hat

April 18, 2017

Easter Sunday’s New Look

Nicole outfits hat, outfit, photo shoot, style, thrifted, vintage, vogue

Easter Sunday's New Look, the artyologist, looking in purse Vogue 1950's cover

I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend, dear readers, wherever you are. If you are located in Canada, or many other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, you might just have experienced what I did this last weekend: SNOW! Yes, we got a snowstorm last Thursday, and it didn’t let up until Saturday night. I was glad when Sunday dawned bright and clear but, alas, the sun was not warm enough to melt all of the snow away, and we still have snow covered ground out there. All of my visions of Easter bonnets, and flowers, and easter egg hunts and just Spring in general, were quite hopelessly dashed! My visions of a lovely Easter photo set outdoors, were also dashed as well! I didn’t feel like doing supposedly “Spring” photos in a snowdrift! (Especially as last year was so sunny and bright . . . )

So, in order to avert a small blogger crisis, I decided to take a page from Vogue, and many other photo shoots of years-gone-by, and create a set in the living room (by literally moving all of the furniture, opening doors, putting pins in the wall and generally tearing apart everything in sight. . . don’t worry- it’s back in order now). This minimalist backdrop (aka: a white bed sheet) worked out fine in a pinch, and as this outfit is rather “New Look” in style, it lent itself well to the very minimal background and gave me a chance to try out some fun 1950’s poses. Most of these poses are based off of Vogue covers from the 1950’s, or other famous poses (such as Dior’s bar suit)

Easter Sunday's New Look, the artyologist black and white

I originally planned to wear something bright and colourful and well. . . “Springy” for Easter Sunday, however, that didn’t happen. Of all the days in the year, Easter Sunday is the day when you just have to wear an Easter Bonnet, right? Since none of my more colourful dresses had coordinating hats, I decided to forgo the brighter colours in place of a hat and ended up with this cream coloured straw, which is probably my best hat, and this new-to-me vintage dress, which coordinated nicely with the cream tones.

This dress is the one I picked up last fall from the thrift store. It is a true vintage piece, but it desperately needed some work before it was wearable. It is made out of some kind of synthetic material (which creases terribly, I discovered!), some of the dye has faded in places, the bow on the front was rather limp, there were rips under the arms that had been mended very poorly, and the hem was about two inches too short. I was able to bring the side seams in about 1.5″ on each side, to fix the holes, as well as fitting the bodice better, I reshaped the bow, and also let out the hem. I believe that the dress had been hemmed by the previous owner, as the hem was hand sewn- but with three different colours of thread! 🙂 It is too bad that, whoever she was, she trimmed her hem, as I wish that there had been one more inch to let down. It turned out rather nicely though, despite not having that extra inch in length.

Easter Sunday's New Look, the artyologist, gloves detail

After I had let down the hem and altered the dress, I realized that what the dress really needed was a petticoat, in order for it to hang right- as well as giving that nice “New Look” silhouette. I didn’t have a petticoat that worked with the dress, though, as mine was much too full to wear with it, so two days before Easter Sunday, I got the crazy idea to start “Operation: Save The Petticoat”. I managed to alter my existing one – in the process sewing 17 yards of netting into submission – and finished it just in time. (ps. I will have a post in the future about how I altered the petticoat.)

It was rather fun to wear such a recognizably vintage outfit like this on Sunday- with the hat, shoes, purse, gloves and full skirt. I don’t usually go all out like this, and instead wear more “vintage inspired” outfits on a day to day basis. It was kind of nice to break that mold and do something new- or rather – should I say “old”? 😉

Did you get snow for Easter this year? Do you like to wear an “Easter Bonnet”? And do you like to dress in a more recognizable “vintage” styles, or do you dress in a vintage/modern hybrid – or do you even dress in vintage at all?

Outfit Details:

Dress: Vintage

Hat: Vintage

Purse: Thrifted

Jewellery: Gifted and thrifted

Gloves: Vintage

Belt: Vintage

Shoes: Gabor

Easter Sunday's New Look, the artyologist, portrait

Easter Sunday's New Look, the artyologist, back and dress details

Easter Sunday's New Look, the artyologist, on a chair

Easter Sunday's New Look, the artyologist, outfit details

March 24, 2017

Vintage Covers: Vogue April 1, 1956, The Spring Bonnet

Nicole #myvintagecover dress up, fashion, hat, outfit, photo shoot, style, vintage, vogue

Vintage Vogue Covers, Spring Bonnet, Vogue April 1, 1956, the artyologist

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it, You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade. . .

With the awakening of Lady Spring, a floral covered bonnet will surely not be amiss in your seasonal wardrobe. A natural coloured straw lampshade hat, completely covered in multi-coloured blooms of all varieties is the perfect statement piece for the early days of this season leading up to Eastertide. The white outfit and pale pink earrings recede, allowing the playful blossoms to take centre stage. A flourish of bright and bold lipstick is the perfect final touch for an ensemble that so clearly heralds “Spring”.

Inspiration for this fashion look from the magazine cover of Vogue April 1, 1956.

Vogue cover, April 1, 1956 inspiration image source

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

Florals for February and those projects I never get to, the artyologist

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

Florals for February and those projects I never get to, the artyologist, portrait

Florals for February and those projects I never get to, the artyologist, shoes and hat

Florals for February and those projects I never get to, the artyologist, portrait sitting

Florals for February and those projects I never get to, the artyologist, fur and brooch

Florals for February and those projects I never get to, the artyologist, at museum

February 6, 2017

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence

Nicole outfits fashion, hat, outfit, style, thrifted, vintage, winter

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist

I’m not doing too well with the first week into my second year of blogging am I? I celebrated my 1 year anniversary and then promptly got sick and have been away from blogging for a week now. Sigh. At least I did have this post mostly ready to go, and I am on the mend now with lots of ideas for posts to come!

Winter fashion consists mainly of outerwear. In the winter, you can come up with the most fabulous outfit ever, but eventually you are going to have to put a coat on over the top of it. This video, which my brother showed me a while ago, illustrates this effect perfectly, and humorously. (Although I really do want each of those vintage coats!!) Fashion and winter don’t mix well, and this is why it is important (as in not important in the grand scheme of life, but important from a fashion point of view) to have multiple winter coats, and to make sure that your outerwear, whatever it may be, is fashionable. Your climate, to some extent, does dictate your wardrobe so, for me and many others, this means coats.

This is my everyday winter coat. I bought it from a thrift store four or five years ago, and it was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. It is a cashmere and wool blend (no man-made fibres except for the lining) and is the warmest coat I have ever owned. I used to walk to and from work during the winter (in some of the coldest weather I have ever known- one day the temperatures dropped to -49 degrees, I kid you not) and I was toasty warm during the 15 minute walk. I think it is so warm because of the fibre blend and that it is almost ankle length. A long coat like this keeps your legs warm, and thus the rest of you as well. This coat does such a good job of insulating, that I can’t wear it any time the temperatures warm up!

I believe it is from the 1980’s, judging by the raglan sleeve, but the style is so classic that it easily lends itself to any era. It’s a “vintage chameleon”, to quote Jessica. The only thing that it doesn’t work well for is full skirts, as there is no room for pouffiness and you end up looking rather squashed in. When I first got the coat, it had a tie belt, but as the belt made it look rather like a bathrobe, I quickly amended that situation by removing the belt loops and have been wearing it this way ever since. Thus, it is one of the most versatile and weatherproof winter coats I have ever owned. It is starting to show some wear, and the lining is starting to shatter (I am not looking forward to that repair job!) but I do believe that it will have many more serviceable years ahead. You just can’t get quality like vintage anymore, can you?

It actually wasn’t very cold the day we took these pictures, which is why I was actually able to take the coat off so you could see what I was wearing underneath! The photos kind of go in stages: toasty warm wearing the coat, then the scarf off, then the coat over the shoulders and then finally no coat at all. Of course, right when I had the coat off, a giant and freezing cold wind came up and cut that short! It’s as though the weather was scolding me- “What are you doing out here without a coat on, you silly girl!”

Do you often find yourself having to cover up your outfits with outerwear, or are you able to get away with lighter layers or no coats at all? What requirements do you have, when it comes to outerwear? And what did you think of that video? 🙂

Outfit Details:

Hat: Gifted

Scarf: a gift from my brother, which he got in Nepal

Coat: Vintage, thrifted

Dress: Thrifted

Boots: Gabor

Belt: Thrifted

Jewelry: Gifted

Tights: Hue

Purse: Nine West

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, 1940's style

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, vintage style coat and hat

My colour scheme in this outfit was directly inspired by this lichen covered tree. No, just kidding. I just noticed it when we were out and thought that it was funny the colours matched so well to what I was wearing 😉

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, tree tops

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, vintage cashmere coat

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, winter style

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, winter coat style

Almost like a cape.

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, tree with lichen

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, purse detail

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, vintage style winter coat

Winter Outerwear: The Bane and Blessing of Our Existence, the artyologist, vintage style pearl necklace

January 24, 2017

Outfit: The Navy and The Red Coats

Nicole outfits dress up, fashion, hat, military inspired, photo shoot, style, thrifted, vintage

The Navy and the Redcoats, military fashion, the artyologist

Have you ever stopped to think about how many of the words we use daily are actually military terms that have sifted down into everyday use? Words such as ‘khaki”, which now means a dull greenish tan colour, but originated from the Persian word for “dust” that was used to describe the uniforms of the soldiers stationed in the Middle East. Or the word “alarm” which originally came from the Italian phrase “all’ arme!” meaning “to arms!” The phrase “top brass” refers to a person of authority. There is debate about where the term came from, but it most likely originated because of the brass insignias officers wear to denote rank. Or even the term “navy blue”, which again hearkens back to the colour of the uniforms worn by the British Navy.

This all may seem rather unrelated to anything, but I started thinking about this when I wrote a note to myself to remember this outfit. I wrote: “Navy Dress/ Red Coat” which immediately called to mind, of course, the Navy and the Red Coats, (a slang term for the British Army). Completely by accident, this outfit I wore last week is even rather military inspired. The buttoned red velvet jacket, the fluffy navy blue hat, and even the touches of brass jewellery. I’ve got a bit of both the Army and the Navy showing through in this outfit, so of course a military/exploration inspired photo shoot was in order. There’s nothing I love better than a good theme. 😉 I wish I’d had a flag I could have posed with, to mark the territory I conquered, but as I didn’t, you’ll have to make believe with the walking stick I grabbed off of an obliging dead tree, the binoculars I used to spy out enemy territory, and this decrepit old bunker I have claimed as mine. All done while being fashionably attired of course. 😉

Outfit Details:

Hat: Thrifted

Military Inspired Jacket: Thrifted

Dress: Simplicity 1777

Shoes: Thrifted

Purse: Second Hand

Cuffs: A gift

Ring: Thrifted

The Navy and the Redcoats, Military Inspired, the artyologist