This summer, Mother's Nature's name is Marie (and I'm borrowing her colour palette!)

  Outfit details

Orchid hair flower: eBay
Gold toned hope earrings: Claire's
Green and white polka dot tee: Thrifted (Salvation Army)
Green crochet cardigan: Second Tyme Around consignment store
1940s gold toned name pin: eBay
Vintage beige button front skirt: etsy seller Have Mercy Vintage
Brown bow stretch belt: (An Asian clothing store at) Pacific Mall in Toronto
Bangle bracelets: Assorted sources
1950s corduroy bucket purse: etsy seller Rue 23 Vintage Clothing
Brown leather wedge sandals: Yard sale find
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red


Photography by Antonio Cangiano

♥ ♥ ♥

Though I didn't set out to match my out to the landscape of our - suddenly verdant again – front yard, the moment I started uploading these snaps, I saw right away that I had and I rather loved it.

Though early May was unseasonably toasty here (much like Easter Sunday back in March), as a whole, spring was a bit late in returning - the sole tree (pictured here) on lawn didn't blossom until well into May, and it wasn't until early June that I started to feel like the last vestiges of winter were gone once and for all.

That they are now though for sure, and that means scads of sunny, gloriously lovely Okanagan summer days once more. Hurray! I don't have a ton of summer shoes, so it was with no small amount of glee that I found the pair I'm wearing here the very day before (these pics were taken) at a yard sale on the outskirts of the town.

They're real leather, were in perfect (I'd venture to say, never worn) condition, and had a five dollar price tag on them. I offered three and the seller said "for sure" without even batting an eye (which made me wish I'd offered two instead, but I'm not complaining three bucks is a total bargain for these classically styled beauties). They're super comfy, and I just know they're going to become one of my main warm weather footwear staples.

To help pick up the tawny brown of the shoes, I opted for a darling bow adorned belt, my beloved 1950s corduroy bucket bag, and some wood (veneer) bracelets mixed into my bangle stack.

Green continues to be my colour of the year, and as neither of these two garments have appeared here before, it felt like high time they both saw the business end of a camera lens. A timelessly pretty white and green orchid hair flower helped inject a further hit of earthy colour into this casual ensemble.

I love vintage wirework name pins. I've searched high and low for one featuring my first name, but alas Jessica was no where near as popular back in the 40s-50s as it became from the 1980s onward, and to date none have been forthcoming. Luckily however, I have two middle names, both of which are classic, popular girls names, and so far I've found a vintage name brooch for one of them: Marie.

It's probably been at least a couple of years since I bought this pin on eBay, but this is its first debut on my blog. I really like the name Marie (which I was given in honour of two of my great-grandmothers) and was thrilled when I found it (for a song to boot!). The classic cursive font and bright gold hue are eye-catchingly lovely, and help ensure it compliments everything from carefree polka dot tees to chic vintage suits.

One hears tell of Mother Nature - that fabled spirit who calls the great outdoors her own and who seems to have a serious hand in the shifting of the seasons, but have you ever stopped to wonder if she had a first name? I've pondered this occasionally over the years, and each time a different possible name comes to mind, depending on the season, my mood, or simply what girls name I'm smitten with at the moment.

This year however, as we kick off the start of another sublime summer, I cannot help but feel that she needs a timeless, sweet yet powerful name to match the plethora of warmth, beauty and strength she's bestowed upon the earth once more.

Thus, I'm (unofficially) dubbing her Marie - and she's welcome to borrow my vintage name pin anytime she wants (just as long as she promise to keep a gentle breeze blowing each night this season in return!).

The thrill of finding one of your vintage holy grails (at an amazing price, to boot!)

✯ Day 349 of Vintage 365 ✯

We all have them, those elusive vintage items for which scarcity and/or price make them rather hard, if not downright veering on impossible, to track down.

Sometimes we're able to find the general item we're after, but it's not the right size (if I had a dollar for every time this happened to me I'd likely be a millionaire by now!) or the mark-up is so absurd it's laughable (sorry, but there’s no deadstock, non-designer labeled department store dress from the 1950s, no matter how gorgeous it is, that’s worthy of a price tag in the upper hundreds, as I've seen on a few occasions).

Many times there's a certain element to an item that makes it particularly tricky to find. You may, for example, be after a vintage canister set, yet not be able to find one in good condition that fits the colour scheme of your kitchen. Old school shoes really aren't that tricky to come by, however they generally fit those lucky tiny-footed gals (aka, size 6 and under) best, while the rest of us are left daydreaming about authentic swing dance heels in larger sizes.

For most of us there's a budget element involved with our vintage shopping. All but those with the deepest of pockets generally have to keep price in mind when scouring the web and real world haunts for vintage treasures, and this can certainly put some items further out of reach.

I've yet to met a vintage wearing gal who didn't have a long standing wish list of items she was trying to find that matched all of her criteria (correct sizing and colour, as well as over all condition, and of course price). There are certain pieces though, that get bumped up, in my books at least, a little higher than just wish list status.

These are are the proverbial holy grails of our vintage hunts. We type their names into etsy, eBay and Google searches constantly. If a friend is going second hand shopping without us, we let them know to keep their eyes peeled religiously for said items, and these pieces always at the top of our letters to Santa when Christmas rolls around.

Interesting, I've found that sometimes it's an item’s scarcity (and/or the ability to find said piece in my size) that elevates it into the realm of vintage holy grail, more than (just) the price. What makes certain things more sought after than other varies wildly from person to person. I know that for me, many of my most beloved and wished for vintage items are ones that I've been fantasizing about for years, if not decades, of my life.

They sprung from a seed of inspiration somewhere along the line, their roots nestling firmly into my psyche and soul, and so they remain, like the top of Mt.Everest, a distant, almost unachievable feat that I strive towards knowing full well the scoop of the challenge they present.

Fascinatingly however, especially if price is not your biggest deterrent, and you’re willing to put forth a hefty dose of patient (and certainly some elbow grease, when it comes to tracking down your beloved items), one's vintage holy grails can be unearthed. Every once in an extra special while, you can even score one for a rather fantastic deal.

Though, I've found, garage sales and tiny thrift stores (of the sort staffed by sweet grey haired women who love to chat as they ring up your purchase) are the best places to stumble up a dream item at an unbelievable price, despite the mass popularity of vintage clothing and other yesteryear items, paired with the sheer volume of folks who shop online for such things these days, the web can still deliver a knock-out deal on a grail from time-to-time, too.

For years now I've been on the prowl for a black quilted circle skirt in my size that didn't cost the moon. As with most of my grail and top wish list items, I'd allotted a relatively generous budget in my mind for this particular garment, but even that didn't seem to be enough to unearth one that was, in a nod to Goldilocks, neither too small or too big.

A good year or two ago, I'd actually just come to the point where I figured I'd end up making one myself some day when I got a sewing machine and had polished my skills enough to know how to add quilted stitching to a garment. Yet even with that in mind, I continued to periodically dig around the web for a black quilted circle skirt.

That particular item of clothing was on my list because a.) I adore just about all 1950s circle skirts, b.) I've been smitten with quilted circle skirts for as far back as I can remember, and c.) I don't currently have a plain black circle skirt and can really feel the hole that not having one leaves in my vintage wardrobe.

You can imagine my excitement then when, around the end of November, I happened to spy on eBay that was listed in the right size (the skirt’s listing - which I'll tell you right now, I won - said it was the right size, but I've been burned plenty of times before - so all I can do is keep my fingers crossed for now) for an absolute song on eBay.

{The eBay seller's photo of my soon-to-arrive black 1950s circle skirt, an item I'd been daydreaming about adding to my vintage wardrobe for many years.}

 

I found the auction a couple of days before it wrapped up and tossed my bid into the ring (I later upped that amount, as I really, really wanted to win, though in the end my first price limit was more than enough to ensure the skirt came home with me). To my absolute delight, I ended up winning the skirt for a mere $16.00 plus shipping to Canada (from the States).

As you can imagine, I was over-the-moon elated about this! Here, after several years of fastidiously hunting for one of my vintage holy grails, I found it in the right size (again, hopefully the measurements stated in the listing were accurate), colour, and for one heck of a stellar bargain! I'd have happily paid five or maybe even ten times that amount for this skirt, and couldn't believe how much I lucked out.

It's moments like winning that skirt actually, which help make the countless times you can't find something that fits your criteria easier to put up with. As you click through page after page on etsy of (for example) 1940s sundresses looking for precisely the right one, only to come up empty handed for the twenty-fifth time, it's memories of those highly sought after pieces you've already scored that truly aid in reminding you that just about everything, no matter how rare, can be discovered eventually.

It has been an age and half since I last found any of my grails, let alone one for such a great deal, and chances are it'll be awhile before another one comes along. But that's ok, I'll be floating above the ground on a cloud of happiness over this score for quite a long time to come. Just look up for the redheaded gal wearing the black quilted circle skirt and you'll know it's me.

(Vintage 365) Found: the perfect little black pencil skirt

✯ Day 50 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

There are certain items of clothing - classically tailored cardigans, elegant cocktail dresses, the perfect pair of natural coloured pumps - that never, ever go out of style. Their ability to do so would be like if air stopped sustaining life as we know it here on earth. In that category of highly revered (and I think absolutely-must-own) items of clothing stands the pencil skirt.

Though I know some gals feel that they can't pull this timeless piece off, I believe that virtually anyone can - so long as you get one that fits well (snuggly, but not constrictively), has a hemline that falls at a flattering length (which for me personally means a smidge below the knee), and is in a perpetually stylish (and very wearable) hue like grey, black, navy, dark red, beige, or denim blue.

Amongst the beautiful offerings from Australian vintage reproduction clothing seller Hot Couture, I recently spied a pencil skirt (see photo directly above) that I think fits all of the criteria outlined above. The Harlow Plain Skirt is a chicly fantastic black pencil skirt made from stretch cotton (making it both comfortable and stylish) that's available in XS to XXXL, thus helping ensure that vintage fashionistas of nearly all figures are accounted for (this skirt retails on Hot Couture's website for $75.00 Australian).

When it comes to practicality and versatility, you'd honestly be hard pressed to find any garment of clothing that is going to give you more millage - or styling options - than a sophisticatedly lovely black pencil skirt. You can dress it down with a flirty summer top, up with a pearls and a faux fur stole; add a satin blouse and some seemed nylons and you're ready for a night out, whereas a good twin set and a classic pencil skirt will see you through spring and fall in elegant style.

I love, love, love pencils skirts (and I say that as a petite, short legged gal with her fair share of curves), and think that Hot Couture has hit it out of the ballpark with this glam, yet terrifically practical, black cotton number!