My elegant new Heyday Twizzle dress, assorted bridges, and a handy styling trick for stretch belts

Outfit details

C. 1940s tri-colour hat with green feather: Froufrou 4 You
C. 1930s/1940s black plastic ball tipped hat pin: Unknown, had for many years
Black plastic hair barrette: Goody
1950s style gold leaf and black plastic dangle earrings: Claire's
Mid-century vintage plastic "amber" beaded necklace: Purchased in person from a fellow vintage seller
1940s style floral print Twizzle dress: c/o Heyday
Burgundy cardigan: Mexx
Green 1950s style stretch belt: Hell Bunny, purchased from Retro Glam
Skinny light yellow Bakelite spacer bangle bracelets: Gift from a dear online friend ♥
Vintage amber orange hued carved plastic "fakelite" bangle bracelet: Thrifted
1940s/1950s brown scallop edged gloves: Vitamin F
1950s golden brown corduroy handbag: Rue 23 Vintage
Nude seamed nude stockings: eBay
1940s style brown faux leather heels: eBay
Lip colour: MAC Diva

{I'm linking up this outfit post up with the Style Crone's marvelous May Hat Attack, which is teeming with stylish chapeau inspiration from fashionistas around the world.}


Photography by Tony Cangiano

♥ ♥ ♥

And if I'd wanted this title to be novel length, I would have added “windy weather” and a fabulous feathered cap to it as well – but we’ll get to those points a little later on. :)

If you've been been taking outfit photos for your blog for any amount of time now and opt to do so in an array of different locations (as opposed, for example, to always in the same spot on your front lawn), chances are you've encounter times when, completely unintentionally, you ended up having multiple shoots in a relatively short time period that all starred some common element.

We've definitely had those before and more recently encountered one wherein, during the earliest weeks of spring, we ended up shooting on three different bridges in a span of scarcely more weeks than that. Each is different, of course, and I'm certainly not complaining - it just makes me smile, as I find these organic photo shoot location trends rather charming (past ones have included such things as pathways, beaches, urban settings, park, gazebos, and my parent’s deck).

This is the second of those three shoots (the first being my recent vintage lime green shirtwaist dress outfit) and the third - which we took while on an exciting recent impromptu weekend getaway - will be appearing here in the very near future.

This particular bridge - which I think is rather cute insofar as bridges go - is located just a few hundred yards up the street from our house and crosses over Penticton Creek to a lovely retirement community (that's open for anyone to walk through; something that our dog, Annie, and I enjoy doing often).

Despite it's proximity to our abode, we hadn't yet shot on it yet, so the return of spring's balmy weather seemed like the ideal time to do just that. We tend to get a lot of wind in the Okanagan during the spring, and it was out in full force that day, but I'd thought ahead and made sure to use a hat pin to hold my vintage chapeau in safely in place.

I bought this delightful c. 1940s tri-coloured hat a few years ago, but hadn't yet debuted here on the blog yet. The reason? I was waiting for the perfect outfit to partner it with.

I own, and wear, a a fair bit of each of the three main colours that it stars, but none of the other ensembles I'd tried it with before delivered the same "total package" look that I was aiming for, which this gorgeous 1940s style dark floral print frock, the Rich Bounty Twizzle Dress, from Heyday definitely did (to my mind at least!).

I've had the wonderful fortune of working with Heyday in various sponsorship capacities for at least three years now and I've been a loyal customer of theirs for at least a couple of years longer than that. A little earlier this year they asked if I'd like to team up for an outfit post (our first to date) and I said yes faster than the speed of light.

Heyday is one of my favourite vintage production in the world. At present, I own three pairs of swing trousers, two Fleur Dresses, and a cute floral print top, that is no longer available on their website (plus this beautiful Twizzle dress now, too), from them, each of which I see a lot of wear throughout the year.

This is my first Twizzle dress from Heyday and I can honestly say, I sincerely hope that it isn't my last!

Very well made (as all Heyday products that I've tried so far have been), comfortable as the day is long and enchantingly sophisticated, this 1940s style frock has a colour palette that suits autumn especially well, but a fabric weight that serves spring and summer best (as layered piece it could easily see you on into fall, too).

I'm not terribly busty (I'm on the small side of a North American C cup) and often find that 40s and 50s style repro dresses with necklines of this general shape are a bit roomy on me. This one is a tad, but not so much that its overly noticeable.

I was debating between two sizes on this dress and opted for the larger one, but if I purchase further Twizzles in the future, I'll likely go for the smaller of the two, as I there's ample stretch to the fabric used here and I think that doing so would help the bust fit even better (again though, and I really mean this, it is 100% wearable and becoming as it sits now).

Fascinatingly, this particular dress is based on a classic British CC41 design from the heavily rationed war years that is part of the founder, Shona's, own wardrobe. It's a deeply classic design that looks the 1940s part to a tee, and which I'm more than a little bit smitten with. I love this fabulous dark floral print frock and can't thank the lovely folks at Heyday enough for sending it my way.

With so many hues at work in my dress and hat, I didn't want to go overboard on the accessories front at all, but of course, this look still called for some. I tried a number of medium to wide width belts out with this dress, ultimately favouring this fun 1950s style green stretch belt from Hell Bunny.

It includes your classic triple "row" style metal clasp, which suits some ensembles fabulously, but not this one, so I decided to use a trick that I've been employing for years now when such applied and simply wear it with the clasp in the back. This gives you so much more millage from your stretch belts and because the clasp is quite flat and lies flush to your body, I've never found them to be uncomfortable when worn in this manner.

I'm elated that spring is here and that the weather is warm enough to shot outside sans seven thousand layers again. Even with some of life's usual ups and downs recently, I'm in a stellar (and very productive) mood at the moment and find myself waking up accompanied by a very welcome sense of joy and contentment. I feel like as though such shines through in these photos, and that makes me love them - and this 1940s style ensemble - all the more.

Who knows, perhaps we'll even take more photos on another bridge this season - which I hope (and am planning) to fill with as many shoots as possible. After all, to put a modern spin on a classic expression regarding hay, one needs to take outfit photos while the sun shines! :)

Playing along with the I ♥ Spring Tag

Today is not only the first Saturday of April, but it just happens to be my darling mother's birthday as well. As such, it's especially jubilant day for me and not a time for long or overly serious blog posts in the slightest!

The sun is shining, the birds are (quite literally) singing right outside my window, the first gleeful hits of green are returning to the landscape and the world feels both alive and abuzz and with excitement and joy right now.

Back in 2013, I started seeing a fun little blog and YouTube video tag about spring appear on various sites (including Miss Budget Beauty) and tucked it away on my "to write a post about" list at the time.

Jump ahead three years, and today, on this blissful day, it seemed like the ideal time had come to answer the twelve quick questions in the I ♥ Spring Tag, before starting a fabulous day of birthday celebrations for my mom.

Playing along with the I ♥ Spring Tag

1. Favourite spring nail polish? Tough call!!! I really let the pastel adoring side of my wardrobe run wild and free in the spring, very much including with my nail polish picks, so it's tricky to narrow things down to just one favourite. That said, I do return year after year to Essie's Lilacism. It's such a cheery, sweet shade of purple that suits this season to a tee.






2. Must have spring lip colour?: Although I think it's been discontinued for a while, I still have the better part of a tube (that is holding up great), so I'm opting for one of the only coral shades that has ever looked good on me (coral face makeup + pink undertones in my skin are rarely a winning combo, but somehow this one works): MAC's Made With Love (seen in this outfit post from last May).



3. Favourite style of dress for spring? Something lightweight, immensely feminine, and very likely floral print (like the 1950s Horrockses stunners above!).




4. Favourite spring flower? There's sooo many to love and appreciate. How does one narrow it down to a single favourite. Hard, so hard! :) For the sake of their sublimely pretty scent alone, I think that lilacs may very well emerge as the winner for me in this camp, but I'm also partial to roses, hydrangeas, sweat peas (my mom's favourite flower), tulips, and lilies.





5. Favourite springtime (fashion) accessory? A great vintage straw hat and/or handbag (extra bonus points if flowers are involved with either), as they really symbolize the end of winter and return of warmer, milder weather and the gorgeous fashions that this chapter of the year entail.





6. What spring trends are you most looking forward to? Given that us vintage wearing folks usually make our own trends, this question isn't per se that applicable to my wardrobe, but in general some elements of springtime fashion that I adore and get excited for each year include the aforementioned straw accessories and floral dresses, pastel and/or sparkly jewelry, open toed shoes, capri pants, sheer (chiffon, silk, etc) scarves, lightweight mid-century blouses, and a royal garden's worth of hair flowers.





7. Favourite spring candle? Ooohh, good question! I'm a very avid candle buyer and user and definitely enjoy pairing many of my choices with the different seasons. When it comes to spring, I'd say probably something light and floral or subtly sweet, such as a jasmine (Voluspa, whose entire line of products I madly adore, makes an especially sublime jasmine candle, pictured above), lemon, rose or peach scent.




8. Favourite perfume/body spray for spring? For the past about 14 – 15 years now, my go-to warm weather scent has been Romance from Ralph Lauren. It's a truly beautiful classic that I will keep reaching for each spring and summer for as long as it's on the market.




9. What is spring like where you live? It generally starts around the beginning of April, when we hop from snow to rain that will usually last into May. From that point onward, the days generally start to heat up quite quickly as we live in one of the warmest parts of Canada, and by the beginning of June, it's not uncommon to feel like summer is here already.




10. What is your favourite thing about spring? That it means winter is over! :D I'm only half kidding there, but more seriously, hmmmmm, there's so much to adore about spring! From the return of yard sale season to the dipping one's toes in the lake (or ocean) again to the seasonal produce, a bevy of blooms everywhere to the spring's various holidays, and of course all of sweet, gorgeous warm weather vintage fashions themselves, too!




11. Are you a spring cleaner? Majorly so! We did a lot of our spring cleaning and around-the-house DIY jobs back in January, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be busting out the ol' elbow grease at various points this spring, too.





12. Any plans for spring break or upcoming vacations? None at the moment (boo!!!), but one never knows what exciting travel adventure is waiting for them next, and even if a bigger getaway isn't in the cards this spring, I suspect Tony and I will try to get in a weekend road trip or two now that roads are becoming a lot safer to drive on again.

I'm not going to tap anyone specifically, so all means, if you'd like to play along, too, please do!

Spring is a stellar season and one that doesn't necessarily get as much love on the blog/YouTube video tag front as the other three, so I say we shower it with an April shower’s worth of blog tag answers this time around. :)

{To learn more about a specific image used in this post, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

♥ ♥ ♥

Here's to the start of April and what I hope will be a brilliant fourth month of the year for everyone! I have oodles of fun things in the works for both this month and the rest of spring - including lots of exciting warm(er) weather outfit posts - and can hardly wait to share such happenings here with all with you.

First though, I'm off to celebrate the birth of the woman who gave me life. My sweet mama, who I love, cherish and am grateful for beyond words - and whose birthday has always ensured that April kicked off on an especially happy note for our family.

Vintage pastels aplenty? Yes, pretty please!

{In the mood for a marvelous new vintage springtime chapeau? Look no further than this charmingly elegant 1950s Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue ladies cream straw hat with pink velvet ribbon, coordinating pink flowers, and clear rhinestones. It's jaunty, lightweight, and extremely well suited to the warmer half of the year. $34.00 Chronically Vintage on Etsy.}




{Wave goodbye to snowflakes and hello to sun-kissed blooms when you slip on this pair of delightfully lovely 1950s/1960s light blue and green enamel coated metal flower clip-on earrings. $15.00 from Chronically Vintage on Etsy.}




{Sweet-as-candy light pink thermoset plastic combines with shiny silver tone metal in this 1950s demi-parure to create a fabulous mid-century jewelry set that is every bit as chic as it is lovely - not to mention very springtime appropriate. $32.00 (for the set) from Chronically Vintage on Etsy.}




{I swooned long and hard the moment I first laid eyes on this wonderfully pretty, very vintage appropriate Heart Cardi in Haze Blue created by the brand Louie et Lucie. Not only is it a timelessly classic layering piece in a gorgeous colour, but it features a sweet little heart motif that feels so fresh and springtime perfect all at once. Available in modern ladies sizes Small and Medium only at the time of writing. $119.01 (New Zealand dollars) from Vintage Heaven.}




{And speaking of hearts, why not wear yours on your sleeve, your label, your purse, your hat, your scarf - anywhere you please - when you pin this immensely pretty, and very romantic, vintage light blue guilloche enamel heart brooch to your outfit. $20.00 from Chronically Vintage on Etsy.}




{Oh peach, how I love you (and so, coincidentally, does my husband). Though I usually need to stick with shades that have pink, rather then yellow, undertones, this is a classic colour that I'm crazy about and which I eagerly look forward to slipping into again bright and early spring (and I continue to sport it clear on through to at least September). This mid-century inspire short sleeve peach Martha blouse is just the thing if you're looking to add more of this great fruit inspired hue to your wardrobe this year. Available in modern UK ladies sizes 8 to 18 (some sizes sold out at the time of writing). £40.00 from Heyday.}




{I can clearly remember the moment I found this enchantingly pretty 1950s mint green Swiss dot and white lace trimmed skirt late one afternoon while shopping in Vancouver last year. It was too small for me and in years past, it would have simply remained where it hung, but thanks to the fact that I have an Etsy store now, it was able to come home with me and, much more recently, get listed in my said shop. It's a delightful, very classic piece that could be styled up or down, taken in a vintage direction or sported with modern outfits, too. Plus, every time I see it, it puts me in the mood for mint candy, which is never a bad thing! :) Fits up to a 24" waist/free hips. $34.00 from Chronically Vintage on Etsy.}




{Lilacs, undoubtedly one of spring's most iconic and magnificently scented flowers amongst those smells, I've long found, that people absolutely love or can't stand. Interestingly, it has usually been chaps, in my experience, who weren't keen on it (Tony amongst them, though he says their odour gives him a headache, so it makes sense that he wouldn't love them then). I however fall into the camp of adoring lilacs and could bath in nothing but their scent all spring long. Thankfully thanks to this gorgeous lilac roll on scented oil you and I can do just that, if so desired. $8.00 for 10 ml from Etiquettes.}




{You would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful beaded mid-century vintage purse to carry for spring than this breathtaking white and pastel stunner featuring a gorgeous floral design in shades of soft pink, green, blue, purple and yellow. $59.99 from Savato Collection.}




{Hurrah!! At long last (or very nearly so) thick winter glove and mitten season is over and that means we can go back to sporting gloves simply for the fabulous fashion statement that they make, not expressly for keeping frostbite at bay. If, like me, you go gaga for mint green, then this elegant ruched 1940s/1950s pair, which suits spring and summer excellently, is just what your wardrobe needs. Best suited for those who wear a size 6.5 vintage glove. $18.00 from Chronically Vintage on Etsy.}




{It's never too early in the warm weather season to start thinking about your next vintage bathing suit, especially when it's a show-stoppingly stunner like this rare Tina Leser pink and white 1950s one-piece featuring dimensional pussy willow chenille embellishments. Fits up to a 32 - 34 bust/26" waist. $259.00 from The Best Vintage Clothing.}




{Give your brown, black, grey, and navy blue shoes a much needed rest this spring and slip into a pair of these alluringly stylish cream coloured Retro Mary Jane Heels instead. They'll go with just as many outfits, but suit spring's soft, elegant palette even better than dark hues in most settings (plus, they would make for gorgeous shoes for a bride on her wedding day). Available in modern ladies sizes 7 through 9 (at the time of writing). $54.95 from Blue Velvet Vintage.}

♥ ♥ ♥

Can you say the title of today's edition of Vintage Fashionista three times fast with tripping up? Jokes (and tongue twisters) aside, March really is a month that suits pastels incredibly well (ditto for April). These fledgling days of spring - or near spring, as is currently the case - are mellow and sweet, assuming winter's wrath is finally hightailing it out of your neck of the woods.

Winter's palette, dark, alluring, vampish even at times, was fabulous December, but it feels heavy now - like trying to eat a rich five course feast on a sweltering July day, when a light salad and lemon ice are all that want to put in your mouth. Pastels are the sweet confections and frozen treats of the colour world. Though they can be a touch twee (not that that's a bad thing), they also have the ability to be sophisticated and very chic, say in vintage skirt suit or 1940s tilt hat form.

I adore pastels - even if a few of them, such as orangey-peach and lilac - are not amongst my most flattering colours and thus must be avoided in large doses and worn near my face - and intentionally sport them primarily during the spring and summer months (though I have warmed up to them a bit for winter, as I chatted about in this post last year, they'll never feel like autumn to me, so I rarely wear them then).

While one certainly can, you don't have to sport head-to-toe pastels in the slightest. A small hit of baby blue, cotton candy pink, or newborn chick yellow against darker neutrals or complimentary shades of the same colour can look immensely beautiful and perhaps, some might go so far as to say, become a grownup up take on pastels. I wouldn't agree with that entirely, as again, a pastel suit, cocktail dress, evening gown, or pair of gloves, for example, can all be wildly sophisticated and appropriate for fashionable folks of all ages.

We often think of just a few shades when pastels spring to mind, but really they're a fairly vast category that can, and does, encompass everything from the hues already mentioned in the paragraphs above to  light grey, pale aqua, soft plum, sweet apricot, the gentlest shades of brown, cream and ivory, nude and buff, whisper faint metallics, lavender, and toned down citrus shades, amongst others.

Though I will sometimes go full on pastel, I usually like to use these soft, but very sartorially powerful hues, as accent notes in my wardrobe, such in the form of a pair of earrings, hair flower, snood, shoes, handbag, or (in a somewhat larger dose) a skirt or cardigan. They're fun and markedly cheerful, and signal to all who see you that you've embraced spring's return with open - and very stylish - arms.

Whether you feel the siren's call of periwinkle, soft blush, sage green, or starlight yellow, why not make like our well dressed Vintage Fashionista and deck yourself out in some sugary sweet, absolutely beautiful pastels this spring?

Let's keep pastels for spring and summer

Outfit details

Cocoa brown 1950s nylon (chiffon) scarf: eBay
Brown and white cameo earrings: Handmade by me
Mint green 1980s does 1940s dress: Veronica Vintage
Vintage (c. 1960s) metal and brown glass brooch: likely thrifted or from a yard sale (had for years)
1950s white gloves: Gift from a dear vintage loving friend ♥
Brown faux leather handbag: eBay
Nude seamed nude stockings: eBay
Brown 1940s style pumps: Consignment store
Lip colour: Clinique Raspberry Glace

Photography by Tony Cangiano  

♥ ♥ ♥

Though I wear vintage and vintage appropriate styles far more often than not, I've always adored fashion general and it might surprise some to know that I read a number of modern fashion magazines and follow current trends relatively closely (though not since my early high school years have I felt the slightest inclination to keep up with them when it came to my own wardrobe). As such, last autumn, when design houses from Dior to Sonia Rykiel sent a bevy of pastels down the runway for fall 2013, I sat back, entirely unswayed, made a few "hmmm" noises to myself, and felt a bit like someone had tried to pull the wool over my eyes and convince me that Halloween was in fact Easter.

While a palette as soft and appealing a newly hatched chick's feathers might work well for those who celebrate fall south of the equator, where our autumn is their spring, for those above it, the idea of pastels for this dark, subtly brooding, wildly majestic season felt woefully out of place, and to my mind at least, quite frankly contrived.

There are certainly times when a whisper of a pastel shade can work well for fall - say a cream, flax, or pale peach alongside darker hues of the season such as rust, saffron or eggplant, but in general pastels are in their true element not when the leaves are tumbling to the ground, but when they're springing to life again, the weather is finally heating up, and the prospect of summer looms on the horizon.

Pastels are to the colour world as candy is the culinary one, and just as a bowl full of saltwater taffy would be a rather strange meal to have for dinner, instead of the usual savoury entree you were expecting, so too did it feel like someone had served us up a big, fat sartorial helping of something that was best left until after the heavy, filling players had their natural turn.

I didn't even contemplate busting out my vintage pastels last autumn, as cocoon coats in shades of fairy floss pink and pants suit in what suddenly felt like almost cloying shades of lilac and lavender parading across the pages of Elle, Vogue, In Style, and no doubt myriad other fashion publications. No, my soft and gentle hues, colours that are to the eyes what a a kitten's paw pad is to the touch, remained firmly entrenched in the warm weather half of my closet and thus they remained until April hit.

Then, like the world itself springing back to life, they rubbed the proverbial sleep from their eyes and little by little, bit by bit, began to appear in my wardrobe once more until they reached their zenith in the form of this sweetly fun chocolate mint inspired ensemble.

I purchased this dress in early 2013 from the Etsy shop of fellow vintage gal Holly, who many of you may know from her great blog (of the same moniker as her shop), Veronica Vintage, and it is making its blog debut here nearly a year and a half later. Though I'd worn it before, it wasn't until I partnered it with hints of dark, warm brown via my accessories that I felt like I'd really hit upon the outfit I wanted to photograph it as part of.

Large doses of pastel colours, regardless of the season, can be tricky to pull off, especially after the age of about ten years old. I love them in principle, but find I usually need to temper their mild mannered nature with undertones of darker, moodier - one might say - hues, in this case shades of brown so yummy they look as though they might have been plucked straight from a chocolate factory.

I've worn this exact outfit three times lately, including once to an antiques auction and again on the day when these photos were taken at Gyro Park here in Penticton, and love it more each time it's sported. Perhaps that’s because I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that this not the kind of outfit I would bust out, unless circumstances (for whatever reason) strongly dictated doing so, after Labour Day. White? Yes, that old wardrobe rule chestnut I'll happily disobey, but pastels are to go into hibernation the moment the first pumpkins hit the farmers market stands.

Just as one wouldn't (likely!) wear a snowsuit to the beach in June, or eat Christmas dinner on a random Thursday in August, so too are there certain colours that are best left in their respective seasons - at least in generous helpings. Much as this outfit would raise many an eyebrow if worn in April, so too should we as a collective whole embrace the fact that pastels are for spring first and foremost, with their wearing continuing on into summer, but fading out of our daily attire like the chlorophyll in the leaves come the first whisper of fall.

Some hues are universal, great from the first to the last day of the year, but others suit specific times of the year best and no matter how much the fashion tribes and powers that be may try to convince the general public otherwise, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I love knowing that I have the wearing of pastels to look forward to as soon as the last mighty snowman of winter has helped the grass turn verdant once more. This is a natural order to the seasons and to the wearing of colours, and sometimes its wisest to leave well enough alone and savour the best of each one's palette in the moment.