Introducing a new video series: Vintage Fashion 101 (which kicks off with a look at snoods)

Ever since returning to YouTube last month, my mind has been teaming with ideas for possible videos there, which I must say, I truly love and appreciate, because when I first tiptoed onto the YouTube stage in the summer of 2014, it was often crickets and tumbleweeds on the “what video topic to cover” front.

I'm sure, as with most creative endeavors, there will be further periods of feast and famine there as time goes on, but thankfully, again, at the moment, the well is not running dry and one of my favourites that I've struck upon as of late is is that of a Vintage Fashion 101 series of videos.

When it comes to the trifecta of beauty/makeup, hair, and fashion, the latter is my strongest suit and the one that I'm best able to readily create videos about.

Due to a couple of my conditions, my hands/arms shake when I hold them up for very long and I'm not a super great expert on fancy makeup how-tos, so that one isn't an area of videos that I'll likely make many on. Plus I wear a wig all the time, so between that and the whole shaky arms situation, hairstyling techniques, are not a topic I'll probably make a ton of videos on, but I can talk about and show examples pertaining to vintage fashion until the cows come home!

Not to contradict what I just said, as they are something of a hair accessory, but I decided to kick of this fun new video series with an in-depth, fun filled look at snoods. Those classic, comfy, stylish (usually) netted crocheted or knitted hair coverings that had a major moment during the mid-twentieth century.

In this video, I talk about the history of snoods, provide snood styling ideas and tips, talk about how to prevent your hair from sticking out of the holes in a snood, discuss some of the best places to source snoods from, and share examples of snoods from my own personal collection.

{Snoods are one of my absolute favourite vintage accessories and I wear them quite frequently both in outfit posts, as avid readers of my blog will know, and in my daily life, so I thought they'd make for a great topic to launch my exciting new Vintage Fashion 101 YouTube video series off on.}

Generally speaking, especially when I own examples of the garments or accessories that I'll be talking about in my videos, this is the sort of format that I suspect my Vintage Fashion 101 videos will take.

I adore hearing about what you guys like to see on my channel, so if there are wardrobe related topics that you'd like me to cover in my Vintage Fashion 101 video series, please let me know in the comment section here, on YouTube, or really, anywhere you can reach me. 

You guys, I am really jazzed about this fun new YouTube series (which will likely be randomly occurring, as inspiration or a suggestion to create a new one strikes), especially since it lets me talk about an area that, humbly, I tend to know a great deal about (vintage fashion).

I hope that you all enjoy watching these delightful looks at a different vintage wardrobe area and creative, helpful ways to style that particular garment or accessory.

My first photo shoot with the Pacific Ocean + thoughts on being recognized in public

Outfit details

White crochet snood: Handmade gift from a dear friend loving friend ♥
Hair flowers: Assorted sources
Gold bow earrings: Payless
1950s red plaid cropped shirt: eBay Vintage red and gold anchor brooch: eBay (I think)
Red vintage style faux leather cross body bag: eBay
1940s style side button jeans: Freddies of Pinewood
Gold tone metal bangle bracelets: Payless
Red and black vintage plastic bangles: Assorted sources
Black 1940s style oxford shoes: Thrifted (from Salvation Army)
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red


Photography by Tony Cangiano  

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Fame is a funny thing. It can be fleeting, fickle, fantastic, funny, fabulous, and, for some, even infuriating. I don't have any firsthand (or even secondhand) experience with mainstream fame in in the slightest. As someone who is mind blowingly shy and uber introverted, I was definitely not the kind of child who longed for a career in that could project me in such a direction (say, like a singer or actress).

No, in my youngest days I wanted to be either a nurse or a doctor, then as my childhood progressed and straight on into my teens, I was 100% certain I wanted to be a chef (and I adamantly believe I would have gone on to be one had I not fallen severely chronically ill about a month after my 18th birthday).

It's theoretically possible that those career paths, particularly that of being a chef, could have led to fame, but it would not have been the driving reason behind why I wanted that job at all. My life, as you likely know, did not end up with me wearing a stethoscope nor (in a professional capacity) standing in front of a hot stove all day. It took many detours and was eerily silent some years, when I was too ill to bring home even so much as one piece of proverbial bacon.

I worked numerous jobs in my late teens, but from my 20s onward, I have been self-employed (a heading under which I include working, and drawing a wage from, being employed by the online media company that my husband and I run) for every job I've held, including during my mid-twenties when I was a part-time professional photographer (I job I loved with every fiber of my being, but unfortunately had to step back from because of the continued worsening of some of my medical conditions).

These days, on top of working for Netrich Media, I have the incredible pleasure and honour - which I do not take for granted for one tiny second - of being a professional vintage blogger and Etsy vintage shop owner. I get to spend my days writing about, photographing (thus indulging in that passion of mine in an awesome new way), wearing, discussing, shopping for, researching, and surrounding myself with vintage. It a job that I can do from home when my health permits and which I truly adore and feel grateful for.

Vintage has helped give me a career that is compatible with my circumstances and which I can hold my head up high when I tell people what I do for a living (believe me when I say that some folks, wrongly of course, judged me incredibly harshly during those periods in my life when I was chronically ill and didn't have a defined career at the time; it was as though they couldn't fathom someone in their 20s being so ill that they couldn't work, which for many stretches of time the last 12.5 years, I have been).

I mention all this to led to the point I begun this post with: fame. Over the years I have achieved a definite degree of notoriety amongst the vintage blogging world. I've being interviewed by numerous magazines, blogs and websites (and the BBC); have an active social media prescience, and blog prolifically, so it probably isn't a huge surprise that I'd stand to get recognized in public every now and then.

I think part of the reason why it always knocks my socks off when such happens is because I live in a small town in British Columbia, Canada. Penticton is beautiful and I love residing here, but it isn't exactly the sort of vintage Mecca that Portland, LA, New York, or London is and in fact, I haven't been recognized by a stranger on the street here yet. Each time it has happened, I've either been in a larger city in this province or in Alberta.

While on our stellar holiday to Vancouver Island earlier this fall, I was floored and very touched to be recognized by multiple people, both on the street and at the Victoria Vintage Expo that I attended (including, very sweetly, when I had three young ladies who were shopping together recognize, rush over to, and proceed to hang out with me for several minutes - it was the closest I think I've ever come to being on the receiving end of a fan girl experience :)).

One such encounter took place at a consignment store in the utterly charming seaside town of Sidney, which is the first place you'll see when you disembark the ferry upon reaching Vancouver Island (if you're headed to Victoria or any point in that general direction, I mean).

While sourcing a few pieces of jewelry for my Etsy shop, I was approached by a lovely lady who asked if I had a blog. I replied that I did and said who I was, and she very excitedly said that she thought it was me and had to come over and say hello. She too was in town on holiday (from Alberta) and we had a marvelous time chatting for a few minutes and latter ran into one another again on the same day when Tony and I made our way down to the wharf area in Sidney to do a shoot for the the photos that appear in today's post.

Never say never, of course, but objectively I doubt I'll ever be world famous in the context of mainstream society, and that's totally okay. Most of us will never walk that path, after all. But there is, I must tell you, something fabulously fun and rewarding about having a complete stranger know who you are and want to interact with you. I never take such experiences for granted and cherish every last one of them that happens to me - and all the more so because, again, I really don't live in a part of the world that is filled with fellow vintage lovers, wearers or bloggers.

Meeting that lady put a huge smile on my face, which was certainly a good thing when it came time to shoot photos. The fact that I finally, for the first time ever, got to a photo shoot for my blog with the majestic Pacific Ocean (others would also happen during our time on the Island, and I'll be posting about them in the near future as well), certainly helped to cement it there even further.

For a day of fun second hand shopping, sightseeing, and driving, I sported my trusty Freddies of Pinewood 1940s style side buttons jeans, a delightful 1950s cropped waist plaid shirt (if I could clone this shirt in a hundred other patterns and colours, I would in the quickest of heartbeats), a snood that I received as a gift from a dear friend last year, three hair flowers, an assortment of plastic and metal bangles, and an anchor shaped vintage brooch to tie into the nautical-ness of our location.

Though it wasn't gloriously golden, the sun was still out in full force that day, so – no surprise here - I was Squinty McSquinty again in some of these snaps, but I don't mind. I was just elated to capture the memory of that day on camera during one of the rare pauses in the rain while we were on Vancouver Island (it rained for some, or all of, nearly every day we were there).

This trip was absolutely fantastic from start to finish and I loved that it included so many fantastic experiences, very much including being recognized by several people throughout our time there. If any of you who did so should happen to be reading this post, thank you again for approaching me and saying hello. I loved getting to meet you and really appreciate your support of my blog, which, after all led you to know who I am in the first place. :)

Giving autumn's colour palette a helping hand

Outfit details

Caramel brown snood: eBay seller tina.g-2008
White rose stud earrings: Claire's
Brown cardigan: Suzy shier
Vintage maple leaf scatter pins: Antique store in Vernon 1970s/80s does 1940s/50s autumn floral print dress: eBay
c. 1940s cream gloves: (I think) eBay
1950s corduroy bucket purse: etsy seller Rue 23 Vintage Clothing
Straw hued heels: Anne Klein
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red


Photography by

Antonio Cangiano

 

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Rain, buckets upon buckets of rain pelted Penticton in the early days of autumn this year. It came with a sidekick: bitterly cold temperatures, and the two made sure that the usual resplendent palette of the season took a lot longer than usual to spring to life - and that when it did, it wasn't exactly giving Connecticut a run for its money by any stretch of the imagination.

As much as I adore a gloriously picturesque autumn, I wasn't going to let the lack (most days) of one get me down, especially not when my absolute favourite hues to sport just happen to be those that we associate with this mellow, fun filled time of the years. Pumpkin pie perfect oranges, perfectly aged oak browns, cactus tinted greens, saffron yellows, and gentle creams set my heart smiling and I try to sport as many of them as I can before snow banks the size of small mountains come calling all too soon.

Few dresses in my closet are as plucked-from-the-fall-forest perfect as this 1970s/80s frock with classic mid-century lines to it. However, while I love it dearly, and bring it out at least one every autumn, if I was ruthlessly culling my wardrobe, it would likely go to a new home. And why is that, Jess? I hear you asking. That, my lovely dears, is because, unlike most dresses, this one is too small for me in the bust and upper rib cage (the polar opposite of the issue I have with a few of my other frocks, such as this green number, that are too generously cute in the bosom region).

I can get it done up, but it gaps between some of the buttons and feels restrictive while sitting. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of seam allowances, and I wouldn't want to hack down into a skirt, when it could very easily work for someone as a dress the way it stands now, so instead I toss a cardigan or sweater over top and make sure not to sit much while wearing it.

One element that I've always really liked about this dress, is that it has two sets of ties. One in the front and one in the back. I don't believe any other frocks in my closet can claim the same and I've only seen this double tie detail on other dresses a few times in all my life. This effect looks darling when the dress is worn on its own, however when you wear a cardigan over it and undo the buttons before the reach the bow, I do find the effect of the two pieces comes dangerously close to making one look pregnant (which I'm definitely not).

Still, even with these things factored in, I love it because the warm, splendidly earthy palette and floral pattern embodies so much of Mother Nature's spirit during this time of the year - a colour set that I backed up with my choice of accessories, complete with a cute little trio of vintage maple leaf scatter pins that I picked up ($15 for the set) at a small little antiques store in Vernon, that I can't for the life of me remember the name of right now (if I do, I'll come back here and credit it properly lickety-split).

As you can see from these photos, which were taken near Rotary Park down at Okanagan a little earlier in the season, there wasn't much in the way of telltale autumn hues going on in the background yet, thanks to all the aforementioned rain we'd been getting in spades. As summer leaped almost head first into winter, it seemed that everyone you talked to at the grocery store, bank, dog park, etc was floored by how it seemed autumn had bypassed us entirely.

Time would go on to show that it didn't fly over our heads completely this year. Yet even so, it wasn't as richly vivid, subtly warm, or beautifully sunshine filled as it normally is in these parts of the woods, which is precisely why I was even more eager than usual to slip into seasonally hued garments and inject the local scenery with some of my own vintage autumn colour palette. It's a win-win for both Mother Nature and I, if you ask me! :)

A darling 1940s housedress, a fun fact about the Canadian $100 bill, and just one more sleep until Calgary!

Outfit details

Caramel brown snood: eBay eBay seller tina.g-2008
Faux pearl stud earrings: Claire's
1940s floral print zip up house dress: etsy seller ZindyLou
Bangle bracelets (some vintage, some modern): Assorted sources
Vintage woven handbag with bamboo handles: Yard sale find
Nude on nude seamed stockings: eBay
Brown round toe pumps: Pipsqueaks and Damsel's Consignment Store
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red
 
Photography by

Antonio Cangiano

 

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Okay, so my excitement levels as I sit here and try to steady my hands enough to write this post is pretty much off the charts. Not since we moved back to British Columbia early last year have I been an a fraction as excited about anything, and prior to that? Well, your guess is a good as mine, because it has been a very, very long time since I was looking forward to something as much as I am our fabulous road trip to Calgary tomorrow.

As with most final days before a vacation tend to be, today is going to be a whirlwind of activity! From dropping Annie off at the wonderful pet kennel we're boarding her at (my mom will be looking after Stella here at our house while we're gone) to doing the bulk of our packing, to getting the car cleaned and ready, so I figured I should take a moment now, before the sun rises, to pen a quick final post before we embark.

While we're away, I've scheduled some new posts to go live, however I'm not bringing my computer with me, so I won't be "live blogging" from the road while in Calgary. I do however plan to Instagram right, left and center on my phone, so be sure to follow me on Instagram to keep up with all my exciting adventures in Alberta as they transpire.

This is (overnight or longer) trip I've taken in Chronically Vintage's nearly 4.5 years of life, and I can't wait to finally share some of my travels will all of you (especially because I have adored venturing out into the world vicariously through so many of your own awesome vacation and road trip posts over the years). Once we're home and I've recouped a bit from our travels, there will be a series of posts all about our trip - including what we saw, did, ate, enjoyed, and bought.

Please forgive the massive amount of squinting going on in these shots (seriously, feel free to call me Squinty McSquinty, if you like). They were taken after a recent day of errand running right here on Main Stress in downtown Penticton and the sun was streaming directly into my eyes. I swear, I felt like I was smiling up a storm in them, but that's the thing about squinting, it often seems to squash, so to speak, one's smile and make you appear much more solemn faced than you actually are.

Believe me, I was smiling - or at least trying to! How could I not when wearing a super cute 1940s zipper front floral print house dress like this? As the seasons teeter on the brink of changing hands from summer into fall once more, this dress seams like one of the most fitting garments in my wardrobe that I could wear. It's cut is perfect for the balmy days we're still enjoying, whereas the classic colour palette sings with the loveliness of autumn's return, which ushers in a world teaming with earthy browns, muted greens, and vivid oranges.

While downtown, we spotted the lovely mural pictured here along with the seriously interesting tidbit of information provided on the wall beside it. Though I've passed this mural many times over the years, I don't believe I'd ever stopped to really study it before and was delighted to learn that it depicted the view (from the local community of Naramata) that once graced the Canadian hundred dollar bill.

I honestly didn't know that part of the Okanagan landscape had ever appeared on any of our Canadian currency and adoring getting wise to this cool fact. It's so neat when you live (and grew up in) in a relatively small town and are still able to discover more about it with each passing year.

And speaking of discovering new things, there should be plenty of that going on over the next few days while we're in beautiful Calgary, Alberta. It's a city I know well, having lived there for a little over two years during my late teens, but no doubt much has changed since then, and I cannot wait to reconnect with beloved old haunts and discover plenty of new favourites (vintage, antique and thrift stores very much included) all in the same go.

I sincerely appreciate all of the great tips, ideas, and comments you've shared with me in the last three weeks regarding Calgary (thank you very much to everyone who did so), and cannot wait to blog about our adventures in the White Hat City once we're back.

Those suitcases aren't going to pack themselves though, so I best get a shove. Until we chat again, my sweet friends, please know that I'll miss you dearly and be thinking of all of you while we're on the road.

Alberta, here we come! Yee-haw!!! :)

An awesome phone call and tons of fun in the breeze at Three Mile Beach

Outfit details

Dusty rose 1940s style snood: etsy seller Arthelia's Attic
White plastic rose stud earrings: Claire's
Vintage red plastic bead necklace: gift with purchase from an etsy seller
Green cardigan: Second Tyme Around consignment store
Vintage floral print dress: Facebook vintage seller
Green lace trimmed camisole: Walmart
1950s corduroy bucket purse: etsy seller Rue 23 Vintage Clothing
Bangle bracelets: Assorted sources
Nude on nude seemed stockings: eBay
White pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red
Nail colour: Essie Muchi Muchi

Photography by Antonio Cangiano

 
 

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Late in the yard saling season last year, towards the end of September to be exact, my mother and I were out one sunny Saturday afternoon in the nearby town of Summerland when we chanced upon a sale filled with a good number of vintage pieces (chiefly home decor items) and a friendly young seller named Daisy who said that she routinely bought and sold mid-century items (the tooled leather purse at the bottom of this yard sale finds post came from her sale). There are exceedingly few people around these parts with even the slightest interest in vintage (let alone fashion), so it was a blast to encounter her and discuss various vintage topics that day.

Before we parted ways, I gave her my card (and cell number), as she said she had some vintage clothes that she thought I might like to take a look at one day. Autumn turned into winter, winter and spring, and every now and then I'd wonder to myself if Daisy still had my contact information and if I would hear from here again.

Last month, early on a Saturday morning, I was wonderfully surprised to receive a call from her, asking if I'd like to come over and take a look at some vintage clothing and other items she had, as she and her mom were holding another big yard sale (she gave me first crack at her fashion items before she put them out for the yard sale going public to see, which I sincerely appreciated). Daisy has told me last year that she thought a lot of what she had veered towards the 1960s and 70s, but that there could be some earlier pieces, so I jumped at her invitation and we quickly hightailed it out to Summerland.

Most of the clothing she had was indeed from those two decades, however I found four pieces that I utterly adored (a black Persian lamb's wool coat that could honestly be from anywhere between the 1940s and early 60s, but which I think is likely late 50s or early 60s; a large white polyester shawl with flowers on it that's probably from the late 60s or early 70s; an elegant white faux fur shrug that screams 50s; and a cute little early 60s style houndstooth blazer, that I think is actually modern with the tags cut out, but which is certainly vintage appropriate) and was able to get for the thoroughly reasonable price of $30 for all four items.

I'm sure you'll see each piece here over time (save for the shawl, they're more fall and winter than summer appropriate), especially because the Persian lamb's wool coat is going to become my go-to vintage winter coat (it fits like a glove, which is something that almost never seems to happen to me when it comes to vintage coats, especially winter weight ones).

Each time I've encountered someone here in the Okanagan that has any kind of interest in, or business relating to vintage, I've told them about my passion for vintage fashion, discussed my blog, given them my contact info, and let them know they're welcome to call me anytime if they happen to find 1940s and 50s clothing or accessories they think I might like.

So far Daisy has been the first and only person I've heard back from, but I'm not complaining at all - one beats none for sure, and I love that she kept me in mind and gave me a ring all those months later. She doesn't run her own shop (online or off), or else I'd point you towards her, too. I really enjoyed connecting with her again and hope she'll give me a shout again in the future, if she encounters any mid-century vintage pieces she thinks I might like.

The outfit snaps pictured here are from that wonderfully fun Saturday, and were taken later in the day on the stairs leading down to Three Mile Beach just outside of the neighbouring community of Naramata (you may recall Naramata from past outfit posts such as this and this).

Oh, my dears, if only I could share the heavenly temperature of that afternoon with you - air like something scooped out of the tropics, gentle golden light dancing across every last grain of sand, and the kind of breeze that truly makes you grateful to be alive. And breezy it was, let me tell you! As you can see from these photos, the wind was having a jolly old time blowing the skirt of my dress to and fro all over the place, though thankfully never over my head!

I was very glad I'd opted for a snood that morning once we were down by the water (which hadn't been planned earlier in the day), because it would have been mighty tricky to keep a hat on my head (unless it has an elastic strap or was pinned firmly in place) with the way the wind was waltzing all over the place.

This dress is a new acquisition this year, which I picked up from a fellow vintage loving (and wearing) lady Treen Been, who many may remember from her blog, which (so very) sadly she opted to shut down a few months back due to a cyber stalker that she was contending with. I also bought two other lovely, summery vintage frocks from her, which really gave my warm weather wardrobe a great early boon this year.

I love Three Mile Beach so very much. There are dozens of beaches that one can swim and spend time relaxing at here in the Okanagan, but this truly has to be one of my very favorites. It's small, secluded (yet easy to access), and so tremendously peaceful. On days when I really need to clear my head and channel a hefty dose of serenity during the warmer months, it has become my very favourite local outdoor destination to head to for that very purpose (I also adore going there on other kinds of days, too, say after a fabulous vintage score at a yard sale!).

From start to finish, this was a terrific day - it's great that Daisy contacted me and that I was able to purchase four timeless, beautiful items from her. I have a new (super warm and cozy) winter coat and some other fab outerwear to help me great fall's return in style and comfort, which is fantastic.

Though, thrilled as I am about my recent purchases, I do hope that autumn takes its sweet time in rolling around again - I want to enjoy about a hundred more days like this down at Three Mile Beach before then! :)