Mixing Things Up

One of the things about having a smaller wardrobe is that it really forces you to be more creative. I had some extra time to get ready in the morning so I set out to whip up an outfit I'd never worn before. Here it is!

This ensemble includes several items that I've had for a while but don't wear very often for one reason or another. I'm trying really hard to either find ways to wear these pieces or let them go.

One is this great purple snood. It's actually my very first snood which I purchased for a Renaissance Festival costume before I decided I liked wearing them for 1940s styles too. Alas, I don't really wear a lot of purple so it doesn't get worn very often. But you don't have to wear a color in the main part of your outfit before you can add it via an accessory.

The other piece is this great white collared sweater which you may remember from my 1920s outfit. I bought it thinking that it would be a great basic but then realized that I'm not too keen on the high neckline on me.

Then I thought what if I added a brooch or a bow at the neckline? Tada! Perhaps I need more bows and a whole host of lady ties since I adore this look so much!

And, lastly, a great pair of shoes. These used to be among my special occasion shoes but not anymore! As long as it's not supposed to rain, these babies are going to get loads of wear.

Oh, the power of basic solids! Not one thing I'm wearing matches but the colors all go together so the whole outfit works.

 I also took the opportunity to try out Jen's snood style from the A Vintage Vanity / Lisa Freemont Street collaboration. And wow, it turned out great! Who would have thought that my fine short hair could do such a huge voluminous 40s style like this one!

The secret is stand up pin curls, volumizing powder and back combing with an actual back combing brush. And a great tutorial, of course!

I did have to make one cheat though. This style is meant to give the look of rolls without the difficulty of actual rolls but my hair on the light side of the part was too short to pull it off! So I just substituted an actual roll instead.

Shhh! Don't tell Jen!

 Have you tried any new outfit combos or hair styles lately?

A bit of Carmen Miranda

The weather forecast for Sunday was hot and humid and I'd be spending most of the day without ac, so cool was the main thought behind my wardrobe choices. My Mexican blouse got me in the mood for a little Latin American flair in my outfit.

Outfit:
blouse: Mexico in Epcot
Skirt: me-made Wearing History Sailor Playsuit
Necklace: Charming Charlie
Snood: Arthelia's Attic
Hair flowers: Belle Blossoms

Carmen Miranda always had the most fabulous hats in bright colors so I loaded on the bright hair flowers to give some excitement to my look.

My husband thought it would be fun to have me pose with the birds. They have not spent much time outside and I'm not sure they appreciated the excursion much but they were so cute!

It's been so hot and humid that I've been wearing snoods a lot lately. My hair is finally long enough to sort of fill out a snood again! Woot!

I also wore my 40s tourist style wedges. I love all of the colors which means I can wear them with just about anything.

 How are you beating the summer heat?

Workin' On It

 Sarah is trying to show more works in progress this year and I thought that sounded like a great idea, especially since I plan on sewing slower over the next few months. (Also I have four projects I'm working on and another dozen or so that are in the active planning phase.) So here they go.

1. The not so much to look at yet jacket

Oh, I finally decided what to do with my blackberry cord. The Simplicity 3688 1940s retro jacket won out. Jackets are great wardrobe staples. I do already have a corduroy Beignet (which I actually wore today) and I think if I do want to make the cape, I'll go the whole nine yards and make the entire matching set.

I lined it with this lovely plaid quilting cotton from my stash. I was going really good on this project until I realized that I didn't have any good lining for the sleeves. Actual garment lining instead of the quilting cotton will make it much easier to take on and off. So I had to go to Jo-Ann's and get some lining. (I choose green to match the little green stripe and because I like green.) Hopefully, I can make another dent in this project tomorrow.

I did bound button holes. It's been a while since I've done them but they came out pretty good. I'm using some pretty silver buttons to go in the holes.

#2 The Ceylon Shirt Muslin

 

I have a particular version of Colette Pattern's Ceylon that I want to make but I was worried about the fit of the bodice as it's kind of complicated and it's an empire waist. (Empire waist + having a large chest = underbust seam not under the bust!) So I decided to whip up a blouse wearable (hopefully) muslin in some more quilting cotton from the sash. I picked up some nice red buttons to go with it. This will not be getting bound button holes if my new machine decides to play nice.

#3 A Stitch in Time 30s mustard sweater

I decided not to do the 3 hour sweater and to switch over to this lovely 30s sweater from A Stitch in Time Vol. 2. I did a lot of knitting during the holidays as you can see. I just hope I have enough yarn! I have exactly the number of balls as the pattern calls for so I should be ok, but I am a bit nervous as I would have picked up one more if I had purchased this yarn for this project from the get go.

 

I also picked up this book from a used book store after realizing that I'd spent two hours knitting part of this sweater (and my entire Cadence) wrong. Apparently, I've been knitting Ktbl instead of K. Whoops! I did rip out the part of this sweater, though I think my Cadence looks fine. So, I thought I could use a an actual knitting book. I'm not too thrilled about the B word on the cover but I have heard good things about this book and it was cheap.

#4 Gettin' Snoody

Almost all of the knitting projects in A Stitch in Time Vol 2 use tiny needle and tiny thread so I thought I could use a practice project (or two) to get used to them before I commit to a big project. The first of these practice projects is a lovely snood I'm making up in a red wool blend.

What have you been working on this new year?

P.S. Edith's black floral blouse should be coming your way tomorrow. Yay for nice weather for outside pictures!