Questionable Fashion: Capes

My very first vintage obsession was with coats. Living in an area that spends long periods of the winter in the below zero range encourages an healthy love of all things warm. I can't tell you how many coats I own, but I would say it's at least twenty. After moving to Arizona I had no more need for heavy wool coats, especially of the fully lined variety. Yet I couldn't give any of them up, so for the moment they're safely stored away waiting for my return.

In my coat buying days, I frequently came across capes or cloaks and was tempted by them. But no one I knew owned a cape, no one walking around town had one on either. I resisted and passed up many of my ebay watch items. Now I wonder if a fear of not fitting in held me back or being likened to other cape wearing characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Sherlock Holmes, and Dracula. So my questions are, would that actually be a bad thing and can the cape work?

Little Red Riding Hood:


Vintage finds:

1970s hooded red wool cape, S-L. Available at ebay seller Apocalypse Vintage with a starting bid of $9.99.

1960s J.C. Macy red wool cape, S-XL. Available at ebay seller Time's Up Vintage with a starting bid of $39.99 and a Buy Now of $129.99.

Sherlock Holmes:


Vintage finds:

1960s gray and mocha plaid cape, XS-M. Available at ebay seller mama stone vintage with a current bid of $16.50.

1960s black and white woven wool or wool blend houndstooth cape. Available at ebay seller Love Spy Vintage with a current bid of $26.49 and a Buy Now of $149.99.

Dracula:


Vintage finds:

1950s cropped black bolero cape, XS-M. Available at ebay seller thriftwares with a current bid of $51.

1980s Ariel Bloom black mid-weight wool cape. Available at ebay seller hipster's Playground Vintage with a current bid of $14.99.



So what do you think? Yay or nay to the cape?

PS. Just for clarification, I say yay! I only have to move some place cold again.

Imagined Travel

My one is traveling through Vermont as we speak taking in the mountains and trees. I'm jealous. I wish I could be in the car with him stopping off at an orchard for some sugar coated donuts and a cup of hot apple cider. I also wish I was wearing this outfit as well....

Outfit consists of:

1970s acrylic pullover with a 36 inch bust. Available at VintageTrends.com for $48.

Wood ring created by Simply Wood Rings, average cost of $160-395.

1970s Jane Shilton leather bag. Available at Posh Vintage for $145.

Dark rinse skinny jeans. Available at Charlotte Russe for $29.99.

Ivory lace trimmed cami. Available at Forever 21 for $8.80.

Brown leather boots with knit cuff by Missoni. Available at Bluefly for $475.

Oh I kill myself

I'm all alone in my apartment laughing hysterically. The cats are giving me that pointed, ears back look. None to fear kitties. I will recover. But everyone has to go try out Yearbook Yourself. It lets you take a photo of yourself and meld it with old year book photos. Since I've been at this for awhile now, you get to see the full collection of my favorites. Sorry that they're not super perfectly aligned and that I'm a bit squinty eyed. It's the only photo that I have without much hair in my face.

2000:
I graduated in 2000, and I'm not sure we had hair like this. Although actually I do now recall my bangs having a bit more curl to them then was strictly necessary.


1996:
I think I made my face too big here, but in any case this is the year I started high school. I remember pretty much nothing from that era. I'm certain, though, that a lot of girls looked like this even though it's a year too late for My So Called Life stylishness.


1984:
I was two that year. I thankfully missed the amount of effort that would have gone into creating this.


1976:
I kind of like this look on me. It's like Heidi met Shirley Temple met girl just dying to embrace her hippie brethren.


1972:
I swear I had this haircut at some point, except it was 1999, not 1972.


1968:
One of my aunt's totally had this haircut. Come to think of it, the year probably was 1968.


1966:
As someone with extremely thick hair, I sometimes wish we still lived in a time when thick hair was necessary to becoming the cool chick.


1952:
Well, I guess I now know what hair cut would make me look overly masculine....or maybe it's this woman's stronger jawline....either way...

Vintage Search: Sookie Stackhouse's halter dress

Okay so posting the opening credits of HBO's True Blood is completely gratuitous in regards to this posting. I simply love the gritty, dark images and the swampy feel of Jace Everett's song "Bad Things." At the moment I can listen to this song over and over.

But really what I'm writing about is my current vintage search. Every once and awhile I become obsessed by something I must have. It can be a general thing like an embroidered top or a beaded sweater. Sometimes though it's heartrendingly specific. HBO's new series features the lovely Anna Paquin dressed in a lot of vintage inspired sundresses. As someone who lives in the searing heat of the southwest I know that sundresses can be a life saver on days that are too hot to move. True Blood is only on its third episode as of today, but in all of the previews I keep seeing Anna Paquin's character Sookie Stackhouse being carried by a vampire. She's wearing a gorgeous red and white halter dress. It's in the picture below. It's the best picture I could find and even though it's blocked by a bar table you can sort of see how lovely it is.

So what I'm on the hunt for is a halter topped sundress with a sweetheart neckline in red and white. I'd prefer the floral print to be a bit bolder, but really I'm not picky. Or at least I can tell myself that. The hunt for the perfect summer outing dress begins now.

Going to the chapel

While the months of June and July seem packed with weddings to attend, the actual height of the wedding season is considered to be from May through September. But the planning stage begins, for the most part, a year or more in advance. Being engaged apparently means being flooded with time schedules informing me at what time I need to complete each task. Most of the items outlined seem unnecessary for a frugal or uncomplicated bride, but these lists sometimes include useful information. The wedding planning task can be daunting, but there's one thing that I of course truly became excited about, buying the dress. Buying a vintage wedding gown can be a bit of a different process. While some traditional wedding stores carry vintage dresses (see Sewly Yours & Once Upon a Bride in Burlington VT) most of these dresses can only be found online or by scouring the racks at vintage clothing and thrift stores. This often means that vintage dress buyers don't have the same experience of trying on multiple gowns. Many brides don't stop to consider the vintage wedding dress, perhaps envisioning froths of degraded lace, puffed sleeves, and high necklines, but the truth is there's some beautiful dresses out there.

Current wisdom states that a wedding dress is a one time use garment. The idea of keeping a wedding dress for a future child is now also out of fashion. I do whole-heartedly advocate for the donation of wedding gowns and other formal dresses to women in need (see the amazing organizations Brides Against Breast Cancer and The Bridal Garden for wedding gown donation; see The Glass Slipper Project, The Ruby Room, Operation Fairy Dust, and The Fairy Godmother Project for prom and formal wear donations). While there's the growing Trash the Dress movement which creates some admittedly stunning photographs of brides well, trashing their dresses, the donation route seems to be the better path to head down in terms of feeling great about what you've just done. Still, I sometimes wish I had a passed on dress from my mother or grandmothers. None were the wedding dress type, in fact if I remember correctly my mother wore a pink mini skirt suit ensemble to her court house elopement.

Left to my own devices, I've already purchased a dress. In an uncharacteristic move, I ended up buying a much more "bridal" dress that wasn't vintage. It's a gorgeous Christos gown I got at a deep discount and certainly has a vintage tone to it. Although I love the dress, I am second guessing my decision. Is it the right one? Should I have waited to find a vintage gown? At the same time, I know it will work. But still, I can't seem to break myself from the habit of dress shopping. So here's some things that I wish I would have bought:


Early 1930s Maison Doucet gown constructed out of beige lace. Available at Antique Dress for $1,885.

1950s fully lined chiffon dress with streamers. Available at Posh Girl Vintage for $325.

Late 1960s/early 1970s polyester lace dress. Available at etsy seller GoodEye for $165.

1950s Ceil Chapman dress with open work lace waist lined with brown. Available at ebay store Mission to Mod for a starting bid of $299.99 and a Buy Now of $650.

Film Inspiration: Fur

I'm only halfway through watching the film Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus and already I had to take a moment to obsess over the wonderful wardrobing in the piece. Nicole Kidman is an actress who I always believe is stunningly beautiful, but she looks particularly fetching in 1950s day dresses. Perhaps it's because these dresses are rather flattering to the female form. They are, at the moment, my favorite vintage purchases. The film itself is deeply engaging and while a fictional glimpse at photographer Diane Arbus' life and work gives a inspirational look at the fringe revealed and the "ugly" turned beautiful.

So here's a look at Fur for some shopping/lusting inspiration.