Vintage Fashionista Friday: August 30, 2013

Arlene

{Schooldays and hair bows go hand-in-hand like pencils and erasers, no matter if one is in kindergarten or part of the collegiate crowd. This charming green bow barrette is sure to see your locks through from September to June in timeless style. $8.25 from etsy seller Neon Love Designs.}




{Few things are more iconic than apples when it comes to the start of a new school year, so why not greet this one with a beautiful little pair on your ears with these marvelous vintage red enamel earrings? $24.00 from etsy seller Junquegrl Jewels.}



{Though the mercury might still be bubbling away, in matter of weeks (or even days, depending on where you live), chances are it will be time to bust out the knits again and settle in for a season of cozy vintage sweaters like this classic blue number from the 1950s. Fits up to a 40" bust/waist not specified. $42.00 from etsy seller BombshellShocked.}



{Get right back into the school spirit with as much enthusiasm as a whole team of vintage cheerleaders when you wear this fabulous 1940s football themed dangle brooch. $29.95 from etsy seller A Magnificent Mess.}
 


{I absolutely adore a good mid-century plaid skirt and this wool 1950s gem from Pendleton is no exception! Vintage size 18, fits up to a 33" waist. $50.00 from etsy seller Peach Tree Vintage.}



{This past April I chatted about Ten of My All-Time Favourite Scents, and should I ever do a second edition of that post, it's likely that the smell of freshly shaven pencils will make the list. I'd be hard pressed to sharpen this rainbow of1950s/60s beauties though, instead I'd use them as pretty decor pieces on my craft desk. $24.99 for ten pencils from etsy seller Pezzaz.}



{Start the school year off right by brushing up on your spelling with this lovely 1940s textbook entitled Refresher Speller. $4.75 from etsy seller Vintage Antique Lane.}




{Sharing the spotlight with penny loafer and bucks, saddle shoes - like this fantastic navy blue and white pair - are amongst the most well known and beloved vintage schooldays shoes of the mid-twentieth century. Grab a pair of your own with care of UK seller Rocket Originals who offers the pair seen here (as well as several other saddle colour combos) in modern ladies UK sizes 3-8 for £75.00.}

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As it has for so many the world over for ages now, the morning immediately following Labour Day always ushered the school year back in when I was a youngster. I can recall vividly always hoping each year that Labour Day would fall toward the end of the first week of September, instead of the beginning, as it ensured a few more days of cherished summer vacation.

I loved school and didn't dread returning, it's just that I was also exceedingly keen on spending my days at the beach, playing in the long, dry grass of our backyard, picking cherries from our neighbours trees, staying up late around the fire pit at night roasting marshmallows, jumping through the sprinkler, and myriad other things that made summer so incredibly awesome to us when we were knee high to a pair of water wings.

This year, much I'm sure, to the chagrin of a whole new generation of school kids, Labour Day falls on September 2nd, meaning that school will commence once more, bright and early, on the 3rd. As this the last Friday before that happens, it seemed like the perfect time to devote an edition of Vintage Friday Fashionista to a charming schooldays inspired look, which is sure to appeal to you whether you're hitting the books again yourself, sending your wee ones back to class, or simply recalling the excitement of schooldays long past.

{Image source}

No pattern evokes thoughts of vintage student garb more than plaid, and the pairing of a classic plaid skirt with a sweater (or cardigan and/or blouse) is a look that was hugely popular, in particular, from the 1940s on up to the early 60s (as seen in the great still from the 1943 movie Young Ideas pictured above).

It's a long I've always enjoyed it, too, going right back in time to when I was in high school and would sometimes skittle off on my lunch break to the thrift stores that were located down the same street (my high school was/is on Main Street), and pick up 1940s and 50s plaid skirts like this for a couple of bucks a pop. Sadly, those days are no more, but I still love this look just the same and enjoy recreating it as summer gradually slips into autumn and the weather dictates knits, wool, and tweed of all kinds once more.

Today's Vintage Fashionista is named Arlene, in honour of one of my all-time teachers, Mrs. Arlene Kuben, who taught me during forth grade. She was a sweet, kind-hearted, lovely lady, who very much struck me as embodiment of the classic, good natured, caring educator, fitting in just as easily in the early 1990s when I was in her class, as she would have at any other point in time.

As we sit here on the second to last morning of August, the world and weather still feel far more like they have their feet firmly grounded in summer. Young beach goers are frolicking in the lakes as I once did (day in and day out), the scrumptious scent of barbequed meat lingers in the air from weeks of dinnertime grilling, and one can still buy fresh peaches and cherries at the plethora of local fruit stands.

Soon though, with the same speed with which the morning after Labour Day used to arrive, autumn in all its golden hued glory will be here, and the ebb and flow of another school year will be second nature will be second nature once more. Much as I adore fall, I'm not rushing it out the door quite yet - at least not until I hear the first local school bell chiming in the distance come September 3rd.