Wednesday, April 30, 2014

C'est magnifique

Outfit Details:
Bernie Dexter Paris print dress: eBay
Necklace & coat: ASOS (old)
Spectators: BAIT Footwear (similar)




Whew!  It feels so good to be back home and blogging again.  Getting away was nice, but I was starting to go stir-crazy.  I probably should have taken the opportunity to completely unplug from technology (as much as possible, that is), but instead I just cursed my iPhone's horrible battery life and watched more Boy Meets World in a 3-day span than I'd ever thought possible.  I'm so grateful to my guest blogging gal pals, who took such good care of my blog while I was away!  That sort of sounds psychotic, like my blog is a living, breathing entity -- but actually, I sort of believe that about most creative sources, so maybe it's not so crazy.  At any rate, thank you for bearing with me during my little vacation!  I'm back now and it's spring (ignore the snow in these photos!  They're from before my computer died!), and I couldn't be happier to get back in the swing of things.







This dress was a lucky eBay snag (from Bernie herself, no less!).  I'd purchased a different version of this dress on ModCloth (it had thin straps and more of a shelf-type bodice), but the unfortunately, the sizing was wonky and I had to return it.  I've gotten pretty good at knowing my size in Bernie Dexter's dresses, and for whatever reason, that dress simply missed the mark (pretty much across the board, according to the reviews).  To my joy, I found that Bernie was selling some of her pieces on eBay (she still does this from time to time, which is wonderful!), and I was able to grab this lovely version in my size.  I love the little sailor bow on the neckline, and there are puff sleeves, too!  The combination of this dress and coat remind me of Funny Face -- one of my favorite movie musicals.  Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire are a delightful duo, to be sure, but Kay Thompson steals the show for me.  I read her biography a few years back, and she was such an intriguing figure.  She sings a song called "Think Pink" at the beginning of the film, and then the three stars sing "Bonjour, Paris!" about halfway through; this outfit is kind of a hybrid of those two ditties, I think!  If you've never seen the film, you should.  It's so visually stunning, and the performances are wonderful!






Have a wonderful Wednesday!
xox Sammi

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

My Favorite Outfit: Katie from Butterfly Loves Snapdragons

A note from Sammi: Hi, friends!  I'm back in town from my trip, but because of my computer snafu, I'm a little behind on my own posts, so I have another installment of the "My Favorite Outfit" mini-series for you today!  I've asked some of my favorite blogger ladies to contribute a guest post about their absolute favorite outfits from their own blogs, and today's guest blogger is sweet Katie from Butterfly Loves Snapdragons!  Katie has an incredible eye for vintage fashion, and her hat collection is to die for!  I had a feeling Katie would showcase both of these in her timeless outfit of choice!


Hello there, everyone! I am so glad to have a guest post on Sammi's blog because she is one of my very favorite people I've never met. I absolutely adore her style and get so much inspiration from her each time I visit! Not to mention she is one of the sweetest bloggers out there, both in style and personality. 


It was a difficult decision to choose my favorite outfit! Honestly, my style varies so much from day to day that it was tough to hone it into one look. However, this black and blue combo I wore last November tops my list as a favorite to wear. I wore my grandmother's blue knit sweater and paired it with a rummaged skirt, thrifted coach bag, and vintage hat. This sweater is such a special piece to me because I treasure anything that belonged to my grandmother! Not to mention, vintage knits are so much more fitted and flattering than any sweaters one would be able to find today. I find them so much more comfortable to wear and they make me feel better about my shape, too! Modern sweaters make me feel boxy and lumpy like a marshmallow -- not so with this blue number!



The hat is an item I received from a friend who sells vintage clothing. She wanted to get out of the business of selling hats, so she sold me her inventory of about 70 vintage hats for super cheap, and I was giddy to take them off her hands! This blue satin makes me feel so special, and I have worn it everywhere from the grocery store to my husband's swanky work Christmas party. We could just fasten it to my head permanently and I'd be a happy lady :) Do you have any items like that in your closets, readers?


Have a lovely day and don't forget to smile! :)

Saturday, April 26, 2014

My Favorite Outfit: Sara of Swing the Day Away

Note from Sammi: Hello, lovely readers!  I am currently out of town with *very* limited internet access, so I've decided to start a little mini-series on the blog while I'm gone.  I've asked some of my favorite blogger ladies to contribute a guest post about their absolute favorite outfits from their own blogs!  It's kind of a Sophie's Choice situation (at least, I know it would be for me!), since these are some of the most stylish girls I know, but I'm so excited to see what they've chosen!  Today's guest blogger is the lovely Sara from Swing the Day Away, who always manages to look both impossibly adorable and totally polished.  I love this sweet girl's style, and I know you will, too!

Hello, Soubrette Brunette readers! I'm Sara and I blog over at Swing The Day Away. While Sammi is away, she asked me to fill in for her and write about my favorite outfit. Well, I have a lot of outfits from the 4 years I've been blogging and I'm terrible at making decisions and narrowing things down, so I'm here with 9 of my favorite outfits within 3 of my favorite fashion themes. That's right, I'm doubling up on the favorites, people. I'm breaking the rules!

The first of my favorite fashion themes is nautical. I live on the shoreline of New England, so I have grown up always being about 5-10 minutes away from the ocean. I love it that way, and I can't imagine ever living somewhere landlocked. I love everything about all the little seaside towns along the coast - the smell of the air, the little food shacks, the boardwalks, the knick knack stores...just the overall nautical flair. It's really grown to be a part of me, and I love incorporating it into my wardrobe.

nauticalpicks
Ahoy//Nautical By Nature//Into The Ocean, Into The Sun
 Next up is fall fashion. Like Sammi, I am an October baby, and I am very proud to be! Autumn is my favorite season and October is my favorite month. I promise that it's not just because it's my birthday month, though that has a small portion to do with it. I really can't describe my love for autumn. I think I'd marry it if that were a thing and didn't make me a crazy person. I love the colors and smell of the leaves, the crisp air, Halloween, apple and pumpkin picking, and apple and pumpkin baked goods. It's the best time to go to the orchards, which is my favorite place to go! Plus, it is seasonally acceptable to watch Hocus Pocus. Enough said. I will not watch that movie unless it's October, no matter how much I love it.

autumnpicks
"Delicious Autumn! My Very Soul Is Wedded To It"//Green Mountain Forest, VT//It's Just A Bunch of Hocus Pocus
The last one I'm not sure would be called a theme, per se. It's basically just that I like to try to mix colors that aren't normally mixed. I know there's this whole thing about "clashing" colors and a whole method of how to use colors in the color wheel with primaries, secondaries, etc., but I don't follow it. I don't really believe in clashing, unless you literally threw on about 6 different patterns at once or something. I think that any colors can be worn together if you do it right. So I say down with the idea of clashing! Mix away, my friends.

colorcombopicks
Up In The Air//Grad Student//Hi Ho! Cherry-O
I want to thank Sammi for letting me jabber on here and share some of my favorite outfits with you all! Hopefully, I'll see you all around and get to see some of your favorite outfits too! :)

Thursday, April 24, 2014

My Favorite Outfit: Modern June Cleaver & Amelia Jetson

Note from Sammi: Hello, lovely readers!  I am currently out of town with *very* limited internet access, so I've decided to start a little mini-series on the blog while I'm gone.  I've asked some of my favorite blogger ladies to contribute a guest post about their absolute favorite outfits from their own blogs!  It's kind of a Sophie's Choice situation (at least, I know it would be for me!), since these are some of the most stylish girls I know, but I'm so excited to see what they've chosen!  Today's guest bloggers are Modern June Cleaver and Amelia Jetson (otherwise known as Amanda and Katie) from Junebugs and Georgia Peaches!  This dynamic duo never fails to impress with their fantastic '50s looks!  Without further ado, here are June and Amelia with their favorite outfits!

Hello, Soubrette Brunette readers!

As Sammi said above, we're June + Amelia.  Some of you may know us from our own blog or Instagram, but we're stoked about being here! We've only been blogging since January and are excited to work with someone who is so well-spoken, interesting + stylish.  Now that we've gotten our lady crush on Sammi out of the way, we'll tell you a little about our all time favorite outfits.

Modern June Cleaver


Hello, I'm June! If you'd asked me what my favorite outfit was a week ago, it would've been something totally different.  But this week, it's this Peek a Boo Top by Steady Clothing paired with the High Waisted Thrills Skirt in Olive, Wide Shakira Satin Belt by Pinup Girl Clothing, Persia Heels from Miss L Fire and Carmen Fruit Clips by Andy's Eye Candy.

These Miss L Fire heels were inspired by Great Gatsby era fashion, but I hopped in my TARDIS and brought them forward 30 years, to my usual, late 1950s inspired style.  I really love this top because I think it's a flattering way to show a little skin but not full out cleavage which makes me feel totally awkward.  The skirt has a great shape and accommodates a large enough petticoat to achieve the perfect amount of fullness.  And I actually don't usually like big hair pieces, but I LOVE these, I'm definitely channeling my inner Carmen Miranda, who was actually equally as adorable without the fruit hats. ; )


Tied for first place this week as my favorite outfit would be my Bernie Dexter Beatrice Dress in BBQ Print (I'm sorry I can't link it, she no longer sells this piece.)  This was my birthday dress last year and my first Bernie, so it holds a special place in my heart.  I can't decide if it's the dress or the fact that I'd just officially reunited with my now fiancee, Collin (proposal post + video here).  My opinion might be a bit jaded.

Bernie Dexter's dresses always have adorable prints and have in-seam lipstick pockets, which is awesome.  All dresses with pockets automatically get preferential treatment, because I mean... who doesn't love hidden pockets?!

Amelia Jetson


Hi there, I'm Amelia!  It's hard to choose one outfit that I love the most so I had to choose two.  The first outfit is the Trashy Diva Annette Dress in Sci-Fi print, which is sadly no longer made.  This dress is one of my favorites, because it reminds me of Ms. Frizzle!  I just need a magic school bus and a pet chameleon and I'll be set.  I love this dress for its print, quality and overall appearance. I simply paired it with a lucite cherry brooch and my B.A.I.T. Irene's in red.  This outfit will definitely continue to be one of my Summer essentials!


I must have a love for dresses that are no longer being made! This was my dress for June's birthday last year, and it was my first Hell Bunny dress also.  I love the color on this dress and the polka dot print. The back is a deep 'V', which makes it a fun Summer dress!  I paired it with plain red patent shoes, because I love the color combination of light purple and red!   

  Honorable Mentions


Left: Amelia in her Bernie Dexter Veronique Dress in High Street print and June in her Sugar Doll Dress in Yellow Cherries  |  Right: Amelia in her Vintage Geisha Print Dress and June in her Pinup Girl Clothing Harlequin Print Jenny Dress

We're excited we got to share a few of our favorites with you, and we hope to see y'all around the blog-o-sphere!

xoxo,
June + Amelia

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

My Favorite Outfit: Jana from Small Town, Big Smile

Note from Sammi: Hello, lovely readers!  I am currently out of town with *very* limited internet access, so I've decided to start a little mini-series on the blog while I'm gone.  I've asked some of my favorite blogger ladies to contribute a guest post about their absolute favorite outfits from their own blogs!  It's kind of a Sophie's Choice situation (at least, I know it would be for me!), since these are some of the most stylish girls I know, but I'm so excited to see what they've chosen!  Our first guest blogger is Jana from Small Town, Big Smile, whose retro-inspired fashions never fail to put a big smile on my face!  Take it away, Jana!

Hey everyone! As Sammi mentioned, I'm Jana from Small Town, Big Smile!, and I'll be the first of several stylish gals talking about our favourite outfit(s) while Sammi is away!  I'm not going to lie, this was definitely a difficult choice for me... sort of.  If any of you read my blog, you'll know I adore my My Kind of Pie dress. It's definitely my favourite item in my closet, so I had a difficult time choosing one outfit with it in particular.  That being said, seeing as I was so proud that I could actually narrow it down to one dress, I decided it was okay to show you how I've loved to remix this dress!


I love wearing this dress for different occasions.  Over Easter weekend, I had several family dinners to attend, so I figured, what better dress to wear than a dress with various pastel colours? I opted for a mint green polka dot cardigan, knee socks, and mint green Bait Ione's to match.  I was a little hesitant with the polka dot cardigan as there's polka dots in the dress, but they're subtle enough that the cardigan didn't clash with it.



I even found the perfect pie brooches (via The Dainty Geekery) to match this dress.  It's one of those really kitch prints that makes it so fun to match and accessorize!  I like to find very matchy-matchy accessories for my novelty print dresses.  I'm sure some think it's borderline over-the-top, but I love it.



I love shirt dresses. Sleeveless, collar, buttons... it's my favourite style of dress.  It makes pairing a cardigan over it very easy and comfortable, but to be honest, I love wearing it with nothing over it.  This style of dress reminds me of a '50s housewife, with their hair in curlers and red lipstick.  It's a style of dress that I always feel good in, even when I'm having one of those uncomfortable-nothing-looks-good kind of days.



I haven't gotten around to actually making a pie to use as a prop, but I've paired it with a floral apron and a matching flower for my hair, teapots and teacups, and my kitchen in general. 


And with having so many colours in it, it makes pairing it with tights and cardigans (which is a must in Canadian weather) very practical.  One of my go-to tricks with remixing tights and cardigans is to just reverse the colour options. Teal tights, tan cardigan, brown shoes, to tan tights (or knee socks), teal cardigan, teal shoes. Instant remix!


Smiles,
Jana

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Starlight, sweetheart, melody

Outfit Details:
Iron Fist My Little Pony dress: eBay (available here)
Embellished cardigan: Storenvy
BAIT Footwear spectators: ModCloth
Lavender hair bow: Clip a Bow Boutique




Goodness gracious, do I love this dress!  I'd seen a blouse version of this dress in a couple of places, but I'm not exactly a blouse girl.  If it comes in a dress, I'd always rather have that!  This dress was carried by Hot Topic over a year ago, so I thought I'd missed out, but then it dawned on me to check eBay!  I had a lucky guess on sizing (juniors sizing is always a mystery to me) and it shipped incredibly quickly -- and fit perfectly!  The top of this dress is actually really flattering, but I felt a little too bare without a sweater.  I wish I had a plain cardigan that looked right with this dress, but this embellished one was the only one that hit at the right length.  The back heart patch is very My Little Pony. but I fear the combination is a little much.





I'm also thrilled that this design involves the classic My Little Pony cartoon.  I absolutely hate the style of the reboot version; it has none of the charm of the original, and this is how MLP should be.  I grew up watching the show and had a bunch of the ponies (inherited from a family friend's daughter), so I couldn't pass this dress up once I found it!  It's loud, to be sure, but a totally necessary addition to my closet. 






I had planned on posting something else for Easter, but since my hard-drive bit the dust on Thursday night, I had to amend my plans.  Still, this is pretty Easter-appropriate, I think.  I'm going out of town for a week starting on Monday, but I'm leaving my blog in very capable hands!  I can't wait for you to see what some lovely friends of mine have in store during my absence!  Stay tuned!





Have a super Saturday!
xox Sammi
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