Styledfortheadventure

Christmas, it’s always a little bitter sweet… We’re friends, so I feel comfortable admitting that I tend to stay a bit too busy during the holiday season. Being away from family this time of year isn’t easy, so I guess you could say it’s a holiday tradition of mine to stay way too busy. Whether good or bad, I think we all have holiday coping mechanisms and staying too busy just happens to be mine 🤣. Don’t worry, I did find time to binge watch holiday movies, make festive cocktails, look at Christmas lights AND make this tulle skirt with a friend! I bought the mini bow crop top from Akira Chicago on Christmas Day last year and definitely had a vision for it!!

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Photography by @michaelahphotograpy !

What do you get for the person on your holiday shopping list who loves Old Hollywood and dresses like it’s 1950? Good question! It might be hard to find something at a mall for this person unless you’re visiting Tiffany’s or the Chanel counter. I know this from personal experience! I rarely find ANYTHING at the mall for myself so I’m gonna help you guys out! 

In today’s post, I’m sharing 10 gift ideas for the starlet in your life! 

1. A gift card to their favorite hair salon (Marilyn got her roots done every Saturday, need I say more?). If you’re local, I recommend Dimension 7 Salon in Hillsboro, OR!
2. Anything from Alejandro Mogollo Art !!
3. The “This Was Hollywood” book by Cara Valderrama.
4. A gift card to Vixen by Micheline Pitt, Unique Vintage or Dela Deville’s Vintage. I know some people think gift cards are impersonal but I think they make great gifts! Who doesn’t like to buy what they want?!
5. The Besame Red – Lip and Nail Color Set. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with anything from Besame, especially if you know your starlet’s favorite era. You can also still purchase makeup from the Marilyn collection like the eyes and pencil set!
6. Classics on vinyl. Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin…Take your pick.
7. A bottle of champagne. Any bottle will do.
8. A gift card to their favorite true vintage shop. If you’re local and looking for one, I recommend Most Everything Vintage. A few of my non local favorites are Connie’s Vintage Trunk and Lady Jane Vintage. 
9. A hat, headpiece or gift card from Kramarić Millinery. 
10. Bad Girl Hoop earrings available in silver or gold at Vixen by Micheline Pitt. They’re an everyday essential and they’d make the perfect stocking stuffer! 

Whether you want to treat yourself or someone else this holiday season, I hope this list makes your holiday gifting a bit easier. As you can probably tell from theses photos, I’ve already purchased a few gifts for myself from this list this holiday season 🤣 (holiday photo shoot with Michaela at Cobalt Studios included) !! My Gentleman Prefer Blondes Little Rock headpiece was custom made by Kramarić Millinery, my Marilyn Little Rock notebook is from Alejandro Mogollo Art and my lipstick, eye shadow and blush are from the Marilyn Collection at Besame Cosmetics!

Happy Holidays!! 💋

Photography by the talented Michaela H ! Follow her on Instagram to see more of her holiday mini sessions!

If you’re a fan of Marilyn Monroe’s off screen style, then you probably already have a black turtleneck sweater and white high waisted ankle pants in your wardrobe. If you don’t, what are you waiting for?! Even if you don’t “dress vintage”, this combination is so timeless it transcends fashion decades. 

I’d been looking for the perfect pair of white high waisted ankle pants for a while and ordered these the minute I saw them. I honestly can’t recommend them enough! They’re  amazing!! I also have them in black and plan to buy them in a few more colors (or just another pair of black and white 🤣) before they sell out. I don’t shop at Zara often, so I utilized the “find your size” tool in the sizing drop down to find my recommended size. Since this black sweater has been in my closet for years ( it’s the same one I wore in this 2017 blog post about Marilyn, my hair was so dark then!) I’m linking similar ones here and here.

Would you wear this Marilyn inspired look?!

Photography by Little Photo Fox . If you need any professional photos this holiday season and you’re in the Portland area, reach out to Shauna aka Little Photo Fox and tell her S.J. sent you!

This cute and comfy vintage set from Vivien of Holloway arrived at the start of summer and I’ve been waiting patiently for a cool (yet dry day) so I could finally wear it! After a couple weeks of rain, the sun came out and it felt a little like spring so… I decided there was no time like the present to wear my retro inspired leisurewear! 

Everything about this French Terry set is amazing, from the fit to the color, it’s an absolute dream. I’ll definitely be ordering another as soon as I decide on the color. In this post, I’m wearing the top and trousers in teal but I also love the sage and red. Aside from being so comfy, I think the thing I love most about this look is how polished it is. Comfy and polished?!  I guess that’s vintage casual for ya, right? Ironically these pieces are called the Sloppy Joe top and trousers and there’s nothing sloppy about them! I love that the tops and trousers are all sold individually so you can mix and match. Whether you pair your Sloppy Joe set with saddle shoes or peep toe heels, you’ll be temped to just kick off the shoes and relax.

Special thanks to my Mom for taking these photos.

Fall fashion starts now! At least for me it does. I usually don’t break out my fall wardrobe pieces until after spooky season.  Now that spooky season has sadly come to an end it’s time for me to get a little bit cozier. 

I’ve been wanting to shoot this Marilyn Monroe inspired casual look for a while now and it’s the perfect outfit for a crisp fall day! If you know your Marilyn, then you’ll know this outfit was inspired by photos taken of her in Canada while filming River of No Return.  I love every version of Marilyn, but I think I love the casual carefree version of her most. 

You only need two pieces to recreate this look, a chunky sweater ( I found mine at H&M and a pair of high waisted jeans! The jeans I’m wearing in this post are 1950s western inspired from Vivien of Holloway and super similar to the ones Marilyn wore in photos. A Marilyn inspired hairstyle and a classic red lip is optional but it does complete the look! These jeans, neutrals and understated accessories have definitely become staples in what I like to call, my “Marilyn capsule wardrobe”.

Special thanks to my Mom for taking these photos. 

It’s no secret I constantly turn to Marilyn Monroe and Old Hollywood for inspiration but who’s my modern day muse??? Lady Gaga! The looks featured in this post were most definitely inspired by her role as The Countess in the AHS Hotel season.

Like Marilyn, Gaga constantly inspires me to push myself creatively. She also encourages me to keep evolving in terms of personal style. As much as I don’t want to get bored with what I’m creating, I don’t want you guys getting bored either!! I like to keep people guessing and I get that’s probably frowned upon from a marketing standpoint 🤣. 

Sometimes with blogging, I feel like it’s super easy to put yourself in a box you’re forced to stay in whether it’s pertaining to your style, image or just the overall content you’re creating. I know when I first started blogging I felt so much pressure to look and dress a certain way to be relatable and gain followers. Now, personal growth and building community is my main focus. As much as I would love to recycle photos from shoots 3+ years ago, I can’t. I’m not the same person I was when I started this journey and I’m so thankful for that. 

Friends, spooky season really is the perfect time of year to experiment with looks if you’re not quite comfortable being a style chameleon year round. This Halloween and everyday, I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and break your own mold! Those who truly appreciate what you’re doing will stick with you (and support you) no matter what! 

Black Gunne Sax Dress true vintage from Connie’s Vintage, Burgundy wiggle dress from Vixen by Mitcheline Pitt, Black faux leather opera gloves from La Femme en Noir, burgundy witch hat made by Royal House of Whimsy.

Special thanks to Sam Rivas Photography for partnering on this concept shoot. Follow her on Instagram and book your shoot today!

Over the summer I was scrolling through Pinterest and saw pinup illustrations of Disney Villains! I thought the illustrations were genius and was immediately inspired to create my own versions. Since Halloween costumes can get a little pricey and I needed three distinct looks, I took my Glitz & Glamour sequin wiggle dress from Vixen by Mitcheline Pitt and just swapped out accessories! I chose this particular dress because I’ve been dying to wear it and I thought the black sequins and bombshell silhouette would be the perfect foundation for my glamorous villains. Like absolutely everything from Vixen, this dress is amazing and will be in my closet forever. All of the accessories and headpieces I used for this shoot were purchased from Amazon and I have to say, I was surprised by the quality! These pieces definitely exceeded my expectations and can easily be reused for future shoots or any occasion that calls for a costume! 

Who’s your favorite Disney Villain?

Photography by Shauna Peniche aka Little Photo Fox ! Be sure to follow Shauna on Instagram and book your own shoot today!

MUA Madeline Qi owner of Dimension 7 Salon ! Madeline is my go to for hair and makeup! If you’re in the Portland, OR area and you’re looking for a makeup artist or hair stylist – Madeline is seriously the best!!

If there ever was a shirt to so accurately sum up my summers it’s this one.

It was 84 degrees and sunny for the majority of the summer in the Pacific Northwest and I was inside a dark house watching paranormal investigation shows. If I wasn’t watching a paranormal show or listening to a paranormal podcast, I was reading a book on hauntings.

Growing up I loved summers but when I entered “the real world,” something changed. I guess when you can’t take the entire summer off to go to the beach or the pool, summers tend to loose their luster. At least that seems to be the case for me. I’m not going to lie though, I do tend to avoid the sun for anti aging purposes too. At some point I decided to just take a tip from vampires because it seems to work from them. Haven’t you ever wondered why they always look so young?! 

 P.S. I saw a “Hot Ghoul Summer” shirt right after I ordered this “Haunt Girl Summer” shirt from Witchwood Bags….Ghoul problems….

Stay tuned because next I’ll be sharing my go to shops for spooky style wardrobe staples! Happy last day of summer!

Photography by one of my favorite ghouls, Little Photo Fox. Check out more of here work here and be sure to give her a follow!

As a lover of retro aesthetics, I was smitten the minute I saw Street and Saddle’s Summer 2021 collection! This summer I’ve really made it my mission to add more vintage casual inspired pieces to my wardrobe. Prior to even seeing Street and Saddle’s new summer collection, I was already turning to the 40s and 50s for everyday style inspiration. In terms of casual yet still put together looks, those eras did it best in my opinion. My photographer and friend, Shauna Penchie, aka Little Photo Fox, introduced me to the Vancouver BC based brand last fall and I was immediately drawn to the quality and craftsmanship of their pieces. This summer, it was most definitely an honor to be able to model so many of the pieces I fell in love with on Instagram. NOW, let’s get to know owner and designer of Street and Saddle, Katelyn Woodburn!

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

My official title at S&S is Owner and Designer – but I do almost everything, from customer service and cutting/sewing (alongside our amazing sewing team) to packing orders and drafting patterns. I first fell in love with apparel design when I sewed myself a Beatrix Kiddo costume in high school (you know, the yellow pleather motorcycle suit). There was probably more hot glue gunning than sewing going on back then, but I really loved the 2D to 3D process of it, and after that I didn’t want to do anything else!

What inspired you to start your own brand?

I grew up really loving horses and literally anything that had to do with them, so that has really infiltrated the personality of S&S. But I think the main driving force behind the brand is the talented sewers and tailors who make every piece of clothing right in our studio. The more I learned about sewing and garment manufacturing, the more in awe I was of what an incredibly skilled trade it is – and how underappreciated it is as well. Working with craftswomen (it is a very female-dominated trade) who are fairly treated and compensated has been very important from the start. We also started offering custom sizing very early on – which has been so challenging and rewarding! My favourite thing to hear from client’s is “I never knew clothing could feel this good.” That means we got the fit perfect 🙂 And we’ve recently expanded our size range to include 4X and 5X. As much as I love the fabrics and the creativity, it has always been important to tackle these fundamental issues with fashion – in our own little way. 

I love your new collection and the retro vibes! Was there a specific era that inspired you most and what was most inspiring about that era? 

Equestrian apparel has a very vintage vibe to it. From cowgirls to Derby parties, polo players and dressage, the style is very classic and iconic. We start with styles inspired by the equestrian world, and layer in references from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Our Summer collection had some strong forties hints – from the wrap dress (whose twirly skirt is a nod to Dior’s 1947 New Look), to the denim shorts (inspired by an outfit my granny wore when she was a rebellious teenager at the time). I find that from a sustainability perspective, looking to those decades is very important. Styles from that era keep coming back again and again and again, whereas a lot of modern trends are much more short-lived. 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow in your entrepreneurial footsteps? 

Make sure you love the good, the bad and the ugly of your business. Being an apparel designer is fast-paced and creative which I knew that I would love, but there’s a lot more math, finance and logistics than I anticipated. So you have to learn to like each part of the job, whether it’s sewing or spreadsheets! I would say that one thing every entrepreneurial role has in common is needing to make a huge amount of judgement calls and decisions every day. So whether that excites you or stresses you out (or both!) should be an indicator of whether that kind of life (because it does really consume your whole life) is a good fit or not.

What do you have planned in the months to come for Street and Saddle?!

Right now we are working on our Fall 2021 collection, which releases at the end of August – and it’s so gorgeous. It’s still a secret, but we went for a very 1970’s varsity vibe with the collection. So expect some tailored indigo denim, jewel toned satin jackets, and faux tortoiseshell detailing. 

Special thanks to Street and Saddle for partnering on this post! Be sure to follow Street and Saddle on Instagram and shop the complete summer collection here !

Photography by Little Photo Fox, check out more of her work here and give her a follow as well!

Swimsuits….Either you love em or hate em. Am I really wrong in thinking there’s no in between? For as long as I can remember I’ve always been self-conscious in them. It wasn’t until recently that I began wondering if the self-consciousness was simply the result of the not wearing the right one. Maybe swimsuits are a little like men, you may never find Mr. Perfect but sometimes Mr. Right is okay. Sorry, I’ve been rewatching Sex and the City for the one millionth time….

I will say I’m definitely most comfortable in retro-inspired swimwear. I find swimsuits reminiscent of yesteryear tend to cover and accentuate all the right areas. High waists and swim skirts also tend to make the act of wearing a swimsuit a bit more bearable in my mind. The swimsuit featured in this post might actually be the best swimsuit I’ve ever worn in terms of fit, style and my overall comfort level while wearing it! Although this swimsuit was gifted to me by Chicwish, I’ll probably be buying one in another color because I love it that much. It also comes with a matching kimono to complete your poolside look!

Photography by Vanessa Rosa Wolf. Be sure to check out Vanessa’s personal blog on Instagram too. If you love thrifting, vinyl and outdoor adventures, you’ll love following Vanessa!