Guest Post on Fancy Fine

Remember the other day when I mentioned taking photos for a guest post?  Ashley from Fancy Fine was kind enough to let me take up a little bit of space on her beautiful blog while she's getting settled into her new digs in PA.  I'm so excited to have her as my almost-neighbor and planning out vintage hunting adventures with her.  See the post here! 

Photography: Life in the 50s

To check out today's photography post, you'll have to hop on over to Casey's blog where I'm doing a little guest spot while she's taking a break...

Fancy Fancy Fancy

Hello dears! I am Ashley of Fancy Fine, bringing up the rear of the Guest Blog Train. I was beyond giddy when Jennifer asked me to contribute, so I wanted to show something befitting my blog's name. Something fancy! So here it is, a fancy cocktail dress in the most perfect shade of creamy yellow, worn with a glittery J. Crew belt and my favorite vintage Ferragamos (which tragically lost one of their bows the other day). There aren't enough cocktail parties in the world to satisfy my love for dressing up, so I often just do it during the day and for no reason. A trip to the grocery store? Pull out the sparkle! I'm particularly excited for the holiday season because it means several of my favorite party dresses will get to see some action. Even if it's only at the post office or my favorite burger joint.

dress vintage
belt j. crew
purse vintage
shoes vintage ferragamo

photos by Cecilia Austin

The Olden Days

Hello! I'm Starr from A Thought is the Blossom here to take over the Sally Jane blog for a day. When Jennifer told me that she was going to visit family in Alabama, I immediately thought of my vacation to Mobile last Fall. My sister and I drove there to visit our family too, though we spent a lot of our time digging through antique malls in the downtown historic district. The place was a gold mine when it came to vintage treasures!

The digging and the buying were both fun, but I think more than anything I enjoyed the time I spent with my grandma. I asked her so many questions about her childhood and her parents childhoods – she must have been so annoyed with me by the end. She told me tales about the gypsies that tried to kidnap my great grandma on her walks home from school –they succeeded in shanghaiing one of her brothers for a number of years before eventually returning him home– and she told me all about my great grandfather and how he used to get in trouble for dipping girls hair in ink and sticking tacks in their chairs when he was in school. She also told me a fascinating story about my great, great grandfather.

80s Coat & Boots: Saver's / Vintage Sweater & Jantzen Blouse: Goodwill / Tights: Zara / 70s Dress: Midtown Antique Mall / Vintage Skeleton Key Charm: Blue Moon Antique Mall, DIY

According to her grandmother (my great, great grandmother), when Vicksburg was being besieged by General Grant, things were going badly for the citizens. They were running out of food and other supplies and had no choice but to eat horses and print the newspaper on the back of wallpaper –the paper was a strong line of support that helped keep the morale of the people. At the age of 13, most likely by the influence of his family, my great, great grandfather rode out of Vicksburg and into Lower Peach Tree, AL on a mule one night, sneaking through the enemy lines that surrounded the city.

It's hard to believe that a story like that is true, but according to my great, great grandmother, it happened just like that. How tragic would it have been if that story would have stopped at my grandmother?

Photos by Corey!

not-so-secret Santa

(Curious? Just click the photo to find out where it's all from.)

Hi guys! Siri here from Ringo, Have a Banana! First, can I just stop and say: hot dang, you ladies are a tough act to follow! I wish I had an outfit post for you all (and access to nature, that would be awesome) but a)my camera batteries just died and b)I'm too busy freaking out about how cold it's supposed to get here next week to wrap my mind around anything but tracking down one of these babies. So instead, I thought I'd throw down a bit of Christmas gifting inspiration since, judging by the general muzak situation on Fifth Ave. yesterday, it 'tis indeed that time of the year again...

Above are a few things I'd love to be able to give to my friends and family (though honestly I wouldn't mind receiving just about all of them myself, eheh!) I've always loved giving gifts (and gift wrapping, oooh) and I feel like the older I get, the more interested I am in giving than receiving. That said, let me just point out that providing a stand mixer to a friend who bakes is really just the gift that keeps on giving back, am I right??


(You know the drill: click away!)

Still, as much as I love to give--I have needs too! Well ok, more like silly, frivolous wants, but hey, tomato/tomaaaahto. A girl's gotta dream: of fancy drawers, Swedish boots, snuggly sweaters (though this one has been sold out in the size I need for weeks #$%@ it!) and the joys of having your favorite magazines appear at your doorstep instead of pounding the pavement month after month trying to pry their whereabouts out of tight-lipped newsstand Nazis. One thing I do always gift myself each year is a big pot of paperwhites. Their smell reminds me of home, and it really is such a wonder to have a little plot of flowers blooming in your bedroom window.

Anyways, all this fantastical consumerism aside, I do firmly believe that homemade is best. Most of my family will probably be receiving care packages of cookies and peanut butter cups, and I'm already looking forward to coming up with my own Christmas card design. So, aaah...anyone know a good DIY manual for how to build your own Canon 5d???

<3
Ringo!

Hunting at Sunset

Hello, lovely Sally Jane Vintage readers! This is Maria of Lulu Letty, coming to you from the pretty state of Michigan. You see it's hunting season here- the hunting of what, I have no clue. Being that I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and not my current rural location, I'm not quite used to being so in the mix of this pastime. When we moved here last year, we were clueless as to what was happening around us and would wander around the gorgeous fields taking photos of me wearing my vintage furs. Pretty much the worst thing you can do. After having a few close calls with hunters in action, we have now learned our lesson- wear bright clothes and stay in open areas. As you can see, my mustard yellow tights are just the thing to keep the bullets away! The rest of my outfit, while not bright, includes several pieces that I've owned for years- the beret and sweater from my college days, the plaid skirt for my first post-grad job in Boston, and my cherished vintage Ferragamos were a gift to myself four years ago. Now I don't know about you, but I just love reworking old items from my wardrobe and giving them a new lease on life.

Photos by Cole. Thanks, darling!

Old beret: Urban Outfitters
Old skirt and locket: J.Crew
Old Sweater: Ralph Lauren
Tights: F21
Vintage Ferragamos: ebay
Vintage Coach purse and blouse: thrifted

Yours,

Portland Leaves

Hello! I'm Anja from Clever Nettle, bringing you a few little scenes from the currently incredible leaf situation that is happening here in Portland. I was really tempted to do a Sally Jane inspired outfit, but let's be real- I don't have the right kind of beret and that's so crucial! We're having windy nights, so in the morning there are so many gorgeous leaves all over the ground. I wish they would last longer, I'll take a few more months of fall and then we can skip right to the nice parts of spring, ok? I'm wearing a 1940's plaid blouse from Betty Jayne's estate sale, she was a ballerina in the 20's and 30's and had a gigantic wardrobe, there was a whole mini room that acted as a walk-in closet! The cardigan and pants were thrifted (the pants are actually going to be in my vintage shop soon!), the boots are Chelsea Crew via ModCloth, and the bag is my new prized posession- one of Alice aka Forestbound's creations. It's amazing! The colors are perfect, the leather patch is so soft- Alice does it right every time. I'm trying to get outside as much as I can when it's not rainy, because the classic Pacific Northwest gray days are here and I need to check out all these leaves before they turn to mush! On that note, the rain has started up again outside. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the guest posts coming up this week, thanks to Jennifer for inviting me over here! Sorry for the small text, I keep trying to change it but blogger hates me and I can't get anything to work right, haha. I don't know how all of you manage to use it so well!

Veils and Sunflares

50's Dress, a clothing trade w/Kristine
Tights from Kohls
Shoes from Inseam
Veil, a gift from my mother

If you haven't figured it out yet, I have taken control over Sally Jane Vintage... *maniacal laugh* OK, really, Jennifer sweetly invited me to guest-blog for a day, and of course I snagged the chance as soon as I could... My name is Aya, and I run a little blog entitled Strawberry Koi.

It's amazing how much shorter the days have gotten. Having a little one, it's sometimes a tad difficult to take photos, and we (my photographer/hubby and I) love to go during the evening after we've completed our tasks for the day... but it seems like daylight comes in at about 5:45 anymore and pretty much wrecks the whole idea! Ah well, it also means Fall is at its best, where you can get away with light cardigans and tights and be ok... which is perfect!



...I can see you asking if I truly wore this veil with my outfit... Or at least I would, but no, it was just a bit of fun for the photos, and pulling it out of the closest after 5 1/2 years was incredibly nostalgic. My mother actually made it as a wedding gift for me back in '05... and I still love it to pieces. I like to picture having a daughter one day, wearing it for her big day... we'll see!

Anyway, it was a pleasure posting here, thank you so much Jennifer! Dear me, speaking of Fall and what not... do you realize Thanksgiving and CHRISTMAS are right around the corner?? Ugh, I'm in trouble..