A beloved vintage shirtwaist dress for those in between seasons days

Outfit details

1950s floral print scarf: Not sure, had for years (possibly a gift or thrifted)
Floral metal and faux pearl earrings: Save On Foods
Teal-cerulean blue 1980s does 1950s shirtwaist dress: eBay
Vintage gold tone metal and rhinestone floral brooch: eBay (similar style available in my Etsy shop)
Skinny light blue belt: eBay
Gold toned metal bangle bracelets: Payless
Vintage woven raffia handbag: Yard sale find
Nude seamed nude stockings: eBay
White pumps: Payless
Lip colour: Clinique Raspberry Glace
Nail colour: Sally Hansen Rogue Rush over Essie Pink Diamond


Photography by Tony Cangiano

♥ ♥ ♥

Of all the shirtwaist dresses in my closet, this cheerful 1980s does 1950s teal meets cerulean blue number gets the most amount of wear, bar none. It's seen me through road trips, attended lengthy antiques auctions, been guised up for the holidays, worn for walks at the beach, visited hundreds of yard sales, done more hours of housework in than I can begin to count, hugged plenty of relatives at family get-togethers, and is a frequent first choice when running errands or bopping around seeing the local sites (and indeed, it appeared here over two years in a post on that very topic called The Intrepid Urban Explorer).

It is also an extremely useful piece to have on hand as one season starts to shift into the next, be it spring into summer or summer into fall, as is the case now that we've celebrated Labour Day and are heading, mighty quickly, towards the return of my favourite time of the year: autumn.

More so this year than for any other in recent memory, I'm keen to hold onto summer. To savour and indulge in each glistening moment of warmth and amber hued sunshine. As August wound down, I felt much like a little kid again, trying, ultimately unsuccessfully, to hold onto the heat of summer and make it last all the that much longer. Time waits for no one though and can't be harnessed on a whim - for better or worse - so I've made peace with the fact that all too soon, the days of beaches and fresh peaches, the ability to comfortably go bear foot, and the need to consume copious amounts of ice cream to stay adequately refreshed will be behind us again.

We're not quite there, but I can sense the heat draining from the days like like the last ounce of toothpaste being squeezed from the tube. Before it does though, you can bet your bottom dollar that you'll find me, and my trusty turquoise shirtwaist dress out and about, posing with flowers (as I did with this delightful cart that is parked out front of our local Art Knapp's nursery), sitting in the sun (with sunscreen and a hat on, of course), savoring all the local fruit and veg I possibly can, and reflecting back on what has been, hands down, one of the busiest and most action packed summers I've enjoyed in a very long time.

From adding clothing and handbags to my Etsy shop to launching my YouTube channel, trying my hand at selling vintage in person, traversing the Okanagan from top to bottom, spending time with family, celebrating birthdays (including my 30th back on July 10th) and anniversaries, my second ever blogger meet-up, and oodles more, this summer has been a constant go-go-go for me! And you know what, knackered as I was at times, and hard as such a demanding pace can be on my health, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I love what I've accomplished, set into motion, and have begun planning for the remainder of the year and beyond.

After all, one can always top their most frequently worn shirtwaist dress with a chunky cardigan and put their feet up - for a few minutes at least - once Old Man Winter is here again and we're up to our bumper bangs in bone chilling snow. For the moment though, I'm going to keep on reveling in summer, gearing up for fall, and being thankful for what an awesome, fun filled, productive season this one has been for me.

My very favourite 1950s skirt that I own & Tony launches a Facebook page for his photography

Outfit details

Hair flowers (both): Arden
Black rhinestone heart earrings: Claire's
1930s glass bead necklace: etsy seller Maejean Vintage
Grey dolman sleeve cardigan: Freddies of Pinewood
Pale pink camisole: From a shop in Scarborough, ON that shut down years ago
Black plastic floral carved bangle bracelet: Unknown (had for years)
Black vintage handbag: etsy seller A Vintage Revival
1950s flocked floral print circle skirt: eBay
Pink crinoline: Pettiskirt Style
Grey tights: (Bought new in pack from) Value Village
Black faux suede round toe pumps: Wal-Mart
Lip colour: Clinique Raspberry Glace
Nail colour: Pink Diamond from Essie 

Photography by Tony Cangiano     

♥ ♥ ♥

Almost nothing lasts long in my closet if I don't love it powerfully, so I'm always a little leery of dubbing any particular item a favourite, but if I had to in the skirt department, this enchantingly feminine 1950s number may very well take top billing. Boasting black flocking and a pink and green floral pattern on a solid black background, it epitomizes the spirit of my style - feminine, sweet, elegant, and fun - to a tee!

Purchased a number of years back on eBay, at the time, clocking in at around $100, it was the most I'd ever paid for a skirt in my life. Though that figure has since been topped, it still remains one of my pricier skirts. Then as now, I've never regretted what I paid for it and feel that it was (and is) reasonable for such a gorgeous vintage garment. This skirt is made from thick, warm, beautiful fabric and is in excellent shape. Once can scarcely tell it's around sixty years old, as it feels nearly as crisp and pristine as the day it was minted.

Like many people, I tend to gravitate towards darker hues when the temperatures start plummeting, and on the nippy November a few weeks ago when these photos were taken on a random, wonderfully charming tree and mid-century home lined street in Kelowna, that point was out in full force care of the abundance of grey and black at work in this fun fifties ensemble.

Even on the coldest, dreariest of winter days though, as much as I may reach for black, grey, dark brown, navy blue and other highly pigmented hues, I will still generally weave a bit of punchy colour into the mix. Here it was hints of gloriously feminine pink, care of the camisole, crinoline from Pettiskirt Style, a large hair flower (partnered with a smaller black one), and the lush blooms on my skirt, as well as my lipstick and nail polish colour choices. Much like the skirt itself, this whole outfit is a perfect representation of my personal style. It's neither immensely formal nor overtly casual, includes layers, embraces my curvy petite figure (but isn't skintight), and makes me smile whenever I sport it.

On the day when we shot these snaps in Kelowna, we were running errands and also scouting photo shoot locations, not for myself, but for a photography client that Tony was working with a few days later.

As you may recall from this post last October on how Tony and I do vintage outfit shoots, my darling husband has been an avid photography enthusiast for much of his life. More recently, he's invested in further equipment (including the awesome new Canon 6D DSLR camera he bought while in Calgary) and is has made the leap from hobbyist to part-time photographer (on top of his highly demanding day job, the various income generating blogs and websites, such as Any New Books, that we run together, and being the author of two terrific tech books).

This exciting chapter is new, fresh and still largely unwritten. It may always remain an on-the-side endeavour or might perhaps someday develop into more, only time will tell. Whatever the case, it's always great to have a site and a Facebook page for any business one runs and to that end, Tony has recently created both. We would be honoured and deeply appreciative if you want to like Tony Cangiano Photography on Facebook, where you'll get to see a sneak peak some of the photos from the shoots we do for the blog before they go live here, as well as work he does with models, clients and others who make their way in front of his lens.

And of course, should you ever happen to be in the Okanagan and would like to have Tony shot you, by all means, feel free to let one of us know! Tony is an old pro at doing vintage outfit shoots thanks to his work on behalf of my blog, and would be thrilled to help create the kind of shoot you're dreaming of (be it vintage related or otherwise).

Many heartfelt thanks from both of us to everyone who likes Tony Cangiano Photography on Facebook, as well as to each and every one of you for your support, encouragement and compliments regarding his photography work here over the years. I know that it has meant the world to him and certainly helped to foster his passion and drive for photography all the more.