Mary Van Notes

I’ve recently been inspired by fashion bloggers like Agentlover and Strawberry Koi. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a huge fan of fashion, especially that of a vintage nature. It’s come to my attention that I receive better response from an audience when I’m dressed in simpler fare. Unfortunately this means that until I’m famous and no one cares about what I’m wearing (or distracted by it), my super stylin threads will be left in my closet on gig nights. How do I remedy this situation? Blog that shit!

That’s right. My super stylin threads will have to resort to being shown off on the internet under blog posts cleverly titled, “Mary Van DAAAMN!”

Today’s look I like to call, “What my grandma may have looked like when she was my age living in San Francisco, around the time she fell in love.” Certainly not an everyday look, but I wore it one evening going out to the Punch Line. Because why the hell not?

Vintage suit: thrifted (scored it when I was in high school)

Silk 1940s blouse: Ebay

Vintage black veil: thrifted (scored around the same time as the suit)

Shoes: by Kenzie from Bunny’s Shoes in Santa Cruz

Vintage stockings: Ebay

Photos by Brent Weinbach and special thanks to DJ REAL aka Nick Stargu for coming up with the title Mary Van DAAAMN!

Today’s edition of Mary Van DAAAMN!!! brings together some of my favorite details: buttons, bows, pin tucks and wing tips. I’m a sucker for the whole ’secretary chic’ look. When I’m not donning a dress, I’m in a feminine blouse and a high waist pencil skirt. It’s a classic look and pretty darn sexy in my humble opinion. This is also an outfit I can pull off performing in. It’s simple enough to not be too distracting, although my new heels are an attention grabber. Last night they garnered a lot of, “Nice shoes!” and even a “How do you walk in those?” to my favorite, “Your shoes are A FUCK YOU….They deserve a lot of expletives.” I took them out for the first time last night, and yes, I love them. They’re even remarkably comfortable for 4 1/2″ heels. Thank you, Amazon.com.

Blouse: Vintage from Wasteland
I love this blouse. I couldn’t say no to it. It has everything–puff sleeves, pleats, pin tucks, buttons down the back, a sweet bow in front, and all in a sheer baby blue. Yummy.
Skirt: Second-hand Ralph Lauren
Shoes: Pour La Victoire from Amazon.com

Most of these items were paid for by sadness. Thank you depression! By this I mean, what else do you do alone on a Friday night in front of a computer after 2 beers, or the next morning when you have no plans for the day so you decide to go to Haight and blow hard-earned insurance brokerage company day-job money while trying to soften the pain of dying slowly everyday?

Taps microphone, “Am I right, crowd?”

Fuck it. My shoes are a fuck you.

I got this dress in Portland, OR–my vintage clothing mecca.  I make a pilgrimage at least once a year and I find such gems in that city.  This blue dress was a measly $12, sales tax free.  Special thanks to Joanna Newsom for bringing back the prairie chic look in her Milk-Eyed Mender days.

I pair the dress often with my favorite pair of ALDO boots.

Altogether this look has brought me much joy.  I’ve performed in it on some good shows (though I don’t think I’ll wear it on stage again).  And it became the reason why famous people spoke to me!

Mainly Sarah Silverman who said, “I LOVE your dress!” and to whom I said, “Thank you.”

And Margaret Cho who said, “I LOVE your dress! It’s a Gunne Sax and I totally appreciate that!” and to whom I said, “Thanks.”

Ah, to be awkward and insecure.

I would’ve liked to have told her that it’s actually a handmade dress, inspired by the popular 1970s Gunne Sax dresses by Jessica McClintock and so on and so forth and yeah, I’m a comedienne in San Francisco, yeah I totally know that person, hell yeah I’m into that kinky shit!  And then we would’ve been bffs.

I’ll leave you with the inspiration:

And possibly my favorite song of hers:

Dress: Vintage from Rock n’ Rose in Portland, OR

Boots: Second-hand Frye boots via GoodByes consignment

Tights: Hand-me-down from my Mom’s friend

Coat: Forever 21

Today’s theme is splurging.  The dress was one of those instances when you walk into a vintage store, see something amazing, try it on, it looks as amazing as you had hoped and the price tag won’t stop you.  In this case the price tag was $32.  Pretty damn steep.  Especially by Portland vintage standards.  But it’s a real weakness I have.  It’s partially why I’m trying to wean myself off of going into vintage stores.  If I see something I love and it fits, I can’t not get it.  But we’re talking about things priced $25-40.  If something is over $40, I may not even try it on, so that helps.  There’s this vintage store I walk by almost every weekend and I go inside every time because it’s BEAUTIFUL and I want to live there, but do I try anything on?  Hell no.  All the garments are priced at $100 or more.

My latest tactic is to do the 24 hour method.  If you find something you love but are unsure of the price, wait it out.  If you’re still thinking about it 24 hours later, then get your ass back there and buy it.  I made the mistake of passing up a vintage Christian Lacroix denim full mini skirt at Wasteland the last time I was there.  I was hesitant because it was $40 and it had this one imperfection.  When I went back to buy it, it was gone.  I keep thinking about that damn skirt!  I wish I had told myself, Mary, $40 is nothing compared to the hundreds of dollars that skirt cost new.  And you look fucking FUUUINE.

The Frye boots are a similar story.  Found them at the consignment store.  Price was a bit steep at $60, but new they would’ve been around $300 or something.  I’m pretty happy with them because they’re comfortable for high heel boots and well-made boots will last a lifetime.  The real question is, what else can I pair these with?  We shall see…

All photos by the super talented Ameen Belbahri. Please see his work at www.flickr.com/photos/meenb/.

1940s sailor dress: vintage from House of Vintage in Portland, OR. I can’t remember the price, but it was a steal.
Gloves: from my step-mom’s aunt.
Purse: found it on the street.
Shoes: ebay
Hat: handmade by yours truly.

Out of all the dresses I bought in Portland on my last trip, this was my favorite, my shining star. It fit me perfectly in the store. But Mary Van Note put her shining star in a washing machine, and gasp, a dryer. What was I thinking!?!?!?! A 1940s vintage sailor dress?!?! IN THE WASHING MACHINE?!?!?!! AND THE DRYER?!?!?! Sadly the dress shrunk. You might be thinking, whatever Mary, it looks super fly on your hot ass. Trust me, it looked better on that hot ass before. Even though it’s snug, I’m still going to rock it because I love it so much. So remember, dry clean that shit.

When I dreamt of taking photos with Ameen, this was the outfit I wanted to capture. But not even in my dreams did the photos come out so amazing. The following two were taken on his 4×5 large format camera. You know, the old-timey camera:

Dress: Vintage via Red Light Clothing Exchange in Portland, OR.
Shoes: Vintage via Seconds to Go in San Francisco.
Denim Jacket: Thrifted.
Denim Tote: Via maryvannote.com.

I wore this today to my grandad’s house.  Nothing says I’m visiting grandad more than a cotton pastel-striped 80s dress.  Plan on seeing a forthcoming comic on the visit.

For some Mary Van Note trivia, this dress was seen on episode 7 of Gavin Really Wants Me.

Blouse: Vintage via Seconds to Go
Skirt: Thrifted
Shoes: MIA via Bunny’s Shoes
Purse: found it on the street

My hair will be coming off tomorrow! I’m nervous and excited. I hope to have shorter, more manageable, more vintage-y, more style-able hair to match what I’m wearing. Cross your fingers for me.

Also, please forgive me. It looks as if I’m touching myself inappropriately with my hands going in my skirt like that.  The slit pockets attracted me to the skirt.  That and the unique button closure that is on the back of the skirt.  It’s truly one of a kind.  Sadly the waist is just a tad too small.  I might try to move the button, otherwise it might end up in my forthcoming etsy shop.  The skirt reminds me of the gray suit Kim Novak wore in Hitchcock’s Vertigo (one of my favorite films).

Blouse: Vintage via Bombshell Vintage in Portland, OR
Skirt: Thrifted. It’s currently my favorite skirt, so you’ve seen it before, and you’ll be seeing it again.
Shoes: Vintage via Seconds to Go
Hair: By Kimberly at Wak Shack

I couldn’t stop smiling after I got my hair done.   I still have a ridiculous grin on my face.  Leading up to the appointment I was nervous and excited like I was about to lose my virginity.  This was my first time at this salon with a new stylist, but luckily Kimberly was super knowledgeable.  She looked at the photos I brought in (which was essentially my hair blog post) and told me what she recommended I go with–something in between Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night and Claudette Colbert in Cleopatra.  She showed me tricks on how to blow dry my bangs better, how to style my new ‘do, and she even told me about all the best places to find good vintage in the Bay Area!  So not only am I excited about using wave clips, I’m stoked about going to the next flea market in Alameda.  I’m currently on the lookout for a vintage hood dryer.

What I’m listening to: Agent Ribbons 7″ Agent Ribbons and the Star Crossed Doppelganger