Sunday Best and All the Rest

  A wonderful thing has happened - it rained! Yes, while other parts of the country are snowed in, my area is rejoicing over the long absent sight of precipitation. The rain began to fall the night before last, mellowed into a general misty dampness the next day, and poured again last night and this morning.    Perhaps the cool tones brought out by the damp air inspired me to wear cool colors of clothing yesterday. Whether or not that was the case, I tried an entirely new outfit with tops in shades of blue. The base for my outfit was one of my favorite shirts for last summer, a tee with music notes printed on it. I tucked this into my tan BCBG skirt (more on that later) and wore a chambray shirt over it. This was a combination that I had never put together before, but I like the classy yet adventurous look it has. Copper also looked charming with his turquoise leash. ;) Chambray ...

   How do you do, ladies? Unfortunately, I'm home sick. There's a bright side though - I've had plenty of time to research and put together another post for the Historical Fashion How-To series! Today's era is the 1920's. Let's get right to it! :D 1920's         The 1920's was a time of massive transformation for society. Prohibition, women's independence, and extravagance defined the decade. Women's new ideals reflected in their clothing styles. Hemlines were the shortest that they had ever been, and the feminine figure eventually left the scene with straight-lined dresses.   I believe that several aspects of the clothing in this era display the great moral decline of society that was occurring. As in most times, however, there were also some beautiful styles to gain inspiration from. Long coats, handkerchief hemlines, and futuristic Art Deco designs were all popular...

   This week, I wasn't feeling particularly inspired towards doing an outfit post. Don't worry, I'm not hiding days spent in a t-shirt and sweats from you. I promise that I didn't wear anything more casual than jeans (pajamas not counting, obviously). To put it briefly, I wanted a wee bit of a break. None of you have ever felt that way, have you? ..........Yeah, I didn't think so. ;)        This is what my hands look like as I type away my blog posts, such as this strange replacement for an outfit post. You may have noticed two interesting things about my hands from these photos. First of all, they are rather small and childlike for a nineteen-year-old. Second of all, you can see the one piece of jewelry that I keep on 24/7. As a special gift on my 16th birthday, my parents gave me this lovely Black Hills gold ring. :) The reason that it is not on my ring finger is because of the aforesaid fact that I have rather small ...

   Hello all! I am excited to present to you the opening post of Sunday Best's first series - it's called Historical Fashion How-To ! In this series, I will be showing you how to copy specific eras of fashion for costume parties or your own personal enjoyment. The goal is to give you ideas of how to use either what is already in your closet, or just waiting for you to purchase at your local second-hand store. My plan is to explore several decades of the 20th century in chronological order, then tackle some even older looks. ;) )    In school, history never seemed dry and boring to me. On the contrary, I found it fascinating. The clothes of bygone days have always intrigued me, and studying past times is more exciting when I can imagine what the people were wearing. As a result, I have made a bit of a study of historical costume. This blog is now the perfect platform for sharing my knowledge, as well as learning more (and getti...

  Here on the West Coast, today was a fresh and sunny winter's day! It was ideal for a walk to our friends' house. Late this morning, Mom and I set off with camera in tow.    Today I was in the mood for purple tights, so I wore them with a matching turtleneck sweater and my go-to gray and white striped skirt. Because the tights are rather thin, they needed cozy legwarmers over them. To add a bit of sparkle, I wore a necklace that I was given for my birthday. After donning my black coat and boots, I was ready to brave the elements! As it turned out, not much bravery was needed, since I ended up shedding my coat for the last part of the sunny walk. ;) Sweater ~ ?; Skirt ~ Thrifted; Tights ~ Gift; Legwarmers ~ Gift; Boots ~ Bought new at Village Shoes in Ashland, OR;  Coat ~ Gift; Necklace ~ Gift;    My mom was also dressed in cute garb today! Her new gold sweater is lovely, especially styled with h...

   I don't know about any of you, but after Christmas I usually feel the need to clean out my room a bit. My birthday is the week before Christmas, and by the end of December I find that there is a pile of cards and gifts perched precariously on my desk. While I feel blessed to receive such lovely things, it can also be a bit overwhelming trying to figure out where to put them, even if they're small. In any case, I (if somewhat grudgingly) take up the task of putting away the old and making room for the new.   This time around, the job involved rearranging the bedroom furniture to make space for a newer, bigger, bookshelf than the one I had. Though I hadn't intended to go through my closet that very day it was hard to stop cleaning once I had started! That day, I ended up setting aside a few garments to donate to the thrift store.   Earlier this week, I participated in a clothing swap that my best friend held. Somehow, I ended up finding m...

  Good evening lovely readers! I hope that you have been having a beautiful and productive week thus far. I've been keeping busy at home, "abroad" and in the cyber world. As of late, much of my time has been spent reading camera reviews on the internet, trying to find just the right model for me. Having better quality images will be a splendid improvement for this blog. :)   In September, my parents, best friend and I went out of town for a few days and hit several clothing shops and thrift stores. I scored a few great pieces, including the tiered maxi skirt that I'm wearing today. It was too long for my petite stature, so until this week I had only worn it to a medieval festival (see that outfit  here ). The resident seamstress (aka, Mom) shortened it for me this week, so now I can wear it! Though still long, it no longer drags along the ground as I walk. Yay! Sometimes it's a good idea to consider buying an item that doesn't fit ...

   Hello and happy weekend to you all! I hope that you have had a splendid first few days of 2014. My week has been spent in drawing, volunteering, studying God's word, watching movies and visiting with friends. :)    This evening, I am pleased to present my second hair tutorial! Tonight's updo is a simple bun with two twists of hair on each side of the head. Twisted hair is one of my favorite ways to add uncomplicated elegance to my hair. This style is tailor-made to my lengthy tresses, but there is no reason it shouldn't work with a shoulder-length cut. If your hair is any shorter, you may need to experiment with your own lovely variation. :)   1. I begin by twisting a section of hair from the top of my head on one side of my part. 2. When I've twisted enough of my hair, I pin the section in place in the center of my head 3 . I twist another section on the other side of my head, and pin it crisscr...