Nautical by nature

Outfit details

Anchors and Stripes Nautical Rockabilly Bandana: c/o Inkabilly
1950s red glitter resin earrings: Summer Blue Jewelry
Red long sleeved top: Urban Planet (I think; had for years)
1940s style denim overalls: Freddies of Pinewood
1940s/1950s enamel coated anchor brooch: Unknown, had for years
1950s corduroy bucket purse: Rue 23 Vintage Clothing Mid-century vintage style beaded charm bracelet: Handmade by me
1940s style brown leather shoes: Naturalizer
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red
Nail colour: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet

Photography by Tony Cangiano

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Pattern matching is one thing, and I do dabble in such from time to time, but blending two distinctly different geographical styles as they relate to fashion is not something I dip my toes into very often.

Pulling such off can be tricky at best and look downright wonky at worse. That isn't to say it can't be done - and indeed, some fabulous styles have been born of such marriages - but, again, it's a risky zone and one that is best approached with some forethought.

A little earlier this year, as first mentioned in this fun camping outfit post last month, I had the great pleasure to begin a working relationship with the exciting British vintage/retro/rockabilly inspired fashion and housewares brand, Inkabilly.

I was drawn to Inkabilly's creations for a number of reasons. Not only are they vibrant, fun and very well made, but the company is helmed by a passionate husband and wife team (Lee and Karl).

This really resonated with me, as a lot of business related things that Tony and I do are shared together in a similar way (for example, we founded and have both subsequently run our free weekly new book email notification service, Any New Books, together for over six years now).

Lee and Karl kindly let me select a few of their stylish offerings to share about with all of you and this week I'm tickled pink - or, perhaps more like red and blue :) - to get the opportunity to highlight another of their excellent offerings here today.

Two of the items that they kindly sent me were their signature headscarves, of which is this is the second (the first stars darling, vibrantly hued flamingos).

Like many a vintage fashion fan the world over, I have a serious love for all things nautical related. From the colours to the imagery to actually being near the water, I flock to nautical related things and love when the chance to put together a new outfit based around such arises.

We're a few hours away from the actual (Pacific) ocean, but we are fortunate to live in a town with not one, but two, large lakes (plus numerous other lakes and rivers in the general area), which can serve as a good stand in for such.

In the case of this particular shoot, we opted to take snaps in the bright, warm late afternoon sunlight recently down at Rotary Park at Okanagan Lake here in Penticton. This is a spacious, lovely swath of grass and flowers that is popular as a lounging spot with locals and tourists alike.

We've shot here a small number of other times over the years and will likely return to it again and again in the future, as it offers up a slice of both grass (aka, the “nature” in my puntastic post title, which takes inspiration from the well known rap group, Naughty By Nature) and a large expanse of beautiful blue water.

My outfit was selected earlier in the day and the location determined later on, but I knew that as I had boldly opted to partner that most classic of farmyard staples, the humble denim overall, with nautical elements, that I wanted both turf and lake alike visible in my outfit snaps that day.

It struck me that I hadn't sported my Freddies of Pinewood overalls, which I love to the moon and back, here in ages (seriously - the last time may very well have been the spring of 2013), despite the fact that I live in them year round (they, like my other Freddies pants, are my staple dog park attire, as they hold up awesomely to the rigours of Annie and her energetic canine chums).

I was in the mood to wear them on camera again, but also wanted to highlight this fantastic anchor print headscarf from Inkabilly, and so this outfit - a mashup of land and sea - was born.

It's a casual, fun look and one that suits the unpredictable nature of our weather this summer really well (though, delightfully, we were treated to some gorgeous sunshine on the particular Sunday when we took these snaps).

To echo the anchor print in the headscarf (called the Anchors and Stripes Nautical Rockabilly Bandana, which retails for a very reasonable £6.99), I opted for a fun mid-century vintage enamel anchor shaped brooch and a made-by-me vintage inspired anchor charm bracelet.

Beyond that, a basic red top, plus a tawny hued vintage handbag and forties style shoes in the same colour round out the mix, both picking up the dark golden stitching in the overalls themselves.

Simple, in many ways as this outfit may be, I absolutely love it! I haven't dabbled in farm meets seafaring looks very often, but this ensemble has me thinking that I should delve into such a bit more frequently. Dark overalls like this, with their inky indigo shade, take to classic nautical shades like red and white extremely well and are reminiscent, colour wise, of classic navy blue sailors trousers.

I really like this charming nautical print headscarf from Inkabilly. It's lightweight, expertly made, has excellent colours, and would go with a million and one different nautical inspired looks. I could easily see packing it the next time we were headed to the ocean, but know that it will get plenty of wear around these landlocked parts as well, and want to sincerely thank Lee and Karl for sending this terrific vintage inspired accessory my way.

So while it might not be everyday that I meld two distinct styles like farm/land girl and nautical together, I must say, I'm very happy with the results of this experiment and love that I now have yet another styling technique to get even more mileage out of both my Freddies overalls and this great new anchor print headscarf alike.

Do you ever mix two (or more) unique styles as well? Would you wear a nautical meets farmland ensemble yourself?