Mary Van Notes

Sorry for my absence.  I was up in Sacramento last week visiting my boyfriend.  He surprised me with some gifts for no reason.  Aren’t those the sweetest kind of gifts?  I gasped when I saw that he had gotten me a vintage sewing box filled with all kinds of vintage notions, needles and fabrics, as well as iron-on transfers.  He also got me the Alice Donut LP Ten Glorious Animals.  The first time we made out was while listening to this album.  Along with the good memories, it’s a great record.  I really love it.  Check out their rad trombone cover of the Pixies’ Where is my Mind.

And last Wednesday we saw Jon Waters speak at The Crest theater in Sacramento.  The dude is hilarious, inspirational, and so relatable — the kind of guy you want to hang out with.  Add him to the list of directors I dream to work with.  I wore this outfit that evening without the hat (my hair wasn’t a mess), and with some bright red lipstick.

Hat: The Hat Company of Santa Cruz
Vintage Shirt: Thrifted
Shorts: Thrifted and hemmed by myself
Jacket: London Fog, thrifted — I didn’t take any close-ups, but the lining of this jacket is super cute.
Over the Knee Socks: RocknSocks via Feria Urbana
Shoes: Miz Mooz via endless.com
Custom purse: Underwing Designs

It was another day of errands today.  I haven’t been performing as much so that’s why you haven’t seen me as dressed up in a while.  When I perform, it’s become a ritual of sorts to get dressed up.  It’s weird for me to perform if I’m not wearing heels and a dress.  I’ve gotten accustomed to glam, people.  GLAM!

So today I wore the shirt I won over at Bow & Sparrows, with some skinny jeans rolled up and a cozy, chunky knit cape.

Takara Art Gallery Tee: via Bows & Sparrows giveaway
cape: I forget the store name, but it’s on Ocean Ave in SF.
jeans: second-hand from Goodbyes
shoes: LA Vintage.com via Chronically Vintage giveaway
cameo necklace: thrifted
feather earrings: ebay
skinny belt: thrifted
custom purse: Underwing Designs

This Sunday, I’ll be at the Temescal Street Fair:
Sunday, June 6, 2010 – Noon – 6:00PM
Telegraph Avenue between 45th and 51st, North Oakland

I’ll be sharing a booth with some friends.  I’ll be selling some zines, t-shirts and totes.  Plus some dirty cross-stitch if you ask nicely. : )  Come say hi!

I finally uploaded the last of the footage taped at the Mortified show where I read from my 5th to 8th grade diaries.  If you’ve got 15 minutes, and want to laugh, I suggest you watch the following in order.

I absolutely love the dress I wore at Mortified.  It’s a 1940s darling thing I got at Shareen Vintage in Los Angeles.

Dress: Shareen Vintage, Shoes: Kenzie via Bunny’s Shoes in Santa Cruz, Purse: estate sale, Stockings: thrifted

That last photo of my diary – I describe it in this video, if you care to see me read it aloud.

If you’ve got some diary entries you’re willing to share, I’d love to see them!

Saw this video via Rob Huebel and had to post it here. This guy’s drum kit has flames on it because he’s on fire!

Watch the drummer the whole time. The dude totally cracks me up.

I’m looking forward to hosting this show on Friday, June 11 at 7pm at the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco.  If you’re in the Bay Area you should come out.   It’s part fashion show, part music show featuring local designers and local bands.  Foxtails Brigade is one of my favorite bands, and it’s always an absolute pleasure to see them, and I’m very excited to see Lecon de Vetement’s collection.

MUSIC

JUDGEMENT DAY & FRIENDS:
violin and cello metalheads perform acoustic with an exciting line-up of special guest singers.

FOXTAILS BRIGADE:
Pitch-pure vocals and intricate instrumentation execute whimsical elf music with a child-like, schizophrenic edge.

MARIEE SIOUX:
Twilight narratives of ghosts, myriad woodland creatures, and family with a voice that bends around the branches with more flexibility than her fellow folk-nymphs.

FASHION

LETICIA HUERTA:
Eternally inspired by Lucy Lawless, bolo ties, and the movie Cool Runnings.

STARGARTEN & DAUGHTER EARTH:
feminine and dream-like clothing,inspired by a day at the aquarium.
store: daughterearth.com/shop.html

CLAIRE WHEAT-FONG:
colorful body-glove explosion

YABETTE:
Steam-punk and Victorian-inspired apparel
Store: Swankety Swank, San Francisco

STREET COLLECTIVE:
“Cat fancy” party clothing

LECON DE VETEMENT:
Sea-inspired couture made with millinery technique, original print designs, and hand-casted resin shoe clips and zipper pulls.

Hosted By: Comedienne and local personal style blogger MARY VAN NOTE

Mary Van DAAAMNers!  I’m sorry to be away from you for so long.  Sadly the day before the Lyres & Lace show I got a massive sore throat that became a head flu/cold dreadful thing.   I had to cancel several things I was looking forward to doing like hosting that Lyres & Lace show, being with my granddad on his 91st birthday, and selling my crafty zine wares at the Haight Street Fair.

My brave and sweet boyfriend came down to care for me.  I was a lucky girl having such a fine man force me to eat vegetables and fruit.  I felt immediately better the next day — which was a good thing since I was auditioning for Comedy Central that night.  I did well despite not being 100%.  The only bummer was realizing after my performance that I completely forgot an extra punchline on one of my bits.  BAH!

Before I got sick, I took a 4 day sewing class where I sewed my first complete garment!  It’s a dress from a modern pattern (which I mistakenly bought in my wrong size) and it didn’t come out exactly how I hoped, so it’s still a work-in-progress.  I was a bit hesitant to use this vintage fabric I found at The East Bay Depot for Creative Re-use (my absolute favorite place to buy fabric) because I loved it so much.  But I’m pretty happy with the way it came out, especially after adding some vintage lace I thrifted at the collar and on the hem.

You can also see some sewing goodies I found at a thrift store in Arnold, CA like a wooden thread organizer and a sewing book from 1941 filled with tutorials and “right” and “wrong” ways to dress according to your body type.  It’s got some great sewing tips on the kind of details from 1940s apparel that I love and hope to replicate in my own sewing projects.   My hope is to get good enough at sewing to sew dresses from the 30s, 40s and 50s from original patterns.  I already have a small collection of vintage patterns waiting for me.

I went to a wedding this weekend.  I spent many a moments thinking about what I would wear.  There were a lot of factors involved like the Sacramento heat, it being an informal backyard wedding where there would be port-a-potties and having no idea whether I’d be sitting on dirty tree stumps or something.  I love wearing vintage, but not to places that could POTENTIALLY DAMAGE OR HARM my treasured vintage pieces!  Ha ha!   So I decided to go with a dress I bought at the Dress Barn a couple years ago (funny, cuz I would probably never walk in there now).  It’s a dress I’ve worn once before, but after donning it again, I realized how much I liked it, and how I don’t wear it enough.  It’s a modern dress, but it definitely has a 1930s kind of style to it.  The bartender at the wedding complimented me on the dress and I said, “Thank you. I was worried it was too Easter Sunday looking.”  She said, “Easter Sunday? That’s when you wear all black!”

Dress: Dress Barn, Espadrilles: ebay a long time ago? I forget…

These pictures were taken in my boyfriend’s backyard next to our garden (and his black cat, Evel).   It’s my first time gardening in soil (in the ground and not in pots), and I’m pretty proud of it.  We’ve got basil, green beans, corn, green onion, and various tomato varieties.  Once we get some time we’ll make another plot with squash, cucumber and watermelon.   I’m hoping to plant some more herbs too.

It’s been a year today since I did my first Mary Van DAAAMN! post.  To celebrate I want to say thanks to my readers with a special giveaway courtesy of Laurel’s Bench.  I remember the first night I looked through Laurel’s Bench on etsy.  I was with my friend Laura and we were oohing and aahing over the natural beauty of Laurel’s classic and yet utterly unique designs.  Her individually hand-crafted pieces are made in her home studio and she even boasts a green and eco-friendly business which is no surprise when you see the way nature inspires her pieces.  One of the pieces Laura and I loved so much was this pearl ring.  We both said it would make the most romantic wedding ring.  Please take a look at her shop and let me know what made you ooh and aah.

This giveaway is for a gorgeous mother of pearl necklace called “The Silence Between.”

All you have to do to enter is comment under this post with your email.  You can get bonus entries by:

• visiting Laurel’s Bench shop on Etsy and sharing your favorite piece in a comment
• adding Laurel’s Bench on Facebook (remember to leave a comment here letting me know you did)
• and blogging/tweeting about this giveaway.

This contest is open to all readers and will close a week from today (July 7, 2010) at midnight (PST).

Thank you all for a fun year.