American Girl Samantha Parkington Halloween Costume Reveal

Meet Samantha! I've always been a huge fan of the American Girl dolls, but Samantha Parkington was unsurprisingly my favorite. Not only do we share a first name, but we also look quite a bit alike! I've been unofficially leaning into American Girl-core style for the last few years (and, more broadly, my whole life), so it seemed fitting to put together Samantha's birthday outfit for this year's Halloween costume!

Costume Details

Pink striped dirndl dress: Vintage (found here)

Apron: Boutique Linen

Flower crown: Marta Shishkova Design
Knee-high socks: Amazon
Black Mary Jane flats: Amazon
Teddy bear: Amazon

Fan: Amazon

I have to say that I'm really proud of the work I did on this. I even dug my doll and her birthday tea set out of storage to make this vision come to life! It's always really satisfying when the end result reflects the idea in your head. Plus, Emma (my business partner at Dear Blossom Studios) dressed up as Molly this year to complete the American Girl concept!

Happy Halloween!

(and Samantha)

Trick Or Treat

Happy (almost) Halloween, friends! I've had so much fun putting together this year's spooky outfits, and this Vixen by Micheline Pitt dress makes for the ultimate All Hallows Eve ensemble. I had to take photos in Rochester's ultimate ghostly spot, Mt. Hope Cemetery, where I've taken other Halloween photos in the past (you can check out previous Halloween posts here and here). 

This ghoulish harlequin print is so much fun. I'm slightly between sizes on this dress, so there's a bit more extra fabric around the waist than I'd like (I ordered up to accommodate for the bust). Now that I've found a great tailor, I could get it altered in the future. Otherwise though, I really love this dress and I can't wait to wear it for trick-or-treating tomorrow with my boyfriend's niece and nephews. The pumpkin necklace and orange sunflower hair accessory were the perfect seasonal way to top off this outfit, but I'll probably wear it with a cardigan and a pair of cat ears on Tuesday.  :)

Outfit Details

Vixen Trick R Treat Dress: available at Rebel Romantique

Hair flower: Stardust Dames  ||  Pumpkin necklace: Evelyn Mae Creations

Jessica Simpson flats: Amazon

I hope you have great Halloween – no tricks, just treats!

Mischief Night

Okay, I know I'm getting a late start on my Halloween outfit posts... but I'll be making up for lost time this week. I've been inspired to style more casual t-shirts into my wardrobe lately, and as soon as I saw this adorable Mischief Made tee, I knew it'd make an excellent addition. This "Trick or Treat" graphic tee is SO soft and has some nice stretch to it. (It's very similar to the quality of Miss Ladybug's garments, if you're familiar with those.) It also goes incredibly well with this Steady Clothing plaid skirt, which is equally soft and buttery in texture. This entire outfit is surprisingly comfortable, which made it the ideal ensemble for pumpkin picking at Powers Farm Market.

Outfit Details

"Trick or Treat" T-shirt: Mischief Made

Leona Plaid Pocket Thrills Skirt: Steady Clothing

Jessica Simpson flats: Amazon

I'll have more Halloween outfits coming your way shortly, but until then, you can get your magical costume fix by entering my Disney-inspired birthday giveaway! Get all the details and enter here.

Halloween Harlequin

I can barely believe it's already October 20th. Where did this month go?! It's nearly Halloween (and my birthday is next week), so I decided to get cracking on my second eerie ensemble. I was kicking myself for missing out on the Halloween harlequin pieces from Pinup Girl Clothing... but much to my delight, I miraculously now have two pieces in this spooktacular colorway – thanks to Ashley and another kind lady in a Facebook swap group! I'll be styling the other piece later on, but I'm currently obsessing over this Harley top.

I'm honestly not sure if I'm going to dress up as anything for Halloween this year. My birthday falls on the weekend when most people will be out partying... I'm honestly a total homebody and I may just dress in something fun that's already in my closet. Is it weird that I'm looking forward to staying home for any trick-or-treaters that might drop by (and eating copious amounts of candy if no one shows up)? It's funny how your priorities change. But I don't hate it.

Outfit Details

Harley Top in Halloween Harlequin: Pinup Girl Clothing

Little Jun Skirt: Pinup Girl Clothing

Cropped cardigan: ModCloth

Pumpkin brooch: Summer Blue Jewelry

Flats: Amazon

Have a great rest of your week!

Spooked

Well, I completely bypassed early fall and went straight to the Halloween Countdown, didn't I? But with a skirt this fun, I couldn't help skipping over to All Hallow's Eve! I've been loving these printed skirts by Unique Vintage (I've worn the watermelon and cupcake versions here on the blog before), and when I saw this spooky haunted house skirt in their "coming soon" section, my Halloween-loving heart skipped a beat. Even though the skirt is 100% cotton, it feels substantial enough for fall weather -- which is fortunate, because things just got bone-chilling around here.

For these photos, I decided to head to the historic Mt. Hope Cemetery here in Rochester. This is actually where we took photos for another Halloween post (and one of my favorite posts in general) from last year, featuring my friends Henry and Rusty (and the same hat, lol). But it's such a large cemetery that I didn't really use any of the same locations. To be honest, I've always felt sort of iffy about taking photos in a graveyard. I don't want people to think I'm being disrespectful by taking taking photos of myself there. But at the same time, Mt. Hope is a historic landmark where people are invited to come explore (they were holding a tour the same day I took these photos), and I wasn't trampling over anyone's grave. It's all done in complete reverence. It's a thin line, but I think intention makes a big difference. I'm not trying to show off or seem sexy or anything... I just love this spot in our city (and it admittedly does make the perfect backdrop for the skirt).

Outfit Details

Haunted Mansion Swing Skirt: c/o Unique Vintage

Top: c/o Unique Vintage

Hat: vintage (similar)

Bolero: similar

Shoes: similar

Have a spooktacular day!

Halloween Style: Phryne Fisher

Consider yourself warned: photo-heavy post ahead! I've been planning this Halloween costume post for so long, and I'm incredibly excited about it. Ever since Kate wrote about her love of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, I've been hooked on this fantastic show (all 3 seasons of which are available on Netflix!). Both my mom and I are huge fans of crime shows/mysteries and pretty much any period piece out there, so it's no surprise that we are both obsessed with the Honorable Miss Phryne Fisher. The show, set in 1920's Australia, has gained a lot of popularity recently (and for good reason!); Phryne is a wonderfully written character – she's strong, sexy and smart – and the entire cast of characters is superb. There's a lot of contemporary political commentary, and oh, the costumes! She might just be my favorite television character ever (and Essie Davis is divine in the role)... so I knew I had to be her for Halloween this year!

Unique Vintage was kind enough to send me one of their gorgeous flapper dresses for my costume. I also wore it for my performances in the historical ghost walk last weekend (my character was a flapper, conveniently enough). This Isadora dress (above) is absolutely stunning, and although I was initially really nervous about wearing this type of silhouette, I ended up feeling amazing in it! It's a surprisingly comfortable dress, and the bead work is incredible. My body type isn't really ideal for a 1920's look, but I was really happy to discover that I can wear this style and feel confident in it (though admittedly, this Rago waist cincher helps). I felt every bit as fabulous as Phryne in my get-up, and I feel awesome about how it turned out. I even made a golden gun (one of Phryne's trademarks) out of metallic felt – and I can barely sew! (Credit goes to Amanda and Ashley for the DIY idea.) I really love putting together costumes, so this was tons of fun for me!

I also received this gorgeous green flapper dress as a birthday gift from my mom, so in true Phryne fashion, I had a bit of a costume change! Although I bought a cheap bobbed wig for my first look, I actually created a fake bob with my own hair for the second! It's a super-easy process, and it's probably the only hairstyle I could ever do a tutorial on (in basic terms, you make a low ponytail and tuck most of your hair underneath and pin it). I ended up loving these looks so much that I had to include both in this post, but I'm going to wear the Unique Vintage dress for Halloween – it's special and spooky!

Some of my favorite looks from the "real" Miss Fisher!

Outfit Details

Outfit #1: Red Isadora Dress: c/o Unique Vintage  ||  Black slip: c/o Unique Vintage

Hair chain: Fashion Diggers ||  Gold felt gun: made by me (with felt from A Market Collection)

Shoes: Amazon  || Earrings: Studio Vintage  ||  Wig: eBay (bangs trimmed by me)
Faux fur wrap: Amazon  ||  Stockings: Urban Outfitters

Outfit #2: Cabaret Soiree Dress: ModCloth (gift)  ||  Fur stole: vintage

Bettie Page shoes: Amazon  ||  Star hair comb: January Rose Boutique

Earrings: Earthen Dreams  ||  Stockings: Urban Outfitters

Which look do you like better? Do you have a favorite Halloween costume from your past?

Have an awesome (and safe) weekend!

PS: Don't forget to enter my Big Birthday Giveaway! You can enter to win 1 of 3 incredible prize packages from some awesome brands + artists (including Unique Vintage and ModCloth)! Get all the details and enter here.