The Dressed Aesthetic

21 March 2016

The Earth Laughs in Flowers

One of my favorite Emerson quotes has always been, “The Earth Laughs in Flowers.” The very idea that a bud pushing through the earth is like a giggle escaping, until it reaches full bloom of laughter, always makes me smile. If Emerson is right, then this amazing Souré bag from Poppycock Vintage has succumbed to a full belly laugh, hand clenched to her side, with tears streaming down her face. And her blooms perfectly matched the smirk of this Tuesday Rose Vintage dress, who’s embroidered flowers are about to bubble over in mirth.

18 March 2016

Luck of the Irish

St. Patrick’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. I’m 1/4th Irish, and that translates to pale bespeckled skin, a love of Irish pubs, and endless amounts of corned beef and cabbage gobbled each year (though the whole ‘Irish temper’ thing seems to have evaded me). So, I generally bust out my favorite green frocks on 17 March without fail to celebrate and I was pretty excited with this year’s selection….

16 March 2016

In Profile

I’ve had a lot of queries since the blog launched about the photo in my profile pic, which is probably one of my favorite vintage pieces of all time. I’ve seen a vintage dirndl or two in my hunting trips, but never one in blue gingham and definitely never one that fit me quite so perfectly. A dirndl is a traditional dress worn in Germany, but many a vintage garment was made in the dirndl style (apparently called Landhausmode), with a corset-like front that cinches you in and pushes the girls up to high heaven.

14 March 2016

It’s a Jungle Out There

I’ve never been one who is big on animal prints. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my zebra striped purse and don’t mind a leopard print shoe now and again for a pop of something different. But, I don’t go weak in the knees over an animal print wiggle dress the way I know some people do. It’s never had that effect on me…

11 March 2016

Creepy Crawlies

I am not a huge fan of bugs (understatement, understatement). Oddly enough, rodents don’t even make me bat an eyelash, I have no issues with snakes (so long as they stay on their side of the path), and we all know I have the opposite reaction to most people when it comes to sharks. However, if there is a spider within an arm’s length of my person, I turn into a shrieking, squealing, jumping-on-a-chair mess. It’s not my proudest moment.

9 March 2016

Wouldn’t It Be Lovely

I have finally returned from my crazy trek around the world and am wallowing a bit in my jet lag and post-travel cold (that I always seem to get). A whopping 36 hours in transit isn’t the most pleasant experience, but I have to say I still marvel at how small the world has become. How I can get on an airplane (okay 4) and miraculously find myself on the opposite side of the planet. And how liberating that feeling is. As though anywhere – and anything – is within reach.

7 March 2016

Happy Blog-a-versary!

As I type this, I’m sitting in an airport, returning home after yet another one of life’s crazy adventures. And it got me thinking of a different kind of adventure I embarked on only just a year ago – the kind of adventure that epitomizes the whole “One small step for man…” concept, because really all it involved was a deep breath and a button that said, “Go Live.” The Dressed Aesthetic turns one today!

29 February 2016

{Favorites}: Fly By Feb

Another month has come and gone, and this one was a serious whip-lash inducing frenzy of work, work and more work! I have to say, for being a shortened month, I felt as though I crammed in more than usual. It was certainly productive – from the successful course (which was done and dusted as of Friday), progress on a few new projects, and I somehow managed to not twitch myself into an oblivion despite the over abundance of caffeine.

26 February 2016

Lust List #12

Valentine’s Day has passed and my birthday is a comin’! I guess that’s the way I justify all of my internet browsing and wishlist building (not that I ever really need an occasion). There’s always a bit of a pause after Christmas, and then the cyber-floodgates open and my favorite sites are all bursting with amazing things! Which means a new monthly Lust List coming fresh to your doorstep. his month’s Lust List has no particular theme, except for the fact that they’re all items I’ve been swooning over. I have to say, creating virtual wish lists (almost) curbs the need…

22 February 2016

The Children’s Hour

There’s a certain time of day referred to as “The Children’s Hour”, which is that moment just between the end of day and the start of night. It’s origin’s were in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, published in 1860, where just before sunset was described as “A pause in the day’s occupations.” Though the poem is essentially about a father and his children, there was always something so melancholy to me about it. As if we can stop time before darkness falls. As if we can spot our long gone innocence in that moment, before we have to go and…

The Earth Laughs in Flowers

Luck of the Irish

In Profile

It’s a Jungle Out There

Creepy Crawlies

Wouldn’t It Be Lovely

Happy Blog-a-versary!

{Favorites}: Fly By Feb

Lust List #12

The Children’s Hour

dressedapp

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Caring for Your Vintage,
Part I – Cleaning

Belts Are a Girl’s Best Friend

After the Rain

{Sewing} Outside the Lines