One of the reasons why I love vintage so much is because I feel like, in many ways, it finds me. Although I am always on the hunt, finding the perfect dress in the perfect moment never feels like an accident. Rather, it always seems fated that we would meet. Like I was somehow cherry picked from the crowd to be her temporary guardian, before she gently passes to the next chapter of her story.
As clearly evidenced by my love of appliqué, I’ve always been drawn to 3D elements in clothing. Features that hint at worlds hidden in the layer of a garment. Embroidery, appliqué, solids on sheers. It’s probably why I seek out tromp l’oeil prints and love layering – it creates parts of an outfit that stand in sharp relief to the backdrop of the day.
We have most certainly entered a time honored autumnal tradition: Sweater Weather. And I am happy to report, this delightful time of year even occurs in the South. While I love the gentle breeze of Spring and the warm evenings of Summer, there is something about weather that encourages you to bundle up and get cozy (minus the risk of frostbite) that gets me so excited. So, this time of year I inevitably start to scan the horizon for the perfect autumnal sweater.
This past week was a pretty big one in the Dressed household – Mr. D and I celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary. This level of togetherness usually involves a fair degree of extra (especially because the Mister and I are no strangers to going ALL out). However, circumstances being what they are, we had to scale the celebrations down several (thousand) notches. But, perhaps that’s the measure of true love – when you’re just as happy with a quiet night in as you are with fireworks and fanfare.
The changing of the seasons is always such an interesting time of year. Here in NC, it’s almost like a constant stop and start. Ohhh, yay, it’s Autumn! Nope, just kidding, Summer…. Hello Fall! Well, that was a nice hour, but let’s go back to a sweltering 90 degrees. As crazy as the to and fro can be, I’ve decided to just roll with the punches and revel in the fact that my summer sundresses get another few weeks of freedom. I mean, if NC wants to be in bloom in October, who am I to argue?
More and more lately, I have found myself reaching out to people who can do amazing things I have no idea how to do. Artists whose art is very different from mine. Although it once intimidated me, I realized that most of us crave that connection and that ability to share the joy we each find in our individual art. Plus, the worst that can happen is that they’ll say no! I’ve found that in taking the leap towards the merging of ideas, incredible things can be created. This can range from working with graphic artists to design a print…
Many moons ago, I simply decided that femininity and strength were not going to be mutually exclusive ideas. That’s actually one of the great secrets of self-acceptance – we can simply decide these things. And I set out on a one-woman mission to find subversiveness in beauty. Power in vulnerability. That strength exists in the delicate arch of a flower petal. That heels a weapon of mass destruction. A full skirt my power suit.
Almost immediately following my last collaboration with the amazing Lucy Baribeau, where we brought one of my most coveted vintage trompe l’oeil prints into a modern day reality, we started chatting about the next colorway. Truthfully, they have all stolen my heart in different ways, and it was only a matter of time before each one ventured to my sewing table…
I’ve always been a big fan of separates – they can easily be mixed and matched and, even though I know intellectually it’s just one garment, it always feels like multiple outfits in one. Having said that, I can be pretty picky with my separates – I need my skirts fuller than full and I need my tops to be the exact right amount of fitted, skimming my curves and tucking neatly into the waistband of a range of bottoms (I don’t really do untucked). Enter my latest collaboration with Heart of Haute.
To me, there are two key ingredients to wearing vintage: The first, hands down, is confidence. Wear it like you deserve it, cause you do. The second, is having a proper foundation. I’ve tried just about all the products out there (at least it feels that way). And today I’m sharing my thoughts on a company I recently discovered: Glamorous Corset.