Sunday Best

Of all the beautiful clothes I brought back with me from Europe, I'd consider this little navy blue jacket to be the crowning glory of all my treasures. I found it at a vintage store in Monmartre, for just 30 euros. It's probably from the early 60's and is in pristine condition, not to mention the fact that it looks like it was made to fit me. I adore the off-white piping that gives it an almost architectural structure; I love how the neat little buttons are grouped in pairs; and I'm thrilled that the back has almost as much interesting detail as the front (this is one of my shopping quirks -- when buying a jacket, I'm excessively concerned with how the back looks, and will frequently reject items that are uninteresting when viewed from behind).

I was tempted to wear this jacket last week, but since it was sort of a weird week during which I didn't have much time for wardrobe planning, I figured I'd wait until I could give it the full attention it deserved. Am I glad I did! Over the weekend Mark and I were poking around in a vintage shop in the Haight, where I came across this little veiled hat that exactly matches the jacket. Also in pristine condition, the hat fits me very comfortably, which is rare for vintage hats -- they are almost always too small (did people have smaller heads back then, or is mine unusually large, I wonder?). Since the veil came all the way down over my face, I used a small sapphire and pearl brooch to pull it a bit to one side. Between the veiled hat and all the white, I felt as prim and proper as if I was heading off to a Sunday church service in Savannah. I kept thinking all day that what I really needed to cap this outfit off was a demure, lacy pair of ivory gloves.

Hat, jacket: vintage
Skirt: unknown
Brooch: from my grandma
Boots: MIA