Though the weather is far from appropriate (or maybe it’s just my outfit that isn’t?), I was suddenly struck with the desire to pull out my jeans last weekend. Now, this is highly unusual: not only am I decidedly more of a skirt-type, but I also rather hate my sole pair of jeans (2+ years old and in sad need of replacement. Yes, I’m planning on just making or buying a pair of 40s/50s style jeans this fall!) which also happen to be skinny jeans (quite possibly my least-favorite style. Don’t ask me why I bought them–I think I was desperate and these were the only ones that remotely fit my curvy backside at the time.). But, aside from that, I really wanted to go around Saturday with my jeans rolled and wearing the tropical shirt I thrifted earlier this summer. Some kind of pseudo-rockabilly/1950s look, I guess (also unusual for me–hmm… do we sense a pattern?), I think it can be attributed to watching this adorable video that Rachel posted. Anyway, it turned out to be an incredibly comfortable outfit–and I ended up wearing it *ahem* three days in a row (though I switched the shirt out). Oddly enough, it also prompted a large number of people to ask whether I was a model? Which was a bit mystifying, seeing as I do not have model proportions (don’t let the photos fool ya!), but I can only attribute their reactions to the coolness of the faux bang and headscarf–obviously it blinds people with it’s awesomeness. haha!

[ being silly! more pictures here, if you'd like to look. ]

Hope you all are having a lovely Tuesday! I’m planning on uploading the circle skirt instructions I mentioned a couple weeks ago tomorrow, so stay tuned…

[ end-of-summer dress swap! ]

So here is the little bit of excitement I hinted at! Last month my friend and fellow blogger Quincy contacted me with a fantastic proposal she had cooked up: a dress swap! I had never done one, so I jumped at the chance! We agreed to loan each other a dress from our closet and have fun shaking up our sleepy summer wardrobes (is it just me or do you get bored with the same old things by the end of a season?) and have some fun styling the pieces. Ironically without consulting each other much prior to sending the dresses, we ended up swapping garments that were from about the same era. Obviously, we had a bit of a telepathic dress connection going. lol.

[ outside a pizza parlor. oh! how I adore pizza! too bad it wasn't open... ]

[ catching a bit of shade. ]

The dress she chose is a beautiful plaid piece–since she knows my love of plaids! I’m utterly in love with the colors (and am currently searching high and low for a plaid in a similar color way–I must make a similar dress!), the neckline shape (one of those late 50s styles that I never was sure about, but quite like how it looks now that I’ve worn it), and the trio of rhinestone buttons on the front. When I first pulled the dress out of the package, the blues and greens reminded me of shoes I already had in my closet–and to my delight went perfectly with the early 60s vintage floral pumps I had thrifted years ago (and wore to my wedding nearly two years ago!). Hooray for happy coincidences! Sailor Husband and I trekked to one of the older neighborhoods in the city this past weekend to get some good snapshots of the dress against a backdrop that wasn’t the same ol’ park bench and grassy area that I usually use for my outfit photos. (Also to check out a farmer’s market, hence the large straw tote!)

[ detail shots. ]

She also sweetly sent me a couple other goodies including the beautiful straw clutch in yesterday’s post (on loan!), a costume drama on dvd (I love watching long historic dramas!) and a book full of pictures of Claudette Colbert. This was definitely a ton of fun, and I’m so glad we did it. Thank you so much Quincy for loaning me this lovely dress–I have had so much fun wearing it!!!

[ loads more pictures here! ]

P.S. Thank you all so much for your comments about my circle skirt yesterday! I’m going to look into see if the copyright has expired on the booklet before I publish scans of the instructions. If it has, then expect something soon!

[ my Monday, post-housecleaning outfit! ]

Sunday morning I woke up and decided I had to sew a circle skirt. It’d been on my to-sew list for some time, as one of those easy but fun little projects to do. I have several needlecraft booklets from the 50s that have instructions on how to make circle skirts, so all I had to do was pick one and some fabric, and get to it! I think circle skirts are probably one of the easiest styles one can make–besides perhaps the basic gathered skirt. It took me no time at all to whip this up (which is exactly what I was looking for in a spur-of-the-moment weekend project!), until I decided that I wanted to hand hem the entire thing. Bad idea–that took forever! lol.

[ added a couple useful pockets. ]

The fabric I used is a lovely denim-weight cotton print I picked up at Ikea last year (yes, it’s a home decor fabric. No, I don’t mind using home fabrics in apparel applications as long as the weight is appropriate!). I had originally bought it to make a pencil skirt with, but it works a lot better with this style. I also added two patch pockets (because what skirt is really useful without them?!), trimmed with some mini bobble-trim that I had in my stash. I really adore this trim; I had originally bought it to use on a blouse, which I think I may still use the last bit for! The only problem with the final skirt is that I need a petticoat with a bit more body! I got rid of my fullest net petticoat before I moved down here, and layering two of my less-than-full ones underneath just isn’t cutting it. lol.

[ booklet and pretty straw clutch I'm borrowing! ]

I think perhaps this project helped break me out of my sewing funk that I’ve been in. It’s really frustrating to have projects piling up, the siren call of sewing for an upcoming season, and not feel like sewing. As much as I wanted to sew, I think I mentally needed a break from it! Now I just need to get myself in gear and finish up that swimsuit!

[ definitely need a fuller petticoat! ]

Oh, and see that gorgeous little straw envelope clutch in the photos? It’s not actually mine, but something I’ve been loaned to use for a bit! I’m utterly in love with it right now and am stalking Ebay and Etsy for a suitable version to acquire for my own closet. But, that’s part of an exciting little project that a fellow blogger and I have been doing, which I’ll post about tomorrow!!!

Hope you’re having a lovely Tuesday!

[ stayin' cool in the Florida heat. ]

You’re all probably tired of hearing this (and if you’re in the right spot in the world, experiencing it!), but it’s been so hot lately–almost so much so that I haven’t really been bothering to wear anything exciting. Pretty much the same half dozen pieces (relying heavily on lightweight skirts) over and over… It’s so easy to get into a rut when the weather is uncooperative! Last week, however, I dug this dress out of the back of my closet, and it’s light color and fiber (linen) have been just the little pick-me-up I needed! Funnily enough, I don’t think I’ve ever shown a picture of me wearing this–even though I made it four years ago! It was made with a modern pattern (which I believe it still in print–New Look #6557), but had a bit of a retro flair to it.

[ my favorite handbag! ]

For a short time I actually thought about getting rid of this dress (honestly, there are about a million things I would do differently fitting and construction-wise now!), but held on to it because of the antique lace on the hem. I kept meaning to take it off to save, but never did. It’s a good thing too I guess! Throwing on a belt helps with some of the fit issues at this point, and pairing it with some of my favorite jewelry and handbag (a red carpetbag my mother in law gave me for Christmas! You can drool over these lovely pieces of work here!) perks it up a bit more. I don’t want to admit to how many times I’ve worn this in the past week, but it may be somewhere between two and four…

[ yes, this hairstyle has been making multiple appearances in variations this week! ]

It looks like another action-packed weekend ahead of Sailor Husband and I! Whew–I thought weekend were for a bit of r&r, but lately I’ve been wrong. lol. Although just about everything we have planned (with a couple exceptions) is fun, so a girl can’t complain. Hope you all have lovely weekends too!

[ no, this one-legged pose isn't just to be cute. the sand was that hot! ]

While I’ve been holed up in my sewing nook, furiously working on this book project*, I can’t help but dream about visiting the beach on a sunny day! Despite my utter lack of enthusiasm about baking out in the sun all day (all right, I admit it: I’m a wimp! I think it’s a good idea to go to the beach, until I’ve been in the sun for a few hours…), it’s really appealing to me right now after days of rain and now forcing myself to stay inside. These are a bit old–from a beach picnic we had a few weeks ago–but I thought I’d show you my super simple “it’s too hot for me to think about wearing anything more complicated” outfit! It’s vaguely 50s inspired, but I think that’s mostly the checked shirt and hat. lol.

[ I think these earrings, like my ASOS wedges, have been on pretty constant rotation since I got them! ]

For some reason saying “on the beach” always makes me think of this movie, which in turn makes me depressed whenever I watch it (as do most post-apocalyptic films). Quite the opposite of how these pictures are making me feel right now!

*Thank you so much for all your sweet congratulations on this book contribution I’m doing! It’s really been an honor to be chosen for this project, although somewhat overwhelming! I don’t know how people who write entire how-to books manage to do it without going batty! Alas, I won’t be able to show you the finished dress, until the book comes out, but rest assured I will as soon as I am able.