Showing posts with label glamour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glamour. Show all posts

October 16, 2009

Five for Friday {October 16, 2009}


...Half a month exactly until All Hallows Eve arrives and with each day that ticks by I feel my excitement mounting. We are short on holidays in this country if you ask me, and even thought Halloween isn’t a stat (much as it should be, what child – let alone your own inner youngster – wouldn’t love having the day off?), it still counts as a holiday in my books, which is all the more reason I jump at the chance to celebrate it. This weekend is for decorating and giving thought to your costume (if you haven’t done so already), for raking massive, mountainous piles of tissue thin leaves – and should you fancy, jumping to them them. Two days to unwind in an easy chair with a good book and the fading, but still lemon curd hued, sunlight caressing your face. A time to mingle activity with serenity, and perhaps for an outing to the nearest pumpkin patch, too...

♥ ♥ ♥



{To house all manner of treasures, be they spooky or sweet}



{Glass cloches have been enjoying a moment for the past few years in the areas of home decor and holiday decoration, but the truth is these curvaceous, clear beauties have existed and been put to both practical and decorative use for centuries. If, like myself, you’re a cloche fan, Halloween is a particularly excellent time to place your favourite or most eerie of items under glass. Large glass cloche (also available in medium and small sizes), £19.95 (UK pounds), from Pale and Interesting.}


{To inspire the accessories portion of your wardrobe this season}



{Right around the start of September I spied this delightful, autumn hued vintage fashion shot on the pages of Tales of a Retro-Modern Housewife’s blog and instantly found myself enamoured with it. I love how amazingly the accessories this pretty blonde woman clutches look when set against a sleek and simple black sweater, and also that we get to see paisley during the 50s, for it is a pattern that is often associated much more with the following two decades. While fall is still in full swing, I wanted to share this inspiring and understatedly glamorous photo with you all. Image from Tale of a Retro-Modern Housewife.}


{To help ensure you’ve carved out room on your menu for festively shaped desserts}



{There is something undeniably old fashion looking about this beautiful, intricately carved baking pan that makes it lovely enough to display – though I bet it would hard not to keep it in constant use, just look at the immensely cute pumpkin shaped mini loaves/cupcakes/muffins it churns out! Non-stick cast iron aluminum pumpkin baking tray, $32.95 (US) from Crate and Barrel.}


{To shine a light on the beauty of a time-honoured, traditional way to see in the dark}



{There is no denying that in conjunction with my adoration for all manner of vintage related things, I have an intense passion for antiques as well. Fortunately the two are often able to cohabitate and mingle together marvelously, in both the worlds of home decor and fashion. Recently this rather wonderful antique looking silver candle holder with built-in match box, popped up in my online travels and I’ve been smitten with it ever since. As the days draw shorter and chillier, the desire to put candles to good use – especially once the sun has set – is ever-present for me and this candle holder would go a long way towards ensuring a flickering flame of light is never far away. Pewter “Go-To-Bed” candle holder, $29.95 from Victorian Trading Co..}


{To pair with accents of orange on Halloween and then wear, joyfully, any other day of the year you desire}



{A modern day seamstress created the sweeping design of this chicly elegant black dress, which reminded me instantly of something Audrey Hepburn might have worn or of the type of dresses seen in numerous fashion spreads from the mid to late fifties. A deeply timeless piece, this gently fitted, breathable knit frock features a silk screened deep turquoise band around the neckline and a femininely lovely fuller skirt. “Renaissance Dress in Black”, available in sizes XS to XL, $149.00 (US), from etsy seller a Resurrection of Romance.}


My deepest of heartfelt of thanks goes out to everyone who commented on my post this morning about my sister’s birthday. Your fantastically kind wishes mean so very much to us both!

May you all have a sublimely lovely, fun-filled autumn weekend!

July 12, 2009

Pretty Link Roundup {July 12th}

Happy Sunday, one and all! How are things in your neck of the woods? I hope that you’ve each had a fabulous weekend (and that the heat in your neck of the woods hasn’t been too unbearable!). Many happy goings-on have transpired here this week, thanks in large part to my 25th birthday on Friday. It proved to be a special, fun-filled day from sun-up until sun-down, and I really must thank my darling husband for everything he did to make this my best birthday in ages!


{Jubilant, colourful and sweetly wonderful, this photo from Simply Claudia on Flickr, perfectly captures the spirit of how my birthday felt this year.}

On the blog front there’s been no shortage of activity either! The links this weekend feature everything from what to look for when buying Lucite purses to photos of charmingly pretty old school belly dancers. Our Youtube clip of the week is a definite must-watch for those who love vintage Hawaaii looks, as it features instructions on how to achieve a terrific luau approved hairstyle. I hope you enjoy these fantastic links - I would love to hear about any other must-read posts you’ve encountered recently.

♥ ♥ ♥


* Sewing on a budget: Nine seriously handy tips to help keep your sewing costs down that any sewer or crafter is bound to appreciate.

* From Towel to Beach Coat in Five Easy Steps: A simple-as-pie vintage pattern and five quick steps is all it takes to transformed a pair of beach towels into a darling beach cover-up with loads of summer style appeal!

* Vintage Belly Dance: With a history stretching back to the days of Babylon, belly dancing is an ancient, beautiful art that still turns heads to this day! To see what belly dancers looked like in the mid-twentieth century, be sure to check out the lovely photos in this post.

* Five Tips Towards Glamorousness: A handful of easy, quick tips (like wearing lipstick and using an eyelash curler) that can help any gal feel even more glamorous.

* Get back to work Mama!: Fashionista extraordinaire Super Kawaii Mama shares her thoroughly useful tips, ideas and outfits (care of beautiful Polyvore sets) to help moms everywhere transition back into the work world while putting their their best fashion foot forward.

* A Guide to Vintage Lucite Purses: A lovely, detailed, well written article that explores the beauty of Lucite purses and guides fellow fans towards knowing what to look for when shopping for these handbag gems.

* Polka Dot Vintage Dresses: Couture Allure gathers up a marvelous assortment of dresses decked out in timelessly pretty polka dots. (Each one is a treasure, but the 1950s Jonathan Logan number really caught my eye!)

*
Street-style Stars Take a Lesson From Old Hollywood Elite
: A fun side-by-side comparison of some modern day street fashion lovelies next to images of old school Hollywood stars with whom their outfits share a lot in common.

* Finding Ginger: Care of the terrific site Old Hollywood Glamour, I recently discovered a blog devoted entirely to the immortally gorgeous starlet Ginger Rogers. Be sure to stop by for fun facts about this talented actress and for oodles of great 30s, 40s, and 50s fashion inspiration.


This week’s video clip features the lovely Iris of All the girlie things as she takes viewers through a very thorough step-by-step tutorial on how to create an adorable vintage Hawaiian girl inspired hairstyle, that would be perfect for any luaus or other tropical get-togethers (or getaways) you might have on the horizon.

{Luau Hair Pinup Doll}





The highlight of this past week was definitely my birthday on Friday, but the joyful spirit that swirled throughout all of it really helped to establish summer on the right foot. I hope that each of you are encountering many reasons in your own lives to celebrate, and that your summer days will be filled with many vintage delights!

May 20, 2009

The essence of pure elegance

There are certain things which instantly and undeniably convey grace, charm, beauty and sophistication. Time honoured ingredients that entice, allure, soothe and inspire. An unfathomably well tailored evening dress, slickly crimson hued nails, the unmistakable glint of diamonds, a signature perfume weaving its dazzling scent across your skin, perfectly coiffed hair, a stemware glass of something wildly chic to sip slowly over the course of an evening, your date – looking strikingly like Dean Martin – in the background waiting to take your hand and twirl you across the dance floor.

In the photograph below of model Jean Patchett sporting a Jacques Fath frock, one finds each of these ravishingly lovely elements and is struck by the desire to embody elegance the way it used to be. It’s the sort of style that somehow, perhaps only in the land of daydreams and mile high wardrobe budgets, I strive to achieve on some level a little every day.


1. Jean Patchett, 2. A TOUCH OF SHALIMAR, 3. Nail polish / red, 4. The warming {Click on a link to see a larger version of a particular image and/or for photographer information}

Who are your muses of vintage grace and beauty? What components translate into unconditional elegance for you?