Embracing Going Gray ~ Turbans

Turbans available Lacey Rose Creations 

Recently I shared needing to cut off my hair due to health issues and not being as comfortable with the look as I once was, especially in my retro look lifestyle... even tho Jean Seberg once made a similar crop very chic to have after she cut her hair off for Joan of Arc, as well as actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Leslie Caron to name a few who also went short, but not quite as drastic as Jean or myself. Health was the driving force, but I could have left the hair a bit longer, but was just not wishing to deal with the "skunk stripe" , especially with being in the public eye. I did not even consider how I would feel with a "buzz cut" however. So here I was, 90% of the colored hair was gone, but so was what was to me, a retro style identifier...but that is just rehashing my last post. I shared then that I was now wearing scarves and true turbans, and that even my entire family had not seen my hair. That continued for a week, even after revealing my new cut via my latest YouTube episode; they really do not watch. I finally decided to unveil it to them and it was a mixed reaction, not bad or negative, just maybe taken aback. I still have not posted photos to Instagram or FB, so unless you have seen my video.... OH and just two days ago I shortened the fringe so that it would be less whispy and it removed even more of my faux color, leaving me with just a tinge of blue black on the top. I am now obsessed with berets, scarves, and turbans even more! Especially during the colder months and well I am not ready to unveil to my nail gal either...sometimes it is easier to hide than explain. 

Short hair has me hiding....
*Jean Seberg 

Now when I ordered my turban from Lacey Rose Creations via Etsy, I was not too knowledgeable about them in 1950's or early 60's style, I had seen a few photos, but for the most part I thought of Turbans as a more 1940's style, and of course they were very popular then, they were bigger and elaborate and I often see many of the ladies on Instagram that do the more 1940's look using them to top off their look ....even when I received my turban in the mail in the note card it was mentioned that they were more 1940's. I was curious, so I started doing a bit of research on the subject and collecting images. Now I do not mind rolling in a bit of the 1940's to my look, you have all seen me with a scarf on ala "Rosie the Riveter" , but that seems more accepted and the norm and is done with a  chiffon scarf or bandanna style scarf. I was amazed at how many images I did find that was women from the 1950s wearing turbans. 

Wearing a chiffon scarf ala Rosie
*brooch and earrings from
Housewife Chic by Ruby on Etsy 

  

 

If you are not familiar with the definition of the turban, here is a break down.... The word Turban is a description of a millinery design where fabric is wrapped and twisted and secured to create a turban/head wear that is now closely molded to the head.  It usually covers most or all of the hair. Of course how it looks, how big, be it stuffed, stiffened or adorned depends on the era, or fashion choices or even  ethnic/religious groups that may be wearing one. Turbans have been worn by women since as early as the 18th century, perhaps even further back, and there has been varieties of turbans through to modern day and not just by retro/vintage women or by women forced to cover their head due to health, religious or cultural reasons. 

Examples of turbans over the years in Hollywood

So what about in my style pocket, the 1950's ? Well, draped turbans sbegan to regain popularity again in the mid 1950s .  The Times reported in 1955, upon a ensemble designed by Dior that was  compromised of a sheath dress created in brocaded silk, with a  matching jacket trimmed with sable fur and then as a finishing touch a brocade silk draped turban. Turban styles were adapted to accommodate more bouffant hair styles. There was also a report of  Milliner Claude Saint-Cyr , who was in charge of designing hats for the Queen. One that was mentioned within all my research was a soft "supple" felt turban created in 1956, that covered the ears and rose to a draped peak at the back of the head. Similar if not the one to the one in this photo from 1960/

The Queen with Harold Macmillan in November 1960
Photo found via google search and not owned by me. 

I can imagine that if the queen wore it, it would not be long before a style firestorm would begin and many a woman would work a turban into their wardrobe, much like how women in the states followed the starlets and first ladies to guide how they dressed in their own life. That has not changed, don't we all still look up to those in the public eye to inspire what we wish to look like and how we dress? But I digress. This is about the fact that I am now trying to embrace my grey, but getting started on that path ( yet again) and do it in a drastic way; by cutting off all my hair. The thing is I still want that feeling of being chic and retro ( in my own eyes), and avoid a lot of explanation when I go out and run into people I know, or when I post photos to social media. This is also about me trying to cope with how I feel when I look in the mirror having just recently having had hair and a hair color that inspired others, and was an instant visual that represented to others and even to myself that I was a retro/vintage lady, even if in just a pair of jeans and a T shirt. Having hair this short , although it being something women did have in the 1950's as photos ( all of starlets mind you) I shared in my last post showed , for me , in my eyes, when I look in the mirror does not scream 1950's. Askewed thinking, yes, but it is what bounces around in my head. So turbans and scarves ala Rosie it is, at least for a couple months when the buzzed portion lengthens and softens a bit. At least now know that turbans ARE something that was around and worn quite a bit in the 1950's so I can feel a bit more like myself while I follow this path of embracing grey and my new much shorter hair. 

Once Upon A Time (Dress)....

Where better a place to wear a dress that calls for a Halloween themed setting?! 

A short time ago I received a message on Instagram from a follower by  the handle @lovelyinlilacofficial , she had a proposition for me, in exchange for being seen, posting to Instagram and tagging her I would receive an incentive to make a purchase. Now this is not the norm, usually sponsors send me their products to try out, shoot with, review and promote, but I took a look at what Lovely in Lilac has to offer and I decided that I would agree to move forward...especially after chatting with the woman behind the company. All it took was a few exchanges back and forth and I knew that I wanted to be a part of what turns out to be the very begging of a new venture within the retro clothing world. 

Within the back and forth conversation I decided that I wanted to do more than just share a photo on Instagram and a tag, but I wanted to tell a story with the chosen dress and more so I wanted to tell the story of how Lovely In Lilac came to be, where it is now and where it is going to be headed in the very near future. Lovely in Lilac's social media presence is run by @lovelyinlavender on Instagram. She runs all the day to day operations and social media promotions. The company/shop was formed with two of her dear friends that she has had since high school, both being social media shy but of important talents to a clothing company, or any small business of any type; one is an arts major in collage and the other is attending business school and are involved with website design and graphics, and they have helped develop the business plan model for the business now known as Lovely in Lilac. 

I asked "Lavender" as I shall call her for the rest of this post, to tell me a little more back ground about Lovely in Lilac.... " I came up with the idea one night while we were all together (I have always had an obsession with quirky dresses) , and asked them for their help... I also agreed to take care of the social media needs since they are social media shy, it has been such a fun experience so far.  This northern California based company, founded earlier this year is still in the soft launch phase, and they are currently featuring "unique statement" printed dresses from companies such as Folter ( which the dress I am wearing is from), Retroliscious ( which has their own website, and social media presence as well as supplying smaller companies through wholesale) , and Voodoo Vixen. LIL has started out with a small stock of designs and offerings and has for now been seasonal, mainly Halloween for obvious reasons, but they are phasing out those prints, again for obvious reasons. They try to keep all sizes and styles in stock and ready for shipment within 48 hours of an order, but some sadly do sell out and are on back order which is out of their control, but they do their best to keep the website up to date. There is exciting things on the horizon for this small business, " in January we will expand to unique accessories and statement purses.... we are also working on the launch of our own house brand dress line, which is almost done with the design phase with the production phase starting this month!" I asked Lavender to expand on what is in the future for LIL, " We are also currently looking for more dress companies that carry the type and style of dresses similar to the style of dress we are going for, with a main focus of trying to stay with 'made in the U.S.A. " I then asked her to tell me about their customer service practices as that is a major thing with me, if customer service is lacking I often will stop shopping with a company no matter how good a product is, and expressing that "Lavender" did her best to fill me in on their policies and goals.... "We want the customer's experience to be an enjoyable one, that is one reason we try to work with them on every level through out the whole process....one way we add to the experience is that we gift wrap all our outgoing orders.  " In reading through their policies and in chatting with "Lavender", they offer exchanges if something is not as the customer expected or if the fit is not quite right, but if that is not what the customer desires then they will happily offer a refund upon the return of the full order in original shipped condition; pretty standard, and you can read the fine details on their web site or email them with any further questions. So what about shipping ? That is always a decision maker when considering online shopping.... " Shipping is free for any order over 100.00 or a flat rate of 7.50 within the United States; we also offer international shipping and it is 20.00." 

This my friends is the "Once Upon A Time Dress" ....

Now let me fill you in, before I share the mini photo shoot I did for a small Halloween slide show that I shared that day, on my thoughts on the process and the dress. First off, "Lavender" really helped me with size, fit and even to directing me to a style that would suit me, alleviating any fears I had from trying a new to me brand. My choice did indeed ship within 48 hours and I received it very quickly, mainly because I only live a 2 hour drive from their home base, but also because of the speedy rate of my dress being sent out. The dress was indeed wrapped up like a present to myself, always a nice and appreciated touch. I tried it on immediately in case an exchange was needed and it fit like a glove, and was even more stunning in person than it had appeared on the website. I could hardly wait to wear it out and about, but wait I did as I had an event that was coming up the weekend before Halloween and I knew it would be perfect for it. So with no further wait, here are the photos from the day that I got to wear it. A little disclaimer first tho, it was windy, chilly and my husband and myself were nearly in a car wreck on the freeway, not once, but twice due to a motor home looking to change lanes and not caring or seeing that we were there and in bumper to bumper traffic, so the stress from a panic attack shows all over my face, so bad timing, but LOOK at the dress, that is the real star of the photos...and be sure you check out Lovely in Lilac, follow them on Instagram AND at the bottom of this post look for a discount code !! 

Visit Lovely in Lilac .....Tell them Ruby sent you!

receive a 20 percent discount code using...

RUBYSMUSINGS

Halloween Hodge Podge

Silver Terrace Cemetery . Virginia City , Nevada
* this photo not taken by me, found via google search 

 

Every year I try to do a Halloween themed post. I have shared all sorts of Halloween Ghost stories, legends, history and even my own experiences. After doing this for 6 years it is harder and harder to come up with new material. I had planned to go on a local ghost tour before it would come time to post this, but unfortunately that was not to happen.... maybe next year. I also had planned to get to a few of our local cemeteries and take different mini photo shoots and then tell of the lore associated with the location, but weather and my photographer ( aka my husband) having to work either at home or actually going in to his real job, also made those plans get set aside. So what is this post going to be about? Well, it is going to be a hodge podge ; a bit of everything. So up first a few fashion photos taken at the Silver Terrace Cemetery in Virginia City Nevada,  that I visited for the second time in the last 5 or so years during a recent mini getaway to Reno.

Dress is available through Le Bomb Shop , gloves are Amazon, shoes and petticoat are also Amazon, sunglasses and straw hat are vintage , pearls are Tiffanys . In the distance, you can
see the township of Virginia City a short drive from Reno Nevada.

Nestled in the hills above Virginia City, Silver Terrace is a mix of many different social levels and religious diversity and a combination of several cemeteries combined into one.

Graves like this is plentiful, but so are small wooden crosses and rustic wooden
picket fences with unmarked graves . 

You could spend an entire day exploring Silver Terrace, but if you plan to do that be sure that you
bring walking shoes, it is not heel friendly to say the least and some of the trails can be quite steep. 

The Silver Terrace is just one of many haunted locations in and around Virginia City Nevada. Explored by many a professional and novice ghost hunter ( get permission before you decide to have your own , as the cemetery closes at 8 p.m.) , and is rumored to be the home to not one but many spirits, some showing up as glowing orbs of light with no source, and the apparition of a young woman in a brown dress circa late 1800s. With so many deaths of miners, prospectors, ladies of the night, and even every day citizens from babies through adults that lead the tough lives that living in this remote western gold mining town dictated. Lives ended prematurely from disease, fire, and mining accidents to murder....perfect demises that might tie spirits to this charming western town. Read more stories here and learn more here. 

Have you ever felt like someone is watching your
every move?
* earrings are from Twinkleburst and the brooch
Housewife Chic by Ruby.... find links in the web version
of this blog in the side bars 

Next up in this Halloween themed hodge podge post, is a little spooky moment or two that I have had here at Muse Cottage. I have had many spooky experiences throughout my life, and quite a few I have shared here. I have always been very sensitive although I do not have control over it, as it is not like a light switch, I can not just turn it on and off at will. My most recent experiences began after having to put our dear Queen Bitty Kitty to sleep. I began to feel on occasion as if a cat was rubbing my ankles while at the kitchen sink, or a tiny fizzy paw touching the top of my feet when sitting on the couch and even stranger the feeling of a small animal jumping up on my bed, walking gingerly across and over my legs and finally settling down at my feet. Other times I have witnessed my grandpuppy Winston seemingly seeing something in the living room and then go looking for it under the furniture, specifically the couch Bitty used to sleep under most of each day, especially as she began to not feel so good. We see his reaction and body language change as well, much in the way that it did when Bitty was still with us and he was trying to make friends and she was having none of it. Muse Cottage before it became such, even while we were looking it over when considering purchase, had an odd feeling in parts of the property and I was not the only one who felt it...some spots, mainly our garage and storage sheds just had a foreboding feeling , they still do...and once again Winston's reactions to a few locations here make us wonder if he is not sensing something from the other side. Then there is late at night when I get up for one of many shuffles to the restroom and I feel as if someone is in the living room watching me, following me with their eyes until I close the door....I recently had a friend stay here and they too felt the feeling of not being alone and a presence or eyes upon them. It does not feel threatening, but it most definitely a regular presence that gives pause. 

Halloween is never complete without a visit to the Pumpkin patch! Here, my bestie @SweetStephStarr  on Instagram and Sweet Steph Starr on FB and myself stopped at  Boa Vista Orchards in Apple Hill area of California outside of Placerville
to take a few fun snap shots.

Sponsor mention....

Recently a lovely woman Jamie Corp aka Betties Beauty bar on Instagram and FB agreed to be one of my sponsors and also asked me to try and review products from the cosmetic company that she represents, Younique. She sent me a wonderful array of things to try, including a contouring kit, some skin care, and a great deep blue red pencil and lip stick....and later I also purchased one of the Splash liquid lipsticks also in the prefect blue red in Sizzling ( of which I am totally in love with) .... I have been doing mini reviews on Instagram and the liquid was part of the discussion on my FB fan page Live broadcast that I do each Monday afternoon. If you are interested in any Younique products visit the Betties Beauty Bar web page, and look for my mini reviews on Instagram and YouTube. 

Be sure to connect with me on my other social network homes Instagram, FB, Twitter and YouTube . Live broadcasts Mondays at 3:30 p.m. unless stated otherwise on the Ruby's Musings FB fan page and New Episodes of At Home with Ruby's Musings on YouTube every Friday. 

Heading To a Conclusion ....Blogging Tour Final Days

All good things must come to an end....

Well I am finally wrapping up my posts sharing my blogging tour with you all...sort of! What does "sort of " mean , let me tell you.... I plan here in the very near future to share a few of my purchases I made, as well as profile a few of the smaller businesses that became my sponsors for the tour so that they get a bit more of the spot light, such as Polished Raven Hats, and Lola Von Rose Lucite purses...as I feel I tagged them on Instagram, but did not really do them justice....and hopefully also will have all my final edit photos from my photo shoot with Dream Out Loud Photography to share with you. So let's see where did I leave off? Oh that's right last week I was sharing the portion of the trip where we started in Anaheim and made the trip to Solvang CA., with a partial day in Los Olivos, and then heading to San Luis Obispo for our stay at the Madonna Inn; today it will be about Santa Cruz, then on to an unplanned stop at the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield Ca, then finally ending up with a bit of back tracking driving along the Delta before heading home...ending what had been a whirlwind trip. First stop, Roaring Camp Railroad in the hills above Santa Cruz.

The drive from San Luis Obispo started nearly before dawn! At least for me. I had to get up before my husband and do my hair as well as my make up and finish packing. Once we were both up and had filled both the gas tank and our grumbling bellies, we got on the road and arrived at our first destination at 10:30 a.m., right on time for our steam train ride through the redwoods. If any of you actually know me personally, you would know I adore trains, and train travel and I have shared that love here and FB in photos, and videos as well as a few blog posts from when I have visited different railway museums. I have traveled by train across country as well and tho it was never perfect, always a hiccup or two during the journey, I always could not wait to do it again. One day it will happen and I will post Youtube Videos of that time when it comes strait from the train! So all that being said when given the chance to ride a open air train pulled by an authentic steam train engine through the California redwoods I was aboard for that in a heart beat and knew it had to be included in my blogging tour. It was a very pretty drive to where the rail camp is located and I was really pleasantly surprised at seeing an entire little village set up surrounded by ponds and open green areas and of course tall redwoods. We had a delightful ride full of history and fun facts, and of course beautiful scenery and once back a very good lunch was had at their cafe where you order at a window and sit out on picnic tables with red checkered table cloths with the other visitors...lucky for us as it was warm it is under a roof top that covers the patio area. Below is a jumble of photos....I created collages and just realized that I used some photos twice within the grids and some are out of order, but all are worthy taking a gander at. If you ever find yourself able and in the general area of Roaring Camp, I highly suggest you take a little trip into history via a steam train.  

The dress for this portion of the trip was by the online company Le Bomb Shop
You can find this dress along with so many other cute, and very affordable retro clothing
on their web site, I know I have and still have a long wish list. It is a tiny, home based
business run by Melissa who is just dandy to work with. 

Yes, that is my handsome hubby there in the bottom center photo.

 

The next stop following immediately was a place I have heard about for some time and though quite "camp" or "kistch" I knew I wanted to include on our time there in the Santa Cruz area....The Mystery Spot. OHHH I bet you thought I was going to say the boardwalk, well let me tell you, it was on our list, but a wind had kicked up and the fun area of the boardwalk was not open on Fridays due to it being off season, so we decided instead to save that for another trip... The Mystery Spot would fill some time before we would want to go off and find some dinner and even give us some relaxation time in our hotel room. I will tell you this, it was everything I expected and there was no surprises, and it was as enjoyable as I thought it would be for what it is. Make sure you watch for the next YouTube episode to air where I will share a bit of footage I was able to take.

Later after having all that fun it was time to find somewhere with food. I wanted somewhere close by, we were referred to a little place down the street a couple blocks from where we were staying, in a strip mall located on Mission St. there in Santa Cruz, by the name of "Your Place", great name right? Well this little hole in the wall is a hidden gem! Owned by a lovely couple Art and Rachel, it is a farm to fork establishment decorated with bright colored walls, unique art, a mis-matched array of tables and chairs and 1940's and early 50's music in the background...I felt at home for sure. We were seated by the window in two over stuffed floral arm chairs and a table for two. It turns out it was not just the tables and chairs that were not matching, even the dishes and the glasses for wine was an eclectic collection. The food is cooked by Art with a little assistance from a co-worker and served by Rachel. We ordered a gorgeously overwhelming meat and cheese plate along with our wine that we had ordered that was generously poured, and then a Caesar salad for two....prepared table side by Art himself...quite the experience, and possibly the best Caesar salad we have ever had...served with fresh baked bread with a dipping bowl of local olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar, we were in heaven....even more so because after a long week filled with being surrounded by people, this place was pretty empty...told you hidden gem! After our fill of the before mentioned spread, I ordered the macaroni and cheese small plate, and my husband the Trout Almondene (sp?) ... scrumptious all of it! We finished off the meal with a shared piece of homemade by Art blueberry pie and vanilla bean ice cream....perfection! Worth the calories, I was like a happy little foodie as we strolled the 15 minutes back to our hotel and I settled in for a night of sleep before we would head out on our last day. 

The next morning began our last day of the blogging tour. We decided to skip Napa, which had been our original plan and take a more relaxed drive to Fairfield and the factory home of the Jelly Belly factory....turns out they have wine tasting too! The tour is free, tho the wine tasting is not. For 15.00 a person you get two souvenir glasses, five wine samples and matching chocolate ( yes the JBF has a chocolate shop too) to go with it and then once you are on the tour you get Jelly Bellies at the end too! We were there on a weekend, so the factory was no open, but we still had to put on the required paper hats and there was videos to describe the process. Not only do you get to see all that, but there is an art gallery, a gift/candy shop ( of course) , where you can sample more sweets, but then there is also a place to eat where some of the food even is jelly bean shaped! Not the best place to eat, but it was basic and filled my now grumbling tummy since I had not had quite enough at the hotel provided breakfast bar. 

So much candy ......the outfit is pretty sweet too! It is from Heart of Haute! 

Having sampled quite a few sweets, and buying some to take home and eating our fun shaped food, it was time for the final leg of travel on the way back to Muse Cottage....a drive along the Delta region here in Sacramento with a little stop off at Miner's Leap just outside of Clarksburg for some more wine of course and to do a little photo shoot of the beautiful outfit you see above provided to me by the wonderful mother - daughter owned company Heart of Haute out of the L.A. area of California.  H.O.H is one of my very favorite companies ever since discovering their clothing on my last trip ( prior to this) down to San Luis Obispo where I purchased a beautiful summer dress at HepKats, that I shared with you here a few weeks ago and then a beautiful Estelle bow blouse, identical to the one above that I purchased on my trip to Reno at Dressed Like That only in white, which I wore and shared here to Universal Studio. 

I had contacted Mandie B who is the mother portion of the team via Instagram and since I am already an affiliate of HOH she said to shoot her an email to discuss it all, and later I ended up working with Alissa and we got the ball rolling. I was so very excited, it was my first larger sponsor that I have had since starting my journey as a promotional model/blogger ....I had no doubts that whatever they sent me I would be thrilled as there is nothing I do not like from their site.The only worry was about fit. As it turns out depending on what item of clothing, and style it is I wear different sizes ( I found that out when trying on a few styles of dresses at HepKat this trip also by HOH) , but lucky for me they sent as mentioned an Estelle Bow Blouse and one of their signature circle skirts, both in size small, and both fit like a dream! I am currently 123 lbs stand at 5'2 " and am a 34b/26.5/38 , and the top is a bit snug, but as I said fits like a glove that way, well as long as I stay this size... motivation to do so is strong to be able to wear this beautiful outfit. Heart of Haute clothing is always well made, authentically designed to fit into a 1940's through early 1960's wardrobe and each season new fabrics and designs along with a few standards are released. So I promise you that even though this outfit was provided to me I am very much marking HOH Ruby's Musings approved. You can read more about this great retro clothing company HERE and from there do some shopping, and be sure to sign up for their newsletter, they often have sales and you do not want to miss a single one. 

Below are just a few of the photos that we took that day...be sure to follow me on my FB fan page and on Instagram to see more and of course there will be a little slide show attached to this Friday's YouTube video as well. And with these photos I close the book of my first ever blogging tour and one that was actually sponsored by vendors. Now don't forget that next week I will begin sharing a few of the smaller vendors including Lola Von Rose purses, Polished Raven Hats, and a peek of some of my shopping haul as well. In the coming weeks keep an eye out for a special blog about one of my fans that has become a close friend Sweet Steph Starr aka Stephanie Starr and her visit here with me this very week and all our adventures and a couple review style posts before I start my month of cookie recipes to usher in the holidays!