A little earlier this year, I had the profound honour of being featured in not one, but two different articles pertaining to mid-century fashion in V&Oak magazine's premier print edition. Though I've appeared in numerous online magazines over the years, this was my first time being featured in a print publication, and the experience truly stands out as one of the best and most exciting highlights of my blogging (and vintage loving) life so far.
One need only spend a few moments flipping through an issue of V&Oak or bopping around on their website to understand that this magazine is a cut above the vast majority of its peers. I say that completely devoid of any kind of bias, because of my appearance in their marvelous Fall/Winter 2013 edition. No, my feelings would resonate just as deeply whether or not such was the case.
You see, V&Oak is a magazine that falls squarely in line with my own personal style aesthetics and beliefs when it comes to how one should approach dressing, and by extension, life itself. As I touched on earlier this month in the post I am authentic to my soul, I believe firmly in the importance of rocking, owning, and being proud of one's unique style voice.
I don't subscribe to the theory that there is only one way (aka, highly period accurate) to wear vintage, nor that one need ever follow trends (unless they want to), or that you have to follow in line with the bulk of the population when it comes to how you dress or live your life. We are so incredibly blessed to each be born unique - why would you want to merely blend into the crowd, when you could, if only in a small way, standout and expressive your creativity through your wardrobe choices?
V&Oak stands for "vintage and one and a kind", a description which could very well be used to sum up my wardrobe in its entirety, along with those of many of you as well. This magazine puts an emphasis on originality, individualism, and freedom of style, while embracing the past, but not becoming a complete slave to it.
Far from simply discussing fashion, this magazine partnered classic lines from Huckleberry Finn with one of their outfit spreads, interviewed a modern photographer who does vintage themed boudoir style shoots, explored topics pertaining to vintage weddings and home decor, gave a fair handed amount of page space to multiple decades (from the 1920s right on up to the 1980s), interviewed multiple bloggers, authors, business people, and creative folks from around the world, and made me feel, after just a few pages in, as though I was sitting around on a comfy couch having a great conversation with some of the brightest, most inspiringly dressed friends a gal could ever ask for.
Miles away from the many dime a dozen modern glossy mags, and even a few of the indie publications out there, V&Oak felt fresh and new, yet not so avant-garde as to risk not hitting its target scarcely on the mark.
This magazine will likely appeal as much to fashionistas as it will those who beat squarely to their own style drum. It is well laid out, beautifully photographed, engagingly written, and positively lovely through and through. It's important for those of us whose fashion choices deviate from the so-called standard norm to feel like there are publications out there that speak to us, highlight brands and styles we enjoy, and which help us discover and learn more about topics that matter to us in the process.
V&Oak does all that, and more. It is a vibrant, exciting, beautiful new publication, and one which I firmly believe the fashion sphere, and the world as a whole, is better off because of.
If your interest in V&Oak has been piqued, and I do hope it has, I'm delighted to give one lucky winner the chance to win a one year subscription to V&Oak magazine (which will include the 1st edition - in which yours truly appears), constituting two issues in total (the magazine is currently published twice a year).
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How to enter:
There are seven possible ways for you to enter this giveaway, the more of them that you do, the greater your odds of winning will be.
1. Leave a comment telling me one of the reasons why you love your own unique look (be it vintage or otherwise).
2. Follow V&Oak on Twitter.
3. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, including a @VandOAK and the hashtag #winvandoak to win your tweet.
3. Sign up for V&Oak newsletter (scroll down near the bottom right hand side of the page to do so).
4. Like V&Oak on Facebook.
5. Like Chronically Vintage on Facebook.
6. Post about this giveaway on Facebook.
7. Post about this giveaway, including a link to this Chronically Vintage post, as well as V&Oak’s website, on your own blog.
Please make sure to leave a separate comment specifying each of the ways in which you entered this giveaway, so as to increase your odds of winning.
Giveaway details
This giveaway is for a one year subscription (two editions) of V&Oak magazine, which will be mailed directly to you from the fine folks at V&Oak themselves. It it open to contestants from around the world, and will run from between today's date and Sunday December 1, 2013. The lucky winner will be drawn using a random number generator and contacted by me shortly thereafter (and possibly announced on the blog, too). Please email me if you have any questions about this giveaway.
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It's been several weeks now, since I first saw my own face smiling up at me from two articles in the inaugural print edition of V&Oak, and longer still since I was interviewed (including by the thoroughly wonderful Janine Rudkins from Lesley's Girls Vintage) for it, and still my feet have yet to come quite back down to earth entirely.
There are certain firsts in life that stay with your forever, especially if they're not something that most people get to experience - a camp in which I would place appearing in a glossy fashion magazine squarely into. And this was one of those amazing firsts for me. I truly want to thank V&Oak for including me in their premier print edition, and for recognizing my blog and my personal style as jiving with their ethos and vision.
I've always been a bit of a square vintage peg in a world of round holes, so to speak, and it means an incredible amount to me to know that not only are there others out there like myself, but that we have a magazine that captures the spirit and splendor of rocking a vintage and one of a kind wardrobe and life every day in countless wonderful ways to read now twice a year.
