Mascara or Motoroil » mary janes

presto change-o

jessy — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 05:45:58 +0000

On a recent impromptu shopping trip I found the most adorable little patent leather Charlotte Russe mary janes for $10 and I fell in love. They even have the big chunky heel that I’ve been lusting after on so many shoes! Unfortunately they have absolutely no tread and I wore them on a slushy day, so I spent the day falling on my ass every time I went outside. Sometimes you gotta suffer for fashion though right?

I’m also looking to challenge myself to try new things stylistically too so I went out on a limb and got a longer skirt than I usually wear. I generally don’t wear anything between floor length and above my knee just because it tends to really shorten my already short self visually. Aaaanyway, I thought this skirt was cute and I actually don’t think I look like a frump monster (which is what I was imagining).

I mean, check how cute these suckers are!!

Thank god that I have such a technologically-savvy guy, I’d never get to do cool stuff like gifs without him!

Well as much as I liked that outfit it isn’t exactly great Friday night bar-wear. So I had to have a little costume change…..

Although,

apparently one of the side effects of starting to drink before having your picture taken is that you can only make weirdo faces.

I love the pailey-esque design on this button ring and who doesn’t love an elephant necklace…

besides possibly someone whose entire family was repeatedly trampled by elephants, I mean.

Outfit 1

WHAT: oval cream earrings, my gramma

tan banana republic shirt, thrift

clock necklace, chicken lays an egg

black patent belt, chicken lays an egg

polka dot skirt, chicken lays an egg

gray tights, target

charlotte russe mary janes, thrift

WHERE: work at chicken

Outfit 2

WHAT: tan coat, clothing swap

brooches, my gramma

elephant necklace, my gramma

button ring, the lovely teaspoon

floral minidress, charlotte russe

gold purse, nashville thrift

WHERE: northside bar hoppin’

THANKS FOR READING!

all wifey an’ shit

jessy — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:55:59 +0000

Sorry for the weekend hiatus dear readers, I had both Friday and Saturday off which is a rare treat for me. I did manage to take some great pictures but posting them and writing words that went along with them seemed like too much work for the level of laziness I was maintaining. Anyway, I’m back today!!

The weather here in Cincinnati has been just perfect, cool enough for a jacket but still sunny. I’ve been trying to take advantage of the beautiful mid-range weather by really making every day’s outfit great. I’m not as happy with this one as some of the past few but nonetheless, not too shabs!

Needless to say I was pretty excited to find that someone had thrown away this beautiful vintage vacuum cleaner- it made a great prop.

It’s just so hard to keep this pesky courtyard clean!

Eh, screw it. I’ll just use it to accentuate my really cute shoes!

WHAT: bourbon necklace, handmade by me

floral tent dress, target

skinny belt, chicken lays an egg

green tights, target

vintage mary janes, chicken lays an egg

WHERE: work at chicken

WHEN: thursday, october 14

art museum blogger date

jessy — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:55:25 +0000

I have to start by thanking everyone who came out to U-Swap, it was such an incredible success! Molly and I had a great time and can’t wait to do it again (although hopefully in a less sweaty place and time). The fabulous Rachel Elliott took some shots for us, so I will post those as soon as I get my hands on em! Thank you so much to Kasmira, Tamia, and Paige and all the other Cincy bloggers for coming too- it was so great to meet everyone and see the people I did know again! As always everyone looked fabulous!

These pictures are a few weeks old now since I am a slacker extraordinaire, but Molly the Sister in Second-Hand Sequins and I went to the Cincinnati Art Museum recently to check out the temporary display of antique neon signs they currently have on loan from the American Sign Museum. They only had a few, but after I saw how huge they were I understand why! If you’re near Cincy you should absolutely make a trip to the Sign Museum – they have weird hours but are also open by appointment. We had a really good time running around though- thank god that Molly had her camera and Jacob didn’t mind being our photographer.

He's comin' for ya Molly!

Hudy - delcious Cincinnati beer

I must admit in a little disclaimer here that I don’t drink beer. It just makes me feel all sloshy and sleepy so I pretty much stick to mah favorite super cheap wine: Crane Lake Riesling. Mmmmmm….

Just look how softly he glows. Like an angel.....

They had one of the balcony areas all separated with matte wallpaper and these cool frames for people to draw in!

The museum also currently has some really beautiful Charley Harper prints that are really out of his normal realm. Most of his pieces are centered around nature and look more like the picture below, but these featured a lot more industrial scenes. It was a small exhibit, but I definitely recommend it if you’re in or near Cincinnati.

I love how geometric most of his work is.

Then we ventured around the little courtyard outside to enjoy the sunshine…

The low back on Molly's leotard top is so cute!

One of my many beloved veil hats

Ain't nobody here but us style bloggers....

If only the big swing in front of the museum wasn't anchored...

I love this one that Molly snapped of herself. Suuuch a cute outfit!

All in all a very fun excursion! I love these little playdates and can’t wait to do one with Paige the Midwest Darling too!

WHAT: white cage veil hat, chicken lays an egg

daisy dress, chicken lays an egg

je taime double ring, forever 21

mustard mary janes, target

white vinyl bag, chicken lays an egg

WHERE: art museum and then work

WHEN: tuesday, sometime ago…

another twofer!!

jessy — Sat, 15 May 2010 01:08:38 +0000

I was really happy to finally get a chance to wear the dress that my magnificent friend Jeni sent me! It’s so light and breezy, I was comfy all day. I’ve been rocking the sheer scarves as hair wraps all the time lately, they’re my new go to for a bad hair day or a need for color. Through some hardcore thrifting I have recently acquired one in just about every color of the rainbow!

I love how much this purse resembles vinyl upholstery from a 1950′s Bel-Air!

Yet again I ended up playing dress up a bit while I was at work. While I was getting in place before the picture, I fell off the step and this is the picture I got. I really like how it came out though!

I did end up bringing the skirt home, but the very cool suede belt is still for sale at Chicken Lays An Egg!

WHAT: sheer scarf, thrift

button pinwheel earrings, made by me

ginko leaf necklace, gift from maya

dress, gift from jeni

big black ring, forever 21

vintage handbag, chicken lays an egg

sunglasses, chicken lays an egg

socks, yard sale

mary janes, target

WHERE: work at chicken

WHEN: friday, may 14

twofer

jessy — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:33:41 +0000

I really hope that everyone’s spring has been going well; mine has been spectacular! Honestly that is probably why I’ve been posting so little lately. I’m glad that things turned themselves around though because the year started off kinda rough.

Since I am behind on my posts, I have quite a backlog of outfits. Now I know what you’re thinking- what does this mean to me, the average blog reader? It means that you get not one but TWO outfits in this one post! I know, it’s an amazing deal. This first outfit is from the Friday of the Kentucky Derby, and I actually completely forgot and still ended up with a very Derby outfit. I just wanted to wear my new hat! I was also really excited that day because while I was getting dressed my fancy new blue shoes arrived! I’ve been on a big kick to buy more brightly colored shoes after being incredibly inspired by Iman of Mishaps & Miracles, she rocks the best head to toe color that I’ve seen in a long time!

I am really happy with my new shoes, I was debating between the ones I got and the Steve Madden version:

As you can see the ruffle down the front is a little more well made, but for $20 less I figured I could deal. Actually when I got them I liked them better than I thought I would. The color was more vivid and they just looked more well made than they did in the picture on the Target website.

WHAT: floppy wool hat, thrift

w.a.s.p. dress, borrowed from maya

green rhinestone ring, gumball machine

double buckle belt, chicken lays an egg

ruffle shoes, target.com

WHERE: work at chicken lays an egg

WHEN: friday, april 30

This second outfit was a little something I threw together to work with the head wrap thing. Haiku Ambulance rocks them so well and since we have the same haircut I wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately this was one of the days that my camera decided it couldn’t focus on things. For some reason it’s been doing that lately and I don’t know why, but please bear with me until I figure it out.

Also, A little shout out to my girl Haiku Ambulance for getting Weardrobe‘s Spotlight this week!

I used a square-ended 1980's necktie for my hair wrap

WHAT: 1980′s skinny neck tie (as a hair wrap), chicken lays an egg

banana republic oxford shirt, thrift

wide belt, chicken lays an egg

checkered skirt, chicken lays an egg

knee socks, target

mary janes, target

round purse, chicken lays an egg

WHERE: running errards and drinks with some friends

WHEN: tuesday, may 3

spring soiree – part 1

jessy — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:18:10 +0000

I just got some very exciting news today, ladies and gents. I am very pleased to announce that Chicken Lays An Egg will be participating in Cincinnati Fashion Week! I hadn’t really mentioned Fashion Week before because I couldn’t afford a ticket at $150, and if I couldn’t go it seemed a little pointless. However since they will be using our clothes for one of their shows, we get to go for free! The next few weeks are going to be insane for Chicken Lays An Egg; we will be at the Crafty Supermarket this weekend, Fashion Week next week and we have another event at the Northside Tavern next weekend! Whew, it’s gonna be a whirlwind. On that note, forgive me if I go a few days without posting.

These are some of the gorgeous pictures taken by our lovely photographers, Amy Rudnik and Rachel Elliott from our Spring Sale and Soiree at Chicken Lays An Egg. I am going to put a bunch of them on the Chicken site also, but these are mostly the ones of me. I feel a bit narcissistic putting up this many artsy shots of myself, but I’ve never had pictures like this taken of me.

This is how my photos for my blog are usually taken.

My favorite picture ever. <3

My adorable boy

I just like this one because our mannerisms seem so similar.

It was a blast of a day, we did fantastic business. Unfortunately we bought too many hot dogs, so now whenever anyone comes to our house I try to force them to eat some. Having drunk friends helps with that.

Here’s a good shot of my outfit for the day. I got this dress the day before the party and it was another maxi dress, so I stayed up until 5 am hemming it by hand.

All the white parts on the flowers are fuzzy!

The blister-makers

WHAT: fuzzy floral dress, chicken lays an egg

daisy brooch, thrift

green ring, bubblegum machine

mary janes, target

WHERE: chicken lays an egg’s spring soiree

WHEN: saturday, march 10

chart a course

jessy — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:52:34 +0000

I’ve noticed in going back through my old posts that slowly more and more cuss words have worked their way into my blog. I had to laugh because honestly it just means I’m being myself a little more. My mom taught me many of my most flavorful words in her moments of surprise pain and extreme aggravation. Truthfully I love dirty words, it delights me quite a bit to throw a good fuck into a sentence. I really don’t think about it too much, but the other day I was reading Keiko Lynn‘s little get to know me post where she mentioned that she can’t bring herself to swear. It seemed like such a cute odd thing to me, only because I’m so opposite.

Anyway, this outfit is obviously pretty similar to my last, but I was really happy with this color combo. Not to mention the INCREDIBLE map shirt! Random fact about me: I love geography, and one of the most beautiful things to me are maps. Doesn’t matter what it’s of or what facts it illustrates, I am obsessed. I have a giant map of Cincinnati right by my door in case I ever don’t know where I’m headed.

I had a good time taking these photos today, sorry for the location change though!

I got this awesome little guy at an antique store for $2!

WHAT: purple studs, thrift

map shirt, thrift

seagull necklace, antique store

stretchy skirt, h&m

spinny silver ring, gift?

gray tights, tj maxx

mustard mary janes, target

gray scarf, target

leather jacket, chicken lays an egg

flower brooch, chicken lays an egg

WHERE: work at the shop

WHEN: friday, january 22

puffy sleeves

jessy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:14:20 +0000

Here’s another little ensemble from last week. I just picked this adorable dress up at the store a few days before and was stoked to try it out. I got a ton of compliments on it, but I think I could have made a cuter total look out of this dress. However, I was running late for work and trying to stay warm. I have to walk a ways from the bus stop, and it’s always freezing and super windy, so I combat that as much as I can. The library is not exactly the warmest place either.

This was my gramma's charm bracelet but it's too cool not to be a focal piece. I just looped a silver chain through the existing clasps to make it long enough.

It's not perfect, but my gramma would be so proud of this bow. She thinks it's a very important skill.

WHAT: charm bracelet, my gramma

puffy sleeve dress, chicken lays an egg

chunky mustard ring, toko baru

white knee socks, target

mary janes, target

WHERE: work at the library

WHEN: wednesday, december 23

same thing, different day

jessy — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:18:31 +0000

Since I’m still kind of sick and unfortunately had to work, I was hoping to optimal comfort and warmth. I think I did pretty well. Surprisingly, my feet didn’t hurt me all day!

That face is because my pup was leaping around the bed in a frenzy.

These are the earrings I made with the leftover buttons from the neon green dress I altered! (October 24 post)

She just couldn't control herself any longer.

Oh no! One of my favorite rings broke this morning! Luckily, I think my old friend super glue can help me out.

WHAT: green post earrings, leftover from alteration

quilted apple dress, chicken lays an egg

mustard plastic ring, pangaea

white band and watch, on loan from maya

navy tights, target

mustard mary janes, target

WHERE: just an average day at our little shop and some errands

WHEN: friday, december 4

Well I’m hoping with a lot of sleep I can knock this thing out, so I’m off to bed! Take it easy.

the boy’s birthday

jessy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Since yesterday was my very sweet, handsome boyfriend’s birthday we went out with a few friends to our favorite restaurant, the always delicious Rio Grande. It’s this little Mexican place with unbelievably cheap and awesome food and GIANT margaritas. If you live in Cincinnati and have never been there, you are doing yourself a serious disservice.

Anyway, the best part of the evening was definitely him opening the little plush Cthulhu I made for him. Cthulhu, if you’ve never heard of him, is a mythical evil sea monster guy from and H.P. Lovecraft story. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu)

cthulhu and other little guys from the story (his mustache is removable)

As you can see from the picture, that night I debuted my little pink ballerina dress, gray scarf, and saddle shoes. It was the same outfit I posted a week or so ago when I bought that dress, so I didn’t think I needed to redo it.

I went for warmth today since there was a pretty nasty wind. I love how the color of this sweater looks on me, but I hardly ever wear it. I have a bad habit of forgetting that I own sweaters due to the fact that I have to keep all my heavy stuff like that in my living room closet. The dinky hanging one I have in my room is always about to collapse as it is. Tangent. Anyway, as much as I love the pocket watch necklace I’m wearing, it is a perfect example of why I usually don’t shop at Urban Outfitters. It cost almost $25, which is honestly way more than I usually pay for jewelry, but I loved it so I bought it. Less than a month after I got it, it stopped keeping time, and then shortly after that the second hand just fell off and now lies in the bottom of the face. Annoying. But I do totally love the funky closure on the leather belt I’ve got on, and I got it for $1! And I got the jacket for free!

My dog, Chopper gets really jealous when I ignore her when I’m posing as you can see.

WHAT:jockey hat, forever 21

green sweater (it’s super soft), thrift

pocket watch necklace, uo

chunky yellow plastic ring, found on the sidewalk

gray belt, shop therapy

teeny tiny houndstooth skirt, thrift

mustard mary janes, target online

WHERE: work and out to dinner (indian! yes!!)

WHEN: thursday, november 19