1960’s Houndstooth

I could have titled this post “how to create a retro outfit from modern garments”, because despite my love of vintage, nothing in this outfit is older than 3 years. I actually just bought this dress last week, and after having searched for a white lace dress for at least a year, it was a great triumph to find one under $25!

Of course, it’s really dangerous for me to own white garments, because not even three hours later, while wearing it, I dropped a piece of sweet-and-sour chicken (yeah, I do occasionally stray from paleo!) on it.

Thank goodness for pre-spot solutions.

It’s so funny, I have several concerned older relatives who keep telling me to quit wearing heels and why (pregnancy horror stories), but no matter how much I reassure them I’m fine, they keep persisting. And seriously: I have fallen down… maybe… once in my life while wearing heels? But flat shoes? I trip ALL the time in those. Now from a comfort standpoint, sure maybe flat shoes are more practical. But I have no swelling (and I am officially in the third trimester!) and I haven’t lost my sense of balance yet, so I figure I’m fine to wear heels for the two hours a day I actually wear them anywhere.

Like my mom used to say: wear them while you can!

I know I keep talking about it, but I just cannot express how much more fun I’m having now that I’ve sort of limited myself to an era of style (or several, I now aim for anywhere between 1940 and 1980, but mostly 50’s and 60’s). You wouldn’t think that limiting your choices would make such a difference, but it definitely does!

I just ordered some really fun 50’s-60’s style retro jewelry and a shirt from Oasap, and I can’t wait for them to get here! Deciding on an era really helps when you’re choosing from thousands of really cute clothes, too! The limitation makes it way easier to decide what to get.

The next step, which was definitely the hardest, was clearing out my closet of all the clothes I have that just sit there because I bought them on a whim but they don’t really fit my style. I sort of cleared out my closet a while ago, but then kept all the clothes in a box and pulled them out occasionally thinking maybe I’d wear them after all.

So on Saturday, I bit the bullet and pulled everything out of my dresser and weeded out anything that I couldn’t envision wearing any more, with the exception of a few modern shirts that my husband really likes. I actually got rid of a laundry basket, big trash bag, and coffee-maker box full of clothes, plus a few pairs of tights I’d never worn and all the socks I never wear, and once I had everything weeded out I gave it all to my sister-in-law and her daughters to go through, because they weren’t able to bring much with them from Ukraine while they’re here for their 10 month furlough.

I also took everything that I did want to keep but that doesn’t fit my pregnant self right now, and stored it away in some plastic bins for next year. I ended up storing 34 skirts and about 20 dresses. It is really nice to have a closet that is only full of clothes that will stretch with my belly (well, I didn’t actually try on all of my dresses and there are still… uh… 50 in my closet… ) so I don’t have to search through everything and get frustrated when something I love doesn’t fit.

And, of course, I threw away all my old tights that have holes in them, and eight pairs of shoes that wore out ages ago.

It’s so cathartic to do closet clean outs! I feel so much more organized now, and it’s SO much easier to get dressed in the morning.

I had so much fun doing the makeup for this outfit; I actually decided on makeup first, and the outfit just followed. I’ve been searching for a lot of retro makeup ideas, and I think the makeup from the 60’s might be my favorite, with the strong line in the crease of the eye and the cat-eye flick. It really makes your eyes look a lot bigger, and it’s just overall really fun and flattering.

You can’t really tell here so much as when I first did the makeup, but my lips are actually two different colors (makeup tutorial coming soon!). I thought it might look weird, but I think the colors are close enough that it just looks normal.

It is so much fun having all of my nieces and nephews from Ukraine here; Mr. Owl’s brother lives in Ukraine as a missionary, but he and his wife and their five kids are back for a 10 month long furlough, and they are all staying at my father- and mother-in-law’s house. I love it! Every time we go over, there are lots of kids around and I think they’re all wonderful. Plus, I can get to know my brother- and sister-in-law better, which is great!

Romy Lace Dress (Similar) | JC Penney Houndstooth Coat (Similar) | Kohls Houndstooth Heels (Similar)

So back in July, my husband filmed a short film for Gig Harbor’s 72 hour film competition, and the film festival was on Sunday to announce the winner. The rules are, you make a film in 72 hours that is no longer than 5 minutes, with four criteria present in your story (this year it was the line “What’s next?”, a helmet prop, the action of someone knocking something off a shelf and trying to catch it, and the action of measuring something). You have to do everything for the film in that 72 hour time period, including writing, props, sets, filming, music, costumes, makeup, whatever.

You guys, we won! We weren’t expecting it, because there were two or three other films that had a chance at winning, so it TOTALLY made our day to actually win. And, because we won, I decided I’d share it. Let me just warn you: I do not like acting and am only in it because we had nobody else. The things you do for your husband.

Don’t judge my acting too harshly. Haha!

I, of course, volunteered to do the hair, makeup, and costumes because that’s totally up my alley. We had my uncle in it, as well as my sister-in-law and niece, and my brother-in-law and nephew helped with lighting and such, plus three of my husband’s nephews were in it as Indians, we used my parents’ house and my old room for part of the set, and my clothes for most of the costumes.

It was really fun, and hectic, and hot, and winning totally made it worth having to act and dying of heat, mosquitoes, and nettles.

Secret fact: my costume… totally one of our white bedsheets.

Hey, when you only have 72 hours and have to act last minute, you have to use what you can.

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

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