Autumn Outfit + Ballet!

Hey everyone!  I'm a little behind on this week's post--with the weather lately, early mornings have gotten a little harder.  I'm definitely ready to fall back this weekend, though mornings will start getting dark soon, regardless.

In any case, I wanted to take advantage of the fall weather with a fall-themed outfit, and I had the perfect occasion this past weekend--tickets to Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty.  It's subtitled, "A Gothic Romance," and with vampire fairies and a tattooed rival suitor, Bourne didn't take his inspiration lightly.  It was beautiful, if odd, and I was happy to see both the ballet and the Q&A afterwards with the director.  I've moderated my fair share of talkbacks, and I've never in my life seen an artist just walk on stage, take a seat, and start taking questions, sans moderator.  It was refreshingly unpretentious.

So, since I knew the ballet is an occasion for dressing up, I was really happy for the chance to wear my new dress!  I got this dress at, if not a steal, then close to a steal, because when I bought it, it had a number of pink blotches across the neck, and some on the belt.  I had a Shout wipe with me, so as I browsed, I furiously rubbed it in to see if the stain might lift.  It brightened a little, so I decided to go ahead and take a chance, and after a few OxiClean baths, I think I'm pretty close to winning the day.  If I'd thought ahead, I'd've taken a couple photos for a Before and After, but I was so anxious to see if I'd made a bad investment, I threw it into the tub as soon as I got home.

See?  Only a little pink, on the bottom right of the photo, and a little out of sight on the top right.

So, now that it's wearable, I was able to create an outfit that mirrored the changing leaves, or what I hope will soon be the changing leaves.  Global warming, am I right?

I paired the dress with one of my favorite hats and elbow-length gloves, and with what you'll all soon realize is my ever-present purse and, for the moment, ever-present trench coat.  I really love the golden colors in the leaves, and look, it even matches my orange petticoat!  Nothing matches my orange petticoat!

I will say, this shoot's taught me I really need to work on different poses, and hopefully eek out a little more time with my sister photographer to get lighting and angles right-- I'm a little embarrassed at how similar all of my photos have been!  Front shot, head shot, detail shot, done.  Whoops.

But hey, it's a hat worth getting a close-up of, right?

A little more detail on the hat itself...

I also love these shoes, which are 1940s pumps I've had resoled at my cobbler's.  The construction is a lot different than modern shoes-- I'm forced to put more weight on the ball of my foot, rather than the heel.  I wonder if that's common with vintage shoes, or whether it's an idiosyncrasy of this particular pair?

Dress: Avenue Antiques, Baltimore

Hat: Antique fair in Livingston, TX

Gloves: Antique fair in Fayetteville, PA

Crinoline: Vintage store in Baltimore (I forget!)

Shoes: Etsy seller To Be Determined

Purse: Michael Kors

Trenchcoat: Banana Republic