Embracing the return of fall's gorgeous colour palette at Vaseux Lake

Outfit details

C. 1930s/40s burgundy felt hat with netting: Garb-Oh Vintage
Creamy white plastic rose stud earrings: Claire's
C. 1940s black plastic hat pin: From another hat that I've had for years
Mid-century vintage amber hued plastic beaded necklace: Thrifted (Salvation Army)
White Stag brand vintage appropriate green floral blouse: Thrifted (Value Village)
Amber yellow plastic bangle bracelet: Unknown, had for years (probably thrifted)
1940s/1950s dark green corduroy skirt: eBay
C. 1980s - 90s brown woven belt: Thrifted (Value Village, if memory serves me right)
Oxblood/burgundy hued faux leather cross body bag: eBay
Nude seamed nude stockings: eBay
Brown 1940s style faux leather pumps: Walmart
Lip colour: MAC Party Line


Photography by Tony Cangiano

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My passion for autumn's resplendent hues is scarcely the kind of secret that one keeps under lock and key. I wait with baited breath for my favourite season to return each year and then jump headfirst in spotting itss palette with gusto!

Summer cooled its heels early this year and we had the nippiest - relatively speaking - Labour Day weekend that I can remember in many years. Whereas most first weeks of September still see countless tourists and residents alike flocking to catch some rays and frolic in the waves at the local beaches, this time around, nary a soul was in the water - it was just too chilly to comfortably swim any longer.

Thankfully though, the weather did perk back up a bit as September progressed and bestowed upon us some deeply gorgeous Goldilocks days, as I like to call them. Those gloriously sunny, soft light filled, subtly warm and all too fleeting days as autumn not-so-subtly waltzes into town and usurps summer.

It was on just such a day that Tony and I captured this gently lit series of photos recently at Vaseux Lake, a modest sized body of water some 25 - 30 minutes south of our town. Though not as prized as a swimming hole as some of the other larger lakes around this part (such as Okanagan and Shaka), it is a breeding ground for local anglers - my husband very much included - who flock to its shores for some terrific local fishing.

We were neither there to swim nor cast our lines, but rather simply paused to enjoy the immense serenity and sweeping beauty of the pristine natural landscape and the near still-as-glass surface of the lake that afternoon.


I woke up in a mood to pair three of my all-time favourite colours, which just happen to be from fall's palette, together and did just that in this burgundy, pine green, and amber yellow hued 1940s inspired ensemble.

Though I wear this fabulous 1940s/50s dark green corduroy skirt often, I hadn't sported it here on my blog for close to 3.5 years, so I felt it was high time to give it a spin on camera again.


It as the starting point for my causal ensemble, which saw the edition of a breathtaking c. 1930s/40s burgundy felt hat hat I purchased earlier this year from the awesome Etsy shop that is Garb-Oh Vintage, along with a timelessly lovely floral print cotton shirt that I thrifted several months ago, a classic brown woven belt (also thrifted), a vintage appropriate oxblood/burgundy hued faux leather cross body bag, mid-century plastic jewelry in amber yellow, my go-to creamy white plastic rose stud earrings, and a pair of 1940s looking brown faux leather pumps that I've had for years, but which are still - knock wood - holding up fabulously well.


Now that Tony is home (not that I couldn't do such on my own, of course, but it is certainly easier with him there), I thought it would be fun to film a new YouTube video outside again, and did just that later in the day (up a hill near where my folks live here in town, not at Vaseux Lake), in this (relatively) quick breakdown of what went into styling my 1940s inspired early fall look.





Though I wasn't aiming for the much adored vintage lady explorer look her per se, I can't help but love that this ensemble has a faint hint of that vibe. I've been wearing this general silhouette - long vintage skirt, button front blouse, modest to wide brimmed vintage hat, and complimentary accessories - big time this summer and fall and really feel like it sums up my tastes in vintage casual fashion massively well at the moment.

As we head further into autumn, I'm sure that I'll keep sporting this silhouette and imagine that it will see me through winter, with tights and further layers added, too. It's comfortable, warm, classic and endlessly versatile - not mention pretty. What's not to adore?

With fall being my favourite time of the year and its palette my most beloved of all the seasons, you can bet this there will be many more autumnal hued ensembles coming down the pipeline in the very near future. I can hardly wait to share many of them with you and am equally excited to see all of the stellar fall looks that you'll be sharing on your blogs and social media.

Autumn may be fleeting, but its hues are eternal and well worth celebrating with our fashion choices while they're in their seasonal element!

Flickr Favourites: September 7, 2015

{Hair pins win war ~ X-Ray Delta One}


{Lady in Green postcard ~ Totally Mystified}  


{Acorn ~ Marko_K}



{Bon Fête postcard ~ Totally Mystified}



{Web ~ Kenny Louie}



{1960 Denby Pottery ad ~ Totally Mystified}



{1957 hair colors ~ Totally Mystified}


{Male Wood Duck ~ Karen Chappell}



{1956 illustration by Joan Beale ~ Totally Mystified}



{Vogue magazine 1948 ~ Dovima2010}

{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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Has the first nip of autumn graced your town yet or are you still in the last energetic throws of summer? We land in the latter camp, but it won't be long now until the two seasons collide, their palettes mingling, their temperates fluctuating, their respective garden offerings changing hands in a silent waltz that has gone on for countless centuries.

The brief, gorgeous, enticing period that hangs between summer and autumn is rarely more than a two or three weeks long, but what a special, exciting time of the year it is! Warm, but not blazingly so, crisp, but not icy. It smells of lingering sunscreen and the first plumes of chimney smoke alike. School returns to session, swimsuits and wool coats pass each other like ship's in the night, one coming into rotation, as the other is loving packed away until late next summer (or a much needed winter vacation). There are peaches and pumpkins, summertime pinks and rusty fall golds, bare legs one day, knit tight clad gams the next.

There is a vitality that feels nearly palpable to the finale days of summer, as sunflowers sway in the breeze, backpack clad youngsters scampering down the sidewalk in the crisp morning light, and one's natural instinct to rouse the oven from hibernation returns as suddenly as the ability to comfortably wear open toed shoes disappears.

Today's edition of Flickr Favourites captures some of the hues and imagery itself of this fleeting window, this changing of the season guards, this new year of sorts, nearly four months before the ball officially drops.

While I do wish summer would stick around for another decade or so, I'll admit to feeling a touch giddy already about autumn's return and each merry, magical, marvelous day that it promises. Today however, with the thermostat still closer to July than January, I'll stay squarely parked in summer's camp a little longer. It's warm and sunny, tranquil and invigorating at the same time here, plus, it lets me wear my beloved vintage sundresses a little longer.

Soon though, as quickly as a spider spins a web during the night, fall will be here and I will, I assure you, be singing its praises from the amber leaf strew rooftop - seasonal blog posts aplenty squarely in tow.