A tugboat, hearts galore, and the long overdue debut of my black 1950s quilted circle skirt

Outfit details

1950s red nylon/chiffon scarf: Thrifted
Black and silver heart earrings: Target (I think)
1930s clear and black beaded necklace: Maejean Vintage
Grey button front shirt: Tommy Hilfiger
Black cotton camisole: Joe Fresh or Old Navy
Vintage heart and cupid dangle brooch: Either eBay or thrifted
1980s does 1950s red stretch belt with silver heart clasp: eBay
1950s black quilted circle skirt: eBay
Red faux leather cross body purse: eBay
Red laced trimmed crinoline: Pettiskirt Style
C. 1980s lack sheer heart print gloves: eBay
Grey tights: (New in pack from) Value Village
1940s style black faux suede heels with bows: Walmart
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red

Photography by Tony Cangiano

♥ ♥ ♥

Waaaaayyyy back in December 2011, I blogged about finding one of my vintage grails - a quilted 1950s black circle skirt - and how I'd not only unearthed it at long last, but done so at a stellar price. Though I've worn that skirt scores of times since then, it has somehow escaped appearing on my blog until now (baffling, I know! :)).

This outfit, so very common of the sort I sport (with a coat or jacket over top) in the winter, is what I wore for Valentine's Day this year (so hence the plethora of hearts, right down to the black sheer heart print gloves). As nearly months have somehow whizzed past since then - seriously, where did they go?! - before we really get into the thick of late spring and then summertime weather and their accompanying fashions, I wanted to share these photos with all of you.

As I'd posted about earlier in February, I really wasn't feeling a saccharine sweet palette or even pink at all (strange for me, I know) this Valentine's Day, but I didn't want to forgo dressing for the holiday entirely either. Instead I paired red with black, grey and silver and opted to let my festive feelings shine through the wearing of so many hearts.

Don't let my lack of a coat fool you, it was seriously chilly that day and I had goose bumps a plenty going on - at least on the top half of my body. On the bottom, between the grey tights, red crinoline, and quilted black circle skirt, I was relatively warm, save for my feet. Up top I opted for a vintage appropriate grey button front shirt, a beloved 1930s beaded necklace from Maejean Vintage, a cute little silver toned vintage dangle brooch complete with cupid charm, a red and silver vintage heart buckle stretch belt, and a pair of sheer black lace gloves that offered virtually no warmth, but were definitely in keeping with the spirit of the day. Earrings and a sheer red vintage hair scarf capped the casually cute ensemble off (with my usual black faux suede heels wrapping things up at the other end).

They were images were shot down at Okanagan beach here in Penticton right beside the SS Sicamous, where one finds a charming vintage tugboat permanently moored a few feet out into the water. Tony and I were busy critters on Valentine's Day, running errands, as we tend to on the weekend, and spending the evening celebrating with family at my mom's house, and I didn’t realize in the moment just how wrinkled my shirt has become throughout the day! Oh well – that’s real life!

Now that I've finally shared this skirt on camera, chances are you'll see it here again and again as time goes on. I find that to often be the case the with pieces I've had for ages, but not posted about sooner - perhaps its a way of making up for lost time (doubly so in this case, given how I'd yearned for a skirt just like this for ages).

Though it was just a couple of months ago, it feels like a long time since Valentine's Day and looking back at these snaps, I'm grateful that winter has retired for another year once more and that, fun as the holidays that season houses are, we can focus on spring and summer for a several months now.

For while I do certainly love winter in many wonderful ways, I "heart" warm weather even more! :)


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