It almost seems like you're avoiding me...

The Teal Blue Mini Romper - jessjamesjake on Etsy

Sorry if this entry comes out weird-looking, I'm on a strange unfamiliar laptop and the images are pasting wonky! Anyway. One of the neatest things about rompers is that sometimes, they look exactly, unimpeachably like dresses....except if you do a pratfall, or sprawl out on the grass, then SURPRISE there's a secret pair of shorts underneath and you don't gotta flash nobody! Keepin it classy so you don't have to. Here is one such specimen, a hot teal romper masquerading as a scooter dress. Like a secret agent superspy.

And now here we are, at the end of Romper Week. Seems like we've only just begun! It's funny... not long ago I turned up my nose at rompers, scoffed at the very idea that they could be fashionable. How times have changed. This may be the end of their week, but this is not the last romper you'll see on this blog. Their noble legacy lives on.


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Just got back from a concert of Emma Hunton at Joe's Pub, and she did a cover of this song as her encore! I got really excited cos it'd been years since I'd last listened to it...




Melanie Safka - Brand New Key

(Lyrics)

Silly homemade video by some random kids, but I think it kinda works, haha. Melanie's a singa from the sixties and seventies (she performed at Woodstock!), so maybe she would have liked the look of that mod romper up above...

PS: I'd forgotten her last name so I googled the title of the song, and as a result I found a cool little bio page all about Ms. Safka and her music, and the song "Brand New Key" in particular! Here it is click click

O what hard-luck stories they all hand me

Vintage 80s charcoal black mini romper - NodtoModvintage on Etsy

Tiny people, look alive - this S/XS romper could be your new wardrobe staple. Though it's not *quite* as versatile as the dress desgined by Eliza Starbuck for The Uniform Project (can't wear it open, can't turn it around), it's definitely in the same neighborhood. Classy enough to wear to formal occasions, but also casual enough for a regular day, this romper could be the base for any kind of look depending on how it's accessorized, or even layered with other clothes. What's more, it's the only romper so far that I could seriously see someone wearing in any season of the year, even winter - just add stockings, ankle boots and a jacket or cardigan ((plus a real coat for outside)), and maybe a belt at the waist. I'm normally staunchly opposed to wearing shorts with tights, but the cut of this is dress-like enough that I'd make a personal exception. I can't lie, if this one was my size I'd be all over it. It makes me think of old movies and jazz, Audrey Hepburn and Duke Ellington.


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Julie London - Bye Bye Blackbird

I really like jazz standards. Songs like this, Summertime, Lullaby of Birdland, I love doing searches for and checking out all the different versions by different performers. Here's another, similar take of this song by Emilie-Claire Barlow that might be a little more ipod-friendly... And here's a vastly different, funereal interpretation which some of you may recognize from the play/movie The History Boys. (It's been ages since I listened to this last version, I forgot how lovely it is. I've got chills. Here, I'm embedding a snatch of it so more of you might actually play it...)



The History Boys & Richard Sisson - Bye Bye Blackbird

Pack up all my care and woe,
here I go, singing low,
bye, bye, blackbird

Usual Lyrics
Lyrics as in THB

So please don't stay in touch

Vintage Plaid Rompder (sic) - santokivintage on Etsy

I call this one...THE POWER ROMPER. (Or should I say The Power Rompder?) It's supersweet and fun and cute, but also definitely meets the dress code for any fashionable young HBIC. The punchy rainbowrific plaid will knock out any rainclouds even thinking about your parade, so hit the streets in this stand-out piece and give the hataz a good blast.


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Lily Allen - Fuck You

Self-explanatory.

Look there she goes that girl is *so peculiar*

Vintage Storybook Romper Dress - SpunSugarVintage on Etsy

Cute little romper with a vibrant print of candy-colored storybooks all over.


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Belle/Bonjour! - Disney's Beauty and the Beast

With a dreamy far-off look
And her nose stuck in a book (!)
What a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle...

(Lyrics)

Make sure you don't hurt nobody

Metallic Galaxy Romper Playsuit - 123LaLaLovely on Etsy


Behold.




This is fresh handmade, by the way, not vintage.


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Quad City DJs - Space Jam (Galactic Super Slam Mix)

Everybody get up it's time to slam now
We got a real jam goin' down
Welcome to the Space Jam
Here's your chance, do your dance at the Space Jam
Alright....

You run through the forest, settle before the sun

Vintage CHRIS Floral Lace Up Romper - brownbagvintage on Etsy


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Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood

Lyrics:

Whoa-oh-oh

Come down from the mountain, you have been gone too long
The spring is upon us, follow my only song
Settle down with me by the fire of my yearning
You should come back home, back on your own now

The world is alive now, in and outside our home
You run through the forest, settle before the sun
Darling, I can barely remember you beside me
You should come back home, back on your own now

In the evening light, when the woman of the woods came by
To give to you the word of the old man
In the morning tide, when the sparrow and the seagull fly
And Johnathan and Evelyn get tired

Lie to me if you will at the top of Beringer Hill
Tell me anything you want, any old lie will do
Call me back to you

Back to you

Now the old wheelbarrow's feeling young again

It is August. We are now in the thick of midsummer heat. There is only one thing to be done. Presenting: Romper Week at NYLONVINYL.

Day One:



Wheelbarrow and Floral Printed Patterned Romper - VolenskaVintage on Etsy


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And today...I can't resist. You get two songs. (They're both pretty short - 3 mins and 1 min - so it's okay, right?)



Stephen Bennett - Wheelbarrow Boogie

Thank you, last.fm and Mr. Bennett, for this jaunty and impressively dexterous guitar jam. Perfect for running around causing havoc on a hot day, just like this romper.




Peter Combe - Old Wheelbarrow

And thank you, last.fm and Mr. Combe (apparently a very popular children's songwriter in Australia), for this equally jaunty, whistle-ridden skip-a-long song. One could wear the romper above and play this on their ipod as they stroll down a 1950's technicolor cartoon road, where the sun smiles wide and the birds, flowers, squirrels and evidently wheelbarrows all have rosy cheeks and eyes the size of dinner plates.

Lyrics!

theres an old wheelbarrow
down in my backyard
looking just a little sad
how he'd love to offer you a squeaky ride
but he's old and tired
he comes back with
a tin of purple paint
to fix him up
slap it on and make him feel like new
now the old wheelbarrow's feeling young again
it's amazing what some paint will do!