Vintage Style Sunday: Olive green fall look

similar dress/similar shoes/similar hat/similar tights

It's been a really long time since I blogged. I am going to be honest, I really just wanted to quit. My husband has had two major surgeries for a torn Achilles tendon (with another surgery scheduled for a couple weeks from now). He tore his Achilles about a week after our disaster-riddled move to the Dallas area. That and both of us starting new jobs...it's just been one thing after another lately, but this blog is one of my ways of releasing some of that stress so I decided to jump back in and drag my poor husband out wearing his boot and toting the camera...he's a saint. 

similar dress/similar shoes/similar hat/similar tights

I will be starting a series where I feature vintage items from my wardrobe once a month with inspiration on how to incorporate pieces in a modern wardrobe. I fell in love with this olive green 1940s wool dress last year, I bought it, then remembered I lived in Houston; where there are literally no days in the year where it is comfortable to wear wool clothing. 

Today it was a beautiful fall day in Dallas, with a little chill and some wind. So I took this dress out for a spin for the first time!!! Some details I love are the flared skirt, slightly puffed sleeves, and the cute collar (concealed by my hair...ugh). 

similar dress/similar shoes/similar hat/similar tights 

 I paired it with some black oxford heels, which I believe should be a staple in every closet, they go with almost everything and add a touch of whimsy and class to any outfit. I also paired it with some fun polka dot tights and my vintage 1940s hat which I have featured on the blog before. My awesome sister-in-law got me the cute clock necklace at a maker fair in Oregon, it is pretty unique and this was the closest thing I could find that might be similar to it.

similar dress/similar shoes/similar hat/similar tights

The biggest thing I have learned when purchasing vintage is knowing your measurements and how you fit certain other clothes. I browsed many other olive green vintage dresses before coming across one that had measurements that would fit me comfortably. Some things to keep in mind is that slightly larger items can be easily tailored and/or might end up being more comfortable because they allow for movement, while items too small for you just won't do. Err on the side of slightly too big when you are making that judgment call. Don't purchase anything without knowing its measurements!!!

similar dress/similar shoes/similar hat/similar tights

I hope you all feel inspired to start delving into the world of vintage, it is a great way to add uniqueness to your wardrobe and be ecologically friendly as well. I will be providing more tips and tricks which I have discovered along the way as I continue this series. Do you have any vintage items in your wardrobe? If so, where did you get them? Let me know in the comments and have a great day :)

DIY: dyeing an old dress to make it new---BRICOLAGE: teindre une vieille robe pour la rendre neuve

This outfit has me feeling all sorts of holiday vibes...but it wouldn't have used to the way that I originally bought this dress.

I was making a random stop at a neighborhood Goodwill (can't remember the initial purpose of the visit). Then I spotted this very homely looking fabric poking out of the dresses "clearance" rack (the ones that have the colored tag for that day's promotion). I pulled on the potato colored material and out came this cutely shaped handmade vintage dress (I am guessing it is early to mid 1950s). The dress had clearly seen better days, there were parts that had a sort of oil based staining on it, and the seam where the zipper was sewn in needed some reinforcing. I took it to the dressing room and tried it on to make sure it would fit it. I basically fell in love (I mean for a few dollars what wasn't there to love) but immediately started brainstorming ways by which I could make it more wearable.

A packet of raspberry red dye, hot water, and a bathtub later I got a lovely new wardrobe staple!

A great way, in my opinion, to "save" or reuse something older that you might be tempted to overlook or toss out is to dye it. I have some tips on how to go about that below...

Here are some things to keep in mind when dyeing fabrics:

AGE: The age of any fabric will affect how well it takes to dye and how much it is at risk for deterioration. This dress is about 60 years old and the fabric is still in good shape, so I wasn't too concerned about its fragility. I have another dress from the 1920s which I have thought about dying but am still hesitating to do so because I worry about the age of the fabric. If you are looking into dyeing a garment any older than 50-60 years I would take some serious precautions and look into cold water dyes or non-acidic dyes which react a little differently and tend to be gentler on older fabrics. Tulip and RIT which are the two main brands found in the U.S are acidic dyes which should be used with caution on garments which are 70+ years old. You will probably have to go search online or to a specialty fabrics/dyeing store in order to get the appropriate dyes.

MATERIAL: Natural fabrics tend to take to dyes very well, so cottons, linens, hemp, bamboo and silks will usually turn out evenly dyed. Wool and cashmere are tricky because most dyes are heat activated and you will end up shrinking your fabric if you expose it to the temperatures required for most generic dyes. Synthetics are VERY unpredictable. While most synthetics CAN be dyed, you must do your research and make sure you don't set your expectations too high. Now the other thing is you need to be familiar with the look and feel of different materials because chances are, vintage and second-hand items will not have care and composition tags. This dress, as far as I can tell, is a cotton-linen blend. I knew it would be a fairly safe bet in terms of dyeing it to give it new life but I think a lot of it was luck and the fact that I was willing to take a risk because it was so inexpensive to begin with. 

EXISTING COLOR: Naturally, you can't buy a black dress, get a box of light blue RIT and dye it expecting a lovely sky blue result. If you have a dark item you want to take to a lighter shade, you will have to run an additional risk of bleaching the garment first, and then re-dyeing it. Additionally, unless your item is PURE white, do not expect the dye job to come out looking like the box or packet's description.  The theory of color and mixing does apply to dyeing clothing; a light green dress being dyed blue will yield a turquoise shade of sorts. Just be realistic in what your expectations are. The longer you dye the item, and the more dye you use, the higher concentration of pigment in your end result. 

EXISTING PATTERNS: Something a lot of people overlook is whether or not there are designs, pattern, or even stitching in a different color or material. I dyed another dress once and the stitching was a synthetic in pure white, and while it didn't end up being a big deal, the dress ended up being navy and the stitching stayed white. You need to take into account what features your item already has and decide what you are willing to live with in terms of changes to those details. 

EXISTING ISSUES: My dress had oily looking stains on it, this was something that I was hoping would be masked by a darker dye job and it was a risk I took, knowing full well the dye might cling to it and make it look even worse than before. Make sure you launder whatever item it is you plan to dye ahead of time to try and address any existing issues. If there are worn, frayed, areas or missing buttons decide whether or not you want to make the repairs with the existing colors or the ones of the new dye job. While dyeing can salvage a myriad of issues, sun fading and bleached spots are ones that can be unpredictable and difficult to fix. Make sure you understand the provenance of the damage and how they will react to dye. 

EXPERIENCE AND WILLINGNESS TO TAKE A RISK: No matter what, dyeing is a risky business. Keeping in mind I had already dyed quite a few things before attempting to dye this dress, I have repeatedly seen success using dyes in different projects and felt fairly confident I could get a favorable result. I was also very willing to take a risk what with the dress being so inexpensive. I figured if I did end up ruining it during the dyeing process that it would be sad but I could reuse the fabric as rags or something. You should probably pick a low-risk project as your first one to ensure you feel successful. 

Dyeing old clothes to give them new life can be rewarding and so fun! It can even give YOU life ;)

DIY shibori dyed t-shirt dress---bricolage robe t-shirt teinte shibori

I am getting super antsy for a trip my husband and I have planned for Japan. This Japan fire ignited the DIY I did a few days ago. 

I had this gray shirt dress in my closet that had been chilling there for a while and it was just a little too plain for my liking. I had acquired it at a local thrift store for a few dollars and had been itching for a way to make it my own because I loved the loose, flowy shape and drape (perfect for Houston summers to just throw on). 

I decided to dye it, shibori style, which is essentially Japanese tie-dye. Shibori uses a dark blue dye and knots and wooded boards and sticks to create a resistance pattern (the lighter sections). 

Je m' impatiente pour un voyage au Japon que mon mari et moi avons prévu. Cette impatience m'a inspiré et j'ai fait ce bricolage de shibori il y a quelque jours.

J'avais une robe-chemise grise qui était un peu trop ordinaire à mon goût. Je l'ai trouvé dans un magasin d'occasions et j'ai tout de suite apprécié sa forme détendue et sa souplesse (parfait pour la chaleur éttoufante de Houston en été). 

J'ai décidé de teindre la robe façon shibori, c'est à dire le teint est d'une couleur bleu foncé et l'imprimé est fait en formant des noeuds dans le tissu et en le nouant avec des cordes, des élastiques, et des morceaux de bois. 

you will need---vous aurez besoin de

• an item you would like to dye, dye takes best to natural fabrics like cotton, silk, bamboo, rayon--- un article que vous aimeriez teindre, la teinture tiens mieux aux fibres naturelles comme le coton, la bamboo, le rayon, la soie etc

• permanent fabric dye (I used the whole pack of blue and about 1/3 of the black, the blue I found was too bright for the look I was going for)---teinture de tissu permanente (je me suis servi d'un sachet entier de tienture bleu et 1/3 du sachet de teinture noir pour avoir la couleur bleu foncée que je voulais)

• binding materials (rubber bands, wooden boards, craft sticks, rope, twine, you can get creative with this)---materiaux pour le nouage (élastiques, morceaux de bois, bâtonnets, corde, etc...vous pouvez vous servir de plein de choses pour votre imprimé)

• 1/4 cup salt, 1 gallon of water---1/4 d'une tasse de sel, et 1 gallon d'eau

• a container to stir the dye and your item in, possibly a stirring apparatus (a lot of people are able to use their kitchen sink, mine had dishes in it, lol, so I used a plastic tub)--- un récipient pour mélanger la teinture et l'article que vous allez teindre, il vous faudra aussi quelque chose pour remuer le tout (souvent les gens se servent de leur evier, le mien était remplie de vaisselle sale hihi, donc j'ai du utilisé une cuvette en plastique)

the steps---les étapes

• get your water and salt cooking on the stove---chauffez votre eau et votre sel

• to get the pattern I wanted I decided to make large knots in the corners and edges of the dress---pour faire l'imprimé que je voulais j'ai décidé de faire de gros noeuds dans les coins et les bords de la robe

• I bunched up the middle part of the dress and bound it with some rubber bands, shibori makes use of accordion pleating and wooden boards and sticks too, you can research more patterns online---j'ai retroussé le milieu de la robe et je l'ai noué avec des élastiques, le shibori peut se faire avec des morceaux de bois et d'autres materiaux pour réaliser l'imprimé, ainsi que certain plis spéciaux

• once water is steaming hot (not quite boiling) mix in the dye---une fois que l'eau émet de la vapeur melangez la teinture

• stir in the tied up fabric you are dying, let it soak about 8-10 minutes before flipping the whole item over---trempez l'article que vous allez teindre et laissez le absorbez  la teinture en remuant au moins 8-10 minutes avant de le retourner sur lui même 

• wait another 8-10 minutes while stirring around and making sure the dye reaches all visible parts of the fabric---attendez 8-10 minutes de plus en continuant de remuer 

• at this point I actually took my dress out of the dye, but you can wait longer (about 40 more minutes) and the color will come out deeper and richer, I wanted mine to have a faded look---c'est à ce moment-ci que j'ai sorti la robe, vous pouvez laissez tremper l'article jusqu'à 40 minutes de plus si vous voulez une couleur plus riche et vive, je voulais un look un peu délavé 

• take your item to another sink area or a bathtub/shower area (this gets a little messy and you may want to wear gloves)---transportez l'article à un autre evier ou bien une baignoire ou le sol d'une douche (cette étape peut être salissante, il serait judicieux de porter des gants) 
• rinse and wring your item out with cold water for 10-15 minutes, do not unbind it yet---rincez et essorez l'article encore noué avec de l'eau froide pendant 10-15 minutes
• once very little to no dye is coming out of the item you can unbind it and set it to dry---une fois que très peu de teinture coule du garment vous pouvez le dénouer et le mettre à sécher

Enjoy! Profitez!

If you want to see more DIY tutorials please let me know in the comments section, or if they are not your thing also let me know ;)

Si vous voulez voir plus de tutos bricolages faites-moi savoir dans les commentaires, si ce n'est pas votre truc préféré laissez-moi savoir aussi ;) 

looks inspired by MUSIC ft. The Submarines --- looks inspirée de la MUSIQUE des Submarines

Am I the only one who hears a song and pictures myself in the music video? I sure hope not because that would be embarrassing...

In any case, I bring you a new series where I find inspiration from the music I listen to, I think it's fun because it brings together two of my interests and I know I am not the only one out there who loves music.

One of my favorite all time songs can be found here. It is a remix of The Submarine's song "1940", and listening to it always makes me feel like an awesome retro queen if only in my daydreams. 

My outfit today also made me feel this way. 

I stuck with another one of my signature outfit formulas:

Print in neutral colors+ another different print in the same colors+ pop of color+ neutral accessory

I also try to make sure that the look is cohesive in terms of the era it appears to be from, it's all pretty prim and proper and reminiscent of the 1940s/1950s.

 To complete the look I opted to pin/curl my hair back and add a little winged liner and a bold red lip.

Blouse: $3 on vinted, originally from Forever 21

Skirt: free at a clothing swap in Utah, originally from DownEast Basics

Tights: Gift from a few years back, I think they're Charlotte Russe...

Shoes: $8 on vinted, originally from ModCloth

Suis-je la seule à m'imaginer la vedette d'une vidéo musique quand j'entends une chanson que j'adore? J'espère que non, ça serait gênant...

De toute façon, je vous présente une nouvelle série où je m'inspire de la musique pour créer mes ensembles. J'aime beaucoup la musique et je sais que je ne suis pas la seule donc je suis contente de pouvoir partager un autre de mes intérêts.

Une de mes chansons préférées actuellement c'est un rémix de 1940 des Submarines. Cette chanson me donne l'impression d'être une reine rétro!

Ma tenue m'a donné cette même impression. 

J'ai utilisé une de mes formules pour la création d'une tenue:

couleurs neutres et un motif+ motif différent couleurs semblables+ couleur vive et continu+ accéssoires neutres

J'essaie aussi de faire attention à ce que le style ne soit pas en désaccord. Ici je tire des looks des années 1940s/1950s. Même pour ma coiffure et mon maquillage j'ai fait un éffort, histoire que ça fasse un look complet.

Chemise: $3 de chez vinted, d'origine de Forever 21

Jupe: gratuite, trouvée à un échange de vêtements en Utah

Collants: Cadeau d'il y a un moment, je pense qu'ils viennent de Charlotte Russe

Chaussures: $8 de chez vinted, d'origine de ModCloth