Caftans and Cats

Hello lovelies! I hope this has been a fantastic week for you all. This has been a pretty long week for me but I am preparing for a much needed three-day weekend that will be well spent in my pajamas, binge watching TCM, and cooking and eating as much as my stomach wants. It's funny during social isolation, I wanted nothing more than to be at work again and now that I am working again, I crave having days to myself. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side!

I've been into trashy Old Hollywood magazines lately. The magazine that I am holding is Modern Screen, an interesting magazine filled with film reviews, celebrity gossip, and interviews. I recently bought this October 1962 edition that features a pretty harsh article about Marilyn's death, a candid look at all of Elizabeth Taylor's marriages, and film reviews of movies like Phaedra (1962) that I've always wanted to watch. Reading vintage magazines will definitely be a part of my relaxation process this weekend!

This outfit of the day is pretty simple because it is essentially a long stretch of fabric draped here and there and has ties stitched on the inside to create the illusion that it is cinched a little. When in doubt a caftan is always my go to. Caftans are insanely comfortable and somehow fit any occasion. They feel casual enough to lounge around in the house in but dressy enough to go out to a fancy dinner in. When I wear this particular caftan, I feel as if I should be in Miami. There's an ease to caftans that is incomparable!

This caftan was purchased at Akron's The Bombshelter which I have mentioned so much on this blog in previous posts. I love the contrast of the black backdrop of the fabric with pops of large white flowers with hot pink centers and green leaves covering the dress. This caftan was clearly inspired by kimonos with the wide "belt" at the waist that ties on the inside to create beautiful draping down the center front. This dress has a beautiful label on the inside that says "Helena's" in cursive font. Underneath "Helena's" it reads "Made in Hawaii U.S.A." I have tried to place the label using one of my favorite vintage label sources called Vintage Fashion Guild as well as Vintage City Clothing in their Hawaiian Labels section but I have NOT been able to place this label. All that I can tell from my research is that Helena's was a men and womenswear brand based in Hawaii that seemed to create clothing during 1970s-80s.

(My cat Baby so rarely joins the photographing festivities but here she is ready for her photo opportunity! Even she is ready for a relaxing weekend curled up on the couch watching black and white flicks together.)

Hope you enjoyed this brief little blog post and I shall see you next Friday!