Blessing Guest Post!

I was honored to do a guest post for Blessing Counter's new blog series today! You can click HERE for the post. I'd love to hear what you think and hope you're all having a lovely Wednesday!

Part II: The Magic of Ordinary Days Dress Study

Now for our study of all the amazing dresses in The Magic of Ordinary Days! (Note: my full film review is here.) To preface, I absolutely love all kinds of different fashion eras (i.e. Margaret Hale in the '04 N&S, Lizzy in the '95 P&P, and Emma in the '09 Emma have some of my favorite wardrobes of all time), but if I was personally going to pick an era for all the time and every day, this would probably be it. It's so entirely classy and feminine and wearable.

So here's our exhaustive look at the marvelous outfits in this particular film.

#1: Accessories: Hats, Gloves, Suspenders, (Teacups), etc.

Livy's lavender gloves and embroidered purse.

Livy's hat here is actually made of a knit fabric -- pulled over a frame, I'm guessing.

I love the sailor vibe in Flory's first hat (above) and the clean wicker/bamboo feel to Rose's (below).

Then there's this nautical/tailored/military inspired variation of Abby's...

Livy wears this hat tipped slightly to the side in an earlier scene, creating more of a beret effect (and this is my second favorite of her dresses by the way, but more on that below).

I had to put this one in... ;D Teacups are a scrumptiously dainty favorite topic of mine and this one is just gorgeous! It's actually part of an entire dinner set. 

As a note, the men’s wardrobes are all quite well done, too.

Blouse/skirt/trouser ensembles:

I LOVE the Western detailing to this one of Martha's!

With the tiny floral print and Peter Pan collar, this one of Livy's actually has a particularly sweet and girlish feel. (Notice the pairing with the red skirt above.)

And the wider, laid down collar on this one looks super comfy.

Livy’s sister Abby in a blouse with small embroidered flowers.

I love the almost Spanish influence in the heavier embroidery on Ruth’s white peasant party top.

(A close up of the sleeve design.)

And... my absolute favorite of Livy’s blouses (I. LOVE. IT! The utter and complete end. ;))

Worn with a bulky sweater.

Close up of the gorgeous detailing (and also because it’s just a beautiful composition/shot). And here's the red skirt again.

Here's Livy's nautical toned skirt. (Notice her shoes, too.)

I absolutely love the white detailing on this skirt. (In other words, I'm bookmarking it for a sewing reference. Obviously I need to get braver with the white thread. :))

Dresses

Two 40's novelty prints (they might actually be feed sack prints), plus two more hats.

Ruth's outfit (center) looks so youthful and practical and fun. Not to mention comfortable.

Another dress of Martha's.

(I love this "sister happiness" moment. Joyful tears!)

There's Flory's super happy pink polka-dot dress/sweater combination.

And as aforementioned, this is my second favorite of Livy's dresses. I LOVE THE BLUE. And the detailing. And how it's paired here with the cardigan. And how it feels so altogether fresh and summery and adventure-ish.

Of course, there's her definitive "arrival" dress (which is really amazing).

(A nice look at the kitchen, besides other points of interest.)

I think of this one as her "parasol" dress. (Though, for some reason, the color scheme also particularly reminds me of illustrations I've seen of toadstools in various children's picture books. Isn't that funny?)

Later on (i.e. later in the pregnancy), she actually also wears a white blouse and her blue cardigan over the dress. There’s an earlier discussion between her and Rose and Flory on the topic of maternity clothes, so I think she’s making shift to make her dresses work out -- which ingenuity I find fascinating.

A close up of the lovely detailing on the blouse.

I'm not tremendously fond of the pocket detailing on this dress, but overall I like it.

For the longest time, I thought she only wore this one in the early scene with Rose and Flory, but then I realized she wears it during the, "Troy? Troy who?" scene as well. :) (Love that part!)

And now AT LAST we come to my absolute favorite!! ;D (Translated, I'm now going to afflict you with about a zillion pictures. If you don't like pink candy stripes and swing dresses and cap sleeves and neat cross-over V-neck detailing, then feel free to scroll a lot faster, but if you do happen to like them, then enjoy yourself! ;))

I love the sunshine on pink and all the fresh air in this scene. You can feel it.

(Also notice her hair here -- i.e. in braided double buns.)

Wearing it again later in the year over a wine-colored top...

We see the wine top by itself briefly in this earlier lovely, split-second long scene. (Incidentally, don't you love the complimentary wine-red and green here?)

Of course, I like the blue of her maternity dress with all the delicate simplicity of the lace accents.

And the hat going with it.

The jacket isn't my absolute favorite, but taken altogether it is pretty neat. ;)

And then... there's the tan dress with the check collar (quite a different color from anything previous!) that we see briefly in the second-to-last scene.

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So there you have it! :) Aren't they all lovely? And what do you think? Do you have a favorite??

(Posted for Rose’s 40’s Week and Miss Laurie’s Period Drama Challenge 2016.)