Unique Vintage

Sartorial Saturday–Transformation Transformed

I’ve worn this beautiful and vibrant skirt (with artwork of the Evil Queen’s transformation from beautiful & regal ruler to old hag), designed by Stephanie Buscema twice in the last week.

Except if you’ve been following me for a while, you might recognize this print from a dress I’ve had in my wardrobe for almost a decade.

While I love everything about the skirt (especially the bold color palette, not to mention its fantastic volume!), I have always hated the bodice of the dress. So this year, I decided that since I’m an adult, I’m allowed to transform a dress I dislike into a skirt I love.

Yes, I hacked off the bodice of the dress. And since I decided to do it kind of last minute ahead of Halloween, I just added some velcro where the zipper was. I may take it to a tailor and have an actual zipper put in eventually, but for now, this works just fine!

I accessorized with a RockLove Jewelry Nightmare Before Christmas necklace, an Erstwilder Love Potion brooch, and a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, all in shades of purple, and I wore my Colourpop Cosmetics Evil Queen lipstick and lipgloss, too.

I paired my “new” skirt with my favorite purple Frenchie top from Unique Vintage:

I absolutely love how this whole look came together!

I’m glad I took a chance on changing something in my wardrobe from something I didn’t love into something I really do!

Sartorial Saturday–Trumpeting in Pink

Today I’m taking a look at my second trumpet skirt from Miss Candyfloss…the lovely Lucile-Paz in a vibrant mulberry pink!

I loved the Gillian-Kat trumpet skirt so much that I knew I wanted to add another to my wardrobe. When I saw this beautiful color, I knew that it (and the matching vest) was exactly what I was looking for.

I accessorized with my favorite hat, an Erstwilder brooch, and a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles.

I also added black lace gloves and a statement ring to complete the look:

Just like I did with the Gillian-Kat skirt, for my first wearing of the Lucile-Paz I paired it with a ruffled Frenchie top from Unique Vintage, this time in a dark grey:

I know I’m usually all about the swing skirts, but I really love the way a trumpet skirt looks and moves, and I think it’s a great style for me!

Stay tuned to see the matching vest!

Sartorial Saturday–Back-to-School Style

Today I’m taking a look at a very different style of outfit for me…a 1960s-inspired sweater and pleated skirt set with a pickleball theme!

When I saw this Smak Parlour outfit on Unique Vintage’s website last spring, I fell in love with it even though it’s not my usual style. The color palette (which I’m guessing was intentionally or unintentionally inspired by Wicked), is really pretty, and I loved the pickleball details…while we don’t play pickleball in school, we do play tennis fairly frequently, so the racquet sport style really appealed to me.

Look how cute the bouncing pickleball embroidery around the hem is!

I kept my accessories simple, with a stack of Homes bracelets and a RockLove Jewelry necklace…no need for a brooch thanks to the paddle embroidery on the sweater!

The real reason I fell in love with this outfit, though, was because there was a coordinating (but not matching) outfit featuring a button down dress and shorts that Chickadee fell in love with, making it the perfect ensemble for both of us for the first day of school!

This is a fun and unexpected addition to my wardrobe, and I’m already planning on how I can wear the pieces independent of each other!

2024 in Outfits

Time for a look back at 2024’s outfits of the day!

I was very intentional about putting together outfits this whole year. I wanted to really wear my wardrobe, so I put together looks for trips to the library and Target and anywhere else I went (except Walmart, because Walmart doesn’t deserve my best except at Christmas when I try to spread a little holiday cheer wherever I go). I think there are over 250 unique looks here, so obviously I didn’t wear something notable every day, but it was the vast majority!

I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep a record like this again in 2025, but it really helps me pay attention to what I’ve worn (and what I’ve neglected), and how I’ve styled things differently, which I really enjoy!

Sartorial Saturday–Ski Season

It’s been quite a while since I added a Christmas print to my wardrobe, but when I saw this adorable “Ski Snow Season” dress at Unique Vintage, I thought maybe it was time to add another. And when they sent me a coupon for half off, I knew it was meant to be!

It’s a beautiful shirt-style dress with a fantastically full skirt, perfect for twirling!

I accessorized with three Erstwilder brooches, two of them mine, one Chickadee’s, and one worn as a necklace using the brooch converter. I also added a stack of Splendette Duchess bangles and light grey gloves.

The dress has vintage wooden buttons down the front, which is a great detail:

It’s such a lovely shade of blue!

Between the color and the print, the dress doesn’t exclusively scream “Christmas,” so I think I’ll be able to wear it throughout the winter.

I paired it with a pink Yemak cropped cardigan, but there are so many pretty colors in the dress’s print, I’m looking forward to pairing it with other shades, too!

The dress is very easy to wear…it’s already had two outings!

Only 10 days until Christmas Eve!

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–Inspired by the Olympics

I love a themed outfit. Coming up with an outfit that goes with the Olympics, however, is a bit of a challenge. Until I realized that Hello Kitty is the perfect sartorial representation of Tokyo 2020!

The Hello Kitty collection from Unique Vintage isn’t really new anymore, and I missed out on the first run of this Golightly dress, my favorite style from Unique Vintage. When they replenished their stock, I was determined not to miss out on it again, especially once I realized that it did fit the Tokyo 2020 theme!

I accessorized with a Splendette stack of duchess bangles, a Meteor Jewelry necklace, a blue hair flower from Pinup Girl Clothing, and a Hello Kitty brooch from Erstwilder, of course!

Even though the dress is primarily pink, I also went with a Team USA theme of red, white and blue in the outfit:

I love finding creative ways to make my outfits fit a theme!

Sartorial Saturday–Ruffles and Cherries

While the Golightly is my favorite dress style from Unique Vintage, the ruffled Lola has quickly moved into second place. I think this blue chambray and cherry print version is especially fun!

Accessorizing is so easy, with lots of red and blue….my Erstwilder Hello Kitty brooch is a perfect match! I especially love that it has two parts!

This look just screams “summer picnic” to me!

If you’re wondering where the ruffles come in, they’re on the sleeves. Just the right amount of cute without being twee.

I hope they make this dress in more colors in the future!

Sartorial Saturday–Gingham and Flowers

I love sundress season! The Golightly is my favorite style sundress from Unique Vintage (it’s the twirliest dress I own!)…I have it in three different colors, including this beautiful blue gingham accented with pink flowers. The color combination is gorgeous, don’t you think?!? I especially love it with this pink Yemak cropped cardigan:

I accessorized with a pink fascinator, a Splendette stack of duchess bangles (including some of this season’s new duotones), an emu brooch from Erstwilder, and some lace gloves from Unique Vintage (which unfortunately got a hole the first time I wore them):

I think this is a great look for spring and summer!

I love this time of year, when you can throw a cardigan on over a sundress and have a complete look without any effort!

Sartorial Saturday–Inspired by Jackie O.

When I think of American fashion icons, Jackie O. immediately comes to mind. And when I think of Jackie O. the first thing I think of is her signature pillbox hats. This is a look I’ve wanted to try for a long time, but was concerned wouldn’t work for me…a lot of hats don’t really fit my somewhat large head. But when I saw this beautiful lace-covered hat on clearance on Unique Vintage’s website, I figured I didn’t really have anything to lose since the price was right.

As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about, at leas with this particular hat. It fits just fine, and the attached elastic helps it stay in place (although when I wore it last Sunday, I was a little worried that the elastic wouldn’t stand up to the strong wind gusts we were having, so I made sure to keep a hand on it when I was outside).

I love this hat at much as I expected I would, and it makes me want to find more versions of this classic style to add to my wardrobe!