chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

Styling My New Houndstooth Ruana & #SpreadTheKindness Link Up #203

December 29, 2020 / 60 Comments
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

With all the Christmas gift giving completed for this year, it is time to start sharing some of the amazing things that I received. I want to start with this fabulous black and white houndstooth ruana from my mother-in-law. This was the perfect gift choice showing how well my husband’s mother knows me. She knows I am always cold and therefore I will always appreciate anything that will keep me warm and cozy. She also knows that I am always happy to add a new dramatic statement piece to my wardrobe. And really, there is nothing quite as dramatic and bold as a black and white houndstooth fringed wrap.

Wanting to allow the ruana to stand out as boldly as possible, I stuck with a basic dark chambray shirt dress, black opaque tights, and my newly thrifted wedge booties. Aren’t they just the cutest? Then I added my houndstooth beret with a black and white striped scarf and gloves. I found this cool blue ostrich textured tote bag during a thrifting adventure in the fall and this is the first time I am using it. I was super pleased with how well the blue coordinated with my dark chambray dress.

And then I ventured out into some crazy lake effect snow and rain to take these photos. Oh my word, I was getting pelted from every direction with icy cold wind and precipitation. But my new houndstooth cloak acted as my superhero cape while I got down to the business of blogging work. We did have a good laugh though as I hoisted by barely covered butt onto the snowy wall and held on for dear life because I was afraid the wind might swish me off straight into the pine trees!

chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

In yesterday’s post, I went all tweed geek on you sharing the history of that timeless textile in fashion. Today, I am going to continue indulging my inner fashion dork as I tap into some serious houndstooth nerdery! Because the history of textiles and prints and anything fashion related really intrigues me. I mean, I even wrote an article about the history of underwear. Weird? Perhaps. Fascinating? Indeed.

So let’s get to some houndstooth history. Houndstooth is a dual color textile pattern consisting of broken checks or abstract four pointed shapes. It is traditionally in black and white but can be constructed from any two colors to create the contrast in the pattern. This pattern is sometimes also called dog’s tooth, and in micro prints it is referred to as puppytooth.

Did you know that the first known occurrence of the houndstooth print is dated between 360 and 100 B.C.? It is known as the Gerum Cloak, a garment that was discovered in a Swedish peat bog in 1920. It is one of the oldest known preserved garments.

It is oval shaped and measures approximately 98 inches x 79 inches. When the cloak was discovered, it appeared to be in shades of brown which were suspected to be a result from being buried in a peat bog for over two thousand years. However, through further investigation and chemical analyses, it is more likely that the cloak was woven from naturally colored brown and white wools. *See the close up of the Gerum Cloak weave as well as an image of the cloak itself below.

Image Source
Image Source

This part isn’t so much about houndstooth print but more about the Gerum Cloak because I went down that rabbit hole and now I must share what I’ve found.

The cloak was discovered by four workers who were digging for peat on top of Gerum Mountain in Västergötland, Sweden. Upon closer examination, they discovered that the cloak had holes in it which were the result of 5 knife or dagger stabs that were aimed at the neck, chest, stomach, and back. The cloak is crafted from pure sheep’s wool in a white fine grade and a brown coarser grade. Its cut edges are secured with a double whip stitch. This historical garment currently resides at the Swedish History Museum.

Here are the articles I referenced for this post…

chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

But let me get back to houndstooth for a moment. Although it is a very ancient weaving pattern with an old history, the modern use of houndstooth prints in fashion has a more contemporary history. We know that the print was first developed by wool weavers in the Scottish Lowlands. But the type of hand-weaving employed for the houndstooth pattern did not gain popularity until the 1930’s, just a decade after the discovery of the Gerum Cloak.

Other Sources…

It is a versatile print as it comes in a variety of sizes, scales, and colors. A large scale houndstooth print in boldly contrasting colors, like my new black and white ruana, makes an adventurous fashion statement, while smaller scale puppy tooth patterns can appear almost solid from a distance making them easier to incorporate mixed prints into one outfit. In the modern fashion industry, sometimes houndstooth is merely printed on the fabrics rather than the traditional method of weaving. However, I do prefer a woven houndstooth in keeping with the rich history of this textile pattern.

Black and white patterns are also the easiest to combine if you want to try a bit of print mixing. As you can see, I have combined two different houndstooth prints in different scales on my ruana and beret. Then I added two different black and white striped items with my scarf and gloves. If you consider the ostrich skin texture of my bag, then I combined 5 different patterns in one outfit like I did with my Snow Day Outfit. I seem to be stuck at the number 5 when it comes to print mixing!

chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge
chambray shirt dress, houndstooth ruana, wedge booties, thrifted fashion, fashion over 40, Shelbee on the Edge

So what do you think? Are you a fan of houndstooth? Or maybe you prefer the smaller scale puppy tooth for its classic subtlety. Have you ever heard of the Gerum Cloak? This was totally new information for me and I found it very fascinating. I hope you enjoyed reading about it as well!

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Outfit Details: Ruana-Gift from Mother-in-law / Dress-Old Navy (old) / Tights-c/o Sheertex / Booties and Bag-Thrifted / Beret-c/o Bangood (old) / Scarf-Gap (old) / Earrings-Gift from a friend (old) / Gloves-Old

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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