Sporting the world's cutest kitty print dress from Pigtails & Pirates while being bathed in dreamy late fall sunshine

Outfit details

Pink beret: eBay
Vintage kitty cat brooch: unknown (likely thrifted)
Yellow orchid and pearl earrings: Save-On Foods
Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from Tony ♥
Smitten Kitten 1950s style dress: Pigtails & Pirates
Brown button front shirt: Banana Republic
1950s pink gloves: eBay
Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore
Camel coloured cross body purse: eBay
Teal blue tights: (New from) Value Village
Brown 1940s style heels: Walmart
Lip colour: Clinique Raspberry Glace


Photography by Tony Cangiano

♥ ♥  ♥

When I look back over all of the dresses that I've had in my life - and I'm including those from my very early childhood in this mix, too - I honestly don't believe I've had had the pleasure of owning a more adorable one that this uber cute kitty print one from the awesome Australian vintage inspired clothing line Pigtails & Pirates.

Frequent readers of my blog may recall that earlier this fall while Tony and I were on holiday in Victoria, I had the opportunity to model the splendidly beautiful Blue Bloom skirt that I'd received as a review gift from this company, which I chatted about in a fun post called My gorgeous new Pigtails & Pirates skirt and the most stunning Victorian gate I've ever posed with.

In that post I mentioned that I'd soon be sharing another stellar Pigtails & Pirates offering with all of you and this ultra adorable 1950s style Smitten Kitten dress is just that garment. Fittingly given its name, I'm smitten, seriously, entirely, 100% smitten with this precious frock. Not only is it very well constructed (complete with a sturdy plastic zipper up the back, however I've been informed by the fine folks at P&P that the zipper is changing to a more subtle style, that will still work just as well, but be less noticeable), true to size, and immensely pretty, it also features tons of retro kitties all over it.

ALL OVER IT!!! Huge kitty fan, and devoted cat mama that I am, I can't get over how fabulous this dress is. I love its fit, becoming coming sweetheart neckline, hem length, and the high quality fabric used to create it with. Though it is more of a spring/summer frock, due in large part to the fact that it's sleeveless, I didn't let that deter me from wearing it in November (when these photos were taken) for one red second.

Instead - and this is a tip I highly recommend for helping to get extra mileage out of many of your warm weather dresses - I envisioned it as a jumper style dress and slipped a button front shirt beneath it for extra warmth. Had it been even a degree cooler (it was a couple below zero that day, if memory serves me right - so hence my pink nose and cheeks and somewhat squinty, watery eyes in these photos), a jacket or sweater over top would have been a must, too, for photos. I wanted to forgo one that day though, in order to show you the dress in its uncovered state so that you could see the full garment in its full kitty covered epicness! :)

To keep the feline theme going strong, I place a cute vintage kitty brooch on my pink beret. I love adoring hats with brooches and find that it's a styling trick that always garners compliments. Most people don't wear hats these days, let alone vintage or vintage style ones with pins attached to them, so when they see you sporting such, it jumps out at them all the more.

Interestingly, as much as I adore them, I only own two berets at present. This bubble gum pink number and a classic black one. They both get a fair bit of wear though, so I'm thinking I really should invest in at least a couple more colours in the near future. Perhaps a red, navy blue and/or grey one, as those are all hues I don frequently.

Both the weather and my own health have been less than ideal lately, so I haven't been able to do a lot of new photo shoots, but thankfully we got this one in on a rare day of frosty sunshine last month. We shot these photos down at the Okanagan Lake end of the River Channel, a manmade channel that connects the the two lakes (Okanagan and Skaha) that sandwich Penticton. It's a spot I've visited countless times throughout my life, especially as a youngster on my bike.

It struck me as extra fitting then that I'd model this dress, with its youthful, immensely charming print there, as I would have loved to have owned this dress every bit as much when I was a child as I adore calling it my own now. Should you happen to have a wee one who would go crazy for one of Pigtails & Pirates marvelous creations, you're in luck, as the line produces children's clothing as well and also accepts custom clothing orders, if there's something you've been dreaming about having made for you and/or your child.

This dress is like a majestic rainbow made from sparkles and candy with a flock of unicorns prancing around under it. It's so amazingly pretty that you almost can't believe it - or at least that's how it feels to me. I honoured that Pigtails & Pirates bestowed both it and the afore-blogged-about floral print pencil skirt on me and wish to thank them again very much for doing so.

Both of these gorgeous and very feminine pieces will be frequent players in my wardrobe the whole year through and I can't wait to wear the kitty print dress in the summer a few yards over on the beach at Okanagan Lake itself, where its sleeveless cut will be a blessing in the 40C weather of the dog days (or would that be cat days? :D) of the warmest chapter of the year.