Animal-Inspired Accessories = RAWR!

I am OBSESSED with these animal-inspired accessories I snatched up this weekend. Most of them cost next to nothing, but they pack so much punch.

Feather Dream Weaver Necklace - $12.80 at Forever 21. Instant drama and so eclectic. I love wearing this with cocoon-draped tops and jeggings.

Report Zebra Sequined Ballet Slippers - $13.99 at Ross. Originally $45. I'm not big on zebra or leopard print anything, but Manolo Blahnik insists they work on shoes and I'm starting to agree. I wore these tonight with high-waisted black shorts, a deep V top and damask-print Calvin Klein cardigan.

Vintage Snakeskin Belts - $6 each at SLOW Clothing on Melrose. When I found out SLOW has a yard sale every other Saturday, I nearly did a cartwheel (naked). I bought 3 vintage belts - two are snakeskin (one camel brown and the other red) and a super '80s hipster braided rope belt that I may re-sell. Stay tuned.

Raccoon Tail - $20 at SLOW Clothing on Melrose. I was actually in search of a FOX TAIL but I found them to be too bulky and I feared people yanking on it. The raccoon tail is just the right size for a girl, and looks very feminine.

Betsy Johnson Heart-Rimmed Black & Pink Eyeglasses - $69 (for the frames) at Costco. This weekend, I finally, finally, FINALLY bought prescription eyeglasses, which I've been needing desperately for the last 10 years. You're speaking to a chronic contact-lens wearer, night and day. Now my poor eyes can take a break every once in a while in style.

These are so quirky cute. My husband picked them out after I couldn't persuade him how awesome chunky men's glasses would be. So excited for these. They'll be ready in 2 weeks. Rejoice!

xo,

Sabrina London

Nautical

If you insist on judging me, I found the vintage sailor girl mini AFTER my dog got hers. Now we match. Because this is Hollywood and that's what people do here. We dress up like our dogs.

I received my impulse auction purchase yesterday from Bustown Vintage. Major bummer: the advertised 26" waist ended up being a hard, unyielding 24" waist. Sadly, that was the difference between fitting and not. I'm disappointed, but my loss is your gain because I will be adding it to the Buy-It-Now store. And yes, the vintage sailor girl mini is up there also. :)

Two Inches Too Fat to Be Impulsive,

Sabrina

I Won!

There are two things I know in life.

1) Why the caged bird sings.

2) I'm a bona fide sucker for vintage auctions.

Yesterday while doing "research" for the shop, I had one of my competitors' auctions up as they were ending in real-time. In theory, it's good to study what trends are popular (what sells for the most, what sells for the least). Even in the fabulous world of dated clothing, certain decades go in-and-out of style.

But like a fly drawn to the pretty glowing zapper, I happened upon a vintage '80s cross-back floral sun dress that made my blood run green with envy.

"I think I should bid on this," I declared to the universe.

"No, you shouldn't," my husband protested, from the next room. "You're not purchasing clothes from your competition."

"But it's SO cute. It looks like the striped cross-back dress I got from Urban Oufitters. Only no one else will have this one."

"We sell a million dresses that look like that every week. Why don't you just keep one?" He said.

"Because! This one fits my measurements perfectly. And it's better!"

"Don't do it."

"I'm doing it!"

"DON'T DO IT."

"I... must!!!!"

Seconds later, as the timer blinked to a minute and change, I plugged in an absurdly high opening bid. Being familiar with this particular shop, I was aware how fierce their buyers could be and I really wanted this dress. My heart raced with exhilaration. Did I really want this dress? Or did I just want to WIN this dress? Would I regret it if I won? I just sold a few Buy-It-Now items, which would directly fund this purchase. Perhaps I could use the money more than ANOTHER vintage frock.

As the seconds became more spare, I knew I wanted the dress. For all my hard work. And equally, yes: I wanted to win it.

3... 2... 1...

Congratulations, alamedavintage! You won this item.

Holla.

-Sabrina London

Summer in the City

The Los Angeles thrift scene has been fruitful this summer, and we have some incredible pieces in our store these days. This week only: all our auctions start at $10. That's right. $10. That's basically free for you.

Remember that family-style bucket of chicken you once bought for yourself alone? Cheaper than that. Except you'll have this vintage forever, not unlike the saturated fat that's clinging to your arteries as we speak. Oh KFC, why have you forsaken me?!

These are a few of my favorite pieces and there are TONS MORE. So go forth and shop at Alameda Vintage.

Yours,

Sabrina London

Personal Style

So I recently decided to begin the process of throwing out my entire wardrobe. Epic? Kind of!

The notion first struck me when I needed to model a vintage sweater with skinny jeans. Since the invention of jeggings, I had let my closet-wrack-bending pile of True Religions get dusty. I grabbed a pair and tried them on when a truly shocking thing happened: they did not kind of, sort of, even a little bit fit me. I snatched another pair, thinking maybe the last pair just shrunk in the wash. That can happen, right?!

Wrong.

As I jerked up my sad little skinny jeans, my ass protested, "Not in this lifetime!"

"But Ass," I said, "It was in this lifetime! These were my college jeans."

"You didn't get the memo?" my Ass said. "That was 2 years ago!"

"Ass, that's not a terribly long time. What happened to you? You used to fit in those size 28 Sevens. Don't fuck with me. I have photos."

"What do you want me to say?" my Ass sighed (not a fart). "You got married. Time passed. You work from home now. Shit happens."

"That's easy for you to say!" I shot back, hurt. "But shit doesn't happen to me! None of these jeans fit - not even the ones that used to be baggy because I impulsively ordered them from NeimanMarcus.com!"

"To be fair, I didn't ask you to do that," my Ass shrugged. "I'd be a happy-pappy if you just wore your old Juicy Couture velour track pants. Those always fit."

"How many times do I have to tell you: THEY'RE OUT OF STYLE. NO ONE likes Juicy Couture anymore. Not even the creators."

"I'm just sayin."

It was at this point in the conversation, I had a weird epiphany that hadn't quite clicked yet. I wasn't in college any more. I am 23, married, self-employed, living in Los Angeles and very much not in school. So why have I been dressing like I am?

I decided right then and there all these jeans had to go. And as I scoured my tops/blouses, it became clear I really stopped giving a shit about "designer" as soon as I moved to LA and realized you could buy used "designer" in a Buy/Sell/Trade for dirt cheap. It just wasn't special anymore. I bought my silver strappy Manolo Blahnik wedding shoes for $35 at Wasteland. That's not a big deal here.

So I'm reinventing my wardrobe, one week at a time. Every week, I plan to buy a new article of clothing and throw an old one away, until I can eventually replace everything with a completely new style. I'd like to go more Vintage Nouveau meets Angelino Urban Rock star chic. A mix of contemporary and vintage. This is definitely me.

So let the reinvention begin.

Yours in Jesus Christ our Savior, the Spaghetti Monster,

Sabrina