Back in Black


 I wore so much black in my youth that I've made an effort to avoid it in later years. To be completely honest, I don't know what to do with it. My younger self would go for pearls or silver, perhaps a nice scarf but 2017 me? Oh hell, I haven't got a clue.

The selling point for this vintage 50's dress was the buttons-I mean, my god, look at 'em! That, and it cost me $7.99. I have a hard time passing up pristine vintage when I can grab it for a song. That day, Hand-Me-Ups had a cache of vintage dresses that the lovely saleswoman pointed out (they know me too well!). I ended up buying four black dresses and one pink-ish silver silk number from the early 60's. I do not require four black 50's dresses, though one is at present too snug to be worn comfortably. For someone that never wears black, I found myself unable to resist the perfectly cared for clothes. I'll find a new home for the too-small one, but I'm going to consider it a challenge finding ways to wear the rest of them.
 The bust is a good 40 inches on this one, and the waist a very snug 27 inches. I'm guessing the extra room up top is to accommodate the pointy bras that were in fashion, and I'm sure with correct foundations this dress would look a lot racier than it does on me. I look like I'm headed to work as a saleslady at a department store.
 After trying the dress with a cropped leopard print jacket (no), a chenille pink and black jacket (definitely not) and an embroidered coat (uh uh) I finally gave up and went with this vintage late 40's swing coat. Kind of boring, but in the end I don't think I'm capable of making this black dress be anything more than a nice black dress. I though LBD's are supposed to be versatile?!
I went for the second half of my eye exam today. Everything's fine except that I have a spot (the doctor called it a "freckle") in my right eye. Well, that's news to me. We'll have to keep track of it in case it starts to grow, but I thought it was fascinating to know-I'd never heard of such a thing. My specs still aren't finished, but they expect them early next week. I'm looking forward to being able to see better (at least until I notice all the hairs sprouting from my chin or something horrible).
Outfit Particulars:
Vintage dress-Hand-Me-Ups
Vintage coat-Hand-Me-Ups
Belt-Goodwill
Shoes-K Mart
Tights-Dillards
Vintage bag-Goodwill
40's brooch on dress-Hand-Me-Ups
Brooch on coat-Yard sale
Machine age bracelet-Sarpy museum sale
Earrings-Hand-Me-Ups
Necklace-Sequels
Fragrance-Courreges in Blue
Lippy-Wine With Everything Revlon


Speaking of dressing outside my comfort zone...
A pair of Brazil Roxx Jeans
I had to cuff the bottoms which does lose some of the suede, but I was in no shape for towering heels today. I would never spend $389.00 on a pair of jeans, but I was happy to spend $9.99 at Hand-Me-Ups. They were NWT when I bought them. Who spends that kind of money on something and then donates it?! Anyway, I'm not really a jeans kind of woman, but these are just too beautiful to let languish in my cupboard. I wore them once when I purchased them, and then forgot them until recently. 
 As with the black dress above, I don't really have a clue how to style them. Being loose fitting, it almost seems like something form fitting (say, a polo neck) would be best to balance off the look-but really, I don't know. They sit lower on the hips than I'm used to, though that might be from being a wee bit large. I didn't want to go overboard with Western style clothing as I was afraid I'd look like a rodeo queen (not that there's anything wrong with that, it just ain't me). Going with the argument that leopard is a neutral, I gave this cardigan I picked up last weekend a first wear.
Outfit Particulars:
Brazil Roxx jeans-Hand-Meups
Cardigan-Hand-Me-Ups
Vintage sparkly tee-Hand-Me-Ups
Clogs-Hand-Me-Ups
Bag-Goodwill
Earrings-Thrift World
Damsacene (technically it is Toledoware a sort of "faux Damascene) bracelet-Goodwill
Inlaid bracelet-New Life Thrift
Rings-all over
Necklace-Goodwill
Fragrance-Vintage Tigress (had to!)
So, how do you style a black dress or embellished jeans? Or do you just stay clear and stick to the tried and true? 


















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