August 18, 2017

A Period Incorrect Outfit at Heritage Park

Nicole outfits outfit, photography, style, thrifted, vintage

I just got back from a short holiday in Calgary, and while I enjoyed my time in the city, it’s good to be home again. I actually grew up in a town on the outskirts of Calgary, so it was strangely like “coming home”, but also different than I remembered, since it’s been 10 years since I moved away!

My friend Chantelle and I took a trip to the city for a few days to visit a friend of ours who is working at Heritage Park for the summer. We had a great time visiting the park, as it has been close to 15 years since I last visited, and Chantelle had never visited. It was fun day stepping back in time, not only to the history of Canada in the 1800’s, but also stepping back in time to my own childhood! The best thing about a historical park is really that nothing changes- the one room schoolhouse was exactly as I remembered it from when I was in Grade Three. 🙂

I wanted to share some photos from the trip right away, before I get distracted and move onto other things. I have shared some of the photos I took on my phone already on instagram, but I also took a lot of photos with my camera, which I’ll share here.

Today’s post includes the photos of my outfit at Heritage Park. These are the only outfit photos I got while I was away, and they were taken at the Hudson Bay Trading Post replica. I look completely out of place in my 1950’s styled outfit, but there were no crowds of people here, so it was a good place to take some photos.

In the photos, does my hair seem to have a mind of it’s own, despite being styled that morning? Yes! Is my blouse rumpled, disheveled and coming untucked? Yes! Is my necklace crooked? Yes! Are my feet tired of walking and my shoulders sore from carrying around my heavy purse (with camera inside)? Yes! Is the sun in my eyes, and casting strange and harsh shadows all over? Yes! Do these photos represent real life, where I am completely living in the moment, and having a great time spent with friends? A resounding yes!

Even though these aren’t great fashion plate blogger photos, they are a great memory of a fun time spent at Heritage Park, and I would much rather spend a fun time with friends then go about worrying whether my necklace was straight.

Regarding the outfit details, there’s that homesewn tan skirt again, but this time paired with my brown lace up flats, a new thrifted white peasant blouse top, a stack of Indian bangles from Ten Thousand Villages and my new purse from Top Vintage. I really debated purchasing this purse, since online shopping and I don’t mix well, but in the end I decided that since it is basically the purse I have been searching for my entire life, I would go ahead and get it. After a small hiccup, which was resolved very nicely by their customer service, I can say that I am very glad that I did get it. It was an investment bag for sure, but the timeless and vintage shape suits my style, and it goes with almost everything I own. Although, for future reference, I will not bring it on a holiday (even though I love it!) with the thought of being able to carry my camera around in it. It was simply too heavy to have on a holiday even with the shoulder strap, and it was a real pain (both figuratively and literally) to lug around for three days with no relief. Next time I will bring a cross body bag, or a backpack. But aside from that detail, it was a great holiday, and I am sure that the purse will serve me well for purposes other than vacations!

Have you ever visited Heritage Park, or any other kind of historical village? Do you worry about your outfits, and getting outfit photos while you are on your holidays?