Bad-hair saviours

I hardly need state that everyone has a bad hair-day every now and then.

Traditionally, this implies unruly, recalcitrant hair that defies every attempt to control its appearance whilst unfettered.

In my case the problem is that my hair is too fine and flyaway. And because it is so long, I have a lot of new growth that often creates an unsightly halo when I am after a smooth sleek finish.

Sometimes it is simply a case of bad-morning, not bad-hair, when I have zero minutes to spend on its appearance. This is when my hair accessories really come into their own, and the importance of quality cannot be overstated.

It [the ibis clip] has never let me down – and my hair has never tumbled down unless I fully intended it to.

Years ago I discovered the joys of French hairclips over Chinese imports. There is simply no comparison. The springs in the Paris Mode clips are steel, and they do not snap open at some ill-timed moment. Ditto the ibis clip. It has never let me down – and my hair has never tumbled down unless I fully intended it to.

And the tortoise-shelled hair comb is virtually indestructible, unlike the inferior Lady Jayne version I owned prior to my epiphany. That quickly became gap-toothed as an old lady rocking back in a nursing home. I can bundle my damp hair up in a French roll and secure it with the comb so easily, and when I shake it out – like an advertisement – what a riot of curls!

Of course, there is a pretty price to pay for quality, and it may make you gasp at first. But it will definitely be worth it.

Extremes of fashion

Melbourne is one Australian city that truly has four seasons. Sometimes all of them in one day. That is why many residents – and I count myself as one of them – are obsessed with the weather forecast. We know full well that on a hot day we can be surprised by a sudden change and plunge into winter. Usually this weather sense translates merely into bringing with us a light jacket and/or umbrella.

However, I have observed the manifestation of a disturbing trend amongst the younger generation in the past few years.

Most of us – while we keep a close and suspicious eye on the weather and meteorologists alike – dress according to the season: in summer (when it is hot) we wear light, flimsy clothing; in winter (when it is cold) we bundle up in warm layers. Spring and autumn can blend these two extremes. So far, this rule sounds quite sensible and easy to remember, does it not?

Many fashion magazines and other arbiters of style would agree that winter clothing is usually accompanied tastefully by matching accessories: wool felt hats, gloves, boots etc. Yet what do we see tramping gleefully through the puddles of inner Melbourne in the depths of winter? Girls parading in thongs; flip-flops; call them what-you-will. They usually have blue, chilblained toes too. “But they’re so comfy!” I’ve heard these girls protest. How comfortable are they with feet that are freezing, wet, and covered in the mud and pollution of a city street?

Most of us – while we keep a close and suspicious eye on the weather and meteorologists alike – dress according to the season…

This summer saw the reverse of this stylish ensemble. On a day of 39°C – and I do not exaggerate – I actually saw a girl with an enormous blanket… I mean scarf bundled around her neck. Behind my dark sunglasses I goggled at her. What had she been thinking that morning? “Oh lovely, 39°! The ideal day to wear my new scarf swaddled as tightly as possible around my neck. It matches perfectly with my spaghetti-strapped camisole! That will surely help me beat the heat!”

This is when ‘fashionable’ transmogrifies into ‘fashion victim’. I’m not an advocate of conservative, bourgeois dressing by any means, but why don’t we pay the elements the respect they deserve – and do ourselves a stylish favour at the same time? There’s nothing wrong with a seasonally appropriate light silk scarf, or a pair of patent leather boots. And you won’t look extremely silly in them either.

What I actually wore #0015

Serial #: 0015
Date: 26/12/2008
Weather: Irrelevant
Time Allowed: 5 minutes

Boxing Day. Dubai. House party. At last, an occasion to which I could wear the skimpiest of the party dresses I had brought with me! And I just managed to do it by the skin of my teeth, as this was the last full day of my holiday. I had wanted to wear this dress on Christmas Day, as it was so festive, but it was deemed too low-cut to wear out in public.

My other option for this evening’s Christmas-party-for-orphans was my belly-dancing outfit but that is even skimpier, and transparent to boot. A friend of mine was willing to wear a traditional Indian sari if I wore my black and silver jingle-bells outfit, but I had to disappoint her once I tried it on in the privacy of my room and realised just how revealing it was.

Boxing Day. Dubai. House party. At last, an occasion to which I could wear the skimpiest of the party dresses I had brought with me!

I wrapped a silver sequin scarf (a classic stand-by I have owned for years) around my neck and decided that not only my hair had to be up, but earrings were out of the question. I was shiny enough as it was. Ditto for the silver sandals I’d worn the day before, so I wrapped my feet in black heels. Slightly more bondage (or ballet if you want to be nice) than the gladiator styles in this summer.

Made of very soft leather, the evening sandals were a fabulous find in Myer during the sales years ago. It was one of those occasions that one wanders through a department store not looking for anything in particular … which is exactly when one lucks upon some brilliant find. The original price of these was at least $200. They were already reduced to $100 and then had a further 25% slashed off the top. I’ll take those, thank you very much!

There was one last seasonal addition: the cutest Santa hat covered in red sequins and flashing red stars. Just so the other guests wouldn’t miss me.

Items

Dress: Country Road
Scarf: Sportsgirl
Shoes: Urban Soul
Rings: Roun
Santa hat: Géant (not pictured)

I couldn’t have made them myself

These pretty little earrings were a recent birthday present from some friends. Their mission was to buy me some jewellery that I ‘couldn’t make myself’, so Scarlet ventured into Design a space.

This boutique is a great place to find gifts; full of fashionable frivolities that one might not often indulge in for oneself. Already I have worn these Moyou earrings several times – the pale beechwood is practically a neutral.

I love the filigree pattern that has been laser-cut, like lace made from wood. The designer was inspired by Oriental patterns; they remind me of the windows in the Blue Souq in Sharjah, designed in the Islamic tradition.

And at least I can buy myself a matching ring.

Getting out of the noonday sun

I am a firm believer in the efficacy of a pretty parasol, and for years now have been almost single-handedly determined to bring them back in fashion – if only for their practical use. Even my mum uses one. The day I wore this outfit I was meeting her one very hot day in a local park; I was amused to find she was carrying her own blue umbrella. Like mother, like daughter.

Hand-coloured etching of an English walking dress by an unknown artist, for Rudolph Ackerman's ‘Repository of Arts’, 1812. Image from ‘The Fine Art of Fashion’ by Julian Robinson, Bay Books, Australia. When I first started using a parasol, I was about 20, and on holiday in Queensland. It was a lovely cream sunshade made from Battenburg lace – you can find them easily on eBay these days – but I picked it up in a gift shop at the Pacific Fair shopping centre for a tidy sum. I still have it in fact, though it’s a trifle water-stained. At the time it accessorised a fabulous cream shell top and wide-legged pants that were micro-pleated in the Fortuny style, and I wore my hair in a bob. I thought I looked bohemian – my conservative friends would undoubtedly have used the term ‘outlandish’.

I thought I looked bohemian – my conservative friends would have used the term ‘outlandish’…

Hand-coloured fashion photograph by Talbot of the actresses Mlle De Gonet and Mlle Alice Guerra in dresses by Drecoll, for ‘Les Mode’, 1913. Image, Ibid.

I found the pink umbrella above about three years ago, in a charity shop, by employing one of my friend Rapunzel’s old adages: “always look up”. Hanging from the ceiling by their handles were two parasols. Almost breathless with delight, I asked to see both of them. They were both so bright and frivolous I was sure they must be props from an old costume department somewhere.

It did not take me long to decide which I would buy: they were each $35, but I couldn't possibly pass over black pom-poms! The other umbrella was blue and beige, and not nearly as pretty; I would leave it for some other lucky prospector, who would think they had struck gold.

Centuries ago, women used parasols to protect their complexions from the sun – brown skin indicated one was a member of the lower orders, doomed to toil the fields. Then Coco Chanel burst onto the scene sporting a tan, and ever since parasols have been out of fashion. But I feel the cool breeze of a change.

Pochoir fashion print by Jean Saudé of a dress by Martial et Armand, published in ‘Luxe de Paris’, 1913. Image, Ibid.Over the past few summers I have seen more and more women in Melbourne using sun umbrellas, and never more so than during these past few blazing hot weeks. We pass one another in the city streets and smile with superiority: we’ve discovered the secret to beating the scorching heat, and carry our own shade with us. Not to mention reducing the threat of skin cancer.

I’ve collected a few images of vintage parasols here. Italian Vogue’s images below must be from some time in the 90s; unfortunately I don’t have clothing credits so I can’t tell whether the umbrella is vintage. However, what’s important to note is that the shoot has been styled with a romantic, vintage theme. It is certainly lovely to look at, but few people dress like this in public (not even me!). What I would love to find are images of sunshades worn by thoroughly modern women.

Ellen Von Unwerth, Italian Vogue.

…we’ve discovered the secret to beating the scorching heat, and carry our own shade with us.

This article from British Vogue is also from the 90s, I believe, with some modern examples of parasols. I particularly love the yellow one on bottom left. Sadly, it would not afford much protection from the sun, see-through as it is.

From British Vogue.

An excerpt from the article above:

The parasol, that most charming of accessories, has emerged after decades of neglect as this summer’s frivolous plaything. Since the twenties, the bottle of sun oil has been the skin’s only fashionable protection: now the new pursuit of the lightest, safest of tans has brought the flirtatious parasol back to the catwalks…

Although it is officially autumn now (my favourite season) there may be a few more hot days to come, so put up your umbrellas ladies. It is past time parasols had their day in the sun!