When I first laid eyes upon this dreamy creamy 60’s dress at The Vintage Studio HERE in Minneapolis several months ago, I was fascinated by the color, the drape and the shape, and most of all, the hood which fell as a cowl around my neck. It was love at first sight, and I knew it would accompany me home.
I wore this piece of history for the first time out to lunch with a dear friend for her birthday. Choosing the hat took some time as I wandered through the hat room in search of the perfect chapeau. As I perused the animal print area, my gaze fell upon this vintage felt cream Modern Miss chapeau trimmed with leopard print and a bow, which was discovered at Buffalo Exchange HERE. The 1930’s estate sale mirror has the ability to reflect my hat choices from several perspectives.
The mirror hangs above the estate sale chest of drawers that in the past held some of Nelson’s belongings. It was redone with silver leaf by my decorative painter/artist friend Sarah of Sarah Ashford Studio HERE, and now is home to my beloved glove collection. The original hardware remains intact and a pink chandelier displays itself on the ceiling. I chose the vintage estate sale leather gloves to repeat the ochre shade of brown in the leopard print of the hat.
A few days before my 70th birthday party, all the rooms upstairs, including the closets, had been painted and the floors redone. The bathroom looked out-of-place, though it had not been part of the redo plan. Sarah and her crew came to the rescue, and within a few days, the entire bathroom was repainted and transformed in time for the party.
The upper walls of the room had been relieved of the disintegrating 70’s wallpaper in the year 2000 (why rush into anything); the original plaster was washed over with color and embellished with gold and silver leaf. The only addition to the existing room was a chandelier that hangs from the ceiling. The cream dress was complemented by the multiple shades of color on the walls.
The hood of the dress provided endless possibilities for creativity and versatility. By unbuttoning the buttons cascading down its back, the fabric draped as a layer, providing another look for an outing in the future.
The estate sale vintage mirror in my bedroom revealed more experimentation, as I tossed the hood over my hat for a more dramatic expression. I am enthralled with the beauty of antique mirrors; the designs and details, the thoughts of the images that they have reflected over many years, the power that they have to allow a space to expand, and the way that they enhance the process of choosing my hat of the day.
The hood without hat allowed the estate sale leopard print shoes to emerge as the accent of focus. The estate sale gold bracelet and gold trimmed leopard earrings played together in unison.
Photos By Diana
The exploration of a vintage 60’s dress and its many possibilities came to an end for the day, as The SC caught a view of the veranda. The days are on the wane for the last bright blooms of the geraniums, as the falling leaves announced the arrival of autumn. The seasons of Colorado are as variable as the entertainment provided by a dress that caught my eye on a summer day in my home state of Minnesota.
The SC is heading over to Patti’s Visible Monday HERE at Not Dead Yet Style to enjoy the gathering of lovelies who never fail to make every other Monday a grand event.
What an amazingly versatile dress! The different ways to drape the hood/cowl/shawl neck gives such different looks, all of them wonderfully elegant. Your mirrors are a delight – the 1930s one in your hat room is stunning.
Your bathroom looks gorgeous. Well, all of the glimpses of your house show a beautiful, stylish and well-loved home.
And that final photo is rather wistful and mysterious, you look like a Denver version of the French Lieutenant’s woman, Judith! xxxx
What a post Judith. I was transported away for a few minutes. I needed that. That dress is so gorgeous, the hat is perfect, I love your writing and your rooms, every little touch adds so much. Such an enjoyable and satisfying post. xoxo
Beautiful…you and the house…I love the soothing colors in the rooms and the mirror is gorgeous. I am sure a visit with Judith is a pleasing, peaceful experience! You are a charming and stylish hostess!
What an interesting cowl/hood design! You wear it so well!
Well I just ADORE that hat! And the hood on that dress is perfection! xoxo
wow Judith–your home is as elegant, classic and gorgeous as you are!!!
The dress is just stunning–such a simple yet deceptively complex silhouette–and the bit of leopard just makes it extra fabulous!
I stopped in my tracks when I saw your adorable chandelier lamp on your chest of drawers and the elegant chandelier hanging in the fourth photo but nothing as beautiful as you, Judith, especially the last shot of you on your lovely veranda.
Ooooh, a glimpse into the hat room! It looks so feminine and the perfect room to select a chapeau. And your colour palette in your home is as refined as you. That and the sparkle here and there, such as on the edge of the drapery…perfect! You look lovely in this dress. Deceptively simple, yet refined and elegant.
That dress is really amazing! I love the look of the hood over the hat…you are a woman of mystery. You’ve created such beautiful and nurturing spaces in your home.
The glimpse of your home is delightful, and I’m thrilled to see the vintage-inspired decor, reminding me of Hollywood glamour. The dress is spectacular; I can see why you fell in love with it. The leopard accents add to it’s allure. I especially loved the shot where you drew the cowl up over the hat. I’ll often play with looks like that when I have the time to think outside the mundane.
I just cleaned up my balcony and put pansies in my large pots. They’ll generally survive the winter here. I checked your weather forecast because I was thinking of you!! Sounds like it will be fabulous, according to me. Opportunities abound for layering and accessorizing!!
Love you. XXOO
What a great dress, I love the hood and cream color. It looks so becoming on you and comfortable also. Hoods are mysterious in a magical way. I enjoy seeing how you have transformed your home to a glamorous lady’s paradise! Gosh Judith we do think alike. Dean and I have silver leaved furniture in our home also. Our dining room table and storage cabinet for our printer is silver leafed. Don’t you love this surface on furniture?
blue hue wonderland
Dear Judith,
You are an inspiration. I had no idea you had celebrated such a milestone birthday. Here’s to looking fabulous and loving life with the same enthusiasm as you when I reach that time of my life. Thanks and Bless
The dress looks very warm and cosy.
You are, as always, elegance itself. Thank you for letting us into your beautiful home. Your accessories room! Bestill my heart!
I love the versatility of this dress and I think you choose the perfect hat to accompany it! It’s always a pleasure to read how much joy you get from a great find.
That dress is so you with that elegant and versatile cowl neck, I love it worn as a hood. Your bathroom is an absolute delight but it’s that decked terrace that’s really catching my eye. I’d love to watch the sun set with a gin and tonic from there! x
Oh, my! This blog never fails to surprise & delight! I am excited to read you are home in Minneapolis: my brother lives there. I joined this blog during the Denver Food Trucks post. I didn’t know you were on a vacay there! How ingenious to convert that chest with gilt into a worthy home for a glove collection. I am definitely all about accessories. I would love to see gloves return to my choices of accessories but in Soith Florida, it’s hard to wear such things and not appear as if one is posturing. That dress when worn as a hood is, to quote another reader, mysterious and enchanting. SC, you pull it off with aplomb! While lurking, I’ve watched you put together such gr8 looks reflecting yr individual style, so distinctive and distinguishing. What I love about SC’s voice is her ability to utilize what might be “outrageous” for some of us with other basic pieces to add a bit of “Zing!” to her look. It gives me courage to try never-before-considered accoutrements into my rather safe wardrobe by assuring me at this age, we’ve earned the privilege to decide for ourselves how to play with fashion again as if we’re teenagers trying out new looks. There’s a lot of freedom accompanying that free-wheeling philosophy. It puts the joy back into getting dressed. Thank you, SC, great job! Yoi are an inspiring cheerleader to readers redefining themselves after 50. I damn near fainter when I read you were 70. More and more, I believe age is a number: you are proof of that hypothesis!
Warmest regards, PBChic
That’s a wonderfully stylish dress. Lucky you for finding it! I love the cowl used as a hood.
The creamy, drapey dress is very much you, and provides a perfect backdrop for your leopard accessories. I love the hood – you look gorgeous in so many types of headwear (I’m rather envious of this).
So nice to see your beautiful house – your hat room is truly one of the most beautiful rooms I’ve ever seen. You’ve taken such care with the details in your home, as you do in your outfits.
I just love the antique mirrors and have been hunting for one at estate sales myself. I also love how that dresser was finished in silver leaf.
Your whole outfit is simply gorgeous.
I am in awe over your hat collection.
bisous
Suzanne
What a show-stopper dress! Lovely…simply lovely 🙂
You feel me with joy, my dearest friend. Every single detail is soooooooooooo beautiful, and you shine throug.
love, love, love.
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You shine my dearest friend.
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What awesome photos. Love the look on you.
What a lovely lovely post. I can understand entirely why you could not pass up that dress! And the first mirror–be still my heart.
I found myself thinking as I read that you could so easily travel in Muslim countries in this dress.
You look so beautiful, Judith! I love the versatility of the dress’ cowl/hood, and how much care you take with the details of the outfit. Lovely!
My goodness, that’s versatile! It’s very interesting, atmospheric even, with the hood up. But then, when don’t you look a picture?
I do love cream coloured items. It is so soft and flattering, I’ve always found.
Thank you for the tour around your home. Loved seeing it.
Much love from England,
Rosemary from
http://www.foreveronthecatwalkoflife.blogspot.com
Just can’t sing enough praises to this dress … and hat and shoes etc, but that is an amazing dress!!!! Thoroughly modern clothing that so quickly reference timeless design elements, and so dramatically, is art all in itself. Quite beyond flattering design! I’m reminded immediately of the Greco-Roman device using draped fabric to define the human form. Especially the idealized female form … just like yours! Many of them were originally painted but the color was lost in time, leaving us the pure, pale stone. This dress tells that story. I’m also reminded that a dress has limited meaning without the spirit of the woman wearing it!
Beyond glam. So you!
I must tell you that your hat room is to die for! What a fantastic idea, and I love the way you have it decorated. You look positively ethereal in your creamy cowl dress. I’m very fond of the leopard hat but I favor the way that cowl frames your lovely face!
Alicia
You really know how to do the vintage thing. And a whole room devoted to vintage hats oh my! Love this hat very striking.
Ali of Dressing Ken
The whole outfit is dreamy and romantic but that cowl neck steals the show. And then to see that the cowl neck turns into a hood! Wow. Not only do you style exquisite outfits you photograph them in exquisite settings. It’s like you have your own one-woman fashion magazine, far more fascinating and delightful than say Vogue for example.
Sometimes it is a delight to look at white or creamy color. It gives rest to the eye and the person become even better. It’s so beautiful the way the dress, hat and your room fits so beautifully together. It’s beautiful things around you and it fit the person in the room and in the mirror.
What a fantastic dress! It makes me think of something a High Priestess would wear – in your case, a High Priestess of style!
I really like your hat. And the leopard trimming. Lovely gloves. Great rooms. I have some vintage (antique really) little things in my cupboard that I cannot throw out, but would gladly give to you. What a pity we are so far apart.
Anyway… the dress is lovely, but I think it would be even nicer if you shorten it. Just to the knee. What do you think?
Greetje
I LOVE this outfit Judith! That dress is amazing! You look wonderful, as always.
That dress looks amazing on you! Beautiful outfit 🙂