Friday, August 29, 2014

La Vie en Blanc

Happy Friday, everyone! And to those of you in the good old U.S. of A., happy Labor Day Weekend!
So yesterday was my 100th post. Whaaaaaaaat. I know that I post kind of a lot, but I never realized that I did it quite that much. I only started this blog in late March of this year, so that means I've done 100 posts in only six months.
I'm really happy with how well this blog has progressed. I feel like I've really found my voice (a lot less pretentious than one would assume from my first post) (no, I'm not going to link to it, because it makes me cringe a little bit) (well, not that much, but still), and I've also found a comfortable posting schedule, with a good variety of the different things that I want to talk about. Yes, I'm usually talking about clothing or vintage photos or something like that, but I also find space to talk about my nerdy tendencies or feminism.
8c19551v
Vintage fashion and social justice: how could I resist?
So, from here on out, you can expect me to bookend the week with outfit posts. It makes sense, right? I dress up on the weekends, so I usually post that on Mondays, and I can usually manage interesting outfits a couple of times a week, so I can post about it again on Fridays. In the middle, I can do a list of things that I'd like to buy or a movie that I've seen recently that I like or something that's made me really mad (or happy, I guess) about the state of the world. It may not be the most coherent blog format in the world, but one of the things that I wanted to do when I started this was reflect a real person, and a real person's interests. Mine, obviously.
Labor Day is coming up, and while I'm certainly going to continue to wear white well after that date, the burst of warm weather that we're having in Chicago has me running to the lightest dresses in my closet.
I picked this dress up a while back, at a local flea market called The Vintage Garage, for only $10. Although it's comfortably light-weight, as well as being light in color, I think it's one that I'm going to carry with me through fall. I'm picturing it with a high necked blouse underneath or a cardigan on top; the longer length, with a pair of tights and some ankle boots, still seems really perfect to me, like that great 30s tea dress that I want but can't seem to find for the right price.
30s drama3
I really love these shoes, which are very 20s or 30s inspired, but they're just a tiny bit too tight on me. I keep meaning to have them stretched so that I can wear them all the time.
30s drama
This dress works much better with a belt than without, I think. It's very fitted through the torso - so fitted, in fact, that I can't wear a bra with it. By my own strange calculus, since I can't do anything to prop up the girls, I have to cinch the waist to maintain the same proportions. That's just math, folks.
30s drama4
I'm finally wearing the dress clip that I purchased from The Best Vintage Clothing. I read something somewhere about clipping a dress clip over a necklace to make them more versatile, and that actually works really well for me. It makes a really beautiful pendant, and I've been returning to it a lot this week.
30s drama2
When I purchased this dress, I initially intended to have it hemmed to just below knee length. However, as we've crept closer to fall and I've gotten more into 30s styles, I've fallen a little bit in love with the lower calf length. My legs are very muscular and not exceptionally long, so it's not the most flattering length on me, but sometimes what's traditionally flattering doesn't always have to be the final consideration when you think about clothes. That's not to say that I want to look bad, but one of the fun parts of fashion is questioning, and sometimes breaking, the rules. Who says you have to be supermodel tall to wear tea length?
By the time I post again, we will have officially passed the unofficial start of fall. And it will be, like, 80 degrees here, so I still won't be able to bust out my sweaters and tweed. Please remind me how annoyed I am with how hot it is now when it's negative 20 and snowing this winter.

10 comments:

  1. A dress clip!! I'd never even heard of these before, let alone seen one. I actually think the length of this looks pretty good - because it's not too pouffy, it doesn't just look wrong, it looks like, well, a tea dress. Keep it long, I say!

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    1. They're actually a pretty great accessory - you can clip it to a chain to wear like a necklace, or to the neckline of your dress or the ribbon of a hat. You can usually find them pretty cheaply too. This is my first one, but I'm definitely getting more in the future.

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  2. That dress is beautiful and what a great price. I say don't hem it, it's good to have dresses in a variety of lengths. Tea length dresses tend to make me look short and squatty but I have 2 in my closet for cooler weather and with a cardigan the look isn't too bad. Congrats on 100 posts.

    Knitting in Pearls

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    1. Thank you! I figure a good pair of heels really helps in any situation too.

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  3. So pretty! Best ten bucks ever spent! I definitely think you should keep it as a tea length dress, I love wearing longer lengths like this. It looks perfect on you :)

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    1. This was definitely my steal of the summer. Almost literally. The tag had fallen off, and when I offered the woman $10, she said no at first, but then changed her mind when I started walking away.

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  4. *Novelty print swoon* Oh my gosh, do I madly love that dress. I have the biggest perpetual crush on any fruit or veggie (or really, food in general) themed/print garment of accessory, so this dress pretty much has my knees turning to the constancy of an overripe plum. :D

    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Your comment made me laugh. It would have been worth buying for the print alone, even if it didn't fit right or wasn't a good shape for me. I just love how unusual it is - the blues and reds and oranges are so vibrant and fun, and in a weird way it goes with everything. Definitely one of my favorites.

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