꒾ AMAZING ꒾

lenni vintage shorts, thrifted top and purse, vintage boots

I'm going to have to give myself a pat on the back for my recent dollar sale thrift excursion; this weird wool-nylon blend sweater probably ranks highest. No, that is not a black cropped top underneath, but instead a tighter knit section of the same shirt. Well that takes care of that. Just add a simple bandeau in place of a bra, and you've got a nice pancake-smushed-boob bod ready for 60 degree dumb weather with no other unnecessary layering.

The shorts were sent to me awhile back from the amaaaazing Lenni of Lenni Vintage, and I am stoked that it's finally almost that time of year again for itty bitty clothing. I recently re-watched some Louis CK and I admire his disgust for overused words that completely debilitate the actual meaning. "Amazing" is one of his hated dampened words that everyone throws around. CK has a friend who exclaims how amazing his bucket of chicken wings is, to which CK replies something like "Wow, really?  You just made the rest of your life boring by comparison.  If those chicken wings are 'amazing', what are you going to say when Jesus comes back?" Anyway, I bring this up because Lenni Vintage DOES have amazing shorts. Perfect patterned tassel-y upholstery shorts. Amazing. Comparable, even, to the apocalypse. That is assuming the apocalypse will be amazing. I NEVER EXAGGERATE AND I ONLY EVER USE WORDS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE. I AM A GENIUS.

On a non-exaggerated note, I think I'm dying. I have a strange whistling windy noise in my ears that is driving me insane. It's been going on for days now and it's getting worse. It's as if I was just at a loud concert on an airplane underwater. I don't know how I haven't ripped my brain out yet. 

Look at Sticky.

AFGHAN JEWELRY, YO

top and cardigan - thrifted, bag from euphoria, shorts from bodhi imports, thrifted boots, ebay bootstraps, necklace c/o uber kuchi, charm bracelet from vestige, turquoise bracelet from a navajo trade post in arizona, thrifted belt

Probably the first thing you will notice in this post is that enormous and amazing piece on my neck. Along with other necklaces, a lot of the jewelry I wear come from countries around the world. This Afghan necklace is from Uber Kuchi, a perfect store on etsy with jewelry from Afghanistan, Central Asia, Africa and Israel. It is definitely worth a gander.

For those of you who are unaware, I would like to give you a lil' snip-it of insight into the world of Afghan jewelry and why you should buy.

As you know, thirty-some years ago the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, leaving millions of people flooding to refugee camps mostly in Pakistan and Iran, and others displaced around the country. Millions of land mines were placed all over the country, resulting in an ungodly amount of dead and disabled people, a lot of whom were women and children. Those same land mines and bombs exposed Afghanistan's natural gem deposits like Lapis Lazuli used to make some of the jewelry you see today. (*see bloggers wearing Lapis here and here.*) Cities were bombed, farms were bombed, generating lots of jobless and family-less people. In many instances, those that could work took jobs weaving carpets and making jewelry. In the early stages, wages were cheap, and the workers were predominantly female. Women learned the craft from being around other women, and warlords supplied them with gems to make some money. 

Since there is no direct trade with Afghanistan, most of the Afghan jewelry you see was crafted in Pakistan or Turkey. In fact, the city of Peshawar in Northern Pakistan is referred to as "Afghan Town". Passed down from generations, a lot of women nowadays have learned to hand make this traditional inspired jewelry in refugee camps or from their own homes to support their families and afford education. They cut, sand, and polish the gems before they hand make each piece. Most organizations that sell their pieces are fair trade, where the women are paid well above local wages. Often this can help empower these women to leave abusive situations in which they couldn't otherwise flee due to financial suffering. Pretty rad, eh? I could go into it more, but you get the idea, and I need to take Sticky out before she takes another dump in my closet.

With that said, BUY FAIR TRADE (betcha didn't realize fair trade included things that weren't edible!). BUY AFGHAN JEWELRY. On top of it looking freaking AWESOME, you now know what you are supporting and in turn can sleep that much better at night.

INSTAGRAM

 

A few instagram snapshots. I've finally joined the 21st century.

Instagram: Caseystrawberry

AROUND THE WORLD

 peace sign halter from bodhi imports, thrifted indian top, jeffrey campbell boots, thrifted bag, random jewelry from ebay & bodhi imports & euphoria, dynasty chime necklace c/o enrah, pyramid quartz ring c/o rejoice the hands

This is what my world looks like 5 minutes out of the city in early Spring. Dead. So beautiful, right? I thought I would spruce things up by wearing this bright orange top that I would later discover had spent the day dying my arms an obnoxious pumpkin color. That night I was dealing with some weird chest pains that really scared me, and then I looked in the mirror to find that I had developed what looked to be some off-brand Jaundice. Freaking out at my friend, my brain slowly pieced the puzzle together and remembered that I had been wearing this orange top, and I was able to calm down. So, I have a new self tanner from India. Pretty hyped on that. And everyone else is pretty hyped on the fact that they can check their hair and make sure nothing is stuck between their teeth, by looking at any of the 98749324 round mirrors sewn into the fabric. Win win, right?

I'm sporting different parts of the world with this outfit. We've got the top from India, the southwestern styled Bible bag, the abalone rings from the sea, the Middle Eastern evil eye bracelet, and the dynasty necklace from China. Okay, not from China. From a lovely gal named Enrah who resides in my neighboring state, Colorado. On top of this awesome dangly chime necklace, she makes jewelry inspired by things that I love, including Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Super Mario. On the jewelry note, I need more storage for my necklaces. More wall thingies to hang them on. My jewelry collection is majorly out of control and I'm starting to feel agreeably claustrophobic. I've got some driftwood that I collected in Yosemite and plan on maybe painting and putting tiny hooks onto. I would like more organic outdoorsy-inspired necklace hangers, so I think it will be rad. Any other ideas? I need help. I need jewelry rehab.

A song to leave you with.

MAKEUP VIDEO TUTORIAL

There you go.

MESHY MESH MESH

mink pink velvet cropped tank, f21 mesh top, triangle necklace c/o under the pyramids, deena and ozzy boots

Mesh. Something I last saw being worn at the goth ball, or by that buff guy with the orange skin and little shorts outside the gym. And now, on me. I'd like to continue wearing this, so I'm in need of more cropped tops like the one I have on. Not bandeaus. Not strappy American Apparel bras. Tight cropped tanks. Give me links, people. All I can find out there in cyberspace are made of lace or are not cropped enough. Why must life be so difficult?

  

Here is a mesh-y outfit that I am kind of freaking out over:

 

Like, what? PERFECT.  

For more outfits, jewelry, Sticky, and general weirdness, I invite you to follow me on instagram. Username: Caseystrawberry

LEOPARD AND FAUX FUR AND CHUNKY BOOTS, OH MY

 thrifted vest, shoes, and leggings, tank from some store in orange county, erin wasson triangle necklace, my salvation necklaces, other random jewelry

These leggings haven't seen the light of day for a long time. But after finding the perfect vintage chunky heeled boots for 3 bucks, I flung them out of my drawer and dusted them off. Pretty A-OK duo, if you ask me.

To spice things up around here, I've been trying to think of some good tutorials for you lovely folks but instead have just had a brain full of cricket noises. Luckily for my blank mind, someone on my Formspring recently asked for a bleached shorts tutorial, so I will glady get on that when I have more shorts to bleach! Until then, here are some rad tutorials by other bloggers:

Ripped denim

Knot dress

Bleached tie-dye leggings

Dip-dyed shoes

Belt boots

Lace-up pants

Oversized fringe top/dress

Leather cut-out necklace

Chevron printed dip dyed shorts

Color block boots

Spiked hair comb

Do you have any good DIY tutorials that you love?

ANET OLLYWOOD

thrifted and diy top and vest, ebay arm cuff, skirt c/o sugarlips, jeffrey campbell boots

Just another windy day in windy city. And another set of pictures completely blown out by the sun. I really need to start enjoying shade, or at least remembering to take pictures in it instead of DIRECT SUN LIGHT. 

How about that elastic coin arm cuff? Pretty neat for a penny (plus shipping).  It's pretty cheaply made but it looks super rad and happens to be incredibly light-weight on the ol' bicep. I've got another silver, less cheap coin cuff coming in the mail in which I am equally hyped to wear. I guess I just love to jingle. 

In other news, I was recently introduced to this girl's personal style blog from internet lady-bud, Isabel. Um, HELLO. Super juiced on her style. Mad steeze. And she has a great dip-dye tutorial for leggings that I am probably going to go ahead and do. Go check Rachel out right meow!

NEVER KNOWN A GIRL LIKE YOU BEFORE

thrifted vintage sweater, spanish moss velvet shorts, boots from ebay, purse c/o lucky vintage
 

This sweater reminds me of something I would have worn in the late 90s, probably paired with army green bellbottoms and Chuck Taylors, with loads of hemp necklaces. Since I am seemingly traveling backwards with my aesthetic tastes, here I am pretending I'm 15 again. It's really is strange to think back to what I used to love in fashion, and how I generally end up shaking my head in shame years later when I look back at pictures. Come a few years after the shame-fest, I find myself interested those same previous fashion philosophies again. Maybe it's because I don't want to grow up. 

On that note, you probably noticed my highlighter hair? Did that on a hair A.D.D. whim last week. Not with a highlighter, with color. It's funny, though. I used to color my hair with actual markers when I was a teenager. That was all great and dandy until gym class when I would sweat green ink.

To high-five the good old times, here is a 90s jam that I always loved, courtesy of Empire Records.