Sock Hop Props and Second Shots

Top: So, Kohl's; Skirt: Modcloth; Bag: Francesca's; Shoes: Katy Perry

Sweetheart Stripe Necklace

Top: JCPenney; Skirt and belt: Marshalls; Shoes: Nine West, Kohl's; Bag: Amazon

Be Your Own Unicorn Necklace

Top and skirt: Candie's, Kohl's; Shoes: Katy Perry, Amazon

Space Case Necklace

Top, bag, shoes, and bow: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Skirt: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

Girl Smiley Necklace

Fashion-wise, the '80s are a lot like the '50s.  Both feature clean lines, candy colors, and a bent toward excess and fantasy.  Which are, of course, all things that I love, as shown by this Grease-meets-Saved by the Bell aesthetic.  

Speaking of which, there are few places more fabulously '50s than Lindy Hops.  Last week, the husband and I made our first trip back since the pandemic, so I wanted to take some pics.  Still, I felt a little silly, posing among the people purely there for the ice cream.  But the husband said, "You have to own it," which helped me to relax.  And I'm glad I did because nerves come and go, but photos are forever.        

Now if only I could find a burger joint like The Max and relax all over again in leg warmers.

Mid-Century Modern Merry

Top: Candie's, Kohl's; Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's; Bag: Royal Monk, Modcloth; Brooch: The Tote Trove

Shoes: Nine West, Kohl's

Dress: Modcloth; Wrap: Macy's; Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW; Belt: Apt. 9, Kohl's; Earmuffs: Betsey Johnson for Trolls, Macy's

Ornaments: Wondershop, Target

Bag: T-Shirt & Jeans, Kohl's

Sometimes even I don't feel like getting dressed up -- or, quite frankly, getting out of my PJs.  And that's where the flat lay comes in!  Today seemed like a good time to do a few -- with a nod to mid-century-modern-merry-slash-nifty-fifties-Noel.  These girly styles make me think of a simpler time.  You know, before feminism, instant oatmeal, and the internet.

Maybe the fifties weren't quite so nifty.  

Now excuse me while I go make a JELL-O mold with leftover Christmas crab cakes.

Colorform Storm

Sweater: Candie's, Kohl's

Scrunchies: So, Kohl's; Lady Arya, Zulily

Sweater: Express; Necklace (no name): The Tote Trove

Bag: Wild Fable, Target

Sweater: IZ Buyer, Kohl's

Skirt: So, Kohl's

Hat: Wild Fable, Target

Sock: Zulily; Shoe: Chase & Chloe, Zulily

Top: L'Amour by Nanette Lepore for JCPenney

Headbands: INC, Macy's

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Sweatshirt: Arizona Jeans, JCPenney; Pink necklace: H&M; Other necklace: (no name) The Tote Trove

Slim green, slim orange, and chunky yellow bangles: B Fabulous; Chunky fuchsia and chunky orange bangles: Mixit, JCPenney; Mustard bracelet: Cloud Nine, Ocean City; Necklace (no name): The Tote Trove

Dress: Rewind, Kohl's

Tourist Trap Charm Necklace

Shoes: Guess, DSW

Remember Colorforms?  Maybe you, your kids, or your grandkids played with them as way back as the '50s when they first came out, or as recently as yesterday.  I came to know them in the '80s, when I had a Rainbow Brite set.  And then I became reacquainted with them when I bought a Hello Kitty set on my honeymoon.        

This week, this sweater made me think of them again.  The turquoise, magenta, and yellow remind me of their adorable little mascot:

How could he not be happy, drenched in such cheerful color?  I like to think I'm like him in that way, playing with clothes like they're crayons, getting a fresh sheet of paper each day. 

Shakespeare said that all the world is a stage, but maybe it's a coloring book.

Sweet & Showy, Chase & Chloe

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes!  That's just one of the things you've come to expect from The Tote Trove (the blog, not the shop; I can make lots of stuff out of felt and beads, but stilettos aren't one of them).  And today I'm all about one brand in particular: Chase & Chloe.  I never even heard of it until a few years back when I discovered Zulily.  But once C&C's (can I call it that, or will the C+C Music Factory get mad?) rainbow of footwear filled my screen, I was hooked.  There were so many styles to choose from, ranging from retro to contemporary, and looking at them made me feel like a kid in a candy store (hey, it's a cliché for a reason).  Better yet, Chase & Chloe shoes are so affordably priced that it took no time to grow a collection.  Here it is in all its T-strapped, Mary Janed, and slingbacked glory.  True, you've already seen most of it, but I thought it'd be fun to corral it all into a class picture.  Or better yet, a reunion shot of shoes from various decades.  If I squint really hard, I can see a pair of '80s neon pumps (we'll call her Chase) and a pair of '50s spectators (we'll call her Chloe) talking each other's heels off by the punch bowl.  And is that a Lucite wedge leading a conga line?  

Everybody dance now indeed!

The Bold and the Beautiful and a Life Less Dutiful: She Who Laughs Last Laughs Loudest

Dress: Candie's, Kohl's

Bag: Marshalls, embellished by The Tote Trove

Belt: Wet Seal

Love bangle: Boscov's

Other bracelets: Mixit, JCPenney

Hip Flip Barrette Brooch

Shoes: Katy Perry; Sunglasses: Wild Fable, Target

It took a quarantine to get me to finally watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  I'd been wanting to, I'd heard it was great, but something was holding me back.  Partly my difficulties streaming Amazon Prime, partly my fear that once I'd binged the show I'd have nothing in my back pocket of rainy day entertainment.  Yet, after watching one rerun too many, I was ready to ditch these deterrents.  

And I was so glad I did!  The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has everything I could ever want from a TV show: comedy, fashion, romance, old-timey glamour, and girl power.  So, I'm going to recap the premise, even if most of you probably know it.  In late 1950s New York City, young Jewish wife and mother Miriam "Midge" Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) gets thrown over by her wannabe stand-up comic husband Joel (Michael Zegen) only to find that she's the one who needs to stand up because she's got something to say.  Hilariously and in four-letter words in the very bar where her hubby bombed.  That's right; she's trading in (okay, maybe just jeopardizing) her socialite status to try her hand at the funny business.  And embarks upon the most delightful way anyone has ever blown up her life.  With a hat-heavy wardrobe as snappy as her one-liners, Midge takes on the masculine and streetwise Susie (Alex Borstein) as her manager to take Manhattan by storm.  Well, almost.  Pitfalls await in the old boys' club of comedy, Susie's stumblings (Midge is her first client!), and Midge's painfully proper parents Rose (Marin Hinkle) and Abe (Tony Shalhoub), who are in the dark about their daughter's double life.  Also, there's the small matter of money.  After being dumped by Joel, Midge moves back in with her parents and takes a job in a department store at the Revlon counter (apparently that used to be a thing instead of just a rack at Rite Aid).  She turns out to be a talented lipstick pusher, recommending my own beloved Cherries in the Snow to one customer in search of the perfect red.  Balancing work, children, and the nightclub circuit makes for many a madcap mishap, including getting bailed out of jail by none other than comedy bad boy Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby).  Then there's the annual family trip to the Catskills where Susie tags along incognito and gets mistaken as the resort plumber.  During this quarantine and the unfortunate purchase of some this-is-all-we-have triple ply, I've often found myself at the mercy of a dubious plunger, thinking, where's Susie when you need her? 

But The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel isn't all brisket and hi-jinks.  Midge learns a lot about herself and the people in her life.  Like when she's dating an art collector and buys a twenty-five-dollar painting by an unknown artist that comes with -- get this -- a free hat!  She doesn't buy it because it's valuable (or even because of the hat), but because it speaks to her and makes her feel a connection to it the way good art should.  When she relays the story to an esteemed artist and her beau, the artist understands but the beau doesn't.  This vignette and others is why I really love this show.  It tells us that women can and should stand for something and do something more than look pretty -- while still wanting to look pretty, if that's what they want.  That's feminism, the freedom to have it all without having to choose, a message that's as important today as it was in 1959. 

That said, this post is as good a place as any to show off my new Hip Flip Barrette Brooch.  Even if it is hatless and more That Girl than Miriam Maisel.  Of course, Midge's hair and attitude are plenty flip in other ways.  Also, Midge makes me think of that other '60s fashion icon named Miriam, Miriam Haskell.  Even if Ms. Haskell was a real-life costume jewelry designer and Mrs. Maisel is a made-up comedian.

 

So, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  It's glitzy and heartfelt and oh-so-side-splitting, a must see for any woman who's ever had something to say.  

So . . . all women.  

Amazon, is there anything that you can't deliver?

Oh Great, Oh Golly, a New Paper Dolly: Please Save Me from Scrubbing this Toilet

Cat & Jack, Target 

Banned, Modcloth

Two Betsey dresses are better than one,
Two Betsey dresses mean two times the fun.
Ms. Johnson dresses, so pretty and new,
Just the right garb for a great girl like you!

Sort of sounds like a little girl's birthday card, huh?  The kind that comes with a paper doll and coats you with glitter when you open it.  I may be thirty-eight, and it may not be my birthday, but I was super psyched to find this pair of Betsey Johnson dresses for a song on Zulily.  I love their crisp '40s-'50s silhouettes, from their pretty puffed sleeves to their gently flared skirts.  I especially like the lemon-print one because it's my two favorite colors: sky blue and yellow.  If you look closely, you can see that it even has lemon-shaped buttons (the floral one has rose-shaped buttons, although they're kind of camouflaged).  I think it's these whimsical, one-of-a-kind Betsey details that really sold me on these frocks.  Wearing them makes me feel like one of those retro ladies on magnets and notepads who make cracks about not doing housework.  Take that, Donna Reed.  (Just kidding.  I love you, Donna, especially in It's a Wonderful Life when you say that that crumbling old house is full of charm and romance.  Also, when you ask Jimmy Stewart why he must torture the children.).  Because no little girl wants to grow up to do laundry and vacuum all day.  Instead, we want to play grown-up dress-up, whether that means putting on something pretty or a lab coat or -- and here's an idea -- a lab coat that's pretty.  I can see it now, classic white with rainbow floral lapels and maybe a belt to cinch it in.  Get in on this, med wear manufacturers.  It's a goldmine.       

Bathroom cleaner companies, sorry not sorry.