Vintage lime green for Halloween and a darling new necklace from Gleeful Peacock

Outfit details

Halloween novelty print skinny scarf: Dollar Tree
Brown plastic hair clip: Goody
Orange plastic rose stud earrings: Claire's
Hand painted brass witch's hat charm necklace: c/o Gleeful Peacock
Lime green 1980s does 1950s shirtwaist dress: eBay (I think; had for years)
Orange faux leather skinny belt: eBay
Purple, black and white plastic bangle bracelets: Assorted sources
C. 1950s Saks Fifth Avenue black patent purse: MK Retro
Nude seamed nude stockings: eBay
Black 1940s style round toe faux suede pumps: Wal-Mart
Lip colour: MAC Made With Love
Nail colour: Essie Roarrrrange


Photography by Tony Cangiano

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Everything about this shoot - and outfit - was fun! We grabbed these snaps very recently at a small, beautiful little lake about 25 minutes outside of town called Trout Lake (a hot spot with local anglers), which has homes right near the shoreline in various spots. As we were shooting, two young (I'd guess about ages 6 and 9 - 10) and their mom came out on their deck to watch us. We all waved at each other and they seemed like very nice, friendly folks. The two girls were having a blast and kept taking photos (or perhaps even video) of us with their phone and tablet.

I'm used to having people stop and watch us for a little while when we shoot in public, but this was one of the first times in all the years we've been taking snaps for my blog that we'd had an audience for the whole process. It was enjoyable and I kept wondering what the youngsters must have been thinking not only of the strangers in their nature filled backyard taking pictures, but also of the auburn haired lady dressed in vintage styles. I know that I would have been over-the-moon elated to have witnessed something like that when I was little. :)

With Halloween just two days away (*happiness squeal*), I couldn't wait a moment longer to share this charmingly pretty necklace that I recently received as review gift from the wonderful US handmade jewelry company Gleeful Peacock with all of you.

The design team there involved me directly with the production of this fabulous hand painted brass witch's hat and spell book (aka, grimoire), as they approached me to ask if they could make a custom necklace for me which would then be offered in a very limited production run on their website.

I was truly honoured by this beautiful offer and suggested a Halloween piece, given the season. They were on board with that and in matter of weeks, I had this elegant, festive, completely Halloween perfect necklace - which, much to my delight, is nickel-free - dangling from my neck.

I don't own a lot of pendant necklaces (in no small part because of my nickel allergy) and am thrilled to grow my collection with this All Hallows' Eve perfect offering. It's lightweight, very comfortable, and could certainly be worn, if so desired, at other times of the year, especially if one is a witch/Wiccan/Pagan, a fan of Halloween, or into goth styles.

Though Gleeful Peacock's offerings are not full on vintage reproduction pieces, many can easily be integrated into yesteryear looks thanks to their timeless design, hand painted detailing, and soft, often muted colour palettes that have such an appealingly lovely age worn look to them.

I adore this sweet, wonderful necklace and can't thank the company enough both for this gift and for involving me with the design process. It was a splendid experience and a true honour!

What I'm sporting in the photos above is not my Halloween costume (I'll be sharing that here on the blog next week and quite possibly on social media come the big night itself), but there was no way I could let this week go by without sharing one of the many outfits I've been wearing lately that completely channels the spirit of this awesome holiday.

As a general rule, lime and neon green are not shades that are kind to my colouring (they tend to give it an unflattering yellowish cast), but luckily this cute 1980s does 1950s shirtwaist dress is an exception there. I've had it for years, but have not shared it here on my blog yet.

I love weaving hits of green and purple into my Halloween decor and outfits, so I decided to make lime green the star colour of this look and was inspired to do so by the little hits of it in this adorable scarf (worn on my head) that I picked up just a few days ago at our local Dollar Tree store.

From that same scarf, I pulled orange for my earrings and skinny belt, as well as black, white and purple, for my purse, shoes and bangle bracelet choices. I really like how this whole ensemble came together and love that I had the ideal necklace, care of Gleeful Peacock, to partner with such a festive look.

In just two days time, my favourite holiday will be upon us again and I can hardly wait!!! Our costumes are all set, the decor is out in full force, I've started cooking and preparing for the family Halloween party we host at our place each October 31st, and I've been watching my favourite Halloween movies and TV shows like there's no tomorrow. This week (and really, whole month) always puts me in the best mood and this one is no exception.

I hope that you're having a marvelous tail end of October, too, whether you celebrate Halloween or not, and can hardly wait to share my actual costume itself with all of you in just a few days time!