Saturday, May 12, 2012

Gracey and Friends Go to Prom


Last night I went to 80s prom at the McMennamin’s Kennedy School.  It was epic.  The band, RadicalRevolution, was fantastic.  They played everything from Bon Jovi to Journey to Def Leopard to Joan Jett.  I danced until I was sweaty and then just kept on dancing.

We’ll get to my oh-so-very-pretty prom pictures in a minute.  But, first, I want to share some pictures from the amazing and awesome bloggers that responded to my call for prom pictures of their own.

Are you ready?  Okay then, here we go.

Vivienne of Thrifted Shift

We’re going to start with the fabulous Vivienne of Thrifted Shift who was awesome enough to give me the idea for this post.  This photo is of the lovely Vivienne and her lovely date who, 10 years later, became her lovely husband.  Here they are at pre-prom dinner which is the same restaurant where they had their wedding reception:


Yes, that is the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard.



The year was 1998.  The date was then-boyfriend Andy.  The dress was a “lovely iridescent shimmery spaghetti strap sheath purchased from the Leggett Outlet Center.”  No, you can’t get your own; they are, sadly, no longer in the business of selling such gems.  The unseen shoes are glittery (!) pewter sandals from Nine West.  And the hairstyle was a neck-ache-inducing up-do that Marie Antoinette would have approved of. 

Please to enjoy:




The year was 2006.  The date was her brother’s best friend, Andrew.  The dress is a simple affair from City Triangle’s via Macy’s because for whatever reason, Mia didn’t want to look like a parade float.  (Don’t worry, there is plenty of parade float coming later on).  Mia was kind enough to grace us with not one, but two prom photos:

"...me and Andrew smiling awkwardly for the camera before we all left in the limo."

"...getting home at 2am, taking a picture in our horribly be-butterflied bathroom for my online friends."




The year was 1996 and Grace set out to prove that the 90s were just as sartorially awesome as the 80s.  To wit?  A “Blossom” hat and butterfly cleavage stickers.  Yes, it’s all kinds of good:




Ally didn’t go to prom in high school because she couldn’t go as she wanted.  However, now she can wear what she wants and she wanted to wear a flirty little strapless number.  The dress, which has glittery (!) blue flowers and a blue satin sash, is paired perfectly with a complimentary blue scarf, patent heels and major bling.  Me-ow:




Lynn was fabulous enough to also send two prom pictures.  For the first, the year was 1988 and Lynn rocked a bee-yoo-ti-ful blue floor length number with a velvet bodice, that she actually modeled in a prom fashion show:


In her 1989 look, Lynn takes dedication to 80s style to a whole other level.  The dress, handmade by her mother, is pink satin.  And the hair.  The hair was not permed; no, Lynn spent hours hand-curling her coif with a teeny, tiny curling iron.  Again, that’s dedication, folks:




The year was 1971 and we have another lovely handmade dress.  Terri’s was lavender Swiss dot and was complimented quite nicely by her date’s snazzy white blazer:




The year was 1995 and we have Molly and Dan attending prom in “Cache” and “Rented” respectively.  I personally have taken a magpie-level liking to Molly’s sequined dress and covet her satin shoes:



Last, but hopefully not least, are my photos from last night’s prom.

The year (in our heads) was 1985.  My date was Alex.  I wore a black and blue velvet and taffeta number.  Alex wore what is quite possibly the ugliest hand-painted, acid-washed jean jacket/dress ever.  We both wore a LOT of make-up and giant hair bows.  We were sooooo pretty last night, y'all:

Alex and I






We were joined at prom by some friends and family:

My little brother, J, and his wife.

My little sister and her boyfriend.

My little sister and brother and my brother's dead-squirrel mullet wig.

Seriously, I can't tell you all how much fun 80s Prom is.  If you ever get a chance to go, either here in Portland, or in your city, I suggest you do it.  It's brilliant and you can wear giant hair bows without anybody looking at you funny.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!  And a special thanks to everyone who shared there prom pictures with me!


Gracey

 

Friday, May 11, 2012

Gracey and the New Dress


Well, it’s not “new” new, it’s vintage, but it’s new to me and I adore it:



I got it last night while I was finishing up my 80s prom errands.  I thrifted it for $5.00 and popped it in the wash as soon as I got home so I could wear it today.

I love the delightfully psychedelic print and all the color.  Given both those attributes I could, and maybe even should, have gone with neutral accessories but it’s Friday and I’m giddy for prom tonight so I went with a bright pink belt (thrifted), green glass bangles (Ray’s Ragtime) and green drop earrings.  I did go with a neutral shoe (Jeffrey Campbell via Nordstrom), but then again I’m rocking neon pink toes.  Oh, well.  I gotta be me.

Speaking of neon, the lovely, talented, frankly awesome Wendy Brandes was kind enough to include me in her neon post for the Huffington Post.  Check it out, I’m all, like famous and stuff.

And that’s it for me today.  I’m leaving early for prom (!) but tomorrow I will be posting my photos and all the prom photos you all emailed to me.

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Have a wonderful weekend!  And Happy Mother’s Day!

Gracey

Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Unruly Undergarments


I think this blouse is so pretty, but I don’t love how it seems to be cut in a manner determined to show my bra strap:


Maybe my bra strap doesn’t want to be seen, Blouse.  Did you ever think of that? 

But wait… maybe it’s my bra strap’s fault.  Maybe my bra is the leader of an underground lingerie gang called The Unruly Undergarments whose motto is “Power to the Panties” and who worship 90s Madonna (obviously).  Maybe The Unruly Undergarments are tired of being behind the scenes and they used my poor blouse to further their agenda. 

Yeah.  I’d say that sounds about right.

Over the patsy of a blouse (Nordstrom) and the rebellious bra, I wore an embellished cardigan (Target).  I also wore cropped pants (Banana Republic) and added teal peep-toe flats (Target), a vintage turquoise bracelet (Ray’s Ragtime) and vintage lion earrings:


Happy Thursday, Everyone!  Power to the Panties!

Gracey

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

A Nod to Nautical


I was out yesterday and I completely missed the EBEW Nautical Challenge.  So, I decided to wear today what I would have worn yesterday if I hadn’t been off gallivanting:



Yep.  Sailboats.  Like Nora Bird I’m mildly obsessed with sailboat prints right now.  In my case because of a vintage skirt that I recently altered (I’ll wear it Friday, I think).  So, when I saw this blouse on “sail,” (See what I did there?  Hilarious) at Old Navy the other day, I knew I had to have it.

I paired my new sailboat blouse with my vintage man pants (thrifted), nude sandals (Banana Republic) and a few bracelets.  These pants still continue to make me very, very happy.  In fact, I even made up a song for them.  It’s called “Man Pants, Baby” and is sung to the tune of “Cat Scratch Fever.”

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!

Gracey

Monday, May 7, 2012

Floranimal and Pleats


I’m pretty much obsessed with this floranimal (floral & animal = floranimal) blouse:



I know it’s kitschy as all heck; but I’m pretty sure that’s why I like it.  That and because it lends itself to made up words, like floranimal.  Anybody who knows me knows two things I like are kitschy prints and made up words.

Today I paired my floranimal blouse (vintage, thrifted) with a pleated skirt (thrifted) and animal print wedges (Tahari via DSW) because two other things I like are pleated skirts and mixing floranimal with animal.  I also added some gold bangles (Nordstrom), a patent belt (Steve Madden via Ross) and earrings (Nikki Jacoby “Labyrinth”):


And that’s it for me.  I’m off early today because I’m going to the Black Keys concert tonight.  And I’m off tomorrow because I’m going to the Black Keys concert tonight.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey