Baby I'm Howling For You

If you didn't already see it, yesterday I posted my list of Black Friday deals and coupons, including really fantastic coupons from TheBestVintageClothing.com, Chronically Vintage on Etsy, and ReVamp Vintage. Go check it out! Better yet, spread the word. I'll be posting the coupon codes throughout the week on my Instagram account (@cakesvintage), so repost at will.

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When I was in college I took a class on fairy tales and folklore, and Little Red Riding Hood was a really fascinating one to dissect. It's a generally accepted premise that fairy tales are told to children to help them understand how the world works, and they reflect our subconscious fears and desires. That's why there are so many similar ones across different cultures around the world. Little Red Riding Hood expresses the fears of growing up, of women reaching maturity and exploring their sexuality, and the dangers inherent in that. If you're interested in a modern, feminist interpretation of the story, Angela Carter's short story The Bloody Chamber is a really good.
This weekend was surprisingly warm, if damp, so I made a point to get a little dressed up and take some fun photos. I've been feeling very inspired by fairy tales and folk inspired details, and a cheeky take on Little Red Riding Hood just kind of spontaneously came together.

Ok, so I'm not wearing red, I don't have a hood, and I'm not particularly little. I sort of liked the implication of Little Red wearing a nice *cough* fur cape, though, as if she'd handled the wolf problem and had a little something to show for it.

I've worn this dress before, most recently here, and I was happy to discover that it actually works pretty well as a layering piece. A prim, peter pan collar blouse with a brooch at the neck and another, shorter skirt in a coordinating color pretty easily took it from summertime sundress to something folkloric and fall appropriate, like a dirndl with an apron.

I was actually pinning up the skirt to hem it, and when I tried it on, I realized that I liked the look of the slightly longer underskirt. I didn't leave it this way, but I thought for the photos it was a fun touch. I might replicate the look with a longer petticoat or cotton slip in the future.

I've been trying to find different ways to use my backyard, just so that I'm not taking the same photos over and over again, and I think I like this higher vantage point. I don't have a remote trigger for my camera, though, so it's probably pretty amusing watching me run up and down a flight of stairs umpteen times to push the button.
Do you have a favorite fairy tale? I'll be honest, while I like reading them, it tends to frustrate me that, because of when and where they come from, the women are always helpless damsels, waiting for men to rescue them. I usually enjoy reading interpretations of them that give the women in the stories a little more agency and power. Neil Gaiman has some decent ones like that, and the aforementioned Angela Carter does as well.