the soubrette brunette

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

Friday, April 18, 2014

Friday Favorites #46

Boy, oh boy. This week actually went by pretty quickly, since I had only a 3-day work week! My family celebrated Passover on Monday, and we'll celebrate Easter on Sunday (though, in the interest of full disclosure, our idea of Easter is limited to candy-filled baskets -- plus, my mom and I are seeing Phantom of the Opera on Sunday night, which is more than cause for celebration!). Something I am certainly not celebrating, though, is the death of my MacBook's hard-drive. This is the fourth time I've had my Mac's hard-drive die on me (the first time with my newer laptop, though), and it's always incredibly traumatic. The saving grace is that, even though I haven't backed up to my external hard-drive in over a year, I did manage to upload upcoming blog photos to Flickr, so I don't think I lost anything on that front, but I know I lost other stuff. I couldn't get an appointment with the Genius Bar until tomorrow, so I'm using my parents' old MacBook (c. 2007) to write this. It never fails -- my computer always dies as soon as I'm about to go out of town. By the way, I'll be out of town next week with no Internet access (and now, no computer), but the blog will be in good hands! Stay tuned for some fun posts from dear friends!

But, I digress. On to my favorite finds of this week! Since Easter is nearly here, I'm in a very bunny-like mood! Here are some of my favorite rabbit-themed items:

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

In all honesty, my favorite part of Easter might just be Reese's peanut butter eggs. I was in shock to find that Good Humor makes an ice cream version of them (a box of which are now in my freezer). I have yet to try them, because I'm trying to be good... but it may be my Saturday night treat.

(via)

Speaking of sweet treats, I adore this cotton-candy-colored swimsuit (and '90s throwback lip balm to match)! I like that Topshop tends to have good options for one-piece and high-waisted swimwear.

a // b

You can't mention sweet without talking about these bags from Lulu by Lulu Guinness. I really love her designs (ASOS carries her more expensive main brand), and I think it's wonderful that JC Penney carries this more affordable brand. Frankly, this line is sometimes way cuter than the other one! I got a different daisy bag for my mom for her upcoming birthday (it's not a surprise, since she was there), and the Easter Bunny is apparently bringing me a different version of this ice cream bag in my basket. :)

one // two

I'm actually not sure what I'm wearing for Easter (though I know there is no shortage of pastel prettiness from which to choose!), but I think these dresses are adorable options for Easter Sunday:

1 // 2 // 3

And while I hope it isn't cold or rainy on Sunday, either of these lovely pink jackets would brighten things up!

1 // 2

I'm not much one for shorts these days, but goodness, these pastel blue scalloped ones are beautiful.

Though I have lots of love for the Easter Bunny, my mythological loyalty lies with unicorns and mermaids. This series of mermaid-themed footwear is absolute perfection:

a // b // c

This mirror is so pretty and reminds me of my childhood:

Easter Bunnies aren't the only creatures I'm loving this week! You can always count on me to find some good cat-centric pieces:

a // b

(via)

Either of these would convince me to wear sneakers way more often:

a // b

That being said, I'd probably rather have one of these pairs in my closet:

1 // 2

I would like one of these flower crowns, please.

1 // 2

Also, please feel free to make me a key lime marshmallow milkshake, while you're at it:

I have to take a moment and talk about Polka Dot Polly! The lovely Amanda introduced me to this site yesterday, and oh my GOODNESS. Not only do they have an extensive variety of retro-inspired silhouettes and prints -- all combined into high-quality garments -- but... YOU CAN DESIGN YOUR OWN DRESS. You get to pick the type of bodice, skirt and fabric, plus you can add on extras (like boning, bows, ric rac trim and more) -- AND it will be custom-made with your own measurements! They have some of the most amazing novelty prints I've seen (licorice all sorts, Care Bears, Curious George, you name it!), and they have beautiful "normal" fabric choices, too. They're currently offering 15% off everything on their site, and this makes it all too-tempting to place an order from them. Below are a few of my favorite pre-made designs from their shop. How beautiful are these?!