It’s Back: The Month of Vintage Underwear

Last year, I got distracted from the Vintage Underwear Challenge.

“You keep saying ‘Vintage Underwear Challenge’ like it’s an actual holiday, instead of something you made up,” said my boyfriend.

I wore the girdles, I made it through November, and I posted about it…not so much. Not this year, my friends. This year, I’m committed. I’m all in. You are going to see so many unsexy pictures of me in old-timey underthings, you are going to be sick of it.

Along with your regularly scheduled programming, expect information about building a bullet bra, making your own panties, and why I think foundation garments are maybe a little more feminist than we originally thought.

Today’s ensemble, under my clothes includes

The leggings are not part of the ensemble. They are part of the photograph, you creepers.

Girdle–The mysterious, got it in a swap, maybe it’s from France (or Canada) probably from the fifties, PINK girdle
Bra–Long line, bullet cups, hooks in the front, has the strongest elastic waistband known to woman.
Knee socks—I haven’t the heart for stockings today, guys. Soon.

On the off chance that you want to join the challenge (experiment with old-timey underthings everyday in November!), I’m using the highly inventive hashtag: #MonthofVintageUnderwear. I’d love to see what you’re wearing, and hear your thoughts about it.

My Small Fall Obsessions

I dream of autumn all year long.

It’s my very favorite time of year. The golden quality of the light, the trees changing colors, the crispness of the air. Snappy apples, and warm spice mixes, and hot drinks. Sweaters. Oh, the sweaters. Autumn is the one season where I wake up thrilled about the weather everyday. I talk a lot about seasons on this blog, and it’s at least in some part because it’s easy to get out of touch with the cycle of the year. If you’re not cutting hay or harvesting corn or, I don’t know, patching the thatch on your cottage, it’s easy to ignore the seasons. Life used to be a lot more seasonal.

This fall, I’m predictably very much interested in:

Continue reading “My Small Fall Obsessions” →

My Glamorous Invalid Wish List

Okay, so I don’t actually think “invalid” is a great word to apply to people…but it certainly sounds melodramatic and old-fashioned.

Over the summer, I’ve had a rise in the interference that fibromyalgia can cause in my life. Namely, two parts fatigue, plus one part pain, shaken up with my expectations to be fully functioning has created a sort of bitter cocktail. I’ve been mad about it. I’m working with my doctor, and we’re on a good path, it’s just annoying.

Granted, this is the best time in history to have any kind of sickness. I would be dead several times over 150 years ago. I probably wouldn’t have made it through my breech birth, then the chicken pox at 3 or any number of upper respiratory infections throughout childhood would probably have killed me. But, no doubt, had I made it to adulthood in the 19th century, I would have had “a delicate constitution” or “the vapours” or, probably, just “weakness.” Hopefully, I’d have been rich enough to stay inside and embroider things.

Most of the time, I don’t feel too terrible. I’ve had this condition for a long time, and I usually know what to do to mitigate it. Still, I feel a little pitiful, and not like the powerful and vibrant person I actually am, when I have to take a nap everyday to be a human.

Disclaimer 1: I still don’t have anything like the full body pain that lots of people experience, and I’m not complaining. I am a lucky, lucky duck, and I cannot emphasize that enough.

Disclaimer 2: There are so many worse things that could happen to me than having to take a lot of naps.

I’ve decided that if I have to spend more time in bed than I really desire, I should at least get to be a starlet of chronic illness. Here is my list of things I want to increase the glamour of this whole experience: Continue reading “My Glamorous Invalid Wish List” →

Outfit Post: My Favorite Summer Dress

Lindy Bop Lily — The bodice only crinkles like that when I’m climbing playground equipment…which is seldom.

It’s not acting like August this week in Chicago, which makes my plan of focusing on summer clothes feel kind of silly.

Nevertheless, here is my current favorite dress: Lindy Bop’s Lily dress. I have been wearing this dress everywhere, and yet, it proves to be difficult to photograph. We’ve been shooting it all summer, and either the dress or my face (admittedly, it’s usually my face) looks odd in pictures.

I love it so much because it’s:

Gorgeous.
So comfortable–it’s got a little bit of (not vintage) stretch.
Easily dressed up or down
Wearable with or without a crinoline
Blue. I love blue dresses. I would buy every blue dress, left to my own devices.
Floral–I am finally recovering from years of avoiding florals. I wore a LOT of florals as a teenager-young adult, and I was convinced they made me look like a fundamentalist. Suddenly, I’m into them again.

Continue reading “Outfit Post: My Favorite Summer Dress” →

A House Dress for Most Seasons

I may be taking things too far…

I needed a house dress.

Hear me out. I needed something light weight, presentable enough to wear to the garden and the mailbox, but casual enough to clean my bathtub in. You may not be surprised to learn that I am not a sweatpants person. Jeans are too heavy in the summer. My other dresses are too nice for messy jobs, even with an apron. And so, I hit upon the idea of a house dress. Specifically, this house dress:

Purchased from the fantastic Raven at Raven’s Nest Patterns, this sixties pattern seemed just right for my plans.

I decided on using some cotton print from my stash, inherited from my grandma’s stash. It was pretty, and light, and I did not have quite enough of it. I pulled some more stash fabric for the collar and sash, providing a nice contrast.

Here it is on Cloris, my dress form:

And here it is on me!