Kicking off summer with my awesome new 1950s Egyptian novelty print patio set

Outfit details

Assorted hair flowers: Ardene
Pearl stud earrings: eBay or Claire's
1980s does 1950s green plastic necklace: Purchased from a fellow vintage seller
Grey cropped cardigan: Fairweather
1950s Egyptian Novelty print patio set c/o: The Best Vintage Clothing
Red lace trimmed crinoline: Petticoat Style
Green 1950s style stretch belt: Hell Bunny purchased from Retro Glam
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
Mid-century vintage red purse: I Love Vintage Stuff
Black cork wedge sandals: Walmart
Lip Colour: MAC Russian Red
Nail polish colour on fingers: Sally Hansen Emerald City
Nail polish colour on toes: Essie Wicked


Photography by Tony Cangiano

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Okay, first and foremost, I fully realize that it isn't quite summer yet, but we have reached the month that houses its beginning and that's as good as the same thing for me! :)

Secondly, and I really need to mention this off the bat for my own piece of mind, things look strangely bunchy around my waist here because I had a crinoline over a skirt with both a shirt and a cropped cardigan topped into said skirt, all further topped off with a stretch belt. That point was probably visually obvious, but I wanted to bring it up all the same.

Now on with the show!

This amazing 1950s Egyptian novelty print patio set. Oh...my...vintage fashion loving word!!! It is the be all to end all, and I have my wonderful longtime blog sponsor The Best Vintage Clothing, to thank for it.

Their offerings are always incredibly appealing and very stylish, so when Laura, the lovely woman in charge of that online vintage selling empire, offered me the chance to pick one of their beautiful garments to receive as a review gift, I felt like a kid in a candy store to say the least.

Originally I had planned to save debuting this fabulous vintage patio set - my first ever actually (I have a 1950s Southwestern style patio dress, but not a two piece play set/patio set like this novelty print stunner) - for my birthday in July, however there is a chance that Tony may be going to the US for work this summer. As such, given that he’s my usual photographer, that might mean that a shoot on the big day wouldn't happen and there was no way on earth I was going to let the season slip by without sharing this sensational set with you guys!

Boasting a short sleeve, button front blouse and matching full (though not quite circle width) skirt, this dark turquoise, red, pine green, grey and white is beyond awesome!

Made of high quality cotton (that is somewhat redolent of a texture percale), in good shape (there are a few small, faint stains here and there, which I was aware of from the get go and which you really can't see unless you're up close and looking for them), and very charming, this set is such a good representation of the kind of highly desire vintage and antique fashions that The Best Vintage Clothing houses on their standalone website, as well as their eBay store, and their ever-expanding Etsy shop.

Interestingly, these photos were taken fairly early (around 9 am) in the morning, not in the afternoon. This is noteworthy (to me at least :)) because it's the first morning shot I've ever done for my blog.

Though I can see now that I was squinting a bit more than I'd felt like I was at the time and there were some shadows at play in the location (the grassy side embankment of the running track at a school down the street from our house), I flat out loved shooting in the morning and said to Tony that we should definitely aim to do so more often, especially in the late spring, summer, and early fall, when the weather is conducive to it.

This is a bold fifties patio set, both in terms of the colour and the off-the-charts cool Egyptian themed novelty print (which is, itself, another first for me, as I didn't previously own anything with an Egyptian revival design/pattern to it), so I stuck with colours pulled from it for my accessories, which include a super fun 1980s does 1950s green plastic necklace, some classic pearls on my wrists, my beloved red vintage handbag, four hair flowers, emerald green nail polish on my fingers, a green stretch belt from Hell Bunny, a red crinoline underneath the skirt, and black vintage-y style wedge sandals (plus a thin knit grey cropped cardi up top).

I won't even beat around the bush, this is not only one of my favourite outfits of the year so far, but one of my favourites I've blogged about. I love the colours, the fullness of the skirt, the terrific Egyptian novelty print, the silhouette (save for the little bit of "bulk" above the belt), the delightful - and surprisingly handy - lower pockets on the skirt (they're great for tucking your hands into while sitting, which is often tricky with waist or hip height pockets), every last little thing, and I truly want to thank The Best Vintage Clothing for the wonderful gift of this 1950s set, which really does feel like an early birthday present and then some!

Whether I sport both pieces together or separately, you can bet that you'll most likely spot them again here as time goes on and I'm eager to see how many fun outfits I can come up with for both halves of this stellar patio set (I'm envisioning the top working well with jeans and the skirt with everything from sweaters to my black boat neck top).

While nothing is set in stone yet, if Tony does end up traveling for work this summer (he'll be gone for over two months solid, if does), I will be sure to post here and let you guys know. For now though, he's still home and we're both loving the return of (nearly) summer weather, grabbing photo shoots when we can, and celebrating all that is great about this time of the year - very much including that it's the season for charming vintage patio sets (which I'm more in love with now than ever, thanks to the fact that I finally have one of my own!).