My Recent Purchases: Dresses!

Not all of these dresses were purchased recently, but they all have yet to be seen by a sizeable amount of people. I really had so much fun taking these pictures because they all make my family's property seem vastly more interesting than it is. However, it was quite a pain as I do not have a kind photographer friend who wants to see me twirl about for hours on end. Another thing I don't have is a tripod... so instead, I made do with all sorts of mostly-flat objects to get these shots. Now that all of my disclaimers are out of the way, enjoy my dresses!

This first one is a sheer Carol Brent dress, and one of the only ones that has a label. It's also one of the only dresses I bought from a vintage clothing seller (As You Like It, in Grants Pass), rather than a thrift store or antique mall. As it is very sheer, you can see my slip underneath, but I like that the lower 6 inches of the skirt seem really filmy compared to the rest of it. The bow on the collar has a sailor-esque feel that I just couldn't pass up. I'm wearing it with a thin navy belt (OSU Thrift Store) and navy pumps (Payless ShoeSource).

Dress number two is a simple button-up black dress I found at the local St. Vincent de Paul. It's trimmed in multicolored plaid and has a matching fabric belt. The fabric is very substantial without being hot and it features some pintucks right at the front. My shoes are nice low heels that I've found perfect for summer, and tend to wear almost every day since finding them at the Gospel Rescue Mission Thrift Store.

I swear I hadn't worn polka dots before this year, but this little black-and-white number begged to be rescued from the Goodwill. For the second polka dot dress in this post, I had to go really matchy and pair it with polka dot and red shoes (Fred Meyer's) that matched the red buttons on the dress. On the buttons, there are little anchors stamped in, but they're impossible to see in the photos. 

I don't know if I like the belt and shoes I used with this one. This is a salmon-pink cocktail dress with a lace overlay that I found at the OSU Thrift Store in Corvallis. From the looks of it, this dress was homemade and let out from the original design. It's big for me and I haven't taken it in yet, but I couldn't help but photograph it. Under it, I have a crinoline that is just a tad too long long, but fun to pose in nevertheless. Buster (the kitty) came to pose with me for a few of the pictures before losing interest in my odd behavior.

This is one of my favorite dresses, but it rarely gets to go out. I bought it over a year ago from As You Like It, and only really took it out for the "Back to the Fifties" concert my town held this past July. The print includes blue and yellow flowers on a black background and it trimmed in black eyelet lace. The matching head scarf came from Buckingham Palace in Corvallis, and I added flower shoe clips made of grosgrain ribbon that I found in a favorite antique booth in Grants Pass.

I had shoes to and a belt to complete this dress, but it was just too hot, so I opted to go barefoot in the garden. I found this at the Goodwill in Corvallis and wear it all the time, usually pairing it with my Keds and either a green or white belt. The waist is loosely elasticized, so it's not too tight on hot summer days. The crinoline that I have under it isn't a usual occurrence, but I had already been wearing it for the party dresses above.

By late afternoon, it was just too warm to have my hair down any longer, so this last dress got a neat bun treatment. This dress was another Corvallis Goodwill find, and also homemade by the looks of it. However, when I got it, it was missing most of its buttons. Luckily, I found some pretty green buttons and a matching green belt at Buckingham Palace to freshen it up. The print is lovely, with blue, white, and pink flowers with lots of green stems on a white background. 

And there we go! I feel very long-winded with this post, but the dresses all deserved a little time in the spotlight, since they make my life so much prettier.

A picture-perfect weekend

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos to show exactly how picture-perfect my Saturday was, so this promotional shot from the show Pushing Daisies will have to do. An adorable gal from Kiss Me, Kate and I took Saturday to have a picnic in a local park. We had everything for a picnic, bar the  basket. Our blanket was spread out in a sea of daisies right by a playground.

While watching the numerous children play, we ate pb&j sandwiches on yellow plates, had juicy and exotic fruits, drank sun tea from my new iced tea jug, and had much too much fun with melted ice pops. I brought my cribbage board along, but with such a gorgeous day and many distractions, we didn't even get halfway through they game.

Looking ever the young ladies we are, we were both in spring-ish dresses (or in my case, a long skirt worn belted with my new crinoline) and got the cutest comment from a little charmer. As he was speaking to his father, we overheard the little boy say, "Those girls look like they're in a movie!" Gee whiz -  that little chap sure knows how to flatter a girl!

Other tasks were accomplished on Sunday, including mending a new dress that I acquired on Friday that was a little long in the bodice. I also finally made an ill-fitting half slip a wearable straight slip by attaching darling little straps of ribbon and lace.

Now, it's back to another week of schoolwork and theater work. I do, however, have something very exciting to look forward to next weekend... Mom's Weekend! All of the mothers of OSU students are invited up to spend some time with their college-aged kiddies. I'm planning to see many an antique and thrift shop and a trip to the Architectural Salvage in Philomath. Let's cross our fingers that my mom will be giddy with that particular destination!

Spring is in the air!

It may be a little bit premature to  proclaim my love of the start of spring weather (as Oregon has a nasty little habit of mid-spring hailstorms) but it's how I feel nonetheless. As most of my blogs seem to start, I must apologize for the absence. My life has been two things as of late: Busy and boring.

As soon as spring break ended for my university I found myself spending more time in the library than any first weeks prior to this term. In addition, after a weeklong break from Kiss Me, Kate the cast was lagging a little, especially in the dance sequences. Outside of the theater, my term is filled with accounting, macroeconomics, media writing, and retail buying classes. As a studious college girl, responsible cast member and choreographer's assistant, I threw myself into my real life, completely forgetting about my online life. Only after I caught up reading blogs that I had neglected to check for the past few weeks, did I feel like writing again.

I regret this, but I have not been wearing vintage all that frequently lately. I shall blame the weather and my constant running between my room, the library, and the theater. However I must confess, dear readers, that I've also been bit by the lazy bug. Having piles of washing, mending, homework, and books to sell can do that to a person. But fear no more, for I am back and as fresh faced and ready to return to the interwebs as ever!

After quite a drought of good shopping trips this past winter, I am glad to report that my last few shopping attempts have treated me well. I've added five dresses, a shorter length crinoline, navy pumps, a purple hat, and a babydoll nightgown to my clothing collection in the past few weeks! In non-vintage buying, my mom treated me to new black and white cardigans which I have been wearing all the time! And then, there are the things. I try to keep my collection of "things" to a minimum because my storage space in my world is minimal at the moment. Still, I could not pass up mini-muffin pans for $3 apiece. Likewise, a jewelry holder for traveling, a dress pattern, and a card of snap fasteners, the book The World with a Fence begged to be taken home as did a red-handled biscuit cutter (which I have needed for some time).

After all of my previous indecision, my hair is brown again. It really was a fluke, because the result was much darker than expected, but I've been told it suits me. Brown may suit me, but this monster that is residing atop my skull does not. Very high on my to-do list is to get my hair cut, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for a middy long cut, which is what I'd really like. Oh decisions, you must wait until another day.

In the meantime, I'll be dreaming of summer and relaxing in style like Ms. Charrise.

Are there any ladies left?

Now I'm not modern-bashing, but does anyone else just wish that once in a while women would wear dresses or skirts that are knee length? Or, I'll go one step further: How about calf-length? No, not many women I see in my day not wearing some version of pants has a hemline nearer their hips than knees. Today, shirts are actually being made long so they can perhaps be worn as dresses if one is daring enough.

If you feel the need to show something off, why not try a small waist, or delicate ankles? Not many people can go wrong with either of those. Or perhaps some should exercise the ever-lacking quality in our culture, modesty. Modesty is beautiful. Even if someone is going to wear jeans, a shirt, and shoes, there's a large difference between a tailored sweater, solid-wash jeans, and plain-colored shoes and a strapless top, 'fashion-shredded' jeans, and the slippers you put on when you rolled out of bed this morning. Besides, do you really want anyone in a professional setting seeing you the same way your roommates do? I should think not.

Why a sudden realization and need to state this? Its something that someone needs to point out. Not only do I feel like a lady, but when I wear a long skirt, I get comments about how put-together I look. Once an older gentleman said, "Excuse me Miss, but you look exquisite today." Yes, if you're wondering, that did make my day!

Also, long skirts are DIFFERENT, even for me! Most all of my skirts hover around knee-length, so wearing something to my calf feels like a treat. The whole point of having choices in fashion is to be free, be different, express yourself, and have fun. In this way, I can see one reason women are choosing overly short skirts today and that is fun. If your shirt-turned-dress excites you so much you can't even imagine your day without it, wear it! Having said that, how do you feel about leggings? Patterned tights? Knee-high socks? It's definitely cold in the mornings, and soon it will be well into the afternoon.

Oh well. The message nowadays is to each his own and I should be respecting that, but I do have opinions that my outspoken nature can't help but voice. But really, everything comes back around and as much as I hate "trends" can't there just be a sudden revival of the long, clean skirt?