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October 10, 2014

Halloween is for fashion lovers



Vintage Fashionista Friday blog graphic for Chronically Vintage photo VintagefashionistaChronicallyVintag.png

{Has there ever been a more splendidly pumpkin orange hued vintage cloche hat for October than this fantastic 1960s does 1920s I. Magnin & Co. brand felt stunner? I think not! $48.00 from Sweet Bee Vintage.}




{In the mood for an especially glamorous, 1950s piece of jewelry this Halloween season? Look no further than this beautiful, glamorous vintage dark rust orange, pale jonquil yellow, and jet black rhinestone, silver tone metal drop statement necklace that is as classic and appealing as autumn itself. $32.00 from Chronically Vintage on Etsy.}




{For most of the year, I'm all about a ruby red or rose petal pink lip, but with October's return, I can't help but let my inner goth girl run free by sporting black lipstick at least once or twice. If you're in the mood for a cauldron coloured pucker as well, this great tube of vegan lip balm is just the fun and festive ticket. $9.95 for a 2.7 ounces from Etherealle.}




{Love, love, absolutely, completely love this beyond cool 1960s/70s does both 1910s and 1930s Halloween perfect orange and black polka dot maxi dress. Wear it in advance of All Hallows Eve or for the big day itself, as well as long after the last jack-o-lantern candle goes out. Fits up to a 34" bust/28" bust. $72.00 from Chronically Vintage on Etsy.}




{There is something about fall that always, without fail, has me running - joyfully - for my vintage wraps and shawls, especially the black ones. As such, I fell fast and hard for this gorgeous 1920s style embroidered sheer, fringe adorned shawl-like jacket the moment I saw it. Wear it with your favourite daily vintage looks, Halloween costume element, or even for the Day of the Dead. It's timeless, ravishingly pretty, and so-so lovely! Available in modern ladies sizes small, medium and large. $56.00 from Blue Velvet Vintage.}




{Candy corn, caramel apples, even those addictively delicious little mini candy bars don't have anything on the sweetness of adding new Bakelite to your wardrobe. Honour fall and Halloween this year by slipping this beautiful pair of classic circa 1930s orange Bakelite bangles onto your wrist and give your daily stack an extra festive touch. $45.00 for the pair from Chronically Vintage on Etsy (I have numerous other fall perfect Bakelite items in the shop at the moment, too; check them out here).}




{Halloween and candles go hand-in-hand like Frankenstein and bolts, witches and broomsticks, and bats flying across a full moon, so it's always wise to stock up on at least a few more as the big night draws closer. I'm especially fond of these good sized, gorgeously pumpkin pie scented, vintage Halloween black cat illustration adored jarred candles myself, which will serve double duty as terrific seasonal decor pieces, too. $16.00 for an eight ounce soy blend candle. $16.00 from Burke & Hare Co.}




{Ideal for the alluringly exciting month of October, as well as for the whole year round, too, this wonderful circa 1950s/early 60s gold metallic handbag shimmers like the harvest moon and is as glam as glam can be. It's fabulous for events like Viva Las Vegas, too, where vintage glitz is always the name of the game. $32.00 from Chronically Vintage on Etsy.}




{The fun, unexpected circle details on the vamps of these perpetually classic black suede 1960s pumps makes me think of an updated version of the pilgrim buckles that have come to be iconic elements of a witch's garb. They'd be fabulous for a range of Halloween costumes, while also working well for every other day of the year (black pumps like these are the LBDs of the footwear world). Shoes measure 9.5 inches long and 2.75 inches wide. $62.00 from Dalena Vintage.}






It seriously is.

Those who go wild for, eat, breath and sleep, fashion are, by their very nature, fans of dressing up, pulling out all the stops, trying new things, taking sartorial risks, amassing magnificent wardrobes, and, unquestionably most important of all, brining a profound sense of happiness into our lives via our style choices.

As such, when a reason to dress up like Halloween comes along, we rarely limit ourselves "just" to our costume for the big night on October 31st ourselves. No we - myself very much included - love to start sporting the colours of the season early on. If not in September (*shots hand up in the air*), then October itself. Out come the inky, bat wing blacks, the warm, earthy oranges, the crisp Bartlett pair and sunflower petal yellows, the dusty, muted olives and sages, the straight from a vineyard in France burgundies, the slate greys, midnight navy blues, aged wood browns, and gentle, sweet vanilla ice cream worthy creams and ivories. These colours speak not only of Halloween, but of autumn itself, and we're keen to pay their unmatched beauty homage via the outfits we don.

This fall, I've been busy as bumblebee stocking the shelves of my Etsy shop with dozens of new vintage clothing, accessory, handbag, jewelry, and ephemera listings, many of which, intentionally, fit sublimely into in autumn's colour palette and a good many of which can be used as part of outfits that celebrate Halloween - and of course, which can be worn on the big day itself.

Today's Vintage Fashionista Friday post takes some of those pieces, such as a stop-you-in-your-tracks cool 1960/1970s airy chiffon tired skirt dress that channels both a late Edwardian and 1930s vibe (if was my size, I don't know if I could have brought myself to list it, but alas, it's not, so it's endlessly Halloween perfect orange and black polka dot awesomeness gets to go live in some other vintage adoring lady's wardrobe) and partners them with other marvelous October 31st appropriate offerings from across Etsy and elsewhere on the web.

Halloween, my favourite holiday of the year, is only twenty-four hours long, but you'd never know it if you saw what I wore everyday in the weeks leading up to it. I reach for the colours at work in today's post, as well as those of fall itself, for weeks in advance and well into November, too, and encourage you to do the same. Let's dress up, have a blast, and celebrate this short, gorgeous, eerily fantastic time of the year - before we know it we'll be up to our eyeballs in snow and freezing temps again, which is almost a scarier thought than any Halloween costume or outfit could ever be! :D

28 comments:

  1. such a lovely post. You made the colours sound almost edible :) In Australia it is currently spring, yet all these fall fashions and pictures popping up are making me really want to embrace browns and mauves. The thing about Australia though is that we don't seem to be very seasonal at all. We have cold and hot and sure we have summery colours and winter colours, but there isn't much of an inbetween. Where i live, you can pretty much go for a beach swim in the middle of the day, most days a year without getting a chill. I do love the idea of seasons though. I always get sucked into the seasonal colours of the northern hemisphere and i think in some way our whole nation gets a little caught up in it too...

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet dear - what a lovely compliment! I can relate to a degree. We do get all four seasons here in Canada (despite the perpetually funny joke that Canada only has three seasons: winter, summer and hockey :D), but spring and fall are usually very short lived and always seem to fly past at the speed of light, which is why I try to get as much as possible out of them while I can. If you ever get the chance to visit North America or anywhere above the equator during the fall, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's something everyone should get to experience at least once (especially if you can make it to some of the American Eastern states that are world famous for their fall foliage).

      Big hugs & happy Friday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  2. I am seriously still in love with that dress but since size is not on my side I either have to find a pattern similar, then fabric and sew it for myself before Halloween. Either that or learn how to weld so I can be Iron Man.

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  3. Lovely clothes. I was thinking about you last night, Jessica. I showed my wife one of my favorite films which she'd never seen before -- "To Have And Have Not." Lauren Bacall in her first role. Her clothes were amazing! Gorgeous vintage fashion, worn with aplomb. I wanted to be her. Have you seen it?

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    1. You know, I don't believe I have seen that film yet. I'm a great admirer of Lauren's work and would to catch it one day (we don't have cable, so if it's not on Netflix, it could be a while before I do, but I will add it to my vintage "try to watch" list right now). It's very sweet that a vintage movie made you think of me. Thank you, Ally.

      Have a fantastic Friday,
      ♥ Jessica

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  4. I wish the UK was more into Halloween - I love it, but don't know of anyone celebrating it this year! It seems that here it's ok to enjoy it if you have a small child in tow, but otherwise so few other than university students perhaps actually do anything, let alone dress up. And you're right, if you love fashion you probably love dressing up! I definitely do change my wardrobe colours for autumn at least. The pieces you've picked out here are lovely - the cape is so beautiful. CC x

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  5. You are so right about using October and proximity to Halloween as an excuse to dress up. I just can't resist! Any excuse to put on a costume is a good one in my books. Your picks, as usual, are really fun. I do love that orange and black dress of yours, but unfortunately I think I would be busting out in the bust. I rather like the idea of a black lip balm - I feel like that would layer over other lipsticks really nicely, so you could even give other colors a witchier feeling.

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  6. I was just thinking last week about how much I love the month of October. It seems much more acceptable to be wearing "outrageous" things. Hahahah if I had it my way I would be wearing recency gowns, renaissance gowns, and Victorian/Edwardian gowns every single day. Of course that would probably get expensive! I love black, green, and orange together for the whole month :). And I am especially excited about a 50's novelty-print Halloween-esque circle skirt I found 2 weeks ago. I am so excited to wear it!! Hope all is well with you and yours :)

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  7. Here in Germany celebrating Halloween is not that great .Too bad. I would like to have a really chic halloween party :)

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    1. That is a shame indeed! Perhaps you could throw one all the same and start the passion for Halloween going strong amongst your friends in Germany. It really is a fabulous day- there's so much to do, wear, eat, watch, and celebrate - and I think that now in the 21st century, there's no reason why every country shouldn't hop on the Halloween fun bandwagon. :)

      Big hugs & many thanks for your comment,
      ♥ Jessica

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  8. hey, my dear friend, this post made me change the name of my recent post from 'orange girl' to 'pumpkin girl'. hopefully i will see my orange dress in a new light now (or orange).
    thanks! :)

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    1. You're very welcome, sweet dear! With your fair colouring, I think that orange looks radiantly on you and am happy to know I've inspired you to see it in an even more positive, and autumnal, light.

      I hope you're having a stellar October!
      ♥ Jessica

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  9. So many amazingly gorgeous items! I do adore that orange dress so much! Beautiful as always. It all makes me miss the Halloweens of my childhood!

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  10. I particularly adore the hat!

    retro rover

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  11. ok - i look in orange like the walking death. instant halloween costume ;-)
    but - looove autumnal colors, like the leaves develop before falling off the trees. or like the mushrooms in the woods. moos. thanx for remembering. here it´s still warm enough for summer dresses! strange.
    but it will change and then i´m ready :-)
    love and hugs!

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  12. You are right about dressing up, I love that we can now don hats and gloves and wander about town without people staring! What a beautiful hat, and the shawl is simply divine! I have a bright orange fifties halter neck dress and I have been looking for an occasion to wear it, October is definitely the month, thank you. Your blog always inspires me.

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  13. Lovely list. And I didn't know you had an inner goth girl!? ;) I decorated for Halloween last Sunday, and do I love it. Skulls, witches, ghosts, bats and pumpkins everywhere. I am always in love with the orange colour this time of the year. :)

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    1. Massively so!!! If she had her way (and money was no object), we'd live in a Victorian mansion that was done up in goth/Halloween decor all year round (or at least a far larger chunk of it than such items currently stay up come the fall). I've always been drawn to the world of goth and tried my hand at sporting such looks for a while as a teenager, but sadly (for me) they seemed to be at odds with both my cheery disposition (I am not in the slightest perpetuating the stereotype that all goths are moody/sullen/brooding/etc, I'm just saying that in my case the two were very much at odds and people were constantly pointing it out) and my complexion, which while pale has pink undertones that black and clothes together brought out to the point that I almost looked sunburned (not a good look!).

      ♥ Jessica

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    2. I am glad goth was not your style, I love your vintage style, dear. :)

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  14. I don't normally dress up for halloween, but I did as a child. I am loving all that orange...such a festive color for fall!

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    1. Very much so! I think that fall lends itself to dressing up with the season perhaps more than any other time of the year. It's colour palette is too sublime not to indulge in at least a touch! :)

      ♥ Jessica

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  15. I love your description of autumn colours. Glorious! I love this time of year. I was admiring the turning leaves yesterday whilst out walking my dog. I am rather fond of that hat and the bangles!

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet Kate. I'm such a massive fan of this time of the year as well. Generally speaking, we're looking at about six to eight weeks of iconic fall weather (and landscapes) here in our part of Canada (which is more than some other areas get). It's a brief, endlessly pretty window between the sizzling days of summer and the snow piles of winter and I year for it the whole year through, because I love it so much. It's awesome that we're in the midst of enjoying it again and there there's still a few more weeks to go (knock wood!). I'm not quite ready for parkas and snow tires again!

      ♥ Jessica

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    2. I hope you have s beautiful autumn and that it lasts right up until the last minute!

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  16. I use to shy away from orange as I never knew what to pair it with … and I always went for black. Now I know if works with grey, tan, white, blue…

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    1. I hear you there, my sweet friend. A lot of shades of orange (much as with yellow) do not look good on me, so for many years I avoided the hue in general. Then I figured out that I could usually wear either really light or really dark shades and have been hooked ever since. :) Tan and grey are two of my fav combos, as with pine green and chocolate brown being others that I enjoy wearing orange with.

      Big hugs & many thanks for all of your wonderful blog comments this week,
      ♥ Jessica

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  17. I can absolutely imagine myself in that cloche hat. I am not sure where I would wear it but I could absolutely imagine it!

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    1. Very cool! I bet it would look awesome on you, dear gal. Sometimes one buys a garment or accessory for a purpose and sometimes the piece is the purpose itself (aka, it's the jumping off point for an ensemble) and it sounds like this orange cloche would be just that for you.

      Big hugs & happy countdown to Halloween wishes!
      ♥ Jessica

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