This past Saturday we went with our friends to the Bristol Renaissance Faire, which has become somewhat of a tradition for us. It's just across the border from Illinois in Wisconsin. The weather, while sunny in the morning, wasn't going to stay ideal for long. But we were been running out of weekends to go, so it was a "now or never" kind of thing. I didn't take very many photos due to rain later in the day, and I am so sorry I missed getting a picture of us all in our very fetching $2 plastic ponchos!
It was the perfect day to wear my medieval novelty-print vintage rayon blouse! I adore this blouse, but it had a sad little disaster the moment I put it on the first time. Age and stress ripped a more than 2 inch long hole in one shoulder! I mended it the best I could, but I could tell the fabric in that location was doomed to rip more. In fact by the time we arrived at the faire, I had another hole right next to my mend. Fortunately with the busy print and wearing my hair down it wasn't that visible. I'm not sure what I can do to mend the shoulder in a more permanent fashion. The blouse is fairly long so I could theoretically re-hem it and cut a portion of fabric to make a patch, but I think that would look really obvious on the top of my shoulder. So I don't know what I'll do. Worst case scenario, I am not above wearing it with a cardigan so you'll never see the problem area. :)
It was so humid that day that my curls completely fell before it ever rained! This was the first day I wore my hair down in months and now I remember why. I'm getting a cut on Saturday and have been going back and forth about either just a minor trim or chopping off a few inches... after seeing this photo, I'm leaning towards a chop! My hair is so finicky that at this length when it's hot and humid out, my sets don't last very well and it just falls flat (literally).
I'm wondering how I'd feel if I had it cut it to a length that sat above my shoulders when set. I guess I still have a few days to decide! I'm a bit nervous about the idea. I love that length on others who sport vintage 'dos, but of course you never really know if something will work for you until you try it. My hair fear is getting a cut and then being unable to style it successfully with my trusty sponge rollers or perm rods. Eek!
Anyway, isn't the print on the blouse amazing?
A mandarin collar, shields, turrets, swords and knights on horseback!
You can see why I'm reluctant to call this blouse a lost cause! Fortunately it's only one shoulder that seems to have issues, so I hope there's more life in this one yet.
Here's to great vintage novelty prints!
