Styling a Vintage 1950's Dress

I recently returned from an action packed family holiday to London (see this post, to find out what I packed for a 3 day trip) it was great fun!

It was our family holiday, yes...
BUT, I still managed to squeeze in a couple of hours shopping!

When I was there I was lucky enough to visit a vintage market on Brick Lane.
{If you are into your vintage threads (and are coming to London) you must pay it a visit}

Anyway, as you probably know yourself, it is all too easy to get caught up in the romance of vintage shopping.
Especially when you are surrounded by people selling vintage, and WEARING vintage.
They do it so effortlessly.
They look achingly cool.
Young (and beautiful) people looking retro and edgy.

Unfortunately, it is somewhat more tricky to pull off full-on vintage when you are a working mum going about your daily work/family/life business.
Popping to the shop in a pair of purple suede bell bottoms is not so practical.

Well, despite me being well aware of this problem, this vintage dress really caught my eye and I just could not let it go.

I went back to the stall 3 times before finally giving in to it's vintage charms.
I love it's apron-like appearance, and the gorgeous heavy linen fabric.
The quality of the dressmaking sealed the deal.

In my mind it really appealed in two very separate ways:
It's a little bit like something Maria from 'The Sound of Music' would wear.
It's a little bit of a nod D&G, for SS 2016.
I had to have it!

I decided to style it two different ways.
One way, in homage to the beautiful Maria.
The second, my own version of D&G...

"The hills are alive!", Vintage meets more Vintage.

For this slightly twee look, I decided to pair this dress with these beautiful (and delicate) vintage shoes.
They are from the same era, and were a gift from a friend.
She bought them as a size 5 (38), but as they are so old they are more suited to my narrow size 4 (37) feet.
{Thank goodness for Ebay mistakes!}

The shoes are so delicate and a great fit.
Surprisingly comfortable, and easy to wear.

I teamed the dress and shoes with a red sash, picking out the red thread from the pattern in the dresses embroidery.
{See how I wore a similar sash to a wedding, here}

I wanted to stick to the 1950's feel, so I reached for a string of chunky pearls.
I love this necklace.

The pearls are large and uneven...not quite the 1950's style (they would have had to have been perfect back then), but certainly good enough for me!

A cropped 50's style crochet cardigan, was the perfect topper.
{I could have worn this beautiful coat... made in 1958 , if the weather had been cooler}

A vintage brooch, pearl ring, and a 1950's-style pair of sunglasses, finished things off nicely.

I felt like a lady!

SS16 Catwalk inspired...

For my second look, I was inspired by the D&G adverts (for SS 2016) in the glossy magazines.

I know my dress is a far cry from the vibrant colours of the adverts, but the embroidery put me in mind of the elaborate D&G creations.

A patterned vintage shaped dress, plus chunky heels, and huge earrings...now this is a look I can get into!

I wanted to keep the definite 1950's feel of the dress, so I kept my 50's style sunglasses and draped-over-the -shoulders cardigan.
Although, I swapped the crochet version for a gold lurex one, which seemed a little funkier.

I decided to pair my vintage dress with a wide waist belt, to give some definition and toughen it up a bit.
A pair of snakeskin chunky sandals seemed the perfect footwear choice for this D&G inspired look!

Oversized earrings, chunky bracelets and funkier rings, finished things off nicely.

Please let me know what you think of these outfits.
Can you guess which one I really wore?

Leave me a comment...or contact me.

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