February 28, 2017

Florals for February, and Those Projects I Never Get To

Nicole outfits fashion, hat, make do and mend, outfit, refashioning, style, thrifted, vintage

I have been wearing a lot of florals lately- oh right, that’s because that is the majority of what I own! If you were to take a look in my wardrobe you would see an abundance of patterns and many of those patterns are florals. Large scale garden flowers, tiny patterned flowers, geometrically shaped flowers, painterly flowers and even fabric and lace woven with flowers in it. Florals are such a great print to have though, because they just seem to go with everything. You can pair them with solids and stripes. You can pair them with polka dots and checks. You can even pair some florals with other sized florals, if the colours work well together. If you couldn’t tell already: I like florals 🙂 As I mentioned last week, florals are great all year round, and they add a nice spot of sunshine to the winter season.

The dress I am sharing, for this last day of February, is extremely similar to my black floral cotton skirt. It is not the same design, but at first glance it does appear to be the same pattern. It is made of rayon, and it was a 90’s dress which I shortened and darted to refashion into a more 1940’s style dress. Those two simple alterations turned the dress from looking like something that should have been at a thrift store, into one of my prettiest and favourite pieces for cooler weather. It’s funny how taking a few inches off of a hem, can make such a huge difference isn’t it?

I wore this outfit a few weeks ago, when the weather had warmed up enough to forgo a heavy coat, and I could wear this lighter cashmere blazer. I picked up this blazer many years ago at the thrift store, and to be honest it is actually too boxy for me. However, I do love the cashmere blend and it is such a pretty jacket. I really should take it apart and put some darts in the back, but I am feeling very intimidated by that thought for some reason- even though I don’t think it would actually be very difficult to do. It’s kind of silly that I altered this 90’s dress to suit my style and it quickly became one of my best pieces, and yet, I haven’t taken the time to alter this blazer and as a result I hardly ever wear it. There always seems to be some other project calling my name. . .  Maybe someday I’ll get to it- and all the other projects waiting for me to finish!

Do you alter your garments, or get them altered for you when they don’t fit the way you like them to? Do you like to wear florals, and do you wear them in the winter?

Outfit Details:

Hat: thrifted

Fur collar: vintage shop

Jacket: thrifted

Brooch and bracelet: gifted

Dress: thrifted

Shoes: Earthies

Belt: thrifted