vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

The Magnificent 8 Style Heirlooms

January 29, 2020 / 38 Comments
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

It seems that with the dawning of new decade, nostalgia for times gone by is on the rise. Just this week, I joined my Fab 40’s friends in showcasing styles inspired by a century ago…the Roaring 1920’s. While I obviously am not old enough to have witnessed the Jazz Age in person, I am old enough to recollect the stories my grandparents shared of growing up during that era. When I was a young child and even a teenager listening to their stories of this simpler time from the past, it seemed liked a foreign and very remote place in time, one that I couldn’t really relate to nor could I understand how they lived without the more modern amenities that we had during my childhood in the 70’s and 80’s.

Now fast forward 40 or so more years and we can barely even remember life before the internet. The insane rate of speed at which we all seem to move in this age of technology can be mind boggling at times when we consider the era of our youth. There is an entire generation of adults, yes adults, who were not even born in the same millennium as I.

vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

And suddenly, those Roaring 20’s when my grandparents were young children, are a century back in time. Yet here we are in the new 20’s when the descriptor “Roaring” takes on a whole new meaning. In the 1920’s, it was more about the decadence and free spirited nature of a post-World War I environment. But that was mostly only experienced by the wealthy minority. My grandparents were very much a part of the underprivileged working class folks of middle America. The new Roaring 20’s seem to be more about an overarching sense of overindulgence, mass consumerism, and abundance in every aspect of our lives.

Yes, we are starting to see a move back to a more minimalist and environmentally aware consciousness. But in this decade, the shift is by choice rather than by necessity. The impoverished majority of the 1920’s were minimalist because they had no choice. Store bought clothing was an absolute luxury while most of the so called common people made their own clothing from inexpensive textiles, one of which was yarn. Which brings me to my heirloom piece that I am styling today. My grandmother was very adept at seamstress work as well as knitting and crocheting, embroidery, and that ever so annoying craft of needlepoint.

I cannot tell you how many needlepoint crafts filled our home during my youth as both my grandmother and mother enjoyed this hobby together. We had tissue boxes, keychains, magnets, Christmas ornaments, wall hangings, plant holders, baskets, and really any other thing that you could craft with yarn and sheets of plastic grid. I apologize to any avid needle-pointers reading this. While I appreciate your creativity and your hobby, it is just not for me.

vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

But I digress. This post has nothing at all to do with needlepoint. The focus is on this gorgeous Wedgwood blue shawl that my grandmother created sometime circa the 1970’s. I was born in 1974 and I am about 2 years old in the picture below. Grammy is wearing her handmade shawl with a really pretty black floral maxi dress and she is rocking that 70’s grandma style, in my opinion. She also made that adorable orange and white poncho that I am wearing. While I no longer have the orange poncho in my possession, I was fortunate enough to have somehow acquired ownership of the Wedgwood blue shawl that has always been a favorite of mine for the past 40 plus years.

Since the very beginning of my blog nearly 5 years ago, I have wanted to style this shawl and share it with this very photo of Grammy from 1976. For whatever reason, I simply never got around to it. But when the Magnificent 8 ladies chose the theme for this month at Roxanne’s brilliant suggestion, I knew immediately that the time had come for this beautiful shawl to make its debut appearance.

vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

Be sure to go check out the rest of the amazing ladies of the Magnificent 8 to see how they are styling heirloom pieces or simply heirloom inspired looks.

The Magnificent 8 is a collaboration among 8 stylish women, each in a different age bracket, ranging from late teens to early 80’s. The mission of this collaboration is to show you just how ageless style is, how we can each dress however we’d like and in ways that make us feel fabulous. There are no age restrictions on style. So wear what you want, when you want, add a smile, and strut your style with confidence. And be sure to check out all 7 of these amazing gals!

Every quarter, we choose a theme and each create an outfit that suits our own personal tastes and fashion choices and we post them on the last Wednesday of every third month. So be sure to go check out everyone’s posts for lots of style inspiration at any age!

Let me introduce the ladies of The Magnificent 8.

We are showing that you can’t put a number on style!

vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
baby blue tights, white booties, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
vintage shawl, lace dress, white booties, winter style, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

Do you have any special heirloom pieces in your wardrobe? Or perhaps just an inherited item that decorates your home and gives you all those special feelings of nostalgia and familial connection?

Feeling sentimental on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.

Shop my look…

Outfit Details: Shawl-Inherited from my grandmother / Dress-c/o Zaful / Tights-Amazon (Exact) / Boots-Forever 21 / White tee shirt-Old Navy / Hat-Burlington Coat Factory / Necklace-c/o Rosegal / Earrings-c/o Happiness Boutique

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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