Little red riding hood meets the mid 1930's tunic and hat combo

Yet another project based on a wool and silk mix, this tunic is knitted with Rennie Castle yarn (58% Lambswool / 42% Silk)), colour Venlaw, in a dk weight (comes on a cone). There is 4 ply version that actually comes in balls for hand knitting, but  here the cone version was used because of an opportunity to buy it at a discounted price. 

The yarn is nice and tweedy - the main pinky-red shade is peppered with lots of multicoloured tiny flecks, but I would say that the representation of this colour on most on lines sources is not terribly accurate, as it is rather muted, not an intense red at all, and with a decisive pink tinge (pics below are closer to reality). It knitted well but when washed stretched quite a bit, and I am not sure what surprises are awaiting ahead on further washes...

In the meantime I am wearing it as it is, and I have to say, for a mid 1930's inspired project, this tunic proves to be very versatile and works with a variety of modern garments too. I was somewhat worried that I would end up with a costume-y looking, difficult to wear piece, but far from it. And the cherry on the cake is the quirky hat: makes the whole thing really fun to wear.

P.S. Despite the title, there's no hood to speak of, but a sailor collar...

Surprise

 A spring's day out with friends brought photos of others' families, vans, rest spots, and summer all around.

Sports vest

As much as I may lack talent for any sports - and sadly I do  - this slight inadvertence doesn't stop me from coveting the amazing sportswear of the 20's and 30's. Can't even legitimate my love for this gear through attending sports events as a spectator, I'm that disinterested.

Luckily, the modern ways of wearing sports clothing as casual wear are for once in favour of my inclinations. It is still tough to push through an equestrian outfit when missing the horse, but I reckon this cricket looking little number won't have to face the same challenges.

As you can see it was inspired by the beautiful fair isle example above. Unfortunately mother doesn't do fair isle, but what I wanted was to replicate the shape, which went pretty well. 

It's also done in a coarser Shetland type wool, which means the overall effect is somewhat bulkier and rougher. I love very textured yarns that cry out loud their provenance. 

I've been wearing this the other day when it started raining, and the wool immediately gave that typical sheep whiff. I was instantly transported back into my childhood to those moments when I was helping my grandmother wash the sheared wool at the river. In fact, the natural, undyed wool in this vest still comes from that village. And that feels pretty good..

Work wear?

Well, I guess it depends on the line of work. It is work wear for me, because I am lucky in that I can wear what I like at work, so I keep it smart-casual whilst wearing my vintage, mixed, or vintage inspired wardrobe like in this case. After some years of imposed dress code or even uniform, I am appreciative of this freedom.

All clothes are modern, the blouse is a French Connection ebay buy,  a chiffon silk little thing which I thought had nice vintage lines. Paired with a newly acquired butterfly guilloche vintage necklace (that may or may not make it in  to my shop) and with Deco end of day beads.

Junior vest

Well, not too much time could pass without a knit post on this blog. Children's wear though is not sometimes that gets featured here at all, in spite of scoring very high on my list of very admired garments. And how could it? I haven't got children of my own, and I myself slide every day further from the blessed age of innocence, with the terrible risk of looking like a mutton dressed in lamb should I indulge my passion...Still, today is no such day.

 

This is due to to the fact that vintage children fashions of the 20's and 30's largely copied adult ones, to the extent that may times children looked like miniature adults. So, I thought, this could work the other way around too :). 

Then, discovering the same neckline in adult patterns from the 20's and early 30's, I realized that I was more than legitimate in my wishes, and nothing else stopped this one become a reality.

Here it is, pictured without the belt, I took this pic as in the ones where the vest is worn the texture is very hard to make out. 

The vest was knitted in Rowan Felted Tweed DK, a shade called Rage (?!), and the yarn itself is a mixture of wool, alpaca and viscose. 3 balls (150g) were enough for this. 

Mother reports an easy knit, she really enjoyed the yarn. Which is good, since I'm going to want the skirt next :)

Under the apple tree

Last week I picked up this little number in a vintage shop - though it is as vintage as me if not even less so. Still, I liked the easiness of the cotton fabric, the beautiful print in colors just right for me. 

I hadn't set out to get a fake kimono, but I did, and I'm loving it. Hope it bears no offense to the wearers of the real thing, for whom this type of garment, I understand, bears actual meaning in a cultural context. 

For me it's just about prancing around in the garden in a pretty robe. I find robes to be the perfect lounge wear; since I am anything but glamorous and manifest a large preference for spending long days in pyjamas, wrapping myself in a lovely robe is my best aim to tidiness.

Resort-sful

 

Tank tops and wide legged trousers, that's what I've been wearing on a regular basis this summer, and yes, those straps and legs could be wider to really please, but until such happy event the vibe will do. 'Cause I think I've got the vibe. In terms of 30's resort wear, one cannot hope for much more out of an entirely modern outfit. Still, how I long for the real thing, in the right proportions, colours and print, where no corners are cut...

The missing blouse

Remember this? It all spurred from the image above. I had started by planning to have the blouse done (left hand side), then naturally needed a skirt to go with it. When that was done too, there was just about enough yarn left for a 1936-1937 style cardigan which took the ensemble to the new heights of a trio.

Mine is not quite so wide at the base and sleeves as in the pattern below right due to the fact that there was a limited amount of yarn left. It came out like something in between the two shown here, and it has raglan sleeves too, though it's hard to tell in that pic.

When I first showed it on this blog last November I photographed the skirt and cardigan only (as above) and the left the blouse out as I hadn't put any buttons on it, and I was waiting for some vintage glass cuties to turn up in the post. Well, those turned up a bit of a disappointment, far too tiny and the wrong shade of green. I eventually abandoned the hunt for the shade of lime that I was fantasizing about in terms of an ideal contrast with the yarn, and settled for simple mother of pearl buttons, which, if less exciting, at least go with the detail in the long cardigan and do the job of keeping the short sleeve blouse closed.

 

As you can see mother had to slightly modify the design and while I still have the fitted waist band, my blouse fastens all the way down from neck to waist with functional buttons. We kept the sweet little pocket (I need a tiny pocket square to go in there), and the detail is repeated on the opposite side of the skirt.

It was mother's favourite yarn to work with so far, a mix of 75% wool and 25% silk that lent itself beautifully to the task at hand. 

As for me, I am loving the end product, it turned up pretty much how I wanted, looks and feels great, has a lovely texture while remaining fine enough, it's easy to wear and, as with most knits, I feel at my most natural while doing so.

The cardigan that changes all - falling for Fair Isle

As you can see, it's versatility that preoccupies me at the moment, the chameleon-ing of one outfit into something else with the add of a piece or two. In this case, what I wore in my last post to channel a Katherine Hepburn look, steps now further back in time for a whiff of late 20s /early 30s sportswear.

I don't know how you like my take on Fair Isle, but I'm telling you, this little thing does take me places. 

It certainly took me to work 3 days in a row as pictured above...and little thing it isn't, in fact it seems more like three sizes bigger than I normally wear. So big in fact that I've been wearing it on top of a small fitted jacket too, as an outer layer! Yeah, baby, this is looove... Can't take the damn thing off! 

In fact, it sparked an interest with Fair Isle that I had not yet experienced, in spite of this thing being very fashionable lately (outside the vintage circles) from what I can gather.
I suppose it  all spurred naturally - if rather slowly - for me out the growing obsession with 20s and 30s casual and sportswear that I've been entertaining for the last year or two.

So there you have it: I'm officially a Fair Isle convert!

Photo from Barbara's blog Re Knitting

The 3 images above are part of the Textiles Collection in the Shetland Museum and Archives

Photo via the wonderful A Polar Bear's Tale blog, see article here

Pattern available at The Vintage Knitting Lady

Channeling Miss Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn, The Lake, 1933

The polo neck or turtleneck, paired with slacks, was a get up much favored by Katharine Hepburn and Greta Garbo.
I am an admirer of both, and most of all, of the slick, casual style they sported with such aplomb.

Outfit:

 Jigsaw silk/angora polo neck;

Hobbs trousers; 

Vintage military map bag;

Alfred Sargent shoes

Magenta, sea green and curls under a head scarf (read: 1930's casual chic)

With the sudden resurgence of summer over here I jumped back into what has become for me a warm season staple: wide legged trousers with some blouse or another.Yep, I could do this forever. Lazy, yet happily so.

As for the colour combination, now I know why I needed that bag I left behind at the vintage shop...darn it!

Lazy Sunday

Yesterday we went for a walk around a  pretty village nearby - will need to take some better pictures of the actual place sometime and share them with you, it really is charming. 

I mixed vintage and modern for a 30's inspired look, you see yet more of my wide leg linen trousers, with a modern silk blouse that was love at first sight and vintage crochet cardigan and bag. 

The cardigan just about fits but I wish it was a tad bigger (those incredibly small openings for arms - how tiny can these things get?!). Such a lovely thing though, with the cutest clear glass buttons and barely there collar (which of course doesn't sit right in the pics...).

It was one of those late summer days when you feel already a chill in the air, the unmistakable clue of what's to come and, like a ripple of anguish on the calm surface of a pond, the nostalgia of something that has been, but is no more.