Every now and then, when my tip money is burning a hole in my pocket and I’ve got nothing better to do, I go to Salem. It gives me a chance to get out of the house and walk around, I can look for pretty things to buy, nab a bite to eat, hit the mall on the way back to replenish my bath supplies… all around it’s a pleasant outing.
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The inspiration for this outfit was my Erstwilder cockatoo brooch. This brooch and I are in a bit of a “this is why we can’t have nice things” relationship… I originally received a bird that was missing most of its crest feathers, emailed the stockist, and got an uninjured replacement… which I wore about once before dropping it while trying to fasten it to my blouse and breaking off three feathers! I was able to locate and rescue the missing feathers and glue them back on (repaired brooch pictured here) but only a few wears later there was another incident and all three repaired feathers broke again. I wasn’t able to find the pieces again, so I suppose my cockatoo will just be a little crestfallen from now on.
It’s a shame, because I really do love Erstwilder designs and would love to purchase another of their lovely brooches some time down the line, but I’m a little paranoid about breaking it! I’d have to choose a larger and less fragile design, I suppose.
Anyway. I decided to pick up the yellow from the brooch and pair it with red for the rest of my accessories, and after going though a few dresses I decided that purple would be best to make the other bold colors pop.
I did get at least one goodie on this shopping trip… it’ll be on the blog next! Ah, I do love a good shopping trip.
Red hat with silly feather: Antiques shop in Wisconsin
Red belt: Goodwill
Cockatoo brooch: Erstwilder
Purple dress with black velvet buttons: Garment District
Yellow gloves: Ahhhh…. um…
Red pumps: Goodwill