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October 15, 2012

A charming 1950s novelty print skirt for a morning spent at the Penticton Farmer's Market





Outfit details

Prescription eyeglasses: (frames) Venus Eye Design V-12
Brown velvet Frank Palma vintage hat: etsy seller Nostalgia Vintage
Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from Tony ♥
Brown cotton cami: Forever 21
Turquoise blue cardigan: Cleo
Edwardian inspired dangle brooch: eBay 
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
1950s/60s Orange gloves: etsy seller Revvie1
Striped purse: Jones New York
1950s autumn forest novelty print skirt: eBay
Nude seamed stockings: eBay
Dark brown faux letter heels: Pipsqueaks and Damsels Consignment Store (here in Penticton)
Lip colour: Red Apple Lipstick's Firstorm Lip Gloss over their Red Lipstick

Photography by Antonio Cangiano
 















♥ ♥ ♥

The Okanagan Valley is amongst the richest agricultural areas in the province (if not all of Canada), producing a massive quantity of fruit and wine each year, thanks to the seemingly endless array of orchards and vineyards that cover much of the available growing land around these parts. However, the area is also fortunate to have an impressive number or local food producers, who create everything from artisan cheeses to beautifully sweet honey, high quality baked goods to Mennonite style sausage.

Many of these items, a cornucopia worthy amount of local produce, and various assorted merchants and crafters can be found each Saturday morning in 100 Block of Main Street here in Penticton at the weekly farmer's market, where stall after stall beckons onlookers with their mouth-watering assortment of raw and cooked foods alike.

When I was a youngster, the farmer's market was a whole lot smaller than it is today (it used to take place in Gyro Park and didn't run for as long into the year as now does), however over the past decade or so its truly blossomed into one of the highlights of the growing season for the community, the bulk of which (trust me, the size of crowds there could practically give those at Disneyland a run for their money!) comes out several times (if not each weekend) during the market's ample season, which spans May 1st to October 31st.

The one main drawback (in my books) to the fact that the Penticton Farmer's Market takes place on Saturday mornings is that I rarely get a chance to visit it, given that I like to devote as many Saturdays as my health will permit to hitting the local yard sales. Sometimes though, if the garage sale pickings are slim, or I know I have someplace to be at a specific time on Saturday (and thus don’t go yard saling at all), we'll head downtown and enjoy a stroll through the throngs of folks who have come to do the same thing at the outdoor market on Main Street.

It was on a gloriously sun-kissed morning not too long ago when we did just that, and when Tony captured these outfit photos of me before we embarked. The weather, while gorgeous, wasn't exceedingly warm, so I opted for a long sleeved cardigan and one of my very favourite 1950s skirts, which features a darling autumn forest print (so perfect for this time of the year!).

My novelty print collection - be it skirts, dresses, or blouses - isn't that large, so it's a quite the boon when a new piece gets added, such as when I was lucky enough to be the winning eBay bidder on this delightful skirt earlier this year. It's so sweet and fun, and while it's certainly autumnal, it's also the kind of piece that - thanks to it's vibrant palette and relatively light weight cotton - I could totally wear in the spring and summer, too.

Though I didn't dress with that intention in mind, I loved that once we got to the farmer's market, I colour coordinated with some of the produce on offer there, from the tables of squash to the late season peaches, the swoon-worthily yummy looking freshly baked bread to the tender salad greens - my skirt and shoes even went well with the Nutella filled crepe Tony stopped to munch on from a local vendor who specializes just in French style crepes.

Though we didn't buy much, we had a beautiful morning, and I thoroughly loved getting to spend time outdoors, while the weather was still fabulous, in the heart of our little city, surrounded by, and able to help support, the truly wonderful efforts of some of our area's best local food producers.

With October wrapping up in just a couple of weeks, that means the Penticton Farmer's Market will go on hiatus again until May, when it will return with the most tender, tasty crop of asparagus, spring onions, teeny-tiny candy-sweet strawberries, and myriad other ingredients – all of which we'll eagerly, happily, forgo a bit of yard saling for every now and then. Smile

40 comments:

  1. Ohh I love that skirt, such a pretty print! :)

    -Sara
    xxx

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  2. How cute! I love the orange gloves! They make the skirt really pop!

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  3. I love that hat- I have been looking for something like that in black for about two years (seen lots but needs to be right price!) Great outfit again- and I love farmers markets they are always so much more fun than going to the supermarket! x

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet Janine. I spend scores of time (online) window shopping (and occasionally buying ;) ) for vintage hats, so by all means feel free to let me know what price range you'd like to work in, and I'd be happy to let you know if I see any black velvet ones like this that might work for you.

      ♥ Jessica

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  4. Our local farmer's market is tiny. OI think only five or six people sell their products. I love buying fresh fruit and making fruit salad.
    I love your novelty skirt. I bought a vintage skirt I need to alter to fit me. Most of the time I buy novelty fabric since it's easier to make thing than to have them fit me.

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  5. You're again so beautiful. I love you wearing such fine gloves all the time. Your brooch and hat are gorgeous. Have a nice day my dear girl! Hugs from Miss Maple

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  6. That's one lovely skirt. I really adore the hat and gloves as well. Enjoy your lovely adventures darling x

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  7. Oh, the color combination is so yummy, reminds me of sherbet ice cream. You must have an infinite amount of gloves!

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    1. Thank you very much, Trina! I agree, these hues to have a yummy ice cream parlor quality to them. Not quite an infinite number of gloves, but a decent rainbow at the point for sure :) One day I'll definitely do a post on how I organize and store them.

      ♥ Jessica

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    2. Oh, that would be a good one, I just throw my in a drawer, with my hankies.

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  8. I love the skirt so much! The blue/peach combination is one of my favorite marriage of colors. Once again I love your gloves. And did you say seamed stockings? Perfect!

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet dear. Indeed, though you really can't see the seams here as these photos are pretty much all from front facing angles, I was wearing my trusty, beloved nude (on nude) Cuban heel seamed stockings. About 90% of the time when I wear hosiery it's either nude on nude or black (seem) on nude Cuban heel stockings, I just love the look of a vintage seam running up back of my leg. So classic and feminine, to my mind.

      ♥ Jessica

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  9. You look so pretty! What a fun hat and the brooch is gorgeous!

    Thank you for following my blog. :)

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  10. Aaah. The hat. The brooch. Love. I'd like to see a post about how to store gloves, too.

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  11. *squeals* What a darling outfit! The colors are perfect, and the skirt.....the skirt is absolutely adorable.
    It doesn't look like your clothes are actually vintage, just vintage-looking. Have you ever written a post on how to shop for modern clothes and make them look vintage? I'm trying to dress 40s these days (still working on the hair and makeup...), and would love to know how/where to look for clothes that are cheap (I shop at thrift stores mostly), but look vintage. Have I confused you? ;)

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    1. Hi Dolly, thank you very much! I have to agree, this skirt is pretty adorable for sure! :)

      This outfit, like many of mine, is a blend of vintage and vintage appropriate, the later being a term that I coined earlier this year to describe garments that, though created nowadays, have a timeless or unintentionally vintage feel to them that help them to work seamlessly with vintage outfits (here's the link to that post: http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/2012/03/coining-very-handy-new-term-vintage.html).

      You haven't confused me at all, I completely get what you mean about looking for modern pieces that have a vintage/timeless appeal. This is certainly a topic I've touched on in various posts over the years, though I haven't devoted a post solely to it.

      In a roundabout way, a post I wrote last March about vintage clothing that works well for many with chronic health problems and/or disabilities, is a good introduction to that topic (again, indirectly), as the many of the pieces I mentioned there (pencil skirts, cardigans, shrugs, camisoles, etc) are very good starting points/additions to a 40s or 50s look (here's the link to that post: http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/2012/03/vintage-clothing-for-chronically-ill.html).

      I'll definitely add the idea for a piece on this topic to my list of future posts. Thanks for suggesting it, sweet girl. Always feel free to let me know if there's something you'd like to see covered in a post here.

      ♥ Jessica

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    2. Swell! I'll look forward to reading the post whenever you get around to writing it. :) I'm pretty new to the Golden Era, so I'm still learning how clothes looked like back then (let alone being able to spot something that resembles vintage). *laugh* Pencil skirts....aren't those the form-fitting ones? Yipe! I look slim, but it's an optical illusion. I need to lose a bit of weight before I start embracing the tighter skirt styles. :D I'm glad there's options!

      Thanks so much for your lovely long reply. I'm quite excited about dressing vintage! :D

      Dolly
      DollyMadisonDesigns.wordpress.com
      DollyMadison.etsy.com

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    3. Hi Dolly,

      You're very welcome, dear gal. It's definitely a topic I'll cover in an upcoming post. Not exactly sure when, but sometime in the not-too-distant future. Thanks again for suggesting it!

      Pencil skirts are somewhat form fitting, but they can look incredibly good on ladies of all sizes, it just comes down to finding one in the right fabric and length for your body type. If you have curves, they help highlight them, and if you need a few more, they help to create them. A black pencil skirt (medium to high waisted) that hits anywhere from right below the knee to mid-calf if usually a very flattering piece on most women - and a vintage wardrobe staple that will see you through tons of situations.

      ♥ Jessica

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  12. Your outfits colours go beautifully together, you really have an eye for it. Particularly adore the gloves and brooch. x

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  13. We have a farmer's market within walking distance {I believe 3 miles from where we live} in the ISU campus area. I've never been, but people do say their produce is pretty good.

    Oh, orange. This fall orange is becoming my favorite color. That and red.

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  14. I adore novelty skirts and try to snap as many as possible up! It's hard to find them on the cheap side now and yours is gorgeous.
    Our Farmers market is once a month and I always stock up on fresh pasta, flowers, chutney and relishes, olive oil and cake pops!

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  15. Your hat and gloves MAKE this outfit! Isn't it charming when your accessories can bring the whole look together? Also--I think we own the same pair of glasses :) good choice!

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  16. Sounds like such a lovely way to spend a weekend morning! I also think it's very important to support local produce, and the quality of the fruit and vegetables is always by far superior to whatever the supermarket has!
    That skirt is so lovely and unique but my favourite piece in this outfit is your darling little apricot gloves, they are so dainty :)

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  17. I love the entire outfit and that skirt is delightful. I too would love to see a post on how you organize and store your gloves. I would also be interested in knowing how to correctly size for gloves. I havent bought any because Ive been unsure if they would fit or not.

    Oh, and also, thanks for your lovely thoughts on my tribute to my grandmother, and I hope your grandmother had a lovely birthday.

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  18. Ooooo, love your skirt, and your gloves go so well with it. Love them too! The color really pops. :) The brooch is so pretty. Love all, and what a perfect outfit for colorful fall!

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  19. This outfir truly embodies all the colour and spirit of autumn produce, no wonder you blended in with all the stalls!I'm glad you enjoyed the farmers market, they are a great place to wander and I find these sorts of activities good for finding 'the balance'in my life. I totally agree with you about having to make a conscious effort to make room for things, to back off from others...I too find it's something that is tricky to do. That skirt is truly beautiful and has such a twee, natural look. I don't have many novelty prints either, and am in constant awe of people who find them and wear them so well. I just adore that hat/fascinator on you and am sure you will get heaps of wear out of it in the cooler weather.

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  20. Oh my god, Jessica, I absolutely adore these pictures. You have such an amazing sense for mathing colors and fabrics and making it look perfect but still very interesting and fun!

    And I also must add that I think you have the most perfect skin I´ve ever seen! Very much like a porceline doll!

    Hugs from ELsa

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  21. Oh, what a lovely outfit! I do believe your hat is exactly the same style as one I saw while out thrifting the other day, although the one I saw was in magenta velvet... and I just could not figure out how one wears a hat this shape! But now I see you wearing one just like it, and it looks absolutely charming, so I may have to head back to the shop and see if that hat is still there.

    So, thanks! You are always a fabulous style inspiration.

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet Frances. Ooooohhh, this hat is magenta sounds so sumptuously beautiful! I'm delighted to know that I helped inspire you when it comes to wearing this style of veiled topper, and will keep my fingers crossed for that the hat is still there when you go back. Please post photos of you wearing it if you get it - I bet it will look gorgeous on you!

      ♥ Jessica

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  22. this skirt is so fabulous ... perfectly mixed with this cardi and those lovely gloves.

    http://wardrobexperience.blogspot.de

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  23. This blue looks fabulous on you! Really makes you pop, and I love the gloves!

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  24. Dear Jessica, maybe you want to show your wee teacup collection. Or have you shown it yet and I missed it? I'm curious to see the two teacups in different shades of blue. Hugs from Miss Maple

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    1. Hi dear lady, thank you very much for your comment. The gorgeous weather we've been treated to this autumn is continuing, and thus this year's yard sale season continues. When it finally wraps up though, I'll be doing a post (akin to my one earlier this year of the vintage finds I found while yard saling during the spring) of my recent (summer and fall) vintage and vintage appropriate finds, and will be sharing snaps of the two blue teacups there. Stay tuned! :)

      ♥ Jessica

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  25. I just love your hat:) It's so difficult to find hats that don't have the netting damaged. I just noticed some small damage on my netted hat that I have to figure out how to repair because I really love it:) BTW, where do you get your cuban heel tights from or are they stockings? Tights in nude are so hard to find.




    http://dividingmoments.blogspot.com/

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    1. Hi sweet Joanna, thank you very much for your lovely comment and question. So true, a lot of vintage hats with netting are damaged when you find them. Sometimes the damage is minimal and doesn't really show, but often times you're faced with removing the veiling and leaving it off or replacing it entirely. The latter sometimes be tricky, depending on the design of the hat - it often boils down the construction of the hat and how visible the netting attachment area is.

      When it comes to my modern seamed Cuban heel stockings (thigh highs), I get them from a couple of different sellers on eBay for a few dollars (plus shipping) per pair, including tightsincuk and love-legwear. These are not stay-ups, so I wear them with a very gentle girdle or a garter belt, just depending on how I'm feeling that day and my outfit.


      I adore genuine vintage stockings, but they can run a pretty penny and I find I pretty much feel paranoid the whole time I'm wearing them because I'm scared of getting a run in something so old and expensive, so I only wear them on super important occasions or just for certain types of shoots.


      Hope this helps, hon!
      ♥ Jessica

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  26. Hi wonderful ladies, thank you very much for all of your sweetly lovely comments. As many of you expressed interest in knowing more about storing and sizing vintage gloves, I've got two posts in the works to cover both of those subjects. The first tomorrow, and the second (probably) some time next month.

    ♥ Jessica

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  27. Lovely outfit - I love that cardigan, what a gorgeous colour! Farmers Markets on your side of the pond are much more exciting than the ones here in UK though they're improving these days.

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  28. Another beautifully put together outfit, I must take note on your colour co-ordination it brings an outfit all together perfectly! xx

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  29. Yet another item in your closet that I covet...that skirt is so cute! I love border prints and they are often hard to come by. I love how the cardigan picked up the blue in the skirt!

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