Remembering Christmas

by

In my soon to release sweet holiday romance Remembering Christmas, part of the Rodeo Romance series, I had such a grand time digging through images of vintage and retro western fashions.

The stories include a company that has their own western clothing line. Two books ago, the company added a line of apparel for curvy girls.

And in Remembering Christmas, the company was decided to add a line based on vintage attire.

The hero in this story, Trevor, has a kooky, eccentric aunt (Aunt Marv) who has never gotten rid of a piece of clothing in her adult life. And she often wears the clothes that were stylish decades ago.

But because she is such a clothes hoarder, the company used some of the original western fashions she still had in her closet from the 1940s-1960s.

I truly had a marvelous time browsing through images as I imagined the new styles Aunt Marv’s retro collection might inspire.

Some of my favorite photos are old Levi’s advertisements.

Like this one.

Check out these duds! I actually love the jeans with the buttons and high waist on the right hand side.

 

This outfit is exactly something Marv would wear.

And this one!

I’m kind of glad these outfits are no longer in style. LOL!

At any rate, Lasso Eight, the clothing company in the story, finds plenty to inspire their new line from Marv. In fact, there’s even a scene where Mykah, the heroine, gets talked into modeling at a photoshoot at the hero’s ranch.

 

 

When Mykah finally walked out with Brylee and Kenzie Morgan, Trevor gulped so hard he swallowed the piece of gum he’d just set in his mouth.

Paige and Ashley had mentioned vintage fashions, but he certainly hadn’t expected Mykah to stroll out of the house looking like a cowgirl from the 1940s. She wore a burgundy and blue plaid shirt tucked into a pair of high-waisted jeans with two rows of buttons down the front like the shorts she’d worn the day at the boat show. Wide cuffs at the bottom of the jeans drew his attention to a pair of dark burgundy boots before his gaze traveled back up to her face. Her hair was loosely pulled away from her face and fell in thick curls to her shoulders in a style reminiscent of the past. The deep red lipstick she wore made his mouth water for want of her kiss.

He had no idea when Tally had moved beside him, but when she bumped him with her elbow and held out Carter’s burp rag, Trevor almost took it to mop his feverish brow.

“Thought you might need the rag to wipe away the drool, Trev,” Tally whispered as she held Carter, rocking the baby back and forth in her arms.

He watched as Paige, Ashley, and Celia worked to pose Mykah, Brylee, and Kenzie on the corral fence, using the barn as a backdrop. “How’d they talk Mykah into modeling?”

Tally shrugged. “You know how persuasive Paige and Ashley can be. One minute, Mykah was listing all the reasons she’d make a terrible model, and the next, she was choosing an outfit and getting her hair done.”

 

 

Romance swirls like December snowflakes in this sweet holiday romance.

Trevor King runs King Penny Ranch like a well-oiled machine while attempting to keep his spritely octogenarian aunt out of trouble. His personal life is filled with evasive tactics worthy of a military mission in order to avoid the matchmaking efforts of meddling friends. Until Trevor experiences a chance encounter with a beautiful stranger that leaves him reeling. Almost two years pass before they unexpectedly meet again. He feels blindsided by an emotional avalanche . . . and her name is Mykah.

Mykah Wagner has spent years building her career with Creekdale Enterprises while burying memories better forgotten. When the company’s owner sends her to oversee an expansion project at a retirement home in Eastern Washington, Mykah envisions a charming urban location. Instead, she discovers an area teeming with farms, ranches, vineyards, and sagebrush. Desperate to return to her idea of civilization as quickly as possible, Mykah soon finds herself falling in love with the residents, the region, and a rancher who helps her remember all the best things from her past.

Brimming with hope, laughter, and second chances, Remembering Christmas is a captivating and wholesome romance celebrating the joy of falling in love and the wonder of the season.

You can also see more of the visuals that inspired scenes in the story on Pinterest.

 

If you could create your own clothing line, what fashions would inspire you?

Post your answer for a chance to win an autographed copy of Roping Christmas (last year’s Rodeo Romance release) and some swag!

 

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After spending her formative years on a farm in Eastern Oregon, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet historical and contemporary romances filled with sarcasm, humor, and hunky western heroes.
When this USA Today bestselling author isn’t writing or covertly hiding decadent chocolate from the other occupants of her home, Shanna hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

65 thoughts on “Remembering Christmas”

  2. I would do a new take on the Gibson girl look that began around 1890. Designers had gotten rid of the bustle and made women’s clothing more comfortable because women were beginning to enter the workforce as never before. Outfits became less embellished and more professional-looking while still being feminine.

    • I adore the Gibson girl look. I have a book a friend gave me that is full of Gibson girl fashion plates. It’s so fun to see the clothes and how they evolved as more women went to work. Thank you so much for popping in today!

  3. I have always liked the different styles ranging from 1920 to 1950. The flapper dresses, but the simple style of dresses that country folk wore. My grandma Funk had a flapper dress that she wore to important functions, before she got married and had kids. She was considered a country girl, but her family were a little more well off then most of the community. And when she married my grandfather Funk, he was considered a rich farmer. She was 19 when she got married, 20 when my dad was born. Went on to have 6 kids, so dress up time became more of a memory.

    • There are so many great styles during those eras, Veda. How neat your grandmother had a flapper dress. I remember seeing pictures of my grandmother wearing one. I loved the family history you shared. Thank you for posting it! Have a fabulous day!

  5. Good morning Shanna- I am so excited to read this book. As you know I love antiques and all things western. My living room downstairs in the basement is all western & features many of the 50’s & 60’s western memorabilia. I loved the photos you featured. I know this is going to be a fun & exciting book for me. Have a great day & enjoy your day if sunshine. Love & hugs.

    • Good morning, my friend! I’m so excited you are excited! Yay! I love that you have so much western memorabilia. So neat! It was sure fun to think about the clothes that would be included in a “retro” clothing line! Thanks for stopping in! Big hugs and loads of love!

  7. Curvy girl creations of formal wear through the decades of the 1900s. I’ve always loved the glamorous Hollywood dresses through the years. I grew up watching old movies, and a lot of the dresses are timeless.

  9. My favorite pair of jeans in the late 1970s, had side buttons like the ones you like. I had kept them, hoping to someday get back into them… Loaned them to my DIL and she accidentally got rid of them along with the western shirt and eyelet camisole I had made to wear with them. Plus my brown Wranglers with fancy gold stitching on the pockets, and the western brown plaid shirt with gold thread in the plaid. Sigh. I also had made a couple of pinafore jumpers with a fitted bodice with straps that criss-crossed in the back, buttons down the back, and a full skirt with a deep ruffle. Loved those clothes.

    • Oh, no, Sherry! So sorry your favorite clothes got accidentally discarded. That’s so sad. It sounds like are a talented seamstress! That is so neat. I’ve been wishing I’d kept a few of my favorite things from my younger days too!

  13. I wouldn’t go with high waisted jeans because they don’t work for me. I am short so low cut jeans work the best. I kind of like the 70’s with the baggie tops and a few bell bottom paints.

  14. Oh goodness. I would make my clothing line plus size clothing in sizes, patterns, and styles that actually look good on plus size women. I don’t know why designers think plus size women need extra large neck openings on blouses… there so many other issues that need addressed too. My line would cover classic looks, current fashion and styles throughout the decades in casual, work & formal wear. I’d find a way to make them all American made products and would love for it to somehow benefit the woman of the U.S. that need the most help…Single mothers without child support, battered women, homeless women etc. I would also love it if the clothing could come from recycling discarded clothing. The U.S. ships tons, I mean tons of clothing to other countries for recycling & for personal use, i like to find a way to do this to produce my clothing line. I’ve never even thought about a clothing line so I just blurted that all out. Lol ?

    • I loved what you blurted out, Stephanie! You are so write about the neck openings – they are sometimes big enough to slide over the head of a buffalo! What is up with that! There are so many issues that I wish someone would address. I’d shop your line if it was real!

  15. I love this! It reminded me of a few visits to museums. You’ll have to come with me to the Belle Fourche museum when we’re in Deadwood next summer. They have so many outfits just like these (can you tell I can’t wait?)

  17. Love, loved this blog, Shanna! I’m old enough to relate to some of these fashions (well, sorta), but I do remember them in magazines!

    My favorite time period is the 50s, though. I loved those full skirts and handkerchief scarves and snug sweaters. Remember the letter “L” Laverne always wore in Laverne and Shirley? Ha! That’s me.

  18. I would actually wear the clothes in your pictures. Western wear is more my type. I love a great Western shirt that is colorful and warm like the good ol days which you can not find anymore. And a comfortable pair of jeans with big pockets not the Itty bitty pockets for women you get nowadays.

    • Hi Charlene,
      I know they are expensive, but I think Pendleton has some lovely, colorful shirts that are warm. They last forever, though, so that helps offset the cost.
      I am so with you on the pockets. Some of the jeans today have such tiny useless pockets!
      Thanks for stopping in!

  22. I enjoyed this interesting topic and the photos of the Western clothing is lovely. Western shirts, and jeans make me pine for that era. I do like the 1940’s and 1950’s era fashion the best of all.

  23. The photos of the Western wear are extraordinary. I used to have jeans and shirts like that and where I live now the style would be ideal since it is an older town.

  32. I’ve always admired the fashions from the forties and fifties, especially clothes like Audray Hepburn wore. Such beautiful, feminine styles.

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