Vintage Link Love for August 2015

Here we sit in the last hours of the last days of the last full month of summer. Before this week is up, my beloved husband will be from his summer of working in States. We are planning to spend an inordinate and entirely wonderful amount of time together in the days immediately following his return and so excited to be reunited once more.

This month, like its sun-kissed predecessors, absolutely flew by. Though I would say that over all I favoured July to August, this month was still primarily a positive one (with some great highpoints all its own), though our area was utterly and completed blanketed with forest fire smoke, the bulk of which strong winds brought our way from the plethora of fires in Washington state, for the past couple of weeks. Ask nearly any local - myself included - and they'll tell you its the worst wildfire smoke they've ever seen in Penticton.



{Wise advice indeed, but sometimes it's Mother Nature's hand at work when it comes to wildfire and such was certainly the case for many that have raged out of control in this part of world all throughout the summer. They're a common faucet of life where we live during the warmer months, but this year's crop was especially plentiful and smoky! Vintage fire safety poster source.}


One had only to venture out in it for a mere handful of seconds and upon returning inside, you would find that your clothes (and hair) smelled as though you had been sitting around a large bonfire for hours. Some of it still drapes itself over the sage hued hills around these parts and that wood smoke scent lingers in the air, but it is slowly, thankfully, dissipating somewhat.

This summer has been a brutal one in BC and Washington state for forest fires, with numerous people tragically losing their homes to them. That is, objectively, one of the few downsides to living in a land so rich in woodland - and hot, dry temperatures that make even the heartiest of trees go up like tinder when a spark or bolt of lightning hits them.

In the midst of listing up a storm in my Etsy shop, creating numerous new YouTube videos, spending lots of time with family, doing so organizing and minor DIY work around the house, starting to get ready for the return of my favourite season (fall), replying to countless emails, and whipping up lots of fun blog posts here this month, I had to to still visit oodles of blogs and sites to glean twelve exciting new vintage, blogging, and crafting related posts and stories for you guys. I hope that you enjoy reading the following selection as much as I did finding them.

 

♥ The original Mad Men were just as dapper, but not as drunk: Continuing to have Mad Men withdrawal symptoms? (Me too!) Then perhaps this cool photo filled post from Retronaut/Mashable with colour photos of some of the real leading mid-century ad industry employees of the days will help quell your longings for more Don, Peggy, Roger, Betty, and Joan.


♥ Seven Historical Costuming Blogs You Should Be Following: Whether you're a sewer or not, if you have a passion for historical costuming (and chances are, as a vintage fan, you do) than this great roundup of some of the best and most informative blogs on the subject that Bianca put together is must bookmark link if ever there was one!


♥ 23 Vintage Studio Portraits of Women from the Victorian Era: There is something so innately gripping about Victorian photography - not only were the pictures created in that era the first of all time, but they are the oldest we have of people that now seem so far removed from our world, yet lived a few short generations ago. This lovely post highlights 23 beautiful portraits of Victorian women that no doubt speak to you and deepen your appreciation for that chapter in history (and its elegant fashions) all the more.





♥ Hollywood Homefront Impressions: Earlier this summer Doris corralled a terrific selection of photos from the 1940s that show famous celebrities doing their part for the war effort. It is a stark reminder of how much that long, horrific war impacted every one, no matter what rung of society they lived on.


♥ DIY crochet snood: Clearly I'm not the only one with snoods on the brain this season, as our wonderful and very talented fellow vintage blogger Bonita demonstrates with her awesome tutorial on how to whip up a 1940s style crochet snood of your own.


♥ Find the Girls on the Negatives: Each month at least a few very thoughtful readers send me stories and/or vintage photos that they think I'll enjoy. This month none jumped out at me more this post about the mysterious origins of handful of beautiful images that were found in slide form recently in a thrift store. Dreamy, alluring, and skillfully composed, these shots offer few clues about their history. They ling with you long after you've left that page, as you ponder who these ladies were and where these images took place.





♥ Picture Happy Times: And speaking of great yesteryear images, I recently discovered this thoroughly lovely European blog that is chalked full of sweet, timeless vintage photos of real world people. This is a subject that has always been very near and dear to my own heart, so I simply had to share it with you. Plus the photos, and their accompanying write-ups, featured on it remind me a lot of the kind like to include in my ongoing Saturday Snapshots post series.


♥ Embracing the joys of "as is" vintage: As some who rarely has qualms with - and sometimes even intentionally seeks out (bargain lover that I am!) - yesteryear fashions that might be in slightly imperfect shape, this lovely post on the subject from vintage blogging newcomer Holly of Vintage Voluptuous really hit a relatable chord with me.


♥ 16 "spiffy" words college students used to say back in 1916: I have always been deeply fascinated by the English language, very much including the fact that it - like most languages - is constantly evolving and changing. Words that were as commonplace as bread and butter in one decade, may have all but gone the way of the dinosaur just a few years later. This enjoyable NPR piece takes a look at sixteen words/terms that were hot in the late Edwardian era. It's fascinating to see which ones are still used (at least in their 1910s context) nowadays and which have all but vanished from our current 21st century lexicon.




♥ My top twenty reproduction vintage shops: Stylish British vintage lifestyle blogger Catherine from Vintage Frills has gathered up and kindly shared twenty of her very favourite vintage reproduction shops with all of us. How many of her terrific selections make the cut for you, too?


♥ 5 things I would have told my younger blogger self: Yes to the whole concept behind this spot on post. We grow and change as people and bloggers alike and sometimes it's helpful to think about what we would have advised our earlier blogging selves to do if we could go back in time, as this recent Queen of Jetlags entry absolutely nails.


♥ DIY Lace Collar: One viewing of this wonderfully easy to follow how-to post from the blog Mr. Kate and you'll never look at a basic crochet or lace doily the same way again.

 

{All images throughout the list of links above come by way of the post that they are displayed directly beneath the write up of here. Please follow the links provided to learn more about these images.}

♥ ♥ ♥

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, chances are you know how madly, completely, giddily in love with autumn I am. It marries warm and chilly, light and dark, beginnings and ends. It gives us a magnificent bounty from the field, gorgeous harvest moons, a day of Thanks and feasting, the awesomeness that is Halloween, sweater weather, amazing golden light and countless other things that are intrinsically tied with this beautiful chapter of the year.

Though I will wholeheartedly miss summer - especially since this one was quite different for me and how it played out out in respect to Tony being away - I make no bones about my excitement to see autumn roll into town - a trail of crunchy amber, garnet and rust hued leaves in its wake - before the coming month wraps up.

As usual, you can bank on a slew of seasonal and holiday related posts and outfits here this autumn from September straight onto December. It's impossible for me to contain my passion for the third installment of the year and I wouldn't dream of doing so. No other season speaks to my soul so deeply - nor is so chalked full of fun for me.

{A huge yes to every last marvelous autumnal element of this stylish fashion filled photo from 1958. Vintage image source.}

Whether you're loath to wave buh-bye to summer or can't wait for pumpkin spice lattes, All Hallows' Eve decor, and thick tights to return again, I hope that these final weeks of our current season find you all doing well.

Should you also happen to also be counting down the days until fall returns, what, my dears, are you most looking forward to this time around?