A Lunatic in Fringe!

Several years ago when I was cheerfully wasting many hours searching ebay for vintage treasures, I happened upon this fringe top/dress. It was love at first sight, and I put my bid in immediately. As the auction end drew near, I hovered over the computer and put in another bid at the last minute to make sure she was gonna be mine. But I needn’t have worried as I was the only bidder, bagging this lovely frock for $20. When I was communicating with the seller about shipping and such she told me, “this dress was at Woodstock, it was in a magazine too.” So of course, being thrilled, I asked if she was the one wearing it and what magazine was it featured in? She never responded, and soon stopped selling on ebay (as I of course kept checking back to see what else she may list!!) Then, fast forward a few years later and Stanimal and I were at a flea market and he found the magazine and the photo, but the vendor, noting our obvious enthusiasm, wanted too much money for a poorly preserved copy. So when we got home we googled the image and voila!! So, the mystery will never be fully revealed but this dress may or may not have been to Woodstock!!
60s dress, $20 ebay several years ago
70s leather boots, free from Stanimal's best friend a few years ago
Necklace and earrings set, $25 ebay last year
70s dress under "woodstock" dress, thrifted cheaply several years ago

Puss In Boots

At her majesty Ms. Wendy Brandes request, I bring forth my red legged contribution to the blogging universe!! I find these boots to be very "puss in boots" and they remind me of the New York Dolls song of the same name, for although I am only 5'4" even with the added 2" heel, I'm still "walkin' like I'm 10 feet tall" when I wear them!! And I feel 10 feet tall to be pictured in Wendy B's blog, long may she reign supreme!!
Red thigh high boots, $75 ebay a few years ago
Paisley velvet tunic, $5 Freestyle clothing resale on clearance
gold chain belt, $2 Goodwill thrift several years ago
Red tights, $10 hue last year
Gold furry hat, $25 ebay several years ago
Heraldic pendant, $3 Salvation Army Thrift several years ago
DIY kitty charm bracelet, made last year, priceless!

Thrifty Scores for the Win?!

Upon hearing that I could enter a contest sponsored by Thrift Town AND show off a thrifted outfit AND have a chance to win a $75 gift card, I was freakin’ stoked! Sacramento is fortunate enough to have three TT locations, all of which I visit frequently. And I have once been to the San Francisco location, and although it was many years ago I still have the dress I bought. The official rules state that the outfit doesn’t have to be 100% thrifted, but I was able to use four parts thrift town scores to one part ebay and one part Sacramento antique fair. I hope this formula impresses Juniper James, a local blogger whom I had the pleasure to meet recently and who also does the TT blog. Fingers crossed!! This was a fun outfit to build whether or not I win!! But I can’t stop dreaming of the rad stuff I can buy with $75 at thrift town, cuz that money will definitely go a long way there!!

60s brown boots, 4.99 Thrift Town, several years ago
home sewn dress, 3.99 Thrift Town, a few months ago
contemporary pink blouse, 3.99 Thrift Town a few weeks ago
brown tights, new in package, .69 Thrift Town, a few months ago
60s pink furry hat, $10 Sacramento Antique Fair last year
orange furry boa, $25 ebay a few years ago

Call Me Annimal!

As a rabid MC5 fan I am hard pressed to state whether I love them most for their original aura, insanely rockin music or thought provoking lyrics. Since I can’t decide I which attribute is best it’s gonna have to be a three way tie! And I’m very fortunate to be named Ann as they recorded two songs with my name in the title, Sister Ann and Call Me An(n)imal! Today’s tribute annsemble is dedicated to the MC5, but basically every rock-god-goddess-super-hero image I endeavor to embody has some motor city flavor sprinkled on top!

Studded jacket (without matching pants), $25 ebay several years ago
red, white and blue leather belt, $1 deseret thrift several years ago
levis jean skirt, $15 ebay several years ago
hang ten t shirt, $7 from Bella aka Citizen Rosebud (the day I first met her, awww)!!!
silver leather boots, $20 ebay several years ago
60s sunglasses, made in Italy $20 ebay several years ago

Hello Yellow!

I was super excited to receive my order of these yellow tights from we love colors hoping they would match my beloved yellow leather go go boots. Starting with a sunny foundation on my legs, I then busted out my hiding elephant dress, which I thrifted about 10 years ago at the now defunct Northgate thrift store. Man I miss that thrift store!! I bought some of my very favorite vintage items there. I even bought a Burberry camel peacoat for $3.80, which I wore for years and then sold on ebay 2 years ago for $300 (someone took the buy it now bait less than 24 hours after I listed it!), and my first ever thrifted Pucci, A 60s wool vivara print blouse for 80 cents which I had dry cleaned for $3 and then sold on ebay for $286.00. The same organization has another thrift store located on Fruitridge Blvd in Sacramento and it’s okay, but there was something extra special about Northgate thrift. It makes me grateful to have been able to shop there so long ago, and wish I had a time machine to go back to the 90s and shop there again!
60s vintage sunglasses, made in France, $1 garage sale 10 years ago
elephant print dress, Northgate thrift store, 80 cents 10 years ago
60s yellow leather go go boots, $50 ebay 5 years ago
ab cha cha bracelet, $16 crimson and clover last year
blue cha cha bracelet, $10 ebay last year
adjustable rings, ebay a few years ago $5-$10 each
yellow tights, we love colors, $10 last week
Nauga monsters, Stanimal thrifted over 10 years ago, priceless

How’s yours hangin'? DIY necklace hangers

After numerous failed attempts to keep my large pendants neat and untangled in jewelry boxes, I knew I needed to do something different. I saw many blogger DIY projects utilizing hooks inside picture frames. They looked cute in the same way Ikea store displays do, organized and neat if you only have a few items to store. But since I exceed at excess, I needed another solution that would solve my storage problem. I decided to utilize the existing picture molding over my vanity dresser, but needed necklace hangers to do so. I had bought heavy duty hangers to hang a shadow box display shelf on the opposite wall, but they were too large and too expensive if I wanted to buy a lot of them. So I made my own necklace hangers with jumbo paper clips, and now I can see all my necklaces and they stay untangled and ready to rock! All you need are jumbo paper clips and two needle nose pliers. Bend the paperclip open and flat, then straighten the larger end straight out, then use both pliers to create a 90 degree hook that will catch on the picture molding. Hang 'em high and admire your easy and practical DIY project!!

Rudi Gernreich dress meets Emilio Pucci tights

When I won these Emilio Pucci for Wolford tights last year on ebay I had a feeling that they may pair well with my beloved Rudi Gernreich dress. I put them together and it was instant harmony, or perhaps cacophony depending on your point of view. This is a new favorite annsemble of mine. Is it something you would love to rock or maybe an outfit you wouldn’t be caught dead in? Do tell!!
Emilio Pucci for Wolford tights, $60 ebay last year
60s Rudi Gernreich dress, gift from Stanimal a few years ago $200 ebay
Love Things doll and vintage mirror, thrifted last year $1 each
Pink shoes with orange laces, $15 ebay a few years ago
Orange and white polka dot sunglasses, $10 deadstock on ebay a few years ago
rings and bracelets, ebay and flea market finds $5-$20 each
opal ring, gift from Stanimal several years ago
Fang the cat, came with our house purchased in 2000, priceless

My Evil Twin

She doesn't show up to every event, but when she arrives there is hell to pay! My evil twin is summoned by the angry gods of liquor, and when she takes over I am left to ask my husband, "what happened, and who did I offend?", the next day! Hung over and humiliated, I once had to call my friend and apologize for desecrating his family's bar with my drunken shenanigans. Laughing at the recent memory, he told me that my behavior was hilarious and I should get shit faced more often. I guess it's no wonder my evil twin loves to come out and party with friends like that!!
Tie dye satin dress, etsy $25 bought last week
Cowhide boots, $40 Seattle flea market 3 years ago
Enid Collins night owl purse, $3 Roseville flea market, 5 years ago
Black crushed velvet leggings, $20 hue brand Macys last year

Bar Trek, The Next Generation

Stanimal's 60s style garage rock band The Troublemakers brought their special recipe for mayhem to the Old Ironsides bar Friday night. Our niece Ronda has been wanting to see her uncle's band for a while, and now she is finally 21 and more than ready to rock! A fun time was had by all, it was a rowdy energized scene and amazingly nothing was broken (besides a few guitar strings!). Ronda was also pleased to debut on this lil ol blog and show off her one of kind frog pendant she received as a gift from her auntie, lovingly repurposed by the artisan women of crimson and clover.
Annimal is wearing:
60s cut out blue lace up boots, $75 ebay a few years ago
60s angel sleeve dress, $50 ebay a few years ago
Stanimal is wearing:
60s sta prest levis, thrifted a long time ago
Troublemakers uniform vest, custom made for the band 18 years ago!!
Lennon beatle boots by beatwear uk, 4 years ago $200
60s dress shirt, thrifted a few years ago $3
Ronda is wearing:
Orange Bobbie Brooks jacket, $4 Desert thrift a few months ago
Orange floral dress, $ 3 Desert thrift a few months ago

My Orange Crush

It’s juicy, it’s vibrant. I wanna surround myself with it. Oh wait, I already did! Mopar orange is an all time favorite color of mine, and I just caught wind that it is a current theme color among the local fashion blogger set. Since I missed out on the polka dot theme last week (damn!), I wanted to jump in on this one. I love orange with complimentary blue as I have used in my home décor extensively, but I think it pairs well with most colors. Maybe I'm lucky because I am frequently told orange flatters my skin tone of light olive Hispanic coloring. But even if it doesn't flatter me, I'd still wear it and it is beautiful on my living room walls!

living room, Annimal's House, photo courtesy of The Citizen Rosebud!
1970 Dodge Challenger, flickr image (I wish I rolled this ride!!)
Catherine Holm fondue set, $1 church sale last year
60s orange mini dress, $20 ebay several years ago
huge pendant necklace, $10 ebay several years ago
Big opal cluster ring, gift from Stanimal
Other rings and bracelet, thrifted a long time ago

Hey Kitty

Photo print kitten t shirt, $7 ebay a few years ago
Altered 70s Maverick jeans, $2 thrift store in Texas about 5 years ago
Black Springolator pumps $10 Sacramento antique fair a few years ago
Wide white leather belt, $25 Florence, Italy 6 years ago
Angora cardigan, thrifted about 8 years ago can't remember where or how much
silver cha cha bracelet, $10 ebay a couple years ago
pink wrap bracelet, $1 garage sale a couple years ago

Black and Blue...

And worn over and over! Taking pictures on overcast days has proven rather, um, challenging. Also not helping matters is the fact we are using an old crummy digital camera and we don't really know what we're doing! But we're doing it just the same, and here I am with my hair au naturel. I don't dye it but I usually attack it with the straight iron and a handful of gunk to give it more polish (and less frizz!). I'm also sporting my default jean jacket topper, one of many that I constantly rely on in my wardrobe rotation.

70s little e Levis Jean jacket, $8 Sacramento antique fair a few years ago
Vintage sweater dress, $1 my rad neighbor's garage sale
Necklace, Sarah Coventry, $15 ebay about 5 years ago (I just found it in another jacket's pocket, I think it was there for at least a year!)
Chubby kitty pin, $5 Sacramento antique fair a few years ago, I thrifted the same one before this one but it was missing the tail! So it has a manx sibling!
Hue tights $10 Macys last year
60s brown vinyl boots, $30 ebay a few months ago (deadstock too!)

Hookin' Up

I like to think of my vintage stash as animate objects. It's like introducing old friends to new, when complimentary items hook up. I've had this sweater dress since the 90s, and it has fit me well even when my weight goes up and down. I found the sunglasses a few years ago but the two just met for the first time today. I suppose they hit it off, but what do you think about the coupling?

Vintage sweater dress, $1 Northgate Thrift(now closed)in the 90s
Plastic thermoset bracelet, $1 Sacramento antique fair last month (it was a broken necklace I made into a bracelet)
Plastic cha cha bracelet, $10 ebay last year
Sunglasses, $15 ebay a few years ago
Necklace, $50 ebay last year, bidding war but I won!
Big plastic ring, $2 ebay in a lot of 10 a few years ago