October 9, 2012

The cute cropped sweater with really long sleeves


Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 1

Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 3

Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 6

Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 2

Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 10

Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 5

Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 8

Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 9

Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 4

Jessica Cangiano, vintage fashion shoot, grey and white cropped sweater, 1940s hair,  image 7


Outfit details

Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from Tony ♥
Faux pearl earrings: Claire's
Cropped grey and white striped sweater: thrifted
Vintage white lace full slip: eBay
Black vintage gloves with black stitching detail: etsy seller ilovevintagestuff 
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
Vintage Saks Fifth Avenue black patent purse: etsy seller MK Retro
Vintage black velour pencil skirt: etsy seller Lady Kitschener's Vintage Emporium
Black seemed nude stockings: eBay
Black pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red

Photography by Antonio Cangiano
 

♥ ♥ ♥


This outfit really captures the sort of thing I typically wear when running errands, such as grocery shopping, going to the library, or stopping by to visit someone, when the weather is having one of those lovely "not too hot, not too cold" Goldilocks approved kind of days. It's also precisely the kind of thing I'd wear to go thrifting or yard saling in, too.

It's a relatively simple look in terms of the fact that there aren't too many components to it, which is A-ok in my books, as sometimes it's wonderful just to let one or two garments or accessories take the limelight. In this case, the star of the show is this darling grey and white striped cropped sweater that I picked up at  Value Village a few months ago, and have been wearing quite often ever since.

Being petite (5'2"), I frequently find that sweaters (and cardigans) are cut much to large for me in the sense that they often hang down to my thighs (at times when that's not the look I'm going for) and/or have scads of extra fabric in the shoulder area. In such instances, it's cropped sweaters to the rescue! They usually hit me right around my navel and so are fantastic for partnering with medium to high waisted trousers, jeans, and skirts, such as this classic black velour vintage pencil skirt.

The only teeny-tiny qualm I have with this sweater, and I've encountered this before with cropped tops such as this, is that the arms are rather long. I realize that I don't have particularly lengthy limbs to begin with, and am certainly no stranger to pushing up or cuffing my sleeves on all manner of shirts, sweaters, dresses, and jackets, but you'd think that given the scaled down proportions of a cropped sweater, the sleeves might be a tad shorter. Nope, no dice there. It's as though, to help make up for the lack of fabric at the bottom hem, the designers felt like they needed to attach it all to the sleeves.

So in this case, I just sort of scrunched and pushed the sleeves up a tad, yet still tried to keep them fairly far down my wrists, as it wasn't the warmest of days out when were grabbing these snaps. No matter though, it's still a great little shirt with a charming illustration of a sophisticatedly chic woman taking her dog out for a stroll. If I had a dog, which unfortunately I do not, I would try to mimic her pose while wearing this very shirt (and ensure someone took a picture of it).

Though their arms are sometimes long enough to house a family of outstretched boa constrictors in, I say three cheers for cropped sweaters. They often to call to mind stylish lasses of the 1940s and 50s, are a great way to include knit wear in your summer and early autumn wardrobe (when sporting two pounds of Fair Isle knit is out of the question), and can look wonderful on gals of all heights and shapes, those lucky lanky armed lasses very much included! Smile


43 comments:

  1. I LOVE cropped jumpers, tops etc myself, they are perfect for wearing with 'high-waisted' skirts and trousers. Though I have the opposite problems with arms - usually too short for me!

    What a cute outfit, if I saw you in the street I'd want to stop you and gush a bit.

    Porcelina xx

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    1. Awwww, that's a really lovely compliment, thank you very much, honey. I definitely know I'd gush something fierce over you if we encountered each other on the street, too.

      ♥ Jessica

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  2. What a cute sweater, love the novelty of it. I have to say I am in love with your purse!!!

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  3. Gorgeous! That outfit is adorable :) I can see why you have been wearing that sweater frequently! I'm with you on the cropped sweaters, things are always way too long for me. Having a short waist, cropped looks like a normal length on me.

    <3 Jessie Lou

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  4. I love the cropped sweater on you! Makes me want to try one with some of my high-waisted jeans and skirts. I'm also a big fan of pushing up my sleeves, mostly because I own far too many bracelets and hate to cover them.

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  5. Oh, cool, we're the same height. :) I have problems with sweaters too, but usually in the shoulders and arms. Length, you know. But usually it hits me at the right length in the waist. I'm rather endowed and I can't buy a lot of Petite sizes in clothing or else you see my navel (and now my gall bladder scars). Ugh! It's tough being short.

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  6. So so so pretty, Jessica! I love the sweater and the entire outfit. It really looks like a dress makes your waist look so teeny tiny.

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    1. Thank you very much, dear Lisa. I feel so fortunate to have a relatively small waist - it might just be my favourite feature below my neck, come to think of it (that and my small hands/wrists). It's always great when an outfit really highlights it's petite size like this one does.

      ♥ Jessica

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  7. Oh, it's so cute! I love the little gal walking a dog on it. Sweaters with long sleeves are some of my favorites for chilly days. I really love that skirt too- it fits perfectly! I desperately need to find a perfect black skirt. Isn't it funny how we often overlook basic separates? :)

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    1. I completely know what you mean! Until I made a conscious effort to fill in some of the many gaps in my day-to-day wardrobe earlier this year, I was short on a lot of basics. Happily I've filled in many of those gaps (shirt, sweater, purse and shoes are all new purchases this year, for example), but the search continues on others still.

      Many thanks for your comment, dear gal!
      ♥ Jessica

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  8. Your hair looks so cute! Cropped sweaters are so perfect with high waisted anything. Love the combo!

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  9. Oooooh, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the black gloves with the pearl bracelets! So vintage!

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  10. My dear Jessica, your outfit is great. I'd like that I could say that I look almost half as elegant when going on errands. You're sooooo beautiful. I love your hairdo and hair colour. The drawing of the lady with the dog on your jumper is very charming. Great gloves!!! Hugs from Miss Maple

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  11. You look very cute. I like the crop top too. I have the opposite problem. I have a long torso so a lot of shirts or jackets sit oddly on me. Sometimes I have to go up a size to get them to sit right. It's annoying.

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  12. Omg you are 5'2-what a cutie pie hehe I am 5'3 although most people assume I am taller bc I am wearing my braces LOL I ADORE this outfit. I love the skirt and just how pretty and elegant it is without being too much. I also like that it looks comfy bc you know me I like comfy hehe xox

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    1. Awww, love that we're almost the same height, dear Bunny. When I was little and the doctor did one of those height projection charts, he said I wasn't going to reach anything over 5' flat, and I've always felt like those extra two inches were my way of proving him wrong! :) (Not that there's a thing in the world wrong with being 5' at all, of course, I just love that I exceeded the height I was supposedly meant to top out at.)

      Many thanks for your comment, dear Bunny!
      ♥ Jessica

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  13. The sweater is adorable! My general day-to-day look is pretty much the same - a sweater and a skirt, matching shoes and handbag :)

    xx Charlotte
    Tuppence Ha'penny

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet Charlotte, you and your amazing style are a perpetual source of gorgeous sartorial inspiration for me.

      ♥ Jessica

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  14. This outfit is so wonderful! I love the design on the sweater and how you have made the whole outfit really elegant!

    xoxo
    -Janey

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  15. Hello Jessica,

    This outfit is just too cute! Your red hair looks especially pretty with this outfit; it contrasts beautifully. Your hairstyle looks perfectly authentic.

    :) Hope

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  16. Amazing Outfit! The sweater is so cute. ♥
    I just love to read your blog!

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  17. I never realized how petite you are:) I love this top. Way to pretty to go thrifting in:)) Your bag is just perfect!! I love it. It has a timeless quality about. Three cheers for cropped sweaters:) You look fabulous:))

    http://dividingmoments.blogspot.com/

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  18. I love this one, Jessica! That last photo is divine! Love the peek a boo lace, too. :)

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  19. I don't know where to begin, having finally caught up on my blog-reading! From the wonderful corset post, the great kelly-green sweather awhile back and the magnificent autumn fashions from the 40s, it's great to be back. Wonderful posts, as usual, and the pearls are perfect! Love it!

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  20. Fabulous as always! And i love your sweater so much, i'm coveting it as i type. :) It suits you perfectly though, and such great serendipity that you found it! I also adore your patent purse. (I have a thing for vintage purses.)

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  21. Looking good as always. I have exactly the opposite problem with sleeves. Mine are always too short due to my 'baboon' length arms :o) which are a family trait and of course I'm fairly tall at 5'7".

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  22. Awwww, what a darling outfit! I'm going to be looking awfully hard for vintage clothes in our thrift stores, I can see that. :D Do you get a lot of comments out in public? I can't wait until I figure out how to do my makeup and hair vintagey (I've got really long, thick hair, so it's difficult, and then trying to figure out the eybrows without pulling out my honest-to-gooness ones....oy vey)

    All that to say, I love all your outfits. You are a real encouragement for us vintage-dressing wannabes.... it helps me see that it truly is possible to be vintage every day. :D

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    1. Sweet Dolly, thank you very much for the immensely kind comment and compliments today (as well as for all of your wonderful recent blog comments).

      I'm touched to say that I do quite a few comments when I'm out and about in public, especially since I live in a fairly small town where folks with eye-catching fashion senses are not overly common at all (as far as I know, I'm the only person locally who wears 40s and 50s fashions all the time - though I'd love it if I were to encounter another sartorially like minded soul here one day!). People are usually so terrifically nice and rarely have I had anything but kind words and genuine interest directed my way regarding my vintage clothes.

      Oh how I envy your thick hair! It's kind of amazing how "normal" mine looks here, as I did another shoot very recently and in some photos the balding spots were enough to make me shudder (and I have to exclude using some snaps from that day because of them). I don't think that thick hair will be too much of a problem for you as you venture into wearing vintage hairstyles - especially if you go to a hairdresser and ask for a vintage (30s, 40s, 50s, etc, depending on your favourite decade) cut (bring diagrams/photos if there's any doubt about if your hairstylist knows how to do authentic vintage cuts), as this will make doing things like pin curl sets even easier for you.

      I'm truly touched to know I'm helping to encourage and inspire you, and just want you to know that I'm always here to try and help you in any way I can.

      ♥ Jessica

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  23. I LOVE this outfit, it is perfect. I am also a fan of cropped sweaters, I wore one today with some high waist jeans while out thrifting with my mom.

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  24. It's been to long since I visited! Though I just started following your pinterest, so I think I blame you for staying up too late these past few nights!

    I adore stripes, and I love how you went with a softer gray and white, instead of black. It's so much softer, and seems to bring out the color in your hair!

    Happy fall!

    xoxo
    Solanah

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    1. Thank you very much, Solanah - both for your lovely compliments and for following me on Pinterest. I can't begin to tell you how much my face lit up the other day when I received a Pinterest notification email saying that you had (I ran and told Tony right away, as I was so touched by it). I've adored your boards for many months and always garner oodles of great inspiration from them. I hope you encounter the same thing with mine, dear gal.

      ♥ Jessica

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  25. SO classy! I think you wear the cropped style really well. I never realised how brilliant your hair is, in terms of both colour and style. I think this is my favourite outfit I've seen here!

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    1. What an awesome compliment, thank you very much, dear gal. I must say, I was lucky to be having an extremely rare "good hair day" on the afternoon when these shots were captured and am soooo glad we did a quick shot that day.

      ♥ Jessica

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  26. I adore your hair!

    xo Jennifer

    http://seekingstyleblog.wordpress.com

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  27. Love the scallop detail on the gloves. I always roll my eyes at the super long sleeves on cropped sweaters. Sigh.

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  28. Your hair looks amazing in these pictures! And I quite adore the cropped sweater. I always like to have extra-long sleeves on my sweaters to prevent drafts from getting up my wrists, but sadly it is hardly ever cold enough here to wear such things.

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  29. OMG are you kidding me! That sweater is absolutely fantastic. What a lucky find.

    You look just fabulous from head to toe.

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  30. I love your french style poochie sweater and the lovely detail on the gloves. You look lovely in the photos and you were obviously having a great hair day...I especially the last shot. xx

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  31. I am so loving that cropped sweater with that cute print! Amazing find!

    Rebecca
    www.winnipegstyle.ca

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  32. i really adore your hairdo here ... awesome!

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  33. I saw your blog linked on a friend of mine's blog (www.redheadruby.com) and think your outfits are great! Very informative stuff here.

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  34. What a cute piece! Great find! You seem to get lovelier every time I catch up on your posts! Thanks for all the sweet comments on my blog too !

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