new cat behavior

 
































This is due to to the fact that vintage children fashions of the 20's and 30's largely copied adult ones, to the extent that may times children looked like miniature adults. So, I thought, this could work the other way around too :). 

Then, discovering the same neckline in adult patterns from the 20's and early 30's, I realized that I was more than legitimate in my wishes, and nothing else stopped this one become a reality.

Here it is, pictured without the belt, I took this pic as in the ones where the vest is worn the texture is very hard to make out. 

The vest was knitted in Rowan Felted Tweed DK, a shade called Rage (?!), and the yarn itself is a mixture of wool, alpaca and viscose. 3 balls (150g) were enough for this. 

Mother reports an easy knit, she really enjoyed the yarn. Which is good, since I'm going to want the skirt next :)

 

"It is not your colour", a friend said when this arrived from Patty's Vintage Garden on etsy.
Well, the background does look a lot like the colour of my own skin, this much is true. But is that really going to be a problem? Nothing a nice bright lipstick won't solve, I thought...

A close up of the ruffles and the "confetti" print, or reminiscent of op art. 

Everything stands up so much better in this photo from the seller, while things get a bit lost in mine. To some extent this is caused by an under performing camera and the the poor light in my living room. But what if my friend is right, and I can't see it because I'm so smitten with the dress?! I have been wearing that bright lipstick you know...

I promised the other day to bore you with numerous photos of this outfit, but one more will suffice in order to make my claim to an earlier style than I wear usually, dating to the first half of the 1920's. I love this period, but don't get much of a chance to emulate it. The look I've been inspired by in this particular instance is rooted as far back as the 1922-1923, albeit in a heavier, more voluminous manner that its slightly later correspondents.

L'Officiel de la Mode, 1922

 In only a matter of a couple of years silhouettes became more streamlined, with everything, including hats, diminishing in volume. With the increased importance of making clothes that would be practical, casual and sports minded, this was a natural process. Plaid was a perennial favorite though, as you can see below, great in this 1923 coat as well as in the 1924 skirts that follow.

Next I would love to try the variation with a cardigan and tie from above - Marion here did it so well! - or with a nice long open vest with pockets and belt...Hm, I can just about see some more knitting projects on the horizon...

 

Speaking about putting a base piece to more uses, what do you think about this? It certainly responds to my need of change and "adventure", of starting from the same point but taking a side route and arriving to something altogether different. 

It also gives me that sense of satisfaction that you get when the things in your wardrobe just click together, like a puzzle that falls into place.

For all these reasons and more, I love this outfit. Not bad for a cheap dress that I picked for my shop - it never made it there, fits far too well in my wardrobe - and a cardigan that mum knitted out of remnants from a different project! 

The forest green and wine red are yummy together, and I like the off center/asymmetric fastening illusion coming from the sides that overlap - they are not meant to, but since the cardi is quite roomy it allows me to do this. I have fastened it in place with pins for a style that is more 30's sympathetic.

I have accessorized with a 1930's Robin Hood style hat, a tiny treasure that comes in dark green velvet. It has a grosgrain bow that is in need of a trim, but even so, it has to be the star of this ensemble.

A Deco "hide" clutch in two tones of green, one of the favorites in my collection, and just the thing for this outfit!
Finally, another pair of Poetic Licence shoes, I am a fan of what they produced a few seasons ago.

Remember this dress? Well, I've always wanted to show you a better view of it, but this wasn't my lucky day of camera cooperation.  Anyway, you get to see a different outfit using the same base piece, in a  40's inspired approach.

The shoes look rather Mod if anything, but in spite of that :) I still love them. So I decided to get this vintage fur collar (died rabbit) to match the leopard print on these wedges. It has seen better days, but haven't we all?!...

 For a spot of authenticity I added this 40's copper brooch. Isn't she a beauty? Believe or not, I have come across 2, one which which is up for grabs in my etsy store!

This is what I wore today; in spite of not involving a lot of actual vintage, I am rather pleased with this outfit. By the way, what looks like crazy hot pink is in fact magenta in real life, and nowhere near that bright. 

You can see a detail of the accessories in the second pic, together with a sneak preview of a seriously big cardigan - about 3 sizes more than I wear, which I picked up today because I couldn't not to.. ahem. 

And now I'm off to check out some more stuff on line, as my over excited shopping mood seems to coincide with  a number of promotions on etsy (see Rhianon's comment to my previous post, to mention just one). 

I must be good though!...So perhaps turn to buttons?!...

This mid 30's inspired knit is the last in the current series.

It is made from a wonderful yarn,75% wool 25% silk, that behaved extremely well and on which both mother and I are hooked.
So much so I can't wait to get more!

This little project started - surprise, surprise! - with a sporty short sleeve blouse, yet another golf little number.
I am not showing this yet as it's waiting for the buttons to arrive (yes, that's right, I bought special 30's green glass buttons to go with it :)).
Then I wanted a skirt to match. When the skirt was done, there was yarn left. So I thought: why not a 3 piece ensemble? That's how the cardigan was born.
And that's the making of one glorious set!

It all turned out wonderfully if I may say so myself, I am beyond happy with this, all pieces fit perfectly, and the work is definitely worthy of its vintage inspiration / counterpart. 

I love you mother, and let me say: we have arrived!
This is the right league.

Childhood revisited or to put it bluntly, mutton dressed as lamb? Call it as you may, I obviously couldn't resist the temptation (see the grin). 

My worst to date, Mr P endeavored to remark. Apparently I have absolutely outdone myself in choosing the most unflattering shape and going for the "institutionalized child" look, possibly slightly retarded too...Ha ha! Well it certainly isn't one of my more mature choices... Joke aside, I can see where he's coming from ...if by institutionalized he means an early 30's boarding school, that is :).
Because that's where this piece of cloth works its magic for me. The evocative capacity is second to none among the vintage I posses . And while by no means do  I have a comprehensive collection, I still find the fact significant.

"This dress is not as nice as you think" says he. Yet the point is not that, but a different matter altogether. 

...I'm about to chase butterflies, roll in the grass and watch the clouds become fiery dragons reduced to nothing by valiant princes, my eyes dipped into the blue, my heart soaked into the light of this eternal summer... So it's not "nice" I give you, my friend - or rather, I give to myself - but a split second of a paradise forever lost, or perhaps only ever imagined, a glimpse du temps perdu I could almost catch through my tinted glass of nostalgia.

I was not particularly taken by this outfit when I put it together, plus I was having one of those days when you don't know what to do with your hair: not freshly washed so not looking its prime, not vintage curled  therefore making it difficult, if not impossible, to work a vintage outfit...

Having said that, things turned out better than I had thought: one of those cases were phrases like "effortless chic", which normally leave me with a sensation of numbness, start to make a dim half a sense, or at the very least I don't feel like my own clothes hate me. Most of time I try very hard with little success, so it is refreshing no to be crippled by the  effort. 

Yet I can't and will never take a perfect picture - something (such a lowered belt showing a missing button) will rearrange things in their natural order where my best will never be any more than a "good try" nor will it fool anybody. Still, with so many things around to bring one down, little matters a button...

Outfit: vintage crocheted gimp hat, as worn here and here; late 40's suit jacket; vintage knitted wine dress; modern shoes, by Carvela, and modern belt, from TK Max; 40's brown cord bag (was probably a purse); late 50's to 60's cherry amber brooch and vintage horn bead necklace.