Black felt beret: eBay
Tiny brass heart stud earrings: Claire's
c. 1930s metal and red glass "grapes" brooch: Lake Country vintage jewelry seller, Anja
Black boat neck top: Joe Fresh (from Real Canadian Superstore)
1940s gold sweetheart bracelet: etsy seller Maejean Vintage
1930s/40s floral print fabric handbag: etsy seller Maejean Vintage
Vintage burgundy plaid skirt: Gift from a dear online friend
Black seamed nude stockings: eBay
Black pumps: Payless
Lip colour: Clinique Raspberry Glace
Nail colour: Essie Eternal Optimist
Photography by Tony Cangiano
♥ ♥ ♥
At first glance, I know, it might seem as though the backdrop for this week's vintage outfit post isn't markedly different from last week's (not, of course, that there would be anything wrong with it if it were the the very same location), but I can assure you that these two spots are indeed entirely different entities.
How different, you may ask? Well, last week's post saw us shooting at Osoyoos Lake, and here, just a few days ago, we took these photos on the shores of the mighty Thompson River in Kamloops, a city located in the north of the Okanagan (Osoyoos is in the south). Tony and I both love to head out on unplanned adventures, though as you may have heard me discuss in past posts (such as this one), doing so isn't always feasible from a health stand point for me. Nevertheless, I do still try very hard to make at least a couple longer distance day trips a possibility each year.
Initially, when we'd set off that day, we thought we'd drive to the tiny town of Merritt, which is located about an hour and forty minutes away. We did just that, and while it was lovely (small, but certainly very charming), it didn't begin to fill our whole afternoon by any means. As such, with daylight still to burn, we decided to power on and keep going all the way to Kamloops, which is a little under three hours away from Penticton, where we live.
Hard as it is for me to wrap my head around, I haven't been to Kamloops since I was 15 years old, that's half my lifetime ago. Wow!!! Needless to say, I was super excited to suddenly be greeted with the prospect of seeing it again and for Tony to visit for the first time.
Despite being mid-January, we were blessed with completely clear roads and good (aka, not snowy and/or foggy) weather for our on the fly travels and reached Kamloops quickly and safely. Though I have been there before, I was much younger and don't know the city terribly well, so we had fun navigating the downtown core and a few other areas, including making our way down to Riverside Park in the heart of the city to take some photos in the snow that lay caked the banks of the North Thompson River (the Thompson has two branches, north and south, and they just happens to be the largest tributaries of the Fraser River).
When I got dressed that morning, I didn't know I'd be going on a road trip, let alone such a lengthy one, but what I selected as my outfit for the day served me well on that fashion front (I had a heavy winter coat with me, too, fear not - I just didn't want to cover up my outfit here). The first item I reached for was this fabulous, new-to-me vintage burgundy plaid wool skirt that a dear blog reader and online friend sent me as a gift. I don't have any other skirts like it and had been wanting one for ages, so I was beyond touched and thrilled when she surprised me with this one.
A simple black boat neck top (something every vintage loving lass should have in her wardrobe, if they like that neckline), black felt beret (it's not vintage, but looks the part), seamed stockings and basic black pumps round out the clothing in this subtly French coquette meets mid-century college student ensemble.
For part of last year, I had the great pleasure of working with top-notch etsy vintage shop Maejean Vintage (you can read oodles more about them in this spotlight post I wrote in August) in a sponsor capacity and we've maintained a great professional relationship ever since.
Recently the two lovely ladies that helm Maejean Vintage emailed to ask if I'd like to receive and feature some items from their shop to feature in outfit posts on my blog. As you may imagine, I said yes at the speed of light and was elated to pick three items from their amazing inventory of vintage jewelry, accessories, fashion, decor and other old school items.
Those three pieces include the wonderfully pretty 1940s WW2 sweetheart bracelet and charming 1930s/40s purse you see in today's outfit, as well as the elegant black 1950s glass bead necklace I shared in this outfit post earlier in the month (and which I'm sure you'll see oodles more of in the future - it goes with a vast array of mid-century looks).
Like all of Maejean's offerings, these pieces make me swoon. They arrived quickly, were expertly packaged and in exactly the condition they were described. I'd longed for a WW2 sweetheart bracelet for many years, so to to able to select one from Maejean's offerings was an especially big treat for me.
This purse is ideal for a day trip such as this. It's roomier than many vintage handbags, weighs relatively little (even factoring in its sophisticated metal frame and clasp), and is comfortable to place on your lap or against your legs for long periods of time. It's the largest genuine vintage handbag that I now own and I love it to no end (the fact that it's fabric and generous sized also makes me think of Mary Poppins' famous carpet bag, too, which makes me smile every time I spot it on the shelf in my closet).
I sincerely appreciate these thoughtful gifts from Maejean Vintage's endlessly fantastic offerings (seriously - check them out, their selection is the kind of thing that vintage jewelry dreams are made of!) and am excited to let you know that Chronically Vintage will be teaming up with them again soon in the form of a fun blog giveaway for an etsy gift certificate for their shop.
It felt wonderful to reconnect, albeit very briefly (we headed back home that to Penticton that same day after the sun set) with Kamloops. It's a bustling, lovely city and one that I was surprised to discover just how much I loved seeing and spending time in again. Tony, the Kamloops newcomer, really felt a connection with it as well and we both agreed that, if life takes us in that direction one day, we'd even be happy to relocate there. No such plans are in the works of course, but hey, you never know! Far more likely is that you'll see us make future day trips out that way, especially since I have some relatives who live there.
I loved this memorably Saturday and the North Okanagan adventure Tony and I shared that day. Did I pay for so many hours of driving and being out and about afterwards on the health front? You bet! I'm still recouping from it actually, but that's okay. It was grand to get out and explore, to stand on the shores of the Thompson River (where I have fond memories of swimming as a child in the summer), and to have such a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop for the day's outfit photos.
This was the first time I had seen Kamloops in 15 years, but mark my words, after falling in love with it anew, it certainly won't be anywhere near that long before we return again - camera in hand, naturally.
