What I Wore Sunday: Another Downton moment

Linking up with FLAP today.  Sadly, our car is iced in today, and we were thwarted in our attempt to visit our regular parish (an hour's drive away) and instead went to the Russian-speaking parish that is an easy walk from our house.  Just as well, I think, as I'm still feeling tired from the pneumonia. 

 I decided to have another go at a Downton Abbey-inspired outfit today, and while I'm not happy with my hair (I had to wash it and then style it wet, since I thought I'd have a headscarf on all morning for church and didn't want to waste time on a complicated hair do that would just get messed up with the scarf), I'm pretty happy with the overall effect.

A Sarah Coventry necklace I picked up at a flea market in Missouri while visiting my parents in the fall.  It has a very pretty opalescent stone in the middle.  The earrings are from Target, but have a lovely vintage look to them.  The stones are topaz colored, and the gold has a rose-tone to it.

My "ack-the-sun-is-in-my-eyes!" squint.   

After unsuccessfully trying for photos in my usual spot because of the sun, I went across the street to pose in front of the neighbors' as well as get a full-length shot with my new boots!  The blouse was a recent ebay find.  It is Karen Scott, which I think is a Sears brand, but what I loved about it was the double collar.  The pictures on the listing didn't do it justice--the blue is lovely and just the right shade for my skin (certain shades of blue are tough for me to wear), and it has a lovely mid-weight hand and some nice textured striping for interest.  The French cuffs are a little annoying, but period appropriate, I think!  Not bad for a $10 blouse.

Let me tell you about these boots, because they are da bomb.  I've been looking for a pair of tall lace-up brown leather boots for a while now, because I love how Solanah of Vintage Vixen styles hers, plus I have a growing list of outfit inspiration photos that include such a pair of boots.  I'm finding that shoes can make all the difference as to whether an outfit feels frumpy to me or not.  These boots really make this outfit for me.

  

Aren't they great?  My problem with finding the right pair was that I'm not willing to pay a lot of money for boots (I don't do three figures for shoes), and I wanted something with a low heel and if possible, a side zip, because I know that when I'm baby wearing, tying shoe laces is the last thing I want to do to get out the door.  Also, I have wide feet, so fit is sometimes tricky in these sorts of boots.  These are great because the laces are real, and allow me to adjust the tightness of the fit, but zip up the side, so once I've adjusted them, they are good to go.  They have a 1" heel, which is perfect, and fit my muscular calves just fine (another perennial problem with me and tall boots).  They aren't real leather (they were advertised as "vegan" which I don't care about), but that made them quite affordable.  My only complaint is that the sole doesn't have any tread on it, but there was some texture to it that keeps it from being horribly slippery.  I might try some kind of tread pad on the bottom to see if that helps (although I find that those stick on pads just fall off after two wears, so probably not worth it).

Details:

Blouse: Karen Scott, via ebay

Brown wool skirt: Pierre Cardin, via ThredUp

Brown elastic belt: Macy's (old)

Sarah Coventry necklace: Yellow Moon Antique Mall

Faux Topaz earrings: Target (old)

Boots: Follow the Cedar Boot via Modcloth

Hair slides (not pictured): Sally Beauty Supply