Vintage Outfit Post-A 1930s Suit For a Walk in The Park

There's no fabric better suited to autumn then tweed:

It just makes me want to wade through leaf piles and sip apple cider, and there's no better way to wear tweed then in a suit.  

I've actually had the tweed suit I'm wearing in this post for awhile it was one of the first vintage outfits I bought, and I featured it on the blog two years ago in a tribute post to one of my favorite fictional style icons, Miss Marple.  However, I was never completely satisfied with that post, I'm not sure why but I just didn't think I had done the suit justice.

Sometimes time passes and you sort of grow into an article of clothing, and that is what I think happened here.    

A few week ends ago, I wore the suit for a quiet day at home and walk in the park and felt like I had traveled in time back to 1932.

I paired it with my 1930s style oxfords from American Duchess and a brown 30s hat and a crochet 30s handbag that were also two of my first vintage purchases.  The dog brooch is a newer find, it's from Mrs. Polly's Lucite, and the poodle necklace is one of my favorite things ever because it was given to me by the lovely Jessica of Chronically Vintage.

Two years ago I think I worried that this suit was a bit, well, dowdy, but I don't really think that any more, or perhaps I just no longer mind looking dowdy.

 The 30s was a brilliant era for cut and this suit manages to be fitted without being tight, and unlike later structured suits, it's almost fluid.  The tweed is also nice and soft, not the nubby scratchy stuff you usually find.  The color weave is really neat too, it's mostly grey but upon closer inspection there are bits brown in it. 

One thing people are always curious about when you talk about wearing vintage is causal wear.  People are always asking what I wear for lazy days, and the answer is often something like this.  There's absolutely nothing uncomfortable about this outfit and I could walk ten miles in these shoes, people in the past new what they where doing, and I really feel that a cute vintage dress, nice high waist jeans, or a well made suit, are more comfortable then any pair of yoga pants could ever be, or at least they are for me.  I truly never felt comfortable in my own skin before embracing my vintage look four years ago and I love exploring looks from different eras for every season.

Fall is fleeting, enjoy every moment!

Vintage Friendships- (And a Vintage Outfit Post Inspired By My Dear Friend Jessica)

When I started Retro Rover three years ago I was inspired by other bloggers I saw sharing their love of vintage style on the internet, first among those bloggers was the lovely Jessica Cangiano at Chronically Vintage.   Jessica has an amazing knowledge of the 1940s and 50s fashion that she shares on her popular blog and she is incredibly supportive of other vintage bloggers like myself and the online vintage community in general.   Most impressively, she does it all while struggling with multiple chronic illnesses.   Even though I have never met Jessica personally I consider her a dear friend

and on ongoing source of style inspiration.

I was thinking of her when I put together this fall outfit from elements I already had in my closet.  Jessica is adept at blending eras, and often wears 1980s does 40s and 50s looks with great success, and also looks gorgeous in a pinafore.   The outfit I am wearing here consists of a 1940s repro blouse and pinafore from Jitterbuggin and a 1970s tweed jacket I found at the Salvation Army a decade ago, so it is a very Jessica look

(though I'd never presume to do a pinafore, or indeed, any vintage look as week as Jessica can.)  Like me Jessica prefers a covered up look a

and is a lover of tweed, fall, novelty brooches, and bakelite.  All elements in this outfit.

                         

My favorite part of this outfit though is the necklace.  

It is a 1950s poodle necklace that Jessica sent me free of charge when I made a small purchase from her Etsy shop.  Jessica knows I have a toy poodle so she knew I would appreciate the necklace.  It's a testament to what a kind and considerate person she is that she sent it to me and I treasure it.  

The reason I have been thinking of Jessica particularly a lot lately is that she and her husband Tony have endured a terrible tragedy.  Their condo was destroyed in a massive fire that was started in arson incident in a neighboring condo. Thankfully Jessica, her husband and their dog Annie escaped, but tragically their beloved cat, Stella, is missing and not presumed to have survived.  All of their possessions: momentos, photographs, clothes, a lifetime of vintage collecting, and the wares from Jessica's online Etsy shop  have been destroyed.  

Jessica's sister has set up a You Caring link so that friends of Jessica can help her and Tony out.  If you know Jessica and how kind and supportive she is of her online friends please considering donating in her time of need.  Thank you.

Vintage Outfit Post-1920's Halloween Costume

As I'm someone who loves to dress up and adores old horror films, it should come as no surprise that Halloween is my favorite holiday, (with Christmas a close second.)   

I celebrate the dress up aspect of Halloween all year, but I still decided that I wanted a Halloween costume, not one that was too costumey, and preferably one from the 1920s.  I am firmly convinced that the 1920s  and 30s were the golden era of Halloween costumes.  Beautiful paper dresses,many hand made,  with charming appliqués where popular.

Witches, bats, cat's, jesters and clowns where all common themes.

 

                                                                

These enterprising young ladies transferred themselves into gorgeous spider webs:

and some pin ups apparently stuck with their swim suits, and the ubiquitous pointy cap:

Still one of the most popular halloween looks in the 20s and 30s was a simple dress with Halloween themed cut outs, as worn by this charming lady (I love that her cat is in the photo). 

This type of dress is what I wanted for myself and what I found last year from the amazing Etsy shop Guermantes Vintage, she specializes in rare items from the 20s and 30s and is a bit of an expert in  Halloween dresses and costumes.

My costume is a beautiful witch dress.  These photos are from last year, when I had the blog on hiatus.  My dear husband is very sweet about taking pictures but I wanted to give him a break as these pictures from last year are just fine, and of course I plan to wear the dress quite a bit this October.  I don't wear it as a costume, I just wear it about (and yes I wear it to work too.)

 It's not paper but its some kind of shiny fabric with a big pilgrim collar and paper cat cut outs.  

It's meant to be one size fits all so its quite loose and I cinch it with a black ribbon at the waist.

Rather then that pointy 20s dunce cap/witch hat I added a pretty fall floral clip from Chatter Blossom.

I also pinned on a black cat brooch from Mrs. Polly's lucite.  (Sadly my cat has lost one of his eyes, but I've decided that just makes him match up with one of my favorite Edgar Allan Poe stories so its all good.)

The best thing about this dress though is that it reminds me of one of my favorite films.  The silent classic, Haxan, from 1922.  It was made as a  documentary but is really a horror film and exploration into the history of witch craft.  It contains some of the most beautiful , and spooky, images every captured on film.  

Haxan can be viewed in its entirety on you tube and also Hulu.  It's a cinematic classic that has had a profound influence on film making.  The critically acclaimed 2015 film The Witch definitely owes a debt to Haxan.

Here's to celebrating Halloween all  October long!

Vintage Outfit Post-Casual Tartan and Jeans from Freddie's of Pinewood and a Trip to Demarest Farms

It's that time of year, there's a crisp note in the air and the days are growing shorter.  If your like me your thinking of tartans and plaids and wools and all those other glorious fall fabrics. 


 In fact if your like me you may want to start sporting some of those fall fashion elements before it really is cold enough too, which is what makes transitional outfits so much fun.   By transitional outfits I mean anything that can carry you through the change of seasons.  I think this tartan trimmed top from Freddie's of Pinewood is the perfect summer to fall example.  It is made of a light weight fabric but the rust red color and tartan trim is a very autumnal color scheme.

Like all Freddie's items this top is excellent quality and since I nabbed it after Brexit when the exchange rate fell I got it for a very good price.  The tartan trim is from an authentic 1950s ribbon and so there was a very limited run of these tops.  Like all Freddie's tops it runs a bit small.  Im wearing a large.  It fits well but I'm very glad I didn't get a medium as that would have been much too snug.  

I accesorized the top with a Luxulite Pocket Puppy Brooch and a 1950s tartan barette.  Of course I worse some of my bakelite bangles too.

Freddie's tops are faithful 1950s reproductions so they are not cut like modern shirts, which means by current standards they run a bit short.  They really work best with Freddie's jeans or other 1950s style pants or skirts.  I'm wearing my shirt with my Freddie's jeans, hands down the best dungarees in the world.

 

I wore this outfit on a day we visited one of my favorite local places, Demarest Farms.  Since this was a middle of the week, early morning, trip we knew it wouldn't be too crowded and we brought all the dogs.  

The delicious apple cider donuts helped keep them in line.

 They are definitely eager to go back for more soon.  How do you like to celebrate the change of seasons?


Outfit Details
Tartan Top: Freddie's of Pinewood
Jeans: Freddies of Pinewood
Brooch-Luxulite
1950s Barrette: Rosebud Cottage
1950s Sunglasses-Thrifted
Bakelite Bangles-Thrifted
1950s Horse Novelty Purse-Annacat Etsy
Shoes-Remix Vintage Shoes

Back To School-With Recipes

No matter how old you  are when September rolls around most people experience, even if it is only fleeting, that back to school spirit.  My own vintage style is more 1920s and 1930s, but my favorite back to school images are from the 40s and 50s.  Tartan in particular has always seemed so scholastic to me. 

This girl's hair bow is so beautiful and romantic, and I love her hopeful expression.

This is probably my favorite Gil Elvgreen picture, so cute and naughty.  Plus I love the color combo of green skirt, white blouse and red accented belt.

These outfits are just amazing, so gorgeously coordinated.  Id love to wear something like this.

I love the "checks you'll gladly endorse" line.

I love how attentive all of these young kinds are.

In addition to clothing back to school always makes me think of fall breakfasts.  My favorite autumn breakfast is Oven Baked apple Pancake, I'd say it take a bit long for a weekday breakfast, but back in the day I'm sure mom wouldn't have batted an eye.  I'd say for the modern era its weekend only:

Oven Baked Apple Pancake (you an see from the photo below that mine overflowed a but I probably did not pour the batter in just right, but it was still delicious!)

1/4 cup sugar granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
7 tbsp butter
2 to 3 green apples peeled and cored, I use three
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup bread flour (you can use all purpose but bread flour is better)
1/2 tsp salt 
Powdered sugar for serving


Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
Preheat the oven to 425 and  melt 7 tablespoons of butter in a non stick cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Add the apples to the skillet and sprinkle over the cinnamon and sugar.  Cook stirring frequently for 5 to 7 minutes.
Whisk the milk, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl.  Add the flour and salt and whisk until well combined.  Pour the batter over the apples and bake for 20 minutes, it will puff up impressively!  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.


Finally,  to conclude my back to school celebration I can't resist sharing a short from one of my all time favorite television shows Mystery Science Theater  Three Thousand (MST3K), if you are familiar with the show you will know how funny and addicting it is.  I love everything about it but the educational shorts where always among the best.  Below is Why Study Industrial Arts a bit of 1950s educational history hilariously dissected by the Mike and The Bots.