Springtime fashion inspiration care of a beautiful French magazine from 1952

✯ Day 73 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

Spring - if only in name - will be upon us less than a week, my wonderful dears! This year, as it does in most, spring launches on the 20th of March. My mind, however, has already been filled with thoughts of spring and all of the marvelous fashions it entails for many weeks already.

I think it was around the middle of February, when my husband and I were kept awake for yet another night by the horrendously loud, screeching wind that rattles through our metallic balcony doors, that visions of light-as-air spring dresses, Easter candy hued cardigans, peep toe shoes, and dainty white wrist-length gloves began to waft through my head.

It's funny, in a way, there was a time when I preferred cold weather fashions to their warmer season counterparts, however these days I'm all about dressing for spring and summer! (Ok, truth be told there are pros and cons to both warm and cold weather fashion, but it seems that with each harsh-as-sandpaper Canadian winter I get through, the more I want to kick off my snow shoes and run barefoot - in a vintage sundress - through a field of wildflowers!)

Luckily my modest sized wardrobe is comprised of several dresses, skirts and tops that work wonders for spring. Yet that doesn't mean I'm not continually on the prowl for vintage springtime fashion inspiration - and where, when one is seeking such inspiration, is the amongst the best sources to turn to? Why, the French of course!

{Richly pretty vintage Le Petit Echo de la Mode magazine cover via april-mo on Flickr.}

Masters for centuries of all things divinely stylish, the French have long had a certain fashion je ne sais quoi that has been marveled at, adopted and adored the world over. Such was definitely the case when this 1952 copy of Le Petit Echo de la Mode magazine first appeared, sporting a cover adorned with two immensely elegant women in New Look-esque springtime styles.

From the feminine lines of these two womens' outfits to the chic little handbags, black and white polka dot gloves (*swoon*) to the bright red nail polish, everything about this gorgeous French magazine serenades the viewer with a hearty dose of stunning vintage European style and inspiration that is equally worthy of both spring 1952 and spring 2011.