[ left: I love the belt she is wearing with this dress; it almost looks like it's a cut-out style. So fun! right: from head to toe, I could steal the entire outfit! especially the big, fluffy hat. ]

At several of the antique shops Mom and I stopped at, I took the opportunity to rummage through the boxes of old photos. I adore collecting old snapshots, and strangely, I have a hard time finding them in antique stores in Florida! So this was my opportunity to stock up (for right now), and flesh out my little collection a bit. One thing I was hunting for were some old photos of sailors from the 30s and 40s, but I couldn’t really find any… Instead I found a lot of photos of women dressed in snappy outfits from the period, which isn’t half bad! I only wished I had snatched up a couple more, as there were a lot in this vein, but it was early in our day of antiquing, and I didn’t want to spend too much too early!

[ left:this picture makes me wonder what the ladies were doing: was it a club? class? just a girlfriend get-together? I love that they are all wearing suits. right: my soft spot for floral skirts drew me to this photo--isn't her outfit lovely? ]

[ left:both these ladies' outfits are quite striking! I especially love their big envelop style clutches. right: doesn't she look so fantastic?! ]

[ left: these sorts of images showing women in work-wear always intrigue me! right: I love her sweet, two-piece ensemble, and those spectator shoes! ]

[ people at the beach is a mini collection I have going... I think I now have a handful of similar photos in my stash! ]

I also wanted to show you a shot of the 40s swing dress I made a few months ago from the Sense and Sensibility pattern! It ended up being one of my favorite pieces to wear on our trip; I think I wore it about 4 times. lol. This was taken the day we took my younger sister and sister-in-law to Washington, DC for some sightseeing. I actually was wearing a warm jacket, but took it off for the outfit photo, hence the slightly peeved expression (it was cold!). lol!

[ click for a larger view. ]

[ current fashion inspiration: the classic 40s "sweater girl" look. sporty, but still girly and a bit sassy with the high heels! ]

We had a chilly spell over the weekend, which meant (to my delight!) I could break out my wool cardigans and heavier skirts (I also ended up donning my new coat too. Yes, I was that cold!). This is actually one of the outfits I wore a lot up in Virginia (but kept forgetting to take pictures of!): my recently refashioned cardigan (tutorial coming later this week!) and gray wool skirt from a vintage pattern. I just love the classic combination of red and gray–it makes me smile!

What has been your favorite outfit lately? Something warm and cozy? Or perhaps you live in a part of the globe that is experiencing summertime? Do tell me was has been tantalizing you fashion-wise!

[ click for a larger view. ]

I haven’t done an outfit post in a few weeks, have I? It’s not that I haven’t been dressing up–every time I think about taking a photo I’m on my way out the door! lol. I need to get better about that. But I managed to remember to snap a photo of this “new” dress on Tuesday. I haven’t been able to thrift a whole lot of amazing things since we moved here–in all honesty the thrifting in my town is slightly pathetic. (It depresses me greatly. My wardrobe is not too happy either!) This dress, however, recently jumped out of the racks on a recent trip to Goodwill. The 40s styling, faux sarong draping and tropical print–it just screams Florida to me! Plus, since most vintage sarong dresses from this era are really pricey, this “80s does 40s” dress is the perfect alternative!I think, however, it might look even more spectacular with a narrow belt… What do you think?

[ all dressed up and only housework to do! ]

Monday dawned bright and early, and I was faced with the enormity of the housework I had to do. Sewing like a mad woman the previous two weeks meant that the normal flow of chores didn’t get done to the extent I’d like, and things had gotten a little chaotic. I’m not the type that demands perfect neatness all the time (goodness knows I generate enough mess myself from all my projects!), but the feeling like it was all growing and multiplying was starting to get a bit creepy…

[ my "wild" shoes. I've had these since January and only pull them out occasionally! ]

But to make the task a bit more fun and exciting, I decided to dress up a bit! I’ve been wearing my favorite Trashy Diva dress a lot lately (it’s still hot here), and it never ceases to make my smile and feel super elegant! I also put on a sweet little pink, gingham apron my lovely friend Sophia sent me recently–it was just the thing to keep my dress spot free! I don’t always dress up to this extent when I do a serious house clean, but some days it just makes the task more pleasant.

[ click for a larger view. ]

This is a bit surprising as I don’t consider myself a hat gal (not like a certain fantastic lady!), but lately they have been occupying quite a bit of my imagination and sketchbook. Not just the errant hat doodle I shoved in the corner of a page, but entire pages of ideas and jotted down notes. That, my friends, is when you know it’s moved from a “one day project” to a “very soon project”. It means I’m slowly girding up my courage to venture into a heretofore unexplored area!

Which, isn’t quite the truth of the matter. I took a millinery class years ago–I think it was after I finished high school. The class was held at a local fabric store, and focused on learning how to block felt forms. I found it fascinating and fell in love with it straightaway. My teacher’s enthusiasm was catching too, and I spent much of the day dreaming about how I’d like to make hats! Except for the one little catch: blocking tools (forms, steamers, etc.) are notoriously expensive. So obviously that didn’t happen. lol! But I’ve kept a keen interest in the art of millinery, even though I haven’t been actively involved in it (nor it seems an avid hat-wearer).

[ click for a larger view. ]

I spotted an adorable little hat on Ebay a few weeks ago. I think it was from the 50s, although there was no date on it. But it was a pretty basic style: a shallow pillbox with felt flowers are the front and sides of the hat. I decided to make it in black like the original (mostly because that was the only color of felt I had enough of!), but embellished the flowers with black sequins and gunmetal gray beads when I attached them. I think it makes it look a bit glamorous! For basic construction ideas of how to put this together, I referenced this Threadbanger video. If anyone is interested, I’d be happy to post the little pattern pieces for the flowers…

[ click for outfit details. also a side view of my hairdo if you're interested! ]

I’m quite happy with how this looks, although I feel a bit funny wearing a felt hat when it’s still in the dead of summer here. So I think it’ll get more outfit-time once the temperatures drop a bit. In this collage I’m also wearing a skirt I made from a vintage pattern last week. I had to do a bit of wrangling with this one, as the lovely “waistband” that drew me to the pattern in the first place, wasn’t a proper waistband at all! Instead it was a separate belt, so I adjusted it so it was a waistband. (Less pieces to loose. lol!) I made it out of a cotton jacquard weave, which I at first thought was a floral design when I purchased it but was a rather geometric pattern instead. But no matter–it still looks suitable for the pattern!

Whew–enough rambling! lol. I hope you all are having a lovely Wednesday!