2013. friendly friday: if grandma wore j.crew.

sharon (of if grandma wore j.crew) is one-third of hunt.gather.style and one of the nicest bloggers i’ve ever met. she’s so friendly and super knowledgeable about vintage clothing and accessories. one day i will break into her closet.

if you’ve been wondering how to style midi skirts, look no further! sharon wears them often in different colors and prints, styled with her great collection of shoes and clogs. and don’t get me started on her animal belts…

p.s. thank you to sharon, sydney, and grechen for inviting me to be part of their spring fling last weekend! photos are on their blog.

2013. hunt. gather. style: we love vera.

see that preppy scarf? it’s a one-of-a-kind vera by legendary american designer vera neumann. a few weeks ago, i found an armful of vintage vera scarves and kept two (the patriotic floral and a pastel floral) for myself. the rest i’m bringing to you on saturday at the next hunt. gather. style pop-up shop.

my first vera scarf is actually printed with little tin soldiers— fitting, right? most often i tie it on my handbag; sometimes i wear it with a simple blouse. the wonderful thing about vera scarves is that they’re wonderful things. the bold prints stand on their own in any kind of outfit.

so if you’re free on saturday afternoon, come say hello! this means YOU, austin gals.

2013. hunt. gather. style: spring fling.

my friends sydney, sharon, and grechen are the three stylish women behind hunt. gather. style, a pop-up shop based in austin. hunt. gather. style has popped up in boutiques like touch of sass, madewell, and etcetera, etc. last year, they invited me to become one of their buyers, and of course i jumped for joy. some items i’ve shared with the shop are vintage dooney & bourkes, silk tops, and pencil skirts.

hunt. gather. style is holding its next event (aptly named spring fling) on april 27th, and i’ll be there with an entire rack of goodies along with 81 poppies and tess dress! i’m bringing my A-game i.e. a carefully edited selection of warm weather tops and bottoms, delightfully printed scarves, and my trademark: one-of-a-kind belts.

see you in a few weekends! :o)

2013. friendly friday: trophy boutique.

that cool lady with the shades is laurel (of trophy boutique). she’s a blogger, stylist, and daschund mama in austin, texas. i met laurel through texas style council, and i cannot stop reading her blog.

laurel (and terra) inspired me to wear ankle boots. i liked them but didn’t know what to do with them. laurel wears them with jeans (long or cuffed), skirts of all lengths, and dresses. plus she doesn’t have just one kind of ankle boot— you’ll find inspiration for western, classic, and even swedish boots. on top of that, her layering skills are extraordinary.

say hello to laurel today. i know i will.

2013. friendly friday: grechen’s closet.

grechen (of grechen’s closet) doesn’t have one blog; she has a family of blogs. grechen’s closet is her daily style site. i met grechen in 2010 in austin because she co-founded the TxSC conference with indiana! her friendliness and knowledgability immediately impressed me.

grechen has been blogging since 2004. this year she began contributing articles to IFB to help newbies and veterans navigate our stylish internet world. she’s also the queen of online shopping— if you are looking for anything in any color at any price, grechen can find it for you.

but my favorite grechen fact is that she loves clogs. i discovered my own fascination with chunky shoes through her. what are you waiting for? get your wooden heels over to grechen’s closet.

2013. texas style council: it’s a wrap!

our SXSW mixers took place over the weekend, and it was fun meeting new bloggers, veterans, and readers. i marveled at our different ages, styles, and personalities, and it reminded me of what TxSC is all about: friends in fashion.

saturday and sunday flew by in a blur. we held our shop hop at the domain, and i got to dress two mannequins at LOFT. can you believe i’ve never pulled clothes to display? emily helped me pin them (to the dress forms, not pinterest), and to my delight, jesse and megan both bought the polka dot shorts.

we walked to neiman marcus and explored CUSP before indiana divulged details on our upcoming conference. TxSC will meet august 2nd to 4th in austin— save the date! we’re changing our format this year to provide a learner-centered environment in lieu of big panels. we’ll provide more details as they are confirmed.

in the evening, attendees shop-hopped from store to store, and i hosted our madewell leg in a huge top knot and wild necklace. they set out a table of treats for us, and the macarons went fast! c’est la vie.

on sunday, we crafted it up at stella says go with kollabora and modcloth. i made two new bracelets: a skinny wrapped one and a painted metallic bangle.

a big texas hug to pamela at LOFT, jennifer at madewell, and natalie at stella says go for being extra sweet, and a shout-out to lindsey for being the coolest crafter in the room and turi for being a fellow fan of cheeseburgers. :o)

if you attended any of our mixers, please share your blog links in the comments! i want to read your recaps (and borrow your bracelet ideas).

collage by me. images via instagram (mine and stella says go).

2013. texas style council: styling contest at madewell.

two days ago, our TxSC shop hop attendees participated in a fun contest at madewell (one of the best stores in earth). as the hostess, i had the responsibility of choosing a winner, and boy was it hard to pick one awesome outfit. asma, davina, nicole, jo and jess, and kirsten were just some of our lovely participants.

ultimately our prize went to nicole who styled a head-to-toe madewell look in pink, black, and white. she even added flats and accessories. congratulations nicole!

thank you to everyone who braved the rain and joined us at the domain, and a special thanks to jennifer and the madewell team for providing our guests with sweet snacks, fashion advice, and impeccable service.

collage by me. images via our participants on instagram and twitter.

2013. congratulations to…

amy jo! she’s the lucky winner of the kate spade bow earrings. amy jo, send me your address so i can mail these cuties to you!

to all of who you read this tiny corner of the internet, thanks for being a friend of little tin soldier! as i keep pressing along in year four, i’m glad to have such a stylish and savvy group of women (and pug lovers) with me.

2013. friendly friday: my edit.

jentine (of my edit and affectionately called yen) is one of my favorite bloggers and favorite thrifters. if i ever took a sabbatical, i would write a very serious book called the rise of the power thrifter and document the techniques and lives of fashionable women who rummage through old clothes. i would interview yen for a chapter (or two) while surrounded by her wary cats.

people thrift for a variety of reasons ranging from necessity to curiosity, and the luck of a shopper depends on chance, eye, and experience. jentine has all three going for her. she collects unbelievable pieces, and she styles them in a chic, contemporary way. they don’t “look” like they’ve been thrifted. that, my friends, is the mark of a power thrifter.

go north and visit yen’s blog and marvel at her closet, wit, and life. you don’t even need a passport. :o)

2013. texas style council: SXSW mixers.

texas style council has been meeting annually for the last two years. TxSC is a female-oriented blogging and social media conference with a down-to-earth, down-home-texas vibe. in 2011, i attended TxSC as a blogger, and in 2012, i joined the team as the registration manager. this year, i’ll be helping indiana and our talented friends again.

our full 2013 conference is slated for august, but we’ve got great events lined up for you during SXSW! come out and meet me on saturday, march 9th at our shop hop and get crafty on sunday, march 10th with kollabora at stella says go. please RSVP for all events here. see you soon, austin!

2013. kate spade bows for the win!

somehow i missed little tin soldier’s third anniversary in january— oops! so instead of today’s scheduled recipe, let’s go back in time and celebrate. in 2010, i started doodling clothes and posting them on tumblr. thirty-eight months later, i’m still drawing, dressing, and dreaming.

some of you have been readers from the very beginning, and some of you are new followers. no matter how long we’ve known each other, i’m thanking you with an adorable giveaway. one reader will win these silver bow earrings by kate spade.

here are the giveaway guidelines:
1. leave a disqus comment in this post with your name, e-mail, and/or website.
2. that’s it. good luck!

additional notes:
—the earrings have traditional post backs (not clips).
—this giveaway is not sponsored or endorsed by kate spade. i bought the earrings specifically for the blog and i own several KS items myself.
—the giveaway is only open to U.S. residents and ends at 10 p.m. CST on monday, march 4, 2013. the winner will be announced shortly thereafter.
—let’s be friends! keep in touch with me on twitter.

2013. friendly friday: stylish white female.

if you’re on tumblr, you might recognize terra (of stylish white female); she’s a popular blogger on the site. two years ago i found terra through keira (of a pretty penny) and loved all of her chic work ensembles. i was a little annoyed for not discovering her sooner.

even in pittsburgh winters, terra dresses like a boss. she mixes textures, patterns, bold colors, and lengths in combinations i never imagined. i like that terra features classic and trendy pieces but styles them in a distinct way. i suspect she may lead a double life as a fashion editor.

if you live in the ‘burgh, you can meet terra tomorrow at madewell! you lucky ducks.