Hearts and Roses of London dress, lace up flats, and a little juxtaposition

Sugar and Spice

Every summer, I go through a phase where all I want is to dress darkly romantic, in Gothic pinup attire, with dark maroons and blacks and navies. In the hottest weeks of summer, all I want is to transition into fall attire and embrace my “witchy” side. It’s probably cliche to say, but fall really is my favorite season. Spring is beautiful with all of the flowers blooming, but here in Washington it’s often just kind of gray and rainy all spring. Summer with its warm days and sun is nice, but I don’t really like being hot all the time. Winter is kind of just mush, and I hate having to wear tons of layers, getting wet in all the slushy puddles, and being constantly plagued with rain and mist. Fall, here, is perfect. Crisp leaves, pumpkin patches, magical bright clear days, orange leaves… it’s so beautiful!

So, when these moods come around, I find the best sleeveless dresses I have and pair them with all black accessories.

This sweet Hearts and Roses of London dress is the perfect dress to feel a little bit dark and Romantically Gothic without going full-on heavy colors. It has a little bit of black in its pattern, which lends itself perfectly to having black accessories, and my favorite lace up flats from Amazon work PERFECTLY to bring out the dark side.

While I got this dress from a Facebook Buy Sell Trade group, Amazon does still have the black version! I think I may need to buy that when fall arrives, because this version is so pretty and I would love to have more colorways of this dress.

I was surprised to find that I got a lot of compliments on this outfit and particularly on my lipstick. Given that the majority of those who noticed me were an older generation, I didn’t expect to be complimented so much. However, the generation that surprised me was also the generation that started the wave of feminism so I suppose I shouldn’t be THAT shocked.

I also tend to stray from true vintage to stretchy fabrics through the summer; when there are so many barbecues and picnics and late night movies, and one may gain a few pounds. Stretch is essential in the summer! And, in motherhood. I often get asked how I dress pinup or vintage as a mother, and my answer is always “stretchy clothes, cotton, anything washable.”

I search for vintage that is washable cotton, for reproduction styles that are stretchy, and anything dry-clean-only leaves my closet ASAP because I spill far too much coffee to dry clean everything I own!