Last Summer

Last summer I was doing better at getting myself all dolled up for church every week. I would pull out my go to dresses and slip on some classy heels, heck I even set my hair the night before. I don't get the chance to dress vintage during the week. I wish I had the time, maybe I do and I'm just lazy...well, I'll go with the first reason.

Here are some older photos from last summer on a Sunday morning where my sister was so nice as to take them so I could do an outfit post months later. 

This is my go to dress. The simple style and wonderful color is very versatile. 

I'm the worst model. I never know how to pose properly.

This is a set from my First Evolve Rollers. The curls always came out soft and had a strong hold.

I'm also realizing I wish I had worn a necklace. Maybe my Star of David or my vintage inspired locket would have been nice??

Outfit Details:

Dress - old Chadwicks

Shoes - ebay

Gloves - vintage from my Grama

Purse - vintage 1920s from ebay

Behind the Seams {Mona Lisa Smile}

Not too long ago my sis and I finally watched the 1950's based film Mona Lisa Smile, featuring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ginnifer Goodwin. The only reason I wanted to watch it was for Ginny Goodwin, she's a new favorite actress of mine. Soon, I really did enjoy the film and the many different characters.

I did however wish it featured Ginny more. Her character Connie Baker, was so darn cute!!

Betty was so prim and proper.

I could relate to Joan a bit. It's hard trying to decide what will ultimately make you happy.

Giselle, is someone I dearly had empathy for her. She is a fantastic character.

Katherine was a good character and I enjoyed watching her evolve as the girls did too.

Connie is precious. I think everything about her, I could relate to. :)

Katherine is a college art history teacher and through her class shows the girls of Welsey a new way to see the world around them.

I adore the fashion!! Pendleton 49er's and circle skirts, to my favorite the denim dungarees!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the film and love all the the parallels they added to modern day college girls. My one pet peeve...For 90% of the film, the hair and make-up crew did absolutely nothing with Katherine's {Julia Roberts} hair.

Have you seen Mona Lisa Smile? What are your thoughts on the film?

Vintage Pixie

I love finding images {Mainly on my latest internet addiction. A little thing called Pinterest - a link to my account can be found on the sidebar.} of great vintage pixie cuts. Or great vintage inspired ways to style a pixie.

Here's some from the 1920s...which is also something else I've been obsessing over lately.

Some 1950s pixie inspiration.

Some modern, with a vintage twist, pixie inspiration...

Vanessa Hudgens is cute as can be with her pixie styled into 20s finger waves.

I believe this to be Michelle Williams with her lovely pixie cut.

The always lovely Ginny Goodwin. She's so darn cute!

I definitely NEED to try this sometime. It would be adorable with a bandanna!

See you don't necessarily need long hair for a vintage look. It sure helps for victory rolls or pin curling, but pixies are just as much vintage as a middy cut. No, I'm not trying to talk everyone into chopping off their lovely locks. But since I have a blog, I'm going to use it to show case my love of short hair. LOL!

I'm so loving my pixie!!

Vintage Basics {Underpinnings}

Here is my final installment of Vintage Basics. I'm sorry that it took me so long to get the last post up. I don't know why, I guess I just get to easily distracted on the internet, I can't help myself. LOL!

Slips - For me is an absolute MUST!!! Every time I wear I dress or blouse and skirt combo, I always pull out my slips, camis, or half-slips. Slips are there to give you that extra layer of modesty. I feel awkward whenever I cannot wear a slip with a dress or skirt. I'm always thinking, "What if someone can see right through the fabric??" I always have these babies handy!

Crinoline - I only own one crinoline petticoat and it's a formal/wedding crinoline for longer skirts. It's my way to cheat out of wearing a caged hoop. I adore these cute petticoats. They come in all sorts of lovely colors. And if you're a bit daring and chose a color that might accent the fabric, when it peaks from under the hem, it makes a nice statement without being unladylike.

Girdles - I don't own a single girdle. I have some modern shape wear, which I guess is the equivalent. I would love to own a vintage girdle, but wow they are expensive. So I think I'm gonna browse the intimates section of K-mart and see what they have to offer. Some modern pieces have vintage inspired design.

Garter Belts - The garter belt shown above is actually mine. I purchased it at an antique shop and finally found out a few months back that it is in fact 1940s. Jackpot!!! I will be wearing it as much as possible if I ever get the laces replaced on it!

Hosiery - Vintage hosiery...absolutely not a must! I loathe hosiery. Growing up in a area where summer is both hot and humid, wearing hosiery is ridiculous for me. And I rip my pantyhose as soon as I get it on sometimes, so I would hate to ruin a pair of vintage hosiery and instead would opt for thigh high modern nylons instead.

Corsets - I had a corset a few years ago. I bought it from Frederick's of Hollywood because between them and Victoria's secret, they had both nice and decent priced corsets. Well, the one I bought never fit me right. Mom talked me into getting a corset with straps and I think for that very reason, it never worked. All the support was in the straps and not lacing. So now I'm searching for a decent corset once more.

Brassieres/Panties - I just don't like the idea of wearing used underwear. I don't know how many women have used those bras or panties before me and I can't stand the idea of them touching my most personal areas. I cringe just thinking about it.

{Psst, I know I've used a bit of Bernie Dexter pictures in these posts. She's such a lovely model and has a great vintage/rockabilly look to her as well!}

Going AWOL

For the past couple of days I have been AWOL from any internet. Mainly because Facebook has been a little pain in the butt as of late and refusing to let me keep in contact with absolutely anything. I was ever so fearful that a nasty virus had attacked our precious laptop, I'm so thankful that was not the case.

I have some updates upon some of my resolutions that I have no where else to update, so I chose to bore you with them.

I have decided against sewing up the circle skirt and chose with a nice 1940s blouse instead. I have some left over green calico print that I've been wanting to use up and I know I'll have enough for it. I also have loads of items within my own closet that are so...not me anymore. If that even makes sense. I have this adorable pink tweed coat that is far too big for me. Well, I've been thinking, wouldn't it make a lovely suit?!?!?!?! That's going to be a bit before I ever try it, but I know I have enough fabric since it was big on me before I lost a lot of weight. And then there's my Lady Edith Jacket that is too long in the sleeves and I personally would like to make more 40s than late-Edwardian. As you can see, there's no need to buy fabric since I have my hands full of re-fashioning items into mostly 1940s garments.

Going on week two of new eating and exercising and already my jeans are feeling looser. I'm pretty excited about that. Mom and I have been trying this new plan that the military actually use and except for some substitutions because I abhor cottage cheese and Mom feels the same about tuna, it still seems to be working. And get this, we actually have to eat ice cream. Not kidding. I'm always for a eating plan that allows ice cream!!

Haven't touched my knitting. I've been too busy working on my writing and prepping for future work. But I am fairly fast at knitting. I don't know why, it's a tad harder than crochet, but maybe I love it so much I want to keep doing it?? Sounds plausible.

Lately Veronica and I have gotten "America: The Story of Us" after watching History Channel's "Mankind: The Story of All of Us" {both are pretty darn good}. I don't agree with all of Mankind's ideas of how the world was created or the timeline, but all in all, I highly recommend  both. Anyway, we were watching the first two parts of America {Rebels and Revolution} and the more I see and read about the American Revolution, the more I am fascinated by it. I never fully appreciated my country's early history until the past few years. Now I'm thinking I want to create some Colonial pieces for costuming in the future. The American Colonial period is not one of my favorite fashion periods, but I still have a little mystery project that I want to do someday.

That is all for now. Hope your new year and resolutions are having a good start!!

Polyvore {Downton Abbey}

Lady Edith

get the look - lady edith by onceuponanovel featuring long sleeve tops

Lady Mary

Get the look - Lady Mary by onceuponanovel featuring crossbody handbags

Lady Sybil

Get the look - lady sybil style by onceuponanovel featuring long ball gowns

Lavinia Swire

Get the look - Lavinia Swire by onceuponanovel featuring pearl jewelry

Arthelia's Giveaway!!

Even though I have a pixie cut, I still want a snood. Makes sense, right?? Right! After all there are such things as half-wigs that are so sensational!

Anyway, hop on over to Haute Rockabilly Fashionista to join her giveaway and a chance to win a snood from Arthelia's Attic. I'm really loving the green, since green is my favorite color. But there's so many beautiful colors to choose from, how can a lovely lady settle upon just one???

About My Book Cover

In my last post I revealed my book cover. Or what I would like my novel SOTH, to eventually look like. I dabble in web graphics and web art. I love photo effects and adding drama to photos. {I love drama, just not in my own life.}

Again here is my book cover that I concocted from the photo site Picnik, which is no longer in business.

I adore this dress. It is a Victorian reproduction from an on-line company Recollections. They create wonderful, and I mean drool worthy wonderful, garments from the 1830s {Romantic period} and have recently branched all the way to the 1950s.

I borrowed the photo for the cover because the model reminded me of how I envision the protagonist in my novel. Tara is the name of the gown, how Gone with the Wind, right??

Front view.

Back and side view.

I also love how her hair is styled.

Close up of the bodice.

Don't you LOVE those sleeves?!

And here is the photo that inspired my book cover.

I encourage you to hop on over to Recollections and browse the eye candy of amazing period era gowns and prairie dresses inspired by the American Wild West period.

Resolute

Resolute means determined and unwavering. The goals I have for this year, I hope is enough to keep me busy. One reason I think we falter so easily on our resolutions is because we expect perfect from ourselves. Instead of expecting perfection, I just hope to share my ups and downs with all of you, educate myself further, and of course...have fun!!

{These are in no particular order.}

1} Learn more about sewing.

 

I have quite a few sewing patterns. Most from Simplicity, so they should be simple, right?? Honestly I have no idea. I'll be working with vintage reproduction patterns in hopes of expanding my vintage wardrobe. The pattern you see above is just one of them. I have a circle skirt pattern that I've been itching to sew up since I snatched it up in my local antique shop. It too is a Simplicity pattern for Halloween.

2} Send my novel off to an agent.

This shouldn't surprise any of you, after all my blog is called "The Fictionista". I am putting the finishing touches of SOTH. I had a set back when I came down with the flu, but now I'm back to editing. So by the end of the year I would love for this to be represented by a literary agent. This novel isn't epic by any standards, but I've put so much work into it, I think it deserves a chance.

3} Meet my weight loss goal.

Btw- Isn't this a neat tracker to keep your measurements and weight  up to date?

I need to buckle down and just do it already. This year was just too chaotic and I yo-yo'd 20lbs. I would lose 20, then gain it back, lose it, gain it.....you get the picture. Well, I've had enough and I'm going to reach my goal in 2013. I've found this new plan and compare the food intake to Weight Watchers points should be healthy and keep me on track. I already have some ideas for a possible giveaway as I meet certain goals. So it's a win-win for all of us, right?!?!

4} Knit & Crochet

I would love to either knit or crochet something I can actually wear. Not a hat or something small like a scarf, I mean a sweater or a coat, something big!! I've also had a set back with my knitting since I got sick and out of frustration ripped it all out and now have to start over. Ugh!! But, I know I probably made a mistake or two, so it's probably better I do start from scratch. Trying my best to be positive here! :-)


5} Live life and have fun.

I just want to live in the moment. To have fun. Last year wasn't much fun. I want to find my happiness again. I know it will take a good long time, but I am determined to fight for it. There are some things here I'm not quite comfortable making public at the moment, but someday I will be confidant enough to share it with you. Until then I'm on my journey to happiness.