Einstein famously suggested that “if the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, man would have only four years to live.”

Yikes!

Considering that the average number of US bee colonies failing to survive the winter has risen from an average of 10% a year to over 30% a year, you can imagine why scientists are becoming concerned.

And this Colony Collapse Disorder isn’t just a problem that’s confined to the US.

Latin America, Asia and Europe have also been hit hard and we homo sapiens are likely to feel the hit soon since the U.N. reports that “of the 100 crop species that provide 90% of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees.”

Unfortunately, no one seems to have one solitary answer for why honeybees are dying off en masse, but two new documentaries do make an effort to explore the issue. (They also help to explain why I spent 20 minutes yesterday gently shooing a huge honeybee out of my apartment and back into the wilds of Los Angeles rather than quickening its demise with a well-placed slap or blast of bug spray.)

Vanishing Bees is narrated by the actress Ellen Page and follows two beekeepers as they struggle in a quest to protest their precious honeybees.  Queen of the Sun has been called “the feel-good advocacy movie of the year” and  “a honey of a documentary” and is playing in select cities now.

I bring you this info today because National Pollinator’s Week ended yesterday. Yes, that’s right. This issue is so serious that five years ago the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the designation of the last week in June to be National Pollinator’s Week to help focus attention on these declining pollinator populations. (And yes, I readily admit that this post would have been waaay more timely last Monday, but I felt sharing it with you today was better late than never.)

So with summer reruns at full throttle, I invite you to watch these documentaries and learn more about the plight of the bumblebee and I definitely encourage you to think twice before you decide to harm any of our pollinating partners.

In fact, with marigold and lemon having their own moment in fashion, you’d even be well within your fashion rights to don the honeybee’s colors with something like today’s VPOD.

This vintage 1980s dress by Gina Baconni packs a bold style bunch with its black brush stroke print and its obi belt.

And it’s a very buzz-worthy find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Black Rose Vintage.

(Bee Image Credit: C.A. Mulhaupt on Flickr | To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.” – Helen Keller

The sunflower belongs to the genus Helianthus annuus, derived from the Greek helios meaning sun and annuus meaning annual. And while one might think this name derives from the fact that these flowers look a whole lot like the sun, it’s probably more related to their heliotropic behavior.

Their what??

Heliotropic behavior.

You see, while in the bud stage, the sunflower begins its morning facing east to greet the rising sun. Then, throughout the day, motor cells in its stem keep tilting the bud to receive the maximum amount of sunlight so that by the end of the day the sunflower is pointing west toward the sunset. Overnight, the sunflower resets itself to face east once again.

Fascinating, right?

And, as evidenced by Helen Keller’s quote above, we can use the sunflower’s intense focus on what’s important to it — the sun — to inspire us in our own lives.

After all, you have that exact same power.

You choose in each and every moment where to focus your thoughts and energy. You can focus toward the shadow with all it’s life-sucking, negative, disempowering thoughts and actions, or you can be like the sunflower and always focus toward the light and its positive, empowering thoughts and actions.

And to carry out those positive actions, you might just want to wear something beautiful like today’s VPOD.

This vintage Alfred Shaheen cocktail dress features a print reminiscent of Van Gogh’s famed sunflower work.

And it’s a lovely find for a vintage fashionista.

Available at Unique Boutique NYC.

(Sunflower Image Credit: Angelskiss31 on Flickr | To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

“If school days are the happiest of your life, I’m hanging myself with my skiprope tonight.” – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in a 1945 note to her boyfriend

Most of us can relate to Jackie O’s sentiments here, as we’ve all experienced the angst and heartbreak that comes with growing up. But we can also all relate to the joy we felt when school was finally out for the summer.

It’s a feeling that you miss when you’re working a 9-to-5 job or running your own business. With no institution-imposed calendar to tell you it’s time to play, it’s easy for play to get pushed waaaay down to the bottom of the to-do list or scrunched into a week vacation every year.

I worked with a personal coach recently and when she asked me to tell her what I did for fun, she listened to my list and replied, “That all sounds like work to me!”

After some coaxing, though, she convinced me that our bodies and our minds need playtime just as much today as they did when we were youngsters. In fact, these days it might be even more important!

So instead of just scheduling playdates for your kids, maybe it’s time you started scheduling playdates for you!

I’ve talked often about Julia Cameron’s Artist Dates before. These are one-hour weekly dates with yourself (just you, no children, spouses, or significant others allowed) where you get to play or explore or revisit things that bring you joy.

A bike ride. A museum exhibition. Building sand castles. Picking strawberries. A picnic in the park.

As we get older and take on more responsibilities, so much of what we love to do tends to go on our “someday” list. We’ll get back to it someday. We’ll do it tomorrow. Or next week.

I give you permission and challenge you to find an hour this week just for you.

Go play and see how energized you feel. See how your mind re-opens itself to new possibilities. See what ideas come flowing in when you’re not interrupted every few minutes or (seconds!) by family or co-workers.

And if you need even more inspiration to get into a playful, summer spirit, grab today’s VPOD, a sunny summer playsuit from the 1950s.

While you may not have many opportunities to wear these two pieces as a set, the bandeau top would look great under a crisp white blouse and the shorts just need a tee, some killer sandals and a few rockin’ accessories to take you on many a playdate.

It’s a fun summertime find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Clever Vintage. | Discovered at TheFind.com.

(To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Uh-oh!

A class action lawsuit was filed here in California this week against Kiss My Face and about two dozen other cosmetic manufacturers. Seems it’s a bit of a no-no out here to call your cosmetics organic unless they contain at least 70% organic ingredients.

But that’s not the only place where there’s some labeling hijinks happening.

Earlier this week, I tweeted and facebooked a wonderful article that warns about label switching on vintage clothing garments. While there are only a handful of dishonest vintage sellers prowling the hallways of the worldwide web and playing these unethical games , it pays to be an informed and watchful consumer.

I hope you’ll take the time to read the entire article by Jody Steinman of Couture Allure to really gain some insight into this issue and learn how to protect yourself from this occasional bait-and-switch tactic.

And while you’re over at Couture Allure, be sure to check out today’s VPOD.

I just love this vintage 1960s Lanson raincoat for its quilted taffeta fabric and the ultra-charming print of curved-horn antelopes. And believe me, this baby would in a package on its way to me right now if only it was smaller or my chest was bigger.

But it’s a fantastic find for a better-endowed vintage fashionista!

Available at Couture Allure.

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(To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Think of your style icons. Now ask yourself: do you admire their style or do you admire their stylist’s style?

As more and more celebrities rent their personal style from stylists by the hour or on retainer, it becomes harder and harder to know where someone’s authentic style ends and their stylist’s style begins.

Or take Portia de Rossi, who admits in her book, Unbearable Lightness, that she once “chose” a dress for the red carpet simply because it was the only free dress sent over that fit.

That is not personal style. (Although it’s a pretty common occurrence in Hollywood.)

That’s why I much prefer to take my style cues from authentic fashionistas like Lynn Dell. This 78-year-young style maven is a true inspiration for fashion lovers of any age — and I’d bet a Birkin that she’s never considered employing a stylist. Recently profiled by Ari Cohen on HuffPo, she spouts fashion wisdom like:

“Dress for the theater of your life!”

“Money has nothing to do with style!”

And my personal favorite:

“Fashion says “Me,too!” while Style says “Only me!”

Plus, she admits that her style has become bolder through the years. Which, I think, is a natural result of just knowing yourself better and trusting yourself more.

So if you want to take some cues from this style hero, load up on scarves, hats and jewelry, and don’t be afraid to don a bold black-and-white print like today’s VPOD.

This vintage Paganne maxi dress is far from demure.

Which makes it a noticeable and stylish find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Shop the Third Floor.

Image Credit: Ari Cohen

(To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)