A 1950s Housewife

Dress: INC via Macy's; Shoes: Nicole Miller via DSW;

All pearl jewelry: Silpada

I adore this take on the 1950s shirt dress! I feel a little June Cleaver and a little Charlotte York. And I love that I'm wearing an old size 6! Now, before you get too excited, let's talk about why I would fit into a size 6 dress. It's an A-Line skirt!! The full skirt doesn't cling to my curves, hides all the flaws I'm sporting and the shirt bodice is just that, a shirt. This is an ideal look for someone with an hourglass, apple or pear shape body. If you fit into one of those three categories, keep this look in mind when shopping.

The other thing I love about this look is that it creates a lovely silhouette. I look like I have small waist due to the cut of the dress and the flair of the skirt off the hip. Gotta love that! And there are a million ways to style this dress! I'm thinking I will remove the self-tie belt and add a wide, patent leather belt in black. Patent leather black peep toes heels would keep the look mainstreamed and you could play with color in the jewels. I would love to add red shoes!! Black, white and red are a wonderful color combination. Now, do I have red shoes? Might need check that out! I smell another shoe shopping trip!

Here are some photos of actual 1950s shirt dresses so you can see the authentic look.

 

When I thought of who might have worn this look in the 50s, I immediately thought of June Cleaver, the characterization of a 1950s housewife. And what did June always wear to accent her daily outfit? Pearls! This how I updated pearls. I doubled a long strand of freshwater pearls and added an additional crystal and pearl necklace. I even went so far as to add pearl drop earrings and an armful of freshwater pearl bracelets. Could you imagine cleaning, cooking and tending to your children dressed so properly? I certainly can't!

Not sure why my legs look blue, but it could be the fact that they haven't seen sun in ages! I'm Casper white!! At first I thought the yellow pumps blended into my leg when looking at this in full length mirror, but it's not as bad as I thought. A slight tan would help! Anyway, this is just one way to add color to black and white. Again, play up the color. Red, fuchsia, purple or even a cobalt blue would jazz it up! Wow, I really do need to go shoe shopping! 

Today, I decided to pull a little bit of hair off my face and what a huge difference it made in thinning out my cheeks! Adding just a hint of volume to the crown helped as well. Little things like this make a big difference! Play around and find what works for your face frame.

Photos of the shirt dresses from Pintuck Style Vintage Fashion