New Video: 2017 Favorites (Happy New Year!)

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday and start the new year off well. I have yet to really spend time on writing out my goals for the next year, but one of my goals for 2017 was to make more videos. Though I didn't make as many videos as I may have originally planned, I definitely made more than I did in 2016, so I'm calling the resolution a success! Thank you so much to everyone who had watched my videos this year. It really means so much to me as videos are something I really enjoy making and find such an engaging challenge. As I type this I am 4 YouTube subscribers away from hitting 2,000! Which is just so amazing! Thank you again and happy 2018!

Crystal Clear

Sharp bright white, lightly caged in swirling black velvet scrolls, and finished with a of sparkling clear crystals. What could be better attire for ringing in a new year?

I made this dress to wear in Paris, and wear it in Paris I did. I sometimes forget that I went to Paris this year, how could that have been so? It feels like an age away already. I need to look over those photos again when I carve out some time to review my year and reflect on what 2017 has meant for me. It is so easy for me to view the passing of time with a negative eye, always focusing on what I didn't accomplish, what I failed to achieve. It would be wrong to sum up my year as just another stagnant year of failing to meet my goals, not when I got to walk through the golden gates of the Petit Palais in the morning, taste tart lemon deserts among the company of wonderful friends in Avallon, not in a year where I was gifted an open horse carriage ride through the glowing green woods behind a pink stone castle.

France was a dream of course, but so were the huge snowflakes I couldn't help but pause and admire even while juggling large boxes last week trying to get them in my car without slipping on the ice, so was every Ghibli movie I finally watched for the first time this year, so was any fleeting moment spent editing and thinking I'd finally hit upon an idea to carry me onward towards a finally finished manuscript. I may not have done everything I wanted to in 2017, I didn't sew every planned project, I didn't finish the book, but I am here at the end of it still full of hope that I will keep creating, I will keep trying and going after my dreams. No I'm not ready to give up the dreaming just yet, and that in itself is an accomplishment in its own way. Not even dreary 2017 could dash my dreams away, and persistence is my motto going forward. Only one way to go after all, and that's through.

Enough cheesy reflection, though in excuse I am writing this quite late at night...I beg your forgiveness. Thank you all so much for visiting my blog this year, it's impossible to really say how much it has meant to me. Thank you for every comment, every view on YouTube, and every like on Instagram. The online vintage community means more and more to me all the while, especially as it is so encouraging often seeing women supporting other women and with such genuine compassion and joy. I love creating projects and photos and sharing them with all of you. Hopefully one day soon I'll be sharing stories too, I just have to finish writing one first...

Dress: Made by me
Gloves & Fishnets: Amazon
Shoes: Zara
Jewelry & Clutch: Vintage

Cataloging Catalogs: Shoes!, Montgomery Wards Spring/Summer 1943

The bad new is, these are the last pages I will be sharing from the Spring/Summer 1943 Montgomery Wards catalog for a while, the good news is...I now have a small collection of catalogs and will be sharing images from a different Ward's catalog starting in the new year! 

These last few pages are luckily full of shoes. Once again, if only we could still place our orders right? The pages that follow these (of which there are nearly 800) contain undergarments, men's clothing, children's clothing, and all manner of household and farm goods. While these other items are all interesting in their own way as a historic resource, I wish to focus on the women's fashion pages in my catalog collection for now. The fashions are just too good, trust me you want to see them first :)

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season and enjoy these beautiful shoes.

Renaissance Review

Remember when I wore this dress in Avallon? Well, that day I knew I would be touring a small museum and didn't want to wear a petticoat in case I brushed against things unwittingly, but there were no such worries here at home!

I paired this rather magical brocade dress with dark green this time instead of red, and though it's a stretch (there is no green in the fabric), I still think it works for a holiday look right? I bought a length of dark green velvet ribbon to wear as a belt and match my other new pair of metallic heels from Bait Footwear. The red colorway of this shoe went over quite well on Instagram, so I'll be sure to share the green over there too as they are just as magnificent! I have been on the lookout for dark green shoes for a long time, and though the shiny nature of these limits their daytime styling options a little bit, I am so happy to have them. No more new shoes for me in 2018! Not that I'll be able to really promise that...

That said these shoes are more comfortable than I thought they would be and are really stunning in person. I really must remember to put a little more spending money aside for the Bait Footwear Black Friday sales next year as the deals were so good! I am really happy with all of the shoes I've added to my collection from the brand. (uh, also #notsponsored)

And yes, the hem of this particular dress of mine has warped a bit, circle skirts can be annoying that way. That's why you should always leave your dress/skirt on a dressform or hanger for a night or two before re-cutting the hem and finishing it after the hem "drops" as they say. All of this warping happens because the nature of how a circle skirt is cut means some of the skirt is on the bias and some on the straight-grain and the bias stretches. I'll fix this hem eventually, but I still like it even if the hem is a bit..uhh unique ;)

I hope you all are having a good lead up to Christmas, if you celebrate Christmas that is, or at least a nice cozy December if not. I invested in a tin of peppermint hot chocolate this season and have been enjoying a warm cup for desert ever now and again while I stay cozy with my cat Cleo before bed. Less glamorous in my flannel pj's with coco, but just as luxurious in many ways ;)

Dress: Made by me
Shoes: Bait Footwear
Fishnets: Amazon
Gloves, Clutch, & Jewelry: Vintage
Hair Flowers: ...stolen off our Christmas tree to wear!

California Christmas

Remember when I said I accidentally, *ahem*, took advantage of Bait footwear's Black Friday sale? Well yeah...and these shining metallic red heels were just one pair I picked up. They look like car paint made leather? I love them and I actually have no regrets ;)

So while I now live in Colorado, I spent my childhood growing up in California, and in California a cotton dress with short sleeves is perfectly appropriate for December's holiday season. I have a string of very holiday party worthy outfits coming up here on the blog, so I thought I'd include one inspired by the holiday season in warmer climates. As you can see even here in Denver there is no snow on the ground just yet, but rumor has it the wintry wonderland effect is to arrive later this week! A white Christmas may very much be on the way.

I tried curling my hair in a new setting pattern for the front on the day these photos were taken and actually wasn't very pleased with how it brushed out. I'm having trouble getting my curlier less smoothed styles to work ever since I colored my hair again, I don't really know what that's about! I can't believe how fast my roots have started to come in either, I'll need to do a touch up color refresh soon.

This weekend I finished up the last of my gift shopping and have started to wrap things in anticipation of the holidays. I even went to the mall and lived to tell the tale. It seems many people I know now are not very "into" the holidays, which I have a hard time understanding since I love the season myself. I do however realize my own lasting fondness for the "holiday season" is certainly because have always been very lucky and privileged to have consistently great family relationships and a general warm/fun vibe ever year. I am certainly wishing all of you warmth and fun, and at least one evergreen scented candle (my favorite scent!) or spiced cookie <3 Hang in there, this incredibly odd year is almost over!

Dress & Belt: Made by me
Shoes: Bait Footwear
Clutch, Brooch (on clutch), & Bracelet: Vintage
Holiday pin: Made by me (tutorial here)
Fishnets: Amazon
Earrings: Old Navy
Ring: Inherited

New Video: Some Thoughts on Vintage Style for Teens & Students

It's been a little while since I was a teen myself, but I wish I had know more about dressing vintage in my high school days! I have written briefly about my own high school fashion choices in this post from 2015, but I haven't really talked about teenage vintage style before. Since there may be a few younger readers out there who are possibly interested in vintage style I thought I would discuss the subject a bit over on YouTube. I'll talk about vintage style in other environments soon, like wearing vintage style at work. 

I hope you all had an amazing weekend! I spent most of the weekend watching Star Wars, so perhaps I'll make a video on my Last Jedi thoughts soon ;)

Holiday Happenings

What should one wear while out holiday shopping? Probably not this, but I don't have any holiday parties to attend so I got dressed up just for fun. I actually wouldn't recommend petticoats in environments where you could potentially knock things off shelves with your skirt, but to be fair I am more clumsy than most so perhaps others could manage better than I!

This top is one of my most favorite makes ever. The combination of the stiff taffeta fabric with flocked flowers and the classic shape are a great pairing, and I think the plaid lends itself well to the holiday season. I've worn this top once before on this blog (see that outfit here) with a black pencil skirt, and I can imagine pairing it with my black circle skirt as well in the future. I have recently been considering making a full length black circle skirt, even though I never get to wear evening clothes, in silk taffeta or cotton sateen to wear with tops like this one. I just don't have anywhere to wear something so dramatic! This red circle skirt has been such a useful item in my closet in all seasons, and works especially well around the holidays for creating an almost Christmas card looking outfit. Cotton sateen is such a great fabric since it can be dressed up or down very easily.

I hope you all are having a good December so far, though I know for some the holidays are more a source for stress than a real celebration. Oddly, though I am not religious in any way, I still love the Christmas season. I love the smell of greenery, the infusion of cinnamon into everything sweet, the pretty lights, and the emphasis on goodwill for once, all of which have very little to do with much of anything except making winter feel cheerful. Then of course, as a bit of a shopaholic....I love shopping for gifts and wrapping presents! Even if I do get myself into trouble "accidentally" buying a few gifts for myself... Opps!

Have a good weekend everyone! and...may the force be with you! (OMG movie time!)

Top & Skirt: Made by me
Shoes: Bait Footwear
Fishnets: Amazon
Hat, Jewelry, Clutch, Gloves, & Belt: Vintage