I contain multitudes.

Hiyeee. I've been cleaning out my computer and have tons of never before seen outfit (and some lifestyle)photos to show you that showcase my Sybil-esque personal style. I've never been able to commit to one genre of clothing, and have no desire to obtain a distinct personal style. I suppose the only constant in my style is that I don't really wear too many new clothing items and most of my clothes are thrifted.  Friends, I hope you enjoy scrolling through, and thanks a bunch for reading my blog.

vintage gold dress and monkey boots (thrifted) worn to Mark Lanegan concert

40s pale pink slip (thrifted)

a self-portrait for my portrait photography class

50s off the shoulder top, 50s cut shorts, Bass loafers (thrifted).

vintage turtleneck dress, motorcycle boots, wild hearts biker belt (thrifted) worn when I want to feel bad ass. Desert Hot Springs, CA.

matchy matchy in Catalina, CA.

50s floral topper, 50s dress, 60s corduroy coat, bass loafers (thrifted)

vintage bathing suit (thrifted) worn for kayaking in Long Beach.

80s striped cap, vintage mustard tshirt, vintage tennis skirt, Keds (thrifted) worn in Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, Canada.

50s teal wool shirt, vintage fuschia skirt (thrifted), JCrew ballet flats worn for selling vintage at Veteran's Flea Market, Long Beach. 

vintage sweater, 70s purse (thrifted), Theyskens theory skirt (Gilt), Vintage Vision St. Wear shoes (Ebay)

60s dress (Elsewhere Vintage, Orange, CA.)

awesome hat I found in Morro Bay, CA. I didn't buy it however.

joyous over foggy summer beach days.

in my own mind. The End.

Happy New Year! Lots of love,

Crystal Lee

clear night for love

With Pete's hilarious little nephew, Nicolas

my first pair of comfort shoes, purchased impulsively after a long day of wearing high heels. Though I'm somewhat embarrassed to be wearing made for comfort shoes, at least these one here are pretty cute.  And gee whiz, they are shockingly comfortable.

Roky Erickson should come out with a Christmas album filled with his usual cast of characters: zombies, aliens, a two-headed dog. That would be a real hoot and a nice change.  In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to be content with wearing Roky's red and green mug around during the holidays. So, this is what I wore on a recent  trip to visit Pete's family: a rather casual get up sprinkled with festive bits - a green purse, patent leather shoes.
 
 This holiday season and my time off of work have been flying by, and everyday I feel like I'm having a race against the sun since the days are so short in winter.  Even still, I've been having a most enjoyable time. The highlights have been spending time with my family, doing some volunteer work on Christmas Eve, and meeting up with a darling gal and blogging buddy, Dakota from Sweetheart of the Rodeo, who has been staying in California for the holidays. I'll post more about our romp through the desert soon. Also, you probably have noticed my new blog header.  A while back, this image flashed through my head, and my talented friend Jenny Yuen brought it to life. I am so super stoked on it! You can check out more of Jenny's awesome work here.

I hope ya'll hard a warm and memorable Christmas. I leave you with my favorite Roky Erikson song.
g.

Outfit: Roky Erickson shirt (purchased at his concert a few Halloweens ago), vintage tweed skirt and vintage cheetah coat (thrifted a long ass time ago), pink sunnies (Linda Farrow for Dries Van Noten via Gilt), patent leather mary janes (Born comfort shoes, Nordstroms Rack).

dress in style, go hog wild.

          Heya buckaroos!  I don't know bout you but I like to dress up for any and all occasions.  Sometimes, I'll wear an outfit that suits the occasion, other times I just wear what I please.  In either situation, I always have fun and feel confident in my outfit choice.  How one wears an outfit is more important than what is worn.

          The first outfit, I wear nearly every Fourth of July.  Even though I’m not a terribly festive gal, I am really fond of Independence Day because 1) I get to wear this bandana print halter dress 2) I love fried chicken and pie, traditional American fare.  In fact, every year I bring Albertson’s fried chicken to whatever bbq I’m attending or hosting, and trick the folks that don’t know me into thinking that I made the fried chicken from an old family recipe.  Of course, I can never fib for long and always end up coming clean by the end of the party.  Last 4th of July, I made myself a new funny gal pal with this silly little trick.
      
         The pink 60s lace dress, I wore while riding my bicycle all over downtown Los Angeles one summer evening after work. We (Ellliott and I) ended the night at the Standard Hotel, where I pretended to play the keyboard in the lobby.
      
          The last outfit, usually my “square-dancing dress,” was worn for some twirling and two-steppin’ at Cowboy Country, one of the only remaining honky tonks in Southern California.  Cowboy Country was also the filming location for “Thelma and Louise,” where the crime scene that set the girls on the run was shot.  I was a whirling dervish on the dance floor, spun around by a Willie Nelson look a like with black hair.  The only thing that would have made Cowboy Country better would be if classic country music was played.  Then I’d go absolutely nuts!  My date for the night was Kerstin, a lovely lass that I met the weekend before at my friend Jesse’s monthly soul club.  At Cowboy Country, we shared the dance floor and a pork chop, and it was a most memorable evening.

         I think it’s probably pretty obvious from the crappy quality of the images that these photos were shot with a point and shoot film camera, which just confirms how unserious I am in the presentation of what I wear.  Fun over function forever.

hugs,

Crystal Lee

Outfit # 1: everything thrifted, Outfit # 2: 60s pink dress (Rose Bowl Flea Market), cowboy boots (thrifted), Outfit # 3: everything thrifted. 

i got stripes.

Hiya folks!
   
      Yesterday, I spent the day trying to get a decent self-portrait for the portrait class I’m taking. I guess the photos turned out ok, but for my sour face, which I always end up wearing in an attempt to ward off lurkers when I’m out shooting on my lonesome. At least I got some clear shots of my outfit. The weather has been brisk but not too cold this winter, allowing me to wear a shorts and coat combo. I’m wearing my favorite red 50s shorts with a cream 50s coat that I recently thrifted, and just a week after thrifting an identical black one! It’s been lucky days at the thrift store. To complete this 50s flavored outfit, I’ve topped my head with a pink beret of the same era.

    I’ve been having some nostalgic fun times lately, perhaps in an effort to resurrect my usual sunny self.  Recently, I dined at Sizzler’s restaurant in the town of Orange, where I spent my teenage years.  With every bite of cheesy toast, fried shrimp, chocolate mousse, my memories were revived. Most vividly, I recalled my mother’s insatiable appetite - always trying to get her money’s worth, she piled her plate precariously high each trip to the salad bar, which I never quite understood since it was all you can eat.  Though I expected the trip to Sizzler’s to be simply for nostalgia sake, I found myself raving about my meal in the same embarrassing way my mother would have - for too long and with too much enthusiasm. That same weekend, Pete and I went to Disneyland! It was a rainy day and I accidently wore slippery soled shoes, literally sliding into Tomorrowland, taking Pete along with me. It was funny, but it hurt.  Disneyland looms large in my memory, not just because I am a southern California native, but because I grew up down the street. Before going to Dland, I took Pete on a tour of the apartment complex that I grew up in, where my brothers and I used to jump the fence to pick strawberries from the strawberry field, to the annoyance of the field workers who would sometimes throw stink bombs at us.  Even though I lived just a few minutes from the Happiest Place on Earth, my neighborhood was pretty rough. Never wanting to be taken for a coward, it seemed I was always having to fight off some bully. At Disneyland, my favorite ride is Big Thunder Mountain. I’m a roller coaster lightweight, so Big Thunder Mountain is about my limit. I even think it has gotten faster, but it could just be that I’m becoming more of a wuss.
 
Outfit: chambray Keds, Ralph Lauren striped shirt, 50s cream coat (thrifted), 50s red shorts (Etsy), 50s pink beret (vintage store in Toronto).

Atlantis park - a vintage playground

Growing up in Orange County, I’m surprised that I never played at Atlantis Park in Garden Grove, a vintage playground built in the early 1960s. In fact, I just recently found out about it from my good pal Jesse. Good thing I have tons of kiddos in my life because adults are not allowed in the park without children, and I really wanted to check this place out. So two weekends ago when it was fairly sunny outside, I took my niece, Anna, and my nephew, Nicolas, to Atlantis park, and we played for hours. If you are an Orange Country resident, I definitely recommend you get yourself some kids and pay a visit to Atlantis.

another holiday

I spent Thanksgiving with Pete and his family in Prescott, AZ. There were some tender, pleasurable moments and some moments when my seasonal depression got the best of me. While I am pretty positive and upbeat throughout most of the year, I can get downright depressed during the autumn and winter months, and I am not always myself when the holidays roll around. It doesn't help that I am an unwavering idealist and tend to get bummed when things are less than ideal. But rather than share with you the corrosive thoughts that burden my mind, I'll just share some glimpses of my Thanksgiving.

Pete's ma generously loaded me up with tons of her old jewelry and some of her mom's costume jewelry too. Here I am wearing a velvet choker that she gave me with interchangeable brooch. She told me that she used to wear it all the time, and I'm honored to get to wear it around my neck now. This particular brooch features three Isadora Duncan-esque dancers, though you can't really see that.

Most holidays I feel like Ms. Daisy Mae looks.  

Dressing up and posing always help me to get through the holidays. This 1930s cotton number, of which I am totally unworthy because I abuse my clothes wildly, cost me a mere $10. Thank goodness for that.

Check out the ass on Pete's stepdad's Thunderbird. Old cars just add to the quaint, silent, nostalgic beauty of Prescott, AZ, and I sure am thankful there are still so many on the road.

Pete's folks' neighborhood is so quiet and provide the perfect opportunity for contemplative strolls during the waning hours. I am thankful for those moments when my mind is calm.

The sun was bright, but the air was cold.

On our drive home, we stopped at the Whitewater Preserve in Whitewater, CA, where water flows abundantly in the middle of the desert. Nothing makes me happier than spending time in nature.

wearing a vintage Esprit dress w/vintage striped cap.

perhaps the biggest Seguro cactus that I spotted on the way home. What a hunk!

I hope ya'll had a nice Thanksgiving. By the way, I've stopped obsessing on my facial wrinkles, and low and behold, they've all disappeared. Take care now. Until next time.

You know quite well, deep within you, that there is only a single magic, a single power, a single salvation...and that is called loving. Well, then, love your suffering. Do not resist it, do not flee from it. It is your aversion that hurts, nothing else.
- Herman Hesse

an 80s postcard from California

I thrifted this dream bikini last weekend, and the California weather has insisted that I wear it immediately. Take that mother nature, I'm wearing a bikini in the fall! Unfortunately, the bikini is too big for me, which is of course a tragedy of the greatest order. If anyone is in the market for a pastel 80s bikini that perfectly matches pink triangle-shaped Moving Sound cassette players, please do let me know.  I may reluctantly sell it to you.

In other more personal news, I have wrinkles on my face, lots of them. I have spent the last couple of months fretting over every new wrinkle that has taken residence upon my face.  I wish I could say that I wear my facial lines with pride, that I am beyond dwelling on such trivial matters, that the aging process and the thought of dying don't scare me, but this is not/has not been the case. While sitting in traffic or judging the quality of a photo of myself, I have scrutinized my face with a monomaniacal intensity. And since I’m not one to obsess quietly, I’ve engaged all the women in my life in the discourse concerning the wrinkle epidemic that has been overtaking my face. One friend suggested using Vaseline on my face to add moisture, which I immediately tried, only to break out like a teen after just a few nights of lathering.  Luckily noone had suggested taking a peepee rag and applying it to my face as my dad used to advise when I was a child pondering how to get rid of my freckles; I may have tried that too. I have never been one to dwell on my imperfections, so I was surprised that this obsession lasted as shamefully long as it did.  It overtook me, and it was not until fairly recently (like yesterday) that I stopped and reflected upon the damage I was doing to my Self and on how far I had strayed from being the person I want to be.  Wrinkles are inevitable, and though I have a long way to go before being Zen on the matter, one day I shall be able to say, “With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come” ( William Shakespeare).

All that being said, I ended up purchasing this anti-age cream and it did, in fact, help to diminish the appearance of fine lines, but of course no cream can erase the deep fissures created by obsessive self-criticism.

Love yourselves and each other,

Crystal Lee

*** Update to this blog post: I hope this post isn’t perceived as grossly inappropriate given the aftermath of Sandy in the East Coast. Sorry if I did offend anyone. I certainly wasn’t expecting such a tragedy. What is most saddening to me about a natural disaster of this magnitude is the loss of life. It leads me to reflect on Katrina, which was far more deadly, killing nearly 2000 people in Louisiana and Mississippi. My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have suffered,  and especially to the families who have lost loved ones.    

Joshua Tree

 Can you believe these colors?!

Last weekend, I went to Joshua Tree to attend my friend Jodi's wedding. It was the best kind of wedding - under a bed of stars, a short, tender, and humorous ceremony reflecting the bride and groom’s distinct personalities, a dirt dance floor plus really good tunes, and a table filled with all sorts of yummy desserts. I had so much fun, I forgot to take any photos. The off-road adventure to attend the wedding in my friend Ji’s Prius was equally memorable.

While in Joshua Tree, I played the tourist along with Pete and some of my favorite gals. We went to Desert Christ Park in neighboring Yucca Valley and visited the tiniest museum ever - the Crochet Museum in Joshua Tree. We drank beers at Pappy and Harriott's and put quarters in the juke box. There, I also ate a crazy amount of chili. In the car, I sang loudly along with a new friend to Loretta's "Coal Miner's daughter" while Pete drove us through the long, quiet, undulating desert streets. We hiked a little in the Joshua Tree National Park, and visited Cap Rock where Phil Kaufman set the corpse and coffin of Gram Parson ablaze. The desert is an interesting, serene, weird, sacred place, and I feel lucky to live only a few hours away.