Winter’s Slipping Away, Let Me Catch It With Red And Grey

“Spring is in the air! No, wait… it is still the end of December!” – these were my thoughts when I got outside a couple of days before the New Year Eve to take pictures of a winter outfit with a grey coat and vintage red shawl. The weather was strange – like a middle of March, not an end of December. The air felt fresh, and the streets were dry and clean. The mountains of snow left from the last snow storm shrank to tiny piles, and green grass was showing everywhere. It felt great; however the scenery did not match the winter mood at all. We went to a canal, which is 3 min away by foot from my home, in a hope of finding there a more wintery scene – and not only that. Apart from the winter mood, I wanted to convey a feeling of freedom I am experiencing now, and the open area of the shore was perfect for that.

How To Get The Look

• Grey checkered coat: Tommy Hilfiger (similar and a cheaper option)
• Red crocheted shawl: vintage made in 1960s (similar)
• Cleated boots: Jefferey Campbell (weirdly I cannot find exactly these boots anywhere… the Nirvana ones seem to be similar, and here is a cheaper option)
• Red pom-pom beanie: Urban Outfitters
• Grey striped Leggings: Dex (similar)
• Black shoulder bag: second hand H&M (similar)

Vintage Red Shawl

I bought the shawl about 4 years ago, in 2010, during my previous life-changing period (I wrote about it in my previous post). I had just broken up with my ex-husband and started living on my own. It was a weird time… I was looking for a new me, for a new life and my place in this life. I felt super lonely and had a lot of free time. This brought me to a club of clothes swap lovers (a.k.a the SWAP Team). I met Aleece, the founder, at work, and after talking to her for 2 hours strait I became a huge fan of the project and spent the next three years volunteering shoulder to shoulder with these amazing people.

While organizing the clothes exchanges I started paying more attention to second hand shopping in general. There was (and is) an amazing thrift store right next to my old place where I quickly became an habitué. After bringing home yet another treasure, I used to make an outfit with the new item and go outside with my camera and tripod and take selfies. Then I would write about the look and the finding in the SWAP Team’s blog. I had my own column called Diary Of Frugalista which was my first fashion blogging experience. Fun times!

That thrifting store is where I got the dress that won the ELLE contest and this vintage shawl handmade in 1960s. The shawl stole my attention with its bright colors – it actually has three shades of red – as well as a nostalgic crocheted pattern. When I was a teenager I used to crochet a lot (I know it sounds weird, teenagers are usually not so much into crocheting), but I never managed to make anything bigger than a cropped vest. It made me appreciate the amount of work that was put into making this item. Of course, once I brought it home, I quickly cooked up an outfit and went to the back alley to take pictures. However, I did not think through the details, and the overall look turned out to be far away from being great. It was never published in my column or anywhere else.

Me with the vintage shawl in fall of 2010 taking selfies on a back alley.

Me with the same vintage shawl in the end of 2014. Pictured by my boyfriend and processed by me. I think this look is much better than the one from 2010.

Disclaimer: Yup, this post may contain affiliate links! If you buy something from me, I get some margarita money (not enough to buy a pair of shoes). Read more here.