A Try-Color Look

As I’m sure you’ve realized if you’ve been around this blog much, it’s a rare week that I post about going to Salem and don’t post about having found some new treasure a few days later!

A bold 1940s floral dress paired with a yellow tilt hat, green shoes, and a stack of Bakelite bangles

This time, the treasure in question was a fantastic rayon jersey dress in the loudest floral print imaginable. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was a me dress, but I had shop credit and it fit, so it came home.

Late 30s or early 40s rayon jersey in an eye-popping floral print of cream, grey, black red, yellow, and forest green, paired with a small golden yellow tilt hat

Since I purchased the dress on Saturday, I wore it out to church on Sunday for an initial test run. I opted for a hat, because Sundays are a good excuse for hats. Unfortunately, it was my hair versus the humidity the whole time, and since I didn’t get the pictures until after church I’m afraid I look a bit exploded. I’m not sure about the hat choice on the whole — I was happy to get to wear it, but it might look better in the fall when the colors were more in season and I was wearing another layer.

Goldenrod 1940s tilt hat covered in jersey fabric with a rust colored veil and feathers

A bold 1940s floral jersey dress paired with a yellow tilt hat and green shoes

I’m not sure if these pictures are selling me on my dress choices — I might need to wear it again with other accessories to see if it should have a permanent home in my closet. The colors lean a little yellow for me (I think if the background were bright white instead of beige I’d like it better) and the hem is a smidgen shorter than I prefer.

On a slightly nerdier note, I’m not sure I can give these pictures a really fair assessment… if you’ve noticed that these look somehow different from the shots you’ve seen around here lately, you’d be right. I used a shorter lens (40mm as opposed to the 85mm I’ve been primarily shooting with) to take advantage of a rather cramped photo-op spot, but I really don’t think the smaller lens does the dress justice. Next time I’ll have to make sure to take pictures with the 85mm.

Green lace-up shoes by Chelsea Crew add a practical finishing touch to a vintage floral dress

Someone also decided to put in a side zipper instead of the original button placket, and having both closures makes that side of the dress a little stiff and bunchy. I’m tempted to remove the zipper and find new buttons, the button placket is also a good inch longer than the replacement zipper and it would make getting dressed much easier!

Side button placket in a vintage jersey dress, rendered obsolete by the later addition of a zipper.

Shirring detail up the middle of a floral jersey dress provides a slimming effect while the loud print in shades of green, cream, and red grab attention

Bakelite bracelets (and one fake) add a pop of color to a vintage ensemble

So… what do you think of my new dress? And how would you style it?

A bold 1940s floral dress paired with a yellow tilt hat, green shoes, and a stack of Bakelite bangles

    • Goldenrod 1940s tilt hat: Raspberry Beret, Cambridge
    • Green Bakelite earrings and beaded bracelet: Gift from a family friend (restrung from memory wire)
    • Assorted Bakelite/fakelite bangles: Various places

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