Apparently Sunday was bird celebration day, judging by my outfit. This Butterick 4790 dress, which I’ve already worn on the blog, is covered in hummingbirds, and continuing the theme, (because you know you might as well go all in where these things are considered) I topped off the outfit with my owl pendant necklace. Too bad my hat didn’t have feathers on it!
It doesn’t have feathers on it, but this black straw saucer style hat is covered in pearl dotted black veiling (which I tucked up under the brim). I paired the dress with my favourite black mary jane pumps, a faux patent leopard print purse, and light black knitted bolero as it is warm enough to go without a coat.
As for these photos- they were taken in between clouds. 🙂 The sun was so incredibly bright on Sunday, and far be it from me to complain about the sunshine, but it does wreck havoc on photos! We couldn’t find any good spot in the shade to take the pictures, but the sky was dotted with just enough big puffy clouds to cover the sun long enough to take a few photos where I wasn’t squinting in the bright light.
Hats are by far the easiest way to introduce a vintage look to an outfit, for as much as people wear dresses these days, hats are few and far between. Millinery is always something I have been interested in, but not very good at as I am attempting to self teach myself the art. There is a lot of information online for sure, but it is always tricky to start something when you have no idea what you are doing- just a vague idea of what you want the finished product to look like!
Here are the three hats I mentioned a while back, that I picked up at an antique mall for a good price. The two black ones are modern, and the feathered hat is a vintage one from the 1960’s. I love the feathered hat just as it is, but the black caps, especially the one with the brooch and netting, are actually rather boring once put on. My thought when I got these, was that I could make them over and embellish them with a bit of vintage flair, without having to make the hat itself from scratch. As Lydia in Pride and Prejudice says, “Look here, I have bought this bonnet. I do not think it is very pretty; but I thought I might as well buy it as not. I shall pull it to pieces as soon as I get home, and see if I can make it up any better.”
So what are my plans for the hats?
The pheasant hat was easy since I liked it as is, minus the broken feathers. I pulled them out and added a few turquoise feathers, once of which I twisted into a loop, and the tiny spotted feather. Much improved. Although now I still have to wait several months to wear it. At least I have something to look forward to!
As for the other two, about a month ago I came across this beautiful mint coloured felt hat by master milliner Philip Treacy. (Phillip Treacy has made many of the hats we see the Royal’s wearing). I absolutely fell in love with the giant pompom flower, and immediately started wondering how I could make something like this. When I came across the black hat, I had my answer. I haven’t started construction on it yet, but will attempt something of the kind. I also really love the red hat, so if the flower doesn’t work out, I could always make a ginormous bow. If something in life needs embellishing, a bow should do the trick!
I am thinking that I will also make a large bow to fit on the other black hat. It needs some oomph too, as the velvet bow is a little understated. There is a hole under the velvet bow, where I think someone ripped some kind of embellishment off, so I need to keep that in mind whatever I decide to do. If all else fails and I can’t figure out how to attach a bow, I could always go with this.
Just kidding! As crazy as this hat is, it is AMAZING, but I don’t think I would ever be brave enough to wear a hat like this unless I was attending Royal Ascot or something. It’s fun to dream though!
Easter Sunday dawned with clear blue skies, a bright shining sun, and a cool breeze, and it was perfect: as we couldn’t very well have bad weather on Easter Sunday, could we? It was a perfect chance for the “sundresses” I keep wanting to wear, we didn’t even wear coats, and had to wear sunglasses as it was so bright!
I made this dress from a Vogue 1044 reproduction pattern. I love how so many of the pattern companies have reissued their vintage patterns, as it is an easy way to get an authentic vintage look without having actual vintage- although, half of this dress was actually made from vintage material.
This dress might just squeak in under the “make do” section of “make do and mend”. The bodice and skirt of this dress were made of different fabrics, although they match so closely it would seem they were made to go together! The bodice is made of a pinstriped remnant of fabric my mom had left over from the 70’s, and the skirt is made of new eyelet material I purchased several years ago. I (foolishly) didn’t purchase enough of the material to do much of anything with, but was just able to squeeze the bodice pattern on the other remnant, and then use the entire piece of the new material for the skirt. It turned out well, and made a great Easter Sunday dress, paired with my off-white straw hat and thrifted rattan purse.
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.”
Just in time for Spring I recently acquired three winter hats. Of course, even though they are now out of season, I had to wear at least one of them before I put them away for the winter! I am getting a little tired of wearing my cold weather clothes, as that is pretty much all I’ve been wearing for the last few months, but now that I’ve got these new hats I want to wear them all! Sigh. I think that this hat will be a good winter staple, as it is a simple shape made of wool, adorned with just a nice soft velvet bow. I guess I’ll just have to wait until next year! Patience. . . This will be the last cold weather outfit I’ll wear until fall, even though it’s always a bit tricky to wear spring appropriate outfits when the weather doesn’t seem to cooperate very well- I will persevere! The cold and snow will not stop me!
I wore the hat on Sunday, and paired it with my vintage peacock plumage patterned pleated wool skirt, (wow that is a tongue twister if I ever heard one!) and black velvet blazer. Sparkly earrings and a fish brooch dressed it up a bit, and my favourite mary jane’s completed the look.
Apparently Sunday was bird celebration day, judging by my outfit. This Butterick 4790 dress, which I’ve already worn on the blog, is covered in hummingbirds, and continuing the theme, (because you know you might as well go all in where these things are considered) I topped off the outfit with my owl pendant necklace. Too bad my hat didn’t have feathers on it!
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
