The world needs V&Oak Magazine and so do you!

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.

12 vintage Marie Claire covers featuring fabulous hats

Though I joyfully wear vintage hats all year round, there is something about the unmistakable return of winter's first chill that tends to come part and parcel with November, which always puts me in the mood to shop for (even if that means just window shopping) yesteryear chapeaus.

Far more than just a wonderful fashion statement and accent (if not full-fledged focal point) to our daily vintage outfits, hats really come into their element as the mercury drops and once more they provide not just chic style, but physical warmth for heads and/or ears (depending on what style of hat you're sporting).

For those who live in colder climates, you may find yourself especially drawn to vintage hats made from materials such as felt, fur (real or faux), feathers, wool (including Persian lamb's wool, which is usually seen as being more of a fur), and thick, tightly woven straws (that lets to no air flow throw), as these are typically thicker and/or better at providing your lovely noggin with plenty of much needed warmth as Old Man Winter comes calling once more.

Just as certain materials find their way more into fall and winter hats, so too does the colour palette often shift. Out are the light straws, pastels, flower bedecked Easter bonnet styles, jaunty boater hats (traditionally, for chaps at least, they rarely stayed in rotation past Labour Day), and cute little half hats that look more like headbands than protection against the chilly elements. In come dark hues such as navy blue, black, camel, brown, forest green, burgundy, garnet, aborigine, grey, and wintry creams in substantial, head enshrining styles.

Though I do find myself reaching more for hats in such hues and materials as the seasons shift yet again, ultimately there aren't too many of my toppers that I won't at least try to weave into a winter ensemble (case in point my endlessly beloved dusty rose 1940s tilt hat - a hat some might see as being more in keeping with spring and summer - worn with black velvet and tights last February on a very snowy day). This same principle rings true across my wardrobe as a whole (that is to say, I rarely relegate pieces to just one half of the year), so it's no surprise that I keep sporting some of my more summery hats while silver bells and strings of festive lights pop out again.

Because I've got hats on the brain (even literally, if you think about it! :)) this nippy November morn, I wanted to share a selection of fantastic late 1930s and very early 1940s Marie Claire magazine covers with all of you, which come by way of a great Flickr user named Pilllpat.

Though not all of these hats scream autumn or winter, each is a beautiful, timelessly classic work of military art that would not be too tricky at all to partner with a cold weather ensemble, such a two-piece suit, heavy weight black cocktail dress, or pencil skirt and a thick knit twinset.

{All image via Pilllpat on Flickr.}

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Ohhhh, my wallet is in serious danger because it's all I can do not to go on the prowl for similar versions of some of these amazing vintage hat gems right this very moment! Good thing (for my wallet, though perhaps not quite as much for my hat collection) that Christmas is around the corner, and I'm already keeping an extra close watch on my spending, so that I can splash out on my loved ones. Still, winter isn't exactly famous for being short here in Canada, and there's always the new year to go hat hunting in!

As the last handful of leaves turns amber or crimson and comes tumbling to the cold, slate hued pavement below, what sorts of hats are you daydreaming about for this fall and winter? Do you have a beloved vintage topper (or ten!) that you reach for each year time and time again as the snow banks grow ever higher (this classic black felt number with two simple coloured bands is one of mine in that department) or are you are currently shopping for some suitable cold weather headgear?

Whatever the case may be (including if you're not much of a chapeau wearer at all, but instead just a devoted admirer), I hope that you enjoyed this selection of great vintage hats, any one of which would still be more than worthy of a magazine cover unto itself still these days!

The Dog Days of Vintage Summer Fashion

Right this very moment it’s early August, and for the vast majority of us in the northern hemisphere that means means the temperature outside is currently trying to give the surface of the moon a run for its money.
While I do thoroughly love many aspects of the most sizzling season of the year (a topic that I delved into last month in this post) and am grateful for every moment of summer we get in Canada, there can be times when these stifling days with their glaring sun and 100+ degree temperatures leaves one, well, a little frazzled and beat.

This problem is anything but new - much like the dog days of summer themselves (the name of which has been in use since at least the time of the ancient Romans, who associated them with Sirius, also known as the Dog Star), who called them diēs caniculārēs. Though, even to this day, debate continues as to which days of the season officially fall under that heading, it's generally excepted that much of July and August make the cut for sure.

Even though I've experienced the toastiest Canadian heat waves of my life in July (while living in Toronto), if you were to stop me on the icy street in January and ask what I thought that hottest month of the year was, I'd always answer August. Though, technically, July can sometimes be the hotter of the two months (depending on where you live and what your weather is up to in a given year), there's just something about August that makes it feel skin tinglingly hot and, at times, a bit hard to slog through.

During these wildly warm days, it's important - one might argue vital even - to have plenty on hand to help take our mind off the the heat, the staggering, mind-blowing heat. To that end, in the spirit of celebrating the name of these scorching August days, I thought it would tons of fun to gather up fifteen of my favourite vintage images and ads that just happen to include fabulous fashions and darling dogs in them.

{The combo of a red wiggle dress and darling white pup is bound to ensure you take home best in (fashion) show!}






{Model Anne St. Marie and her sweet little Yorkies shine in this elegant image from 1957 featuring a Jaguar.}

{One of my favourite dog breeds, the Boston Terrier, stars in this lovely photograph from 1952 that first appeared in Glamour Magazine.}






{It's safe to say that no other dog calls to mind the fabulous fifties quite like the iconic poodle, especially when you see ones as adorable as the pink bow adorned duo in this beautifully illustrated Pepsi ad.}






{There no need to beat around the bush (or fern), this chic, lightweight spring suit is thoroughly beautiful - as is the wee little corgi pup.}






{Spots of both the fabric and fur kind abound in this immensely pretty Harper's Bazaar image from 1952.}

 





{A teenage Shirley Temple and a beautiful black spaniel give RC Cola their vote of approval in a 1944 colour photo and illustration filled ad.}







{Hailing from 1937, this image of a blonde model and shepherd type dog is the oldest featured in today's post. I adore the casual elegance of her look and am especially fond of the stack of blue bangles on her wrist.}





{Calm poise and riled up excitement stand side-by-side in this fashion shot of a woman sporting a wool day suit as she walks her Boxer through town.}






{Another image featuring a completely cute Yorkshire Terrier, this time partnered with a lady decked out in a stylish autumn look from 1961.}






{Though it took a little searching, I was delighted to find an illustrated 1940s ad featuring my all-time favourite breed: the British bulldog.}







{Whether you spot the poodle or the woman's shocking hair colour first, there's no denying this pinky-mauve filled paint ad  is definitely an eye-catching!}






{The ravishingly sophistication and mid-1950s beauty of this wonderful autumn ensemble is only heighted by the presence of a preciously sweet little furry friend.}






{For just about as long as there has been cars, there have dogs who loved riding around beside their owners in them, whether they were pint sized pups or colossal canines like this fellow!}






{Completely cute chihuahuas, stylish pleated skirts, and pointy toed shoes all ad up to oodles of late 1950s glamour.}


{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr stream or page.}







These photos and illustrations are not all summer themed by any means, but it's my sincere hope that the cuteness overload - and distracting enjoyment of the sublime mid-century fashions - they offer up will help to distract you enough that you're able to forget about the searing heat, if only for a few delightful minutes.

Springtime fashion inspiration care of a beautiful French magazine from 1952

✯ Day 73 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

Spring - if only in name - will be upon us less than a week, my wonderful dears! This year, as it does in most, spring launches on the 20th of March. My mind, however, has already been filled with thoughts of spring and all of the marvelous fashions it entails for many weeks already.

I think it was around the middle of February, when my husband and I were kept awake for yet another night by the horrendously loud, screeching wind that rattles through our metallic balcony doors, that visions of light-as-air spring dresses, Easter candy hued cardigans, peep toe shoes, and dainty white wrist-length gloves began to waft through my head.

It's funny, in a way, there was a time when I preferred cold weather fashions to their warmer season counterparts, however these days I'm all about dressing for spring and summer! (Ok, truth be told there are pros and cons to both warm and cold weather fashion, but it seems that with each harsh-as-sandpaper Canadian winter I get through, the more I want to kick off my snow shoes and run barefoot - in a vintage sundress - through a field of wildflowers!)

Luckily my modest sized wardrobe is comprised of several dresses, skirts and tops that work wonders for spring. Yet that doesn't mean I'm not continually on the prowl for vintage springtime fashion inspiration - and where, when one is seeking such inspiration, is the amongst the best sources to turn to? Why, the French of course!

{Richly pretty vintage Le Petit Echo de la Mode magazine cover via april-mo on Flickr.}

Masters for centuries of all things divinely stylish, the French have long had a certain fashion je ne sais quoi that has been marveled at, adopted and adored the world over. Such was definitely the case when this 1952 copy of Le Petit Echo de la Mode magazine first appeared, sporting a cover adorned with two immensely elegant women in New Look-esque springtime styles.

From the feminine lines of these two womens' outfits to the chic little handbags, black and white polka dot gloves (*swoon*) to the bright red nail polish, everything about this gorgeous French magazine serenades the viewer with a hearty dose of stunning vintage European style and inspiration that is equally worthy of both spring 1952 and spring 2011.

And the winner of the Worn Fashion Journal prize pack is...

Mondays isn't exactly famous for being the best day of the week, and when you open your eyes to a thick layer of shimmery frost on the inside of your windows and howling winds blowing -22C temps outside, it can take giving yourself quite a mental pep talk to emerge from the snuggly, toasty cocoon of your bed. However, brushing these points aside, I was definitely excited to get up today (despite the near arctic weather), bright and early, so that I could draw the winner of the Worn Fashion Journal prize pack giveaway.

 

The post about this giveaway received twenty nine comments, amongst which a random number generator selected number 26 as the winner. This comment belongs to none other than Liz from the serenely pretty blog Liz Secret Rendezvous. Joyful congrats on winning, Liz! I'll be contacting you this morning with further details about your lovely prize pack.

I want to thank each of your sweet dears who took part in this wonderful giveaway. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time reading your comments regarding what your favourite kind of fashion magazines are, and have to say that by and large, I share many of the same sentiments and taste in glossies that you gals do.

Many sincere thanks go out to the awesome team at Worn Fashion Journal as well, for collaborating with Chronically Vintage on this contest. It was a pleasure to work with you, and to share my passion for your absolutely stellar, highly interesting magazine with my readers (again).

Oodles of congrats again to our lucky winner, Liz! I hope that your magazine prize pack (consisting of five issues of Worn and a couple of adorable pin-back buttons), will help bring a marvelous dose of warm, happy feelings and scads of fashion inspiration your way!

We’re giving away a fabulous Worn Fashion Journal prize pack

The new year is here, which means it's time to kick off another stellar round of giveaways! To celebrate January and the vast amount of uncharted territory that this year still eagerly holds in store for us, Chronically Vintage has teamed up with the wonderful folks at Worn Fashion Journal to offer you the chance to win a prize pack consisting of five different issues (specifically issue numbers 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9) of this deeply wonderful magazine, as well as a couple of super fun (pin back) buttons (see photos below).

I first fell head-over-heels in love with Worn Fashion Journal at the tail end of 2009, and have been enchantingly smitten with it ever since. For those who haven't had the opportunity to spend time with this creative, immensely cool magazine yet, let me tell you a bit about it.

Worn is an independent fashion magazine for those who like more than just unfathomably expensive haute couture and endless ads in their glossies. (They also have a frequently updated website that is equally rich in fascinating fashion related content, and can be found all over the interwebs in place like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and etsy – the later of which you can purchase subscriptions to,  and pass issues of, Worn from.)

 

{I don't know who this lovely woman holding the Worn Journal prize pack is, but I absolutely love her ruby red coat and delightfully vintage looking brown shoes.}

This magazine, which is produced biannually and based out of Toronto, is rich in stories and images about all manner of modern and vintage, highly creative fashion related topics that are not the same old, same old we've all become mind-numblingly accustomed to in most mainstream women's publications.

For a more detailed look at why Worn won my heart over the first time I opened its crisp pages up, be sure to swing by this post from December 2009 in which I gush passionately about the marvelous qualities of this creative magazine.

~*~ How to enter ~*~

If you'd like to try your hand at winning this stellar prize pack (and trust me, you do! :) ), entering couldn't be easier. Please do one or more of the following things to gain up to four entries for this fashion filled giveaway.

1.) Post a comment below telling me about your favourite type of fashion magazine and/or what you'd like to see covered more in the pages of today's glossies.

2.) Post about this giveaway, including a link back to this announcement post, on your own blog, telling your readers about this contest (if you'd like to use the photos above - which come via the staff at Worn, please right click and save them to your desktop). Once you’ve written about the giveaway, come back here and let me know you’ve done so by leaving a comment with a link back to your post.

3.) Subscribe to Worn's newsletter (the sign-up box to do so is located on the left hand side of their homepage), then let me post a comment saying that you've signed up.

4.) Spread the good word about this contest via Twitter or Facebook (you can find Worn on Twitter or Facebook). Again, be sure to jot down a comment letting me know you’ve done so.

Please feel free to enter the contest however many of the four ways you’d like, just be sure that you let me know about each entry in a separate comment, to better enhance your chances of winning (four comments for example, would give you four entries into the contest, thus four potential chances to win!). Please remember to post a separate comment for each entry!

 

This contest starts today, is open to readers from the around the world, and will run until 11:59pm on Sunday January 23, 2011. Be sure to swing by Chronically Vintage on Monday the 24th to find out if your entry landed you in the winner’s seat for this awesome five magazine set of Worn Fashion Journals.

January can be a tough month. The thrill and joy of the holiday season are behind us and spring seems about a century away. Anything and everything that can perk up this freezing month is a huge plus in my books, and it's my sincere hope that this fun contest will help bring a dose of sunshine to your day and give you something (the potential of winning) to look forward to.

Thank you very much - and the very best of luck - to everyone who enters!