A Clothes Horse

One of my favorite brands that really nails classic, cottagecore style dresses and always has the sweetest prints is Princess Highway. Since the brand is based in Australia their seasons are the opposite of ours, as we head towards the end of autumn and beginning of winter, their shop is dropping late spring and summer styles to suit the shifting seasons. This means I often end up getting pieces slightly out of season from Princess Highway, but as I still love their clothes even out of season I love to find a way to wear them immediately! So when I received these two dresses recently it was fun trying ways to mix them into more autumnal outfits. For my first dress I decided to pair it with an apron dress for an added layer and that princess-in-waiting vibes. This really reminds me of what princesses wear in the start of a fairytale when the still work in the kitchens or on the farm; I like that more natural style than the giant sparkly dresses that come later in the story. A perfect look for a visit to the apple orchards foraging for a few late apples. I love how the orchards turn yellow in November; it's a very brief splash of color before the trees lose all their leaves. phorchard-35-side

Princess Highway "Analise" dress, Voriagh apron dress, Bill Skinner necklace, Cabocolo Brasil flats

While I don't often wear floral prints in autumn, the Agnes dress seems particularly suited for this time of year with its rust-colored flowers and olive green stems. It was very easy to find the right knits and autumnal accessories to pair with this dress. The shape and length of the dress gave me a bit of a 1930s vibe so I decided to play up that feeling with a cropped cardigan, tilted beret, and braided updo. One thing I keep meaning to do more of this year is play with my hair and try to learn some new hairstyles. There's a lot of vintage-inspired styles that are so great to wear with berets, so that's one of my first styles to focus on. ph1

Princess Highway "Agnes" dress, Emmy Design cardigan, old beret & scarf

Autumn has faded in my corner of the world. There's barely any leaves on the trees anymore and the days grow ever shorter and colder. This season of copper trees lingers on a wee bit longer through my photographs though as I captured several serene corners and scenes around my park that I haven't had a chance to edit or share yet. Autumn will also continue to linger on through most of winter in my wardrobe since I love wearing mustard yellows and burnt oranges. A perfect collision of my favorite things: autumn, linen, pumpkins, and tiny details has to be this absolute dream dress by Pinja Heikkinen. We don't often think of clothes as art, especially not dresses outside of haute couture, but I do feel like Pinja is an artist whose medium is needle and thread. She makes beautiful classic dresses all finished with handsewn embroidery. There's a few pieces in stock in her shop and a few braided crowns remaining from her last collection, but she also takes custom work like my dream pumpkin dress! We sent a few ideas back and forth, she sketched it out and worked her magic and viola! the dream autumn dress I'll treasure forever. You can see more of custom work when you follow her on Instagram and each creation is a delight. If you love her work keep an eye on her socials and her shop because she has a collection of braided crowns--handmade with linen and finished in different winter-themed embroidery that will be released on December first. Most of her crown designs sell out quickly, so be on your toes if you want to snag one!

custom dress & crown by Pinya Heikkinen, Caboclo Brasil flats

When I was younger my dream dress would have looked very differently. I wasn't in love with linen or embroidery then nor did I aim for a quiet lifestyle. When I was little I think my dream dress would have been dramatic--layers of tulle and sparkles, something big and flashy. When I first started buying vintage back in college I always fell in love with 1950s prom and wedding dresses; I bought a number that now hang as display in a small area of my house. They're beautiful but not very practical. I never have an occasion to wear them and when I do wear them I don't feel myself in them; I'm not an occasion dress kind of girl. I'm a stay at home, walk the dog in the park, and try to identify different leaves kind of girl. When I was younger I probably would have thought that wasn't very special...but I think it is special in its own, quieter way. Just the way this dress is incredibly dreamy and special even if it's not covered in sparkles. The linen feels like a second skin, it's a silhouette and style I can wear every day and the embroidery is so lovely, a wonderful combination of nature and whimsy--and it was made by an incredible artist who is just starting to grow her business and deserves all the support in the world because her work is so beautiful.

“After all," Anne had said to Marilla once, "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” L.M. Montgomery

custom dress & crown by Pinya Heikkinen, Caboclo Brasil flats

There's an old poem that goes something like, "no fruits, no leaves, no birds--November!" While I quite like that turn of phrase I've never found it to be accurate for Ireland. The berries are scarce, but the birds are gathering en masse every evening and the leaves are hitting their peak. The countryside is a blaze of yellows and oranges and rusty reds and I have been dressing to match the trees! I love autumnal colors and animal prints, so I am in love with Nour and the Merchant's Willow dress. I'm wearing the bunny print, or as I like to think of it "the autumn hare" (there's also a fox and wolf print in the shop) and I love the flow of this dress and contrasting stripes of teal. I also appreciate how much Nour and the Merchant thinks about sustainability when producing their clothes; even this fabric was developed by digitally printing on organic cotton to reduce water pollution. All of their slow fashion clothes are made to order which means they are cut, sewn, and packed by hand at their atelier in Italy and production can take 6 weeks. So if you order anything from the slow fashion collection it won’t be ready until after Christmas, however you can still buy a gift or jewelry from their shop instead and still get that in time for the holidays. And Nour & the Merchant is dropping a winter capsule collection and will only be taking 10-15 orders of that collection which will be made and shipped in time for Christmas! I've been eyeing their holiday capsule teasers on Instagram and have a few pieces on my wishlist I'd love to get for Christmas. This year more than ever I'm trying to be mindful and support independent and small businesses for the holidays; they need our support more than ever. nour-34

Nour & The Merchant "Willow" dress, vintage belt

Several years ago I would have been intimidated by such a long dress; I used to think longer dress would make petite people like myself look short or small but now I love wearing long dresses! If you look at almost all of my recent posts and outfits, I'm almost always wearing a longer dress. It's wild to be how much my style has changed and how much my confidence has grown in styles that would have frightened me before. Long dresses are especially brilliant for layering in autumn and winter--I can wear wellie boots underneath and hardly anyone will know--and they don't make me look short at all! I find the "trick" to wearing longer dresses is to define the natural waistline and wear them with confidence; the less you think or worry about how you look in them the less anyone else will too! nour-47