This is the last time, I swear

So remember a few weeks ago, how I switched my blog name from Flora Vintage to Diamond Star Halo?

Well, I'm doing it again!

This time, the name remains the same - for the most part at least; it's the server that's changing.

You can now read my updates at www.thediamondstarhalo.com/blog.

The reason for the switch? My dear friend Sunny - she of the incredible Hooprama studio here in East Nashville - is helping me link all my enterprises (Etsy, Twitter, Facebook, Libbycallaway.com, and this here blog) into one site, which will be called - you guessed it - www.thediamondstarhalo.com. The site is sponsored by Yahoo, so I'm moving all my stuff over there.

More info on this soon!

Until then, follow me here.

XO,
LC

PS. You can now find my Etsy gear at www.thediamondstarhalo.etsy.com!

LC

A bit of Memphis in Berry Hill

I have a weird kind of love for the Regal Hollywood 27 movie theater in the Berry Hill section of town. And it has nothing to do with the quality of the sound there or the butter they squirt on their popcorn.

As far as I know, the Regal is the only building in town designed in the mode of the Memphis Group - the 1980s Italian art movement, not a pickup band in the famous river city 200 miles to our southwest.

The building has all the hallmarks of Memphisian design: it's very graphic, colorful, symmetrical and cheery (the Memphis Group was reacting to decades of what they saw as soulless Modern design.

The name came from - of all things - a Bob Dylan song. Check out this excerpt from the Design Museum:

Originally dubbed The New Design, the project was rechristened Memphis after the Bob Dylan lyric "Stuck Inside of Mobile (With the Memphis Blues Again)" stuck repeatedly at "Memphis Blues Again" on (Milan furniture designer Ettore) Sottsass’ record player. "Sottsass said: ‘Okay, let’s call it Memphis," wrote Radice, "and everyone thought it was a great name: Blues, Tennessee, rock’n’roll, American suburbs, and then Egypt, the Pharoahs’ capital, the holy city of the god, Ptah."

Well, I guess Dylan gave us Nashville Skyline; it's the least he could do for Memphis, right?

I snapped these pics the other night, when my sister Millie and I went to see The Hangover, which is kinda awesome. I love Ed Helms.

Elegant? Check. Spooky? Check. Faaaabulous? Double check.

Can't wait to get this issue of Vogue Italia. I love me some Kristen McMenamy!

You know how one thing leads to another?

I started out this morning ready to begin posting even more new Etsy editions.

Two hours later, I'm still here at the kitchen table, my dirty cereal bowl and cold coffee cup still sitting here beside my computer, where I've been surfing for far too long.

I just got on one of those fashion searching frenzies, starting with my attempt to find the correct year and season that the 1990s Gaultier sweater/jersey dress that I got in Boise came from. I found what I am SURE is a companion piece from the collection on The Way We Wore's site on 1stdibs.com (my new obsession), which gave me a jumping off point. But since Style.com's backlog of shows is only nine years old, I couldn't find what I was looking for.

I did, somehow, run into a story about my childhood friend Janie Bryant, the costume designer for the incredible AMC series Mad Men - back on TV August 16! - with the news about how she's working on a vintage inspired line. That's super-exciting stuff, so I started searching for more stories, which led to finding interviews she's done with the NYT magazine, British Vogue, the LA Times and a host of websites.

Something on one of Janie's sites linked to some information on Resurrection Vintage, which is the bicoastal vintage store co-owned by Katy Rodriquez, a friend of mine from New York. She's amazing - just a lovely, kind, talented woman (that's her in a vintage 40s Indian headdress, above)- and has been extremely successful over the past few years launching her own namesake line. Recently, she's had a celebrity explosion, with lots of red carpet action and ton of media exposure.

On her business' FB page - join it here - I came across a link to a story by another top-notch off-the-radar fashion site, Refinery29, about her fall '09 lookbook featuring Jessica Joffe, the gorgeous red-headed socialite/writer/model/former Ryan Adams GF. Super stuff. Check it out:

New Etsy additions!

Here are some of the goodies I have up on my Etsy site right now. Check 'em out at www.floravintage.etsy.com!

Walter Steiger black suede pumps with KILLER heels

YSL military jacket

Flora Kung silk dress

Guy Laroche silk cocktail dress

Escada suede spectator pumps

Who's on 1stdibs.com

Gloria Vanderbilt, for one. (How 'bout that amazing crazy quilt robe?!)

And Hamish Bowles, and Kelly Wearstler, John Derian and Wendy Goodman and a whole slew of other style luminaries whose work and/or vibe I dig.

I'd heard about this art and antique site for a while now, but had never checked it out until this morning, when it showed up as an ad link on the side of the Times' T Magazine website, where there's also an Alaia story that I'm keen to spend some time with soon.

1stdibs.com is an auction website, but like most successful and well-executed internet destinations, it also has a journalistic component. I just spent an hour I really should have been doing hot yoga reading about Bunny Williams sensitive design hand, her protege Miles Redd's sensational inclination to reference movie sets in his interiors (his "My Fair Lady" kitchen is wonderful, in all its black and white, at-the-Ascot glory) and even one of my favorite actresses, Rachel Griffiths, who has a big thing for Noguchi chairs and other benchmarks of good modern design - who knew?

Z is for zebra belt

I'm going to start carrying a lot more large jewelry and over-sized belt buckles at Fanny's from now on. This dude is there right now, alongside a pair of linking Mimi Di N leopards and a funny little angel duo that come on a hot pink patent belt. Love!

Killing Me Softly, indeed!

I posted this incredible album cover on my Facebook page last week, but thought I'd slap her on here as well. I'm just mesmerized by her - the eyes, the tear, the purple blouse, the Farrah flip. She's like the lady painting I've never found.

A bit of background. For the last 18 years, I've been amassing a collection of paintings of women. I started back in college, when I found four canvases with female faces on them priced $.98 each. I hung them in a grouping over my couch and fell in love with the idea of having a whole house full. So, now I have over 80 now, and that's after selling some and giving others away.

Of course, these aren't just any women.

My "lady paintings" have to fit into some very specific parameters. They must be non-professional, and definitely not too perfect. They must have something a bit "off" about them - aka they have to have personality! They can't cost more than $20. (Actually, that was an initial rule I made back in '91; now, with inflation and all, I pay up to $40 - though I do try to lowball as much as I can.)

I'll share some of them with you guys in later blogs. If you just can't wait, head over to the corner of Holly & 11th in East Nashville to Fanny's House of Music, where I have the second location of my vintage business (the first is still at GasLamp). I moved a bunch of my girls over there to decorate the joint, including the over-sized version of Marlene Dietrich in full-on Blue Angel drag that I picked up at the Chelsea Flea Market five or so years ago, as well as the buxom, mantilla-wearing seniorita and a moody homage to Angelica Huston, which are also from the NYC flea (I lived at 15th & 7th Avenue for many years, so I was there every weekend back in the day).

Man in the mirror-image

While covering the 'Roo last month for Style.com, I noticed that a ton of the cute indie boys were wearing penny loafers; some, like Rollum Haas of The Features, wore 'em with their jeans rolled up as well.



At the time, I remember thinking that this trend reminded me of something, that I'd seen it before. But at the time, I couldn't place it.

Fast forward three weeks, with all the MJ memorials, including the picture below.

Yep. That's it!

Paging Madonna!

When I went shopping solo on Thursday morning here in Boise, I found a great little consignment store on Broadway Avenue called Back on the Rack. There was a lot of the regular stuff you find in nicer consignment stores in mid-size cities, including dresses by French Connection and Milly as well as some Chicos stuff and a smattering of vintage.

When I inquired about other stores where I might find more secondhand "rich lady clothes," Linda, the owner, gave me some names (unfortunately, the one she was most certain about having great stuff had closed, or rather, merged into a maternity/baby consignment store) and then asked if I were interested in seeing a Gaultier dress she had in her car trunk that was too fashion-y for her clientele: a frock with a lavender angora sweater top and a black silk jersey skirt with a square yoke. She sold it to me for $25. I need to find a photo of it online, with the right crinoline under it to post, because just shooting it here doesn't do it justice.

If I was excited about the Gaultier, I was ecstatic about the round '80s sunglasses I found under the glass topped counter. Check them out!

They're both mirrored and the lenses are very fragile glass. The silver ones have tight springs at the temples, while the pink ones have blinders on them, which make them even more awesome. They totally look like something Madonna would have worn in her True Blue period - actually, I swear I remember a Herb Ritts snap of her in round glasses. Does anyone else remember that? If you find an image, send it on!

Secondhand in Sun Valley

Proof that The Universe wants me to continue shopping for cool old stuff for a demi-living: the first of the two annual antique fairs that happen in Hailey, Idaho, was this weekend!

Marie has been more than gracious, allowing me to shop as much as I want on our July 3 trip over to Sun Valley. This is made easier on her, as the drive is really great; it look us from the relative river oasis of Boise through high desert scrub near Mountain Home and then inches up in elevation as you go further north in Sun Valley.

Our first stop was Hailey - the charming rural township made famous by Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, who chose to raise their three girls here during their formative years (the kids', not the adults', in case it wasn't clear). It's charming little town - despite the small airfield where literally dozens of private planes were lined up, having deposited their owners in town for the holiday weekend - made even more appealing to me by the fact that the flea market was the first thing we saw when we got to town. (There was also a so-so Episcopal church thrift, where I did find a pair of very early Giorgio Armani nude suede flats with clear plastic sides and some men's lederhosen suded shorts that fit me like a charm for just $10! Can't wait to put them on with a pair of heels and play like I'm some Southern-fried version of Gwen Stefani.)

I picked up a few really killer pieces,including a fringed leather jacket with sweet floral beading on the yoke and pockets and a buttery fringed leather purse. Check 'em out here, pictured alongside my wallet and phone, which I managed to leave behind. I'm famous for that shit.

Here are more snaps from the show. I loved the Ralph Lauren-esque styling of the clothes in this top shot. I got two pristine 40s printed rayon dresses from this woman, who has been collecting vintage in Sun Valley for 40 years. AMAZING.

Thrifting Boise, Part 1

I am pooped, having spent the last two days either in a car or on a plane. (I left Nashville at 6:55 AM on Wednesday morning, bound for Boise; had a two hour layover in Las Vegas - a city I loathe - where I came to the conclusion that everyone there looked like they were from Nashville. When I related this to P. Cole, she made the very astute connection to this observation and Music City's second most-commonly used nickname: NashVegas.)

The flight was actually pretty quick, and I got into town by 2:30. Marie's car was waiting at the airport for me, so I was able to jump in, fire up the GPS, and head straight to the nearest Savers, the Western version of our Value Village franchise back East (check out the colors and font of the sign!).

I'm a big fan of the Savers chain for several reasons, but chiefly because of size. They're huge - like, mega-supermarket huge. The West Fairview location I hit in Boise was no exception and I took a good hour-plus to get through it. The clothes were a bit expensive - dresses were mostly $7 or $10; jackets were about the same - though I did manage to score a few jewels, in including a painted silk caftan with an Asian design and a few pairs of shoes, including a pair of black suede boots with beaded rodeo riders on the side (sounds stupid; looks cool).

Three storefronts up the strip mall there was another one: Idaho Youth Ranch Thrift, a non-profit store that I am assuming receives a good bit of dead stock in addition to their usual mix of clothing donations. To wit: the large number of stretch minis and double-breasted peplumed jackets that still had the circa 1980s Contempo Casual (!) tags hanging from them. I got one of the former, two of the latter, as well as a white lace Fredricks of Hollywood brand dress with a full tiered skirt just like the hot pink one I have hanging in Fanny's right now! I love finding twinkie dresses.

After about an hour there (I also got some totally cute plastic wedge Kenny's sandals, size 6ish, that have never been worn; they'll be in the store next week), I hit the last store in the West Fairview thrift trifecta: Deseret Industries. I remember going to one of these in Arizona a few years ago, and loving how organized and well-priced everything was. I also remember thinking it must be a totally Western chain, seeing as it was called Desert Thrift and all. (Missed that last e, yo.) Marie just told me that it's LDS-operated, which makes sense considering that there's a huge Mormon population here.

All I can say is those guys sure know how to run a thrift store: I don't think I've ever been in a thrift that was as ship-shape and pin-neat as this store. I got a few things: a pair of $3 red suede ankle boots with little buckles on the side (my size: yay!), some gold Springalators and a pair of vintage regulation Boy Scout shorts.

After that, I headed to watch Marie play frisbee in gorgeous Ann Morrison Park. Her team is called Isis; they have wings on the back of their T-shirts:

I have much more to report - and many more pictures of FABULOUS booty I got today. But we need to get going or we'll be late to meet up with my old grad school buddy Greg Hahn, who lives here. It's been over 10 years! I'm excited.

FYI: You can read more about my shopping adventures as they happen if you sign up to get my Twitter reports. How you do that, I know not. But looking up my name is as good a place to start as any!

Alaska memories before I'm Boise-bound

I've been busy photographing fabulous vintage gear for the revitalization of my Etsy site over the last day or so. Trying to get some things up before I head to Boise tomorrow to visit my sister, who this fall will start her third year of law school at the U of Idaho, where she's in the top 10 percent of her class and a member of the law review. (Overachieve much, 'Ree?)

Marie has been telling me how amazing it is there - how great the Greenways are and how she can walk the mile to work from her rental home downtown. There are rivers and mountains equidistant from the town. Everyone is healthy, happy and loves the outdoors.

And all I can think about is how many thrift stores a major state capitol with 190,000 folks in its environs can support.

Considering how well we get along, it's incredible how different Marie and I are. She is a total outdoors-woman, who is getting her degree in environmental law so that she can help save our rivers. (My family - God bless them for reals - is full of hard-core environmental do-gooders. I guess I qualify because I am big on recycling clothes?)

For the last six years,, Marie has spent her summers working as a river guide on a bald eagle preserve in Haines, Alaska. She met Jeff, her fabulous boyfriend, on a freakin' glacier, where he lives four months out of the year, leading day-long expeditions in Glacier Bay state park. For the last two years, Marie has been involved in some huge two-week trips down interior Alaskan rivers like the Alsek (the pics here came from one of those trips) that are sponsored by a Sierra Club-esque company.

My dad went out and did one of the trips last summer; he had a truly great trip and was just blown away by her professionalism and abilities. I picked him up from the airport when he got back from his trip and the only way I can describe his demeanor was blissed out. Dad and Marie are two peas in a pod when it comes to that kind of adventure - I'm more like my mom, who taught me everything I know about shopping and retail endurance - and he had had the time of his life. I am so happy they got to do that together.

The first summer Marie did the Alaska thing, I drove up with her. Yes, we drove, and it was easily the best road trip I've ever taken. The company was superb, of course, and was only matched by the scenery. I hope heaven looks like British Columbia. That's all I'm saying.

Once we got to Haines, we located the vintage Airstream trailer where Marie was to live that summer. It was on a river bank and had an unparalleled view of Rainbow Glacier - the landscape up there is just silly with them. It had no electricity or running water and two New Age hippies and their child (!) had been living there with their all winter. It was a bit, um, sour, if you get my drift.

While Marie was training for her first day on the glacier-fed river she would be working on for the next four months, I shifted into interior design mode, procuring her a new foam "mattress" and making new curtains from fabric I got at the little general store downtown. (Haines was the model for Cicily, Alaksa, in Northern Exposure, if that gives you any idea of where we were. It was just beyond great.)

When I left her a week later (I flew out of Haines in a two-seater bound for Juneau, where I caught a slightly larger craft), I felt good about it. She had made friends, of course, and seemed to love what she was doing. I can't wait to get to Boise to see how, six years later, this chapter of her life is shaping up.

And to shop, of course! Look for upcoming blogs featuring the thrifts and antique stores of Boise. Cheers!

The girl in the golden boots

The Dead Weather are on Conan tonight (he's turned me into a late-night talk show watcher with this new Tonight Show gig: love it - especially considering it comes on at 10:35 here, if that's even late night at all ...) and Allison Mosshart looks amazing. Her hair is super-dark and she has on a black cutaway jacket with large flat studs. Amazing.

When I saw The Kills open for the Raconteurs last fall, I couldn't take my eyes off Allison. There's something about how she holds herself - her confidence really shows through in the way she moves, not to mention how she dresses.

Among the things that transfixed me at the show was her faaabulous cuban heeled gold boots (she wore them tonight, too). In fact, seeing her in them, wearing them with tight black jeans and a long-ish leopard top and thin scarf, inspired me to find some of my own, dammit. When I was in NYC last October, I went to Trash & Vaudeville and found a pair of winkle pickers (very mod short booties, skinny at the ankle and super pointy), which also have that wonderful heel. But they were just too perfect looking. The key to her look, it seemed, was the careful imperfection of it all.

So, I searched everywhere on the internet for info on them and was thrilled to finally find out a few months ago via Derek Blasberg's interview with Allison in, um, Interview. You can read the whole thing here or check out this portion of the back-and-forth, including her propensity to re-wear favorite pieces ad naseum:

BLASBERG: The jeans you’re wearing look familiar.

MOSSHART: Embarrassingly enough, I think these are the exact same jeans I’ve worn on the past two tours.

BLASBERG: And the gold boots?

MOSSHART: I love my gold boots. Hedi Slimane made these, and now I have three pairs of the gold, plus pairs in every other color, in black, in patent. I have a friend [at Dior] who reorders a pair for me whenever mine get tired. I challenge anyone to show me a boot I like better.

Of COURSE they're custom-made by Hedi Slimane. Drat. If I wasn't so into her music and love clocking her look so much, I'd be hating on her right now.

Gratuitous Bruce butt shots

Saw a half-hour or so of Bruce Springsteen at Bonnaroo last weekend, enjoying it much more than I thought I would. Man, his band is tight.

So is his ass, which is something that a cameraman strategically positioned behind the Boss managed to zoom in on at least once every two minutes for a good two or three seconds.

I tried to get a good Shameless Butt Shot from our place in the crowd, but this is best I could do:

A time to rip, a time to sew, a time to blog

I should be sewing tonight, mending seams and the occasional tear on some pieces in the very vast stash of vintage clothes and accessories I picked up on my week-long shopping trek to NYC and back. But instead I'm baking a strawberry cake - using fresh strawberries and batter from scratch (the only way to bake) - and writing the first post for my new blog.

I'm going to avoid defining exactly what's going to go on here and just let it evolve organically. But I can assure you that a good 80 percent of what you read here will relate to clothes.

I am passionate about fashion - so much so that I have devoted the majority of my journalism career writing about style. These days, I also work as a stylist and sell vintage clothing here in Music City, which is much chicer than most folks give it credit for being.

But enough about my blog.

Let's talk about my outfit!

I met with Trisha Brantley of Hip Zipper Vintage today to discuss the upcoming Tomato Festival fashion show in East Nashville this afternoon and had her snap this picture of me, with her super-duper packed (and, indeed, super-duper in general) store in the background.

I'm wearing a black cotton spaghetti strapped smock top I got at Urban Outfitters eons ago but still wear all the time (I have no idea why I hitched it up like that); my Christopher Ross swan belt buckle (love!); the fabuloso metallic striped and dotted and flounced all over Marc Jacobs skirt I picked up in NYC two weeks ago (thank you, 70 percent off sale!); and some Donald Pliner purple velvet wedges I got at the inimitable Cool Springs discount shoe Mecca, Marti & Liz.

Because it's impossible for me to be serious when someone's taking my picture (I loath posing), we started cutting up, doing stupid poses. Therefore, in the picture below, I'm wearing the same outfit, but channeling one of those intense, self-consciously model-y model poses you see in high end fashion mags. Enjoy!