Playing Dress Up

I had a bit of cabin fever yesterday and decided to get out of the house. Around here there's no place much to go on a Sunday afternoon except the mall so off to the mall I went. I'm generally not a fan of mall shopping but there's always the possibility of taking pictures in the dressing room at H&M and having coffee cake and hot chocolate at Starbucks so it's really not the worst way to spend an afternoon. After pining over the photo stills from The Edge of Love, I had my eye out for 40's inspired florals, chunky knit sweaters and woolly tights. Here's what H&M had to offer:

• First I tried on this chunky knit cardigan. I like the shape and how the sleeves are not quite full length. It looked better buttoned up than left open. The biggest drawback is the cheap plasticy buttons that H&M tends to slap on all their clothes. An easy fix though with a trip to the fabric store to buy some nicer vintagey buttons.
• Next I tried out this little short sleeve cardigan. Of course, being black it's practically impossible to photograph. It buttons up the front (again icky buttons) and has some nice cable knit detailing down the sides but it was just a little too flimsy for my tastes.
• I've been so addicted to skinny jeans that it felt quite strange to have these wide legs flapping about. I instantly felt a bit like Alix from The Cherry Blossom Girl when I put these on which is, of course, a good thing. The only thing about these is, even with the modest heel I was wearing, I felt they were a bit too short for me and I'm not tall by any means. On the up side, I did check the hem and there's about two inches of extra fabric if one felt inclined to lengthen them a bit.
• Then on to this cute floral number. This was my favorite try-on of the day. I've seen several other floral tea dresses in H&M lately but none of them have had a color pallet that I've been particularly fond of. I like the bright, cheery bouquets on the black background here. Again, being black, you can't see all of the lovely details like the pin-tucking around the hem or the little covered buttons on the chest.

The Egde of Love

I recently realized that since moving from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania I haven't cracked open a single fashion magazine. The job I had in LA was fashion oriented and I was spoiled in that we had a subscription to every fashion magazine under the sun. Every month I would collect a huge stack of mags from around the world on my desk. Now, I don't have a single subscription (they're so expensive!) and I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I don't miss it at all. Rather than rely on the glossies for inspiration I've been more than happy to turn to fellow bloggers, street style sites, old movies and online magazines for all of my fashion fixes. My latest fixation has fallen upon the movie The Edge of Love. I haven't yet seen it and I rarely get out to the theater to see movies like this but I may have to make an exception this time. Costume designer April Ferry had this to say about the wardrobe...

"My inspiration for the clothes for The Edge of Love came from many sources. The most important one was John Maybury,the director. Dresses and Wellies were his idea and that really defines the most important look of the film. Of course, I studied all the books on Dylan Thomas's life and looked at all the available pictures of him and his associates. There is wonderful research of that era in London. I immersed myself in as much as I could collect. I also made a wedding suit for Vera (Kiera) that was influenced by the real suit that was saved from the real woman."

I love the use of floral with chunky knit and boots. What a great way to transition your summer wardrobe right into autumn. If you go to the movie's official site they even have a "Get The Look" section with links to items they recommend. Unfortunately the links don't seem to be working properly at this time. Perhaps they'll remedy that soon. I can tell you the links were supposed to lead to a UK based store called Oasis. I hadn't heard of it before so I have no idea about the quality of their pieces. I browsed around a bit on the site and I did find several things that caught my eye. Like this and this and this and these. Any UK ladies out there have any clue?

What I'm Wearing

photos by Tom b.

dress: Topshop
shoes: vintage
purse: vintage
sunglasses: vintage Rayban
flower clips: H&M
bracelets: vintage
necklace: Jennifer Meyer

I'm not quite sure how this dress has not made it onto the blog yet this summer. It's really been my go-to dress everytime I'm not sure what to wear or it's too hot outside to think. It's that perfect mix of fashion and function - light airy cotton that barely seems to touch your skin. I know it's just a tease but there's a slight crispness to the air here today that hints of autumn. Suddenly I'm not so sure I'm ready for it as I need to wear dresses like this just a few more times before I give in to the cold.

New at Sally Jane Vintage

Here's your super sneak peek at just some of the vintage finds that will be listed in the store today. Summer's still going strong despite all of my autumn wishes so the store is being packed with floral jumpers and dresses, lots of high waisted skirt and shorts and oxford flats and sandals. Be sure to stop in and check it out. Thanks!

What I'm Wearing

photos by Tom b.

top: vintage
shorts: vintage
shoes: vintage
umbrella: vintage
sunglasses: vintage
bag: vintage

When I was out shopping for the store last week I ran across this pair of high waisted 60's vintage leisure shorts. Then another pair, then another. I think I ended up with a pair in nearly every color of the rainbow and then some. I love running across finds that like where it's pretty obvious one little old lady was cleaning out her closet. I picked a couple of pairs for myself and the rest will be going up for sale in the store. I sewed these smaller to fit me so there's actually a nice variety of sizes available.

What I'm Wearing

dress: vintage
shoes: vintage
bag: vintage
sunglasses: vintage
flower clips: H&M

Friday's Contest Winner

First of all I want to say thank you again for helping me celebrate the one year anniversary of Sally Jane Vintage. I was overwhelmed by the positive response and I truly wish you could all win. It was so much fun to sit down and read all of your thoughts on what you are looking forward to about autumn. It has always been my favorite season and I can see that it's many of yours as well. There's something so nostalgic about the leaves changing color, the air growing crisp and the temperatures dropping. I just love it! Like many of you, I'm looking forward to warm apple cider (from our local Amish market, yum!), woolly tights, chunky knit sweaters, skinny jeans tucked into boots, high-waisted wool skirts, crunching leaves on the sidewalk, dressing up for Halloween, pea coats and wearing vintage gloves and hats.

So, now for the winner... The lovely Kater of the blog "All This Happiness". Here's what she had to say about looking forward to autumn...

"I live in the Northeast, and it's so crunchy and crisp in the fall that I couldn't possibly imagine myself anywhere else! It is so hard to pick just one thing, autumn is exhilarating! Apple orchards are one of the best, especially with apple-cider donuts all warm and crunchy and crumbly.For clothing, it's just the delight in layering without winter coats. Tweed things, cardigans, sullen makeup, and Halloween!"

Thanks again to Kater and all of you who commented! Hopefully we can do some more contests in the future. I had a lot of fun and I hope you did as well. Kater - I'm looking forward to shopping for you this week. I can't wait to hear from you! :)