The perfect summertime vintage style plaid sundress from Dolly & Dotty

Outfit details

1930s/1940s red straw wide brimmed hat: Frugal Frocks

1950s style blue glitter resin diamond shaped earrings: Summer Blue Jewelry

Navy blue thin knit shrug: Sears 

1950s white carnival milk glass beaded necklace: Orbsies

1940s style black cherry hued beaded brooch: Summer Blue Jewelry

1950s style red, white and navy blue plaid dress: c/o Dolly & Dotty

1940s/1950s white gloves: Unknown, had for years (possibly a gift)

C. 1950s navy blue handbag: Frugal Frocks

Nude seamed nude stockings: eBay

Red patent faux leather pumps: Payless

Lip colour: MAC Russian Red

Nail colour: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet

Photography by Tony Cangiano

♥ ♥ ♥

August kicks off here in Canada with a much needed civic holiday long weekend, which is akin to a bank holiday in Europe. It's a welcome spot of respite in a season that is rather devoid of nationwide festive celebrations and though technically a little shy of such, marks in a lot of ways, the halfway point of the summer.

However, with the immense amount of rain we experienced from mid-April to late July here, it has really only been in the past few days (which have been somewhat drier, though still by no means devoid of rain) that it's felt like this season has quasi-sprung to life at long last.

This is cause for celebration for sure and I knew exactly what I wanted to wear, the moment we saw a sunny Saturday. I love plaid. Love, love, lovvvvvvve plaid. It is, hands down, one of my favourite prints ever and I sport it all throughout the year.

Its connections with camping and the great outdoors, things that we not only associate with summer itself, but which are inextricably linked to Canada itself, always make it a natural choice for me come the August long weekend.

No matter what the weather has been up to, the review pieces that I received earlier this year from UK vintage inspired/repro/pinup style clothing line Dolly & Dotty have been welcome and wonderful companions, as well as a great jumping off point for multiple outfits, this summer.

This is the third Dolly & Dotty piece that I've blogged so far (see the previous two here and here) and there will be one or two more outfits featuring others coming down the pipeline still this season, which I'm really looking forward.

Like all of the Dolly & Dotty pieces that I've tried so far, this dress - which is called the May Vintage Inspired Swing Dress - is very well made, especially at its highly reasonable price point.

It's constructed from a lightweight, comfortable cotton and is lined in a thin cotton fabric as well. Yet even with the lining, is a treat to wear during the warm weeks of summer, as the two fabrics are very breathable.

This dress is sleeveless with wide, comfortable straps and boasts a becoming deep v-neck, which works well for a wide range of different figure types. The colours are crisp and the plaid, delightfully classic in its marriage of navy blue and red on a background of white.

This dress arrived, to my surprise and delight, with not one, but two different belts. One in the same fabric as the frock itself, the other the red one that you see.

Unfortunately the plaid belt is a little bit too big for me, even worn on the smallest hole, and the red one almost is as well, but I can wear it on the tiniest hole, so thankfully I was able to share it here with you today.

Much as with the previous Dolly & Dotty frock that I blogged about (in this recent post), I found the sizing to be on the smaller - but still easily wearable - side (do consider sizing up if you're ordering from D&D, especially if you're purchasing your first ever dress from them).

I really, really like this dress and want to sincerely thank the lovely team at Dolly & Dotty for sending it my way. It's a treat now for summer, but with some layering (likely including a camisole underneath), it could easily - and very prettily - work a treat for spring, fall, and even winter, too - the latter of which its colour palette would make for a perfect Christmastime look.

This time around, for mid-summer, I opted to pull on the navy and red hues for my shrug, jewelry, handbag, hat and shoe choices.

I teamed this dress with two fabulous mid-century style pieces from Etsy vintage inspired jewelry seller Summer Blue Jewelry (whose earrings are nickel-free, which means I can safely wear them - huzzah!!!). I'm a huge fan of Summer's creations and am gradually building my collection of such. She recent started putting out this year's fall and Halloween lines and I want every last item in them!

Plaid dresses are frequently vivacious and eye-catching unto themselves, so a solid coloured 1930s/40s red straw hat, a c. 1950s navy blue handbag, and a vintage appropriate pair of red pumps, as well as a mid-century pair of white gloves and a beautiful vintage white carnival glass beaded necklace round out this fun sunny weather look.

Often the marriage of navy, red and white telegraphs a nautical look, but I think that the black cherry hued 1940s style brooch helps to keep this ensemble more landlocked and tied back to the outdoors/camping associations that plaid is so connected to. Had I, however, sported a sailboat, anchor or ship's steering wheel shaped pin, I suspect this outfit would have looked a lot more ocean appropriate.

That wasn't what I was after that day however, as water wasn't factoring into the weekend's activities. Instead we married errand running with family visits and a bit of much needed R&R, and grabbed these snaps early on Saturday evening as the sun was starting to retreat behind the hills and the heat of the day had receded a touch.

I'm grateful to feel warmth again and really, really hope that the summertime weather sticks around now that it has - knock wood - returned for the time being. This coming weekend is Tony's birthday (on Saturday) and we're definitely crossing our fingers that it's a sunny one again, too.

It's awesome to be into the eighth month of the year and to know that, rain or no rain, there's still a fairly decent stretch left to go until Old Man Winter returns. Though I must say, I really do love the idea of sporting this frock during the Christmas season and could easily see myself partnering it with a red blazer or cardigan and some (perhaps navy blue) tights for a icy season look.

Not quite yet though, I want to do my best rock lounging lizard impression first and soak as much of the warmth, sunlight and carefree vibes of summer as I possibly can before we blink and we’re up to the brims of our vintage hats in snow once more.

   

Trying my luck with tartan

Outfit details
Prescription eyeglasses: (frames) Venus Eye Design V-12
Black hair ribbon: saved from the packaging on something I bought
1940s/50s tartan dress: etsy seller Vanity
Dangle charm kilt pin: eBay
1940s/50s ruched mustard yellow gloves: eBay
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
1950s red belt: came with a different dress
Faux leather bow clutch: Bentley
Nude with black seamed stockings: eBay
T-strap suede peep-toe heels: Nine West
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red
Photography by Antonio Cangiano  










♥ ♥ ♥

When I think of tartan, aside from its obvious Scottish heritage, two things spring to mind first: a darling little tartan cross body bag I had when I was about five years old (complete with cute tassel), and secondly, the packaging on Scotch Tape. It is the latter that we'll soon be turning to as we wrap Christmas gifts this month, and so this dress seamed especially well suited to the approaching winter season.

No snow in sight on the day when these snapped were grabbed a bit earlier this fall however, in fact it was sunshine aplenty - carrying on the theme of beautiful days that we were often treated to this autumn.

This dress was one of those pieces that I feel in love with at first sight, yet was slightly cautious about, as I know from experience that certain necklines don't always work on me, and high set, close fitting round necks often fall into that category. Thus I kept it sitting in my etsy favourites for a while, looking at each photo and trying to decide if I wanted to take a gamble with the neckline.

I'm very glad that I did, because as it turns out, the eye-catching pattern, double breasted buttons, and slightly offset shape of the neck (it's a tad squared on one side) help, I feel to ensure that it does indeed work on my petite, curvy figure.

Though the seller listed this dress as being from the 1950s, and it could very well be, to me it simply screams 40s - in fact, I'd be so bold as to say you could even style it, convincingly, as a late 30s piece. In fact, I was so surprised by how "unfifties" it looked (save for the single hip pocket) when I wore it for the first time (in these shots), that I just knew I was going to take it in a fairly early 40s direction, with a bit of a nod to the 30s thanks to the classic black t-strap peep-toes.

Gloves (or at least long sleeves) are pretty much a must as fall winds down, and I was delighted to partner a cheerful mustard yellow vintage pair with this tartan patterned frock. I've had the clutch for a few years, but haven't used it that often, so I was glad to bring it out for some fresh air that day (ditto for the shoes).

A dress like this doesn't need a lot of jewelry competing for attention with the vivacious pattern, so a cute kilt pin (how could I resist with so much tartan going on?) and my beloved faux pearl stretch bracelets were all the (subtle) bling this look called for.

While out and about running errands with Tony on the day these photos were snapped, I received some very sweet compliments, was brazenly hit on (with Tony standing right there beside) me by an a guy who was probably about 35 years my senior, and told by a very nice middle aged woman working at Safeway that she "wished she could dress like that, too".

As I'm sure many of you do, I encounter similar comments from “vintage curious” folks quite often when out and about, and always try to encourage the person as best I can, that if they want to, then by all means they should give wearing vintage a spin.

Is there a degree of art and skill that goes into wearing vintage fashions, hair and make-up? Absolutely, but I fully believe that the ability to successfully do so is something that just about anyone with the desire to do so can master - and at any age, I should add.

My take is, if you want to dress a certain way, than - as many a Nike ad has proclaimed over the years - just do it. It's never too early or too late to embrace wearing vintage, and I can't help but hope that maybe some day one of the people who stop and say that they wish they could, will heed my encouragement and embark on their own journey into wearing vintage fashion.

Fashion, after all, is about having fun and taking risks, a bit like I did when I ordered this dress, not quite knowing for sure if it the neckline would work. It did, I love it, and am really happy that my little gamble paid - or should I say "plaid" - off!

I'm not one to shrug off November

...instead I'll happily don a timeless navy blue shrug and welcome it with open arms!



Outfit details

Prescription eyeglasses: (frames) Venus Eye Design V-12
Navy Blue headband: unknown (possibly back from my Girl Guide days)
Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from Tony ♥
1950s plaid shirt: etsy seller Precious Garbage 
Navy blue shrug: Sears
Vintage style eyeglasses brooch: etsy
1950s corduroy bucket purse: etsy seller Rue 23 Vintage Clothing
1950s navy blue pencil skirt: eBay
Yellow and purple bangles: Forever 21
Green bangle: Local swap meet (I think)
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
White eyelet sling-back flats: Payless
Lip colour: Red Apple Lipstick's Firstorm Lip Gloss over their Red Lipstick

Photography by Antonio Cangiano  











♥ ♥ ♥

Yes indeed, though November sometimes get a bad wrap, I can't help but enjoy it more often than not, especially when the weather wants to cooperate! November can be jam packed with pre-Christmas activity, but it also brings with a certain late autumn serenity that is a welcome treat after a highly busy summer and start of fall.

It's a month when I love to spend time at the library (loading up on wonderful reads - yes, mostly history books - shocker, I know!), predicting the first snowfall (I'm pegging it as November 25th this year, Tony's even more optimistic and is saying December 14th), cooking hearty stews, baking up rustic, heavenly scented pumpkin and fruit breads, hibernating more in my basement craft room, dusting off my heavy winter coat, and finalizing my holiday card list.

Though the temps have certainly swooped lower than they were earlier this fall now that we're into November, and while my heavy duty winter coat  is rearing to go, it hasn't been called up to the frontline quite yet. No, these days I've mostly been wearing medium weight skirts, my beloved Freddies jeans, knit cardigans, vintage gloves, and cute button front blouses (and umbrella to fend off the rain we've been getting often lately!).

This particular 1950s plaid shirt is quite big on me. I knew the sizing was a bit large when I bought it online, but I didn't realize until I tried it on just how much extra fabric there'd be around my midsection. I think its a darling top though - perfect for everything from camping trips to days, like this one, spent running errands or visiting relatives - and with a lot of tucking in of the extra material in the back, I can usually get it to look a bit more like it's actually the right size.

I'd been running around town for quite a while before these snaps were captured and didn't realize that some of the fabric had wiggled loose a tad in the front on the right side (so hence why it looks a little poofier there), but that's certainly not enough to deter me from sharing these photos with you.

The gloves, which you may recognize from this post last spring, are so sweet and lovely to wear. There's just something about looking down and seeing faded white crochet on a sea of elegant navy blue that makes me smile.

Plaid also makes me smile, and so does this adorable spectacle shaped brooch, and this 1950s pencil skirt (which I debuted here last month in this post), all of which seem like such a fun way to dress for a month that sometimes needs a bit of pepping up, due to the fading colour around us and the "in between-ness" of Halloween and Christmas (especially since those of us up here in Canada have already celebrated our Thanksgiving last month, so we don't have that to look forward to later in November).

Soon though, I know, these winter coat-less days will be completely behind us, and those few immensely hardy roses in our yard will vanish once and for all until spring's delicate return in 2013.

Hard to believe, isn't it, that we're less than two months away from the start of that year, a new year, and all the prospects and possibilities that another January holds in store for us all. Let's not jump ahead too much though. I still want to savour the moments of late autumn sunshine that remain, bake a few more pumpkin breads, and mail out those aforementioned Christmas cards first. :)