How I'd Wear It: Cozy Cable Knit Sweater

Whatcha Wearing?

Sweater available here in my Etsy shop

Tights c/o We Love Colors

Reformed skirt from Urban Outfitters / Shoes from Crossroads Trading

To me this is the perfect outfit for a holiday party. Thick, warm turtleneck sweater to keep you warm on a freezing December night, and a flippy little skirt to keep it fun. The red tights just give the neutral outfit that necessary little pop of color. Also, don't you think this sweater has the best textures? I love how there are so many different patterns knitted into it! It helps to keep something as basic as a cream sweater interesting.

I'm linking up with Real Girl Glam, The Pleated Poppy, and Rolled Up Pretty.

Halloween Glamour

We went to a super fun Halloween party on Saturday night, and this was my costume! Pretty easy and almost entirely assembled from thrift store finds.

First off, I'd like to apologize for the poor quality of these photos. I didn't feel like getting ready hours before we were going to leave so that we could take photos before it got dark. Instead you get these lovely photos taken with a flash. Let's just pretend we were going for a Terry Richardson-esque look with the white wall and everything and call it a day.

Can you guess who I'm dressed as? Don't worry, no one could (this year or two years ago when I wore an almost identical costume). I'm Clara Bow! She was a famous, redheaded (although you couldn't tell because everything was black & white) silent film actress from the 20s. My favorite part of this costume is the eyelashes. Obviously they aren't historically accurate, but I do like to add a bit of outrageousness to my costumes. I pretty much want to wear these all the time, although I think that might result in some really weird looks. Also this curly hair is a fun change, but I know I'm too lazy to do it on a regular basis.

Did anyone else do anything fun for Halloween over the weekend, or is everyone waiting for the actual holiday on Wednesday? We're planning to carve a pumpkin and watch E.T. tonight...a Halloween tradition!

I'm linking up with Thrifters Anonymous, Steppin' Out, #YOLO Mondays, and Transatlantic Blonde.

New in the Etsy Shop

Embroidered Day Dress

Metallic Gold Leaf Cardigan

Black Textured Vest

Yellow Polka Dot Dress

Cream Turtleneck Sweater

Sheer Yellow Dress

Black Velvet Jumpsuit

White & Oatmeal Striped Dress

I think it's kind of funny that there's so much cream/white/yellow in this group...I really didn't plan it that way! I think my favorite from this bunch is the green 60s dress up top. It's such a cute dress, and the fabric is super soft. Also, that embroidery. So beautiful. What do you think of this week's new items? 

Instagram: Time Flies

This week flew by, and I'm happy about that because tomorrow night I get to dress up and go to a Halloween party! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays precisely because it involves a costume. I'll take any excuse to put together a fun costume! You can follow me on Instagram @chrissiburn.

Our two tiny Halloween decorations / Fancy lights outside of Sony Pictures
Matchy new items for my Etsy shop / Super cute stickers (anthropomorphized food!)
The long, steep road up to Baldwin Hills Overlook / Night palm at Hollywood Forever
The 'Nox is in desperate need of a wash / Spider on our balcony (thankfully he moved on)

Altered State: Prairie Dress

Here's the before and after on this week's alteration project. Before we do anything, let's talk about the crazy look on my face in the after photo. Maniacal smile, demonic look in my eyes...let's just call this me getting into the Halloween spirit, shall we? That sounds better than me just looking like an idiot!


Exorcism complete...there's my normal face again!



This look is so twee with the tiny flowers, lace collar, and ruffles, it almost makes me want to puke. I think the little deer pin I stuck to the necklace just really puts it over the edge. Don't blame me, blame the Belle & Sebastian Spotify station I've been listening to this week! The leaf charm on the other side is actually a vintage clip on earring that I only have one of. Let's face it, clip on earrings hurt too bad to wear anyway...

Whatcha Wearing?

Vintage dress & bracelet from Buffalo Exchange 

Tights from Gap / Shoes from Payless

Necklace from some mall store a million years ago

This alteration was much simpler than last week's. I just cut off the cuffs since the sleeves were much too short on me and added elastic to give it a more purposeful 3/4 length instead. I took the buttons from the amputated cuffs and used them to replace one missing and one worn out one on the front of the dress. I considered shortening the hem by about an inch, but decided against it in the end. I think it looks better right at knee length now that I've seen the pics, so I'm glad I didn't go through the trouble of altering that.

I'm linking up with Two Thirty-Five Designs and Fashion Friday.

How I'd Wear It: Spring Florals in the Fall

Whatcha Wearing?

Floral dress available here in my Etsy shop

Tights from Forever 21 /  Boots from Steve Madden

J. Crew chambray shirt & socks from Buffalo Exchange 

Do a lot of people wear purple tights with their witch costumes at Halloween? I always associate purple tights with Halloween, and that's the only reason I can come up with...

I'm actually wearing this dress backwards, but I think it works better that way for this type of layering, don't you? The deep V open back would be super cute without anything under it. It just suits the tuxedo shirt detailing of this blouse better to flip it around. Let this be a lesson that Kris Kross weren't completely devoid of usable fashion ideas. Jump!

I'm linking up with Transatlantic Blonde, The Pleated Poppy, and Thrifter Thursday.

Hollywood Forever

Whatcha Wearing?

Altru t-shirt from Out of the Closet / Shorts from H&M

Tout a Coup hoodie & Nine West leather jacket from Beacon's Closet 

Tights c/o We Love Colors / Altama Army boots from Goodwill

On Saturday we headed to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for a screening of Dawn of the Dead. What a perfect setting and movie to get into the Halloween spirit! This is part of a series they do all summer where they project films onto a mausoleum wall and tons of people come to picnic and watch. It was really cool, and it made me kind of sad that we didn't take advantage of it more over the past few months. Oh well, there's always next summer...

I decided to wear something sensible since I knew I'd be sitting on the ground for a few hours. I'm glad I opted for the black shorts because the ground was kinda wet and our blanket soaked through pretty much right away. At least in black denim no one can tell you have a soggy butt!

I'm linking up with #YOLO Mondays, Rolled Up Pretty, and Real Girl Glam.

New in the Etsy Shop

Preppy Tennis Sweater

Graffiti by Fabrice Dress

Tiki Print Wiggle Dress

Wool Plaid Skirt

Green Mock Turtleneck Sweater

Black Velvet Dress

Floral Grunge Dress

Wool B Altman Blazer

I have some really cute new fall items in the shop this week! I think I'm especially in love with the green wool blazer here at the bottom. It's so warm and cozy, and makes me want to run through piles of autumn leaves. Too bad we don't have any of those here in Southern California, although it has been appropriately chilly here over the past few days. We'll see how long that lasts...

Instagram: Insert Catchy Title Here

Sorry, I don't really have anything insightful to say today. I guess I'm just sleepy! You can follow me on Instagram @chrissiburn.

Happy hour with our friend Tom at Bigfoot West / My favorite beer, Leffe
Accessories in B&W / View of downtown from the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook
A rainbow! / Junk in the yard of someone in the neighborhood
Water jug sculpture in Culver City / Cat acting lazy on the bed

How I'd Wear It: Crushed Velvet Dress

Whatcha Wearing?

Velvet dress available here in my Etsy shop

Tights from Gap / Soda boots from Shoe Carnival

Headband from Day-Lab / Necklace from H&M / Cuff from Buffalo Exchange

When Matt was shooting these close-up shots I realized he was only shooting the left side of my face. I really wanted to show the calla lily detail on my headband, so I asked him to take some from the other side. His response? "But I was trying to avoid your zit!" Haha! I assured him that the pimple wasn't that bad and I really needed pictures from the other angle. I appreciate that he was looking out for me, but that was just so funny!

Isn't this crushed velvet mini dress the best? I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it for myself or sell it when I bought it, and now that I've worn it, I'm wondering if I made a big mistake listing it a few weeks ago. Someone please snap this up so I don't keep it all for myself! Really, it would make a super cute holiday dress, don't you think?

Now it's time to drink some Leffe and watch The Big Lebowski. Two of my favorite things at once...my head might just explode!

I'm linking up with Two Thirty-Five Designs.

Surfin' Safari

Whatcha Wearing?

Urban Renewal dress from Beacon's Closet / Hat from Atlantis Attic

Boots from Salvation Army / Sunglasses from American Eagle

Necklace from a garage sale / Bracelet from H&M

I feel like I'm getting ready to go on safari whenever I wear this hat. I know it doesn't really look like a safari hat, so I'm not sure where that's coming from!

We made the long drive to see our accountant today. Exciting, right? Well, sometimes these not-so-exciting things just have to be done. We were there for a lot longer than I expected, but he's a nice guy, so I guess there are worse ways to spend a day. As you can see, I'm back in front of the graffiti wall again. I had to drop a package off at the post office when we got home, and this wall is just too convenient to pass up when I'm looking for a good place to take outfit photos close to home! I don't know if you can tell, but I'm trying to use different parts of it to keep it fresh. Eventually I'll run out of wall, but for now that's the plan!

I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Transatlantic Blonde, and Thrifters Anonymous.

Altered State: Floral Secretary Dress

Here's the before and after. I think it's a definite improvement, how about you? The simplest changes can make all the difference!

All I really did was cut and hem the bottom to a shorter length, and give the dress short sleeves. Often times I'll take the sleeves off of vintage dresses entirely, but I really loved the puffy shoulders on this one. Adding elastic and making short sleeves seemed like the best way to keep the shoulders, but update the look. It's the first time I've tried this, but I think it really worked out well!

Whatcha Wearing?

Vintage dress from an estate sale

Tights from We Love Colors

Hat from Buffalo Exchange

Belt from Crossroads Trading

AK Anne Klein boots from Beacon's Closet

I wore this out to happy hour on Saturday and it felt so perfectly fall. It's already hot out again, so I'm glad I wore this while I could. Hopefully there will be plenty more cool days coming up to remix this dress into other outfits!

I'm linking up with Thrifters Anonymous, #YOLO Mondays, Steppin' Out, Rolled Up Pretty, and Real Girl Glam.