You can't put a price tag on nostalgia

 It will likely not come as a shock to anyone who has known me for at least five or so seconds, that I am a nostalgist. I can (and on plenty of occasions, have) wax poetically about the past - be it experiences from my own life or memories of a world long before I ever entered it - and as a lover of history and yesteryear fashion, it's safe to say that I live, so to speak, in days gone by a fair bit of the time.

This doesn’t mean that I see the past as some kind of glorious safe haven of an escape from the modern world or that I eschew the present, not in the slightest, but rather that my heart has a tendency to get very sentimental and attached to things I remember (or wish I'd been there to live firsthand and then later recall) and hold dear or meaningful.

I believe that many of us in the vintage community are the same way, and it's no doubt a substantial part of why we adore embodying so many yesteryear elements in our daily lives right here and now in 2013. Nostalgia is a powerful force and one that has been with humankind since the dawn of time, whether helping us to recount tales of earlier times around the fire's glow at night when were just beginning our journey towards civilization or accounting for the reason why so many people find themselves enthralled with the study of their own family's genealogy.

The word nostalgia sometimes tends to carry a bittersweet connotation, and indeed one can feel a powerful longing in our heart for moments and faces once near and dear to us that now exist only, at least in that precise form, in the halls of our memory.

When I think of the word nostalgia, I'm often reminded of the beautiful lyrics from John Lennon's classic song In My Life, which say…

There are places I'll remember all my life,

though some have changed

Some forever, not for better

Some have gone and some remain

All these places had their moments

With lovers and friends, I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living In my life,

I've loved them all

For me, no other lines I've ever read so succinctly summed up or expressed my relationship with nostalgia. Yes, it can be bittersweet at times, but ultimately it's a far more positive feeling than a negative one for me, and I'm truly grateful that my past experiences continue to play such a roll in my everyday life right here and now and in the present.

Like many, I have a special fondness for my youth - a point which some may find a touch fascinating because my childhood was often a million miles away from being an idyllic bed of roses, and there's a great many things I wish I could forget about those formative years, too. That said, glass half full kind of gal that I am, I tend to like to focus on the elements of my upbringing that I enjoyed and adored, and it is these that I most often feel a longing in my soul for.

Thusly, every now and then I come across a garment that really reminds me of an item of clothing I had as a little girl. From my earliest memories onward, I've loved fashion with an unending passion, and even as a youngster, there were certain pieces of clothing that I held in the highest regard, favouring and treasuring them most amongst all those in my dresser drawers.

Once such piece was a solid Cerulean blue summer dress with a swingy a-line skirt and a row of purply-blue buttons up the front that I had around the time when I was six years old. I went hunting through my childhood photos for an image of me in this particular frock, but none were forthcoming unfortunately (hopefully one will surface some day).

I adored this dress and wore it often, including one time when my little brother and I turned part of our backyard into a giant mud puddle, splashing around and digging for worms in it for hours one overcast afternoon. I can recall vividly in my mind how spackled and stained that dress looked when we emerged, but my mom - laundress extraordinair - was unphased and delighted in how much fun her kids had been having. Clothes, she asserted, could always be cleaned, and indeed she was able to bring my cheerful blue dress back to it's former glory with a good sudsying.

As with all of my favourite childhood garments, I'm sure I wore that dress until it was simply impossible to fit into any more. Some of my clothes we saved for my little sister, and some were either binned if they were threadbare or passed on for others to enjoy, and no doubt one of these things happened to that particular summertime frock.

I've recalled my vibrant tropical ocean hued dress often over the years, and thought on numerous occasions how absolutely lovely it would be to find a vintage or vintage appropriate frock in the same colour and a similar cut. Much to my absolute delight last month, while perusing some vintage listings on eBay, I did just that when I spied the following frock.

{Image via eBay seller Bohochick's auction listing.}

Though it was a bit big for me (size wise) and a bidding war drove the price up far more than I'd usually have paid for a similar 1980s does 1950s style dress in another hue, the fact that this garment was the exact same shade of Cerulean blue and in a strikingly similar cut (complete with almost identical buttons) as the dress from my youth, meant that I was going give winning it my fighting best.

I have an annual tradition of buying a new dress as a birthday present to myself. Even though my actual birthday falls in July, it's not uncommon for me to pick up my lovely gift earlier on in the spring if I find one that sets my heart on fire. I usually set a generous cap of $100 to spend on this treat to myself, though I never feel obliged to actually max out that budget.

Seeing that the auction price was quickly skyrocketing on this dress, I justified it's (potential) ding on my pocketbook by telling myself that if I won, it would be my birthday present to myself this year. As you may have already guessed, I'm pleased as punch to say that I did indeed come out as the lucky winner of this sweetly pretty dress, and I didn't even have to use up my whole budget (the winning price, before shipping, was $68.99 US) to do so!

There are many memories that are priceless to each of us, and which - as the title of this post says - you really cannot put a price tag on, but I rather love when you find something that reminds of your past which you can afford, and my new frock falls squarely into that camp. I have no qualms with saying I would have spent the whole hundred - and perhaps in a little bit more - on this dress, because I knew it would be a good long time in all likelihood before another one like it came along and the flood of memories it brought rushing back the moment I saw it made it more than worth every last penny.

This dress is so classic and endlessly summertime perfect. Its swingy, generously sized circle skirt helps turn a single item into a whole outfit, especially if you tuck a crinoline underneath.

It's safe to say that I love my new blue summer dress every bit as much as the one I wore day in and day out as a child, and that I'm eagerly looking forward to making scores of new memories in this frock as well - many of which, I'm sure, I'll look back on in the years to come with that familiar, important feeling: nostalgia.

Vintage Fashionista Friday: May 3, 2013

Once long, long ago...ok, not that long ago, but still more than two years ago, there used to be a series of posts here called Vintage Fashionista Friday. The premise behind this series was quite straightforward and fun: from time-to-time on Fridays I'd put together the components of a vintage outfit with photographs of garments, accessories, and sometimes even beauty products, all of which had been sourced online. As the series progressed, I also started assigning a female name to each look to really help make it a unique ensemble unto itself.

Over time, and due in no small part to 2011's Vintage 365 project, this series unintentionally fell out of circulation (I think the last one may have been in February 2011). Well you know what? I feel it's high time we brought it back! I know that you gals adore posts about vintage fashion and style, and I love writing them, so I see no reason why we shouldn't reinstate Vintage Fashionista Fridays.

Then, as now, these posts aren't going to appear every week, but I plan on making them an ongoing part of this blog again, and I really hope that you'll enjoy them whenever they do pop up (always, as their name suggests, on Fridays).

On that note, and without further ado, may I present the latest installment in the Vintage Fashionista Friday series.

{Mid-century hats truly don't come any more elegant or sweetly beautiful than this stunning 1950s rose adorned wide-brimmed topper. $50.00 from etsy seller Pear Tree Vintage.}




{Call to mind spring's abundance of new foliage and flora with this charming pair of 1950s screw-back dangle earrings. $14.00 from etsy seller Poppy Frock Vintage.}




{Channel a note of French classicism in a gorgeous white and green vintage toile print dress that would work just as well for a May bridal shower as it would a summer garden party. Fits up to a 40" bust/32" waist. $89.00 from etsy seller Lady Hogg.}



{Winter's hefty coats may be a thing of the past once more, but mid-spring evenings can still be a touch nippy sometimes. Fend off the chill with this timeless white 1950s/60s orlon cardigan. Fits up to a 40" bust/no waist size stated. $36.00 from etsy seller GirlGal6.}



{Springtime calls for crisp, bracing, clean scents and few meet the criteria better than this immensely lovely Green Tea Eau de Toilette. $52.00 for 3.4 fl. oz from L'OCCITANE.}




{A must-have item in any fashionable vintage loving lady's attire, a perpetually pretty pair of white gloves to wear with all manner of warm weather outfits. Aprox. size 7 gloves. $8.00 from etsy seller Sunnydale Vintage.}




{Whether at the beach, on a picnic, window shopping on holiday, or just popping down to the market, this wonderfully pretty woven 1950s Italian straw purse will be sure to hold plenty of practical items while looking thoroughly chic and stylish in the process. $130.00 from etsy seller Some Like It Vintage.}




{The return of warm days and balmy nights means you can wear peep-toed shoes again without the slightest risk of frostbitten tootsies. These charming 1940s heels are sturdy, beautiful, and more than a little covetable. Aprox. US size 5.5 (they measure 9" in length). $195.00 from etsy seller Honey Talk Vintage.}

♥ ♥ ♥

Earlier this year the wonderfully lovely Stephanie from the blog My Dearest Eva wrote a post about her passion for the classic French pattern toile de jouy, highlighting several beautiful vintage and repro toile dresses in the process. This elegant, ever-so-slightly whimsical pattern has always been a beloved favourite of mine, too, and I haven't been able to shake thoughts of it from my mind ever since Stephanie's post.

There's just something about toile – sophisticated, eye-catching, timeless creature that it is - which has endeared it to my heart since I was a little girl (for example, I have a little toile teddy bear I bought in my early teen years which now resides in my craft room). I've always thought toile was especially well suited to spring - particularly the vibrant, sun smooched second half of the season - so hence the inclusion of it in today's fetching vintage ensemble.

Stephanie's post reminded me that I need to try and inject more toile into my own vintage wardrobe. It's not the easiest pattern to come by when dealing with 40s and 50s garments, but certainly some such pieces do exist and I'd love to introduce at least a couple of them to my wardrobe sooner or later.

I'm thrilled to have revived the Vintage Fashionista Friday series and look forward to sharing further entries with all of you as this year (and beyond) rolls on. 

Happy Friday wishes, my dears, may each of your weekends be as lovely as the items featured in today's post!

A springtime perfect 1950s dinner recipe

There are few flavours more evocative and filled with the culinary spirit of spring then fresh peas just picked from the garden. Plucked while still so tender and fresh you could easily, joyfully eat them raw, peas are like little green globes that symbolize the fact that winter really and truly is behind us once more.

Whether you grow your own, pick them from the grocer's shelves, or opt - during the off-season in particular – to use the canned variety (as seen in today's charming 1950s recipe, where of course you can use the fresh variety anytime you like), peas are must on just about any well-rounded springtime menu.

On this fine morning on the first day of May, whether you're waking up to steaming rays of buttery sunshine or watching raindrops bounce of the window by the thousands, I think we can all agree that the end of the work week calls for a meal that's chocked full of flavour, but far from demanding on our time or energy.

Enter today's charmingly named Garden Patty-Go-Around dish of beef patties, green peas, and classic white rice. Meat, veggies, and grains, they're all there on one plate and are sure to prove a hit with all who gather around your springtime supper table.


{A handful of ingredients and less than a hour are all it takes to prepare this hearty, delicious dinner of green peas, beef patties, and rice. Vintage recipe via Salty Cotton on Flickr. Click here for a larger version.}


If you don't eat or would prefer not to use beef (and/or bacon) here, you can certainly swap in any other ground meat or vegetarian/vegan meat substitute that you desire (flaked tuna fish patties would be fun here as well). I've made this exact dish several times before myself and have used ground chicken or turkey on each occasion. I also added a pinch of freshly ground black pepper, which, interestingly, is missing from the original recipe.

Should peas not happen to be are not your favourite veggie (or if you know your kids are likely to protest about them), you can always swap in another beloved springtime green vegetable such as chopped string beans, asparagus, or wilted watercress instead. By the same token, feel free to trade the white rice for brown, wild, or any other variety, or forgo it entirely and use pasta, mashed potatoes, quinoa, or another starch (if desired) in its place.

I really like this dish because it's a whiz to toss together, can be multiplied to your heart's content, is relatively budget-friendly (the meat will likely be the most expensive ingredient), and can be made with ingredients that are generally on hand most of the time.

Those are the kind of hallmarks one looks for a busy weekday evening meal, and which have helped earn this quick, fun, and very tasty dish a permanent place in my seasonal dinnertime repertoire.

Happy cooking and May Day celebrating, my wonderful friends!