Real Time

When did fobwatches come back into fashion? This time round it’s the girls wearing them, not fusty old men in nineteenth century suits. Still, this wind-up fobwatch (no battery – how quaint!) from Mimco looks like the real deal – and it actually keeps time.

About 5cm in diamater, it’s suspended on an adjustable necklace made from silver chain and a string of black and silver beads. Pretty and practical!

Worn to work by Cupcake in South Melbourne today.

Tales by Moonlight

I have long been an admirer of Sarah Moon’s photographs, since I first saw her work (probably in British Vogue) many years ago. I love the moody shadows, the swaying movement of her subjects. You can almost hear their bangles clinking softly in the night. The darkness hints at mystery: stories of exotic lands, perhaps of strange fairytales read by candlelight from One Thousand and One Nights.

I like to experiment with the same blur of movement in my own photography. Before I bought my SLR, it was more difficult than you might imagine – forcing the little point-and-click to take fuzzy photos. It worked best at dusk. Indoors, when I took self-portraits, I had to synchronise my small movements with the ten-second timer. If a shot worked, it was a miracle. This is one of them.

Below are some of Sarah Moon’s photos for you to enjoy – and perhaps to lull you into sleep, to dream of beautiful, fantastical things. 

Read more about her here.

(Click on images for larger versions.)

Fashion Rescue Remedy

There comes a time in every fashionista’s life when she has to make a speedy decision in order to save a garment’s life. Like, for example, once I walked home from work on tippy-toes, for fear the loosened heel of a favourite shoe would snap off. Happily I made it home: heel intact, instep sore.

Last weekend I handwashed a mountain of wool garments. I separated them properly into colours, and threw a mound into the water. As I watched them sink in, I suddenly realised a little mohair scarf was in dire danger. A length of loosely knitted fine mohair and wool, the scarf is sculpted into little bobbles of ‘negative-space’ at each end. In dismay, I watched them collapse in the water, deflating like balloons.

But – as in any emergency – I knew it was important to stay calm and not to panic. As my hands gently swirled the woollen garments through the eucalyptus-scented water, my mind was busy formulating a plan to deal with this unforeseen catastrophe.

In dismay, I watched them collapse in the water, deflating like balloons.

Fortunately I have had experience in felting wool, and reasoned I should be able to re-form the bobbles through a similar method, with the aid of moulds and the application of heat. But what should I use for the mould? Something round. Marbles would be too small. (Besides, I didn’t have any to hand.) Cedar balls? No, they were impregnated with oil.

Monster scarf: balls of tissue are fastened with elastic hair bands.I eventually decided on balls of tissue paper. But I knew they would need to be held in place, so that the wool could dry naturally and set in place again.

I rolled up my little tissue paper balls and found a box of those miniature snag-free hair elastics*. There were many bobbles, and it was a tedious job. I grew bored.

There were many bobbles, and it was a tedious job. I grew bored.

But, if you’re going to repair something, it’s best to do it properly (a stitch in time saves nine etc), so I persevered. When I was done, I put the scarf in the microwave. Two minutes should do it, I thought. When the oven beeped, I opened the door and was not only treated to a complimentary mini facial, but the invigorating odour of freshly heated wool. I lifted out the soggy mass (it looked like a bit of roadkill) and took it to the clothes airer, spreading it out lovingly (and hopefully). Then I left it to dry.

A couple of days later, (I wanted to be sure it was really, really dry) I began to undo the elastics. That moment of breathless anticipation was akin to when you first take the curlers out of your hair (will the curls hold, or will I be unringlety within half an hour?)… But HA–LE–LU–JAH! It worked!

Never underestimate the power of creative thinking when it comes to rescuing or repairing ruined garments.

*Rubbish! They are as snag-free as those supposedly tangle-free headphone cords – that aren’t tangle-free at all. 

What I Actually Wore #0037

Serial #: 0037
Date: 31/12/2009
Weather: a sultry 36.7°, it a spectacular storm hits
Melbourne early evening
Time Allowed: planned out days before*

I was sooo excited when I first saw these little sequinned bloomers by Bettina Liano in a catalogue last winter.

There were two problems: they were ridiculously expensive** (considering their diminutive size) and it was winter. Which meant I wouldn’t be wearing them any time soon. (I’m one of those strange people who like to roam the streets in the dead of winter warmly dressed.)

However, I eventually succumbed to my desire for the pricey pantaloons, and intended to wear them in the springtime at the racing carnival. … It was still too cold then. They would have to wait for summer proper, I realised, and decided they would have their big debut on NYE.

I had a special little velvet strapless tank that I had not yet worn: hot pink and shirred to boot. And I love velvet that is made from silk or rayon – it’s just so soft.

I matched the outfit with a woven metal bangle, patent sandals and a pair of darling little earrings that I made myself. The metallic pink ‘raspberry’ beads are Indian, and the green rectangular beads are jade. I love how they dangle so merrily, and I am always given compliments whenever I wear them.

But it was the sequinned bloomers’ night to shine!

* I was so ahead of myself I took these photos two days before New Year’s Eve.
** There was also a longer length version, in a harem pants style that cost only $30 more than the shorts. I thought this odd considering how many additional yards of fabric they held!

Items:

Top: Third Millennium
Shorts: Bettina Liano
Earrings: So Not A Princess
Bangle: from the Salvos
Shoes: Zoe Wittner

Two-Trick Pony

A few weeks ago whilst browsing in a boutique with a friend, I stopped to assess the array of accessories on a table. “Ooo, look at this nice cuff,” I said to her, reaching out to pick up a pony-hair cuff that was worn wound around the wrist…

“Oh. It’s a belt.” It had been rolled up artistically for display.

“It looks good as a cuff!” she replied.

I remembered I already owned a pony-hair belt, and when I arrived home I pulled it out of a drawer and wrapped it round my wrist thus. This is no one-trick pony belt.

New pony-hair belt from Lion in Love: $80
Vintage pony-hair belt from my drawer: $0