Opposite Sides

Gateway to the west and pathway to the west*; Saint Louis and Kansas City; These two cities on opposite ends of the state have their differences but when it comes to good design they find common ground.

Today, I’m not doing a total look but three accessories that I own from Kansas City and Saint Louis designers. 

I just recently picked up a necklace from Erin Paige. It is a three dimensional piece that is actually a run over copper pipe. I fell in love with the patina surfaces of this copper piece. I feel as if I'm wearing a mini abstract expressionist painting. There is a much closer view below because it is visually extraordinary. 

 

Erin was recently featured during Kansas City Fashion Week. Her pieces are visually strong and make dramatic statements. 

 

For the moment, I am pairing my new necklace with some earrings I have had quite a while. These were created by Beth Cosner, another Kansas City jewelry designer. I found Beth when she had a small shop at the consignment store Her Majesty's Closet (now closed). With their vintage Lucite and sterling silver, these are a nice fit with a lot of what I wear.

Beth received her Bachelor of Fines Arts at University of Kansas and then entered Gemological Institute in Carlsbad California and became a Graduate jeweler. 

She does not have an online shop but can be contacted for information where her pieces are currently showing. Fellow Heartland blogger, The Arts by Katrina (a link with an interview with Beth Cosner) has created a nice Pinterest Board with Beth's work. 

And now, I move across state. Michael Drummond is know for being a contestant on Project Runway. He showed on Friday of Kansas City Fashion Week. Although, we didn't attend Friday, I was lucky that Michael had a Pop-Up on Saturday.  His designs caught my eye clear across Union Station and Union Station is a big place. 

I decided on this scarf with it's graphic feather. It is just the right size and can be also used as a shawl and I think just brings out the tad dramatic in me. This scarf will be the take-with-me wrap for cool Spring and summer nights.

Feather Scarf approx. 31" x 58"

This scarf is just to much fun!

 Erin Paige necklace

 

The intricacies of the Beth Cosner earrings

Still life-Michael Drummond's tag is copper-so cool

The Polish

Of course, I had to pick a polish to wear with my pieces. This is Lake of Shining Water by Literary Lacquer.  I can't say enough about Amy Milder's creations. She bases her collections on her and her fan's favorite books.The color I am wearing is from the Ann of Green Gable's collection. Started in 2012, Literary Lacquer's quality is impeccable and Amy has such a creative outlook on her polishes. Every August, she makes a limited edition polish for her birthday. I have snagged two birthday polishes at this point and find I always have room for more Literary Lacquer. If you are interested in a safe great Indie polish, check her out on ETSY.

Love holographic!

That's it for today.  I'm sure a lot of us are out enjoying this beautiful (finally!) Spring weather. Take care until we meet again.

Today, I am linking up with Patti's Not Dead Yet Style's Visible Monday HERE, Cherie's  Style Nudge's Shoe and Tell HERE and Catherine's Not Dressed As Lamb's I will Wear What I like HERE, the Wardrobe Stylist's Link-Up HERE,
Color and Grace's Link Up Party HERE, Elegantly Dressed, Stylish Turning Heads Tuesday HERE, Shopping My Closet's Style Me Wednesday HERE, Sydney's Fashion Hunter's Fresh Fashion Forum HERE and Style Diary By Osy's Friday Link Up Party HERE.

* With Gateway to the West, I mean the Saint Louis Arch and with Pathway to the West, I am referencing The Oregon Trail. 

A Cold and Windy April Night

Friday night is Starbucks, shopping and thrifting.  Michael settles in at Starbucks with a good book and coffee. I do the other stuff and join him when I'm finished. 

Where I live, Mother Nature had a fun time on the first Friday of April. Sunny but cold with a good dose of wind, some folks probably would have revolted, worn flower prints, cut offs, and flip flops. But for me, it was just one more time to wear one of my wool Fedoras!

I could call this my menswear look with a bit of vintage whimsy. As usual, it's a bit of new, thrifted, and vintage.

My Fedora is new by DPC, with the color "putty". I picked it up at my favorite KC hat store Exclusively For You.  

The pricey-looking navy jacket (Collections for Le Suit) with tan and grey pinstripes is another great thrifty find. I know originally it was part of some ensemble but by the time it made it to the thrift store it was all by its lonesome--and not expensive!

My jeans are Madewell skinnies and I got them at a Madewell. Expensive, yes but I have one pair and they look great every time I wear them. Madewells do not stretch or bag and they fit my body type great. Yes, I love, love, love them. 

Now for the purse. It's part of my vintage collection and is a Furla. I liked the color, simplicity and the length of the straps. From eBay and is the only Furla I own. 

The Oxfords are Nine West and I did get them from Nine West. They have this almost crochet interest that I love. 

And now for the whimsy. I have a collection of vintage Poodle scarfs. They range from classic to Bob Mackie bright. The one I am wearing with this ensemble is probably my favorite. It is a double woven jacquard in silk from France. It is a tad hard to see in the photos above so I created a still life below to show the two-color weave of my scarf and the knot work of the oxfords.  

Finally to my nails. I've been wearing quite a bit of blue lately. My latest is from an Australian Indie by the name of MckFresh and this is their Mermish Tales. This is a scattered holo and is just gorgeous, especially in natural sunlight.

Oh, and a quick report on my shopping gems that night. At Salvation Army I found a black wool crepe shift dress that will be great next Fall. I just need to fiddle with the hem a bit. Also scored was a wool Herringbone vest from Harvé Benard and some Top Shop flats. Kohls had some of their hats on clearance and I found a grey straw Fedora mixed in with all the winter hats. Needless to say, I snapped it up!

Here I am wearing my new hat and vest the very next day. Typical of Missouri, the temps were about 15 degrees warmer. The Poodles (I'm holding Sophia) and I were on our way to watch the boys in Joplin.

That's it for today. Here's to warmer days and take care until we meet again. 

Terri

Today, I am linking up with  Patti's Not Dead Yet Style's Visible Monday HERE, Cherie's  Style Nudge's Shoe and Tell HERE, Nicole's High Latitude Style Linkup HERE, Catherine's Not Dressed As Lamb's I will Wear What I like HERE,
Color and Grace's Link Up Party HERE, Elegantly Dressed and Stylish Turning Heads Tuesday HERE,
Shopping My Closet's Style Me Wednesday HERE, Sydney's Fashion Hunter's Fresh Fashion Forum HERE and
and Fashion Should Be Fun's Fun Friday Fashion Link Up HERE and Style Diary By Osy's Friday Link Up Party HERE.

Hats and Wraps

When the Joplin School District had Spring Break, Michelle hired her fill-in veterinarian and brought the boys for five days to spend at the farm. They also went to Kansas City (we are just one hour away) to spend time with her sister and to pick up some culture. Our son-in-law is the clinic's office manager and stayed to man the ship and keep everything running smoothly.

During Michelle's visit, we sewed, knitted, ate and had a great time. She taught me how to use our jointly owned serger which I had been putting off. I will use it in the future and when I actually make something on it, I will let everyone know!

We ended their trip with a few pictures for the fun of it. They were just in time for Judith's Style Crone's April Hat Attack. 

I fell in love with this vintage pillbox on eBay and really didn't worry if I had a place to wear it. It does seem to be wool and the label says Bellini Original. I don't know to much about hat makers but did find some other Bellini hats on ETSY. I always like to find out some history of a vintage item or the company that made it, but I came up with nothing. I probably just need to look a little harder.

I saw what Michelle brought to wear for the picture and then with hat in hand headed to the closet to style something that would go with her. In the end, we went with the black/gray/pink tones. With us, as usual, it's a bit of the new, vintage and refashioned.

Michelle's top is from Mimu Maxi out of New York. Their line is a minimalist style and made in the USA. With it, she is wearing what is called a "skirt legging". This one is refashioned from a very stretch A-line skirt that she thrifted. The shoes are mine. I liked that their abstract pattern matched the pattern in her printed scarf. 

And now to me for a bit. 

I've already talked about my hat. The jacket is a pink, grey and black chenille textured that I thrifted. I picked this up about two years ago on my first excursion to thrift shops with Michelle. My pants are old ( six years maybe?) Charter Club silks that I altered to reflect my changing taste. They were very wide legged and baggy originally. My shoes are my trusty neutral Nine Wests that I wear a lot in the Spring.

A close up of Michelle's wrap. This child has an incredible amount of scarfs. After 100, I think she lost count. She gets them new, used, from here, there and everywhere. From what I've seen her do, this is a simple style. She only used two scarfs and no jewelry.
I fell in love with two of her Wrapunzel scarfs and had to go online and order a couple to style with my wardrobe. I gave a link to Deep Ocean one of the most gorgeous scarfs I have ever seen and is one of those I purchased.

My top under the jacket was just so-so 

and as I do a lot, added a scarf and tied 

it into a bow.

Just a close up

Our oldest grandson William with our 

oldest daughter Michelle.

He is taller that she is now.

 How fast they grow up!

The last two weeks have spoiled me. Posting with the girls is so much fun. Next week I will be all my myself. 

And closing with some sweet eye candy. Michelle enjoys making and decorating cakes. She follows quite a few Australian cake makers on YouTube. She made this one for her Dad. He lives up to our last name and is the gardener of the family. This recipe had rose water among the ingredients and was heaven on a fork!

Take care until next time. 

Today, I am linking up with  Judith of The Style Crone's Hat Attack HERE, Patti's Not Dead Yet Style's Visible Monday HERE, Cherie's  Style Nudge's Shoe and Tell HERE, Catherine's Not Dressed As Lamb's I will Wear What I like HERE, Color and Grace's Link Up Party HERE, Elegantly Dressed and Stylish Turning Heads Tuesday HERE, Shopping My Closet's Style Me Wednesday HERE and Sydney's Fashion Hunter's Fresh Fashion Forum HERE, Fashion Should Be Fun's Fun Friday Fashion Link Up HERE and Style Diary By Osy's Friday Linkup Party HERE.