Tag Archives: Cotton On

Homemade & Vintage

The colder weather is finally here and I’m turning some of my summer maxi-dresses into winter wear by combining them with cardigans in all incarnations, scarves and boots. 

I read a definition of “vintage clothing” as anything dated from the 1920’s to the 1980’s.  That means anything that I owned as a teenager has become “vintage”.  I could either stay horrified or just embrace the fact that I have some orignal “vintage” pieces in my wardrobe that I didn’t buy in a thrift store or re-sale shop.  So the sweater I’m wearing is actually from the late 80’s, given to me as a gift.  I removed the broken buttons, so the sweater has this homemade feel to it.  It is now going to be a model for one of the things I aspire to knit someday.

Speaking of homemade things, my friend made the cute drawstring purse I’m holding.  She made a scarf from an old velvet dress, then used the sleeves to make a couple little purses and gave one to me as a gift.  I absolutely love it!  Now one of my future endeavors is to make purses out of some fabric remnants that I have left over from a previous room decor project.  I’ll feature my work in future posts.  In the meantime, I told her that her awesome little purse would make an appearance or two in some of my pictorials.

Outfit:  Cotton On floral maxi-dress; 80’s vintage knit sweater; Jessica Simpson boots; handmade velvet drawstring purse

Photos by Deon Chen

Little Flights of Fancy

I wore my little swallow dress from Cotton On today with these platform sandals because it was unusually warm for November here in San Diego.  But I added little touches that made the outfit more fitting for fall:  a cardigan, a wool hat, and dark tights.  I’m also wearing one of my new cameos, too.  Along with the little bits of tan and brass, the cameo made the outfit feel very vintage, even though the dress was brand new (as of yesterday!).

Outfit:  Cotton On Karoline swallow dress; H&M belt; Urban Outfitters mens cardigan; Pierre Hardy for Gap shoes; Rafe purse; Poppie Jones wool hat; vintage cameo; Target tights; Burberry sunglasses

Photos by Deon Chen

Pretty Patterns


I did a little bit of shopping, both in person and online in the last week: I used the discount code given to my readers by Lulus.com to pick up a few items before the code expired; my cameos came in from my recent eBay purchase; and I went to my local mall to pick up some really cute affordable dresses from Cotton On. Oh, and I did throw in a pair of shoes (of course!).

I’m gravitating towards easy sweaters and simple dresses in cute patterns (I’m in love with the bird print dress from Cotton On). Keeping things simple will allow me to do the layering that I want, it makes it less bulky under any of the coats and jackets that I’ll be sporting all through the fall and winter, and it will make it easier to accessorize.

(Click on the pictures for links to the items, except for the Chung dress and the Sasha Bootie.)