Vintage in a Modern World: Dancing Bears

Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas! I hope everyone who celebrates had a lovely few days. I've been crazy busy over the last few weeks, and haven't had time for much of anything. I was way behind on Christmas prep due to the colds I had earlier in the month, and on top of everything my best friend is (unexpectedly) moving to the other side of the country. Between spending extra time with her, planning and cooking Christmas dinner (I go all out), decorating the entire house, and shopping/making/wrapping gifts, I have thoroughly worn myself out. It will be lovely to spend the next week just relaxing and finally getting a chance to enjoy the season.

Before the holidays, another friend treated me to dinner and The Nutcracker in Toronto as part of my Christmas gift. The ballet was lovely and the restaurant was really good as well. It was a lovely day out, even if I was rather tired and almost fell asleep during dinner.

Of course I had to go in costume to the ballet. I would have loved to go as the Mouse King or Sugar Plum Fairy, but I couldn't find a suitable outfit in my closet. In the end, I decided to go as Marie (who is sometimes also called Clara. She was Marie in this production). I wore a vintage light mint-green nightgown and turquoise bow in my hair (plus matching waist-tie). I put on a pair of flats that look like ballet shoes for the photos, but I actually wore a pair of boots as they were more comfortable for walking around in. The dancing bears were much more graceful then I will ever be, but it sure felt fun to dress up as a ballerina for a day.

I had a bunch of compliments on my hair from random strangers. I originally had wanted to have my hair down in ringlets, but pinned it up for practicality. I may post a Youtube tutorial for this style as it is super easy to do, if I can get my webcam working again (it's having issues at the moment...). It's such a great holiday style as it lasts all night and looks ok if it gets a little messy.

I haven't had a chance to photograph many of my gifts and I was neglectful in taking photos of the gifts I made for everyone. However I did manage to snap a couple quick photos of my early Christmas gift to myself. Can you guess what it is?

Yup! I bought myself a corset from What Katie Did!!! It was a fairly expensive purchase, but since I wanted it mainly for back support, I figured I could justify it as a "health expense". I am basically using it as a pretty back-brace, and have no intention of tight lacing it, but I admit I love the shaping it gives. I bought the Lily corset, as it was supposed to be more comfortable for sitting in. I'm still "seasoning" it, but here is a snap of what it looks like on:

Isn't she pretty? I tend to wear her on-top of my blouses instead of under, as I am loving the Victorian/Steampunk look it gives. I was quite surprised how heavy it is compared to most "corsets" I've tried on before. You can definitely tell it's properly made, and not just a costume piece!

One other gift I did manage to snap a picture of was one of my homemade chocolates for my mother. I made her a bunch of different chocolates, but this one looks pretty neat. Actually my first attempt was better, but I made it too thin and it broke. Try two wasn't quite as good, but I think you can still tell what it's supposed to be:

It's a chocolate Buster Keaton! He is a little rough around the edges, but I thought it was pretty good for a first attempt (well, second attempt..) at a chocolate portrait. My mom loves Buster Keaton as much as I do, and she really appreciated the effort.

I haven't taken many photos of my decorating either (yes, I have been very neglectful with my camera), with the exception of my Christmas village. I've always wanted a Christmas village, but am waaaaayyyy too cheap to pay hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to create one. Those cute little buildings are so expensive! So instead, I found some vintage printables and made my own from paper. I added in some little trees and lights from the dollar store, plus some white feather boas for "snow". I love the final result!