She's A Betty

Etsy Indie Designer Directory (Clothing)

Long-time readers might remember an earlier attempt at an indie designer directory; now, over a year later, it's completed. Woo-hoo!

Like the previous directory, this one is highly edited & a work in progress. I omitted stores that sold clothes but specialized in something else (like accessories, as I'm working on a separate directory for those). I also ignored price/value (rather, I'll let you decide that), focusing on the designs. Let me know what you think and which stores I missed.

Note: Photos include sold items.

GENERAL

Desirapesta

Sohomode

Nadinoo

STRUCTURAL

Simplecut

Emily Ryan

Art Lab

Lemonstory by Kimenna

Lisa Rietz

ROMANTIC

Sarahseven

Prizy Sebastian

Holly Stalder

Lirola

Carol Hannah

PRINTS

Fink

ORGANIC

Isla New York

Econica

PRINTED T-SHIRTS, ETC.

HandnShadow

Pretty Raccoon Clothing (also sells vintage)

ROCKABILLY & RETRO

Maisy Brown

Miss Brache

LINGERIE & LOUNGEWEAR

Plum Pretty Sugar

Sandmaiden

Also check out:

Ouma Clothing Makool Loves You yystudio Miss Bohl Neue Magnolija Dress Lamixx Emily Katz Audey Erin Leigh Heart

Nicole Gade idea2lifestyle MQuin My Black Dress Audrey and Grace Leanne Marshall (on hiatus) Janeane Marie (on hiatus) Eliza + Axel (on hiatus) Kate Towers (on hiatus)

Budget Finds Under $75: 09/03/09

Black Bardot Dress, $70.00; Purple Marilyn Dress, $71.00.

Retro dresses from BB Dakota: I've just discovered BB Dakota's clothing, and wondered if anyone has tried them? I'm always looking for nice retro-style dresses, particularly ones that aren't cut to my vagina, and these are a great price. Which reminds me, congrats to Daddy Likey's Winona on her upcoming book!

Suede fringe wrap watch, $28.00; La Mer metallic wrap watch, sale $59.99.

Wrap watches: I don't need them, but I like them. Especially the shiny one.

Charcoal faux suede bow flat, $21.50; Miss Pettigrew dress, $39.00; Outback dress (also in cream), $39.00.

Lulus.com: I've been intrigued by Lulu's lately--they have better designs than before, but at the same low price points. I've also noticed that Lulu's stock overlaps with some of Modcloth's offerings, except Lulu's is cheaper and doesn't sell out as quickly. Some specific examples:

• the music box petticoat vs the mochi skirt;
• the amber veil dress vs the chai latte dress;
• the Miss Pettigrew dress (above) vs the party planner dress;
• and the natural cocktail dress vs the Brigitte dress.

To be fair, Modcloth has a nicer site (I love all the feedback options), great customer service, and has started selling more plus size pieces. But still.

Etsy Vintage Directory

At last, the Etsy-only version of the Vintage Clothing Directory! It's highly edited and idiosyncratic, but I hope you'll find it useful. Let me know, too, what you think of the double column layout--too cluttered? Or just right?

Note: Photos include sold items.

Housewares JuJuToo Trampoline BettyNinja Finds Blue Bell Bazaar The White Mole Modish Vintage White Elephant Vintage Clothing Revival House Dear Golden Vintage My Favorite Vintage

Clothing (cont.) Decades Vintage Thirteen Bees Vintage Persephone Vintage Salvage Life Vintage Nstyle Vintage Kirby Vintage Oh Leoluca Vintage Sugar Skull Vintage Animal Head Vintage

Design & D.I.Y. Finds: 08/13/09

Sorry to disappear! It's hectic here: my granddad got remarried, my aunt Karen came to visit with her husband and new baby (Lexi, the cutest baby ever), and I've started a novel. Then there's paying work, cleaning, visits to Japanese grocery stores, and my ever expanding reading list.

All that to say: I won't be posting often from now on. But I will keep posting, and will try to make every post worth your time. From the bottom of my heart: Thank you for reading.

From left to right, row by row:

• thelongthread made simple, lovely journals from cereal boxes (via Craft).
• Design*Sponge contributor Kate came up with this clever travel candle, packed in a recycled Altoid tin.
• Catherine Weis dressed up an old wood floor with painted patterns.
• Cucumbersome, who made the t-shirt necklace, has easy instructions for a chic leather chain necklace.
• Canon has many free papercraft projects, including this sun model. Check out their full selection; I especially love all the papercraft animals (via Craft).
• Etsy seller Miniature Rhino made elegant constellation embroideries (via Black Eiffel).
• Mark Bittman offers 101 easy salad recipes at the New York Times.
• Finally, I love the idea of using a bed frame as a garden trestle. Picture via Designer's Block UK, along with lots of other garden inspiration.

Music Finds: Brown Eyed Girls "Abracadabra"

Sorry I have gone missing--have spent the last few weeks cleaning, working, with family, watching True Blood (thanks Tyia!) & reading the entire Southern Vampire mystery series. I am on Team Eric.

Because, like...damn.

Below is a video by South Korean group Brown Eyed Girls. I'm not in love with the video itself--it's heavy on the male fan service, which is not my thing--but I like the group, like the styling, and the song, "Abracadabra," is one of the best dance songs I've heard in awhile. Let me know what you think:

Budget Finds: 07/10/09, Part II

Another (rather pricey) set:

• Miss Sunshine dress, $74.99, ModCloth. Please click through and check out ModCloth's full stock. They have a nice mix of high & low price points, and many vintage-inspired styles.
• Silk & cashmere cardigan (in black, ivory, and pink), $39.00, Victoria's Secret.
• Jeffrey Campbell's leather wingtips in pewter, $86.00, Lori's Shoes.

Budget Finds: 07/10/09, Part I

A few office-friendly summer tops:

• Converse pleated top*, $19.99, Target (also in hot pink & black);
• Delmonte dots shirt, $39.99 (sale), French Connection; 
• tie-front cardigan, $26.00, Twelve by Twelve. I like the color, shape, & price, but am not crazy about the frou-frou bow. I'm sure there's a way around it, though.

*I bought the Converse top on a recent Target trip. It's a great color, the pleats are well-done & slimming, and the length is longer than usual (a major plus). The empire waist emphasizes the bust, but the waistband detail is big enough to accent your waist & thus avoid the pregnant look.

Design & D.I.Y. Finds: 07/09/09

Please click image for full size.

• A lovely wall of silhouettes, via Vic at lost.net.au.
• EmilyStyle has easy instructions for that most intimidating of vegetables, the artichoke.
• Krisatomic embroidered old diary entries onto a sweater, varying the fonts & thread colors. Check out her site for the full photo set.
• Beautiful photos of Iekeliene Stange for/by (?) Patrizio di Renzo. Photos are from a Russian LiveJournal, hence the hazy details.
• Black raindrop wall decals, also via Vic at lost.net.au.
• Finally, Design*Sponge posted photos of Gemma Ahern's striking apartment. I love the contrast of the dark grey walls and pink accents, but what really turned my head was the bookshelf wallpaper, above. No credit is given, but it looks like Deborah Bowness' handiwork.

Black Bean Cakes with Scrambled Eggs & Salsa

Made these for the first time last night, inspired by the spicy bean cakes at my favorite local diner. These are cheaper & better. Recipe adapted from this one.

Black Beans Cakes

1 15 oz can reduced sodium black beans, drained & rinsed
1 egg white
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used a day-old French bread loaf)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 slim scallions, sliced thin

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

In a medium bowl, use a fork to mash 1/2 cup of the beans with the egg white. Then add the bread crumbs, seasonings, & scallions, combine well, and place in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a thick-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Remove the bean mix from fridge & form into four equal-sized patties. Place patties in the heated pan, and cook 5 minutes each side.

Serve with scrambled eggs & Muir Glen's Black Bean & Corn Salsa.

Design & D.I.Y. Finds: 06/28/09

More design & D.I.Y. finds! From top to bottom, starting with the left column:

• dear ada posted photos of gardener Piet Ouldof's work.
• Kindred has 10 free computer wallpapers designed by artists like Jessica Gonacha (above) and Blanca Gomez (via How About Orange).
• Craft found a how-to video by bento genius Anna the Red (who I previously blogged about on PopKissKiss). I love how she dyed the egg.
• Finally, Design*Sponge took a sneak peek at Scott Engler's home (both right-hand photos). It's got retro-style appliances, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and vintage science charts--in other words, it's perfect.

Anna Sui's Target Collection

Just saw this at anh-minh: Anna Sui has design a Gossip Girl-inspired collection for Target (out September 13th). You can see all 19 outfits over at The Cut; I'm intrigued by it, even though I know better. Maybe it's the strong vintage vibe (Sui is well-known for using vintage designs for "inspiration")?

What about you guys, do you like it? Or have you given up on capsule collections?

D.I.Y. & Design Finds: 06/18/09

Some design & D.I.Y. finds:

• dear ada posted some of Elly Yap's cacti photographs.
• Martha Stewart has an easy flower hair comb D.I.Y. project (via EmilyStyle).
• I like these clear, stackable file boxes from the Container Store, $17 each.
• Voluspa's 3-wick Japonica candles have a burn time of 80 hours & only cost $18 (via EmilyStyle). I'm getting my dad one for Father's Day (what I can say? The man loves his candles).
• Frilliest, silliest umbrella ever (in a good way), via Oh Happy Day.
• Cucumbersome made a great-looking D.I.Y. version of those trendy t-shirt necklaces (via Craft).