A Day at The Lake And a Casual Vintage Outfit From Swell Dame and Freddies of Pinewood

The last days of summer are a great time to visit a lake
 

My favorite lake in NJ is Wawayanda.  Its in a lovely big park and there is canoeing, row boating, kayaking and swimming.  Its even dog friendly, though they are not allowed on the beach.  Since we wanted to try kayaking we decided to leave the dogs at home as kayaking doesn't seem a canine friendly activity.  

The lake is very pretty and peaceful and you really feel far from the city even though its only an hour and 15 minute drive from Jersey City where we live and maybe an hour and forty five minutes from Manhattan.

As I've said many times before on this blog vintage style can definitely be casual and I wore one of my favorite casual summer outfits for our trip to the lake.  I've definitely worn parts of this outfit on the blog before, but its so cute I think it deserved its own post.

The red gingham top is from Swell Dame and is a perfect 1950s style casual top.  The jeans are clam diggers from Freddie's of Pinewood and would probably be longer on a person of normal height, on me their pedal pushers. My shoes are the remix canvas pennies and are super comfortable.  The belt  I borrowed from one of my Bernie Dexter dresses.  I feel very 50s casual in this outfit!

 

 The purse is really something special, its a 1950s novelty purse with a horse on it!  I love anything with an animal on it and this is my first vintage horse accessory.

Incidentally is 38 too old for pig tails?  Obviously I don't think so.  This whole outfit makes me feel very young and carefree.

We had a good time walking around the lake:

        

 

We also waded a bit of course and tried the kayaking.  I really enjoyed kayaking, but didn't take any pictures.

It was a perfect end of summer day.  How do you like to celebrate the end of summer?

Outfit Details

Gingham top-Swell Dame 

 Clam Digger Jeans-Freddies of Pinewood

Red Canvas Sandals-Remix

Bakelite-Thrifted

1950s Novelty Purse- Annacatetsy

Lets Take a Vintage Hawaiian Vacation

Having five dogs and three cats means I rarely, as in basically never, travel.  Now I absolutely don't mind this, I have no desire to leave my beloved pups and kitties behind at home, and I'm very much a home body at heart, still there are some places I'd like to see.  For example, I certainly wouldn't mind a sojourn to Hawaii, but the truth is I'd need a time machine to do it right.  I'd like to visit vintage Hawaii, the Hawaii of the 1920s-1950s before it was a state. 

1920s themed Hawaiian music group image source




1930s Hawaiian map

1930s Hula Dancers, image source

1940s Post Card

1940s tiki costumes

Vintage Tiki Style Cocktails

Tiki culture peaked in the 1950s, and 60s with Polynesian themed restaurants, fashion, and design elements scene far from Hawaii:

Tiki Themed Bar, Image Source

Tiki Themed Hotel

Tiki fashions for the family, image source

  While tiki culture has faded into the past don't despair, there are still dozens of collectables to enjoy.  Below are just a few of the items I found on ebay and etsy:

1950s Tiki Kewpie Doll Lamp on sale on Ebay for $68

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1960s Tiki Pary Lights on Ebay for $59.95

Siesta Ware Glasses from Etsy $20



Adorable Kitschy Tiki Music Box, $18 dollars on Etsy

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Vintage Cocktail Napkins $18 on Etsy


1950s coconut purse, $17 Etsy

If clothing is more your thing there are lots of lovely reproduction Tiki clothes for sale on Etsy.   Jitterbuggin' makes a beautiful sarong dress:



Nudee Dudee, also on Etsy, makes 1940s halter style Hawaiian dresses and Hawaiian shirts:






I myself have only one vintage Tiki item, my beloved coconut purse:

No matter where I am, it always gives me that vacation feeling.  I definitely hope to keep on expanding collection of Tiki items.   Aloha!

If you like Pina Coladas.......

And pugs in costumes, and walks in the rain....

Yes the song is annoying, but the pupsickles they are apparently quite tasty.

Pina Colado Pupsickles

1 cup low fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup coconut water
1/2 cup chopped fresh pineapple
3 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes

Put everything into blender and blend to smooth.  Pour in ice cube tray and freeze.  Enjoy!