Splish splash, 1960s style

Outfit details

C. late 1950s/1960s lilac purple pillbox hat: Gift from a dear friend ♥
Floral cluster earrings: Claire's
C. 1960s pink floral print dress: Mintage
Gold tone oversized chain link bracelet: Payless
1950s/60s lilac purple gloves: Artistic Endeavors 1
1950s/60s navy blue handbag: Frugal Frocks
Nude toned nude seam stockings: eBay
Navy blue patent pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Party Line


Photography by Tony Cangiano

♥ ♥ ♥

It's hardly a state secret that I'm a die-hard fan of 1940s and 50s fashions and looks which are strongly centered around, or inspired by, those decades are my usual go-tos. Yet, every now and then I get a strong urge - as many of us vintage loving folks do - to dabble in an ensemble that calls to mind another decade.

With Mad Men, my favourite TV show of the last decade, wrapping up in May, the 1960s were strongly on my mind and I decided that it was high time that I finally showed you guys the kind of look I'm apt to slip into when I when I'm in the mood for early sixties fashions.

I actually really adore a lot of the highly feminine styles of the first part of that transformative decade, so that's what I reach for more often than not when a sixties mood strikes. Mod styles, fun as they are, don't usually look good on me and I haven't rocked much in the way of hippie/boho styles since my teen years I do however have a perpetual affinity for the ladylike glamour and beauty of the early sixties and feel that this pastel filled look channels that vibe wonderfully.

One of the fun challenges of living in a small town is continually finding new locations to shot in (I have no qualms with reusing locations, especially at different times of the year, but variety is the spice of life as they say!). Tony and I recently realized that we'd never shot in front of a fountain, so on a sun-kissed afternoon in late May, we made our way down to the very splashy fountain that stands in front our town's casino.

Located right on the beach at Okanagan Lake, the aptly named Lakeshore Resort and Casino isn't a place I spend much time (I've never been one for gambling - I'd rather spend my pocket money on vintage items or craft supplies!), but it does have some lovely landscaping outside, including this fountain and so we beelined it over there and proceeded to get a very chilly shower all in the name of a fun (fabulously bokeh filled) photo shot.

This dress, a circa late 50s or, far more likely, early 60s zipper front house/day dress is one of the items that I picked up for myself last year at the renowned Canadian vintage shop Mintage, located in Vancouver (blogged about here). I pulled on the hints of lilac purple in the wee floral pattern of the dress for my choice of hats, a breathtaking light purple pillbox topped off with millinery flowers that was a treasured gift from a very dear fellow vintage loving friend a while back.

I'd not shared either of these pieces on my blog before, so teaming them up together felt all the more natural and I have to say, I really love the girly meets fabulously sophisticated vibe that they channel.

To this stylish sixties hat and frock, I added a 1950s/60s navy blue handbag, lilac hued gloves from the same time frame, sweet little modern floral earrings that look the old school part, a chunky gold tone link bracelet (also a nod to the sixties), and navy blue patent pumps. The hat and dress themselves are quite bold, so I didn't go overboard with my accessories here at all. I wanted those two pieces to be the stars of the show and for my embellishments to play supporting rolls.

Though I don't go over the swinging sixties side too often, I must admit, the older I get, the more I find that deeply feminine looks from the start of the era appeal to me (as touched on in this post at the start of the year). And you know, if I happen upon more garments from that time frame that I adore as much as I do this hat and dress, you could very easily be seeing me rocking more sixties looks here every now then - though, in all likelihood, not always in front of a fountain.

It's one thing to get an icy impromptu shower when it's 25 degrees (Celsius) out, it's another entirely when there's snow on the ground! But much as with dressing outside of your usual decade(s), every now and then it's not only enjoyable, but important, to try something fresh, be it with your outfit, your photo shoot location, or both. Who knows, maybe I'll even show you guys my spin on seventies attire  one of these days! :)

*PS* Rather amazingly, a mere few days after we took these photos, a cougar wandered into town from the hills (this isn't surprising really given the vast deer population that we have on our streets here) and was humanely tranquilized (and relocated outside of town) literally just a handful of feet away from the very spot where I was standing when these photos were taken. Could you imagine what might have happened if it had shown up when we there? Yikes!