A whale of a skirt

I know I've shown this blouse on the blog a few times now, but it has ended up being a workhorse of a blouse this summer.  I was very disappointed when the skirt I made to go with it didn't fit well, and thought I wouldn't get much wear out of this blouse as a result.  

As it turns out, navy has turned into the neutral corner of my wardrobe, and the feedsack fabric goes great with navy!  I've also worn it with my chambray shorts, and with a navy eshakti skirt I bought earlier this summer.  I pretty much wear the blouse whenever it is clean, so about once a week or so.  

I sometimes get nervous about it, because it is a vintage feedsack, and the fabric had some minor damage including some rust spots and a few minor holes from fabric wear.  I don't like babywearing in it because I feel like the rubbing of the straps from the ERGO is hard on any fabric, and particularly difficult on older fabric.

If you look carefully next to the button band, you can see the fabric piecing.

(I had to do some fabric piecing on the front button edge to cover some small holes, but I had enough to pattern match so it isn't noticeable at all).  Considering it is over 60 years old, however, that's not too shabby!  

But the skirt.  I've been on the hunt for a navy wrap skirt for a while.  I had a polka dot navy one when I first started wearing a vintage style, but it wasn't well made, had a very narrow overlap in the back, and the fabric hung strangely on me (plus it was too long).  I ended up giving it away after a season of wear.  Lately, though, I've been wanting another wrap, because I like the way they fit and the fact that I can adjust it according to how badly my insides are feeling on a given day.  I've gained some weight this summer, and it has been nice to have at least one thing in my closet that still fits reasonably well.

When I found this skirt on ebay in early July, and the price was very nice ($20!), I snapped it up quick.  Plus, whales.  It was handmade in the 1960s and the seller is in Lancaster, PA, which is about an hour from here, so probably the original maker lived in the area too!  The whales are hand painted on, and I really love the pop of kelly green along the bottom edge.  I found a kelly green t-shirt on ThredUp that perfectly matches the whales; I wore this skirt a lot on our vacation in July.

I made my earrings from In-Color Dahlias from Stampin' Up!  They retired this year (but are still available on the clearance rack!) and I had several left over and made some jewelry out of them.  Some of it was for my sister's birthday and some was for me, but I ended up liking only the earrings in the end.  It was a good creative process anyway.  I feel like I'm in the middle of the same learning curve with my jewelry that I went through with my clothing earlier this year, and am slowly figuring out what I like and don't like, what I wear all the time, and what things I should avoid.

And of course, the Salt Water sandals!  I realize that they visually shorten my legs, but I really like the casual vibe and have been wearing them a lot.

Outfit details:

Feedsack Blouse: Me made from Simplicity 1590 hack; fabric and vintage buttons from etsy

Whale wrap skirt: ebay

Wardy Squirrel brooch in grape: Acorn and Will

Gumball Green Dahlia earrings: me made

Salt Water Sandals: Shoes III (birthday present)

Sunglasses: ebay