70's Boots

I found these boots on eBay a few weeks back but haven't worn them to work until today. My first thought upon seeing them was, "Wow, those are cool!" My second thought was, "Wow, they're sort of hideous!" With these two thoughts in my head I decided to take no action. A few days went by and I thought about them a little more. And then they haunted me in my dreams. I kid you not. The next morning I bought them.

I was inspired to wear this outfit today after seeing Karen's post about how unflattering patchwork is. I'm sure Karen is right; in fact I'm about 99% convinced that these boots are unflattering in every way. That doesn't stop me from loving them to pieces though. I love them all the more because I suspect they are actually men's boots, which leads me to picture a guy, probably of small stature since he fits a woman's 8.5, in a wide-collar satin shirt, tight jeans, and these boots. Maybe he was a hustler of some kind, or perhaps he fancied himself an urban cowboy. Either way these boots have somehow found their way from his swinging 70's hipness all the way to their loving new home in San Francisco.

Another noteworthy item in this outfit is the vintage brooch, which I picked up last weekend in Seattle. It's a Trifari jelly belly, which apparently makes it a collectors item. I was only vaguely aware of the brand until I found this brooch, but since then I've looked them up online and discovered that some of these pieces are going for $1200 or more. Mine was nowhere near that price, but frankly of all the ones I looked at I think this is the cutest, collectors item or no.

This crazy houndstooth jacket is another recent thrift store score; I think I got it for $2 when Goodwill was having their sale. I didn't really plan for all my thrift store purchases to go together this well, it just sort of worked out that way. If anything could compete with the outrageousness of the boots, it's certainly this jacket.

Hat: purchased in Hamburg, Germany
Turtleneck: thrifted
Green shirt: F21
Jacket: thrifted
Belt: local import store
Skirt: thrifted (shortened)
Boots: vintage