bits and bobbins

grooving on navy blue, and really, most blues at the moment. i’m pairing it with my oranges, my reigning chromatic favorite of much of the past decade (natch!).

can’t really discern where this this navy blue love is coming from, but i have a few theories (some more serious than others):

-navy feels kind of trad and classic, even really very preppy, but at the same time, subversive. like, people wear it, but it’s not as prevalent as black, and not considered as chic, especially in a urban environment. it’s kind of unexpected and maybe a little off-putting to some. i am always about the underdog, the tweak on that which is expected and the norm and the trend, so this dig at black stuff/championing of navy instead appeals to my sense of fashion rightness (which i feel like is other people’s idea of fashion wrongness). i like being contrary, ha.

-i’ve always had a thing for inky dark denim. i adore denim and so many of it’s incarnations, and i’ve always felt that there’s something really deep and serious and amazing about dark, raw denim. so solid and stiff and dependable. kind of dressed up, dressy, even. very chic. and navy/dark denim is so go-with-everything. a neutral if there ever was one.

-a possible subconscious channeling of my (current) local sports team’s colors. apparently the chicago bears colors are navy and orange?? HAHA!! some guy saw me walking down michigan ave. yesterday and called out “GO BEARS!” (i was wearing the navy blue boots pictured above, navy tights, navy knee socks, a denim skirt, a navy tee, a navy cardigan, a navy velvet blazer and the orange scarf, also pictured above, plus this crazy hat i made a couple weeks back, also navy.) ok, i am less certain that this is a reason why i am into the pairing ATM, but it’s a funny coincidence.

what colors are you into mixing at the moment? what’s your color obsession/obsessions? anything really unexpected and new?

i’m back from hawaii! it was so amazing! i’m in such a fog today…i think my brain is still on vacation!

you can find a few choice shots from our travels in my hawaii 2008 flickr set (should you be interested in that sort of thing. i know other people’s travel pics can be a major yawn!)

i allowed myself one official souvenir from hawaii: this handmade hawaiian quilted tote with a pineapple motif. in orange, NATCH. *grin* i bought it at the hawaiian quilt collection, an adorable little shop in downtown waikiki (on kalakaua avenue). the cute little old ladies who ran the shop told me the pineapple pattern represents “friendship or welcome”. a cheery meaning for my happy new bag.

the shop was filled with lots of supremely lovely bags of various and sundry shapes and sizes, as well as gorgeous pillow covers, kitchen accessories, and full-sized quilts, all in beautiful vivid color pairings. i was in heaven, i wanted to buy absolutely everything i saw!…and i also believe i was also the youngest gal in the shop! guess these sorts of things aren’t appealing to the youth of today! har har. anyway, i do believe that i am now obsessed with hawaiian quilting…it’s something i am raring to try sooner rather than later, giving it my own spin somehow…

i managed to do a little thrifting whilst on vacation, too!

here be the motherload of 80s enamel earrings! thrifted in kailua, oahu, hawaii:

only 50 cents per pair. whatta steal!

glitter dot blouse, thrifted in kailua, oahu, hawaii:

silky vintage floral blouse, made in hawaii! thrifted @ the savers in kahului, maui:

vintage japanese-made mugs:

an adorable local that was standing nearby when i was checking out told peter and i that these japanese made mugs were a give-away gift at a local hawaiian savings bank.

some recent thrift finds (if recent means within the past month or so):

i’m obsessed with these funny handmade earrings. they’re made of polymer clay, i believe, and are iridescent teal. i found them just after the holidays in san jose, california at a goodwill while visiting a friend/co-worker who lives in that area.

they were the kind of thing i liked enough to buy, but later i found myself wearing all the time…like had turned to deep, deep love. i’m wearing them in this recent wardrobe_remix photo.

some handmade symmography (string art) in a lovely spattering of purples. handmade in the 1970s (according to the hand-scrawled script on the back).

i have a soft spot in my heart for handmade things that get donated to the thrifts. i feel a compulsion to buy them and love them, knowing how much effort went into making them.