What's (vintage) black and white and red all over?

Outfit details

1940s/50s cream lace hat: Gift from a dear friend ♥
Gold tone and clear rhinestone bow earrings: Either Payless or Claire's
Red cropped cardigan: Fairweather
1940s/1950s gold tone metal bow brooch: Probably thrifted or eBay (had for years) 1980s does 1940s/50s black and white floral print dress: eBay
1940s black felt purse with brass clasp: Gift from a dear friend ♥
Gold tone bangle bracelets: Payless
C. 1940s cream gloves with crochet detailing: Unknown, had for years (possibly eBay)
Black seamed nude stockings: eBay
Red patent pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red


Photography by Tony Cangiano  

♥ ♥ ♥

You guys, I so knew that it was just a matter of time until I eventually penned a post with this title - I love puns and riddles both far too much to let the opportunity to reference the classic newspaper riddle go to waste. :)
 
Realistically though, this post could just as easily be called, "Wearing my winter colour palette in the summer", because really and truly, that's what I'm doing here. Red, my signature colour, is one that I reach for all year round, but I'm especially drawn to it during the icy cold Canadian winters, when no doubt the visual sense of fiery heat it imparts is a good chunk of the reason this Canadian lass is drawn to it so much.
 
With red, in winter's snow clad months, I most often pair black, grey and/or white (see posts such as this one and this one for two cold weather examples of such). This palette is classic, elegant, and often glamorous, but it can be cozy and sweet, too, especially, I find, if grey enters the picture.
 
So in love with this combo am I, that a couple of winters ago, I got so hooked on wearing it, I had to make a mental note to sport other colours, least folks started thinking those were the only hues in my closet. I can't help it though, winter after winter after winter, I reach for red and black, tossing in a little grey or white usually for good measure, and highly suspect that I always will (after all, when something works, it works!).
 
Yet sometimes I can't wait that long or an occasion really calls for these hues or I'm simply in the mood for them, and no matter the season, out they come to play. These particular photos were taken in late May and feature the delightful - and slightly more springtime-y - inclusion of some cream, care of this truly gorgeous 1940s/1950s hat, that was an awesome Christmas gift last year from a lovely online friend and fellow vintage blogger.
 
This is the first time I've sported it here on my blog, but certainly not the first before or since these photos were taken. This hat balances sophistication and curtness sublimely and speaks to me on so many vintage loving levels. It's made from stiffened lace, is fairly wide brimmed, weighs next to nothing, featuring a stunning dark crimson velvet ribbon with bows and long, trailing ends, and is in very good shape for its venerable age.
 
The classic and very pretty 1940s purse in this ensemble was also a gift from another completely dear friend and was the one I carried last year when attending the Victoria Vintage Expo. It too is very sweet and timeless, in nice condition still and a true favourite of mine.
 
In addition to those two near-to-my-heart accessories, today's black, white, red and cream ensemble features a lovely 1980s does 1940s/50s dress (that buttons up the back) with matching belt, a vintage appropriate red cropped cardi, c. 1940s cream gloves, 1940s/50s gold tone bow brooch, classic looking modern rhinestone bow shaped earrings, as well my beloved (modern) red patent pumps.
 
It occurred to me and Tony on the day when these photos were taken, that we hadn't done a shot in the wee wisp of an open front yard that we have in ages - as in, I don't recall any happening there last year (save for our Halloween photos) and very few the year before either in comparison to 2012's numbers. Thus, as the afternoon was starting to fade, we decided to remedy that, as it really is a handy little spot, when the weather and light are in a cooperative mood.
 
While Tony was waiting for me to finish getting dressed before going out, he turned the camera on our dog, Annie, who is usually too high energy to sit still for anything but the blurriest of images (so hence why to date, she and I have not shared a full on photo shoot - one day though, I sincerely hope!). However, that afternoon he nabbed a few in our perpetually low natural light condo (so hence the grain from the ISO here) and the one below was a favourite for both of us.





Clearly, as you can see, Miss Annie has the white and black thing down to a tee as well! (Plus her current collar is hot pink, which isn't very far from red - like human "mother", like canine dog-ter :D)
 
Favourite colour combos, like beloved single hues themselves, can - and should - be sported anytime your heart desires. Just because this palette is my -25C staple, doesn't mean I can't rock it - sans a few layers - when it's +35C as well. In fact, so much of the fun of highly adored colours and pairings is the enjoyable challenge of coming up with new outfits in which to rock them season after season, year after year.
 
Do you have any colours or pairings that you generally turn to in one season, but also enjoy donning at other times, too?

Celebrating Annie's 1st birthday with 25 darling black and white vintage dog photos

This past Wednesday, the 15th, marked Annie, our darling American Bullador’s first birthday. Small enough to sleep on our chests and be cradled in our hands when we first brought her home at the age of eight weeks, she's been with us now for ten of the twelve months of her young life and has impacted ours in countless ways over that time.

Incredibly smart, unendingly energetic, extremely destructive, as kindhearted as any animal who has ever lived, an amazing watchdog, and strong willed as the day is long, Annie is both a big handful and an incredible angel. Though she is very much still a puppy in certain ways, we're starting to see her mature more in recent weeks and hope that by this time next year, she'll be much closer to reaching her adult temperament and way of behaving (guided, of course, by our ongoing training, lots of exercise and affection).

Annie was the first dog either my husband or myself, whether in our years together or before we meet, ever had as an adult and raising her has certainly been an incredibly eye-opening experience. We've learned an encyclopedic amount about dog rearing and training over that the past ten months and while we didn't always get things 100% right (off the bat at least) with Annie, few new parents (be they of pets or human babies) can say that they did the first time around. Just as Annie has grown and matured, so too have we and though there have been moments since we brought Annie home when she frazzled my nerves to the point of tears, there have been countless more where she nearly made me cry from happiness, love and pride.

She is an awesome, inspiring, sweetheart of a dog and I feel honoured and blessed that we get to share our lives with her. In celebration of her first birthday (for which she was showered with an abundance of her favourite dog treats and a Kong filled with peanut butter, one of her all time favourite foods, as well as a gorgeous new pink leash that we bought her at the Home Hardware in Osoyoss last month), Annie and I have rounded up an endearingly sweet array of 25 black and white vintage real world photos of precious puppies and darling dogs, all of which are so cute and easy to relate to that they more than speak - or would that be bark - for themselves. :)

{To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

Gilda Radner once said, "I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive", a sentiment which Annie has brought to light in my life every day that we've had her.

Yes, she may be a handful and a half sometimes, but she is also inspiringly upbeat, happy-go-lucky, and caring (she has an uncanny ability to sense, if we're out in public around other people, and then make a beeline for anyone who has mental, emotional or physical special needs, or seems to really be in need of some companionship, and to then shower them with kisses and affection - it's humblingly beautiful to see, especially since we've never trained her to do so, it's simply something she's inherently knows to do on her own.

Annie is 60+ pounds of pure love wrapped in a silken black and white coat, always ready to bestow an unending amount of her time and affection on you. She derives joy for the littlest things, forgives and forgets in mere minutes, never sweats the small stuff, and is powerful reminder of how we should each strive to exist as often as possible. She is our baby, our dearest canine friend, and a truly phenomenal one year old dog that we love every bit as much as she adores us.

Looking back at March 2013

Wanting to devote this past Sunday to the Easter holiday, I didn't post my usual month in review on the 31st, as I generally would. In the case when holidays and special events fall on the last day of the month, I suspect that this is the route I'll usually take (the key, after all, is just to recap the month around when it concludes, as the second of the next month certainly fits that bill).

March...wow, where to begin? As the month wound down, I found myself thinking more and more about how different it proved to be when all was said than done, than how I'd envisioned it when it kicked off. Not, mind you, that I had any major plans or hopes for this past month, but nevertheless, it didn't unfold as I'd thought it might, and I'm actually really happy about that for the most part.

As March got underway, I was sick as all get out with a really bad flu that lingered for about three weeks in total and totally put me out of commission for nearly all of that time (especially since it caused some of my chronic conditions to flare-up in tandem). Thankfully, I'm over the flu and those flare-ups now (yay!), and have been able to enjoy the tail end of March a whole lot more than beginning.

Without a doubt, the biggest piece of news and most exciting thing to happen in March (and, I'd certainly go so far as to say, all of 2013) occurred on the 18th when Tony and I brought home the first puppy we've ever had as a couple, our darling little American Bullador, Annie.



{Annie the crazy cute baby American Bullador falling asleep against my pajama clad leg one evening shortly after we got her.}


Since then, the bulk of my time has been devoted to raising, taking care of, and beginning to train this precious bundle of canine energy, as discussed in this post, and I've loved every moment of it. Like most puppies, she can certainly be a handful at times, but she's such an incredibly sweet, good natured, intelligent dog, that it's impossible not to delight in each moment I get to spend with her. (For those who want to stay super up-to-date on the adorable going-ons of Miss Annie, be sure to follow me on Instagram.)

On the blogging front, a number of fun posts sprung up here throughout March, covering topics spanning from one 1940s woman's immensely glamorous day to Forty fantastic 1940s sewing patterns under $40, which I put together to tie-in with flat out awesome 1940s sewalong that Rochelle from Lucky Lucille was holding throughout February and March.

Vintage photographs were the name of the game in this month's edition of Saturday Snapshots, as well as in a mid-month post devoted to Exploring the Library and Archives Canada on Flickr (the latter of which, I was one of my favourite posts to write and source images for so far this year; I just adored getting to chat a bit about, and share several wonderful photos detailing, the history of Canada).

Thinking outside of the box was on the agenda on the 11th, in a post that highlighted Seven unexpected places to source vintage wardrobe inspiration from that includes such entries as vintage cookbooks, movie posters, and product packaging.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with this rather unique vintage take on corn beef and cabbage, whereas Easter opted to go for a more traditional route and saw a splendidly tasty 1950s Lemon Cake.

Easter was also marked by a special festive edition of Flickr Favourites this past Sunday, as well a springtime hued vintage outfit post (complete with my lovely new dusty rose snood from Arthelia's Attic).

Also on the outfit front throughout March, I chatted about my lifelong passion for paisley patterned garments, and sported 1940s black and brass for a very cold winter's day at Skaha Lake (one of my favourite snaps of which appears below).




There were other posts here this past month as well, but these were some of the most memorable ones for me. Taking a gander at the blogging sphere as a whole, I know that many of us were shocked to learn of the Google's recent announcement that they'd be shutting down their much loved and widely used feedreader, Google Reader.

Two of my favourite posts by fellow bloggers so far on this topic have been How Loss of Google Reader Will Impact Your Blog from Brittany at Va-Voom Vintage and Choosing Your New Blog Reader by Melanie over at The Crafty Cupboard.

As I mentioned in this post last December, in 2012 I fell head-over-heels in love with Bloglovin' and have used it as my exclusive feedreader ever since. I find that it's the most intuitive, straight forward and enjoyable feedreader I've ever tried (before I started using it, I'd yet to find a feedreader that I got along well with) and highly recommend it to all those looking for an alternative to Google Reader once it shuts down on July 1, 2013. If you're also a Bloglovin' fan and haven't done so already, be sure to follow Chronically Vintage there so that you don't risk missing any posts when Google Reader goes the way of the dinosaur.

Last year I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the fine folks over at Fedoras.com for a guide and infographic devoted to hat etiquette - aka, hatiquette - that they were putting together, which went live a few days ago. This is the first infographic (a partial screen shot of which is pictured below) I've had the pleasure to be a part of, and really want to thank Fedoras.com for including me in this delight look at proper hatiquette.




As I mentioned in February's month in review post, later on in April (on the 16th to be exact, assuming nothing comes along to alter that date in the two weeks between then and now) I'll be going in for surgery again and will need to take a small blogging break while I recover afterwards. As that date draws nearer, I'll put up a little post to remind you that I'm going to be MIA for a short while (probably about two weeks, but only time will tell).

In the days before then (and afterwards, if I've returned to blogging at some point in late April), I've got several lovely posts in the works, such as a look at some of my all-time favourite scents (smells that is, not perfumes), thoughts on four years of blogging (April 17th will mark four years since Chronically Vintage began), and photos from my first ever (albeit it very short - about five hours) road trip to the States.



{In celebration of spring's return, fab vintage knitwear, and super cute puppies, let's welcome April with this wonderful Stitchcraft cover from 1951. Image source.}


March turned out to be unexpectedly exciting and wonderful month (it's certainly not everyday that one gets to bring a new pet into their family!), and by the same token I suspect that April will have some curveballs up its sleeve, too.

Hopefully though, especially during the first half of the month, I'll get plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful days of early spring, usher my sundresses back into rotation, hit at least a few yard sales, and spend as much time as I can with Annie (who is growing in leaps and bounds by the day!).

Happy April, everyone, I truly hope that the fourth month of the year proves to be a splendidly fantastic one for each of you!

My week with Annie

Ok, technically eight, going on nine days, but I couldn't help taking the inspiration for this brief post's title from the similarly named 2011 film about Marilyn Monroe.

As I sit here in the early hours of the morning typing this (while perched on a stack of pillows in our en suite bathroom - a quiet little respite from the boundlessly curious and playful new pet in our midst), I am completely dog tired. This is only fitting given that reason for most of my exhaustion (above and beyond the usual severe fatigue I battle due to my chronic health problems) is our darling Miss Annie.

It's been a long time - perhaps more than a year - since the last time six days passed between posts here. Such was the case however, between this and my previous blog entry, in which I introduced you all to cuter-than-a-million buttons Annie. She is a joy and handful, a constant learning experience and a blessing beyond measure, and I am honestly still a touch in awe of the fact that we really do have a dog of our own at long last.

Much as we'd hoped (and planned, in a general sense) to get a dog for years, the actual act of bringing Annie into our lives happened on the spur of the moment, with no time to prepare. Though I'd always imagined getting a dog would prove challenging for me (from a health stand point), even I was caught off guard a bit by just how much these rambunctious, busy, activity filled days of early puppyhood would knock out of me.

Days - not "a day" - but multiple days are passing between when it seems I have even a brief moment to make it onto the computer, which is in rather stark contrast with the fact that, since early 2012, it's been rare for more than 48 hours to pass without me powering up the ol' laptop at least once.

Lest it seems like I'm bemoaning these past few days, let me assure you that I'm not. Though I do regret that I've missed keeping abreast with all of your blogs and the others I follow via my feedreader (as well as connecting with you through social media sites), I wouldn’t trade this wondrous time with Annie for all the doughnuts in Canada!

This period has been a jumble of emotions, energy levels, new beginnings, and - snuggled together on the couch with the puppy – the late night watching of several fascinating (and wildly diverse) documentaries on Netflix, as a way to unwind after days that felt as though they possessed far more than 24 hours


{Plenty of affection - much like that given by this lovely 1950s stewardess towards the puppy she's holding - and vital bonding time has been the order of the day of late, both directed towards, and received from, our wonderful new dog. Image source.}


I know that for the next few weeks in particular, as Annie continues to grow (and especially prior to her next round of shots after which she can safely start going outside and coming in contact with other dogs, which means we - lacking a yard of our own - can safely begin exercising and potty training her outdoors), my usual computer time will likely be slashed.

That said, this morning, after close to nine days of almost no time spent online, I'm hitting the proverbial reset button, marking all unread feeds read, and (temporarily) streamlining my usual online activities in the hopes that I'll be better able to keep up with blog post writing here, feed reading/blog visiting, and to a much lesser extent, social media.

I suspect some days will be easier than others on that front, but I'll give it my best shot for sure - adorable puppy very much in tow every step of the way. And speaking of Annie, I truly want to thank each and every one of you who commented on my introduction post about her last week, as well as to all those who sent congrats and happy (and insightful) words my way via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email.

As the week barrels on, you'll be seeing other posts from me here (some of which were written earlier this month, prior to Annie's arrival) and I'll aim to visit each of you on a more regular basis again. I know I've not been out of the loop for very long, but I derive such joy from visiting and commenting on your blogs, that I miss it dearly when such is not possible even for a short amount of time.

As the night's gorgeous full moon is knocked from the horizon by a pale late March sunrise, and I try to blink away my exhaustion (I haven't slept yet tonight) just long enough to type these last few words, I can hear Annie going at it with one of her plush dog toys downstairs.

Her sweet little tail is thumping the floor, a youthful bark of enthusiasm directed at her plaything breaks the still morning air every now and then, and I cannot help be filled with such an immense sense of happiness that it feels like I could fit the whole world in the span of my smile - or at least just as big a puppy toy as Annie can get in her mouth. :)

Meet Annie, our adorable new puppy

This past Monday, our lives changed in an incredibly precious and wonderful way. Two days shy of the ninth anniversary of the day that we meet (March 20th), Tony and I welcomed a puppy into our family for the very first time.

We are both massive dog lovers and have dreamed of getting a puppy throughout our whole relationship. This week, in celebration of nine years together, we did just that.

Hailing from Delta (a part of the Metro Vancouver area down on the Lower Mainland), our darling new girl is named Annie - her name celebrating the fact that she's our anniversary gift to one another this year.

I cannot begin to put into words that joy that we're both feeling right now. It's incredible to have to new, darling bundle of puppy joy in the house (we found the listing for, and bought, her on the same day - Monday - so hence why I didn't post about this exciting chapter in our lives prior to the fact).




 Our sweet girl (seen above in an iPhone photo I took yesterday afternoon) is an almost nine week old American Bullador (a cross between an American Bulldog and a Labrador Retriever).

More than just a "gift" in the sense of something that one gives or receives, Annie is a beautiful blessing who will no doubt enrich our lives in countless ways. I love her to pieces and then some! It's hard not to have a few tears of happiness tumble out of my eyes each time I look at her for more than the quickest of moments.

Sweet, very well tempered, curious, playful, alert, intelligent, and healthy, she is so tremendously amazing that I still feel like I have to pinch myself to believe that she's real.

She is though, and as new puppies take a lot of time and energy, I've not been online since Monday (save for a few minutes yesterday - chiefly to write this post) and suspect that my presence will be pretty scare for the next little while.

I want to take a moment to thank you all very much for your blog comments this week - including on Monday's Ice Phone giveaway (which I just want to note, is not only for iPhone users - the Ice Phone is compatible with nearly all modern cell phones).

As many of you know, I always try my best to visit and comment on the blogs of those who super sweetly do the same for me, but I may be a touch behind on that front for the next little while these highly formative early puppyhood days are underway. Likewise blog posts here may appear a tiny bit less often just (I'd imagine) for the next few days.

It's fantastic to be able to share about Annie with all of you this morning - I've been so eager to do so since the moment we decided we were going to get her - and likewise to know that she'll be a part of this blog - as the newest Cangiano family member - from her on out (be sure to follow me on Instagram for the latest snaps of this super cute little girl).

Sending happy start of spring wishes - and countless new puppy kisses (and, goodness, is she a kisser!) to each and every one of you!