Breastfeeding in vintage (outfit #61)

  When I first started wearing vintage on a regular basis, I had a really hard time finding clothing that was practical for my lifestyle.  Most of the things I fell in love with, and purchased in the early days, were dresses.  This wouldn't have been an issue for most people, but I happened to have a new baby whom I was nursing.  I found myself wearing a darling new dress to meet up for a coffee date with my husband, and then immediately having to change my clothes when I got home to feed my daughter.  Short of pulling a dress over my head in public, this new lifestyle choice wasn't conducive with being the kind of mother I wanted to be.  I had to reevaluate what I was buying so that I could be stylish and practical.  I suppose every mother goes through some sort of style crisis after they have a baby.  Between your changing shape, your lack of time to get ready in the morning, and the need for your wardrobe to be practical, sometimes you can feel like you have to sacrifice a little of your identity to meet the challenges of motherhood. Personally, I've found that taking extra steps to look presentable and put together really increase my self-confidence.  I fight against the "mom uniform" of yoga pants and t-shirts, because frankly even though my life isn't all about me these days, I still want to look like the stylish girl I used to be before having children.  Here are some of the tricks I use to be able to breastfeed my baby in vintage clothing:
1. Housedresses- these can be a postpartum girls best friend!  These dresses are meant to be comfy and roomy, and generally have zippers that run down the front.  You can wear a nursing tank underneath if you are looking for a little more modesty.
1960s housedress: Etsy  
Bakelite googly eyed pony brooch: Etsy  
assorted Bakelite bangles: Ebay

2. Shirtwaist dresses:  Pretty much anything that buttons or zips in the front for easy access is key.  If you happen to like babywearing (if you've never tried, you should give it a go...it's amazing!) you can easily open the front of the dress and then use the sling to give yourself a little more privacy.

3. Separates: this is insanely obvious, but it took me awhile to gather enough individual pieces to piece together some cute different outfits.  Skirts coupled with blouses loose enough to pull up comfortably or that have some stretch, are my go-to nursing staples.

4. Wrap dresses and blouses: just loosen the tie on the side and you'll be nursing in no time!

5. Peasant, gypsy, or Seniorita type blouses are meant to be a little more billowy which is perfect, because you can use the extra fabric to cover up.

Happy nursing toddler and even happier mama.

XOX, Hannah

Sno-White (outfit #60)

  Life has been a bit crazy around here lately.  All my boys are back in school, but some of them didn't transition as easily as we hoped.  My little kindergartner had a really rough time the first two weeks.  Part of it may have been the fact that he is doing full day, but also his first year teacher wasn't a great fit.  We eventually switched him to a more experienced, more hands-on teacher.  In the beginning, we had to wrestle his uniform onto him in the morning, and then watch him cry and turn into a human barnacle at drop-off.  Since making the switch, he willingly gets dressed, sings and recites the alphabet on our ride to school, and even hugs his new teacher on the way into his room.  Such a relief!
  It's almost as though my new found freedom was too boring for me, because on Wednesday we adopted a dog!  Honestly, we had a rather scary incident with our house that left us wanting more security and peace of mind.  On multiple occasions, someone broke into our home at night and wandered around (into our children's bedrooms) doing god knows what.  Nothing of any real value was taken, but just the knowledge that absolutely anything could have happened...and we just slept through it, completely freaked me out.  We know who it was (a 14 year old with a history of some psychiatric issues), and I made a police report.  We will never again make the mistake of leaving windows unlocked (no matter how hot the weather).  Getting a dog seemed like a logical step in ensuring that we never sleep through anything like that again.
  This weekend we made a trip to visit my grandmother in Colorado Springs.  We knew that Old Colorado City had the perfect backdrop for one of my favorite dresses.  The 1950s Sno-White Linen and Uniform factory, which is such a cool, recognizable landmark.  I actually purchased this dress in March with my Etsy birthday gift card (thanks Damon and Laima).  I love the crazy atomic pattern coupled with bright purple.  I didn't have any shoes to match, so I took a pair of thrifted brown leather peep toes and painted them. My rhinestone flower clip-on earrings are thrifted and my violet clay ring was a gift from France.  My "belt" is actually a ribbon from a package I received in gratitude for speaking at the Library.

 

 

 

XOX, Hannah

 

 

 

A perfectly timed kiss (outfit #59)

As promised, here is the outfit that I wore to present Pueblo Modern: Inside and Out.  It's a fabulous 1940s dress in a gray floral, and red stripe pattern.  It actually has a matching bolero, but it was too hot to wear it.  The dress was an Etsy purchase, my shoes are Poetic License, and my red crinoline (not vintage) was from eBay.  The absolute best part of my outfit is my 1940s plastic novelty brooch.  It has two hearts that say, "kiss timer," and a working hour glass that you can flip!! It's my favorite piece of jewelry right now!  We stopped by Taffy's to grab some ice cream before heading to a park to snap these shots.  A guy walked by, who can best be described as Latino Elvis, and asked me if I just got done with a dance performance.  "Nope, this is just me," I replied.  He said, "Really? That's how you rock it? Sooo cool!" 
 It's always nice to get a positive response when you stick out like a sore thumb. ;)

XOX, Hannah

Making a splash (outfit #58)

It's been a crazy whirlwind week!  My husband and I gave our presentation at the library entitled, "Pueblo Modern: Inside and Out."  We had nearly 100 people show up!  I think it went really smoothly, especially considering I am pretty shy and public speaking makes me really nervous.  Strangely, I didn't feel nervous while presenting, it was just the anticipation of the event had me on a super adrenaline high for most of the day.  The local newspaper ran a two page spread about the event and my little blog.  I had a lot of people email me with lovely, supportive messages, wishing to share their stories growing up here and also some of their personal photos of the era.  I realized just how small my city is (100.000 people), because I have been recognized from the article about 5 times in public.  We may present this information again in the future, and maybe even do a part 2, since we stopped at 1959. 
 You may remember this location from an early outfit post I did here.  It's called The Aberdeen, and is probably the coolest apartment building in Pueblo, maybe even Southern Colorado. It was built in 1961 and has this amazing mid-century Miami vibe.  We got permission from the owners to do an early morning shoot there (thanks Megan & Jim!!)  It rained hard the night before and it was still overcast and misty so I expected the water to be freezing.  Nope! It was the perfect temperature.
I'm wearing a 1940s or early1950s deadstock bathing suit that I bought on ebay last year.

Stay tuned for the outfit post of the dress I wore to present...

XOX, Hannah

Here is the Chieftain spread if you didn't get a chance to see it:

P.S. don't ask me what I am doing in that last picture? It looks like I'm squishing a bug. ;)

Blitzkrieg Bop (outfit #57)

I'm standing in front of, what is rumored to be, one of two Blitz Hangars left over from WWII.  We were trying to take some pics at Hi Podner Park, which is located outside of the Pueblo Chemical Depot.  They have an assortment of missiles, rockets, cannons, and bombs (no explosive charges, obviously), but the park was closed for clean-up so we had to make other plans.  The Chemical Depot was one of three of the largest employers in Pueblo in the 1950s.  We aren't alllowed on the Depot grounds without a military ID, but I've seen some great mid-century pictures when it was in its heyday.  Perhaps, I'll get around to scanning some of them one of these days.
Outift details:  1940s feedsack print tie blouse (Etsy), deadstock 1950s high-waisted sailor shorts (Ebay), assorted Bakelite spacers (Ebay), vintage bird brooch (estate sale), white cork wedges BORN (thrifted)

On a side note: my husband and I are giving a presentation on Thursday, at the Rawlins  main Library at 7pm.  We will be speaking about mid-century architecture, home interiors, and fashion, specifically how things evolved from the 40s to 50s.  Also, I've been asked to co-curate a mid-century exhibition at the Kadoya Gallery in November.  I'll be sure to share details as the date approaches, but it's going to be epic. ;)

Happy Sunday!

XOX, Hannah

Lion's pride (outfit #56)

I've had one of those rare, perfect weekends.  My husband took the day off on Friday and we took some of the kids up to the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, CO.  We spent the early afternoon looking at bugs, petting starfish, and running through a huge rain forest habitat with zillions of butterflies fluttering about and sometimes landing in our hair.  We tempted fate at lunchtime, by avoiding a restaurant with kid's menus.  Instead, we stopped by one of our favorite Nepalese restaurants, Yak and Yeti, to hit the buffet.  Even our finickiest kids gobbled up their food, and a woman nearby remarked that my children "were awesome and so well behaved!"  I was pretty sure she had jinxed us, so we paid the bill and headed off to History Colorado to explore their kid's exhibit about a small Colorado settlement from 1929.  The kiddos milked animatronic cows, gathered wooden eggs to sell to the shopkeeper, and drove a model- T.  Afterwards we grabbed some icy drinks and headed down to Broadway to explore some great vintage shops.  It was really fun to see what Denver has to offer, but it made me really appreciate my little town with all its super affordable little antique and vintage shops.  I am way too cheap....err frugal... to get on board spending that kind of money on what I consider really average pieces.  On Saturday, I grabbed some Middle Eastern food with some friends and then had a really loud, boisterous, and spectacularly fun game night at my house.  Sunday was spent grabbing coffee, snapping these photos, driving to my mom's house for a little bit of nature, and then meeting up with a friend to go antiquing in Florence, CO. 
How was your weekend?
Outfit details: 1950's lion novelty print cropped top and 50s blue linen "sailor" style skirt, both from ebay
My sheer hair scarf was thrifted, and my lucite and rhinestone bangle was from a local antique store.

Happy Sunday! XOX, Hannah

Angel kisses (outfit #55)

This is a dress that I bought on Etsy, with a birthday gift card from my very generous brother and sister-in-law.  It's a Teena Paige dress and it has the sweetest little novelty print of angel faces with blue halos.  I'm wearing it with a bow belt to match the two velvet bows on the bodice.  My Bakelite bird earrings and perfectly matched hat are from an estate sale.  I thought it fitting that my own little angel appear in one of the pictures, since she has taken a recent interest in modeling my dresses with me. 
  The "modern-style" building behind me is the former Maytag Aircraft building, built in 1957.
It is located near downtown Colorado Springs, and you can view more photos of this building here. 

XOX, Hannah