An awesome plaid skirt from Vivien of Holloway, adorable goats, and an unplanned photo shoot

Outfit details

c. 1960s Italian made red scarf (worn on my head): Probably thrifted (had for years)
Sparkly gold bow earrings: Payless
Black thin knit turtleneck: Probably thrifted (had for years)
Vintage style honeybee and hive brooch: Luxulite
1980s does 1950s woven gold belt: Thrifted (Value Village)
Red and green vintage style tartan circle skirt: c/o Vivien of Holloway
1950s red wrist length gloves: (Probably) eBay (had for years)
Gold tone metal chain link bracelet: Payless
Mid-century vintage black patent purse: Etsy (seller does not appear to be in business any longer)
Black seamed nude stockings: eBay
Red patent faux leather pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red


Photography by Tony Cangiano











































{Tell me you can't practically hear this cute goat say, "All right, Mr. Cangiano, I'm ready for my close-up" :D}

♥ ♥ ♥ 

Over the years, I've mentioned here at least a time or two before that one of my favourite things to do in the Okanagan is to discover or simply visit (if they're already known to me/us) locations that, despite having lived in this part of the country on and off for much of my life, that I've never been to before.

One such place that we'd not yet visited, despite having driven past it many times over the years, is a small local and specialty food shop called the Log Barn 1912 located near the North Okanagan town of Armstrong. I try to hit Armstrong multiple times a year, primarily because they have one of the few actual vintage clothing stores (that also takes in modern items on consignment, but their vintage section thrives and has landed me some great finds over the years) in this whole region of the province.

We headed up that way recently and decided to stop at the Log Barn in the process, as Tony in particular had been itching to check it out for quite some time now. The Log Barn 1912's name taps into the rich history of the area and the farm land on which is reside. The shop itself was founded in 1995 and strives to provide the general public with a wide array of food created primarily by those in the Mennonite community across British Columbia.

Inside the fabulously quaint little store (that was very well heated the day we were there, despite it being quite chilly outside) one finds over 150 different products, some of which are (I believe) made on-site, including sandwiches, salt water taffy, jams, spreads, mustards, jerky, peanut brittle, cinnamon buns, and many other delicious specialties. Interspersed between the products, there's a beautiful vintage kitchen stove that is now a decorative piece, as well as friendly staff members handing out samples.

As charming as the inside of the Log Cabin is, it is the outdoor of the building and the surrounding property that draws visitors in like a month to a flame.

Situated all around the grounds, one finds a truly eclectic array of large scale outdoor decor and statues, including ones of both wild animals and dinosaurs alike.





As if that wasn't unique enough, there's also a good sized number of real live goats that live on the property and for which a specially constructed walkway has been designed so that the goats are quite literally overhead of you when you drive into the parking lot (you can even buy goat food pellets and hand feed them, if so desired).

Plus, there's also a long retired vintage blue pickup truck and sundry other delightful things stationed around the actual wooden log cabin building itself, all of which make for a terrific photo shoot location.

Tony and I were on a tight schedule the day we buzzed up to Armstrong and didn't have either of our DSLR cameras which us (as a shoot wasn’t planned in advance), but when we saw the blue truck up close in person, we knew that it - and the rest of the setting - complimented my outfit too marvelously not to take some photos on Tony's iPhone.

I was test driving the outfit that you see here for the first time that day (something I often do, especially if I'm wearing one or more of the pieces for the first time and want to get a good feel for how they look and fit on me) and had planned to wear it out again in the coming week for a shoot, but we were so pleased with this location, that so far we haven't taken any more photos of this exact ensemble.

The star of which is definitely the absolutely gorgeous, and very, very vintage looking, red plaid circle skirt that I kindly received as a review gift from the wonderful folks over at Vivien of Holloway (whom I want to sincerely thank for this downright fantastic garment).

Over the years I've found that many genuine vintage plaid skirts, especially pleated ones, can be very unflattering on me (pleated garments in general do not tend to do me any favours), so I only have a couple in my wardrobe at present and am always looking to add more that will work for me.

This classic, sophisticated circle skirt from Vivien of Holloway nails it there like no one's business! Free of pleats and boasting a very figure flattering round shape, this skirt teems with mid-century charm and style.

Well made from a good quality light-medium weight fabric, this particular skirt - called the Bottle Green Red Tartan Circle Skirt - is one of several different similar plaid/tartan/checkered skirts that VOH is currently offering. It retails for £49.00, which - especially for those in the UK and elsewhere in Europe - is a very fair price in my opinion for an excellent, old school style garment like this.

This is my first plaid/tartan circle skirt ever and I'm truly in love with it. From the length (28 - 29" inches long, depending on the size), which is my favourite range for all kinds of dresses and skirts, to the timeless Scottish inspired tartan in rich, intense shades of red, green, yellow and black, this is a skirt for the ages and one that I’m sure I will absolute live in over the years.

Knowing that we were headed to a shop that is so connected to rural and traditional products, I opted to partner my elegant new VOH plaid skirt with this cuter-than-cute honey bee hive brooch that I recently bought from Luxulite. I've always loved bee, hive, honeycomb and honey themed items, especially when they're adorable looking, so naturally I made a beeline (:D) for this darling pin.

The pin and skirt are bold pieces unto themselves, so I kept the rest of my look more subtle, opting for solid colours in shades of red, black and gold. As winter was still underway that day, I felt a classic black turtleneck would be a good way to help keep the chill at bay, while not having to reach for a million layers, that could have obscured the brooch and possibly even the skirt, too (I.e., a long princess coat).

This was a fun, super comfy outfit (I could sleep in this skirt, if I had to – it fits that well) and just the thing for a busy day of trekking up to this corner of the Okanagan, to visit a really cool location that we'd never stopped at before.

We both enjoyed our time at the Log Barn 1912, very much including posing near and photographing the uber cute goats, and agreed that we'd try to make a point to stop in there more often from now on when we're in that neck of the woods. Perhaps even with a DSLR in hand next time! :)