Cornelia

Summer gloves is something I have always wanted to wear, but it wasn't until I received these gloves from Cornelia James last summer that I became obsessed. These are the India Tulle Gloves (Link here!) They actually added some new pastel colours and I have my eyes on them! I always see photos of women from the past looking glamorous in their summer gloves! but they haven't been popular in every day mainstream fashion since the early 60s.  In victorian times an upper class woman wouldn't be caught dead not wearing gloves out in public! and honestly... goals.

Anyway back to modern times! I was getting dressed and thought these sheer gloves would match my outfit perfectly, I pulled out the box out I realized THE BOX matched my outfit perfectly haha. I love it when things like that happen! I am wearing this vintage 90's does 40s brown dress with magenta and green flowers. You can't see in the photos (Actually its hard to photograph in general) but it has a beautiful peter pan collar and pleating along the chest!  I recently got this little vintage jacket at the vintage soul geek garage sale and and It so happens to pair perfectly with this dress. But thats not even the biggest coincidence! A couple of years ago I bought this vintage hat..... it was a random purchase and I never wore it because I didn't have clothes that matched it. Well, its fairly obvious I do now!  I'm glad this little hat finally got its moment! 

Naturally the shoes are the same green colour, trust me I'm just as shocked as you are that I have this many accessories in this very specific green shade. Now, you are probably wondering why I chose white gloves for this outfit? instead of pulling the beige tone on the dress. My reasoning behind it is because the gloves are sheer so they are less obvious when looking at the outfit from far away. It's a detail you notice when you get a little closer ;) it also breaks up the overly matching from the green accessories. 

Let me know what you think of this look in the comments below! 

Covergirl Exhibitionist stretch & Strengthen Mascara Review

Hello Lovelies! Today I'm bringing you a review for this new mascara I just tried!  I have never been one to buy high end mascara. Actually...there was a time when I was really into watching beauty gurus and felt like I had to buy high end/expensive mascaras. But the truth is I go through mascara so fast (I wear it every day) thats it's honestly not worth it for me. I would rather splurge on a high end lipstick because the formula and the shade makes such a huge difference for the type of look you are trying to create. So that is my #CareTip of the day (lol) 

 I've been using the same drugstore mascara for a couple of years now (Maybelline lash sensational) but I noticed that it started to dull out by the end of the day....which it didn't used to do before? Not sure if they changed the formula? or what happened.  I personally like my lashes to look really dark because it frames my eyes and I really like them to POP. So I decided to try something new!  I grabbed this Covergirl Exhibitionist Stretch and Strengthen mascara (Very black) which according to covergirl it stretches your lashes to new heights. It's infused with peptides, biotin, and pro vitamin B5. Also the packaging is really sleek! I love the black and gold! Thats the downside to buying drugstore mascara, the packaging tends to be colourful and bulky, luckily this one is similar in packaging to a high end mascara. 

I have naturally long curly eyelashes, I have never purchased an eyelash curler (Tbh they scare me lol). However my eyelashes aren't super thick so I always look for something that will make them more noticeable. This mascara has more traditional "natural" bristles (as in.... not the plastic/silicone ones) Which I liked! The mascara applied really easily and I had a bit of time to layer it before It started to dry, which is really important if you have long lashes. However I do think if you add tooo much it will start to clump (Which happens with all mascaras). It made my eyes look really awake! I paired it with some black eyeliner because there is nothing I hate more than when black eyeliner looks darker than the mascara (eek!) Thankfully this mascara was very dark and pigmented and looked just as dark by the end of the day! Overall I really loved the mascara and will continue to use it!  I had no issues removing it with cold cream at the end of the night! 

Night Out For my Birthday

I went out with some friends for dinner to celebrate my birthday! It's been a really long time since I've had a night out in the city with friends!  I had a couple of glasses of Prosecco while getting ready and then I met up with my friend Mikayla to take some photos walking around the city. I felt so pretty twirling around in this dress! Its from BCBG and I layered it over a black puff sleeve blouse I had in my closet!  I think it helps give it a more 1930s inspired look, but with a modern twist. The dress has a nude lining so it almost looks a sheer. I LOVE the effect it gives because it almost looks like lingerie. I added a little sparkly hair pin and grabbed a beaded handbag. For Dinner we went to Leña, a Latin American restaurant on Yonge and Queen.  I ordered empanadas and yuca fries, and for dessert we shared alfajores and churros. After dinner we walked around a bit and tried to take some night photos which was so fun! 

Flowers and a hat box

I recently found this dress at the thrift store, I have so many vintage pieces in my closet and I LOVE wearing them, but I have a hard time wearing them just to run errands or to hang out around the house. I always worry about damaging them for not reason. So I've been searching for some vintage inspired pieces that I can pair with my vintage accessories for more laid back days. This is one of those dresses that I think fits that concept perfectly!  I believe it's a 1980s does 1940s dress. I wasn't 100% convinced on the print at first but I made a poll on instagram asking if you guys thought it would work for a 1940s inspired look and most of you said yes! I'm still trying to convince myself on the print... but it till work for casual summer days!  I paired it with some vintage accessories, a hat and gloves. Let me know what you guys think of this look in the comments below! 

May 2022 - Film and TV

Another month has gone by so here are some of the movies I watched. To be honest I don't know what happened this month! It flew by! I normally watch at least 5 note worthy movies but this month I've barely looked at the TV! I have Three to share with you so I'll try to go more in depth with each one just to make the post a bit more interesting!  So without further ado lets get into it! 

THE GANG'S ALL HERE (1943)

6/10. The first movie I watched was The Gang's all here!  A musical extravaganza from 1943 featuring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker, James Ellison and an appearance by Benny Goodman and his orchestra. This movie was recommended to me based on the fashion and while its peak 1940s style its a little too much shoulder pad for me.  

The movie was a huge success at its release and made Alice Faye a star! It was also nominated for an academy award for best art direction. In 2014 the movie was recognized for its cultural and historically significance and is being preserved at the national film registry. I was excited going into the movie because of all its amazing reviews and fame but the movie itself didn't didn't have much of a plot. There is a love story of course, a soldier falls in love with a show girl from the club New Yorker and there is a party to raise war bonds at the house of the girl the soldier was suppose to marry. So a bit of a love triangle I suppose although I felt it was anti climactic. 

The biggest draw from the movie is the large musical numbers like "The Lady in the Tutti Fruity Hat" featuring Carmen Miranda and Dorita.  Most of the movie is musical numbers (Duh.. because its a musical) It is directed by Busby Berkeley, if you are not familiar with his work he is an American director and choreographer know for his elaborate dance numbers. His signature is creating large shapes with people in his choreography.  Similar to synchronized swimming, thats the first thing that comes to mind. He also plays around a lot of different elements that were innovative at the time, in this movie he has light up rings (They look like glow in the dark rings) and uses green screen to make it look like the actors faces are floating. 

I think my favourite dance number was the one in the photo above, I love the costumes and its just so unusual!  Even tho some critics criticized this number for its phallic symbolism. Overall it was was enjoyable, I think everyone should watch it at least once but I probably wont be watching it again. If you are interested you can actually watch the whole thing on Youtube here! 

THE MYSTERY OF MARILYN MONROE: THE UNHEARD TAPES (2022)

10/10. I LOVED this documentary! its new on Netflix and I was so excited to watch it when it was first announced, and it did not disappoint!  I knew a lot of the information discussed but, what I enjoyed the most was the amount of unseen footage they used (at least unseen by me) and also just footage of the streets of Hollywood and NYC in the 50s. It almost feels like they went out on the street and shot everything FOR the documentary, but its real footage. I loved it. 

I've always been interested in Marilyn Monroe, like I'm sure many of you are, I also share a birthday with her! She was such an interesting person and had more depth than was perceived by the public. Norma Jeane (Her birth name) had a rough start in life bouncing from foster home to foster home while her mom was in an asylum. It's crazy how far in life she was able to go with very limited opportunities and became Marilyn Monroe. 

She was viewed as the Sex symbol we remember her as but she was more than that. It's hard for some people to look past that image, which she strategically created. All she wanted from life was to be loved and feel like she belonged. In the documentary they show notes from her psychiatrist and interviews with his family members who interacted a lot with Marilyn (He treated her from his home) What I found interesting is the way they talked about her character, or presence I guess. She has a certain allure that even if you didn't know she was Marilyn (was wearing no makeup and a head scarf) men would still be attracted to her and women wanted to be her. There is something about her that pulls you in, the way she moves and carries herself. In the documentary it was described as "animal like" which I found really interesting. 

 

She also started her own film production company which was unheard of at the time for a woman!  I actually didn't know that! Sorry I'm posting so many photos for this documentary, there are just so many good photos of her lol maybe I should do a whole blog post dedicated to Marilyn. 

Of course half of the documentary deals with rumours about Marilyn Monroe and the Kennedy Brothers. We all know about JFK and Marilyn but it was actually rumoured that it was both brothers. And they make connections to the Kennedy Brothers and her death. Was is a suicide? Accidental overdose??? or was it more than that?? You'll have to watch the documentary to find out! 

DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA (2022)

8/10. Of course I went to see the new Downton Abbey movie opening day,  at the first showing available lol.  I rewatched the series with my mom during one of the the lockdowns, it was her first time watching it and she LOVED it! So we were both really exited to watch the new movie and were counting down the days. And of course it didn't disappoint in the costume and set department.

It started off with Toms wedding, which isn't a spoiler lol its literally in the trailer. I personally loved her dress, There is something about 1920s wedding dresses that I love!  However I wish they would've shown more of their relationship. Since you didn't see much of it in the previous movie I was hoping to see a bit more of their chemistry or how they interact as a couple. I love seeing why and how people fall in love, so it felt a bit rushed in that regard. However I understand it's a movie and they have to fit in all of the characters so they cant dedicate too much time to one person. The movie as a stand alone film doesn't hold up, it's made for the fans of the show and you have to be invested in the characters to enjoy the movie (I felt the same with the first movie). 

I loved their clothes, especially these tennis outfits. I want to see if I can recreate one of these looks. I always thought that Edith was the best dressed on the show and I will die on that hill. Everyone always points to Mary when it comes to being the fashionable one but in reality its Edith! She always looks fabulous and she really came into her own after she got the magazine and the flat in London. If I could find more photos online I would make a whole blog post of Ediths outfits just to prove this point lol. Either way if you love the show its a MUST SEE! To Me it felt a bit rushed and I wanted to see more from the characters... basically I wanted another season not a 2 hour movie lol. I guess if your only criticism is that your audience wants to see more then you are doing something right! 

And with that I'll finish this blog post and leave you with a photo of me at the movie theater before watching the new Downton Abbey movie!