Feature in The Bay Magazine! (the unedited edition)

Make sure you check out the April edition of The Bay Magazine to see a profile piece about FidgetFinds and the debut of my new collection of original apparel labeled under my name, Nicole Lebreux. It's just so very exciting to see your picture in the paper! Here is the unedited version of the interview that I wrote for the paper:

-Tells us about your vintage clothing online store and blog.
Fidget Finds started in the fall of 2007 and has taken on many forms including a brick and mortar in Newport and is currently an online shop on etsy.com. My work is a collection of interesting, unique, and wearable vintage items that embody having fun, enjoying every moment, and bright sunny days. The blog is an outlet for me to share current inspirations, photography, and a way keep my customers up to date with Fidget happenings.

- When and how did you become interested in vintage clothing?
My love of vintage walks hand in hand with my taste for thrift shopping and finding lost treasures. I started scouring the racks at the local church thrift when I was in elementary school to add to my collection of “dress-up clothing” for various plays and dance recitals in my living room. My interest became more developed in high school with my distaste for mass produced clothing and in looking like everyone else. Vintage, thrift, and my own hand made creations enabled me to express myself and embrace being unique.

- What inspired you to start your own clothing business?
I don’t ever remember a time when I didn’t want to be an entrepreneur or design clothing. “Fidget” was actually the name of a tee shirt collection that I designed in sixth grade. My mom used to make my sister and I outfits for special occasions, making the sewing machine available for me to take full advantage of. I also took lots of sewing and art classes in high school and attended F.I.T. to gain a degree in fashion design. After working the industry in NYC for a while I decided that I had too many qualms with traditional clothing manufacturing and I also needed to be closer to nature. I moved back to RI and it was a natural progression from there.

- We heard you are finally starting your own line! Can you tell us what is in store?
I am so excited about the collection of original apparel I am working on under an eponymous label! It is a collection of about 20 different styles ranging from high waisted maxi skirts, knit rompers, and boxy crop tops. I make all of my pieces out of brightly colored and printed recycled fabrics, mostly vintage but also including mill surplus. I will be selling my garments on etsy.com as well as in local markets and trunk shows over the summer. My designs are certainly vintage inspired but more in the sense that they’re classic and timeless.

- Who is your favorite designer?
I actually don’t have one, although I fully respect the collection of ideas that other contemporary designers show and am frequently inspired by them. I have always favored looks and conceptions over labels and trends. If you want to go back and speak to the creators of modern women’s wear then the list is long and includes Claire McCardell for her contributions toward comfort, function and fit, Elsa Schiaparelli for her smart Surrealist aesthetic, and Madeleine Vionnet for shaping clothing to a woman’s body.

- What would you tell someone who has never shopped at a vintage store?
First of all, don’t be scared! I always suggest to vintage newcomers just to pick one or two pieces of clothing or jewelry that catch their eye and to work those pieces into their existing wardrobe. Inevitably this leads to loads of compliments on the item and the want for more unique articles with a story in their closet. Collections can grow pretty quickly from there!

- What is considered a “good find” when shopping for vintage clothes?
Something that speaks to you, something that makes you gasp when you first see or touch it, something that makes you happy and proud to wear. Add a good price and a great fit and you’ve got yourself your new favorite wearable item.

Photograph by Amy Amerantes

i miss you

Hi friends! Long time no see and I miss you! I have been working so, so hard on my new collection of original designs that I simply haven't had time to blog or post much of anything new on etsy. I'm sorry if you're disappointed but I promise it will all be worth it! Everything is coming out incredibly well and I can't wait to debut the new designs in April. Right now I am in the sample making/pattern adjusting phase which involves lots of sewing and garment fitting and then reflecting those changes in the patterns. I just envision warm weather and bright vintage floral prints to keep me working on summer designs when its so cold and gray outside. This is probably my most ambitious project to date which is horribly terrifying and completely exhilarating at the same time. I just simply can't wait to see my designs in fantastic fabrics on a person other than myself. When things get a bit more visually appealing (muslin and patternmaking paper all over my dining room just isn't pretty) I'll be sure to share many more photos of my works in progress. Yay!

Here are some photos from last weekend when a bunch of us went bowling. It was so much fun. Cheap beer, good friends, and a kitchy location is just about the best night out!






I'm wearing a vintage dress from Wish Newport, and thrifted vintage accessories.

Swap!

I had such a great time at the swap last night! This one was much bigger than the last one I attended and it was held at the Armory for the Arts in Somerville, a wonderful castle-esque white building that hosts everything from Arabic calligraphy classes to open mic nights at the little cafe in the front. It was the perfect venue. There were tons of clothes and I scored some pretty amazing pieces as per usual including an Ungaro jacket, some snakeskin print platforms, duck boots, a few nice wool sweaters, a J Crew button up shirt that actually fits me, and a stack of yoga pants to name a few of the things that came home in my three reusable shopping bags. Books were included in the swap as well this time so I picked up some great cook and design books as well. My sister joined me for her first event of this kind and stumbled upon a Betsey Johnson sweater dress with the $290 price tag still attached. It was a wonderful evening. To find out more about swapping, check out the Swapaholics.

New Warm Boots!

Yesterday I worked at Rummage in Tiverton Four Corners and snapped these pics of my weather appropriate outfit in front of Cara's amazing collection of vintage clothing and antique artifacts for your home. I wore a black cardigan from Target, a vintage thrifted top, long tank from Express, Theory leggings, vintage jewelry, and my new absolutleypostitivlywarmestbootsintheworld! My mom bought me these amazing Emu shearling boots for Christmas and they have already changed my life forever. As soon as the weather starts to turn cool my feet become little ice cubes attached to the bottom of my legs. I have frozen numb feet for most of the winter and spend most of my time being very uncomfortable because of this. It prevents me from leaving the house a lot because I know when I go out my feet will freeze and it will ruin my night. Well, not any longer! These boots are so unbelievably soft on the inside and keep my feet toasty warm for the entire day. I am soso happy to not be cursed with cold feet anymore and can't wait for all the amazing things I'm going to be able to do this winter without worrying about cold feet!




When I was shooting the above photos, my camera took this weird ghost image of me as I was walking to pose for the camera. Spooky...

Over the Weekend: Cookies and New Puppies

A few days late because I left my camera at home and kept on forgetting to take these off of Brian's iphone. Although the photos aren't great quality I kinda like the way that iphone photos look, they have such a warm and grainy quality. Aaanyways, Caitlin and Jeff had a cookie party on Sunday evening and we got to meet the new member of their family, the adorable adopted pooch Falkor. He's still a bit shy and likes to just snuggle on the couch but he is just so cute. We decorated homemade chocolate and vanilla cookies with all sorts of yummy toppings and drank delicious pomegranate, champagne, and rum punch. It was a great night with friends and totally amped up my holiday spirit. Thanks Cait!







I've realized that my theme for outfits this winter seams to be dressing like a 12 year old boy. I find myself wearing corduroys, vintage tee shirts, and knit caps almost every day. Not very fashionable (or is it?), but I couldn't be more comfortable and warm!
Wearing cardigan from Target, vintage tee, tank from Express, vintage cords, LL Bean slippers, Roxy cap, and vintage necklace.

Haha! Just realized that Brian and I are practically wearing matching shirts. He tends to do that often as he did here with my sister a few weeks ago!

Style Experiment: Vintage Red Polyester Boxy Top

I've been really bored with getting dressed lately. I feel like I have nothing to wear, even though my closet is overflowing and I have the inventory of an entire vintage shop to play with. However, I've owned most of the items in my wardrobe for many years and after a while they start to feel old (no pun intended as most of my clothing is vintage and thrifted, but-um-bump). Honestly, I don't have much occasion to actually get dressed. I work from home in my pj's for the most part and whenever I leave the house for errands or gatherings at friend's homes I usually dress to be warm first and stylish second. Thus "Style Experiment" was born. I hope you enjoy this newest addition to our blog post family!

THE IDEA: I usually only wear knit tops. Due to my curvy and busty figure (just sayin', not complaining) traditional woven styles either don't fit, look too matronly, or make me look a few sizes larger in the midsection than I actually am. Button ups or secretary blouses, forget it, I look ridiculous! This usually isn't too much of a problem as I have many knit tops to fill in the blanks (see here, here, and here for example). However after seeing other fashion bloggers looking totally cute in woven tops I decided to give it another try. On my weekly thrift store hunt last week I spent extra time in the "Blouse" section scoping out shirts that might work for me. Here's what I came up with...

THE SUBJECT: This vintage "Lucky Me" super big and boxy bright red polyester top.




THE HYPOTHESIS: If I style a boxy woven blouse correctly for my body type than I can totally pull off wearing items that are outside my comfort zone.

THE EXPERIMENT: Style this top in different ways that are practical for wear and can be used for other similar style shirts.

Style A: Loose with fitted jeans and a bold necklace. I wore a fitted tank underneath the red top to elongate my torso a bit and take attention away from my widest part; my hips. It also was a good color contrast and showed my slimmer torso under the baggy top. These jeans were great because they were fitted in my thigh, you don't want to wear a loose top with loose pants. The flat red top proved to be a great backdrop for this enormous vintage necklace and vice versa, the necklace broke up the mass of solid color. The heels because I haven't had a chance to shorten these jeans yet, and of course the added height. The black socks to contrast against the gold and to keep my toes warm!




Tank: Express, Jeans: Joe's Jeans from the Swap (with $200 price tag still attached!), Shoes: Steve Madden, Jewelry: Vintage

Style B: Tucked in to a mini skirt. If you have an hourglass figure, the best advice in the book is to showcase your smallest part, your waist! By tucking this top into the skirt and wearing the skirt around my natural waist (smallest circumference of my torso) the baggy shirt and slightly puffy skirt don't make me look huge, if anything it makes my waist look even smaller. The other great part about wearing puffy skirts around your natural waist; no more sucking in your gut! This is also another trick of proportions. The short skirt hides the biggest part of my body while showcasing my fit legs (all those yoga warrior poses aren't for nothing!) I also just love the color combination of this outfit; the taupe and red go great together and the black tights and brown boots only make it more interesting.




Skirt: Altered vintage (I made it much shorter), Tights: Express, Boots: Vintage, Jewelry: Vintage

Style C: Belted over a pencil skirt. This style is similar to Style B in the sense that it is using the same principle of showcasing your smallest area. Rather than tucking the shirt into the skirt I wore it outside and with a belt to show my waist. I think it's really beautiful to see the gathers of the top go in and puff out below the belt to form a great little peplum. The chunky texture of the skirt also is a great contrast to the silkiness of the top. And as far as colors go, you can't get more classic than red, black, and gray. Tall boots would have covered up too much leg (remember, thin near thick) so I opted for some nude pumps which also look great near the black tights.




Skirt: TJ Maxx, Belt: Vintage, Pumps: Vintage, Jewelry: Vintage

THE CONCLUSION: Success! I love this shirt! I think it looks great in all of the above stylings. When I first began this experiment I thought it was going to be a epic failure or total success and I'm so glad it was the latter. It goes to show that no matter what the wearable item, if you style it properly for your body type it can definitely work. I stepped outside my fashion comfort zone and in return found a new wardrobe staple. I am now so excited to try out more items that in the past I have been afraid of or confused about how to wear. I can't wait for next weeks Style Experiment!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Over the Weekend Post about holiday decorating and cookies!

Over The Weekend: Pups and Holiday Gatherings

After such a hectic summer and fall market season, I am really appreciating having weekends free. This past weekend I doogy-sat for my parents' two rescued pups. Zeus is a pit bull, rescued from Massachusetts, and is just so loving and an overall great dog. Zoe is his adorable little sister. She's still a puppy and we only welcomed her into our family a few months ago so she still needs lots of love and attention. She promptly woke me up at six both mornings whining from her crate downstairs, as my mother warned she would. She just loves snuggling and making really intense eye contact. And she's just about the cutest thing you ever did see. It was sunny and relatively warm both mornings so I took the pups on a walk down Main Road in Tiverton to Grinell's Beach. I just love living by the sea.








On Sunday afternoon, Brian's mom sang in an interfaith holiday choir in a big beautiful church right up the street from us in Bristol. It was quite lovely. I actually appreciate how Catholic churches make you feel so small in such a large space. There were so many details in the church to gaze upon while listening to the choir. Of course the pews were rock hard wood with no back support. You need to be uncomfortable as penance to God I suppose, although I'm sure (S)He would have much preferred us laying amongst soft cushy couches and lots of rich fabrics while listening to the many wonderful voices singing.





From there we walked to Maya's for some pre-tree lighting snacks and tea. She made some delicious guacamole, homemade chili, and corn bread for dinner. The tree lighting was a very Americana small town event but it made me happy to live in such a great little community where happenings like this still draw people together. Upon returning to Maya's she realized that we were locked out of the apt where our delicious dinner was getting cold! While waiting for her roommate to call her back we headed over to our pad and played Yatzee and Cross Over the Bridge, a game that was my mother's when she was a child. Our hunger eventually won over our patience and we ordered pizza for dinner. It was good but I'm sure that chili was fantastic!




For the evening I wore: knit hat that was a gift a few years ago, long black cardigan from Target, pink tee from UO, vintage leather belt, shortened vintage skirt, Theory leggings from TJ Maxx, vintage boots, and vintage gold owl necklace. Photo was taken at Maya's adorable apartment.