outfit

Chintz & Cosmos

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standing in front of a rock wall with a flower garden behind it

Happy September, Dear Readers! The air is feeling crisp and it’s beginning to feel like Fall, but before the season completely changes, it’s about time I shared this dress-turned-skirt I made back in June. I don’t know why I forgot to take photos of if (I’ve been wearing it quite a lot!) but it actually turned out well leaving it until now to take photos, because look how nicely it matches the front flower garden. Cosmos, petunias, evening scented stocks and sunflowers. This flower bed used to have two giant peonies in it, but this Spring the bed had to be completely excavated for plumbing issues, and the pink peony didn’t end up back up in this flower bed. (It’s been planted elsewhere now…)

blue and pink chintz floral skirt

So yes, this halter dress came up on our church’s free group last year and I hesitated to claim it since I was thinking of altering it, so I let it go to someone else. And then a year later it came back up for grabs and I didn’t hesitate to claim it then! And I am so happy that I did because I love how it turned out. As far as refashioning projects go, this was one of the simplest and it only took a few hours to complete.

light and dark pink cosmos flowers

navy eyelet detail sleeveless shirt

Paired with my navy tie front blouse (or a navy t-shirt some days) it has been perfect for summer.

navy blue silk scarf tied onto the handle of a wicker purse

I’ve been really into tying scarves onto handbags lately. I don’t always like wearing scarves because I find them too hot, but they add such a nice touch to a bag.

pink and white cosmos flowers

I’ve been wearing my dainty heart pearl pendant on repeat lately. It pairs well with a more casual outfit to elevate it, but it’s also not overwhelming with a more dressed up outfit.

gold heart and pearl necklace pendant

sitting on a rock wall in front of a flower garden

It’s definitely starting to feel like September. I hope we get a nice warm Fall this year. I never thought I would say it, but I’m sad Summer is almost over. It’s never been my favourite season (re: heat), but this year we didn’t get much sun, so I would love a little bit more!

How is your September so far? Are you ready for Fall, or still holding onto the vestiges of Summer? And how does your garden grow? 

in front of a flower garden full of cosmos blooms

blue chiffon scarf tied around the handle of a wicker bag

standing in front of a rock wall with a flower garden full of cosmos, sunflowers and petunias

wearing a chintz floral skirt with a navy blue shirt and standing in front of a flower garden

Blue Eyelet

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wearing a smoke blue eyelet shirtwaist dress with a rattan bag walking underneath elm trees

And here’s the dress I finished sewing…three months ago! I gave a sneak peek in this post, and then never got actual outfit photos. So here they are finally.

smoke blue eyelet shirtwaist dress paired with a leather belt

I started sewing this dress back in 2018, I think it was. I was going to finish it in time to wear it to the Ladies’ Garden Tea that year, but, well, obviously that didn’t happen. I threw it aside in despair for 8 years, and then pulled it out this past spring to finish it. The way I had left it actually wasn’t the best fit, so no wonder I wasn’t pleased with it. I ended up raising the waistline, cutting 8″ off the hem, (originally I had planned for it to be floor length) and adding sleeves.

smoke blue eyelet shirtwaist style dress

The button placement is wonky, and there are some areas that aren’t the best fit, which I shan’t point out to you, but it’s done! And I’ve worn it several times already! I was planning to sew a matching belt, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I like it with the leather belt, though, so we’ll see whether I end up sewing one or not.

shirtwaist collar and sleeve details, paired with a dainty pearl necklace

wearing a blue eyelet shirtwaist dress and walking underneath an arch of trees

Paired with my new round rattan purse, and my old ankle strap sandals: I absolutely love this outfit and am so happy this dress is out of the Pile and into the wardrobe.

This round purse is the most impractical thing, it doesn’t even fit my wallet, but I have no regrets. I have always wanted one of these, and found this one on Poshmark. I just noticed it’s facing backwards in the picture below-oops!

round rattan and leather purse

And I guess that’s all I have to say about this. I had a goal this year to sew one new garment for myself. So far, I have only finished up half completed projects, and alteration/mending projects, and I don’t know whether that’s a goal I am going to actually achieve this year. Still, I have been sewing a lot more this year than in past years, and that’s the important thing.

Do you have any sewing (or creative) goals for this year? Any half finished projects sitting in the Pile that you just need to push through and finish? 

peering over shoulder standing underneath elm trees

walking under an arch of elm trees wearing a blue eyelet shirtwaist dress

From Winter to Summer

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standing in front of a metal shed wearing a neutral toned outfit

One day it was Winter, and then we skipped right over Spring into Summer…at least that is what it feels like! It’s that weird time of year when you’ll have a blizzard with 6″ of snow, like we did last Saturday, and then a few days later, the snow is gone and it’s +20 out. And just where did the month of April go? Did it zip past you too?

The weather swings do make it a bit difficult to plan outfits, as well as deciding what to keep out and what to pack away for the season. My closet is a little full at the moment with multiple seasons of clothing out.

a quilted purse with wooden handles

This outfit was a fairly good mix; a nod to the cooler temperatures with the sweater and oxford shoes, and then the flower ring and the quilted fabric bag have a more summer weather feel to them.

Every time I try to add “more colour” into my wardrobe, I always end up pairing it back to these more muted tones. This outfit is the perfect match to the colours of nature at the moment, though; brown trees with catkins, grass starting turn green and blue skies.

spring outfit of muted brown and green tones

This is a new thrifted ring I got, mentioned in this post. It is not comfortable in the slightest, but I absolutely love it, and it’s totally worth it for fashion.

pressed flower brass ring

spring outfit with muted green and brown tones

kraken necklace

spring outfit of neutral tones

The grass is starting to turn green, the sun is shining and the tulips and irises are starting to come up…and I am so ready for it! Happy May 1st!

Are you in Spring where you live, or did you jump right into Summer? Do you struggle with seasonal wardrobe transitions?

neutral green, brown and blue toned outfit

Christmas Velvet

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black velvet and lace christmas outfit paired with silver rhinestone jewelry and accessories

Our church Christmas banquet was yesterday. It’s not a super formal event by any means, but when not many opportunities to “dress up” come your way, it’s nice to pull out the velvet and lace when you can!

decorating the christmas tree wearing a black lace outfit

I thrifted this vintage (1980’s?) velvet skirt in 2017, and after I brought it home, discovered that a piece of the hem had been cut out. I wore it a couple of times like that, but finally decided that it was time to actually fix it before it frayed to pieces. So I cut the hem off, stitched it to a grosgrain ribbon and then turned the hem up and hand stitched it in place. The skirt got shortened about 1″ over all and it’s actually a better length now, and the grosgrain gives the hem a nice shape.

vintage rhinestone earring detail

Paired with my black lace top, it gives the impression of a dress.

christmas outfit vintage rhinestone and pearl necklace

And then I accessorized with silver and rhinestones: shoe clips, earrings, necklace and a silver, metal clutch.

And that’s all for this blog until after Christmas; I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Dear Readers!

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5

rhinestone bow shoeclips on low black pumps

vintage silver metal clutch purse

standing by the christmas tree wearing a vintage velvet and lace christmas outfit

What’s Old Is New Again

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Wearing a peach skirt and brown shirt standing in front of an old gas tank outside in the grass with trees and fields in the background

The good thing about developing personal style, as opposed to just following fashion, is that, hopefully, you will end up with a closet full of things you like that feel like “you”.

I’ve been curating and collecting my closet intentionally to have a classic, vintage flair to it for over 15 years now, and though in the past few years my style has changed and evolved, and I’ve downsized my closet, there are still quite a few pieces that I have consistently worn during that entire time. Then, there are some other pieces that I haven’t worn for years, but haven’t been able to let go of.

wearing brown and peach tones in an outfit standing outside with fall fields in the background

Case in point: these high heeled sandals by Franco Sarto. I got these sometime around 2010? I can’t remember for certain, but judging by the style, it was around then. I wore them quite a bit at the time, and they’ve even been on the blog a few times, but somewhere along the way, I stopped wearing them. While I still liked them, I never reached for them. They weren’t in good enough condition to sell or donate, and because I did still like them I just kept hanging onto them letting them take up space in my closet.

wearing a peach and brown monochromatic outfit posed in front of an old gas tank

And then this summer I pulled them out and started styling them with my outfits again, such as this more muted and monochromatic outfit and I loved the effect. I started wearing an old favourite in a new way.

wearing a brown top and a long pendant necklace outside in the field

I think this is the key to style- not decluttering every item we haven’t worn for one year (that’s a pretty rigid way to keep your closet!) but determining whether the clothes we own are bringing us happiness, regardless of how often we are wearing them. Of course, I have decluttered some items, even recently, that I don’t wear often, but it’s because I realized the reason I wasn’t wearing them was because I didn’t actually like them! (the fit/ colour /comfort was wrong etc.)

But for items we aren’t wearing, but are still drawn to, maybe it’s just because we need a break for a while. And then when we pull them out in the future, they’ll feel fresh and exciting again.

grandmother's button antique pendant necklace

Another example is my pendant necklaces which I used to wear often. Then, over the past couple of seasons I really got into the more dainty necklaces that were trending. I still like my dainty necklaces, but I recently wore my Grandmother’s Button pendant with this outfit, and remembered how much I like a good, long pendant too.

It’s like the ubiquitous owl necklaces that were all the rage in 2010. I have one myself, which I still love. I don’t wear it anymore and have put it away in my “extra” jewelry box. I’m sure I will pull it out in the future again and do you know why? Because 2010 is not the first time owls hit the trend cycle. My sister has an owl pendant from the 1970’s and it’s just as cute now as it was 50 years ago.

wearing a monochromatic peach and brown toned outfit outside in the fall fields

Or how about mushrooms and toadstools? Those are everywhere right now! Also they were also everywhere in the 1970’s! I guess my point is that trends come and go (apparently trends specifically from the 70’s), but if you focus on buying things that you actually like (especially if you liked them before everyone and their dog was buying them) then they will last you a long time. And it’s not that trends are necessarily bad, it’s just that they become over saturated and we tire of them.

holding a bouquet of grasses outside in the fall fields

But even if you might get tired of things you used to love, that doesn’t mean you won’t love them again in the future, especially if you style them in a fresh, new way.

What trends have you been drawn to in the past that you still love today? Are there any pieces you’ve put aside for now, but will bring back in the future? 

outside in the fall fields wearing a brown top paired with a peach skirt and an antique button pendant necklace

walking across the field wearing a monochromatic peach and brown toned outfit

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