Vintage Look- 1940's Seafoam Green Shirtdress

My first pieces of vintage clothing were sheer serendipity. They were in odd places, at odd times, and I was just surprised and excited to find them. But then I began wearing vintage in earnest, with the desire to wear it, or vintage inspired, every day.

When I began to purposefully search it out, 1940's cotton shirt-dresses were my first love. I adore how they are that era's idea of "casual", yet they are so pretty and polished looking. They are also made of extremely thin cotton, to be the point of being sheer. This makes them very cool, but slips are necessary with these dresses. That is also fun, because I have slips in all sorts of beautiful shades. *It was very windy the day I decided to take these pictures. You have no idea how many pictures end up having my eyes closed ;) Below is when I ended up back on the porch out of the gusty winds.

And have you noticed that I have broken one of my own rules? This dress shows my knobby knees! But with something as sweet and summery-looking as this, I think some rule-bending is inevitable. In fact, I have had someone try to buy this dress while I was wearing it! One year at Junk Ranch, I was helping moma set up and a lady in a big truck came tearing by. She slammed on her brakes, reversed, rolled down her window, and asked, "How much for your dress?" I was a bit taken aback, but not so much that I couldn't tell her that it was not for sale. She tore off in a cloud of dust without an another word. I don't blame her, it's pretty darling!

 The picture above is terrible, but I was trying to show a more close-up of the actual fabric and many little asymmetrical buttons. Below is a much better one, and shows the true color perfectly. A minty seafoam with a nubby white thread that runs through in an almost plaid pattern. And with it is the pale green slip that was my Great Aunt Jessie's. Isn't it beautiful?

In beginning my vintage wardrobe I believe I collected five 1940's shirt dresses. They are such great summer staples. I will have fun showing the others to you as the weather warms!