent since I still have a bunch of Summer looks in the pipeline that I haven’t posted yet, waah. It seems to be always the way where Fall kind of catches up with me. That said, I am so excited to get going on all the Fall things which are just around the corner! It has thankfully cooled down a bit lately but the days still reach well into the mid-upper 80’s. For now, I’m still all about the Summer vibes with this vintage high-low asymmetrical midi dress. Also love the classic t-shirt and skirt combo — there’s just something timeless about it and will always look fresh. This combo is a must have for the toasty weather we’ve had all Summer, especially when you add a pair of comfy sandals to the mix, like these flats from Abercrombie. I also like to add a small belt with skirts to tie everything together. While I am looking forward to Fall looks, I want to try to make Summer last as long as possible!

In other news, I recently tried out a bunch of different Demeter Fragrances. I have to hand it to Demeter, they do a great job at recreating some of the more unique scents in life. They have a dizzying amount of varieties but I selected a few of the ones that I was most curious about. Another cool thing about Demeter are all the formats you can choose from. You can buy each fragrance in a variety of sizes, or as a body wash, diffuser oil, roll-on or even lotion! That’s pretty cool. An overall impression of these fragrances are that they simply don’t linger very long on the skin, but they will stay longer on fabrics. A quick rundown of the ones I tried, from left to right:

Laundromat: This one is spooky accurate. If you’ve ever been inside a commercial laundromat, there’s a heady, humid feeling of wet clothes, detergent and dryer smells that fill the air. I would say this scent captures the atmosphere of the laundromat, rather than fresh laundry if that makes sense. It has quickly turned into one of my favorites and I often use this one to freshen up clothing and bedding. 5/5

Tomato: I grew tomatoes in the garden this year and I love their unique, almost spicy smell. This perfume comes really, really close to mimicking that scent but I wish there was just a little bit more green and peppery vibes. I feel like this perfume evokes the leaves of the plant, rather than the fruit itself which is what I had hoped for. Unfortunately this one has the worst staying power out of the five which is a bummer. Overall, this perfume does convey that essential tomatoey-ness so I definitely recommend if you are also a Tomato fan. 4/5

Fuzzy Navel: This fragrance is one of their more popular scents and they threw this into my order for free which was thoughtful! It’s pretty hard to rate this one since I’m not really into gourmand or fruity fragrances, but it has a very fresh, watery peachy orange scent. I guess this one is meant to capture the alcoholic drink, but I don’t get much of the vodka thing from it. Leaving this unrated since fruity fragrances just aren’t my thing but I wouldn’t knock it either.

Linden: This one is also one of their more popular varieties and there’s good reason for it. Boy, do I love this one. I spray it on my pillow/PJs like every night so yep definitely a fanboy. This fragrance is hard to describe but it’s a little bit greenery, a little bit Summer sunshine with hints of Lily of the Valley. I honestly have no idea what actual Linden blossoms smell like, but this fragrance is absolutely gorgeous. I feel like this one sums up the height of Summer, and I bet I will love this one even more in January to remind myself of warmer and greener times. 5/5

Paperback: I had high hopes for this one and really wondered if they could nail the smell of a fresh paperback book. I pictured this to smell like dust and aged paper (think old book shop) but unfortunately all I got from this was ‘vanilla candle.’ Such a bummer! Maybe I’m missing something, but this fragrance bears no resemblance to a paperback for me. Argh, I am so bummed out by this. I don’t mind the vanilla scent per se, it was just not what I was expecting at all. 2/5