Guest Post: The Marriage of Style and Season

Hello, everyone! My name is Sarah and I blog at Rhinestones and Telephones. I'm delighted to be a guest blogger at Tors' online home whilst she is off in the wilds of Wales.

Tors is a terrifically crafty and clever lady and I always look forward to her posts. Recently, she talked about her difficulties in meshing her style with the practical aspects of a Welsh winter. In her own words:

"...try dressing stylishly whilst wearing SWAT boots and the warmest coat you have (and thermals, and woolly hat, and crazy hair). I defy anyone to wear make-up whilst standing at the back of the Brecon Beacons in pouring rain and driving wind in a jacket made for a twelve year old (read: slightly too short in the arms and with a hood that doesn't quite cover your large adult head)."

Source: sewweekly.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Stylish Debi from My Happy Sewing Place and The Sew Weekly looking chic and cozy in her handmade cape!

As a Canadian, and a dedicated wearer of skirts and dresses in all weather, I am completely empathetic to Tors' dilemma and detest the SWAT Team look. In my wardrobe, the advent of winter does not mean I put away my personal look and dress like a completely different person for the next 8 months. What Tors and many of us are looking for, is a wardrobe full of versatile and practical garments that meet the needs of the season, yet don't sacrifice style or make our bank accounts scream in agony.

Source: thefashionist.se via Tors on Pinterest

Taking a peek at Tors' Pinterest shows a woman of excellent style and taste with a penchant for vintage and vintage-inspired clothing. In her Trousers & Shorts pinboard, you can see she loves high-waisted, classically styled trousers. With her slender figure, I think she would look absolutely fantastic in classic 1940's style side button trousers: warm and stylish!

(source)

Gorgeous, no? I have a pair of Heyday trousers and they are great. They take a lot of abuse (Play Doh, anyone?) and come out of the wash like new! I'm sure crafty Tors could easily whip herself up a pair from EvaDress 3322. I'm planning on making a pair in dark denim and another in charcoal corduroy.

Source: polyvore.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Given that Chez Tors is on the side of a mountain facing a valley, freezing winds and the like are the norm. I sympathize. I live near the lake where the wonderful phenomenon of 'lake effect snow' and 'cold vs. warm fronts' are played out in Olympic proportions all season long. My solution? A long, fully lined winter coat that either zips or button from collar to calves. Paired with waterproof, lined, knee-length winter boots I am very toasty warm in my skirts and dresses. I found my full-length red wool coat for $10 last year in my local thrift store. Score!

Source: shopruche.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Expert layering is also essential. By this, I mean layers that are warm but can easily be removed once indoors. There's nothing worse than being all kitted up for the cold outdoors only to swelter in your central-heating-set-to-equator-hot office. Layering - it's a lifesaver.

Source: etsy.com via Tors on Pinteres

Wouldn't Tors look terrific in this dress? Layered with warm tights, boots, and a fuzzy cardigan (a vintage beaded one, methinks), she would be toasty battling the elements on her way to work, yet still comfortable in her tropically heated office. I can also see her looking fabulous in Colette Patterns' Peony.

When one lives in a cold climate, the fabric of choice for warm winter garments tends to be wool....unless you're allergic, like Tors and I. *humph* While many would suggest lining the garments as a solution, but sometimes those itchies still seem to find a way to sneak though and drive me nuts! Solution? Warm, comfortable, durable, and easy care fabrics like corduroy, twill, and heavy jersey (cotton, bamboo, etc). I also try to use warm fabrics in unusual ways such as a Jasmine blouse sewn from flannel. Cozy and chic!

Source: sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Refashionista Queen Zoe of So, Zo and her refashioned sweatshirt. Beautiful!

So there you have it! My solution for marrying your style with the season: a combination of warm and cozy handmade and purchased pieces, peppered by the occasional purchase of an investment piece. Bring on winter!

* * * * *

These ladies have chilly chic down to a fine art:
Diary of a Vintage Girl
Tea and Crumpets
The Freelancer's Fashion Blog
Twila Jean
Vixen Vintage

Winter Style

I've found it harder than expected to retain an individual style since starting back at the BBC. Working in the 'real world' I was expected to wear the office uniform; suits, nice shoes, shirts and a tidy appearance. Television doesn't work like that. I've mentioned before; you can (and I have) turn up for work in your pyjamas. Hell, I've worn a beautiful emerald green cocktail dress from Shabby Apple and no one batted an eyelid.

Interestingly, people have noticed I have a soft spot for the fashions of the past. Usually based, strangely enough, on my choice of shoes. Mmmmm, shoes. I think I've made it clear how much I love shoes, but just in case here's a reminder. And another one. But my shoe choices are a whole other post.

I want to talk about winter wear because I'm trying to get it straight in my head just what it is that I'm after. As ever, Pinterest is one of my major sources of inspiration. Below are some of the pictures I've posted  on my outerwear and style boards that are relevant to this topic. I don't think it's too much of a long shot to assume that I'd like things similar in style, fabric and/or colour for my own wardrobe.

{ Source: The Fashionist }

{ Source: Tumblr }

Obviously, I have a thing for fur collars. They add a touch of old time glamour. And are warm. Of course, it helps that both women are made-up, wearing red lipstick and have great hair. It's important to remember that I don't (you'd be surprised how often I forget that).

{ Source: Fancy Fine }

{ Source: Weardrobe }

I also appear to have a thing for blue (big surprise there). Or more specifically, blue and red.

And then there's the things to wear under the furry blue coat with red bits.

{ Source: Bright Young Twins }
(Look, the wolf's even photo-bombing other bloggers now!)

Harriet's outfit is divine. I love her shoes. Big fan of tweed (if slightly allergic). But it has it's problems, which I'll delve in to shortly.

{ Source: Pinterest }

 Nice. Practical. Same problem.

And then there's my obsession love of shorts. Sigh.

{ Source: Tumblr }

{ Source: Chictopia }

{ Source: Pinterest }

{ Source: The Morning Tea on Etsy }

Not practical in the slightest. And actually has the same problems as the other two pictures in a way. That being coverage. Whilst I clearly love the styles, there's just a huge issue that's sort of insurmountable.

I don't know how familiar you are with Wales and its weather. But it's rainy. And windy. And bloody cold. I live on the side of a mountain, facing a valley bowl, it gets quite chilly around the old extremities and then some. Now, don't get me wrong, we're not on the Canadian or Russian scale of cold here, but it does require slightly more clothing than a pair of wool shorts I'm allergic to. 

It also brings me back to my profession. Luckily, most days I spend in the office where the central heating is set to Caribbean with no hope of a cool breeze. But then there are the days like the three in a row I had last week. They involved early starts, long car journeys, mountains, caves and coal mines (sometimes all in the same day). You try dressing stylishly whilst wearing SWAT boots and the warmest coat you have (and thermals, and woolly hat, and crazy hair). I defy anyone to wear make-up whilst standing at the back of the Brecon Beacons in pouring rain and driving wind in a jacket made for a twelve year old (read: slightly too short in the arms and with a hood that doesn't quite cover your large adult head). The below is probably closest to my outfit during those days. Just swap the shirt for several jumpers and the lovely jacket for a fleece and a waterproof coat. 

{ Source: Pinterest }

Now, don't get me wrong. I like this outfit. I pinned it afterall. But it's just so practical. Whilst I realise I can't get away with wonderfully stylish outfits like those above (and most of the things I pin), partially because I get cold so easily and mostly because - whilst the television industry wouldn't bat an eyelid - I'm uncomfortable wearing those kinds of things (read: shorts) to work as a soon-to-be 36 year old professional. Which is why it's been so hard maintaining a unique style at work. Something that allows freedom of movement for those days when I'm asked to run all over the building collecting or delivering things. Or those 12 hour days in the studio (or, gods forbid, the car). Something that'll keep me warm and relatively dry perhaps. Something to ponder further I think. 

How do you keep warm in the winter? What's your secret?

Thanks for stopping by,

Restylin' For A New Job

Yes, I totally failed at sewing this weekend. I decided that perhaps it might be a little more prudent to make clothes requiring fit with my tutor Mother this coming weekend as she'd already said she was free and would come help me. As I have a limited stash of fabric suitable for these projects and currently no funds to buy any more, it seemed wiser to wait until I was sure I'd get something usable from the effort rather than a bunch of wadders and no more fabric. I didn't mention this before now because ... well, because I was a little ashamed at how rubbish I've been over the sewing ;)

Instead, I thought I'd tell you about my new job. Or rather the clothes I'm wearing for my new job. I started with the NHS on Monday and decided on Sunday evening that I would start as I meant to go on, i.e. I would dress and wear the make-up that I've always wanted to wear to work, regardless of what everyone else around me is wearing, from day one so everyone expected it to continue, rather than doing my usual of wearing whatever and no make-up and hoping for the best whilst being frustrated and feeling like I couldn't suddenly start dressing up because it went against the style I'd already 'declared' to everyone (and my goodness that's a rather long run on sentence, I do apologise!).

To that end I painted my nails red, pulled out the red lippy, stuck a compact in my handbag for touch ups and pulled out the heels.

You may remember my cursed Interview Outfit that got me no jobs. Having already scored the job, this is what I wore on Day One but with blue T-Bar heels and my 'natural coloured' (read: too tan for my skin colour) seamed stockings. Lipstick in place, hair down and natural, I trotted off to work and as I got out of my car in the car park I promptly ripped my stockings with my handbag. Fortunately, no one noticed a thing all day so I kept them on. I also had a 3/4 length sleeved blue cardi over the top and I have to say, partially done up it made me look like I had a waist, I was totally loving the effect!

Day Two: A grey corduroy skirt with attached plaid cotton petticoat, grey shirt and grey boots. Throw in a cream short sleeved cardi and a brown elasticated belt and I was good to go. Unfortunately, whilst I ran out the door thinking I looked okay I ultimately decided I looked like something out of the 80's and hated the skirt with the boots. Big Mistake. Ballet pumps would have worked better ... had I actually owned any. Note to self: see if eBay have any ballet pumps for sale.

Day Three: Grey high waisted trousers and a blue and white pin stripe shirt, all from La Redoute (as was Day Two). Red braces (suspenders to all you Yanks, but to us Brits that's what holds up our stockings) from eBay, blue T-Bar heels and a short sleeved blue cardi, again from eBay. This was much more me and kinda came off 70's (the trousers are quite flared and wide legged ... just in case that isn't completely obvious from the photo). I felt comfortable and relaxed, didn't care if anyone thought anything of my clothes because I was happy. Much better day than yesterday, but then I wasn't sat in a meeting with 50 people around a big table today which may have helped.

It's been hard wearing the red lippy. It's bright, it's unmissable and it gives a very definite statement about the type of woman I am/ want to be (i.e. one that cares about her appearance). I've spent a lot of years not really caring about my appearance in terms of work due to the nature of the job, the work ethic involved (not to mention the stress, the to-ing and fro-ing between offices, departments and buildings and don't even get me started on night shoots out on location in a disused railway shed) and my very strong desire to blend in.

This new style (or this attempt at a new style) is me very much not blending in and I'm still a little uncomfortable with that. I'm not sure why but I'm more uncomfortable about the lipstick than I am about the clothes (well, apart from yesterday's outfit). I don't feel comfortable reapplying in front of people and I don't feel comfortable checking in my compact after eating/ drinking but I also then spend the time worrying I've got lipstick all over my chin or half rubbed off. A big part of me wants to stop with the lipstick to make myself feel better and that could be okay. Except I like red lipstick and I think what I'm more uncomfortable about is the shade of lipstick I've been using. Ideally I'd like to use a shade like Marianne but my skin tone is completely different, my lips are a lot smaller and I don't look anything like as fresh faced half way into my day (or even half an hour into my day!) so I'm not too sure how to proceed. I'm not even sure that if I find the shade I'll still be comfortable because it's still very eye catching. The shade of red I feel more comfortable wearing is a darker berry red, but I think this is predominantly because my natural lip shade is quite dark and when the lipstick fades it's almost unnoticeable. I've been blotting the brighter shades mostly off but even then I still feel over exposed. Any advice please girlies?

Thanks for stopping by,

The Ongoing Quest for Style

In my on-going quest for a style of my own I am, once again, trawling through photos of everyone else in an effort to find something I can copy. Crazy huh?

I have a whole love-hate relationship with the French that I think a lot of people in the UK probably share. We have a cultural history of fighting with the French, centuries of inbuilt distrust and sneering has been passed down through the generations. My favourite method of physical swearing (sticking up two fingers) first came about as a taunt to the French*, we like to think of them as rude and arrogant (and forget that we display the same traits more often than not). None of this is verbalised, obviously, but it is felt.**

But I love France. I love their culture, their attitude towards work and the Mediterranean outlook on socialising. I find their relationship to cheese a little strange given the obsessiveness they exhibit over it but as I love cheese too I'm willing to take that in my stride. I absolutely adore their fashion and their furniture. And the biggest compliment I've ever had was when I was asked if I was French. Because there's one thing you have to give the French women, they know how to dress.

It was with this view in mind that I decided that emulating the quintessential French woman's sense of fashion might be a place to start. I can incorporate my love of times gone by into the look. Eagerly I opened google and put in french fashion. And found almost nothing to help.

Because the quintessential French woman's sense of fashion is unique and indescribable and doesn't just come from the clothes she wears but from that certain je ne sais quoi*** she has about her. In an effort to understand this I started looking at books about French women and their sense of fashion and came up with a trooper.

I don't normally review books as I go through so many of them (see the reading list linked above) but this was eye opening and I thought that if there was anyone else out there interested in the French style then it might be useful to share some information.

Realistically, what makes French women look good is that they're wearing classic pieces, tailored classic pieces. And then they accessorise and accessorise well. That's it, that's the big secret.

But they also live in a culture where being beautiful is more important than living. Seriously. Lingerie has a whole other meaning to them and must be matching. Fidelity is unexpected, women are in direct competition. Always. And you are expected to be clever, for you cannot be beautiful without intellect.

The author, Helena Frith Powell, is an Englishwoman who moved to France with her husband and their children and then began to realise how out of place she felt purely because of the way she dressed and thought about herself. In an effort to understand the differences she interviewed gaggles of French women about everything, talked to friends in the UK about the English woman and her habits and compared the two. It's a fascinating look at the behaviours and lifestyles of women in two very different cultures and I devoured it overnight. I'll definitely be taking away some of the things I've learned and applying them to my life and I'll definitely be starting the simple exercises she describes in one chapter in an effort to tone up a little. But I'll be keeping my sense of humour, thankyouverymuch, and my faith that not every woman I know is attempting to steal my lover.

* Our long bows were better than their short bows, and having a greater range meant our armies could kill more French whilst being out of range to their arrows. In retaliation I'm told the French cut off the first and second fingers on every British archer they could find to ensure they could never draw a bow again. The Brits taunted the French on the battlefield by waving those two fingers at them at every opportunity.

** Please note, cultural prejudices aside, the Brits don't actually go around hating the French or the Germans. We just like having someone to blast when it comes to football (that's soccer for all you Yanks, although how you can call a sport where the ball barely touches the foot football, and a game where you kick a ball with your foot 99% of the time not football is incomprehensible to me and my compatriots).

*** direct translation: I don't know what  

Thanks for stopping by,

It's a Question of Style

Ali and I are having a lovely discussion/ pity party in the comments of a previous post regarding body vs style. The style I love just doesn't suit me, how to find one that does but also suits my tastes?

So I'm doing some research, the tried and true method of determining what style clothes I should be wearing based on my body shape. I am, unsurprisingly, the rectangle or boyishly shaped. My measurements currently stand at 34-29-37 ... ish. It's a little hard to measure yourself accurately. I am also high waisted and have something ridiculous like a 29" inside leg measurement. I'm not even 5'3" tall, I'm all leg baby. This means that the guidelines for looking good when you're short and boyish in shape are contradicted by the length of my torso and legs. I am in a no win situation here. But what did surprise me is that Cameron Diaz and Nicole Kidman are also considered rectangles, and this gives me some hope!

When wearing modern fashions I tend to wear low slung jeans, hipsters rather than the kind you fall out of every time you bend over, to make my waist look lower. But found that it also negated what little waist line I had because it was covered in the drape and billow of the bagginess of the tops I was wearing to cover the almost total lack of curves I actually had. It's a fine line between a top that looks like you've got curves you're covering rather than a top that highlights your lack of waistline due to being 'figure hugging' or so baggy you can swim in it. It's one of the reasons I wanted to indulge my love of vintage styles, the silhouettes hinted that just maybe I might be able to prove I have a waist. I think I was wrong based on the photos of the previous post. Or at least wrong about the styles I chose.

It's rather strange because my first love is the 40's, always has been and I seem to draw that era to me when it comes to homewares (I own a vintage Aga and now a vintage Singer sewing machine but more on that later!). The strange part is that I seem to be fixated on 50's fashion styles. For example:

{ Source: Vintage Pattern Wikipedia }
McCall's 9211

This rather lovely 50's dress with pleats. I tell myself the drop waist and pleates will make my hips look bigger and the sleeves will widen my shoulders. All of which should, theoretically, make my waist look like ... well, a waist in all honesty. Something that goes in or is at the very least smaller than my bust and my hips. Would it though? Or do I once again think that if I wear this dress it will magically make me look like the pictures?

And, realistically, where the hell am I going to wear this dress anyway? I'm currently looking for work clothes and summer clothes. This pattern does not fit that criteria.

But it is pretty!

{ Source: Vintage Pattern Wikipedia }
Advance 7955

Or there's this lovely dress. In my head the raglan sleeves and high collar will accent my piddly bust and broaden my shoulders and the full skirt will accentuate my hips. If I'm really lucky I might even end up looking like Ulrika in her fabulous yellow dress (see here for pictures). But I have to remember the pictures of me and remember that's fantasy. A piece of clothing can't give me what I don't have.

When looking at my measurements, if I could get my waist down an inch I would meet the measurements for quite a few 40's and 50's patterns. But that doesn't take into account my high waist which negates everything.

Ali suggested looking at patterns from the 60's and 70's instead. Or the 20's and 30's as our shape (yes, Ali is inflicted with the same problems too) and measurements more closely resemble those of that period. She suggested choosing a vintage style that suits my shape rather than the styles I'm currently in love with and failing miserably at.

I'm a little wary of the 20's and 30's because I don't need any help to look boxy and I'm worried that's what they'd do. Saying that, I do like some of the fashions of the 30's and may look into that a little more in the near future.

Which leaves the 60's and 70's. Plenty of choice, more so than the earlier periods, at least on eBay anyway.

Except I find myself going for styles like these. Which is really just a 50's style carried over at the turn of the decade.

{ Source: Vintage Pattern Wikipedia }
Advance 2752

{ Source: Vintage Pattern Wikipedia }
Vogue 9967

Or this (which I am actually bidding on because I'm curious to see if the belting and looseness of the dress will work in my favour).

{ Source: Vintage Pattern Wikipedia }
Simplicity 1008

Have I really learned anything? Am I pattern hunting with my shape in mind?

I think, realistically, the answer is hell no! I am not only blind to but also in total denial of my shape and seem to be clutching hold of the firm belief that if I make or buy a dress I like then I will somehow end up looking like the picture that drew me to it in the first place. And that is impossible.

I think the fact that I'm undecided about what I want to make doesn't help. I need some work clothes and I need them fast. I refuse to go out and buy anything but coming from an industry with no dress code to an office environment with a smart dress code my current wardrobe is not only seriously limited but also seriously young. I have no grown up clothes and I hate that. But I have no idea what I mean by grown up clothes. See? Undecided.

But I also need summery clothes. Clothes I can layer. Woollens and knits that are to my taste and warm.

I love everything Mena makes and I catch myself thinking that if I get the same pattern then I'll look like Mena does in the same outfit. But whereas I've the body of a 12 year old boy with a small pot belly, Mena's all woman and her clothes reflect her shape wonderfully. It's hard to come to terms with the idea that I have no shape for clothes to reflect. And even the knowledge that almost all catwalk models have the same shape as me doesn't help in the slightest. I need to wake up and smell the sanity and pick clothes suitable for me and me alone ... just as soon as I figure out what that is.

But as Ali mentions in her post, that's what makes home sewing such a bonus. We can make what we want to suit ourselves and not the mass market. We just have to be realistic about what that is.

Am I the only one out there with a blind spot the size of the moon when it comes to my shape and a complimentary style? Or are there others out there to commiserate with me?

Thanks for stopping by,

Style vs Taste

Having a friend who trained as a make-up artist is fabulous for night's out ... if I ever actually had any I mean. But I haven't. At least, not recently anyway.

So instead, we had a girlie afternoon of make-up and silliness as AnnaP made me over and we had lots of fun and giggles playing in my back garden with a variety of outfits and poses and props (namely the wolf). The purpose was to find me a profile picture I wouldn't cringe at every time I saw it. Mission accomplished I feel!

But it threw something to light that I've been pondering on and off for a while. How do you pick a style that works for you?

I'm terrible at choosing a style. I see so many people and their outfits online that I absolutely adore (I'm talking about you Ulrika!) and I have clothes and patterns that fit those styles because, let's face it, I like the silhouette they create, the shapes and drape of the fabric. But there's one thing I forgot to take into consideration. My shape.

I've blogged about this before; I don't have the curves that Ulrika, Solanah or Gertie have and am almost straight up and down with a thick waist. My face, at 34, still has an awful lot of puppy fat that I'm slowly coming to terms with the idea is not going to change for the better. My hair does not like to be perfect and will find a way out of most styles. The styles of the 50's probably aren't for me. For prosperity I offer the evidence below:

Now, don't get me wrong. I think I look okay in the above outfits, I can get away with both of them but without the hourglass figure that the styles require I don't look great.

In comparison, here's a couple of pictures in a style more suited to my looks:

How do you reconcile to a style that isn't really to your taste but suits you instead of the style you love but don't quite fit? And how do you come to terms with the idea that you're cute and 34 years old? I love my hair, it's naturally wavy but it doesn't lend itself to grown up styles. At least, not the grown up vintage styles I love so much. So it's back to the drawing board I think, with more of the romantic and cute and less of the coiffed. Something more original to me and not others. Watch this space!

Oh, and here's a couple of snaps with the wolf because he's just so pretty:

Thanks for stopping by,

Shapewear - Which One To Use?

I have dozens of patterns, I am dying to start sewing but one thing's holding me back. My size.

I am a size 8-10 UK, short (5'3" ... barely) and slim. I have an incredibly high waist and approximately a 30" inside leg. So why am I complaining?

With a bust of 34", a waist measurement of 30" when relaxed and hips measuring 36" there's not much in the way of definition when it comes to my curves. I've taken to wearing very low cut jeans to balance out my high waist but that just adds to the lack of shape. When I started seriously considering vintage fashions it was because of the shapes. I want that shape! But without help (or surgery) that's just not going to happen.

But what help to get? I'm after foundation garments that'll give my curves a little push in the right direction. It was a shock to me to learn that women's shapes have been changing over the last 50-60 years or so, becoming more straight-up-and-down and less hourglass, and here I thought it was just me. With a size 10 bust and hips but a size 15 waist (!) modern day clothes are hard enough to fit, let alone the vintage built for a woman with curves I don't have. Imagine how amazed I was to learn that the women of the 50's still used foundation garments such as girdles and other shaping underwear to achieve that curvy look. Couture Allure says it much better and with more research than I ever could but basically, unless you already have a perfect hourglass figure, if you're going to wear vintage then give some thought to wearing the proper foundation garments too.

I don't want bullet bras, I'm not a fan of that particular fashion quirk and my own are pointy enough without any additional help thankyouverymuch. I'm not sure a girdle is what I'm after or if I should be looking at waist cinchers. I definitely don't want a corset, not only would the lacing be too visible under my clothing but I'm worried the boning would give too ridged an appearance to my abdomen and be a total giveaway. I want something natural looking ... well, as natural looking as possible when squeezed into what is essentially a cinching garment.

{ Source: What Katie Did }

My favourite I've found so far: It's from What Katie Did's Glamorous range and is not only functional but beautiful. WKD are definitely amongst the best in the field when it comes to reproduction vintage lingerie and whilst there are several of their collections that don't suit my tastes there are some rather lovely pieces available that will hopefully be discretely hidden by my clothes whilst still being feminine and pretty and hopefully making me feel the same. Shapewear doesn't have to be ugly so I don't understand why so much of it is. Better yet, WKD is a British company, and I'm all about supporting local industry (it could only be better if it was Welsh!)

I'm not 100% certain that this is the right garment for me, and with prices steeper than I can afford (as in anything that costs anything is out of my price range at the moment!), I want to make sure that what I get is going to work for me. I've emailed WKD in the hope that they can point me in the right direction. Let's hope they've got something that'll do it because until I know what size my waist will be in my foundation garments I can't start sewing!

Thanks for stopping by,

Vintage Day

Today I have spent most of the hours not walking the wolf watching period films and ogling all the vintage clothes or rummaging through blogs about vintage clothes. I love vintage but I've never really worn vintage. I've worn retro. I own retro. In fact I have a whole wardrobe almost overflowing with tea dresses that I adore but never wear. Why? Because I'm too scared.

I've never liked drawing attention to myself, I don't usually dress in loud colours (odd when you consider my favourite colour in the world is red) or in anything with much of a print or a stripe. Wearing vintage or retro styles was always something I felt would be too much like pointing a spotlight at myself and that did not make me feel comfortable. But more and more as I approach my mid-thirties, I'm finding my dislike for the sameness of clothes that everyone's wearing is growing. I want more. I want to be unique. I want clothes that actually fit me, and what's more look good on me. And I really want to stop being so scared.

Well, I'm pleased to say that I found my courage (I put it in a safe place some time ago and forgot where that was). This past week I bought a vintage 50's/ 60's wool cape. Welsh tapestry. Welsh. It's perfect and I love it, despite my best friend threatening to smack me with a kipper if I bought it because she thinks it's hideous. I also bought two 70's style jumpers, one long sleeved blue and stripey and the other a red stripey vest that looks like something that belongs on a Christmas tree. I love all three of my purchases (not quite as much as I love the vintage Aga I just bought but close) and I've already worn the long sleeve jumper.

I have painted my nails bright red (1940's style), plucked my eyebrows (a little too enthusiastically) and am taking a leaf out of Super Kawaii Mama's book: It is all about choosing to live your most glamorous life, regardless of your income level or parental status.

I've never been particularly glamorous, nor do I have the patience to spend every day dolling myself up. I don't want to live my life solely in vintage and heels. But I also don't want to feel like I can't wear bright red lipstick to Tesco if I choose to. I want to wear all my tea dresses and wear different shades of red nail polish depending on the day. I want a stash of stockings with seams (I love stockings with seams), pencil skirts and wiggle dresses. I want knitwear that's lacy and beautiful. I want to wear my hair in victory rolls whenever I feel like it because they're not just fun but also funky. I want to celebrate the things I love from past times and mix it with the things I love about my time. And maybe, just maybe, if I don't forget the safe place I put my courage this time, I might just do that.

Thanks for stopping by,