Vintage Fashionista Friday: November 22, 2013

{This 1950s topper created by Walkers Millinery and Dress Salon of Dallas is an enchantingly unique beauty teaming with forest ferns and various harvest hued flora, simply perfect for wearing to any Thanksgiving get-together. $35.00 from etsy seller Dalena Vintage.}




{Sport the season's palette on your lobes wherever you go with these glamorously lovely gold toned vintage clip-on earrings featuring mixed shaped and hued rhinestones. $20.00 from etsy seller Bloomers & Frocks.}




{Even if you still have oodles of gentle autumn sunlight where you live, chances are the temps are dropping rather quickly and a sturdy, beautiful winter coat will soon - if it isn't already - become a must. This luxuriously elegant cream 1950s/60s number would go superbly with a wide range of different ensembles (it just begs to be partnered with a great little vintage cocktail dress to me) straight on to springer's toasty return. Fits up to a 45" bust. $85.00 from etsy seller Little Netties Vintage.}




{Every wardrobe needs at least a few standout pieces of jewelry, and this stunning 1930s era art deco necklace featuring an amber glass filigree pendant is precisely one such item. Timeless, bewitching, and utterly gorgeous. $62.00 from etsy seller Maejean Vintage.}




{This sweet, sophisticated, wonderfully seasonally appropriate 1950s dress stole my heart. From the radiant cranberry hue to the floral applique on the bodice, it's precisely the kind of vintage garment I cannot get enough during the fall - or any time of the year! $58.00 from etsy seller Mustang Annee's Vintage.}




{Just because August is a distant memory already doesn't mean you have to hang up your beloved straw handbags. On the contrary, those in warm shades such as this absolutely lovely 1940s Italian Josef purse, that call to mind fields of autumn wheat, are especially well suited to the harvest season, playing particularly well with all manner of oranges, reds, browns, creams, and mossy greens, to name but a few. $52.00 from etsy seller High Point Farms 2010.}




{Inject a hearty dose of Thanksgiving inspired charm into your beauty routine with this timelessly pretty handmade guest soap set featuring ears of Indian corn, acorns and owls. $7.00 per set from etsy seller The Charming Frog.}




{Even the fallen leaves underfoot will be in awe of the beauty and ladylike chicness of these resplendent red leather 1940s peep-toe ankle strap heels. Fits approximately a modern ladies size 7.5. $120.00 from Blue Vintage Velvet.}

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We Canadians tucked into our roast turkey and mashed spuds last month on the 14th, but Thanksgiving is still to come for those in the US, and today my mind is once more on this beautiful celebration and the colour palette that accompanies it.

Specifically, I woke up and had visions of fall time Indian corn running through my head. The hues of these vibrant, often multi-coloured ears of corn - which are sometimes also called flint corn because of the fact that they have a rather hard outer layer on each kernel - are so incredibly evocative of the season.

{Image source}

They mirror the earthy jewel toned leaves that come tumbling to the ground all autumn long, while also reminding of us of several shades that appear throughout autumn's plentiful harvest. They're rich, deep, and absolutely beautiful, and these colours seem especially well suited to one's Thanksgiving Day, or simply late fall, attire.

Be it January or July, or any month of the year, I love dressing in the hues and spirit of the season. Not for each and every outfit, of course, but a good many, and at no other point of the year do I find that such rings as true as it does for me during the fall months, when there is a limitless amount of natural beauty around. Golden sunsets, garnet apples, plump pumpkins shining under a layer of morning frost, fawn coloured foliage, and, yes, even Indian corn itself aplenty to inspire and guide as in the hues we opt to don.

I'm grateful for fall, for its exceedingly lovely palette, for the bridge between the extremes of summer and winter, for having the opportunity to feast and reflect on all that I'm blessed to have in my life, and to feel a powerful connection with the earth's bounty - a point which, especially for those who don't grow their own food or work in an industry related to such, it can be all too easy to slip away from in today's incredibly industrialized world.

Whether you feel pulled towards burgundy, amber, flax, rust, cocoa brown, muted greens, rabbit fur worthy grey, or midnight black, take a cue from our stylish vintage lass, Maisy (whose name, a Scottish variation of Margaret, is in this case at least, also inspired by none other than maize itself), and put together a fun, easy going, cozy ensemble of your favourite autumn hues.

Much like the Indian corn that's in the shops and farmer's markets right now, fall will not stick around forever (almost unbelievably, winter is one day shy of a month away from today) and that's all the more reason to deck yourself out in its majestic palette while it's still here.

Vintage plaid and straw for a windswept day at Wharf Park

Outfit details

1940s/50s flower adorned straw hat: etsy seller Bettes Bargains
Brown plastic hair barrette: Goody
Gold toned twisted hoop earrings: Claire's
Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from Tony ♥
Coral cropped tie waist cardigan: Forever 21
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
Vintage plaid pencil skirt: etsy seller By The Way
Vintage woven handbag with bamboo handles: Yard sale find
White eyelet bow sling back flats: Payless
Lip colour: Clinique Raspberry Glace
Nail colour: Essie Muchi Muchi

Photography by Antonio Cangiano

{Love the cute photobombing duckies in the background here!}

♥ ♥ ♥

Before launching into today's post, I want to take a moment to extend my most heartfelt thanks to one and all who bestowed birthday wishes on me yesterday (and in the days leading up to the 10th). They brightened my day every bit as the candles on my yummy homemade GF cheesecake. I'm delighted to report that I had a stellar, low key, fun filled day - just as I generally prefer my birthday celebrations to be.

Originally I'd had a different outfit post planned for today, but the photos for it were just taken this past weekend, and between doctors appointments, my b-day, and a handful of other things earlier this week, I haven't even had a chance to upload said snaps yet, let alone put together a post featuring some of them - so they'll just have to wait until a little later in the month (I'm super excited to share them though, as they feature a brand new addition to my wardrobe that was my main birthday presents from my mom and step-dad this year).

The images in today's post were taken last month, on a day that was, to say the least a wee bit windy! I must admit, I couldn't help but wince a little when I saw these photos because, after the first couple we shot, unbeknownst to me, the mighty breeze had blown my cardigan a little to the side on my shoulder and in the process exposed one of my bra straps.

I could have removed this fact from all of these snaps with a little bit of Photoshop magic, but as I've said here before - and really am a firm believer in - sometimes it's important to document life just as it happened. That means the good, the bad, and the exposed flash of white brassiere strap – and so I left well enough alone. Life is far too short to sweat over tiny things like this when one is simply shooting for their own pleasure and blogging purposes.

Interestingly enough, the last time we did a shoot in this very same area (which you can see here), the wind was blowing every which way as well - coincidence? Perhaps, but I'll be sure to keep that point in mind if we plan to grab photos there again, as it was all I could do to keep my vintage straw hat from tumbling into the frothy waters below as we took pictured that day (talk about wishing you'd brought a sturdy hat pin!).

This cardigan is one of my very favourites - I adore the length (so often cardigans are miles too long on me, as I'm barely 5'2"), the warm, saturated coral hue, the sophisticated little faux pearl buttons, and the playful tie waist. It hasn't appeared on the blog for over a year (you may recall it from this June 2012 post), and as it complimented my fun vintage plaid pencil skirt and instantly evoked a summery feel, it seemed like the perfect thing to wear for a casual afternoon stroll on the Wharf Park pier in Naramata.

Though this cute skirt is making its online debut today (I'd wanted a summer weight vintage plaid pencil skirt for ages and was thrilled to find one for a song earlier this year on etsy), this is the second appearance for this charming vintage straw hat (previously spotted here). Part of me feels like this hat is from the 1950s, and another part feels like it's earlier - and the longer I own, and wear it, the more I'm compelled to think that it's from the 30s or 40s (due to the colour of the straw, the flowers used, the upturn of the brim). What are your thoughts? What decade jumps out at you the moment you see it?

One thing you may notice is that the last time I wore this hat, the flowers were in the front, and this time around they were in the back, with the veiling in the front (at the time, the wonderfully lovely Elizabeth of The Country Handmaiden asked to see a back view of it, and as I always try to remember such requests and post about them, it seemed like high time I showed her just that by wearing the back as the front here). Unlike many hats, this one works equally well no matter which side is facing front - thus essentially giving me two vintage chapeaus in one. I don't prefer one way over the other, it's a merely a matter of which works best for a given outfit.

My vintage woven handbag was picked up last summer at a yard sale for the princely sum of one dollar, and has, without a doubt become my most used purse so far throughout the summer of 2013. It looks small - and it certainly won't be subbing in for a suitcase anytime soon - but I'm able to get my wallet, cell phone, keys, compact, lipstick, a pen, handkerchief, and a couple of other small items in there without it bursting at the seams, unlike some of my other smaller pint sized vintage bags.

The glimmering sunshine, the clear, soul upliftingly lovely fresh blue skies, even the rambunctious wind were all perfect that fine June day. This is the kind of weather we Canadians quite literally dream about during the seemingly endless days of winter, and if I need to hold on tight to my hat or have a little bit of my bra strap show in some photos to enjoy such moments of perfect summertime weather, then so be it - if only prices that small could be paid on everything one enjoys in life.