Swashbuckling in the Snow

Sometimes in vintage collecting, an item will arrive in the mail and you just have to wear it right then, for the rest of the day, and that was the case for me when I unwrapped this new-to-me vintage brooch!

Though I don't normally wear statement necklaces or earrings, I love giant brooches, so when I spotted this large sword shaped brooch for a steal, I had to have it. I have a few sword shaped brooches now, a different gold one with rhinestones, a silver and white rhinestone one, another in clear lucite, it's becoming a mini collection now within my wider costume jewelry wardrobe. It is really convenient for us vintage gals that brooches/pins aren't in style for most of the mainstream because you can still get really great deals. Brooches were one of the first vintage items I started collecting when I shifted into wearing vintage style full time, and are indeed a great place to start when collecting vintage jewelry in general!

For the rest of my outfit I simply paired two shades of green, dark forest and this odd mustard/acidic/green hybrid. I really love this strange almost lichen or mossy shade, like a rusted out chartreuse almost? I obviously don't know what this color is actually called ;) Surprisingly I found this sweater at Forever 21 of all places, and it has been a winter favorite of mine for a few years now. I paired the green tones with dark brown accessories and my trusty light camel wool coat. I bought this coat for 13 dollars at the thrift store when I was 17 and it has served me well every winter since. It certainly turned out to be a good investment by my teenage self. I really need to expand my coat collection however, seeing as Colorado isn't exactly the warmest place to be from January to May...I just get distracted by brooches on Etsy and end up buying those instead...

I hope all of you are staying warm out there! I'm still hibernating at my desk working away on my latest fiction project, but I'll venture outside again soon perhaps. I've got to take a newly arrived vintage suit to the dry cleaners after all... Remember all the times I've admitted I am a bit of a shopaholic? Well, some things never change :)

(and yes, that third photo where I look like I'm moving or talking is a total candid and a bit odd, but I sorta liked it so here it is)

Coat: Savers
Sweater: Forever 21
Skirt: Made by me
Shoes: Remix
Handbag, Belt, Gloves, & Jewelry: Vintage
Fishnets: Amazon