Won't you come visit us soon?
mypiggywiggy Petite Boutique inside Urbanite
30 Stycznia 16A/2
Poland, (+48)355712125, OR 97214
Hours: Open Everyday 9 AM to 6 PM (closed on Wednesdays)
What a joy and privilege it is to have a garden where one can tend to things that grow and also have a place of respite and solace from the hurried cares of the world. Perhaps your garden is a small plot of Earth, perhaps your garden is contained in repurposed containers on your porch or patio, wherever you may cultivate new life and growth, we deem a garden.
"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow." - Audrey Hepburn
All apparel is from our shop and are linked below
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Look No. 1: Romance of Petals Dress Look No. 2: Emmylou Dress Look No. 3: Melody of the Passerine Dress Look No. 4: Bennet Dress |
Look No. 5: Mayefield Gingham Top, Loiret Skirt Look No. 6: Top, Trusted Blooms Skirt Look No. 7: Antonia Top, Aveyron Skirt Hats and baskets are vintage and from Rodellee's personal collection |
With a love for folk country music and a simpler way of living, the Emmylou dress was inspired by silhouettes from the 1970s and a desire to have a dress I could garden in and then nip off for coffee or brunch with just a quick change of shoes. Since the first two dresses I designed for Atelette were lighter in hue, I wanted a darker color for the next release and one that was a bit easier to wear. Not that the Aveyron or Bennet are difficult to wear, but the Emmylou is designed to simply slip on overhead and go! Like all Atelette dresses, the Emmylou features hidden side pockets and the skirt is fully lined.
It took a bit of time to get this one produced as I really wanted the lining to match the self color of the dress (a muted thistle grey). The Emmylou is nursing friendly and with an elasticated bodice and waist, is bump friendly for your first trimester.
I wanted the Emmylou to be comfortable, effortless, and lovely in a color and print that is timeless and you could wear all year around. I really do hope you adore her, she's probably my favorite dress silhouette out of all my designs so far (well, there's only been three, so I suppose that's not saying much, hehe!)
The 1930s feedsack inspired floral print of the Aveyron dress I loved so much that I decided I wanted a skirt in the same fabric! I have always wanted a cream colored ditsy floral print a-line midi skirt that buttoned down the front and with front patch pockets and throughout all my years of sourcing vintage and vintage inspired clothing, I've never actually come across such a skirt! You'd think it would be simple enough! So I decided to make it myself!
For ease of wear, the Aveyron skirt features a wide elasticated panel in the back of the waist. Initially I wasn't going to do elastic and just do a set waist, but the elastic allows for more ease of wear and comfort, so I decided to add it. The Aveyron skirt is made of cotton and is fully lined. The front patch pockets and buttons down the front are all functional and I think the Aveyron skirt looks lovely with a white or cream blouse tucked in or tied at the waist. It also pairs well with a lightweight sweater or cardigan and it's especially pretty worn with Edwardian inspired camisoles.
I've already done an entire preview of the Loiret Skirt in this blog post, but to summarize, this ramie cotton midi skirt was inspired by wrap skirts of the 1940s (so a more fitted silhouette) with little borrowed notes from Edwardian skirts that buttoned to the side. I modernized the fit and style by doing a little notched hem giving the shape of the skirt a bit of a tulip silhouette. This is the only very seasonal garment I designed as it's really only best for wearing during the warmer months due to the color, style, and fabrication.
To me the Loiret skirt is like taking your grandmother's vintage skirt and modernizing it a bit to fit into your modern vintage aesthetic. The Loiret is perfect with a plain white tee, a cropped top or bandeau, or wear it over your swimsuit as a chic cover up when you're lakeside or at the beach. She would also look really lovely with a worn in linen or chambray button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
PRE-ORDERS for the Emmylou Dress, Aveyron Skirt, and Loiret Skirt
opens 5/20/22 and will begin to ship from our office 5/31/22.
A couple of weeks ago we decided to reintroduce one of a kind vintage and antique garments back into our weekly shop updates and today we're showing you some of our favorite pieces that arrived in the shop this week. We hope these looks featuring ditsy florals and muted vintage florals will inspire you to put together your own vintage style and vintage inspired looks whether or not they are from our shop.
Shop the Looks:
Country Fleuriste Top / Well Traveled Skirt / Way With Words Cardigan
Offerings for Despeona Dress
Shop the Looks:
Ode To Fresia Dress
Boleyn Top / Bramble of Violets Skirt
It is this season between spring and summer that you love the most. The air is a symphony of sounds, birds and bees and the wind rustling through the trees. You are grateful for the slow and steady work you have done in your garden in the colder months as the days get warmer and your garden begins to really show signs of life.
It's not quite warm enough to forego your cardigan but the sun is shining steadily and you're thankful for the shade of your vintage straw hat. This morning's garden task is to pot up your tray of seedlings of foxgloves, delphiniums, chocolate Queen Anne's lace, cosmos, and zinnias.
You work mindfully and carefully placing the baby plants into their own pots. The sun is starting to climb higher in the sky and you remove your cardigan and carefully hang it on a hook inside your greenhouse. The sun's placement reminds you that you have lunch plans this afternoon.
The last of the baby zinnias are potted up and you carefully insert little popsicle sticks with the names of the plants and today's date into the new potting soil. Your stomach quietly grumbles and you know it's time to pop back indoors, tidy up a bit, slip on on your vintage heels, and head out the door.
Here at mypiggywiggy it is our ardent hope that our online women's clothing boutique always has a selection of timeless, feminine, and romantic clothing and accessories inspired by vintage and stories from the past. We hope the carefully selected wares from our shop inspires you to live a life of simple attainable beauty and a life you have imagined for yourself.
Last month our beautiful greenhouse, Lillet, was completed and I was so happy to welcome and host dear friends and their littles for an afternoon of starting seedlings, homemade cakes, and merriment.
My friend Candice of Ivy & Tweed reached out to me about doing a photoshoot for a new endeavor, The Little Seed Keepers Society, a community of kindred spirits (and their littles) to share seeds with one another and foster a love for growing things with our own hands.
Here are the photos and memories I snapped from this beautiful joy filled day in the company of wonderful women and their little ladies who brought so much happiness and innocent light energy to the greenhouse. What a blessing!
To read more about The Little Seed Keepers Society: { Visit Ivy & Tweed's Journal }
All the Mamas were wearing AV, from left to right: Marlys in the {Homestead Prairie Dress}, Candice in the {One Word More Dress}, Rebecca in the {Sentimental Journey Dress}, and Fiona in the {For A Time Dress}.
The Loiret Skirt is Arriving Mid March 2022
In a soft yet sturdy ramie and cotton blend, the Loiret skirt features a wrap style waist with side button inner fastening and decorative buttons along the side hip. A single front patch pocket is perfect for tokens (I designed it to be large enough to fit most mobile phones, especially my clunky iPhone 11+) and little memo notebooks. The Loiret Skirt by Atèlëtte will come fully lined (as most of our Atèlëtte designs will be!)
With a straighter silhouette that hugs your curves, the Loiret Skirt shows just enough leg action to be playful and flirty for when you're sitting outside a bistro with une petite cafe au lait et croissant aux chocolat. But she's also unfussy and can be worn with just a plain white tee shirt and slip on sandals for a quick nip to the local food co-op or farmers' market with your vintage oversized sisal tote in slung on your shoulders.
The Loiret will also fare well when you're doing light chores around your garden (like starting your seedlings) and she makes a wonderful date night companion when paired with a bandeau neckline bodysuit and your hair pulled into a French twist showing off your delicate little golden hoops.
I have always been drawn to things of old. Having sold antique and vintage clothing for over a decade (and a collector for longer) my heart has always had a soft spot for feminine lines, a certain color palette, and my eyes drawn to specific prints and patterns. I wanted to design garments that pulled bits and pieces from all the different eras of fashion I adore, particularly the Victorian and Edwardian era, the 1930s to the early 1940s, and the 1970s.
My inspirations came mostly from found vintage photographs, antique catalogs, my own collection of vintage and antique clothing, paintings, and my own imaginings of what my favorite fictional characters might wear. All the colors for fabrics and knits were inspired by my love for dried flowers and landscape paintings particularly those of Camille Corot.
The Bennet Dress is an amalgamation of what I imagine (and hope) both Jane and Elizabeth Bennet (from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice) would wear. I feel a kinship to both women and their sensibilities, and I wanted to design a dress that I imagine they would share.
The Aveyron Dress was inspired by my time in the Aveyron region in France back in 2016 and part of my heart is still there roaming the fields and fields of Queen Anne's lace in the Midi Pyrenees.
I spent a little over a year in search of manufacturers for my label. I had wavered strongly between having my garments produced domestically or overseas as each decision had their own positives and negatives. It was a very, very time intensive process which is why it took me so long to find a manufacturer!
After weighing out the pros and cons of each decision, I decided to have Atelette produced overseas after finding a manufacturing company in Guangzhou that was able to do very small production runs and also included services to help me navigate the process and journey of creating my first label as I did not go to school for design. Another factor in my decision to go with my manufacturing company is that it is also family operated and small and they have an office in the West Coast that was available for me to reach out to whenever I had questions (which was often). Due to Covid, all the work for Atelette was done remotely which had so many challenges in and of itself as you can imagine!
While I will not be marketing Atelette as Sustainable/Ethical/Slow Fashion (individuals will have their own personal definition of what qualifies as being one or the other or all three), in many ways Atelette does cross the lines of Sustainable, Ethical, and Slow Fashion, but more on this on a later post.
I have learned SO MUCH during this process and I wanted to share some of this new found knowledge with all of you so you have a better understanding of how garments can go from concept to design.
Lesson One: Just because you have an idea does not mean it can be made. Well, technically it CAN, but do you have the time and money to get it produced by the right factory who has the right tools and equipment?
Lesson Two: Different fabric/textile/clothing factories produce different things and offer a myriad of services. It took me so long to find my manufacturer because I needed them to be able to do A LOT of things to help me on the pre-production side. The "downside" is my manufacturer is not equipped to create other types of garments (like coats or any thick materials, anything denim, intimates, swimwear etc) so if I ever wanted to expand Atelette, I will have to find other manufacturers. (P.S. - A company like Everlane works with over 30 different manufacturers)
Lesson Three: Speaking of factory limitations, the smaller the factory, the less it can produce. This applies to actual output meaning how many actual pieces of a single dress do you get produced? For big brands like Urban Outfitters for example, they're producing 500-1,000 of the same piece. For Atelette, I'm producing dozens. Vast difference. Another limitation with my manufacturer because they are smaller is the inability to do plus sizing or petite sizing. They do not have the machinery or equipment to do so, similarly to not having equipment and machinery to work with denim or intimates and swimwear. So, at this moment in time, in the very early stages of Atelette, our garment will not have any plus or petites.
In the process of narrowing down my search from hundreds of manufacturers to dozens, then finally to three, then one, I have learned so much about all the costs that goes into producing your own garments. And there are A LOT of costs involved. From tech packs, to getting patterns graded for sizing, to physical samples being sewn, then those samples being revised and sewn again (and again!) and all this being done remotely through Zoom or Facetime. It has been an absolute labor of love and a slow process.
Another reason I went with a manufacturer overseas is during my search for a domestic producer, the cost of Atelette for the quality I wanted with all the details I wanted was getting more and more expensive. When I brought my designs for the Aveyron Dress to a US manufacturer based in LA and told them I wanted it fully lined, seams finished, hidden pockets, all cotton... I was quoted the dress would need to retail around $325 for me to able to make some kind of profit.
It didn't feel right to me to have been selling dresses for $68-$85 on mypiggywiggy and then all of a sudden sell $250-$400 dresses for Atelette. I did not feel good about this at all.
While Atelette will be higher priced than our other garments (that we don't design/produce) because the quality is higher, the price point is still very attainable (for instance the Aveyron Dress, which is our most expensive dress to produce, will retail around $125). For a personal reason, I wanted to keep the prices for Atelette affordable and attainable. Affordability is very subjective as what is affordable to some, is definitely not for others.
A guiding light for me with pricing was the discovery that my sister's future sister-in-law, a young college educated Filipina, finds that mypiggywiggy/Atelette is attainable for her. The fact that mypiggywiggy/Atelette isn't a pipe dream, that she could buy these clothes by saving up her money...Do you know how much this news made my heart sing? The fact that a young woman in the Philippines, my home country, could realistically AFFORD garments from my shop. It means the absolute world. I do not really know how to describe the feeling other than it felt so affirming and my heart truly was overcome with gladness.
While some would balk and instantly dismiss garments being Made in China, it is important to remember not all things Made in China are equal. With time, diligent research, care and thoughtfulness for the process, passion for your ideas, a steadfast commitment to your dreams, and asking SO MANY questions (what are the factory standards, what are the working conditions, how much does the average worker make?) it is 100% possible to have beautifully crafted garments made in China (or Vietnam, India, the Philippines...) that you can then price attainably and feel really good about in your heart and spirits.
I hope you are all just as excited as I am for the release of our first two dresses, The Aveyron and the Bennet. So much love and attention went into the journey to create them. I still pinch myself about it! I can't believe they'll be here so soon! Pre-Orders open on 2/22/22!!!
We stayed in a charming stable cottage at College House (pictured above) in Staton St. Johns, a small village about 4 miles outside of Oxford. I really wanted to experience the English countryside and this placed looked absolutely beautiful and it wasn't too far for us to drive to other villages.
We spent our first afternoon/night mostly walking around the village. It's quite small and there is not much to do, which is what we wanted. We walked to the village pub and had supper, then walked back to our cottage passing through the graveyard, church, and a big open field where sheep were grazing the next morning.
The next morning we woke up early and our host, Nicola, had provided fresh eggs from her chickens and a bundle of asparagus from her allotment. I made a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and asparagus with fresh butter. And naturally we had classic English tea to go with all of it!
I was wearing one of my favorite vintage dresses for a day exploring Oxford and other nearby villages (one of these days I'll recreate this dress for my clothing line, Atelette) and of course I am never without a trusty straw hat during our travels.
We drove the short distance to a big parking lot where buses would pick us up to bring us into Oxford (driving in the narrow countryside streets on the other side of the road and other side of the car was quite a terrifying experience!) so we opted to walk through Oxford instead of drive around (my feet were aching terribly at the end of this day, but I was so content, I don't even think I realized it until we were back in the cottage)
When we arrived in Oxford, we were already hungry again, so we sat down for SECOND BREAKFAST! I was so delighted to have Second Breakfast because our main reason for going to Oxford was so I could visit The Eagle and Child where J. R. R. Tolkien and his literary friends, the Inklings, would often gather. We also took the bus to Wolvercote Cemetary where I placed wildflowers on Tolkien and Edith's grave.
We spent most of our day in Oxford walking around the university and window shopping in quaint shops. As a souvenir I got a small leather bound book that can fit in my pocket and I pressed wildflowers I picked at Wolvercote.
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In Fall of 2020 I started to really take the notion of starting my own clothing line seriously. It had always been something I wanted to try my hands at in the back of my mind, but timing never felt right and of course I had my own personal fears of failure and ineptness. I had never designed any garments before, what qualified me now?
The path from those months to a year later involved a lot of asking myself questions about my deeper purpose for creating a clothing label with my name behind it. I'm still asking myself questions everyday particularly in making design changes and fabric costs, but that's another post for later.
I'm not exactly sure where to begin to start telling you about the story of Atelette or atèlëtte, but perhaps I can begin by telling you what is behind the name for the clothing label as I find names to be so important and the name for the line has personal meaning behind it.
In Cebuano/Filipino Ate (pronounced Ah-te/tay depending on region you are from) is a common formality to respectfully or affectionately address an older female that is either your sister or a friend that you feel a sisterhood or kinship with. My little sister rarely calls me by my name and instead just calls me Ate.
Lette comes from my childhood nickname, Olette. I am not entirely sure how this nickname came to be as my name, Rodellee, doesn't have Olette in it. But I was always called "Inday Lette" if not Olette. Inday means "girl/young girl" but again depending on your region the meaning can slightly vary (in some regions it means maid/young housekeeper) which that meaning resonates with me also. I grew up very poor in a small rural village called Tulay and several of my Titas were maids. There was absolutely no shame in the profession since it provided food and shelter for our large multi generational families that lived under one roof.
The name Atèlëtte links my past with my present and most importantly reminds me of my culture and my roots of being Filipino. The French accent grave on the (è) is there so you know the E is pronounced and it is not silent like in the english word, ate. The diaeresis over the second e(ë) is to note that the e sound is pronounced like the e in "bet".
When designing the garments for Atelette, I knew I wanted to design clothing for women that have a penchant for feminine aesthetics and are romantics at heart. I wanted to design clothing to live life in. A quiet and lovely sort of life. A simple and mindful sort of life. A life where one found joy in the beauty of every day living. We cannot always just live for the big things. Life is lived in the small things, in the minutes, in the moments.
Perhaps I will do separate journals for each of the designs, particularly the dresses, as goodness, I have tweaked and edited these designs so very many times. I am not at all trying to reinvent the wheel of fashion. I really don't have an iota in my body that dreams about standing out, being original, or being known for innovating a dress. There is nothing new under the sun. My past as a vintage and antiques clothing dealer taught me that early on, and well.
We have a couple of dresses in production already (OMG!!!) and I am so very excited to start showing all of you more sneak peeks as time moves forward!
I should note that Atelette does not follow any seasonal production schedules. I design the garments when the inspiration strikes and I do not feel any pressure at all to make more than what I feel capable of handling. At the moment I have only designed 8 pieces and I'm not upset about that. I feel like in a year and a half that is a huge accomplishment and I'm going to give myself a little pat on the back for it. *pat pat*
I hope you feel the sense of joy, purpose, and my hope for you to live a life you adore when you wear one of my designs! The journey thus far has been an absolute privilege (granted the learning curve is STEEP my friends) and I am living in each moment and enjoying the ride.
Look for updates soon on how to PRE-ORDER the first two pieces launching in the Spring!!!
]]>Oh, I must clarify that I HAVE done a post about Tasha Tudor which you can read here: A Peek Inside Tasha Tudor's Garden.
What is it about Tasha Tudor I love so much? How did I first come to know this woman? Well, once upon a time (over a decade ago to be precise) I came across Victoria Magazine and noticed that this woman was featured in several issues. I was instantly enamored by her charming illustrations and her love for a simple life inspired by a long bygone era. As I read up more about her, the more I adored her and how she ardently held on to her beliefs of how to live her life. She even quoted Henry David Thoreau, "to go in the direction of your dreams, to live the life you have always imagined..." and I knew, if there was ever a kindred spirit of mine, Tasha Tudor would be one. Though I am far less brave than Tasha.
(image credits: top / top right / bottom / bottom right)
I admire her so much because she truly embodied, down to the very minute details of daily living, the sort of life she wanted for herself and for her children. From only donning antique garments (the 1820s to 1840s were particularly her favorite), to walking barefoot around her garden, making her own candles and butter, hosting doll parties and weddings, and if course tending to a beautiful garden that wrapped around her 1820s replica house that her son built for her in Marlboro, Vermont. (Me thinks a pilgrimage for yours truly should be taken this year...)
“I enjoy doing housework, ironing, washing, cooking, dishwashing. Whenever I get one of those questionnaires and they ask what is your profession, I always put down housewife. It's an admirable profession, why apologize for it. You aren't stupid because you're a housewife. When you're stirring the jam you can read Shakespeare.”
(top credits: very top / top / top right / bottom / bottom left)
(bottom credits: top left / middle / right / bottom left)
Tasha was born Starling Burgess in Boston, Massachusetts (she was later rechristened as "Natasha" hence, Tasha, and later changed her surname to Tudor because she liked how Tasha Tudor sounded). I watched the documentary, "Take Joy! The Magical World of Tasha Tudor" on Amazon a couple of years ago and learned that during her childhood, Tasha was exposed to a carefree idyllic childhood in the countryside and it forever changed her and the life she would want for herself.
(image credits: top left / top right / bottom left / bottom right)
Tasha Tudor illustrated nearly 100 books and her "fame" for lack of a better word, didn't really become prominent until she was much older which is why so few of the photos featured her are of Tasha when she was younger, they are mostly from her later years of her life.
Which, in my mind, is so very comforting. Our modern society seems to think our golden years are only in youth, and I just find it so lovely that Tasha was still out there doing her thing, being herself, living up her dream life in a dream world she created and was doing it till the end of her days (she died at the age of 92). I endeavor to do the same.
]]>This month for our Vintage Style Inspiration segment, we turn to women's vintage fashions from the 1940s as plaid and gingham grew in popularity due to the rise of more utilitarian fashions due to World War II.
Traditionally gingham was more often used for warm weather clothing and plaid for cold weather clothing, though here at mypiggywiggy, we love both patterns year around but may opt for different color palettes depending on the time of year.
Plaid is a woven fabric that uses various colors that go in horizontal and vertical directions whereas gingham is almost always two colors. A darker hue paired with white, cream, or a lighter variant of the dark hue.
Within the overall umbrella of plaid and gingham there are subcategories of patterns such as buffalo check, glen check, tartan, madras, windowpane check, and so on.
For the month of October we are exploring the language and sentiment of these three floras: Verbena, Lavender, and Rosemary.
Why you ask? Well dear loves, it is our small homage to one of our most beloved movies of all time, Practical Magic, a movie about sisterhood, friendships, love, and of course a bit of practical magic all set in an idyllic New England town.
Verbena was the name of Sally Owens' beautiful apothecary shop in the movie filled with lotions, balms, and creams she handcrafted with herbs and flowers from her garden. And lavender and rosemary are from the Owens' saying:
Botanical Name, Verbena hastata
Class, Didynamia / Order, Angiospermia
Flowers, Blue or lavender colored
Native place, America or Europe
Sentiment: You Enchant Me, An Emblem of Enchantment
Origins of Sentiment & Tales of Verbena
Vervain, or wild verbena, has been the floral symbol of enchantment from time immemorial. It was styled "sacred herb" by the Greeks, who ascribed a thousand marvelous properties to it, not the least of which was its power of reconciling enemies.
Verbena was often used in various divinations, sacrifices, and incantations, and its specific name of verbena originally signified a herb used to decorate altars.
It was much valued by the Druids, being regarded by them as only second to mistletoe: they used it largely in their divinations and casting of lots. During the middle ages the sacred character of this herb still reigned paramount and vervain was greatly prized and used in the composition of many charms and love-philtres.
In days of old, in country districts, old folks tie verbena around their necks to charm away the ague, with many it still has the reputation of securing affection from those who take it to those who administer it.
Verbena or vervain, this very common unassuming roadside flower, was the plant of spells and enchantments and still retains its enchanted reputation.
Botanical Name, Lavandula spika
Class, Didynamia / Order, Gymnospermia
Flowers, Lilac approaching to purple and very fragrant
Native place, Europe and Africa
Sentiment: Acknowledgment of Love & sometimes also symbolizes Distrust
Origins of Sentiment & Tales of Lavender
Shakespeare hath said it, and who would wish to alter an emblem that has become immortal from his adoption?
"She sent him Lavender, owning her love."
We have, therefore, adopted the sentiment.
There are many varieties of lavender but a common trait they all share is every part of the lavender plant is fragrant, some more potent than others. In ancient days the lavender plant was used in bathing and washing, the word lavender deriving from Latin, lavare, to wash.
The French are accountable for its association to mistrust as the fragrance of lavender was often used to mask other unpleasant odors. For centuries lavender has been used as a fragrance either deriving the oils from the lavender plant or simply as dried stems placed in trunks and drawers.
Botanical Name, Rosmarinus officinalis
Class, Diandria / Order, Monogynia
Flowers, Purple, growing in an axil
Native place, Europe
Sentiment: Remembrance
Origins of Sentiment & Tales of Rosemary
We are indebted Shakespeare for this junction of flower and sentiment from Ophelia:
"There is Rosemary, that's for remembrance, Pray you, love, remember."
Frequently entwined with laurel and myrtle, rosemary was formed into chaplets, with which the principal personages at feasts were crowned.
In some parts of England during funerals, for a time, it was still customary to distribute it among the company, who frequently threw sprigs of it into the grave and slips of it were sometimes placed within the coffin.
In days of yore, rosemary was in great request at Christmas-tide for decorative purposes, the roast beff was decorated with bays and rosemary. The silvery leaves of this plant mingled well with the glossy holly and yellow-green mistletoe in decking rooms and churches.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, this fragrant herb grew in abundance along the walls of Hampton Court Palace, but then was banished to reside only in the kitchen-gardens.
Now this plant is often cultivated in sweet cottage gardens for bees to resort to and for culinary reasons.
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Sources: Flower Symbolica by Ingram, John H. 1887 / The Language of Flowers by Saunders & Otley, 1841, London
]]>There are so many ways to wear hair scarves to channel that effortlessly feminine vintage look and we are sharing some photos from the past that showcases all the wonderful ways to accent your outfits with the ever versatile scarf or bandana.
A timeless and feminine way to wear a vintage inspired scarf of bandana is tied below the chin at the neck or behind your hair line at the neck. Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Queen Elizabeth II seem to favor this way of wearing scarves the most.
Decidedly more country inspired, wear a hair scarf tied behind the neck recalls nostalgia for days spent out in the garden or on a farm. We recommend cotton bandanas for this look since slippery fabrics will easily slip off your hair.
Shoot days at mypiggywiggy never feel like a work day and are always fun and collaborative though definitely a workout. Because we're such a small team, on shoot days everyone (that works in-office) are all part of the shoot wearing their own respective creative hat for the day. Shoot days are the days we all get to work together on the same project. Lots of laughing, lots of hauling and schlepping, and lots of team bonding.
Nowadays it seems like to live a healthy lifestyle, one must purchase expensive equipment and stock up on dozens costly vitamins and supplements when really so much about healthy living is making conscious decisions about your thoughts, the food you consume (balance is a good thing), being aware of your breath, and taking time to step out doors and enjoy Nature!
original post here: source
]]>Since then I have taken my time to figure out what to do with the front of our space and to be perfectly honest, I really struggled to find inspiration and motivation to reopen the retail shop up until a couple weeks ago.
It took a lot of dialogue between my close friends and family over a span of a month for me to really nail why I wasn't inspired or motivated and it boiled down to the fact that I never wanted to open up a retail shop to begin with. I know, I know what you're thinking! Well, I can imagine what you're thinking. Why did you do it then!? Because I'm a people pleaser. Because I didn't listen to my instincts and intuition. Because I didn't know how to stand up for myself. What was suppose to be a concept shop & space to gather that served coffee and tea at a window turned into something else all together and at the time there were so many changes and a lot of growth happening with AV that I just went with the flow. Everything would work themselves out. Eventually. Right?
And then the pandemic hit. Which no one saw coming or prepared for. And well, I'm sure you can imagine the rest since you lived through the pandemic too.
Will you take a deep breath with me? Slowly let it out. Ahhhhhh. (I've just realized I really should sage the studio and clear it of all the past energy, can't believe I haven't done this yet, cleansing rituals are so important)
Once I decided I didn't want to reopen mypiggywiggy as it had become, I felt better. It was like giving myself the actual permission to try something new or try my original ideas. Then suddenly the little gold pinpricks of light started to shine through the dark fog and mist I had been under.
mypiggywiggy is so much more than just a place to buy something. It's a place for solitude. A place to be inspired. A place to craft something with your hands. A place to feel lovely. A place to feel seen. A place to gather with close friends. A place to meet a new friend perhaps. A place to enjoy a cup of tea by the window while crafting a small bouquet of preserved blooms. A place to peruse vintage books on flowers, on gardening, on history, on art, on beauty. A place to journal. A place to write postcards to friends near and far. A place to touch and feel garments. A place to craft your own bath apothecaries. A place to discover something beloved. A place you can share with others or keep entirely secret for yourself.
So what can I do here? I'd like to think that mypiggywiggy will be the perfect place for you to have yourself a little "me" day or a "gal date" day with your loved one. You can craft apothecaries or dried flower bouquets. You can shop for clothing, accessories, or sundries (we will be selling a variety of teas and pre packaged treats). You can sit and stay awhile and just enjoy the sights, sounds, and scents. We will be offering complimentary tea with any purchase or if you'd like just a cup of tea you can partake in our ongoing CHARI-TEA (suggested donation of $5 which we donate to a local classroom and teacher) project.
Will I be able to buy/try on things from the online store? Yes, absolutely. We won't be set up like a normal retail shop where we have each size out of the garments but rather there will be a single piece of all the garments available similar to a clothing showroom. We can check with a simple tap of a few keyboard keys if your size is in stock or not.
When are you going to reopen? We are thinking by September!
What will your hours be? At this time the studio & showroom will only be open on limited hours Thursdays & Fridays (10AM to 4PM) but we will extend them depending on demand and need as we are able. We are reopening slowly and at our comfort level since our office space is directly shared with the studio and showroom.
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New AV Gals I recently brought on two more part time folks to AV (though one of our new hires is a fella, but he's charming and was so excited to officially become "An AV Gal".) I'm learning better and better ways to delegate and encourage my team and train them in all the things I know. Sometimes I can't believe I employ 5 people, 6 including myself I suppose. I'm sure down the road we'll need to add a 7th team member, but for now, we're all quite merry and getting to know one another. Having a team that feels like family is so important to me. You spend such a great deal of your life at work, that one should feel comfortable, happy, inspired, and supported by the people you surround yourself with both in personal and work settings.
It is amazing to think just three years ago I was so nervous about changing lanes and shifting my focus from selling only vintage clothing to offering modern vintage inspired wares. I went into the decision with very little expectations of the success of that decision and month after month as we package up parcel after parcel I am humbled by your response to mypiggywiggy and speaking of packaging...
Pretty Packaging We're making a slow move to switching from our clear poly bags we ship your garments in to glassine envelopes that are 100% curbside recyclable and biodegradable. They're so stinking pretty!!! I used to ship out little glassine envelopes with dried flowers in them and I've always thought things wrapped in this opaque paper is so very lovely so I was very excited when I found large glassine envelopes big enough for garments! Expect to start receiving your orders soon in our new packaging! It's definitely more costly from a business budget viewpoint, but goodness, you deserve your pretty garments in equally pretty packaging!
The Meaning of Success... I never set out to start a business to make money. Financially is mypiggywiggy successful? Yes, according to my accountant we're very healthy. We don't have any debt, we didn't take out any loans, and we continue to grow steadily and softly. I do not take on more than I can handle or know what my team can handle. Do I feel outside pressure sometimes to do more, be more, grow faster, spend more? ABSOLUTELY. I hear all the time "Your business has so much potential to BLOW UP! You're going to be HUGE!"
And we're friends so I'll be quite honest with you. Blowing up and becoming huge really has no interest to me. What's the point of it!? Sounds stressful. I know people who own companies that have blown up, gotten huge, and they're some of the most miserable people I have ever met and they're always stressed about something or their relationships are falling apart. I don't want that life!
I go to work happy every single week. I love what I do. I'm proud of my company, it's my baby but now it's a teenager and I'm like "Yep, that's my girl!" I'm very proud of my team who all work so hard and also put up with me when I'm a total goober, suggest team outings and activities that are probably more enjoyable for 6 year olds (hey I was a dance teacher to elementary kids at one point, remember!), and they realize just like them I'm human and will fumble and make mistakes from time to time. I feel like sometimes I found some secret juice on how to run a successful, sustainably small company. It's simple. Do it because it makes you happy. Do it because it makes others happy. Though remember, you can't make everyone happy, so just take that pressure off yourself.
I feel so very fortunate that the work I do is my living and that the work I do is fulfilling and life giving. And it must be said that AV would not be the shop as it stands now if it were not for you. My deepest thanks and gratitude for your loyalty and steadfast support of mypiggywiggy.
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Today we will be peeking through the May 1996 issue which is graced with one of my absolute favorite fashion editorial ever titled "When Romance Was In Fashion" (a title I borrowed for a recent newsletter tagline if you recognize it from our mailing list).
This editorial featured the private collection of antique clothing and treasures of Lesley Balazs who amassed an extensive collection of antique clothing and costumes that she would put on display once a year to benefit the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.
The photos were shot on film by Toshi Otsuki whose photographs for vintage Victoria are amongst my favorites and I turn to them for inspiration time and time again for my own shop.
Other articles in the May 1996 Victoria issue include an ode to peonies, crafting your own potpourri, sunporch living, and of course an homage to mothers.
Interested in collecting vintage Victoria magazines? I sourced most of mine through eBay, Etsy, and scouring local antique shops. I was also quite fortunate once that a friend who worked at an antique shop gave me a box full of Victoria magazines doubling my collection in one go!
]]>Perhaps these painted works will inspire you to create your own floral arrangements for your home to adorn your tables, mantles, and bedside stands.
I am someone who is very interested in colour – and by that, I mean bright colour, gay colour; but at the same time, if you are a colourist, you like quiet colour as well and I think this love of gay colour is contrasted in my mind with this love of whites and greys. - Anne Redpath
A Song The Grass Sings
The violet is much too shy,
The rose too little so;
I think I'll ask the buttercup
If I may be her beau.
When winds go by, I'll nod to her
And she will nod to me,
And I will kiss her on the cheek
As gently as may be.
And when the mower cuts us down,
Together we will pass,
I smiling at the buttercup,
She smiling at the grass.
- Charles G. Blanden
The Immortal
Spring has come up from the South again,
With soft mists in her hair,
And a warm wind in her mouth again,
And budding everywhere.
Spring has come up from the South again,
And her skies are azure fire,
And around her is the awakening
Of all the world's desire.
Spring has come up from the South again,
And dreams are in her eyes,
And music is in her mouth again,
Of love, the never-wise.
Spring has come up from the South again,
And bird and flower and bee
Know that she is their life and joy
And immortality!
- Cate Young Rice
te
April
An altered look about the hills;
A Tyrian light the village fills;
A wider sunrise in the dawn;
A deeper twilight on the lawn;
A print of a vermilion foot;
A purple finger on the slope;
A flippant fly upon the pane;
A spider at his trade again;
An added strut in chanticleer;
A flower expected everywhere;
An axe shrill singing in the woods;
Fern-odors on untraveled roads,
All this, and more I cannot tell,
A furtive look you know as well,
And Nicodemus' mystery
Receives its annual reply.
- Emily Dickinson
1. How do you take your tea or coffee? With far too many spoonfuls of sugar and a splash of cream, please!
2. What is your favorite flower? I can scarcely choose just one but, if I must, I would pick cabbage roses… and peonies… and dahlias. Oh, truly I adore the whole lot of them!
3. If you could live out one 90s rom-com movie for a day, which movie would you pick? Oh goodness. This is more difficult than anticipated! You’ve Got Mail perhaps. Mostly because beautiful bookstores are such a lovely place to spend ones day.
4. What are your three main simple pleasures in life? In no particular order - The quiet moments of a day just begun, before anyone else has awoken, with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. Looking my children in the eyes and truly seeing them. That utterly pleasing sense of accomplishment when a room has been tidied and all has returned to its proper place. Come to think of it, maybe there is an underlying order there, a reflection on the ebb & flow to my days – one beginning with peace, filled with presence and ending in a sense of accomplishment.
Unpopular as it may be, hosting a themed large birthday party fills me with a particular sense of dread. In the past, it has been both financially and mentally draining. Due to the distancing restrictions this year, it was a welcome discovery to find that the party planning pressure dissipated as soon as we established simple but safe plans to gather with each of our respective families separately. An afternoon stroll through the park and a visit to local botanical gardens meant that my daughter experienced multiple occasions to celebrate her special day, which was the icing on the cake, so to speak!
Rather than allow this year’s inability for a large-scale social gathering to diminish the day, we embraced the limited guest list (just us!) and resulting intimacy of my daughter’s birthday.
From the darling mypiggywiggy floral bouquets bloomed the idea of a wonderfully set tea party soiree. As most soon-to-be six years olds are wont to do, my daughter delighted in the notion that her newly acquired age meant an elevated sense of maturity. To reinforce that notion, she personally chose a new dress and hair bow to don on the occasion.
I set out straight away to muster all the feelings of feminine folly for a prettily clad table. Fancy heirloom silverware, old family tablecloths, French porcelain teacups, an embroidered apron, ironstone butter pats, paper fairy dolls – all items that would far outlast the celebration itself since sustainability is on the forefront of my mind these days. I scoured our home for items we already owned and visited local antique stores for the rest. On the morning of our celebration, we listened to French music, lit beeswax candles, indulged in too many sweets much too early in the morning and generally just enjoyed each other’s company!
In the past, I prided myself in independently managing quite well but oh how I’ve come to appreciate the support, both mental and physical, received from loved ones. It’s even more clear to me now that I’ve had to lean so heavily on my husband and have longed for the opportunities to be more physically present with extended family.
To host a tea party for my daughters may just become an annual occurrence! That special time set aside solely for the occasion, surrounded by a beautifully set table, feels like a connection to the past and a celebration of all that is feminine. I do adore the idea of inviting one or two honored guests – perhaps some neighborhood friends – to enjoy in the future festivities. Delivering handmade invitations and baking homemade cookies and cakes would be so lovely. The possibilities are endless!
Thank you so much Cadie for sharing your time and words with us! We really hope you dear readers have enjoyed getting to know Cadie and are inspired by her.
Get In Touch: Send her a warm note and say hello and follow along on her journey to restore the cottage charm on their early 1900s home on Instagram @rosyrilli
All photos were taken by Cadie and shared with us to share with all of you.
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We've gathered together a few inspiring vintage images of women from the past (mostly from the 1940s though) wearing overalls.
In those days wearing pants and especially overalls was much more common place amongst men, but during the war effort, many women took over men's jobs at farms and factories and during this time women's fashion forever changed, again. In the previous World Ward, women's fashion had changed significantly because the entire world changed. Hemlines became shorter, clothing became less fussy, and corsets were no longer worn.But as more and more women entered the workforce during World War II, their everyday garments were not deemed safe for factory and farm work and so new designs were created and produced. Eventually more feminine details such as waists that could cinch and more feminine pockets emerged eventually paving the way for overalls to be worn as a fashion garment and not just for utility and work. Now you can purchase overalls in a variety of fabrics and in various prints and patterns and different weights of fabrics too!
We were inspired by this vintage 1940s photo of a woman wearing a puff sleeve short sleeve blouse and printed wide leg overalls. Our Leighton Floral Overalls paired with either the Cloud Pagoda Top or Seeking Clouds Top would make a perfect vintage inspired outfit without looking too much like a period costume.
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"You must love yourself first, then you create a ripple of love that will touch everyone’s lives." - Leon Brown
As we prepare for the arrival of Spring, checking in with ourselves and caring for our needs is a wonderful way to make sure we are ready for the growth and weeding we may need to do for this coming season. Let us make a pact as an AV community to be a little bit kinder to ourselves in these new few weeks as we prepare for Spring to arrive.
Quality Time
If you found that your primary love language is quality time, this means that you love precious moments and spending time with your loved ones in meaningful ways. These special moments may be small but they are the ones that mean the most to you.
Quality Time Self Care Ideas:
Make some time in the next week or month to carve a space out of your day (just like you would for a loved one). Write a list of what makes you truly happy (don’t be afraid to bring out your inner child). This could be anything from dancing, singing… (even if your neighbor prefers you not), lighting a candle and reading a book for pleasure, trying out a baking recipe that you never had the time to make… the list can be endless! The most important part is taking the time to make it happen and being present.
Physical Touch
For those whose primary love language is physical touch; it can be something as subtle as someone reaching out to hold your hand and that means the world to you.
Physical Touch Self Care Ideas:
Take some time out of your day to be in the moment with yourself. If you are someone who likes to have your hair touched, we challenge you to find a fun new braid style (pinterest is a great resource) and give it a go. If you are not a big hair braider we encourage you to set up your own homemade spa and give yourself a manicure, hand & foot massages, or a warm bath with all of your favorite candles… don’t be afraid to go full on bubble bath mode!
Acts of Service
If you’re an AV Gal whose primary love language is Acts of Service, you love the little things like a loved one making coffee for you in the morning. Even though making coffee wouldn’t take that much time out of your day to do yourself, the little gesture goes a long way. For those whose primary love language is Acts of Service, little acts of kindness (especially unsolicited ones!) are key to your heart.
Acts of Service Self Care Ideas:
Plan a time out of your day to get something done that you have been putting off for a while. Whether it is that pile of laundry that keeps getting bigger and bigger or planning a day to go get your car washed and detailed then treating yourself to a little iced coffee afterwards. Taking on a task and completing it can feel so good and it will take a little bit of that weight you have been carrying off your shoulder.
Words of Affirmation
We are all human and life can be hard sometimes (especially in our current pandemic). Hearing a word as simple as “I appreciate you” can change your day around and while those words can mean so much hearing it from a loved one… we sometimes forget to say these words to ourselves.
Words of Affirmation Self Care Ideas:
Take out a journal, a favorite pen, light a candle and take a moment and write what you are most proud of about yourself. These don’t have to be big accomplishments. We encourage you to think of small things that have made you who you are today. Remember that small things should be rewarded just as much as the big ones.
(Option 2) Leave a kind note for your future self, maybe hidden in a book you want to read, or in your daily planner several months ahead! It can be something as simple as “You are loved and lovely.” You may rediscover this little love note and encouragement to yourself at just the opportune moment.
Receiving Gifts
If you are the AV gal who finds her primary love language is Receiving Gifts, you appreciate when others take the time to give something to you that makes you happy. A lot of the time it is the effort and thoughtfulness that goes into the gift as to why it makes it so special and not necessarily the gift itself.
Receiving Gifts Self Care Ideas:
We encourage you to allow yourself to celebrate the little accomplishments in your life and take yourself out for an ice cream cone and a nice walk, or if it is a bit chilly and dairy does not settle well with you hehe… there is nothing like a nice warm cup or coffee or tea! The most important part is to make it a point to be thoughtful to yourself.
(Option 2) We are often hard on ourselves and tend to hold off on spoiling ourselves. While we do not suggest doing this all the time, allow yourself to splurge and go out and get that beautiful dress you have been eyeing for quite some time or take that solo weekend vacation you have always wanted to do! While it may seem unnecessary, we hope you ask this question “would you do it for a loved one?”. If the answer is yes, why not do it for yourself?
- E N D -
Since we couldn't shoot outdoors due to the weather, we decided to create our own woodland meadow for our mini lookbook photoshoot with our model Bailey last week.
We used a combination of dried flowers and silk flowers to create the meadow using long foam pieces that are held up by a thin black tray. We get our supplies from a florist supply wholesale market here in Poland, (+48)355712125, so I am not sure if the same materials would be available at your local craft store.
I was gifted this beautiful moss covered branch by a shop friend of mine who sadly is closing her shop due to Covid-19. Hannah attached silk blooms and dried flowers and faux ivy greens (though I realized I have SO MUCH ivy growing in front of my house, I should have brought it!) with thin florist wire to the branch.
The "Meadow" pieces were easily moveable and adjustable during our shoot because they were on the black trays. We attached the branch on one of our vintage ladders in the studio mostly because we needed a way to bring the branch up higher than our model, but then actually found we liked how the set look with the vintage ladder in the photos. Initially I was just going to shoot the photos with the ladder out of frame or we were going to suspend the branch from one of the beams in the ceiling. But it all worked out and our test model (Redford) approved of the entire set. He even asked if he could put on a little crown of flowers so he could really "get into character", I swear, that guy. So extra. Here is a sneak peek from our mini lookbook shoot with Bailey! We loved how our indoor woodland meadow turned out!
I am looking forward to February's first blooms of crocuses, snowdrops, camelias, hellebores, wild narcissis, daffodils, and the intoxicating sweet scent of daphne...
A few years ago, I was absolutely delighted to come across the work of British illustrator Kate Greenaway who had a thriving illustration business during the Victorian Era and who mostly became known for depicting her subjects in early 18th century garments. A Victorian gal inspired by the likes of Jane Eyre, or rather Regency style! Isn't that just delightful?!?
I love coming across artists in history who were very clearly inspired by another era other than their own. Perhaps because I always look to the past for inspiration that I feel such a kinship to these artists. What I adore about Kate Greenaway's work is that while she was inspired by a different era, 
she didn't try to replicate it exactly and instead took the notes of inspiration and made them entirely her own.
I adore her use of color and her color palettes I am forever inspired by. I adore how she illustrates flowers and especially the tiny little blossoms she illustrates into frames around her subject and also the way the garments seem to appear as if her subjects were just caught in a brisk Spring or Autumn wind. Her work has hints of art nouveau, but only just a bit which I adore. Sometimes too much art nouveau can be a bit too gaudy, for me personally anyway.
Kate Greenaway first got her start illustrating greeting cards! During the Victorian era, greeting cards became a HUGE industry and Kate's freelance work with Marcus Ward & Co, a prominent publishing company known for illustrated books and greeting cards, were very well received and it was said that “her special talent was in the direction of costume figures and dainty colours...” and some of her valentine's day card illustrations would sell 25,000 copies in a week! Can you imagine selling 25,000 copies of your illustrations every week? 
Kate lived in London and as you can imagine, Victorian era London was noisy, busy, and dirty. Her father was a draughtsman and received a large new commission to work on engravings for a new edition of The Pickwick Papers, a novel by Charles Dickens. He sent Kate and her mother to live in the countryside (with Dear Ole Mum's family) while Dear Ole Dad stayed in London to work in solitude. Sadly, the company that had hired Kate's father went bankrupt and so the family became nearly penniless. However the time spent in the countryside was formidable for Kate's young years and she would often recall such fond memories of the countryside as "...she felt it to be her real home, a country of the mind that she could always reimagine." (I feel ya Kate!)
Kate's mother was a seamstress and after the engraving commission fiasco, she opened up a dress and millinery shop in Islington and the family lived above it (Kate was an only child). There was a little garden in the back where Kate could often be found spending hours admiring and studying all the flowers and having little moments of solitude. Le sigh, this sounds like a dream to me, I want to live above my shop and have a garden in the back! Also, Dear ghost of Kate Greenaway, you are an AV Girl through and through if there ever was one!
Perhaps it was because Kate's mother was a seamstress that she paid such close attention to the details of the garments her subjects wore. Her decision to depict children and adults in Regency inspired clothing really influenced the fashion of her time and mothers (in higher society circles) started to dress their children in "Kate Greenaway Fashions" and even the famed Liberty of London came out with a collection inspired by Miss Greenway.
I mean, how MODERN does that sound? An illustrator influences fashion trends and does a collaboration with a hugely known brand? Sounds a lot like what's happening in our current times. Ahhh, I adore coming across stories and tidbits of history like these because it reminds me we are not so different so apart from one another even in the threads of time.
Further Reading
If you would like to find out much more about Victorian illustrator Kate Greenaway, do visit Illustration History / Kate Greenaway and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. I had so much fun researching Kate and spending hours pouring over her illustrations many of which are now part of the Public Domain, so a quick and simple search will afford you many more examples of her work!
- F I N -
le MUSES articles feature inspiring women from history and modern day who capture the essence of mypiggywiggy's favorite quote, "Live the life you always imagined" (Thoreau). We love to research and share information about women who have paved the way to living truest to oneself... independent, creative, driven, daring, unconventional, and timelessly beautiful.
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What is also wonderful about this arrangement is most of the ingredients will dry quite prettily if you process them before the arrangement gets too wilted. Stock flowers tend to dry very delicately. To dry the flowers, take apart the arrangement and tie together in stems of 3-5 with a rubber band and dry them hanging upside down. If you dry them against a wall, the flowers on the back will flatten, so try to suspend them where the blooms can just hang down freely.
Admittedly my head has been in the clouds as of late. My thoughts caught somewhere between dreams and plans, past and present, hopes and reality. It's that season in Poland, (+48)355712125 where the rain is unceasing and it both brings comfort and a longing that ebbs deeper to feel the sun on my skin again.
This week's new arrivals of pretty and feminine dresses and romantic tops brings about both feelings. The need and desire to cocoon indoors with my books and tea and the need and desire to run in a meadow or simply to just lay in the grass watching clouds go by. White billowy ones like on my favorite blouses.
It recently was brought to my attention that January is National Hot Tea Month! How perfect as this time of year I find myself drinking even more tea than usual. I have been working on plans of how we will be using our studio now that our retail shop has moved (we're located inside Urbanite now, just two blocks up!) and my plans of reopening a retail store in our studio/showroom have been shuttered away.
I hope to host personal shopping appointments in our studio/showroom as well as bespoke experiences involving all my favorite things and what I hope are also yours. Flowers, tea, and of course clothing.
We've been musing about hosting small gatherings perhaps a maximum of 4-6 of your friends for floral crafting parties accompanied with a tea service inspired by the Victorian era. We've also thought how lovely it would be to host tea parties for your littles and teach them how to craft sweet little mementos.
A bit old fashioned I know, but I can't help it! I like old fashioned things and old fashioned past times like partaking in Elevenses and Afternoon Tea (which we do weekly, if not daily here at AV HQ)
This is also the time of year when I'm usually preparing to attend several markets (it's more fun to say "going to market" than saying "going to a tradeshow" btw) and gathering inspiration for market, but seeing as how Covid is still running rampant about the country, I've decided to forego plans I had of traveling to any markets this season. So this will make it a whole year since I've been able to visit with brands and vendors in person to preview new styles for the upcoming seasons. Usually when I attend market I am choosing garments for the shop up to 8 months out. Le sigh.
I miss the thrill and rush of seeing rows and rows of samples, of that momentous goose prickles moment when I've found, perhaps, "the one". Because mypiggywiggy began solely as a vintage women's clothing store and I its only keeper and procurer of one of a kind finds, the thrill of the hunt (even for modern garments) elicits a high for me I feel only other vintage shop proprietors can relate to.
Honestly, attending market is exhausting! I see no less than 10,000 pieces of clothing a day and usually by the end of the day I'm seeing floral prints and ginghams in my eyes and my feet are swollen and feel raw to the touch. As the buyer for mypiggywiggy I am simultaneously using my left and right brain a minimum of 12 hours every day at market and exercising my skills of curation at at very rapid and very precise levels. Similarly to when I sourced vintage, I am lightning fast as a buyer for AV. I have to be! There's SO MUCH to see! Not to mention market involves SO MUCH talking, not just about business, but small talk (which I don't much care for) that by the end of one market my little introverted soul is crying out "please no moooore."
But, still I do LOVE IT. And I miss it terribly. Zoom calls and digital linesheets and Facetime chats and Whatsapp texts... sure, they suffice. But nothing beats seeing things in person, touching the fabrics, holding garments up against me in the mirror and visualizing the memories to be created while wearing said garment. It's absolutely thrilling, exhausting, and I miss it like crazy.
I hope you are faring well friends and hope you too are giving yourself space to anchor awhile in dreamland and traveling down memory lane even though it is bittersweet (at least for me).
Faithfully yours,
Rodellee
]]>The first issue of Victoria I believe was a Spring/Summer issue that came out in 1987. These early editions have been quite hard for me to track down and come by, but I'm not really in a rush to complete my collection.
I love flipping through them month after month, year after year, absorbing all the beauty and inspiration. Some of it makes me laugh because it's just a little "too extra" but I still appreciate the sentiment so much because who doesn't want to aspire to be a little too extra once in awhile?
The December 1988 issue of Victoria features one of my most favorite editorials ever, "Portraiture In The Style of Sargent" photographed by Starr Ockenga and the photos are so exquisite and beautiful as if it's an actual photo of the models in John Singer Sargent's studio illuminated with their own inner lights.
...and here is a photo of yours truly in a very Victoria inspired ensemble from when I shot these earlier this week.
At the beginning of every year I always choose a word that carries my hopes and expectations for 2020. I had chosen "Contentedness" as my word and had made a simple mood board of what this meant to me. A sparsely decorated room with curtains blowing in the breeze, a photo of hands kneading bread, a black and white photo of Audrey Hepburn sipping coffee outdoors and reading at home, a photo of a couple eating under an arch of string lights...
Simple things. Quiet things. Contentedness things.
What does it mean to be content? To be truly happy with all you have? To be grateful for everyday, every moment, for the challenges, the triumphs, the loses, the wins?
Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and see a reflection of a woman that has a childlike spirit and an old soul. It sometimes gets confusing. Most often I look at myself and think "You are so very, very lucky." My mother in law once told someone that I'm one of the most grateful persons she has ever met. Maybe in a past life I did enough good things to warrant this life's rewards. Simple as they may be to some.
Perhaps I am so grateful because, well, as sensitive and deeply personal of a topic this is, I know I'm not suppose to be living and breathing on this Earth. Maybe this is why I am constantly in awe and grateful to witness how the sky looks when it is ablazed in violets and corals at sunset, how dew glimmers in the sun like polished diamond orbs, how light dances in our living room because of a playful breeze in the trees...
Perhaps I am grateful because many moons ago, my Mother, at 22, decided to keep her unborn baby despite the shame it brought to her family and ultimately being cast out. That I was given a chance to live. It is sobering, humbling, and grounding.
I know this post is a bit heavier than some of my other posts, but I wanted to share some of my heart and what has been on my mind the past week since I find I'm always more in deep thought this time of year than any other time. I hope in this season you are able to spend time reflecting on the good that you DO have in your life. There IS good, even if it isn't the most apparent to you.
Count your blessings. Remember to be grateful. Be kind always. It costs you nothing to be kind and your kindness may be priceless for someone else.
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