Soooo in love with my new 1950s dress from Better Dresses Vintage

Outfit details

1950s cream lace platter hat: eBay
Plastic dusty peach rose earrings: Handmade by me
Olive green cotton cardigan: Bought at a shop in Scarborough, Ontario that is no longer in business
Vintage gold tone floral brooch: Probably either eBay or thrifted (similar styles of metal brooches available in my Etsy shop)
1950s floral dress: Better Dresses Vintage
1940s/50s mustard yellow ruched gloves: eBay
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
1950s corduroy bucket purse: etsy seller Rue 23 Vintage Clothing
Nude seamed nude stockings: eBay
Brown leather wedge sandals: Yard sale find
Lip colour: Clinique Raspberry Glace


Photography by Tony Cangiano

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It had been quite a while since we last did a shoot in my parents gorgeously verdant backyard, so when I slipped on this breathtaking 1950s floral print dress that I received from one of my fabulous blog sponsors, Better Dresses Vintage (who you may remember from this sponsor spotlight post back in April), I knew that it called for that particular equally lush and lovely backdrop.

I could, unbiased as the day is long, sing Better Dresses Vintage's praise until the cows came home. On BDV's independent online vintage store and their Etsy shop, Bee Dee Vintage, alike, one will find a diverse array of yesteryear fashions that are both very reasonably priced in today's ever-more-expensive vintage market and which shop owner, vintage expert, and all around terrific lady, Liza, personally sees to the care and repair of (her adventures of which on this front she sometimes discusses in her store's engaging blog - a must follow for vintage fans everywhere).

The moment I spied this beautiful 1950s floral frock on Better Dresses Vintage I was solidly hooked. Featuring a thick textured cotton fabric, colour palette that has one foot in summer, the other squarely in autumn, and numerous immensely charming details like the sweetheart necklace (my favourite type of neckline ever!), unique green fabric "v" at the waist, and charmingly pretty bow on the back (see last photo above), this dress didn't just call out my name, it begged at top volume to join my closet.

I had worried that based on the length in the description, it might be too a touch short and I'd need to let some of the (ample) hem down, but ultimately my petite length legs saved me from needing to do so and I can wear it precisely as is. That's a good thing, because it has been my go-to elegant daywear dress this summer, including when we were in Vancouver back in June.

Here I partnered it with ruched gloves, a cream lace 1950s platter hat, and pearl and gold toned (the floral brooch) jewelry, which all help bring its radiantly glamorous side to the foreground. I could however, just as easily forgo all those and wear it with a chunky cardigan and tights, for example, come the nippier days of fall and then its more casual quality would shine through. No matter how understated or ritzy I accessorize it though, this dress is a stunner and one that calls heavily on my all-time favourite colour palette: that of fall.

I'm not ready to wave good-bye to summer quite yet (not by a long shot!), but I don't mind sporting its hues in the weeks leading up to it and this stunning frock from Better Dresses Vintage lets me do just that while still remaining cool as a cucumber during these wickedly warm days of July and August.

Interestingly, and I chalk it up to the shape of the hat here (plus how I’m holding my 50s bucket purse in front of me in one of the photos), there is something about the over all look (and colours) of this ensemble that instantly, as soon as I caught my reflection that day, made me think of Canada's own beloved fictional darling, Anne of Green Gables. I know my bouncy auburn curls do their part there, too, but never have I been struck by that sense of looking like Anne when sporting them before quite as I did with this outfit. This is, for a red blooded Canuck like myself, of course another point in this vintage garment’s favour.

Much as I do Better Dresses Vintage, I love this dress. Love, love, love it!!! It's classy and classic, fun and feminine, sweet and sophisticated, all qualities I strive for with my wardrobe choices and which have ensured that this elegant frock will continue to see oodles of wear from me for many, many more sun-kissed summers to come.

Flickr Favourites: June 27, 2013

{Rowntree's Fruit Gums advertisement ~ totallymystified}

{Bliss ~ riekhavoc}

{Cadillac 1953 Vintage Automobile Car Advertisement ~ Christian Montone}

{Chivers Jellies advertisement ~ totallymystified}

{Yellow ribbon ~ Katarina 2353}

{Florida Bathing Beauties Postcard ~ StevenM_61}

{Yellow Balloons ~ frank3.0}

{1950s riot of flowers print dress ~ Small Earth Vintage}

{Yellow Rose ~ spr0cket}

{French's Canary & Parakeet Food Ad, 1954 ~ alsis35}

{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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Late June, ahhh, how I absolutely adore this time of the year. In my mind, I'm whipped back to the atmosphere that permeated this part of the month as a youngster, when school was just on the cusp of wrapping up, the local lakes were starting to become warm enough to swim in again, and "birthday season" (a sixteen day stretch between June 24th and July 10th when both mine and my little brother's birthday's fall) was in high gear.

These days are bathed in sunshine so gorgeous it deserves to be called opulent, the start of sauna warm nights full of diamond laced skies, lemonade by the gallon full, Motown music (my parents always played it during the summer when I was child and I've carried on the tradition ever since), gauzy sundresses, and the kind of languid early summer afternoons you wish with all your might could last until the very last moment of time.

More often than not, it is the tail end of June and the start of July that stand as my favourite days of summer, and I suspect this year will be just the same. Each moment of this season has its own special brand of sizzling magic, but there's just something about the brand new days of summer that make me love it with an unending passion.

I'm eager for summer - the start, middle and end one and all - and the sun drenched memories that I know lay ahead. Picnics aplenty, fantastically juicy peaches, golden sands so warm they rival burning coals, Canada Day fireworks, and as many yard sales as I can possibly get to.

This is a season of abundance and pleasure, which holds timeless favourites and oodles of new discoveries in its folds, and that promises to delight, entertain and instill joy in one's soul from the very first to the very last moment.