Introducing a fun new post series: Links, Life, Love

 Soooooo, you guys remember back in early January when I decided to retire some of my long standing reoccurring blog post series? (As discussed in this post.) Though I've not yet regretted that decision for a moment and have greatly been enjoying exploring other writing channels in place of where they once occurred, the more time that goes on, the greater the sense of longing for some sort of regularly occurring link sharing post becomes.

I didn’t want to revive my "Vintage Link Love" series however, as I stand behind the reasons why it was handed a gold watch and sincerely thanked for its diligent years of loyal service. Instead I want to launch a new post right here, right now, that will combine elements of that past series with others topics that I often want to discuss with all of you, too, but don't always have the ability to set aside a whole post for right in the moment.

By the same token though, I don't want these posts to be a million miles long, nor will they necessarily be occurring here on a month-by-month basis. In fact, I want them to be as "on the fly” as possible.

They're going to combine a small smattering of (mostly vintage related) links from around the web that have caught my eye lately, include a (likely) brief look at some of what has been transpiring in my personal life lately, and also share some of things - online or off - that I've been loving and/or feeling deeply inspired by in recent weeks.

Generally speaking all of these are points that most of my readers really enjoy hearing about, so without further ado, may I present you to the first ever edition of Links, Life, Love.


Links:

I swear it was you, my dears, and your plethora of awesome posts in the first few weeks of 2016 that ultimately birthed this series. Try as I may, I couldn't stop bookmarking articles that spoke to me and that I, in turn, wanted to speak to each of you, my lovely readers, about. There's just too much awesomeness being created each day, week and month of the year online not to shine the spotlight on at least a wee fraction of it here.


-Detroit in the 1940s: Then as now, Detroit has not been without its highs and lows, struggles and beauties, as this striking photo filled piece from The Atlantic about the Motor City and its inhabitants during the mid-twentieth century heyday.


-The Ultimate List of Maternity Friendly Retro Clothing: Recently the immensely lovely Bethany from Miss Betty Doll gave birth to her second child, a gorgeous new daughter and little sister to her first sweet girl, and as she rocked vintage/repro/retro styles through her pregnancy, she decided to put together an excellent and very thorough list of some of the best sources for just such fashions when one is expecting. It's a must bookmark no matter if you ever plan to have wee ones of your own or not.


-Women of the Big Band era that everyone should know: My good friend - and fellow Canadian gal - Liz from Vintage Inn excels at penning informative, exciting, and just plain awesome history filled posts and one of her latest, which takes a gander at some of the female stars of the big band era, is no exception.


-Things Pale Girls are Sick of Hearing: Given that I've actually been called "a vampire" before in public by complete strangers, even when I wasn't wearing goth fashions or makeup, simply because of my light complexion, this great Forever Amber post hit home for me big time!


-How to alter clip-on earrings into post earrings: Let's face it, objectively, few people find clip-on earrings to be as comfortable as pierced styles, provided you have holes in your lobes, so if you've ever wished you could comfortably sport a pair of clip-ons without their pinchy pain, this wonderful DIY tutorial from Christina, that shows you how to convert clip-ons to post style earrings, is definitely for you!


-Vintage stocking guide: In need of a vintage stocking 101 class or just want to brush up on the details of sporting old school hosiery. Emeleigh to the rescue with this terrific entry on the subject.


-6 ways to temporarily trim a plain hat: Ever wanted to jazz up a ho-hum hat without permanently altering it? Enter these six stellar tips from endlessly talented milliner, my dear friend, and fellow vintage blogger Tanith Rowan to the rescue!


-And speaking of vintage hats (something that one should do often! :)), how fabulous is this detailed look at How to refresh vintage hats/veils from none other than the thoroughly lovely Emily from Emily's Vintage Visions. You'll never look at a bedraggled hat the same way again!


-And last, but definitely not least, a really sweet Facebook friend, and fellow old school adoring lady, of mine, Elizabeth, recently took the plunge and launched her own mid-century fashion blog called Gloriously Vintage. If you haven't caught wind of it already, I highly encourage you to go check Elizabeth's site out and shower her with love and comments as she begins her own exciting vintage blogging journey.

{Those hats though!!!}

Life:

First and foremost, thank you very, very much to all those who shared their thoughts with me in the comment section of last week's post about some of the substantial changes that Etsy has been making lately.

I won't lie, I was pretty shook up by the major overhaul of that site (chiefly in terms of how seller's shops now look) and am still battling some stress and anxiety from it, but being a glass half full kind of gal, I'm trying to just buck up and make the best of things, believing wholeheartedly that when the reno dust has finally settled (even if that takes a few months) things will largely get back to normal there and my shop and I will have weathered this suddenly storm intact.

Secondly, it's spring! I know, stop the presses! But seriously, it is and that has me beyond jazzed. Though I was going through a rather rough patch on the health front throughout all of March and very early April (I was only well enough to leave the house twice in six weeks and then only for a little while each time; this sort of thing is super common for me, so it didn’t phase me too much, but I was starting to get cabin fever a bit as the sunshine rolled back into town and I really hope that April will be kinder to me in so much as my health is concerned).

Things are well here in our wee abode. March 19th marked the three year anniversary of the day that we brought home our darling dog, Annie, and the following day marked the 12th anniversary of when my husband, Tony, and I first met back in 2004. How time massively flies!




Speaking of my Italian cutie pie, he's headed to Austin, Texas at the end of this month for a brief work trip. It's not possible for me to tag along with him (it just doesn’t make sense for us to spend several hundred dollars on a ticket for me when he’ll be there for such a short time), but I'll definitely be saying hello to the Lone Star state in spirit and can't wait to here his first impressions of this very famous corner of the U.S.A..

With spring's arrival, even in the face of not doing too well health wise in recent weeks, I've been in a very creative, energetic mindset lately and have been a seriously productive panda in many areas of my life and work. Trust me when I say that, thanks to such, there are so many fun new posts coming down the pipeline this spring and summer - and I can hardly wait to share all of them with you!



Love:

Before I go any further, I would be truly remiss if I didn't thoroughly thank my beautiful friend Vanessa, from the blog, Nessbow, for inspiring this portion of my latest blog post series care of her own terrific ongoing series called Things I Love Thursday (in which she details some of the various things that she's been wild about lately).

These posts of hers have long struck a chord with me and I always knew that it wasn't a matter of if, but when, I finally took her lead and implemented something similar here on my own site.

So far spring I've been seriously crushing on the following things:


-Purple - as in the colour: Suddenly, I can't get enough of it in any form. Clothes, flowers, desserts, craft supplies, home decor, you name it, violet is my new game!

-The fact that, for the first time ever, my Instagram account hit more than 5,000 followers. This has been a milestone number that I've been working diligently to reach for quite some time now and I can't thank every who follows me enough for making it happen.

-Baby/new potatoes: A timeless favourite, I've scarcely been going more than three or four days without serving these scrumptious little nuggets up garden grown goodness - often with fresh mint, dill, or chives, a ribbon of butter and a glorious springtime sunset cascading over our dinner table to help make things even more sublime.

-The smell of fresh cut grass wafting through the breeze again (it is, after all, one of my top ten favourite scents of all time).

-Fellow vintage blogger Sabrina’s super cool newly launched Etsy shop, Inky Notions, which abounds with her splendid hand drawn illustrations, many of which are thoroughly vintage focused (watch for a collab post between Sabrina and I a little later this year – it’s going to be a blast!).

-The latest season of House of Cards. Action packed, riveting, and so full of that characteristically conniving, brilliant, megalomaniacal Frank and Claire Underwood goodness that we all adore.

-My new oversized blank page notebook that I've been cramming full of hand written notes and simple sketches for blog, Etsy and crafting related ideas that have been flowing like a waterfall from my mind in recent weeks.

-The Daily Otter. No matter what life throws my way, this site never fails to perk my mood back up in 0.005 seconds flat.


{To learn more about a specific image used in today's post, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

♥ ♥ ♥

So there you have it, sweet darling, links are back, you get to find out more about what's taking place in my life outside of the vintage realm, and I cap off the whole kit and caboodle by sharing a wee array of things that I'm crazy in love with right here and now. Delightfully fun, oui?

Again, I'm not setting a schedule for these posts. They'll appear here every so often, once I've built up at least a few entries for each of the three sections they entail and, you know, the fact that I have a place to share these things with you all again is my final "love entry" for this inaugural edition.

Have a marvelous Monday and gorgeous week ahead, everyone!

Vintage this and that: May 8, 2013

Hard as it may be to believe, six months have already whizzed past since the introductory edition of vintage this and that. If you ask me, that means it's high we delve into another!





While archaeological digs routinely turn up artifacts that have been buried for hundreds or even thousands of years, given the relative recentness of the mid-twentieth century, it's often headline news when something interesting from the 20-50s is forgotten about and then unearthed (though, really, most of us vintage fans do this in our own lives all the time!).

One of the most famous in recent years was the Parisian time capsule apartment that was discovered some seventy years after it last saw occupants, and though, to my mind that is even more of an amazing find (than the one discussed below), another recent discovery of something long forgotten was a collection of 1950s film negatives that an amateur photographer shot, then tucked into his attic, and which were forgotten about after the man passed away in 1964.

Frank Oscar Larson, the aforementioned shutterbug, took a wonderful series of photos documenting various New York street and business scenes during the 1950s, which his grandson discovered one day while poking about his aunt's attic. The man subsequently had them developed and later brought them to Queens Museum of Art, where they were then put on exhibit.

{Image source}

NBC News recently ran a piece on this story, putting several of Mr. Larson's wonderful images up on their website, the one above (showing a group of superbly stylish teenage girls from 1953) being by far my favourite. All of them are terrific though, and definitely worth taking a minute to flip through if you're a fan of mid-century photography and/or New York City.



In the first vintage this and that post, I discussed how Tony and I had recently become devoted fans of the Boardwalk Empire, and in response one a lovely reader asked if I watched the TV show Murdoch Mysteries. Though I'd caught a couple before, I really couldn't call myself a frequent viewer and really didn't know too much about the program.

Interestingly, this commenter wasn't the first person to suggest that I might enjoy the show if I got into it (my mom, for example, has long been a fan and she'd asked me before as well if I was watching it). I'm the kind of gal who knows when to take a hint, so spurred on my this most recent comment, I began to watch (usually in the wee hours of the night) episodes of Murdoch Mysteries. Well, needless to say, I'm hooked and now absolutely adore this charming Canadian drama.

{Image source}

For those who aren't familiar with it, the premise centers around the crime solving adventures of Detective William Murdoch, and is set in 1890s Toronto, Ontario. The show first aired in 2008 and is currently in its sixth season. I've long been a fan of whodunits and crime stories, but think that a few intense years of watching series like CSI, Criminal Minds, and Law and Order had sort of given me my fill of such dramas for a good long while - or at least I did until Murdoch Mysteries came along.

Far from being a graphic, (overly) brutal, or especially hard hitting detective series, Murdoch Mysteries are more in the same vein as classic Sherlock Holmes tales, but with a charmingly Canadian spin. The acting is wonderful, the late Victorian era costumes delightful, and the stories diverse and so easy to get into, that I'm kicking myself for not starting to watch years ago. Oh well, no time like the present, and one of the perks of starting to watch a few years in is that I now have oodles of episodes shown in repeat to enjoy. So my thanks definitely go out to all those who suggested I start watching this great mystery show, I'm really happy you tipped me off about it!


Like many of us, I'm a huge fan of wearing stockings (chiefly classic seamed, Cuban heeled stockings - but most types of hosiery are fair game), and always like looking at vintage stocking ads and images (some of which I pin to my Pinterest board Put Your Best Vintage Foot Forward), as well as learning more about the history of this classic garment.

{Image via Tuppence Ha'penny Vintage}

One of the loveliest histories I've come across in a good long time on the subject was that written by Charlotte of the stellar vintage and sewing blog, Tuppence Ha'penny Vintage. If you didn't get a chance to read Charlotte's history of stockings last December, I highly recommend checking it out now, as it's chocked full of fun facts pertaining to, and great yesteryear images of, stockings (such as the wonderful 1940s Hanes ad pictured above for seamless stockings).


You may recall a post I wrote last September about a super fun online pin-up doll generator that I'd discovered that lets you great pin-up style dolls from various twentieth century decades. It's splendidly fun and well worth spending a few minutes (or hours!) playing around with.

{Image via Eclectic Ephemera}

A couple of weeks after my post, Bruce Partington-Plans, a dapper vintage loving gent behind the blog Eclectic Ephemera posted about how he'd unearthed a Dandy Maker that allows you to create well dressed, dignified male dolls.

I adore the fact that chaps everywhere now a way to create vintage sporting dolls of their own, too, and likewise highly recommend that you spend a spell creating some dolls of your own with (the example above was created by Mr. Partington-Plans and is so dashing there's no way I could write about this topic without sharing it with all of you here).



Forties fans everywhere, get ready to swoon! Here's a short video clip that's sure to make one and all go weak in this knees, especially if you've ever daydreamed about hopping in a time machine and going clothes shopping at a mid-century department store (and really, who amongst us hasn't done that?).

Care of the wonderful Youtube channel Glamour Daze, this one minute and eighteen second long clip is pure style inspiration heaven for all those who adore sporting forties hair and fashions.



And last but not least, because every day deserves a spot of vintage cuteness of the highest calibre, may I present this darling 1950s illustration by artist Margaret Webbe of three cheerful kitties sharing a branch with a group of chirping birdies. Awww!

{Image source}

♥ ♥ ♥

I hope you enjoyed this fun peak through some of the various vintage related stories and images that have caught my eye lately. Chances are, when the next edition in this (completely randomly occurring) series comes out, we'll be into summer or, who knows, maybe even fall again - as distantly far off as that prospect seems while there's still new blossoms appearing on the tree outside my living room window today!

Sometimes black and blue can be a very good thing

When it comes to fashion, that is.

Like many of us, my wardrobe has a decent sized chunk of black pieces in it, but I'm certainly not a colour shy person and can happily report that you'll find also veritable rainbow of hues on my hangers, too.

Perhaps it harkens back to the colours of my little brother's nursery when he was a wee newborn whippersnapper, or perhaps it's the association with a clear sky. Whatever the reason I've always been a big fan of shades that fall on the pale to bright baby blue side of the spectrum.

There's something so fresh, upbeat and timeless about a chipper, feminine shade of blue, so when I spied the 1950s skirt (in the images below) earlier this year (while in the midst of shopping to fill in some of my wardrobe gaps) on etsy, I just knew it was destined for my closet.

Though various boxes of clothing and accessories (so hence the lack of gloves and/or a hat and/or a handbag in these shots) still remain to be unpacked, I've pulled out enough items to have the basis of a good, workable vintage wardrobe while I plug away at getting to the others.

Last Thursday I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting my maternal grandma, Bernice Schill, while she was briefly in town. This was, mind boggling as this fact is (for me), the first time we'd had the pleasure of seeing each other since my wedding back in October 2004, and I wanted to wear something sweet, girly, and not too formal (she was just popping in for a casual afternoon visit), so I decided it was high time I broke out my new (to me) baby blue skirt.

I've always enjoyed pairing pale blue with black, so that's the colour combo I went for with this outfit. Incidentally, I think it's a great set of hues for this time of the year, as we straddle the changing of the seasons - winter with its sombre, dark shades and spring with its airy, gentle colours.

Outfit details:

Blue hair flower: Ardene

Tiny black ribbon hair bow barrette (worn in the back): Dollar store

Black rhinestone earrings: Payless Shoes

Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from my husband ♥

Black cotton and lace top (worn under cardigan): Suzy Shier

Black cotton dolman sleeve cropped cardigan: Freddies of Pinewood

Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore

Deadstock blue 1950s buckle waist skirt: etsy seller Garnet Vintage

Seamed stockings: eBay

Black pumps: Payless Shoes

Lipstick colour: MAC Russian Red

Photography by Antonio Cangiano

As avid readers may recall from the post about my four fun goals for 2012 back in early January, I vowed to try and share more "what I wore" pictures with all of you once we moved into our new home in British Columbia (while I have technically posted a few outfit images over the last three years, they've been rather few and far between).

Now that we're beginning to settle in and those aforementioned boxes of vintage clothes are getting unpacked, I can begin to make good on my promise - a point which I'm pretty much giddy with excitement about.

These photos were taken in front of our new house (the porch railing needs a paint job, I know; come slightly better weather, it's going to get one), so you can expect to see many others featuring this location as their backdrop over time.

Earlier this month I announced that the mister and I recently purchased our first car ever, and as some of you expressed interest in knowing what kind it was, I couldn't help but include a shot of our gorgeous new four wheeled baby here (it's a Jaguar that Tony found for a truly stellar deal down in the Lower Mainland...yes, I am still pinching myself in disbelief over the fact that we own a Jag!).

I'm constantly, perpetually inspired, impressed, and encouraged by the photos of the outfits that many of you ultra stylish vintage fashionistas post on your blogs, and wholeheartedly hope that from here on out I'll be able to do the same with my fashion shots for you gals, too.

Have a richly beautiful Monday and week ahead, sweet friends!

Vintage 365: Sourcing affordable seamed stockings part two

✯ Day 33 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

Hi sweet dears, last week's post about an online source I found for reasonably priced seamed stockings received a number of comments, including one by the lovely Brittnay Va-Voom, in which she shared a second source for vintage inspired hosiery.

As the site (Lady Jojo's Boutique) in my initial post is a UK based seller, and many of us (myself included) are located outside of merry ol' England (or another part of the UK), I wanted to share the excellent link to Stockingstore.com that Brittany posted in her comment with all of you.

This US based online retailer sells quite a decent array of seamed stockings in both classic hues (black, beige, ivory) and more adventurous colours like red and plum (which I think would actually be quite easy to pull off with everyday looks, especially if used in place of black stockings).

 

Though Stocking Store carries thigh-high stockings in a broad range of prices, many pairs come in at under $10.00 (which is usually where my budget caps off for one pair of tights or stockings, so anything under that is a pretty good deal in my books), such as Juanita Black Cuban Heel Stockings (see photo above), which feature a delightful black seam running elegantly up the back of a sheer nude pair. A wonderfully old school Cuban heel and blend of nylon and spandex further help boast the appeal of these classically styled stockings (which retail for $8.95 per pair for "regular size" and $9.95 for "queen size"). Couldn't you just picture these beauties with a bevy of the skirts and dresses in your closet? I certainly can! :)

While some styles of stockings have elasticized stay-up bands at the top that help hold them in place, other lack this feature (or, as I've found often over the years, they sport it but the staying power leaves much to be desired and the stockings end up slouching down your leg as the day wears on) and call for a wonderful garter belt (a point which another commenter, Sally Van Nuys, brought up). Fear not, Stockingstore.com has you covered there, too, with their nice assortment of pretty garters spanning a budget-friendly $12.95 for a simple white four strap garter belt all the way up to $109.95 for a twelve strap Victorian suspender belt (that I have to admit, I'm rather smitten with!).

Thank you very much, Brittany, for informing me - and all of Chronically Vintage's readers - about Stocking Store. It's always terrific to have an array of affordable options when it comes to sourcing vintage style stockings, and this great site certainly helps to make that possible.

(Vintage 365) Found: affordable vintage style seamed stockings

✯ Day 28 of Vintage 365 ✯

If, like me, you happen to live in a climate that gets mighty chilly in the winter, you may find yourself sporting more hosiery during this nippy season that at other times of the year. From knee highs to opaque tights to sheer nylons, for those who wish to don skirts and dresses no matter the weather, stockings of some capacity are often on the bill.

Perhaps because I don't have the biggest of winter wardrobes, I often wear clothing intended for other seasons (think summer dresses, autumn cardigans, spring skirts) that I make winter-appropriate by adding items such as sweaters, blouses and hosiery (as I'm sure many of my fellow vintageistas do, too). There's much to be said for creating a four season wardrobe, and the time-honoured stocking can go a long way to helping you achieve that.

I love the look and feel of wearing stockings and tights, especially when the mercy drops and my toes suddenly feel colder than an icicle. Like many vintage loving gals, seamed stockings are a perpetual favourite of mine. There is something so deeply, immortally timeless about the elegant, sweetly alluring beauty of a thin seem running up the back of one's legs that instantly invokes thoughts of yesteryear dames, pin-ups, and everyday women alike.

With winter still very much in progress around these parts, I'll definitely be keeping my legwear in heavy rotation for a few more weeks at least! (Truth be told, I'll wear stockings on even the hottest of days, but generally I don't mind forgoing hosiery when the humid summer months come barrelling into town.) As such I thought I'd go poking around the internet to see if I could find a fairly good price on seamed stockings, and came across a fabulous UK based seller (of vintage inspired clothing and accessories) called Lady Jojo's Boutique which sells classically styled black (see photo above) and nude seamed stockings for a reasonable £5.00 a pair.

According to the description on the site these affordable, vintage inspired beauties are "as hard-wearing as they are comfortable, and as practical as they are glamorous." Say no more, I'm sold! :) Boasting a Cuban heel, slightly raised seam, and made from 100% nylon, these great seamed stockings are just the thing to stock up (pun intended) on to see you, me, and all our fellow old school fashion lovers through the rest of this freezing winter - and well beyond!