Maternity Style: Victory Rolls and a Vintage Clutch

So I’ll be super honest here: I have not been feeling inspired to get dressed these days. Retro maternity style is hard to figure out, especially considering true vintage maternity style in my preferred era was… wearing a tent. And I don’t really want to wear a tent.

But then a few days ago, a friend who knows I love vintage gave me an entire lot of 60’s-80’s vintage her mom was giving away, including jewelry and purses and wigs (hey hey!) and as I mourned the fact that none of the vintage clothing would fit me, I wondered… why am I not dressing like the vintage woman I want to be? I’ve gotten stuck in the rut of putting a modern spin on my retro wear just to feel more comfortable in public, but really I want to just go full-on vintage/retro. I’m so inspired by Ashley and her gorgeous wardrobe, Skye and her all-out vintage wears, and most recently (thanks to Skye) Nora Finds. There’s no reason I can’t imitate those looks while pregnant.

It’s a bit harder, sure, but with the right makeup and hair, nearly anything can pass for a vintage look.

So, ignoring the fact that I am pregnant as heck (UNDER A MONTH TO GO WHAT?), it’s hot out, and about five minutes after I started taking pictures a crew of road workers parked themselves and their stop sign right down our driveway, in clear sight of me and my photography shenanigans, I decided to put together as retro an outfit as I could and just go for it.

I actually started out thinking this would be a very retro-nerdy look (glasses), but ended up loving the entire vibe. It’s definitely not as glam as Ashley or Nora, nor as quirky as Skye, but it’s a step, and it feels very “me.” With a victory roll and bright lips. I think part of my block as far as style went was that I had not been allowing myself to imagine a character as I got dressed. Personally, if I don’t feel like there’s a fictional character behind the outfit, or a blatant era evoked, or an overall vibe given off, I’m not invested and it doesn’t feel right. So, while I am 100% wearing this and would wear this anywhere, the victory roll and red lips and vintage clutch gave it that character I wanted it to have to really feel like a style. Instead of a simple collar and flowery skirt, it’s elevated to librarian of the 40’s, or schoolteacher, or wartime era wife waiting for her husband to return home. With a very pregnant belly. That’s what I want my style to do — evoke stories. Not just my own, but many. Perhaps that’s part of the writer in me talking.

But let’s switch gears and just talk about this clutch for a second.

It was in the lot of vintage given to me, and can I just say… swoon? Between this clutch and the many pairs of vintage clip on earrings she gave me, I’m in heaven! Thank goodness jewelry and purses always fit, right? I can’t wait to list the clothing on Etsy, though; you will die over how gorgeous all of it is, and she was kind enough to say if it didn’t fit, I could sell it. So keep your eye on my shop, because really fantastic vintage is coming! (A 1970’s goddess gown! A gorgeous wedding dress! The most 1970’s bellbottoms you will ever see! Psychadelic skirts!) So on this Wednesday, which has maintained my opinion that Wednesdays and not Mondays are the worst day of the week, I am consoling myself to the fact that I will never fit into a vintage size 2 dress with the fact that I now have a considerably large collection of vintage jewelry to add to my outfits.

I am also consoling myself with an Otter Pop. Because pretty much any day can be made better with an Otter Pop. (Or freezer pop, or whatever you call them…)

Shirt, c/o Oasap | skirt, thrifted | earrings and clutch, vintage/gift | shoes, Modcloth

What do you want to evoke when you get dressed? A style? A story? Yourself? Something else? Do you aim to get reactions when you wear whatever you wear, or do you just dress the way you dress because you love it?

I hope you are all having a good Wednesday! I’m off to control some toddler chaos.

😉