July 30, 2013

Maple leaves, a cute totem pole, and plenty of red to celebrate Canada Day



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Outfit details

Black hair ribbon: saved from the packaging on something I bought
Black rhinestone heart earrings: Claire's
Green 1930s beaded necklace: Jewelry seller in Okanagan Falls
Red 1980s does 50s shirtwaist dress: eBay
Vintage totem pole brooch: eBay
Black floral carved bangle bracelet: Unknown (I can't for the life of me remember where I got this from - perhaps thrifted?)
Vintage maple leaf print scarf (used as a belt): etsy seller Boomerville
Black vintage handbag: etsy seller
A Vintage Revival
Black sling-back bow flats: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red


Photography by
Antonio Cangiano





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Though such was not intentionally planned, it seems especially fitting to me that the last outfit post of the this month should include photos taken on the very first day of July. This feels like such a lovely way to cap off a month that, including the ensemble here, had not one, not two, but a grand total of five outfit post! Of these five however, only the photos for this one one were taken in July, the rest hailed from last month, as I wasn't doing too stellar on the health front throughout July and thus didn't get out and about very often.

Thankfully though, I was able to do just that on July 1st, as it meant I could celebrate Canada Day around town, pausing late in the afternoon to grab some snaps against a sun-bleached yellow wall on the outside of a skating arena that's located just a few blocks from our house.
 
This day was a scorcher - one of the warmest of the entire summer so far (temps hit at least 38C/100F), with little wind and an abundance of glistening, sizzling sunshine. Though I'd hoped to be able to stay awake long enough into the evening to catch our town's local July 1st fireworks shows, the heat zapped my last ounce of energy by about 8pm, and so after a quick, late dinner, I turned into for the night. Oh well, there's always next year - and I'll try to factor in a nap or sleep in extra late that day so that I might have a better chance of staying up to catch the twinkling fireworks that are shoot off over Okanagan Lake promptly at 10:30pm on Canada's birthday.

As you may know, I'm a big fan of dressing festively, and rarely pass up the opportunity to do just that when a holiday rolls around. Red and white are Canada's official colours, and I do usually reach for the pair on this festive day (case in point, my cute 1950s gingham dress worn for this day last year), but this year I was really in the mood for a lot of red, coupled with some thoroughly Canadian approved accessories.

I own a couple of completely red dresses, this 1980s does 1950s shirtwaist dress (which is light as air and absolutely perfect for a melting hot summer day such as this) being one of them, so on it went, followed by a maple leaf print scarf used as a belt and a super cute little totem pole brooch. Ever since I was a very young child, I have loved and appreciated the beauty and reverence of totem poles and the important role they've long played for some of British Columbia's First Nations people (such as the Haida), and had always kept my eyes peeled for a vintage brooch depicting one.

A couple of years ago I came across this brooch on eBay and couldn't bid fast enough. It was being sold by someone in the UK, and when I won, I loved knowing that I was able to help it return, many years later, to Canada (and even get it relatively close to its original home of Jasper, Alberta, which is located in the Athabasca River valley of the Rocky Mountains). It is, without a doubt, one of my all-time favourite vintage brooches, and seemed like the perfect piece of jewelry for Canada Day.

To compliment the scarf belt, I opted for summery black sling-back flats, a black vintage handbag, a carved black bangle, black rhinestone heart earrings, and a simple black ribbon, plus a fabulous (very newly acquired) 1930s green beaded necklace to round out the accessory mix.

This necklace is one of a few pieces of (exceedingly well priced - this cheerful necklace cost me an extremely reasonable $7.00) vintage jewelry I recently had the great pleasure of purchasing locally from a marvelous elderly lady who runs a small jewelry shop out of a cottage behind her house on the weekends during summer months in the neighbouring town of Okanagan Falls. (I'm planning to devote a post just to the discovery of this charming woman and her shop in the future, so that's all I say about her and her awesome wears for now - however, if you happen to be in the Okanagan Falls area, be sure to let me know and I'll give her address, as she doesn't have a website or online presence; I'd lived in the area again for nearly a year and a half before I even discovered her).

It's almost hard to believe that a whole month (shy of one day) has passed since these snaps were taken. We had such a fun, relaxing, awesome Canada Day - it set the mood for much of the rest of July, and was just what we needed in the wake of the basement flood we'd been hit with a few days prior. Then, as now, I feel happy and excited about what the rest of the summer holds in store, no matter if I've able to get out and about more often in August or not.

There's just something magical about the warmest season of the year, and though the heat can drain me at the speed of light sometimes, I cannot get enough of the beauty of summer and the fact that it allows this Canadian lass to wear feather light frocks outside of an ice skating rink in July.



59 comments:

  1. I can't quite believe that we are already at the end of July - this year is just zooming by! As Mid-Century Pink pointed out last week, we are less than 5 months away from Christmas...eeek!

    On a side note, I really like how you have styled your hair here (would you call it a faux bob? Either way, it looks fab)!

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    1. Thank you very much, darling gal! I know, it's hard to believe summer is half over again...how on earth did that happen so quickly? It really does put things in perspective when you realize that Christmas is less than five months away (which makes me a happy camper - I love the winter holiday season).

      Thanks!!! I've been trying to get my wig to work as a back scarf roll (akin to Tasha's fab style here: http://blog.bygumbygolly.com/2012/11/how-i-do-vintage-back-roll-using-scarf.html), but it just doesn't seem to want to cooperate. On my most recent attempt (these snaps), it ended up like this. It wasn't quite what I was going for, but I liked it all the same and agree that it has a great faux bob vibe.

      ♥ Jessica

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    2. I so remember that crinkly fabric. Sorry to hear you have been ill, I hope you build up your strength now.

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    3. Thank you very much, dear Karen, that means a lot to me. I hope I'm doing better on the health front in August, too - there's so many fun local events this month that I'd love to attend.

      ♥ Jessica

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  2. I love your clever combinations of colors here. And it's great how often you're putting up outfits: they're superb.

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  3. OMG! ADORE the hair! Did you pin it up or did you get a new do? It seems shorter than usual. Whatever you did it looks FABULOUS!!!!

    Thanks doll,
    The Glamorous Housewife

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    1. Thank you very much, darling gal! It is shorter than usual...temporarily. I've been trying time and time again to get that wig to do a 40s style back scarf roll, but it just doesn't want to cooperate completely. This was the most presentable attempt so far though, and even though it wasn't perfect, I kinda liked it and just decided to (fittingly :)) roll with it.

      ♥ Jessica

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  4. Oh that brooch is adorable!
    I was in London on Canada Day and happened to stumble upon some celebrations in Trafalgar Square; the whole place was full of Canadian flags and people dressed head to toe in red and white. It was so fun ♥

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  5. Hope your health is better in August than it was in July. I love your outfit -- especially that scarf and brooch! Glad you got the brooch back home :)

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  6. I like that the pin has traveled the world and was able to return back home!

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  7. I really like when you do close ups of your face because I love seeing your eye make up .- you're quite good with the eyeliner!

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    1. Thank you very much, dearest Lorena, that means a lot to me. My hands/arms often shake and putting on my make-up (and doing my hair) can be a slow process some days (with lots of short rests throughout), but so long as my eyeliner and lipstick don't look too wonky, I'm a happy camper. I've always wanted to have a pro make-up artist (ideally one with vintage make-up experience) do my make-up for me, that would be soooo cool!

      ♥ Jessica

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  8. Oh sweet! I love the red and black combo. I also love the maple leafs sash-perfect touch. Not too obvious and in your face-very tasteful! LOVE! xox

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  9. I think what I love most about both our countries is, not only are our Country's special day so close to each other, but that we both have such a wonderful heritage of the various Indian {since I can't say Native American with it being Canadian as as well} tribes.

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    1. Excellently said, dear Sean. It is really neat that both of our countries are blessed to have first First Nations/Native American histories. There's a reserve here in Penticton that holds a few fun public cultural events each year, and I so hope to make it to one again this year (I haven't been since I was a teenager).

      ♥ Jessica

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  10. What a delightful outfit! I simply adore it! And perfect for Canada Day!

    xoxo
    -Janey

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  11. I love your totem pole brooch! I also love knowing when a souvenir piece has traveled, which yours obviously did. I like to wonder about who could have originally purchased it, and whether they took it far away themselves, or if they might have posted it overseas to someone near and dear. Did the seller have any history on the piece?

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    1. Thank you very much, dear lady - I love it to pieces, too! No, as I recall the seller didn't provide any details or history on this piece. I remember looking at their other listings and suspecting that they were in the second hand selling business, not the original owner of this fun brooch, based on the other items they were listing at the time. I like to imagine it was purchased by a young British couple who took their honeymoon in the Canadian Rockies decades ago.

      ♥ Jessica

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  12. I just love to read your posts. It's like I feel like you are sitting across the table and all of us are joining you in a cup of tea while you tell the tale of your day:) I very much love how you styled your hair and considering the temperatures, gosh I don't see one little bead of humidity near you:) What an interesting story about your pin? I also find it fascinating when things pop up for sale miles away from their birth:) Looking forward to learning about how you learned about the shop where you bought your necklace. I love finding these "back wood" type of places. Your outfit and photography are beautiful as always. Your husband has a great eye for photography:)

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    1. Thank you so very much, dearest Joanna, what a wonderfully lovely compliment. I adore sharing about the details of my outfits and (fairly rare) days out with everyone here. You are my treasured friends and I absolutely love your idea of all of sitting around a table chatting about our days and vintage outfits.

      It's so rare to find a place like this lady's charming wee shop around these parts, and I'm really looking forward to chatting more about it here in the future (I had $50 birthday money from a relative and used it all there on cute, plastic - so I'd be safe from nickel - pieces like this fun green 30s necklace). Hand on my heart, I was thinking about you the whole time my mom and I were there - I know you would have had as big a blast as I did!

      You're so immensely sweet, thank you, I will pass your compliments along to Tony. We have such a great team effort going on when it comes to the outfit photos for me blog. He takes the snaps, then I sort and edit them (he certainly knows how to do the latter, too, I just really enjoy doing it and that way it also saves him some time, which most days he precious little of to spare because his work and websites keep him so busy).

      Tons of hugs!
      ♥ Jessica

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    2. You are just too sweet. Thank you for thinking of me:) You always have such uplifting words to say:)) Thank you dear friend!

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  13. Dear Jessica,
    you look perfect=) I like the little brooch very much, its so cute.
    I love those sweet little things.
    Jen

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  14. great dress!!!!!
    and i love what you did with your hair. suits you perfectly.

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  15. What a lovely Canada Day outfit! I was in the orchard that day and was soaking wet just standing in the shade -- it was a scorcher, indeed. The bracelet is beautiful, and the scarf, too. Like someone said, festive without being too in-your-face.

    I'd love to know more about the lady from whom you bought the necklace. We're close to OK Falls a few times during the year and it would be awesome to poke around!

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  16. You look beautiful Jessica! I love everything from head to toe (your hairstyle til your shoes!). Wow the green 1930s necklace is really lovely...and I just spotted a few green leaves on your pretty scarf/belt too! ;)

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  17. I adore your Canada Day ensemble. That shade of red is my favourite! You look so happy in these pictures and I love, love, love the way you styled your hair, including the black ribbon. Is it in a roll at the back?

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    1. Thank you very much, dear Philippa - it really is hard to believe it's been a month since these snaps were taken. We had such a lovely Canada Day, it's memory will help keep me warm all winter long.

      I was going for a back roll here, yes, (I've been trying to do a classic 40s scarf roll with my wig, but it - the wig - just doesn't want to cooperate), but it ended up as more of a longer faux bob (the hair was wrapped around that black ribbon and pinned with about a dozen bobby pins to hold it in place). It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I liked it all the same, so I left it. :)

      Big hugs!
      ♥ Jessica

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  18. Your hair and outfit are so lovely! The red dress and green bead colour combination are so pretty. Here's to staying warm and fashionable at the same time. xx Erin

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  19. Love it, as always!!! I'm a huge fan of red and an admitted accessory/purse junkie, so I'm currently taking a mental inventory of my own clothes and seeing how I can create a version of this!!!

    ~Katie

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  20. So beautiful!!! :D

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  21. Wof! I've had to look twice your photos to understand that you had not cut your hair, it's a hairstyle very funny. I love to see you using these colors so bright, this red color fills your happy face, I hope you are recovering health and energy, dear Lady.

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  22. What a gorgeous outfit! I love that red color on you, it looks divine against your lovely skin. That brooch is such fun! I'm really enjoying a nice brooch lately, they can be such a fun way to make an outfit more snazzy. I cannot believe July is already over..well at least tomorrow it will be. I always think every year "this will be the year summer will seem to last forever" but it never does and flies by so quickly.

    xo,
    Em

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  23. Lovely outfit! Love the details :)
    http://balearaitzart.blogspot.com.au/

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  24. Happy Canada Day!
    Red is one of my favourite colours and I think you look beautiful in your holiday-inspired outfit.

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  25. Great outfit. The dress is lovely. Your hair looks fabulous too. I love that you saved the ribbon from something you bought.

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet Camelia. Between the paper crafter and the "make do and mend" 1940s spirit in me, it's pretty much impossible for me not to save and reuse ribbon and other pretty packaging that comes on things I buy. This little black ribbon is now about 1.5 years old, has been worn probably 20 times, and still looks great. You can't beat that for something that was as good as free. :)

      ♥ Jessica

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  26. Those green beads are so lush! What a fantastically festive outfit!

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  27. That is just a gorgeous festive outfit I love it. My favorite part by far is the totem pole

    urban hounds

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  28. I love that style of dress. Using the scarf as a belt is inspired, and very patriotic. I like the fact that the colours coordinate with your accessories.

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  29. Happy belated Canada Day my dear! You look absolutely lovely in red and that maple leaf scarf is a great idea...goes really well with the whole outfit! Hopefully you will be able to visit London one day! I am yet to visit Canada and must put it on my list of places to visit...have a fabulous mid-week!
    May xx
    www.walkinginmay.com

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  30. I love your whole outfit! The hair ribbon made me chuckle, because that is exactly the kind of thing I would do. :) Saving bits and bobs from packaging to use on outfits or other crafts... it's a very inventive hobby.

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  31. I love your hair in these pics! So summery and pretty! Looks fabulous!

    Lisa.

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  32. Love that brooch and you are looking fabulous all in red!

    But I have to say...where the hell did the year go?!?!? It's August 1st here today. I would like a re-do please.

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    1. Thank you very much, honey! Ohhh, goodness, do I hear you loud and clear there. The first half of the year was a toughy at many points on this end, too. I'd love a redo, but if that's not possible, then let's just hope the second half is a total 180 from the first.

      Big hugs!
      ♥ Jessica

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  33. Love, love, love your hair this way!! That length really suits you. I think this is my favorite of your hairstyles.

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    1. Thank you so very much, dear Denise. It seems to be a length a lot of folks are liking on me (that's cool!) - I'll definitely half to keep that in mind when shopping for future wigs, and in the meantime will sport this one in the same quasi-back roll, quasi-faux bob style again.

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  34. How didn't I see this post? You look beautiful, as usual :) Love the dress and brooch, what a cute detail :)
    Have a nice day dear :*

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  35. Love the oufit, the hair, the combination of colour etc etc :) You are an inspiration to me :)

    ***

    The Marvelous World of Narcissa

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  36. Your hair does look rather adorable here!

    And that shirtwaist dress is very lovely, and lovely on you! I hope August brings you many great days full of fun and good health :)

    Abbi

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  37. What a pretty outfit, I love seeing how you have interpreted your Canada Day theme. The totem pole brooch is super and I like the fact that it is now nearer its original home. Those green beads look wonderful against your skin and they add such a great pop of colour!

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    1. Thank you very much, my sweet friend! I love this totem pole brooch so much. If I was making a top ten roundup of my current favourite brooches that I own, it would be there for sure. Thank you! Partnering red and green does always have the potential to veer into Christmas territory, but I find that it you keep the proportion of one vastly above the other and introduce another colour (ideally not white!), that can often be avoided, which is great, because I love the two together (they make me think of roses, which are my all-time fave flower).

      Big hugs!
      ♥ Jessica

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    2. Actually, a top ten current favourite brooches post would be really interesting. I have some current favourites, I wear a brooch almost every day, but taking a picture and discussing why they are favourites would be really good.

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    3. It's awesome that you're a big fan of brooches, too! For a really long time, though I always had at least a few, I shied away from brooches for the same reason I do most metal jewelry - I'm super allergic to nickel, and so many costume jewelry items contain it. However, a couple of years back I discovered that if I put enough layers of fabric (clothing) between my skin and the brooch, if it did indeed contain nickel, I could usually remain safe and from that moment on, my passion for brooches exploded! :)

      For sure, I can definitely do a post one day highlighting some of my favourite brooches. Thank you for the request, dear Kate (as well as for all of your terrific blog comments). It would be oodles of fun to see some of your personal faves as well!

      ♥ Jessica

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    4. I am so glad that you found a way to be able to wear brooches as they are so versatile and an make all the difference to an outfit. I like that they can be fun, serious, silly, send a message or just be purely decorative. You have inspired me to write my own top ten brooch post and I look forward to yours! Mine is coming soon.

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  38. love your hairdo. very, very beautiful

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  39. You are a brave woman to go out in that heat! You look fiery beautiful at least! ;-)
    Love the brooch and I'm glad it made its way home. Your bangle is also super pretty! I struggle with bangles and have always been envious of those that get the pleasure of wearing them.
    -Jamie
    ChatterBlossom

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    1. Thank you very much, dear Jamie! I still can't, no matter how much I wrack my brain, remember where I got that bangle from. Chances are it will hit me again one day, but it's odd for those kinds of details to elude me, so I really do hope I remember soon.

      Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that you have a tricky time with bangles. Is there a specific issue regarding them that I might be able to help with?

      ♥ Jessica

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  40. You're an accessory expert!!! :) Love it all, especially the scarf with mapple leaves. I love autumn leaves.

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  41. This outfit is just so lovely and well put together :3 And yet it still looks effortless ^^ I think that totem pole brooch is really cute indeed and it compliments the rest of the outfit very well :)

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