The Heat Was Hot

 

Summer arrived just a bit early, and Omaha has been in the 90s all week (and will be flirting with 103 by Thursday). The humidity hasn't been bad though, making it strangely bearable save for the  hottest hours of afternoon. The slow-cooker has been put to use as there's no way I am going to heat the oven in these temperatures. Still, after such a cool spring it is nice to properly warm up. The garden is happy. 

It IS however, far too hot for ironing, so the dress was worn creased from storage. By mid-morning, the wrinkles fell out in the heat having effectively steamed the garment going about my day. Works for me! I bought this vintage dress years ago, but haven't worn it much. There's a built-in-bra, but I went ahead and wore a strapless beneath it anyway. I require underwire. It is becoming difficult to find a strapless bra that isn't a massively padded push-up style, which I clearly DO NOT require. I called in to Dillards and purchased two band-style bras that I hope will see me through summer. They were the least expensive ones in stock, and as my body keeps changing it can get expensive replacing undergarments. I own a longline strapless but post-surgery, that would be massively uncomfortable. I'm still in much more pain than I would have expected. 

Still require a cardigan indoors though-this one felt like a good match. 

Speaking of a good match-this Margaret Smith vintage bag is the perfect purse to wear with a sundress. 

Looking through the blog archives I found some photos from the last time the dress was worn, back in 2014! Same cardigan.

That gardenia is long dead. No gloves today.

It was too hot to even consider a hat and necklace. Still, always nice to reunite with old clothes. 

This 80s Pendleton skirt is another old favourite. Unlike most Pendleton skirts, it is made of cotton rather than wool. I didn't bother ironing this one either! The self-steaming outdoors seemed to work here as well. The basket was probably never intended to be used as a handbag, but I wouldn't let that stop me. 

Berry basket earrings and cherry brooch having their annual wears. 

A few weeks ago there was a conversation happening at Shifty Thrifting that ended with, "Look, I have a migraine and no context for this." I asked if they could make that a shirt for me to wear to my eye specialist treatments and they indulged me. It is now up in their shop because apparently there's a lot of migraine sufferers out there lacking context! Anyway, go grab one through their shop if you'd like-you'll be helping to support great people. The shirts run small and shrink in the wash, so order up a size-this was a large. 

I was excited to bring this dress home for a dollar from Hand Me Ups. It had been on the rail since December (tags are marked with a date) and was curiously unsold. I couldn't spot anything wrong with it, and it still had the original tags, so I took a gamble and brought it home. I love the vintage style, and the orange/rust colour will serve my wardrobe well into autumn. Hopefully by then the swelling in my belly will go away and I can wear a belt with it, but for the moment it permits me to feel nicely dressed without wearing anything constricting. 

I brought out the Grosse coral brooch to dress it up a bit. I'm rather protective of this piece and don't wear it often, but I kept checking on it through the day to be certain it remained in place. As costume pieces go, Henkel Grosse items that weren't made for Dior are hard to find, and I was completely shocked to buy it for pocket change in a Goodwill years ago. That's what I love about thrifting though. 

You've seen the basket bag before. Oh, how I missed using my straw bags last summer. This poor bag was so dusty when I brought it down from the shelf.

Crazy pose so I could photograph the back of my head! It isn't every day I have a hair flower that's an exact match for my dress. 

Another dress in a similar lace material and colour scheme. This dress will also benefit from a belt when it is possible. I have a vintage copper one that will be perfect with it. 

Making due for now with a large copper bracelet. What is it about copper that's so appealing, besides the obvious quality of working when you can't decide between silver or gold? 

Vintage straw bag with celluloid handle I rescued from a bin filled with shopping totes and luggage at New Life Thrift. It was a bit crushed, but stuffing it with tissues and trimming the fraying straw revived it. It will never look pristine, but I don't mind vintage that's lived a life. It certainly didn't deserve to die beneath a load of cheap wheelie luggage. 

Vintage shoes. I wore these to a medical appointment, and the doctor went wild for them telling me they looked like the shoes her grandmother wore. I didn't point out they well might have been her grandmother's shoes! A few years ago I had step savers put on the soles, but now it seems they are ready to be replaced. I have so many pairs to take to the cobbler, but it is worth it. If these shoes have already survived some 70 years it would be wrong to deny them further life. The uppers are still in great shape. 

1980s fashions get an unfair reputation. There were some very wearable items that were neither heavily embellished nor exaggerated with triple thickness shoulder pads. I picked this dress up, and put it back several times before finally purchasing it. There's something about a dark floral print that I find utterly irresistible. I'm glad I went ahead and purchased it because it will also be wearable in the colder months with a blazer or cardigan. It is made from a washable rayon crepe-another 80s innovation I can definitely support. Earlier rayon is so hard to care for, and heaven forbid you get caught outside in a downpour! You might just barely make it home before the dress shrinks embarrassingly short. No such issues with the 80s rayon.

It looks like a painting.

Please pardon the not great photo, and appreciate instead my horse brooches. The chain was broken when I bought them, but it was a simple fix sliding the end of the chain through the pin of the bottom horse. They're wood that's been lacquered. They look better in person. I love how the horses are rolling their eyes at each other. 

There's a better look at the "straw" (plastic) bag. 

I wore this dress Sunday, but the belt was only for photos-I couldn't stand having it on for more than a few minutes. 

Another straw bag from my collection. This one has a Hong Kong label. It could use some cleaning and conditioning of the leather, and the lining should be replaced. That will probably be a job for the cobbler as well since he does such a beautiful job restoring handbags. 

I showed these perfume buttons on Instagram when I bought them, but think I neglected to talk about them here. They're Victorian buttons with fabric inserts that would have been saturated with fragrance to save and protect the fabric of clothing. They're quite tiny, and my plan is to have them either made into rings or a brooch, though they would make nice earrings or even a fancy hair clip. There's no shortage of these on eBay, but for the best bargains search for old buttons, not Perfume Buttons because then obviously the seller will be asking a premium for them. 

Alright, I guess that's all. Hope you're having a good week.