Elizabeth Claire Taylor

Sartorial Saturday–A Cap-Sleeve Blouse for Warmer Weather

Today I’m very excited to share my first purchase from Miss Candyfloss’ newest collection, Chérie Bardot (named for and inspired by 50s/60s French icon Brigitte Bardot)! As soon as I saw the Acosta-Lee cap-sleeve blouse, I knew it was a perfect match for the Donna-Sable palazzo pants from last year’s spring/summer collection, and I wasn’t disappointed…they look like they were made for each other!

I accessorized with my Elizabeth Claire Taylor hoop earrings, an Erstwilder brooch, a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles (plus a beaded bracelet made by Ladybug that looks lovely with the blouse), and my favorite hat:

I love how light and breezy the blue and yellow tartan is…perfect for spring!

And I absolutely adore the stand-up collar and square neckline!

I also styled it untucked, which is a new way for me to wear a Miss Candyfloss blouse (even though they style their blouses that way frequently). I still think I like the more polished, tucked-in look better, but it’s nice to have options, and this is a fun, relaxed look!

I have a few more pieces from this collection I’m hoping to buy when they’re released…stay tuned!

Sartorial Saturday–A Floral Dress for Autumn

I love looking through the new Miss Candyfloss lookbook at the beginning of each season…multiple times. I highlight all of the pieces that catch my eye, and then go back through and whittle down my wishlist until I have something reasonable and attainable. But every once in a while, Miss Candyfloss will have a surprise release of an item that wasn’t in the look book that causes me to go back and cut my wishlist down further to make room for something else. The Hasia-Lee floral swing dress is one of those items:

I am absolutely in love with this gorgeous knit dress! It’s made from a cozy, warm fabric in an unexpected-for-autumn color palette of blue, purple, and green. Of course it has pockets, and also a skirt that TWIRLS!

I accessorized with my Elizabeth Claire Taylor silver hoop earrings, a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, a Meteor Jewelry Starlite necklace, and a pair of Erstwilder brooches, plus a navy hat and grey gloves:

Here’s a closer look at my brooch pairing…I guess they match too well, because they kind of disappear against the fabric!

I think the floral print is a bit unexpected for this time of year, too, and I really love that!

I especially like that the dress has 3/4 sleeves, so if I want to pair it with a cardigan in the winter, I won’t feel like I’m smothering.

It’s such a pretty print in such lovely colors!

I wonder if Miss Candyfloss will have another other surprises this season?

Sartorial Saturday–The Trumpet Skirt

Not only am I featuring my first purchase from the new Miss Candyfloss “Vintage GlamIcons” autumn/winter collection, it’s also the number one item from my wishlist…the Gillian-Kat trumpet skirt! This is a very different look for me, but as soon as I saw it in the lookbook, I knew I wanted to give it a try. For its first outing, I paired it with a beautiful purple ruffled Frenchie top from Unique Vintage…I love these colors together, and while I did order a blouse from Miss Candyfloss to wear with the skirt, it’s just not quite cool enough for long sleeves yet.

I love how saturated the lovely teal color is, and the material of the skirt is surprisingly soft with just the right amount of stretch.

I accessorized with a teal and purple stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, my Elizabeth Claire Taylor hoop earrings, and an Erstwilder brooch that is a little greener than I would have preferred, plus my favorite hat and matching gloves.

One of my favorite details about the skirt is the series of pleats in the back. Not only do they allow for full movement, they also look really cool!

I love the bold, bright colors of this outfit, and I’m really glad I took the chance on trying a very different style!

There are a few other blouses in the Miss Candyfloss lookbook that I think will look fantastic with this skirt…I hope I have the chance to add them to my wardrobe soon!

Sartorial Saturday–A Tartan Blouse

Time for a look at one last piece from the Miss Candyfloss “Viva Rita” collection! I don’t have a lot of tops, so I decided to add the Efrona-Lee tartan bishop-sleeve blouse to my wardrobe. It has the same button front and bustline that I love in so many of my Miss Candyfloss dresses and jumpsuits, and is beautiful in blue, white, and grey.

For my first wearing, I paired it with the Idalia-Lee skort, also from the “Viva Rita” collection. I’m looking forward to wearing it with the Donna-Sable palazzo pants, too!

I accessorized in blues and greys as well. I borrowed brooches from two of my daughters, both from the Erstwilder Paris Holiday collection. I also added a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, plus my Elizabeth Claire Taylor hoop earrings, light grey gloves, and my favorite tan hat.

This is a great blouse for the warmer months, and will transition well into fall, too!

Even thought it doesn’t have short sleeves, it’s still a pretty breezy top for summer!

I’m already looking forward to seeing what surprises the autumn/winter collection has in store!

Sartorial Saturday–The Perfect Birthday Dress

I have been waiting and waiting for my favorite dress from the Miss Candyfloss Viva Rita collection, the lovely checked Virtue-Violette, to be released, because I really wanted to wear it on my birthday. I was getting nervous, but as luck would have it, it was released this week, and somehow, even with international shipping, it arrived on Thursday, the day before my birthday, so I was able to wear it yesterday on our birthday trip to Ste. Genevieve, MO!

I love everything about this dress. It is my very favorite style of dress from Miss Candyfloss, with functional buttons all the way down the front, which makes it perfect for wearing unbuttoned from the waist with shorts underneath (I’m planning on wearing it that way very soon!). The colors in the checked pattern, which are blues and a gorgeous purple/pink, are my favorites. And between the lightweight fabric, the swing skirt, and the sleeveless bodice, it’s nice and cool for summer!

I accessorized with a stack of Splendette Duchess bangles, a Meteor Jewelry Company necklace, silver hoop earrings from Elizabeth Claire Taylor, and an Erstwilder brooch, plus a pair of blue hair flowers:

Here’s a closer look at my brooch. It’s not specifically a birthday cake, but as soon as I saw it earlier this year, I knew I wanted it to wear for birthdays, and it looks gorgeous with this dress!

I found a great vintage sign that made the perfect backdrop for my look, too!

This beautiful dress made me feel like a princess on my birthday!

I still have a few pieces to share from this collection, but this was my last purchase for the season, which is always a little bittersweet to me, because I hate when things are over…but it will be time to look forward to the autumn/winter collection before you know it!

Sartorial Saturday–I Love Gingham

If you know me, you know I’m a huge fan of I Love Lucy. I watch and enjoy a lot of classic TV, but I Love Lucy is my very favorite…I never get tired of it! You can imagine how excited I was, then, when I found out Unique Vintage was producing an I Love Lucy capsule collection in collaboration with ViacomCBS and Desilu!

There were a lot of fun options, but in the end, I chose the Ethel Swing Dress in black and white gingham…it’s such a classic look, and can be styled so many ways!

Did I mention that it’s designed after a dress Lucy actually wore on the show?

For this look, I decided to go with classic black and white accessories, in keeping with the theme. Midcentury starburst Duchess bangles from Splendette were an easy choice, as was a black and mirror sunburst brooch from Erstwilder. I also added my Elizabeth Claire Taylor hoops earrings (very similar to ones Lucy wore on the show!), a three-strand pearl necklace, and gloves, of course!

And just for fun, a picture in black and white:

I love this collection, and I certainly wouldn’t complain if Unique Vintage came out with a second one in the future!

Sartorial Saturday–Skeleton Band

I think it’s pretty clear that I’m not a Halloween person. Even so, I had a great time at Legends and Lanterns in St. Charles, MO, last year, wearing a Pinup Girl Clothing dress featuring art by Stephanie Buscema.

Well, Stephanie Buscema is one heck of an artist, because for the second year in a row, even though I don’t do Halloween, I have purchased a piece of clothing featuring her artwork from PUG’s Halloween collection. This year, it’s the adorably quickly skeleton band print, on a new-style-to-me skirt, the Bella:

Seriously, the artwork on this skirt is AMAZING! The musical skeletons are the cute kind of Halloween quirky (not scary at all, which really isn’t my thing), and the moon reminds me of the moon in one of my favorite video games…The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. And I love the color combination…the varying greys and pinks look so great together, and the striped PUG Jailbird top is the perfect addition to the outfit!

I went with pretty simple accessories to go with the outfit, including my pink Splendette Duchess Bangles and a matching necklace, plus hoop earrings designed by Elizabeth Claire Taylor.

I really like the Bella skirt…it feels almost as full as a Jenny, even though it’s not as gathered. And I love that once again, Pinup Girl has helped me step out of my comfort zone and try something new and unexpected that looks great on me!

Inspired by “I Love Lucy”

I’ve shared pictures of this skirt from Pinup Girl Clothing before, and even commented on how wearing it with an off-the-shoulder top made me feel like I belonged in the grape-stomping episode of I Love Lucy. But I changed the outfit up a bit, adding a peasant top and an amazing pair of Elizabeth Claire Taylor Legacy Work earrings (that look very similar to ones worn by Lucille Ball in many episodes of I Love Lucy), and now I really feel like Lucy Ricardo, especially when I look at black and white versions of the photos!

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Going all-in on the look is also no problem…just add a hair scarf, and kick off the shoes, and the look transfers from everyday outfit to costume party ready!

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I wonder what vintage TV show or movie will inspire me next!