Festive Christmas cardigan fun!

Outfit details

1940s black and red velvet hat: etsy seller Bette's Bargains
Prescription eyeglasses: (frames) Venus Eye Design V-12
Faux pearl stud earrings: Claire's
Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from Tony ♥
Black cotton and lace top: Suzy Shier
Christmas ornament cardigan: eBay
Vintage black velour pencil skirt: etsy seller Lady Kitschener's Vintage Emporium
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
Vintage maroon gloves with buttons: etsy seller Antiqueelegance
Vintage Saks Fifth Avenue black patent purse: etsy seller MK Retro
Nude and black seamed stockings: eBay
Black pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red
Photography by Antonio Cangiano  
 


     





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Christmas sweaters get a bad reputation. For this you can mostly blame the plethora of parties devoted to mocking and poking fun at these festive knits in recent years (such events aren’t the only reason, but the huge part of it). I, however, love a good holiday sweater, whether it's kitschy or cute, elegant or extravagant, and decided this year that it was high time I bought my first one (in keeping with the spirit of my Halloween cardigan).

Though this particular cardigan is more subdued than most Christmas sweaters, it packs its own charming wallop of seasonal spirit and has the added bonus of going with a lot of different outfits, thanks to the fact that it's almost all white.

Before we go any further, I need to point out the fact that the black top I'm wearing underneath the cardigan has lacy, somewhat poufy capped sleeves, and that's what you're seeing looking bulky on my upper arms in these shots. I haven't suddenly developed WWF wrestler worthy biceps, it's just the capped sleeves being compressed by a very fitted knit garment.

I picked up this cardigan in "new with the tags still on" condition earlier this year on eBay for an absolute steal. I went hunting for a Christmas cardi with a very open mind in terms of styles and colour palettes, and knew the moment I spied it that this was the one for me. Though not vintage, it has a very classic look and the ornaments themselves definitely resemble something you might have seen illustrated on a lovely 1950s Christmas card.

This timeless black and red velvet hat is one I've had for years. I wear it relatively often (as it goes with so many outfits) and am a little surprised it took this long (best I can recall) to make an appearance here. On this particular day, it - along with the rest of my outfit - got worn to our town's annual Christmas Craft Fair Show, which takes place at the community centre located directly across the street from my elementary school.

Celebrating its 16th year in 2012, this Christmas Fair has been a part of my winter celebration pretty much every year I've lived in Penticton, and I have very fond memories of my mom and I walking to it in the nippy late fall air numerous times when I was growing up. It's changed, like so many things, a bit over the years (I find there are now many more mass produced items on offer than there were a few years back), but remains a fantastic event (it's the largest of it's kind in the Okanagan south of Kelowna) and one that I was thrilled to attend again for the first time in several years (as I'd been living elsewhere during that time).

Tony, my mom and I bundled into the car and headed down on the first of the two days it takes place over the course of a weekend. The crowd was lively and large, but not the absolute biggest I've ever seen there. Dozens of local, provincial and out-of-province vendors were there selling everything from fine art to handmade soap created using wine as one of the ingredients, oodles of Christmas decorations to artisan salad dressings.

We picked up a few things, including a gorgeous (brand new) rose patterned teapot (complete with two matching mugs), a small, beautiful antique looking floral dresser runner, and a couple of cute Christmas ornaments. We'd been looking for something to put on top of one of the two dressers in our master bedroom and didn't (believe it or not) have an elegant teapot (just a small, vivid orange modern one), so I was pleased as punch with our purchases (all of which were quite reasonably priced).

The craft fair took place a little while ago, but I intentionally held off on posting the outfit photos from that day, as I wanted to share my first Christmas sweater with you right before the big day (aka, December 25th) itself arrived. I love my ornament emblazed cardi and hope that it will be one in a long line of holiday sweaters (be they vintage or vintage appropriate) that I pick up over the years.

Like most of us are these days, Tony and I are busy as beavers over here, engaged in all manner of holiday going-ons. They'll be posts as usual over the next few festive days, but this is the last wardrobe post for 2012 that I have slatted. It's hard to believe how quickly the time has flown by since I first started sharing outfit snaps here on a regular basis last March.

For those who'd like a teaser of what's to come in the New Year, I'll be kicking off 2013 with a notable change to my hair, so be sure to stay tuned for all the exciting details (and photos!) there.

I love this time of year and am so, so filled with the Christmas spirit right now I can hardly restrain myself from wearing this cardigan 24/7! I hope that you're also in a happy holiday mood and that everything is going wonderfully for you and your families this December.

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve, my dear friends!!! (Only two more sleeps Christmas morn!)