Red and navy blue mini hair bows: (Probably) Claire’s
1950s/early 60s plaid short sleeve skirt: Divine Vintage
Mustard yellow cardigan: Loft by Ann Taylor (bought on eBay)
Vintage (c. 1950s) Austrian glass plum fruit brooch: eBay
1950s corduroy bucket purse: etsy seller Rue 23 Vintage Clothing
Vintage button front denim skirt (c. 1980s): etsy seller Sempre Vintage
1950s blue gloves: eBay
Brown round toe pumps: Pipsqueaks and Damsel's Consignment Store
Nude seamed stockings: eBay
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red
Photography by Antonio Cangiano
♥ ♥ ♥
Five handy ways in which to tell that I'm not, even if you exclude the fact that from a health standpoint, I'd have a very challenging time shooting an actual game if I wanted to, a real pool player:
1. I'm wearing vintage gloves, indoors, while holding a pool cue.
2. I had to ask my mom to show me how to position my fingers properly (or roughly so) to hold said cue.
3. One of my beloved Austrian glass fruit brooches is pinned to my cardigan, where in theory, it could risk getting damaged if I was actually shooting a game.
4. I haven't chalked the the tip of the cue.
5. See number one again, it really tells you everything you need to know. :)
I highly doubt I'll ever do much, if any, in the way of more pin-up/cheesecake/glamour girl style photo shoots, it's just not something I personally feel comfortable with taking part in (zero qualms with the genre, I just don't feel pulled towards being a part of it), but every now and then it is fun to take some pictures, even impromptu ones in my parents' basement, with a prop or two that evokes a super subtle pin-up vibe.
As winter bares down ever harder, and more and more days (and nights) are spent indoors, wrapped snugly in multiple layers, steaming mugs of cocoa or hot apple cider never far from hand, it only seems natural that a post in which the photos were taken in this particular location sprang to life. Living mere minutes apart, Tony and I frequently spend time at my folk's house (and vice versa), and when the mercury plummets, we often make a beeline for their lovely (finished) basement, which boasts a terrific wood burning stove.
For those who do more than just hold a pool cue and smile for the camera, there's a table to enjoy, and that my parents and Tony (who really developed a love for the game last year, and is quite the natural at it) regularly do, as I happily watch from the sofa, stocking the fire blazing in the stove (which we hadn't turned on yet that day) every now and then and listening to the icy wind hum, wail and sing outside.
These are the kinds of get togethers that call for casual attire, often in the form of separates, and a heavier weight skirt + a shirt or blouse + a cardigan or sweater is one of my very favourites for just such an evening.
In this case, I partnered my favourite cardigan buy of the year (a lovely mustard yellow Loft number that I bought, new with tags, on eBay for less than half its retail price), with a great 50s/very early 60s plaid short-sleeved shirt that I bought on our recent travels to Calgary, button front denim skirt, wide red belt, gorgeous vintage plum shaped Austrian crystal brooch (interestingly, and entirely coincidentally, the last time I wore one of these kinds of brooches on camera, it was here, at my parents' place as well), those dead-giveaway-that-I'm-not-a-real-pool-player blue 1950s gloves (a gal should never be glove-less anywhere in the winter!), and classic brown pumps.
Easy as pie to put together and just as comfy as comfy can be to wear, whether one is decking the tree, baking festive cookies, playing cards, getting ready to ring in the new year, or pretending to shoot a game of pool just for the good, old-fashioned fun of it. :)
