The tender axe of springtime

Tee: H&M
Skirt: Vintage, 1950s, from Chick-A-Boom! Vintage
Shoes: Naturalizer
Necklace: From East Brother Light Station

The weather has gotten to the point where tights aren’t necessary anymore. It’s kind of nice. I always get really into the whole sunny weather thing right at the beginning of spring, then by the time May rolls around, I’m ready for the rain again. I’m bringing out all the cottons in my closet right now. This circle skirt has made quite a few appearances in public ever since I got it for my birthday. It’s from the 1950s and I am completely in love with it. That pattern! That cut! That buckle! Looks like I found myself a new spring staple.

Music: Rome – Odessa

Crown jewel

First of all, happy International Women’s Day! Today I give my thanks and my respect to all the women, past and present, who have struggled to improve the lives of women all over the world. I also give my thanks and respect to the men and to the people of non-binaried gender identities who have contributed to the fight for women’s rights and gender equality. We still have a long way to go, but without these great people, we would be nothing. They are our heroes.

About the dress:

There are certain pieces of vintage clothing I own that I call the “crown jewels” of my collection. This dress, which my parents gave to me for my birthday this weekend, became a crown jewel the minute I took it out of the box.

It’s a 1940s hand-painted deadstock shirtdress. It came from my friend Marissa, who owns Chick-A-Boom! Vintage.

This is the most expressive, wild 1940s dress I’ve ever seen. It’s beautiful in every way. It’s an absolute privilege to be the owner and caretaker of this sartorial work of art.

Felidae

So I was just taking some outfit photos when all of a sudden this neighborhood cat wandered into the shot. He sits on our front porch sometimes, and he’s always been very friendly to me and Arthur. For some reason, he decided the spot I was using for photos was the exact spot he needed to sit in. I have very little experience with cats, but apparently this is kind of their modus operandi, right? “If I fits, I sits.” Or, more accurately, “If someone is already there, I sits.”

Dress: Gifted. Vintage, late 1960s home-sew, from Persona Vintage
Blazer: Anthropologie/Cartonnier
Tights: Gifted
Shoes: ModCloth

First Rain

The Northern Californian rainy season generally starts around the very beginning of October. The rain came a little bit late this year, right after one last heat wave that came from nowhere.

This vintage Austrian dirndl gets lots of wear during the Fall and Winter. I’ve had it for about two years now, and it has definitely become a wardrobe staple. It is actually very versatile. I feel like I can wear it anywhere. And it fits into that seasonal obsession I get with the color red.

Vintage dirndl: from Chick-A-Boom! Vintage
Shirt: Thrifted
Tights: L’Eggs
Shoes: ModCloth

See you Wednesday!

Amber von Nagel

Autumnal red

I always wear red and black in autumn. I also play a lot of ukulele.

Collared shirt: Thrifted
Cardigan: Gifted
Necklace: 1919 Mercury Dime, from my grandmother
Skirt: Vintage, 1960s, Roos/Atkins
Tights: L’Eggs

See you Friday

Amber von Nagel

1940s Argoflex on Mount Tamalpais

These photos came from my 1940s Argoflex TLR camera during a hike on the Phoenix Lake/Yolanda Trail on Mount Tam (accessible through the town of Ross). I don’t normally take my film cameras on hikes, but I think I should do it more often. I want to do a color roll during Winter, when everything is green and the sky is dark.

See you Wednesday,
Amber von Nagel

Hike

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while (and those of you who just know me really well) know that I love hiking.  I have been really lucky to live in the Bay Area my whole life, where I have access to tons of great trails.

I’d like to encourage all of you to go on a hike sometime soon.  Summer will be ending soon, so try out some coastal trails while the weather is nice.  Then, when Autumn and Winter come around, go on some beautiful inland hikes, whether they be on rolling hills, misty mountains, or far-flung meadows.  Coastal hikes can be stunning in the colder months too, if you’re up for it!

Here are some beautiful old photographs (mainly from the early 20th Century, most from Norway) to get you inspired to explore your local state and regional parks.  I have a list of Marin County trails that I’ve never explored but plan on doing so soon.  I’m thinking Baltimore Canyon and Indian Tree in the late Summer, then Cascade Canyon and Cataract Falls in the Winter, with some possible return visits to the Tomales Point Tule Elk Reserve and Samuel P. Taylor/Devil’s Gulch in Autumn.

What are your favorite hikes in your area?

Amber von Nagel

Argoflex

I’m really excited about this little TLR camera in  my hand.  It’s an Argoflex of some sort, most likely from the 1940s, and it belonged to my grandparents.  I haven’t been able to find this particular model of Argoflex anywhere online, and the guy at the local camera shop said he’d never seen an Argoflex of this size before, so I’m not certain what specific model it is or when exactly it was made.  I was afraid I’d find out it only took 620 film (which was discontinued in 1995), but it turns out 120 will fit in it just fine, which means I can still easily buy film for it!  I’m not certain if it has any light leaks or other problems like that, but I’ll load in a roll this week and see what happens.

I love shooting with vintage cameras.  I’ve always been better at film photography than I have at digital, and even though I don’t like developing my own film (it’s kind of tedious), I love going into the darkroom and making my own prints.  TLR photography is especially fun because it makes you take photos in a completely different way than you would with an SLR.  The viewfinder is at waist level, which is perfect for candid shots, because it’s harder for your subject(s) to tell if you’re taking a photo or not.  It’s a very discreet, unobtrusive form of photography.

I’m going to have a fun time taking photos on this little guy.  I have quite a few vintage cameras (mostly 35mm) but this one is extra special because it belonged to my grandparents and it has tons of character.  I also feel like this camera must be used while I’m wearing mid century clothing.  The dress pictured is a late 1950s/early 1960s R&K Originals that is a tad big in the bust, but it has a beautiful print and a darling tie in the front.

Amber von Nagel

San Francisco Silent Film Festival

About a month ago, my boss handed me a list of the films playing at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival because he assumed I’d be interested.  He obviously assumed right, because that very night I bought tickets to four of the festival screenings.

I had never been to a film festival before, I had never been to the Castro Theatre, and I had never seen a silent film backed by a live orchestra.  The idea of seeing four silent films in a theater that was built during the silent era, and seeing them with live music backing was just about the most magical thing I could think of for a silent film nerd like me.  I planned out two flapper-tastic outfits for each day we went (Friday and Saturday), but I ended up just wearing one on Friday and going in my jeans and hoodie on Saturday, since we had to do moving-related things afterward.

The photo above was taken on Friday evening.  I am wearing my 1920s-era velvet two-piece set, of course.  And I’m wearing it in front of Harvey Milk’s camera shop, which is now an action center and store for the Human Rights Campaign.

Walking around the Castro was great.  I even loved waiting outside of the theater, looking up at the deco sign and noticing the little deco details in the theater’s architecture.  The theater was built in 1922 for silent film, and it really is a grand theater.  I love its frescos and neoclassical-meets-deco style.

The first film we saw, The Wonderful Lie of Nina Petrovna, was our favorite.  Brigitte Helm from Metropolis was in it, and she blew us away.  We also loved the collection of Felix the Cat cartoons.  The Spanish Dancer was a fun one.  It was like a silent film-era blockbuster.  The Canadian was pretty bleak, and it had some good points, but it was probably our least favorite.  What we did love about it was the music.  The accompanist played piano, flute, and accordion by himself, sometimes playing two instruments at once to get the right sound.  He was incredible!

It was really magical to see silent films the way they were meant to be seen: in a theater with an orchestra.  I will definitely want to attend next year’s SF Silent Film Festival.

Amber von Nagel

Be back soon!

Sorry for the lack of a Wednesday post!  I just thought I’d check in right now to let you all know that I’ll be taking a short posting break for a week or two while Arthur and I are moving.  We found a great place to live that’s closer to where we work.  We love our little cottage in Petaluma, but it’s time for us to move to a bigger space.  And we’ll be cutting our commute times drastically, which is really nice.  The move will take a lot of time out of our already busy days, though, so I won’t have a lot of time to make blog posts.  I might make one or two just to pop in and show you our progress, so make sure to check back over the next few weeks!

For now, though, here are some great public domain photos from my adventures browsing Flickr Commons.  I’ve been re-reading Anne of Green Gables, so I was drawn to a lot of photos from Canada during the late Victorian/Edwardian eras.  In fact, all of these photos are Canadian except for the one of the beer-drinking chaps (I’m not certain where that photo was taken).

See you soon!

Amber von Nagel