Inspired By Coco Chanel

 "Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself." 
-Coco Chanel

"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."
-Coco Chanel

"If you were born without wings, 
do nothing to prevent them from growing." 
-Coco Chanel

 

"My life didn't please me, so I created my life."

-Coco Chanel

"Fashion passes, style remains."  
-Coco Chanel

"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous."
-Coco Chanel

 "I only drink champagne on two occasions.  

When I am in love and when I am not." 
-Coco Chanel

"You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, 
and irresistable for the rest of your life." 
-Coco Chanel

"Simplicity is the keynote to all true elegance." 
-Coco Chanel

"The best color in the whole world 
is the one that looks good on you." 
-Coco Chanel

"Don’t spend time beating on a wall hoping 

to transform it into a door." -Coco Chanel

"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud." 
-Coco Chanel

"Success is often achieved by those 

who don't know that failure is inevitable." 

-Coco Chanel

"A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life." 

-Coco Chanel

"Elegance is when the inside is as beautiful as the outside."

-Coco Chanel

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only; fashion is something in the air. It's the wind that blows in the new fashion; you feel it coming, you smell it...in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." 

-Coco Chanel

"A woman with good shoes is never ugly." 

-Coco Chanel

"There is no time for cut-and-dried monotony. There is time for work. And time for love.  That leaves no other time." 

-Coco Chanel

Vintage Chanel Blazer

Coco Chanel 1883-1971

Hello! I hope you are staying warm this winter because it's a cold one.  For today's topic, I wanted to ask who is your favorite fashion icon?  My favorite fashion icon is definitely Coco Chanel because of her ability to marry timeless style to the modern values of freedom, passion, and feminine elegance.

Coco Chanel also has some great quotes, so I wanted to share them with you in this inspirational post.  However, the outfit I'm wearing isn't Chanel.  The clothing and accessories in my outfit are vintage pieces "inspired" by Chanel and my boots are actually from Zara, although the last photo features an authentic vintage black and white Chanel blazer I found at a vintage show.  Do you own any Chanel items? And if so, what is your favorite designer piece?  My favorite Chanel item is the quilted handbag.

On a side note, my mother was an artist and taught me a few things about set design and art, so I decided to create a little DIY whimsical French set for these photos.  You've probably seen this set once before because I do batch photography.  What do you think of this set?  

If you could use your imagination to take you anywhere in the world, where would you travel to and why?

Hair: Drybar
Boots: Zara
Makeup: Elizabeth Jones
Clothing and Accessories: Vintage Items (not Chanel) from Retro Reload
Photography: Franz Swantko

Inspired by Carmen Sandiego

Photography: Franz Swantko

Makeup: Liz Jones

Belt: Vintage
Pants: Honey Punch

Bag: Vintage

Shoes: Gucci

Blazer: Talbots

Hat: Retro Reload
Earrings: Retro Reload

Hello! I hope everyone had a fun weekend. Since we are nearing Halloween, I thought it would be fun to do a look inspired by the character Carmen Sandiego.  What do you think?  Who or what are you going to be for Halloween?

Please follow me on Instagram @astylishlovestory

How to Style Vintage with Retro Reload

Bloggers Stop By this Pretty Pink Wall@ Retro Reload and take a Selfie

* This is a sponsored post

Kimono: Retro Reload

Mandarin Collar Coat: Retro Reload

Cream Circle Shaped Earrings: Retro Reload

Gold Bauble Earrings: Retro Reload

Woven Basket Belt: Vintage 

Cream Croco Print Belt: Retro Reload

Brown Bag:Vintage 

Pants: La Bijou 

Leather Flap Bag: Tano

Boots: Donald J. Pliner

Bamboo Sunglasses: Gucci

Pink Sunglasses: Dior

Photography: Franz Swantko

Makeup: Elizabeth Jones

Eye Shadow: Anastasia Modern Renaissance Palette

Hair: Drybar

Hello!  How are you doing?  Today, I want to talk with you about How to Style Vintage Clothing with Retro Reload.  I have been shopping at Retro Reload for years because everyone there is always so friendly and helpful.  A good chunk of my vintage wardrobe has come from there as well. This is a special collaboration post that I am excited to be a part of because it allows me to share how I style Asian inspired vintage clothing with modern pieces as well.  And did I ever tell you that I am part Asian myself? Well, now you know:)

What's nice about Kimonos and Mandarin collared coats are that they have luxurious fabrics and can be worn with great versatility and can be dressed up or down.  

In the first set of photos, I chose to style my lovely kimono as a dress (but you can also wear it as a top or loose coat) and added a neutral belt to give it a waist. I paired it with knee-high Italian stretch suede boots with a stiletto heel from Donald J. Pliner.  Then, I added a brown vintage bag and Gucci sunglasses to match my shoes.  Additionally, I found these beautiful cream circle shaped earrings with a pretty design on them almost like a picture (featured in a close up photo above).  As  you can see, Retro Reload has quality unique pieces of clothing and jewelry.  Just another reason to love them so much:)

In the second set of photos, I chose to style a beautiful cream Mandarin collar brocade coat with fringe tassels. This material is so luxurious and has some shine to it, so you can choose to dress it up with a pair of slacks or with a skirt and heels.  Today, I chose to style a more casual look.  I added a neutral belt to give it a waist and some matching accenting pieces in gold, blue, and pumpkin to bring out the details in the coat.  These pants are from La Bijou and fit snug like a legging (but with thicker material) which fits perfectly with these brown boots.  I also added an earthy pumpkin colored leather flap bag from Tano and these gold bauble vintage earrings to bring out the pumpkin and gold in the jacket. Lastly, the pink Dior glasses add that extra pop!

If you are looking for a pleasant way to spend your day, plan a visit to Retro Reload where they have a wide selection of unique vintage pieces and dazzling accessories to make your outfit pop.

Retro Reload isn't just another shopping destination, trust me, it's a Memorable Shopping Experience:)  

Address Here: 

Retro Reload

24630 Narbonne Ave., Lomita, CA 90717

Hours: Mon-Sat 11:30am-7:30pm, Sundays 11am-5pm

Happy Valentine's Day! -Romantic Vintage Style

   Red Velvet Mermaid Vintage Dress:   Similar Similar  Evening Clutch from theVarga Store:  Similar Similar Shoes: Pelle Moda Similar Similar Similar Necklace H&M: Simlar Similar 

Hair and Make Up: Francisco Estrada 

Photography: Franz Swantko

     A Little  Valentine’s Day Story for you...

I picked up this awesome vintage red velvet dress at a resale boutique called Retro Reload.  All the women are really nice and helpful there.  There's something timeless and magical about old things. When I saw this Jessica Rabbit mermaid dress; it said to me, "I love you, please take me home and wear me for Valentine's Day."  LOL  These shoes are very comfortable (got them on Zappos.com) and sometimes I wear them out dancing because they have straps,so they won't fall off.  Have you ever heard of the Varga Store?  That's where I purchased this gorgeous pearl and rhinestone purse.  What I really love about this purse is that the rhinestones hang like fringe on the bottom and swing when you move it...it sparkles when it dances:)  It's this charming boutique in the South Bay in Southern California that sells new pin up style clothing and accessories.  The boutique is decorated so girly, you won't want to leave.  It feels like the bedroom you always dreamed of...you'll have to go see for yourself.  I found this bib style "princess necklace" at H&M and it was the last one they had for only $30.00  need I say more, had to have it.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”…a fitting quote by Charles Dickens about Valentine’s Day.  Ahhh… Valentine's Day..it can be so bittersweet.  Why?  Because some years you may have a sweetheart and sometimes you may have no one:(  That being said, we can all have a good Valentine’s Day if we choose to make it fun and surround ourselves by people we “Love” being around.  Of course, having a BIG box of chocolates and wine doesn’t hurt either :)

So, I'd like to hear what you did for Valentine's Day....What did you do?...Where did you go?..Most importantly...What did you wear?  

With Love...

--Joanna