rhinestone cowgirl

I.N.C. leopard swing coat, Target t-shirt and jeans, vintage cowboy boots, MAC Russian Red lipstick.

I always feel the most like myself when my outfit is a little on the ridiculous side.  This morning when I got dressed I was thinking about Exene Cervenka in her cowboy boots and red lipstick on New Year’s Eve.  I love that juxtaposition of glammy punk rock and relaxed country, and I think it’s pretty reflective of my personal style these days too.

My vintage rhinestone necklace was a swapmeet find that’s a little outside my normal aesthetic but that I really love, especially paired with casual stuff.  The mink jawbone necklace is from Skullery and was a Christmas gift from my roommate and heterosexual life partner Farron.  They’re not normally things I’d think to wear together, but I like the way the V-shape of the mink jaw kind of echoes the V-shape of the rhinestone necklace.

I picked up these old black Joe Sanchez cowboy boots a few years ago at a vintage store in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, while I was on a rowdy 1o-day jaunt across the South that included my making heart-shaped eyes at Unknown Hinson at the Star Bar in Atlanta and being thrown out of a Waffle House off the I-75 at 3:30 in the morning.  I love them not only because they are the perfect pair of basic cowboy boots, but also because they remind me of being 21 and partying all over Georgia with a bunch of awesome people I haven’t seen since.

minimal effort

I’m working part-time now for my stepdad at his sign shop, where it’s usually really cold and I tend to get kind of dirty, so lately on work days my look has been less about style and more about being comfortable and wearing things that I don’t have to be delicate with.  So these days it’s a lot of leggings, Frye boots, and sweaters layered over little boys’ Hanes undershirts.  Today’s outfit was another variation on that theme:

Hips & Hair sweatshirt, Earnest Sewn jeans made into cutoffs half a decade ago, Prince of Thieves sweater leggings, Frye engineer boots, Forever 21 watch.

Yeah…I barely even put on makeup anymore right now.  I still want to wear stuff that appeals to me, though, so I’ve been looking for sweatshirts and sweaters that are easy to throw on in the morning.  When I found this raglan by Hips & Hair over the weekend at Unique L.A., I kind of couldn’t resist it.  It’s clearly me.

I really love the print and it’s super soft.  I got one two sizes too big because I like to wear things loose.  I always like to support small indie designers and I had never heard of these guys before so I was stoked to come across them — they have a lot of rad stuff.  I’m feeling this “CVLT Venice” tank too.

Between working at the sign shop in the mornings and sewing and making jewelry (I have some really cute new stuff going up soon!), my hands are just a mess these days.  I’m trying to tell myself that if my nails look nice it must mean I’m not working hard enough, but that OPI “Gettin Miss Piggy With It” red glitter nail polish in my bathroom cabinet is calling my name.

working hard or hardly working?

I’m stoked to be pretty much moved into my new workspace!  Today was another day of organizing and hanging and running around, so I was going pretty laid back.  It’s also finally starting to get chilly out, which is nice because coats and boots are my favorite.

H&M Divided coat and beret, Forever 21 top, Cheap Monday jeans, Frye boots, GoJane glasses.

I bought this shirt a while ago under the impression that it was long and loose-fitting (that’s how it looked on the model), so imagine my surprise when this boxy crop top arrived.  I’ve grown to like its weird shape with my higher-waisted stuff.

Also this yellow coat is my favorite.  I was on the hunt for a mustard-colored heavier coat for the colder seasons and when I found this one in the Divided section at H&M I lost my breath for a second (seriously) because it is exactly what I imagined, and cost half what I’d paid for the Missoni for Target coat that did not fit the bill at all and was subsequently returned.

The beret is also from H&M and I’ve been wearing it a lot lately; I fear I’m becoming a hat person.  I’m aware it looks a little ridiculous but that’s kind of what I like about it.  I feel a little like Judy Funnie when I wear it.

And here’s the beginnings of my little workspace in the new studio I’m be sharing with my dang ol’ friend Jennie:

Getting everything organized and having a place to work is already making me feel so much more productive.  I got a couple of new Hippie Speedball designs done in the past couple of days that I want to share with you guys soon, and some other things in the works as well.  Having a place to do it all, and sharing it with one of my favorite people in the entire world, is going to be pretty rad.