Let It Be

Dress - Vintage, Shoes - boutique by Nordstrom

If you're not new to this blog, then you know that I have a serious love affair with vintage dresses. But one of the things that can be difficult about incorporating vintage items into your wardrobe is deciding how and whether to alter them. Sometimes, altering a vintage item can freshen it up, make it your own, and take the item from tired to amazing. I recently bought a vintage dress that had been marked down to FIVE dollars because the owner said everyone who tried it on said it looked funny on them. I saw the problem right away. The long tight sleeves made the dress look like something your grandmother would wear. Fifty years ago. So I simply took the sleeves off the dress, shortened it, and voila! It is now totally wearable and totally ADORABLE (can't wait to wear it on this blog!). Wearing vintage sometimes means having a little imagination.

But on the other hand, sometimes, I really feel like you have to respect the vintage item for what it is, and let its own character shine through. If you alter it too much, or alter a key element of it, then it may as well not even look/feel/be vintage anymore. It's like the Beatles said, baby. Sometimes you've got to just let it be. That's what I did with this dress. Every instinct in me told me to shorten it, shorten it, shorten it, because midi-length dresses are so hard to wear for the petite. But I just respected the dress too much and I left it alone. I'm so glad I did! This dress totally looks like something my mother wore in the 1970s, and I love it because the midi length adds to that vintage feel. What do you think? Did I choose right?

I adore how bright and colorful this dress is. Just wearing it brightens up my mood and makes me feel like summer. Speaking of summer, this weekend will be full of great summer activities. Laying out by the pool, a picnic on the beach where we'll shuck fresh oysters, and a trip to the drive-in are all on the agenda. Ah, I love them summer weekends. Have a great one, loves!