Be a Princess

Disney World is one of my favorite places to go especially the Magic Kingdom! So I was super excited to spend the day there with my hubby and a few friends.

 Ever since I got this Pin Up Girl Clothing skirt, I knew I had to wear it to the Magic Kingdom one day and that day has arrived! It was so much fun to run around in a very princess-y skirt all day.

It was quite busy the day we went so I didn't get any shots in front of the castle but I did stop in a secluded pathway to grab a couple quick iPhone photos for you guys. The weather was gorgeous so a lot of people had the same idea to visit Disney as we did.

I did have a lot of people compliment me on this skirt. It's so pretty! It kind of makes me wish that I had worn my tiara too but the last time I wore a tiara around Disney, it ended up getting broken and I didn't want that to happen again. :(

So who is your favorite Disney princess? My favorites are Belle and Snow White.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Ah, Christmas! My favorite season is here! There's something quite magical about this time of the year. And I try to wear all of the Christmas themed outfits as much as possible between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So when I had a few Christmas parties to go this weekend, I pulled out a green skirt and red sweater for an easy holiday look. While it's not the most obnoxiously festive outfit in my closet, it's definitely a pairing that I can't pull off for most of the year!

Recently, I added a few plain t-shirts to my wardrobe and I've been wearing them a lot. They are great, comfortable basics even if they are not period appropriate.

However, I can't help but think that if t-shirts like this would have been available in the 1940s, they would have been a staple in the wardrobes of hard working, make do and mend ladies. So I don't have a problem of including them in a 40s inspired look.

To add a bit more flair to the outfit, I went with red and green jewelry and, of course, red lipstick! Red lippy is a great way to make any outfit feel more retro.

I feel like I've really come full circle in my fashion. When I started this blog, I was all into war ear 40s fashions, but I ended up trying lots of other period-20s, 30s, early 40s, late 40s and 50s.

 I keep coming back to the classic 40s silhouette! It's so flattering on me! I didn't keep many of my 40s pieces in my Project 333 and I've been missing them. So I cheated a bit and pulled this skirt out early.

I'll be doing a Project 333 write up later this month, but while I feel like I could live on just a 33 piece wardrobe, I don't feel like I'm very good at picking out those pieces. I'm to easily distracted by what I want to wear now which may not be what I want to wear in 2-3 months.

 In other news, it's been unseasonably warm lately so I haven't really been able to dig into my fall pieces yet. Boo.

Polka Dot Do Over

I adore polka dots! They are so much fun and can really be dressed up or down. Plus polka dots are a hubby approved print so it's a win win in my book.

White with blue polka dots! Navy and white has become my go to color combo. They look great together and since they are both neutrals, you can pair them with pretty much any other color.

This skirt started out as a very cute polka dot dress. But as with any off the rack woven dress, it had some fit issues in the bodice. Between the fit issues and the fact that my bra always showed under the arms, it didn't get worn nearly as much as it should.

 So I did a quick refashion to turn it into a skirt! I just needed a waist band which I made from the bodice fabric. I was even able to salvage the original zipper so the only thing I needed was some interfacing for the waist band.

I also decided to take advantage of the fact that I was taking this dress apart and added pockets. Everything is better with pockets! The remainder of the bodice yielded the fabric for the pockets. Pockets take surprisingly a lot of fabric so I did end up having to piece one of the pockets.

Pockets and twirling are full of win! I've actually worn this skirt a ton since finishing the refashion. It feels so good to give something new life in my closet.

 And I get loads of compliments when I wear it. I guess everyone else loves polka dots too. :D

I feel like this piece really speaks to my style. The overall shape and length say elegant but the print and pockets are all fun and whimsy! There's nothing like wearing clothes that make you feel like you!

I also added my Star Wars rebel necklace for a bit of nerd flair. While I was at work, it occurred to me that this would be a great R2D2 Disney bound. I just need a pair of R2D2 Mickey ears.

 I'll have to keep that in mind for my next Disney adventure. I have gobs of ideas for Disney bounds. It's such a fun thing to do!

What's your thoughts on polka dots? Are they full of win or just too much?

Refashion and a Re-do

Doing Project 333 has really changed the way I look at clothes. I really thought about some of the pieces that I liked in theory but I never quite got around to wearing. Most of them had fabrics I loved but either the fit was off or I had to wear a fancy bra which I'm not willing to do for more than a few hours.

So I picked four pieces to refashion as part of my fall Project 333. If I could make it work, then they'd become keepers. If not, I can say goodbye knowing that I tried. And here is the first one!

This is a fabric that I fell in love with at Jo-Ann's but I couldn't handle the price tag. But I was able to score it for half off in the red tag clearance section. It's first life was as a wearable muslin of Simplicity 8398 which I later used to make a bridesmaid's dress out of a yummy silk cotton.

The main problems with this dress were that it was a bit long waisted, that it was a bit too big (and I never got around to making the matching belt) and that I couldn't wear a normal bra with it. I decided to refashion it into a pleated skirt.

 I'm much more comfortable with novelty prints only on the bottom half of me anyways. I styled it with a lace cami and white blouse for a very girly look.

 Oh, yeah. I also got my hair cut off this weekend. I tried and tried and tried to grow out my hair and make it work with the Florida humidity but it was not to be. It was not going to happen.

Previously, my pixie cut decisions had been very emotional and impulsive. I wanted a change so I got one. This go around I was much more logical and thought out about it. A pixie is very easy and very me. I love the lifestyle that comes with a pixie. Riding with the windows down anyone.

Not to mention that I absolutely love it! I'm planning on keeping it much longer term than any of my previous pixies. Florida Stephanie has her Florida hair back. :D

And because I couldn't find a photo of the back of my head from my previous pixie, here's the back of my head. Now and forever I'll have a great reference for future pixies.

Overall, I feel like this look really captures what I want my wardrobe to feel like- vintage inspired, bold colors, fun and easy.

Now to just finish the rest of the refashions so I have options in my wardrobe again!

P.S. Check out my other piece of new nerd bling. It's a mobius strip with I love you. I know. stamped around it. Yay Star Wars!

I am a nerd

Long before I loved vintage, I loved nerdy things. In fact, if I hadn't discovered vintage, I probably would have started wearing lots of nerdy t-shirts.

But since no longer have regular t-shirts in my wardrobe, I've not been able to show off my nerd spirit in my wardrobe too much. Super nerd undercover as a fashionista!

But nerds have gotten classy and we have our own nerd bling. A lot of pieces are very obvious but I liked the understated elegance of this necklace.

It goes very well with my favorite 1950s vintage dress which I have been wearing a lot lately.

It's oh so perfect for twirling! And I love that it works equally well with a small work appropriate crinoline and a super huge fabulous crinoline.

I don't wear a lot of yellow gold jewelry since I prefer white gold or silver but I dug deep in my jewelry box for these simple gold hops that I've had since high school. I've never gotten rid of them since they are real gold and thus "nice jewelry".

 I really don't have a lot of nice jewelry and it sometimes makes me feel nervous wearing it but earrings are up and out of the way so I'm not as worried about them.

This necklace is the symbol of the Rebel Alliance in the original Star Wars trilogy. I like the fact that it's very elegant and looks just like a cool shape to the average person. But fellow nerds will know what it is!

I purchased this piece at Hollywood Studios in Orlando, FL and I'm not sure if it's available elsewhere. They also had the Empire logo and some other fun things but this is the one I really liked.

 There's definitely a lot of excitement in the park due to the upcoming new movie and the Star Wars land. I imagine there will be more Star Wars jewelry coming out as well (and probably also ending up in my wardrobe!).

 Do you have any nerd jewelry or outfits? If you've blogged about it, please share a link so we can all see the nerdiness!

The Triple Berry Trifle Dress

Recently, I realized that I'd made it the entire summer without making a nautical dress. Such an oversight had to be remedied asap before the summer was over. And it just so happened that I found the perfect print for a 1920s nautical dress.

I'm pretty sure I've become pretty obsessed with making this cute, easy and comfortable 1920s dresses. I can truly see why women embraced these styles after more form fitted corset requiring fashions!

The Triple Berry Trifle Dress: A 1920s Day Dress

Fabric: 3 yds of quilting cotton ($3/yd), .5 yds linen/rayon for trim ($10/yd)

Pattern: Festive Attyre's 1 Hour Dress Lawn Party edition with collar from Wearing History's 1940s sailor playsuit pattern

Year: 1920s

Notions: thread, zippper

How historically accurate is it? Definitely the wrong weight of fabric although the fabric content is ok. I ended up needing to add a zipper because I added two fish eye darts in the back to give it just a bit more shape. Because of my chest, I need more fabric in the front than the back and just a smidge of shaping in the back to get it to hang correctly.

Hours to complete: These dresses are taking longer and longer to make but still less time that I'd spend on a normal dress pattern so 2.5 hours or so

First worn: August 2015

Total cost: ~$15 

It took a bit of guess work to adapt the collar pattern to this one but I made it work. Reminder, adding this type of collar is easier if you add a seam to the center front.

I used a bit of red bias tape to add to the nautical feel of the dress. There's a bit of red in the print but it's not noticeable from a distance.

Originally, I had planned on making a scarf to go with it but it was too bulky under the collar. Instead, I decided on a big bow.

Nice long necklaces were popular in the 20s to accentuate the long, lean lines that were fashionable at the time. So I figured a bow with long tails would accomplish the same thing.

They are a bit unpractical though, trailing into everything I'm doing. They tend to drip into the sink, dishwasher, pots I'm cooking in, etc. But the bow is just attached with a safety pin so I can remove it whenever I need to.

Guess every fashion needs some impractical features! 

I've been having gobs of fun playing around with 1920s fashions. I'm hoping to do some hair and makeup tutorials soon once I have everything figured out.

 And I've gone and had even more of my hair chopped off for a shorter, more 20s bob. I adore short hair! So easy, so fun! These pictures were taken before the chop so you'll have to wait a bit longer to see it.

 Do you have a favorite nautical piece? Do you reserve it for summer or enjoy it all year round?