The leaves have fallen

Its a beautiful day in Chicago, its estimated to be a high of 55 and sunny. Walking around this morning, I noticed that all the leaves have pretty much fallen off the trees. So, in honor of the final falling of the leaves, I am going to share some photos of this super cute vintage skirt I found while visiting Milwaukee.

The pattern is abstract so I am pretty sure not all of you will see leaves but this skirt 100% reminds me of falling leaves. The skirts ankle length with a tapered waist with button closure. It has pleating in the front and back near the top to create more of a figure. This skirt is just so super cute and I am so happy to be sharing it with you. 

We paired this skirt with a white tank top and suede vest with wool lining as it was 85 the day we took this photo. You could however pair this with a blouse, turtle neck, t-shirt, boots and lots more. It's super versatile so its all about being creative and playing around to discover new looks. I would also wear this skirt for work, girls night, shopping, date night and pretty much anywhere else.  

I hope you enjoy this skirt as much as I do. What would you pair this skirt or vest with?

 - Renee -

P.S. don't forget, most items in my blog are for sale in my boutique. Email for pricing and sizing 

For the love of Fringe

I have missed you guys!!!!

I want to apologize for not posting last week, but there are times when being on vacation means....no cellular networks and truly taking a break from Technology. So please...forgive me...pretty please with lots of vintage fringe on top!

Todays blog post is highlighting something you will find a lot of in my wardrobe. Be it on a sweet pair of shoes,  leather jacket, belt, dress, or jewelry. Fringe is one thing that I cannot get enough of. I think I even like Fringe better than truffles...and man do I love me some truffles....but this is a fashion blog not a food blog so I need to reel myself back in.

When I saw this jacket at....of course Goodwill, I just had to have it for the shop. The jacket is in great shape with very little wear or fading and the fringe is all there and still moves with ease. It is also this amazing camel brown color which goes perfectly with all types of fabrics, patterns and color pallets.

For this outfit, we styled the jacket with oversized tortoise shell sunglasses which I secretly took from my little sister...its not technically stealing if she is family right....lets just hope she isn't reading this post. shhhhhh

We also decided to dress up the jacket with this great layered necklace. The necklace is just so precious. Its vintage and it was my grandmothers. Check out those amazing gold and cream swirls and the beautiful coloring of the beads. This necklace is sure to dress up any outfit.

We also paired with an oversized brown cluster ring to help carry the darker colors of the necklace throughout the outfit. My mother had a healthy obsession with cluster rings so I have a few available in my shop now. Ya know...I'm always happy to help one with an addiction..espically a vintage shopping addiction.

To give the final feminine touch, we styled this look with an amazing crochet dress. The dress is not vintage but it is vintage inspired and I truly believe that this dress completed the look. This dress is hot, hot, hot! It created this carefree style that would be perfect for work, dinner, festival and more.

Don't you just love this jacket!!?? Fringe on the front. Fringe on the back. Its just perfect!

Thank you for stopping by. Please share this blog to inspire others and please do not hesitate to share blog ideas with me.

Renee XOXOXO

Spring is just around the corner

Next week it is going to be in the mid 60's... in Chicago... in February. That's just crazy and to celebrate all this awesomeness, I wanted to put one of my FAVORITE Spring outfits on the blog.

Mix - Blend - Mingle patterns and eras to create your signature Melange Style

As you know I LOVE Goodwill and surprise, surprise, this entire outfit (minus the shoes) is from my local Goodwill.  Really, if you haven't checked out your local thrift store and estate sales, please do. I promise you wont be disappointed.

For this look, I paired a pair of vintage 1980's elastic waist and ankle pants that had a super feminine pink fabric with flowers, with a vintage crochet top with flower detailing on the sleeves, and a faux fur vest which matched perfectly with the flowers on the pants.

To accessorize the look, we paired sea foam green oversized sunglasses and a vintage tooled leather purse from Mexico. The purse had flower detailing, which also played well with the pants and top.

I love playing dress up, especially when the entire outfit was purchased for under $30. Like I said check out your local thrift store and estate sales, you can create beautiful and unique outfits with a little effort and a little budget.

Below I have provided a few more photos of the completed look. Please let me know what you like, what you don't like, what you would pair with the outfit and what you would like to see me blog about in the future.

XOXOXO - Renee

Rock Star

This entire outfit makes my heart melt and leaves me wanting to hug my family. I know you are probably thinking...okay weirdo this outfit makes you feel like that!? So let me just elaborate a little.....

This Rock Star outfit has bits and pieces of wonderful memories from my childhood and honeymoon. AWE LOVE.

This amazing faux leather puff jacket was purchased in London on my honeymoon, 7 years ago. I took one look at the puff on the shoulder and just had to have it. The vintage red gloves and purse were my mothers from the 80's and I remember her wearing them with some killer red boots. The black oversized sunglasses were a super sweet Goodwill find along with that amazingly bold vintage scarf....just imagine the creative ways to wear that scarf...we will save that for another blog post. AND...the black sequin dress was a dress that my older sister Brianna wore to one of our family Christmas vacation dinners when we were young teens. 

I grew up in a small Illinois town, made up of 3500 people and my parents felt that it was important to take trips each winter to the BIG City...aka Chicago, to help make sure that we understood that there was more to our future than a small town. We would get 2 rooms at the Palmer House and live like princesses for a day or two, walking all over Chicago and trying new types of foods and go to the theater dressed up like we were going to prom.  I believe this was the best thing they every could have done for us and it created wonderful memories year after year, after year. And because I love my family so much...watching Meisha model this outfit, just melted my heart.

How amazing are those EXTRA tall heels!? If you were in an environment where heels are not the best option or you are anti heels, I would pair this outfit with black suede wedges, sequin boots, combat boots or a cute pair of black or red flats.  

For Meisha's make up, we decided to keep it fun and bold. We drew attention to her beautiful eyes with gold liquid eye shadow around the outside, which highlighted her amazing bone structure and paired well with her bold purple hair.  

We also went with a smokey eye with black and a bright pink eye shadow and created even more of a rock star look by giving her a little wing with eye liner.

Because her outfit, hair, and eyes were so bold, we decided to keep her lips and cheeks neutral. With a model this beautiful, we could have done just about anything and she would have looked like a Rock Star!

The dress, jacket and scarf are available for purchase through our Etsy shop and Instagram page. Or just shoot me an email and we can chat about what you are looking for.  

XOXOXOX - Renee

Good Morning Charlie

Good Morning Charlie....let me finish modeling this bad ass jumpsuit and then I will be over to kick some butt! POW! BAM! SLAM!

This vintage jumpsuit is to die for. The creamy yellow color is flattering on all skin tones and the cut is extremely figure flattering. Also, check out that belt...it provides the shape a lady needs when wearing such a power suit.

We decided to pair many fun vintage and modern accessories with this bitching jumpsuit to create a little pop of color as well as keep the look feminine.

The 3 bracelets on the left are from (top down): Avon , Goodwill and a Faux Tortoise Shell bangle that used to be my mothers from the 70's. The bracelet on the right was from Riot Fest 2015 in Chicago. It had areally cool hand and ring combo, but I hula hooped too hard and broke the chain. Then decided tokeep the owl bracelet and rock it on its own. We also paired a beautiful vintage broach with fan and chain detailing.  The broach was a light green and gold and matched perfectly with the rest of the accessories. The ring was also a vintage find from Goodwill. Oh gosh... I'm telling you my shopping secrets...LOL.

So I am saving my favorite accessory for last. Did you see those sunglasses. Okay that's a silly question...why wouldn't you have noticed those glasses.!? The oversized frame and abundance of rhinestones just scream Charlie's Angels. I wish I could wear these sunglasses all the time, even now while typing this in my fuzzy slippers, bathrobe and hair in a half bun.

With this being my 5th blog post in a row about jumpsuits and do have 1 more still to come, you can see that I have a weakness for jumpsuits....or is a weakness for strong powerful confident women, because that's what you are when wearing a jumpsuit. Either way, I love them, I love you and I love bringing you fun vintage fashions.

Keep being beautiful! Keep being strong! Keep being you!

xoxox

Renee

Party Girl Attitude

This jumpsuit screams "Party Girl Attitude"!

As we all know, I have a weekness for jumpsuits and pockets. Unfortunately this jumpsuit does not have pockets....but did you see what it does have!!?? GOLD STUDS....and those gold studs are what instantly drew me to this jumpsuit. Not to mention the sheer material over the arms. SEXY!

To highlight this amazing jumpsuit, we highlighted the deep-V neckline with a Vintage faux Leopard and Gold chunky necklace. This necklace is light and the faux fur is SO soft.  Also, available for sale in our Etsy shop.

This jumpsuit is perfect for all types of events, going out with the girls, date night with your man and more. Don't be afraid to show a little Attitude, your outfit made you do it. :-)

Contact me for more details and how to purchase.

XOXOX

Renee

And so it begins

My name is Renee and I am the owner of Discover Mélange; an online vintage and vintage inspired boutique

 I was raised by two amazing parents both with a passion for family, food, The Arts, being "BOLD" and being "YOU".  I truly couldn't have asked for two better people to gather genes from.

Like most children of the 80's, we were the poster children for bad trends. I know I am not the only one to fall victim to French rolled jeans, teased hair, applying WAY too much Aqua Net or the dreaded oversized shoulder pads! I think it is safe to say that we had to learn how to own, rock, and survive our childhood wardrobes.

Throughout my childhood, I saw my mom getting dressed in modern bright bold colors and patterns while paring them with her vintage hats, shoes and accessories. I always found it so fascinating how she could mix, blend and mingle different eras and trends and come up with this one of a kind style that seemed to make everyone gravitate towards her. She was truly the first #melangegirl and inspired what I like to call #melangestyle

Mélangestyle is about being BOLD and being YOU. Taking your favorite trends from the past and blending them into present day life, resulting in a Mélange style that you can call your own. The purpose of my blog and Discover Mélange is to provide exciting recipes, vintage fashions, home furnishings and entertainment, creating the synergy needed for a happy, healthy, well balanced soul.  

I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you! Keep checking back for more Melange Tips.

XOXO - Renee