1930s/1940s green wide brimmed straw hat: Jardin Antiques
1930s/1940s black hat pin: Unknown, had for many years
Blue faux druzy stud earrings: Claire's (this past November, so they might still be in stock there)
Black cotton camisole: Joe Fresh
1950s style royal blue dress: c/o 1950s Glam
Black thin knit shrug: Fairweather
Green faux leather skinny belt: eBay
C. 1940 mint green ruched gloves: (probably) eBay
Vintage style green faux leather cross body bag: eBay
Black seamed nude stockings: eBay
1940s style round toe faux suede pumps: Walmart
Lip colour: MAC Partyline
Photography by Tony Cangiano
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If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, chances are you will have picked up on the fact that I'm not exactly wild about so-called fashion rules. That isn’t to say that I don't think there is merit to applying certain principles to how you dress, but I'm not a fan of woefully outdated concepts that bar the wearing of particular colour pairings, for example, and absolutely love it when I get the chance to quash one of those for, I hope, good (at least amongst my audience).
Today's vintage outfit post highlights what I wore recently on the very first day of spring (I know, you wouldn't necessarily know that it was such based on the overcast, windy, nearly rainy weather) and stars none other than the serene colour palette of green and blue - royal blue, to be exact in this case.
I've always adored these two colours together and wear them many times throughout the year. While few people bat an eye if someone sports blue jeans and a green shirt, there is an endearing concept (much as with brown and black) that one should not wear blue and green together lest they clash (due to being so similar in tone).
Just exactly where and when this concept came amount is up for debate. Some feel that colours that touch on the colour wheel are best left out of the same outfit, but you're doing yourself a great disservice if you following this notion, which is far less rigidly enforced for other similar pairs like orange and yellow or blue and purple.
At the end of the day, what matters far more than a completely arbitrary rule is how well a colour, or colour combo, as the case may be, looks on you personally. If you enjoy blue and green together (and eschew the old notion that states they should never be seen together), then rock them - especially during spring and summer, when they suit the vibrancy of the world around us so superbly.
I opted to usher in spring with this very palette and made the star of the show this elegantly beautiful mid-century vintage style Nancy V-Neck Dress from the terrific Australian clothing e-tailer 1950s Glam.
A new and exciting player on the vintage reproduction and pinup girl clothing scene, 1950s Glam was recently launched in Sydney by two ladies who adore the classic glamour of Old Hollywood and wanted to bring more of such to the online fashion world.
1950s Glam recently contacted me about working together and after I scoped out their site - which, I should mention, recently got some splendid revamping and saw the addition of an even greater number of products on offer - I agreed immediately. At present, they're focusing on vintage and pinup style dresses, which suits me just fine, as I'm one of those gals who can never, have too many timelessly pretty frocks in their closet.
I opted for the Nancy dress in the hue that I did because I'm both wild about this colour and also because I didn't, prior to it, have any solid royal blue dresses and had been wanting to change that for ages. My order was securely packaged in a sturdy flat plastic mailing envelope (with the dress itself being further protected by clear plastic packaging inside) and arrived in a very reasonable amount of time to this side of the world.
Made from a wonderfully comfortable, light to medium weight polyester - which is, at least for this time of the year - very breathable, this elegant mid-century style frock sports a becoming v-neckline, pleated bust, high waisted full skirt, and a hem that will hit many wearers at or below the knee (I'm just barely 5'2", for a sense of scale from a height perspective, and this dress comes a little past my knees).
I found navigating 1950s Glam's website and listings to be a breeze. Each listing includes a clear, easy to understand size chart and key details about the garment itself.
In addition, while I received this sophisticated dress for gratis (thank you so much for this great gift, ladies, I'm in love with it!), if you wish to order anything at all from their online shop, 1950s Glam not only provides free worldwide shipping on all orders, but provides a 10% off coupon code to put towards your first order when you signup for their newsletter (that will inform you of sales and special offers).
Their prices are entirely reasonable in the vintage reproduction/rockabilly/pinup girl clothing online marketplace of 2016 and when you factor in the free worldwide shipping, they become even more so.
I'm very impressed with this comfortable, chic, delightfully pretty royal blue dress (which I just know will get ample year round wear thanks to its solid colour and awesome mid-century design) and definitely expect that I'll be ordering from them in the future.
And speaking of 1950s Glam and the future, keep your eyes peeled here later in the spring, as I'm going to be holding a truly awesome giveaway with this company in June that will provide one lucky winner the chance to land any dress (seriously!) that they wish from this new vintage style clothing website's completely covetable inventory.
As touched on in Monday's post, flare-ups with some of my chronic medical conditions in recent weeks has meant that I've only been able to leave the house twice in more than six weeks. Luckily, one of those days was the first one of spring and though the weather wasn't all that specular, it wasn't snowing - nor was so cold that a jacket was a must when shooting near the water, as we did that day down at the beach in the nearby community of Okanagan Falls.
Thankfully this week has been smoother for me on the health front and I hope to make up for lost time on the outfit shoot front this coming weekend, especially since the weather has perked up a lot and we're now experiencing spring in all of its wondrous beauty - very much including plenty of blue skies and fresh green grass.
And you know, it is for that reason - that blue and green are Mother Nature's favourite colour pairing - above all else that I will always enjoy, appreciate, and periodically wear these two tranquil hues in the same ensemble.
If you're a fan, I highly encourage you to do the same. There's a shade of each out there for just about everyone under the the sun and chances are, they'll look breathtaking together on you!
