retro – The Big Hair Diaries

Letterman Style

Published on October 24, 2020 by hellosamanthadear12 Comments

Hello folks!! ❤️ I’ve always liked the whole old-school letterman style cardigans from way back in the day. I decided to pick up my sewing needle while I was watching NASCAR last Sunday (I was so happy Joey Logano won!!!) and attempt to make my own kind of letterman-style cardigan equipped with the letter of my first name (Samantha) and elbow patches (made from scraps of fabric I had lying around!).

Overall I totally love it and it’s definitely a garment I’ll be wearing frequently during the chillier fall months ahead! It’s fun and can easily go with anything.

The scarf is vintage from the 1980’s, made in the USSR. I bought it from an Etsy seller who lives in Ukraine, and her shop specializes in vintage items from the former Soviet Union. I have one more garment I’m waiting so badly to blog about, which also came from her shop, but it hasn’t arrived in the mail just yet. 😓

BUT IN THE MEANTIME ENJOY SOME MORE PHOTOS AND CHECK OUT MY NEW KITTY SHOES…

I have finally broke into these shoes. It took many a blister and pain to do so, but I did it. I was like, SHOES, YOU ARE GOING TO FIT COMFORTABLY AND BECOME GOOD WALKING SHOES. Eventually, they listened to me and now I can walk a long ways in them with no pain! 🐱

See ya next time!!

Red Lace Trim for the Win

Published on September 25, 2020 by hellosamanthadear17 Comments

Hey there!! ❤️ I am quite ecstatic about this dress I re-vamped; it’s an old lace dress I had crammed in my closet, not being worn in like a year, and I decided to give it a makeover. In walks in, the red lace trim!

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

I am so happy with this dress, I can’t even express it enough. It was a roll-of-the-dice when I was sewing the lace onto it; I didn’t know how it would look once I had it on, but I went with it. I DID NOT THINK IT WOULD TURN OUT THIS COOL!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️ I always feel a little boost of confidence when I’m wearing an original design of my own doing. ☺️

I went and got myself some delicious Yellow Mug Coffee and went for a long walk. The weather was just too beautiful not to be out enjoying it. I spotted some early signs of fall foliage and a very intricately-spun spider web…

SERIOUSLY, LOOK AT THAT WEB!!! 🕷

Ahhhh…I love my nature walks. I feel they are only going to get better as the season transitions gradually into fall. Yaaaaaaaay!💕

See ya!!

Bunny Love

Published on April 21, 2019 by hellosamanthadear10 Comments

Happy Easter!!! 🌸💜

I hope you all are enjoying this lovely Sunday! I enjoyed a nice church service, ate Cadbury eggs for breakfast, and now I’m out having coffee with my sister and enjoying the fresh, spring air! And will probably eat more chocolate later.

Those rings up there are actually cupcake toppers! The dress is from Forever 21. 💙

Happy Easter!! See ya!

Pastels and Lime Crime, Oh My!

Published on December 14, 2018 by hellosamanthadear15 Comments

Hi there! *tips nonexistent hat*

I did some winter wear shopping this past weekend at Forever 21, and I went there on the lookout for a very particular color palette!! I bought many pastels.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about colors. 💜💚💖 They’re everywhere, no? I’m sure you have colors you prefer to wear and feel most confident in. I tend to feel most confident and happy when I’m wearing brighter colors – especially pastels!

One of my purchased items was this baby blue jacket:

I found this jacket in the girl’s section of Forever 21, hoping that it would fit, and it DID. I also bought the cutest sweater in the girl’s department that I will definitely wear in a future post! It’s fuzzy and pink – bestill my heart!

Here is another outfit I wore today – my new dusty rose sweater I bought (also purchased it in green):

💚🦄 My first Lime Crime purchase!!! 🦄 💜

Oh gosh, I am so excited to show you guys this!!!

I decided to purchase an eyeshadow kit from Lime Crime. They are a vegan makeup line that has the most astonishingly gorgeous makeup products! Very bright and beautiful things to choose from. I’d been wanting to buy from them for awhile, and so I finally did…Merry Christmas to me…

I was pleasantly surprised to receive not one but two free products, along with my initial purchase! The above photo is an eyeshadow palette I received for free {the case is the most beautiful little thing I’ve ever seen!!!}

I also received this beautiful lip gloss for free! It’s a nude shade that I definitely have been sporting lately! {It also smells like cherries!}

I bought the 10th Birthday Eyeshadow Palette. Love love love! The colors go on so smoothly and stay put all day. I will definitely buy again from Lime Crime in the future!

I’m not a winter person, but I always try to make the best out of things and seasons are no different! Plus, there are some perks to winter time. I’ve started an inspirational notebook where I write pretty much anything that is inspiring, or ideas, and here are two pages from it:

I’ve been on a roll and I think it’ll be easy to fill this sucka up. I write a lot of gratitude lists in it, too. This will be a great way to fight the “winter blues” which tends to happen in January-ish for me, I’ve noticed; I start longing for spring and summer!

And yes I TOTALLY mentioned Orion’s Belt…it’s my favorite thing to see in the night sky. Only in fall/winter it’s visible earlier in the night – at least in my part of the hemisphere.

What about you guys? Do you keep a notebook filled with inspiration? Ideas? A lot of the time my mind is chillin’ in the exosphere thinking about random things, so having a notebook handy is great for penning down ideas.

See you next time! 💜

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Bringing Back the Gloves

Published on November 8, 2018November 8, 2018 by hellosamanthadear8 Comments

Happy November!!! ♥

I don’t know about y’all, but I am a really big fan of gloves. I’m aiming to incorporate gloves more into my outfits with the coming cold weather. Although, these really aren’t for warmth as you can see; I wore these this past weekend when it was warm (like 80 degrees).

They’re just added for an extremely old fashion look. And I think I succeeded! The skirt is a hand-me-down (my mom wore it in the 80’s).

I’m going to take a wild guess and say that my inspiration came from watching some 1930’s films as of late. Gloves were a staple back then (as a fashion accessory)…

I like it, I love it, I want some more of it…. *Tim McGraw voice*

I ordered a pair of light pink lace gloves, as well! Can’t wait for those to arrive.

I feel like gloves add such a ladylike look to a dress or skirt ensemble, that you don’t see much of anymore. It’s definitely old school but I say, wear what you like! Whatever that may be, whether it’s something super trendy or extremely outdated! Just dooooooo eeeeeeeeeeet!!!!

It has been a delightfully quiet week, which is nice because next week will be much anticipated!

I ended up with quite a bit of vacation days left, it being the end of the year and all, so I took all of next week off. That paves the way to the GHOST CONCERT next Thursday (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

Anyway, that is a LOT of time off, and I’m not even sure what I’m going to do with myself. But that’s the fun part. I will just take it one day at a time… 😃

Other fun stuff from this week…

I finally found a book about the Gulf War. I have wanted to learn more about Desert Storm for WHO KNOWS how long now…finally picked one! I heard this one is really good. Can’t wait to start it soon!

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This is so random, but I ended up going through the entire discography of Sugar Ray this week. LOL!!!

I listen to Spotify a lot at work. Up until now, I’ve only known of Sugar Ray’s famous 90’s hits, but listening to their albums start to finish was pretty darn good, I have to say! Glad I listened, two thumbs up 👍🏼👍🏼 .

In retrospect, I’m going from listening to every Sugar Ray album to being catapulted to the polar opposite end of the musical spectrum and will be under the same roof as Ghost next week…someone pinch me because I feel like I’m dreaming!!!

‘Til next time!!!

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Farmers Market Ensemble: In it to Pin it

Published on October 25, 2018October 25, 2018 by hellosamanthadear4 Comments

Hi hi! Here’s a fun outfit I wore on Tuesday, which is the evening I went to farmers market.

This cardigan I’m wearing is from my high school days, and since it’s a bit big on me now, I decided to PIN IT. It’s just too cute of a cardigan to ever part with, so I make it work!

And a pin is a win, my friends…

The pin is from The Tote Trove, and it’s a cute little lily pad. It worked SO perfectly with my ensemble! I just loved the whole look…

Before walking over to the farmers market Tuesday night, I stopped at Teazer’s to read for a short while and enjoy a Tiger Spice Chai. Yum!

My friend has a crafts booth at the farmers market, so I went to visit her and hang out. It was fun!!! I actually really love going there on Tuesday nights…it’s a fun way to jazz up the beginning of the week. And speaking of jazz…

I decided to watch another 1930’s film! This is The Roaring Twenties, 1939…another great film from the old-school gangster genre. ♥️

I loooooooooooooove the suits and hats men wore during this time period. ♥ The movie is as 1920’s gangster as it gets. What I love about these old films is that even the “violent” scenes are so tame and leave more to the imagination than anything, which I prefer, personally.

Awww…Eddie loves Jean, but it’s not reciprocated. Her expression here says it all: ‘yeeeeah, that’s gonna be a no from me dawg’, her reaction to his marriage proposal seems to say.

She loves someone else. All I could think was, GIRL WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? Oh wait, he’s a bootlegger who initially brushed her off, and she’s very sweet and innocent. Okay, I can see her concern…but give it a few years until Prohibition ends and he won’t be a bootlegger anymore. Problem solved! No? Alright…

I don’t know, Jean. I wouldn’t be able to resist those eyes of his. But more power to you…OH MY GOSH, I was reading about James Cagney (who was born in 1899!) and he was apparently only 5 foot 5 inches tall. HOW FREAKING CUTE IS THAT? 😍 What a little heartthrob.

It’s been a really good week! Here’s a gorgeous sunset I managed to capture on this Wednesday evening. 😃

Sooo…who else is ready for Halloween?! 🎃 Only a week away!

See ya next time!

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Bewitched

Published on October 13, 2018 by hellosamanthadear5 Comments

Welcome back to another Halloween-esque post to celebrate the month! 🎃 I want to show you my witchy new blouse that’s just perfect for this time of year!

This was one of those tops that I took a real chance on. It was very unusual, which caught my attention when I found it on eBay. And with a click of the mouse, I ordered it – the future unknown. Would it look right on me? Fit right? It’s completely sheer and spattered with shimmer and puffy sleeves, so I didn’t know what to expect!

AND IT DIDN’T DISAPPOINT, FOLKS…

I LOVE IT. It’s fun, flashy, and interesting. The bell sleeves are my favorite detail. 😀 Isn’t it so witchy and fun?

SCARING MY NEIGHBORS (AND PEOPLE IN GENERAL): A FEEL-GOOD FRIDAY STORY

I have a real knack for accidentally scaring people. I’m very light-footed and quiet in real life, so it’s common for me to walk up to someone without being heard and accidentally give them a scare.

Me: “Nice day out…”

Person: *jumps out of their skin*

Adults, small children… (I especially scare Mormon children, it turns out. Most people I know are surprised to find out I’ve gone to a Mormon church for 3 years. I randomly went one day and just…sort of kept going for 3 years and counting. I intertwine a lot of different spiritual beliefs into my personal faith, so I’m spiritually a mix of things, but it’s nice to have a place to hear a good message, even if I don’t always agree with everything, ya know?

But yeah, the Mormon kids are scared of me. It’s understandable, since I wear a lot of makeup, unusual outfits and I have huge hair, and they’re probably just not used to seeing that. And now my neighbors can be added to the list.

I was out front taking these photos, and I was bent down for a moment, out of sight. Then some people from the neighborhood walked by with their dog, and I stood up quickly. Now, I didn’t do that on purpose; it just sort of happened that way by accident, which is generally how it goes.

“Hi!” I said cheerily.

*traumatized expressions* “Oh my GOD you scared the ***** out of me!” one of them exclaimed.

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My work here is done…

🎃 HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN (month) EVERYONE! 🎃

Little Red Coat

Published on October 6, 2018 by hellosamanthadear9 Comments

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♥♥♥ Happy October!!! ♥♥♥

Well, the month has arrived! Let the fun holidays of the ending half of the year begin. I wore these on the second day of October, so I didn’t waste a moment to get started on Halloween. Nice touch, no?

And the spider background is a foreshadowing to my Halloween costume…muuahahaha.

Pumpkin cookie from Panera…yumm. 🎃

We had our first rain this week! It started at a whopping 6 a.m., in which I heard the distinct sound of rain pouring down on the roof. I was ridiculously excited; it doesn’t rain here at all during the summer, so this is truly a reason to celebrate. 😉

Rain, at the beginning of the week.

End of the week.

The rain didn’t last long, unfortunately. I managed to see a huge lightning storm that was happening to the north while I was driving on the freeway at night, though. 🌩

Since the cooler weather is on the way, I’ve brought out some jackets. Here’s a red one I wore this week!

I’m really glad I have this little red jacket. It’s quite warm, and I also have a new khaki jacket that’s similar in style that’ll be great to wear when it rains. I could’ve worn it this past week during the rain, but it hadn’t arrived in the mail yet. Next rain storm and it’s onnnnn!

My current read!!! After being knee-deep in a book about the Black Death for the past few weeks, there’s only so much of the bubonic plague a gal can take. Hence, a light-hearted and happy read was a must after I finished the book. I chose wisely!

I love the show, so it’s easy to love the book.

Here’s a favorite passage I came across:

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I hope you all are enjoying the start of this beautiful month and getting into the festive spirit! I’ll be going to the pumpkin patch this weekend, so I’m super excited about that. There will be photos and a blog post, naturally. 😜

‘Til Then! ♥

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I Love You a Latte, Nature

Published on September 30, 2018 by hellosamanthadear8 Comments

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Hello hello! Like my socks? 🙂

Fall is for SOCKS. All kinds! For me personally, I really love over-the-knee socks. They add such a fun look to an outfit.

The temperature is dropping quite fast, and by next week, there is rain expected (yessss!). I’m really looking forward to the upcoming fall weather. ♥♥♥

I tried a dusty ol’ vintage look with my camera today. 😀

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Bring out the fun cardigans and socks! Love it. I was so torn as to what kind of shoes to wear with this…I ended up choosing right, though.

What I learned today: socks with sandals are a-okay! 😀

You know what else is a-okay are Maple Pecan Lattes…

With the sprinkles…oh my gosssssssssshhhhhhhhh. They are MORE than just a-okay. I will probably get one of these again sometime. This is from Starbucks and it’s a new drink that just made its debut a few days ago. I had to give it a try! 🙂

So this evening, I took myself on a nature date! I went for the sole purpose of fully appreciating the transition into fall around me, and taking photographs of it all. I highly recommend trying this sometime, to anyone reading! Bring a camera and snap away. It’s refreshing and inspires you to get creative, in my opinion.

I feel such a deep joy when I listen to the silence of nature. There’s nothing quite like it! Also, when you’re out in nature, do you ever feel like it’s all so alive around you? I really felt that way this evening. ♥

‘Til Next Time!

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New Sheriff in Town

Published on September 27, 2018September 27, 2018 by hellosamanthadear13 Comments

Howdy!

I have no idea why, but my outfit reminds me of a sheriff. And I could not shed this thought all day.

I mean, WHY? It’s not like a sheriff anywhere would be wearing this. Do you really see the sheriff in your town cruising around in such attire?!

No.

But that did not stop me from thinking of hilarious things all day…

Something about this ensemble just screams Old West. I felt like I should be walking around in like, spurs…with brown cowgirl boots on.

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And then with the cowgirl boots on and spurs, I’d stroll into town, straight into a happenin’ saloon where the swinging doors fly open as I enter. Many eyes shift towards the new sheriff in town. Me.

A table full of notorious outlaws eye me suspiciously from above their deck of cards, exchanging glances as they speak to each other with their eyes. Someone plays a harmonica in the distance.

And in good ol’ Old West fashion, a fight eventually breaks out. Someone goes sliding across the bar and slams into a jukebox (wait, there were no jukeboxes yet during the Old West…oh well.)

I then pull out my badge and holler that there “ain’t no fighting in my town”, in which I spit a substantial piece of gum out to make a point, and it ricochet’s off of a nearby glass and onto the floor (ping-ping!)

Once order is restored, I then kick open the swinging saloon doors and exit the place…and get into my parked 1969 Charger, that just so happens to exist in the Old West. As I peel out, I leave nothing but a cloud of dust and my jurisdiction in the rearview mirror.

But back to reality. I really love this outfit! The skirt is thrifted, and the top is an eBay purchase. Don’t the daisies just top it off? 🙂

Tag: retro

Letterman Style

Red Lace Trim for the Win

Bunny Love

Pastels and Lime Crime, Oh My!

Bringing Back the Gloves

Farmers Market Ensemble: In it to Pin it

Bewitched

Little Red Coat

‘Til Then! ♥

I Love You a Latte, Nature

New Sheriff in Town

See ya next time, fellers! ♥