Flickr Favourites: November 20, 2015 (plus an awesome giveaway over at CiCi Marie's!)

{The Bill ~ James Vaughn}






{1950 Family Circle Magazine Cover ~ Classic Film}


{Red-Bellied Woodpecker 28 ~ Diane Giurco}



{All Bright 'N Shiny ~ Paul Malon}



{Cutex Nail Polish, May 1946 ~ The Bee's Knees Daily}



{Röd lada/red barn/shades of grey ~ Tomas Baliukonis}



{The New Movie Magazine, June 1931 ~ The Bee's Knees Daily}

{Red ~ Kon!}

{1944 ... "A Wave, a Wac and a Marine" ~ James Vaughn}



{The Starlight Roof, Waldorf Astoria Hotel ~ Paul Malon}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}

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My passion for, and frequent wearing, of red/black/white and/or grey is anything but a state secret. I've mentioned it here before, including in this vintage outfit post from last August and as we head into winter again - fall time weather being as good as a distant memory here in Canada at this point time - my mind is turning to it once again, as I wear this combo during the winter more than at any other point in the year.

While red is certainly one of my signature colours, and a beloved favourite, too, this particular colour combination excels, in my opinion, because of the sum of its parts. It is classic and bold, but rarely jarring. Elements of it match winter's tones, while the fiery red provides a dose of warmth and vibrancy that is so often devoid from this season - save for in our festive December decor.

The grey and/or white in the equation are as calm as the first delicate snowflakes that accompany the falling mercury and the black speaks to the fact that winter is the end of one year. Yet in its very darkness, the slumbering world of Mother Nature will be reborn as the season draws to an end and we usher in spring's return. That point though, especially considering that we're still technically in autumn, is a long way's off though.

First there are snowmen to make, holiday treats to whip up by the dozens, many a layer to bundle under, and the bleakness - and light - of this time of the year alike to celebrate and welcome into our lives For there is an undeniable beauty and elegance to winter that resides in the stillness, the haunting chill, and annual traditions aplenty that call winter home - not unlike that of the timeless marriage of red, black, white and grey itself.

Even if winter is far from your favourite season, I encourage you to embrace the hidden loveliness in it and to keep yourself warm, if only in spirit, but wearing sizzling colours, like red, orange or yellow, yourself this season as well. It will go a long way in helping to keep your spirits up until that distant day when spring really does roll back into town again!

*PS* Speaking of things to help fuel your spirits this season, have you heard about the fabulous Etsy shop giveaway that I'm holding on my dear friend CiCi's beautiful blog, CiCi Marie? You'll definitely want to check out her sweeter-than-sweet review + giveaway post and enter for your chance to win a $75.00 store credit to my Etsy shop right away!

Flickr Favourites: February 24, 2014

{Revlon Fashion Plate Makeup ~ BudCat14/Ross}  


{Yellow rose ~ KLMircea}  


{Learn to Bake (back cover) ~ estelle & ivy}  


{French 'For Sale' Sign ~ prettyshabby}  


{Winter ~ Clermont Camera Social }  


{Parsons Snow Chains - advert, 1956 ~ mikey ashworth}  


{Beautiful pair ~ totheforest}  


{Picture Post, Leslie Caron, 17th July, 1954 ~ Chez}  


{The warmth of winter ~ Thomas Rusling}  


{Abby - Artist Teddy Bear ~ P is for Paper}  

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}

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There are few scents that I love more in the whole vast, wonderful world than that of wood smoke. Be it from a campfire nestled in the woods, on the beach, in a backyard, or wafting out of a chimney. With a little less than a month to go until winter officially wraps up, and in reality, probably two or more months until spring really starts to burst to life again here, there is, thankfully, still plenty of time for me to continue getting my annual fix of wood smoke.

I woke up today on a snow covered, perfectly still morning in February thinking about this fact. We don't have a fireplace at our house, but many throughout town do, and I love that if I threw open the window right now, chances are, that cozy, fragrant, timeless aroma would come barreling in to the room within seconds.

This thought then set me thinking about the colours of the flames that are integral for producing a fire. Intense reds, glowing yellows, sizzling oranges, and the occasional flash of pale blue or icy white. This palette seems particularly well suited to winter, because so many of its key players are the polar opposite of the freezing weather, pale landscape, and ash hued skies above.

We bring fire into our homes during these long, frozen months to warm our room, hands, and souls alike, but I think we also flock to the flames because of the fact that they're rather redolent of the sun's surface, blinding summer light, and that half of the year when the potential for frostbite is the last thing on your mind.

Man has harnessed fire, but it's still raw, still primal, still tremendously powerful, and no matter how modernized we get, we'll likely never stop using it in some capacity. It's too integral to life on this planet itself, and that suits me just fine. I could scarcely imagine winter without the scent of wood smoke lingering heavily in the air, bringing back an avalanche of memories from years past, while also putting me in the mood to roast plenty of delicious marshmallows – undoubtedly one of the best uses ever discovered for the mighty force of an open flame. :)

Looking back at October 2013

This day always carries a hint of melancholy to it for me, as I know it's the furthest possible point until Halloween, my most beloved and favourite holiday returns. There's no sense in bemoaning the calendar however, and besides, it's much more fun to focus on how enjoyably lovely yesterday was than to fret that the next one won't be here for another 364 days (photos of my spooktastically fun Halloween costume will be appearing on the blog within the week).



{Hard as it is to believe, - much like the title character says at the end of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - another Halloween has come and gone. It was an awesome one, complete with pumpkin carving, oodles of goodies, and a costume that I'm bursting at the seams with excitement to show you here really soon. Image source.}

 
Like many the world over at the moment, I'm a pretty knackered from last night's festivities, but in the best gosh-the-was-a-blast kind of way. I need to get my strength back up (or give myself a Halloween candy sugar high :D) though because, so long as my health wants to cooperate, there's an annual antiques and collectibles show up in the community of Rutland in Kelowna, which I have eagerly been hoping to attend ever since I caught wind of it for the first a couple of months ago.

Like most such events in this province, the likelihood that they'll be any 1940s or 50s ladies clothing or hats there is exceedingly slim, but there's usually some vintage jewelry amongst the military collectibles, housewares, art, kitsch decor items, old books, children’s toys and other assorted yesteryear items that pop up at such events here in the Okanagan (at least the ones I've been to). As I'm fond of saying though, you just never know where the next fabulous vintage fashion find might pop up!

The show doesn't start until 3pm though, and that's about half a day away still, so let's pass a bit of time by recapping some of the wonderful things that transpired here on the blog throughout the thirty-one day long month of October.

With my spirits immensely revived, my soul as happy as a clam, and countless stellar memories all but burning a hole in the pocket of my mind, October included three posts from our recent travels: Seven of my favourite places we visited in Alberta (and what I wore to each of them), An absolutely awesome blogger meet-up with Laurie from Retro Reporter (this was my first blogger meet-up ever), A very personal reflection on seeing Calgary again.

This was not a month that shied away from vintage outfit posts, let me tell you! In fact, with a total (including what I wore for my super fun meet-up with Laurie) coming in at five, it's housed one of the largest number of such posts in a single month to date.

October's vintage ensemble included a mustard yellow 1980s does 1940s dress partnered with my first ever yard sale Bakelite find, a truly gorgeous bespoke 1940s reproduction dress that was handmade for me incredibly talented Spanish seamstress Rosy (from Sewing Addicta), a photo of which appears here below; the cheekily titled Walking around town in my birthday suit in which I shared snaps of the beautiful coral hued 1950s skirt suit I got for my birthday this year, and last but definitely not least, I shared all about how I heart vintage plaid, novelty brooches, and fab green hats in a post that also broke the exciting news that Tony and I recently purchased a brand new Canon D6 DSLR camera.





Some of the other post topics through this most beautiful of autumn months were 15 of my must-have vintage fashion essentials (and one of my top tips for creating a wardrobe you love), and a reader request post on How Tony and I do vintage outfit shoots, an in-depth look at Why I love, and wear, 1980s does 40s and 50s fashions, as well as two sponsor spotlight posts, one each on House of SASS and etsy vintage shop Junk in da Trunk Girls.

Naturally, October also included some Halloween themed posts, including 31 things for which Halloween just wouldn’t be the same to me without, Three sweet and scrumptious vintage fall recipes (for Halloween classics such as caramel apples and hot mulled cider), an Addams Family themed edition of Vintage Fashionista Friday, and a lovely Halloween spin on this month's Flickr Favourites.

Elsewhere on the web, I was delighted to be asked by vintage fashion expert, entrepreneur  and all around fabulous lady, Debbie Sessions (who you remember from this post about her website Vintage Dancer), to a part of a great article she put together on Wearing Fall Vintage Clothing - Tips from 3 Vintage Fashion Bloggers, which housed impute from yours truly, as well as two of my oldest and dearest online friends, Brittany from Va Voom Vintage and Bethany from The Glamorous Housewife. It's a lovely read, especially if you're on the prowl for some new vintage fall fashion ideas.

I adore discovering fresh, innovative new website, and all the more so if they have vintage spin to them, so I was really happy when site founder Mary Micouris (who many of you may know from her other popular vintage site We Heart Vintage) introduced me to her latest awesome project: VintageGrazer.

With a look and feel that calls to mind hugely popular sites such as Pinterest and Instagram, VintageGazer is a user submitted (it's completely free to join and submit images) image agitator that's filled with nothing but beautiful photos from fellow vintage fans the world over. It's just getting off the ground, but members (myself very much included) are flocking there and eagerly submitting photos already (and why wouldn't they, it's a great way to get your blog out in the public eye!). If you haven't popped by yet, be sure to do so today - but be warned, you may find it as addictively fun as those two aforementioned social photo sharing sites.

Unquestionably one of the most fantastic things to happen to me in recent weeks, was my first ever appearance in a print magazine. I was honoured to the highest degree to be interviewed by, and appear in, two different stories in the inaugural print edition of British fashion and lifestyle magazine, V&Oak. I'm collaborating with V&Oak for a terrific giveaway later this month, and will be spilling the beans about this super exciting experience in far greater detail in a post here towards the end of the November.

With the return of that telltale outdoor signs – many of us have had snow already - of winter, it means that our thoughts will be shifting, naturally, to Christmas and the many marvelous traditions, festivities, and celebrations that go along with it.

Today though, I'm quite happy to just live in the moment on this frosty November 1st morn, and think about tonight's antiques & collectibles show, as well as about some of the topics we'll be chatting up a (snow) storm about here in the coming weeks.

On the roster you'll find such diverse posts as a roundup of some of my very favourite things that I bought during our trip to Calgary in September, (by reader request) a look at how I put my vintage outfits together, a scrumptious vintage cranberry cake recipe (that's just perfect for Christmas!), a photo shoot at the oldest location in Kelowna (it was founded in 1859), and plenty of other engaging and interesting topics.



{Much like a snowball that suddenly came at you out of left field, November can be a jolt to the ol' system, as we bid farewell to Halloween once more. It doesn't have to be as unpleasant as said snowball however, especially when you stop and take stock of the many positive points and going ons that the eleventh month of the year houses - actual snowball fights very much included!  Image source.}

 
I like November, always have, suspect I always will. It's often a relatively quiet month - a much needed breather between jack-o-lanterns and stockings hung by the chimney with care.

If we’re lucky, there are still a few days that remain above freezing. We get to honour those who so bravely fought and worked to win not one, but two horrific wars in the last century on Remembrance Day, winter wardrobes are back in full swing for most, those in the States have their Thanksgiving (ours was on the 14th of October here in Canada this year) to look forward to near the end of the month, lots of great TV shows have returned with new episodes again, and there's still time to just kick back and relax before Christmas comes a calling (or caroling, as the case may festively be).

Not tonight however, I hope. There's an antiques & collectibles show a mere hour away and it's whispering my name in the sweetest and most inviting of voices. Naturally, I'm going to reply by paying it a visit. :)

Here's to a joyful, fun, vintage filled month of November for all of us!

Flickr Favourites: January 6, 2012

{Snow and orange drink ~ x-ray delta one}

{General view of one of the classification yards of the Chicago and

Northwestern Railroad, Chicago, Illinois ~ The Library of Congress}

{Vintage 1950s angora sweater ~ modhuman}

{1953 winter fashion ~ April-Mo}

{Tea and Scones ~ Texas to Mexico}

{1957 Central Park, Plaza Hotel on the right ~ straatis}

{Modess 1949 ~ Captain Geoffrey Spaulding}

{Yellow rose stoned by snow ~ KLMircea}

{Onxy Hosiery 1918 ~ Captain Geoffrey Spaulding}

{Vintage Snowman ~ Kerry McQuaid}

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It's been a long time - nearly a twelve months (January 31, 2011, to be exact) - since the last edition of Flickr Favourites here on Chronically Vintage. As the Vintage 365 project progressed last year, it usually wasn't possible for me to write more than one new post here each day, so older ongoing series (such as this one) were temporarily put to the side.

Now the the new year is here it's time to bring them back out of storage!

Whereas past editions of Flickr Favourites (which, for newer readers, is a round-up of ten beautiful, often vintage related, Flickr images that have captured my attention recently) also shone the spotlight on one specific Flickr group per post, I've decided that I'd prefer to give Flickr groups that I really love or find interesting their own posts (as I did for some of the Vintage 365 posts last year), instead of just tucking them away at the bottom of Flick Favourite entries.

As such, future Flickr Favourite posts (which do not appear on set dates or days of the week, rather just when the desire to write such a post strikes) will be devoted to photographs, and cool Flickr groups (and you all know how much I love my Flickr groups!) will get their own posts (or at least that's the plan for now).

Today's images all have a distinctly wintry thread running through them. Soft hues, cool tones, and elegance abound in these pale blue, yellow and grey images, each of which speaks so deeply to the mood and imagery of the first month of the year.

Here's to 2012 and all the many inspiring images - wherever they hail from - that I hope will find their way onto the pages of Chronically Vintage as this year unfolds.