Thrifted and vintage...

The weather this past weekend was unusually mild... which I seem to be saying lately... "unusually mild" seems to be becoming more and more usual.  However, being so mild, it made my porch not uncomfortably cold for photo-taking! I actually completely forgot about tights! Definitely preemptive as it's definitely still tights weather outside and will be for several more months, but posting some outfits without tights made for a nice little change.

dress, hat, purse: vintage

shoes: aldo (old)

belt: from another dress

petticoat: american apparel

While I enjoy pairing vintage items with new, it's pretty special when you're wearing almost an entirely vintage outfit. While I'm definitely mixing eras with the hat & dress, and it may not be what someone would've actually worn 60-70 years ago walking down the street, it still makes me wonder who did wear these items and what streets they walked down. Every pre-owned item has a story, and pieces of someone else's story. When I wear these items, and when I look around my house, or go antique shopping, I'll often look at an item, and wonder, who did you belong to? If only these things could talk... 

trying something new...

 I've been getting more and more brave with scarfs and bandanas.  It started that I'd just make it narrow, and tie it up like a headband (here, here and here)... then I got a bit braver, made it wider (here and here).  Now I've gone full-blown, and I have it turban-style.  I think it's a great option for bad hair days, and it can be so much more fun than just a pony-tail or a hat.

I've been on the lookout for some large square scarfs for this look, and lucked out by thrifting two on my birthday weekend.  I'd definitely still love to add more to my collection, but this one has so many colours in it that it is pretty versatile.

 I'm also loving how the scarf with the cardigan just seems to make this dress seem much more fall appropriate.  Being mint and long, I find it challenging to wear with tights and therefore make it seem more fall/wintery, but the added layers seem to do the trick. I'm looking forward to wearing it in similar styles throughout the colder months now... and perhaps it'll give me motivation for my other dresses that are also longer/full skirts, and challenging with tights.

     dress: hell bunny via modcloth
     shoes: chelsea crew via modcloth
     cardigan: local shop
     scarf: thrifted

     petticoat: american apparel

A Birthday Treat...

Long awaited.  This dress I mean.  I've had my eye on it for months, and just couldn't seem to take the plunge. It's pricy, but not the priciest I've purchased, so I'm not sure why I was so hesitant.  I wasn't sure about the collar, or the slit in the front as a neckline, but I loved the pattern and the fit.  I mean a dress with suitcase pattern?? What's not to love? It's so novelty and unique.

 

For my birthday, my godson gave me a gift certificate to modcloth. He's such a fantastic little shopper, that 3 year old.  So I finally took the plunge and ordered the dress. It seriously did not disappoint.  Surprisingly, I like the collar and the neckline.  It even looks good with cardigans, which was part of my worry.  My only complaint is that the waist isn't actually at my natural waist, it's a bit too high, so without a belt, I look frumpy.  Luckily, adding a belt at my natural waist works, and it isn't obvious that it's not where the skirt of the dress actually starts. 

Confession: I bought these tights probably 3 years ago and have worn them maybe twice.  Why? The description said "navy", which is what I wanted.  Navy they are not.  They're more of a muted cobalt.  I just didn't seem to have anything that they looked good with, other than a black dress.  However, last weekend I finally got around to watching Ruby Sparks, and now I'm bright-coloured-tights brave.  I've posted several times about the difficulties of wearing brightly coloured tights, and I keep trying to wear my orange, red and teal ones.  With the help of Ruby Sparks, I managed to wear my mustard ones last week (which aren't very mustard-y), my red tights very comfortably, and today, my cobalt ones. Hopefully my braveness continues, because I have to admit, wearing bright tights this week has been pretty fun.

     dress: mocloth
     tights: we love colors
     shoes: aldo
     belt: from another dress
     suitcase: thrifted

birthday outfit...

This is what I wore on my birthday, to my family supper.  The dress was a gift from my parents, and I just had to wear it right away.  Coincidentally, it was complimented perfectly by a vintage scarf I recently picked up as well! 

 

It's rare that I find a vintage dress that I love that's actually in my size.  Most vintage clothing tends to be rather small, so when I spotted this fun novelty print dress, with my measurements, I immediately added it to my birthday wishlist.  Bless my mother, she went online and snatched it up right away.  And because of this being so out of character for her, I actually thought someone else bought it and was so disappointed.  So today's surprise birthday gift was pretty exciting!

 

The print is so fun! And so many variations of blues, grays and greens in it... It'll be a fun item to style different ways.  Although I was pretty impressed with my styling today, and I think it might be hard to beat. Especially with the freshly red hair. 

     dress: gift, vintage (etsy)
     belt: forever 21
     scarf: thrifted ($2!!)
     shoes: chelsea crew via modcloth
     tights & petticoat: american apparel

vintage mint and cognac...

 

sometimes you just get lucky with some seriously amazing finds and deals. and sometimes, those finds just go perfectly together.  such was the case with this outfit (in my opinion).   at first glance, i thought this dress was a night shirt.  then i noticed a picture of it paired with a belt, and it was called a 'secretary's dress'... so i thought, that can't be a night shirt.  and it looked so adorable.  i took a gamble and ordered it, and i'm so glad i did.  it's a thick, heavy fabric. definitely not a night shirt! and i got so many compliments on it today! it's very office appropriate, and i always love adding more office-attire to my wardrobe. 

 i didn't think i'd pair the hat and dress together.  when i ordered them, that wasn't my intention at all. i thought i'd mix the dress with chocolate brown (which i like to call a mint chocolate combo, because everything food related just sounds more fun), or black.  but when i got them in the mail, i tried them both on right away, together, because i was in a rush to pack as we were leaving for the weekend, and i just wanted to make sure they both fit and looked ok.  lo and behold, i loved them together.

 

even better? they go perfectly with my thrifted Saks Fifth Avenue purse that i scored on vacation! this may be on of my favourite outfits yet.  

 

     dress, hat: Confectionery Vintage
     shoes: Aldo
     belt: from another dress
     purse: Saks, thrifted