What I Actually Wore #0069

Serial #: 0069
Date: 14/06/2012
Weather: forecast 15°C, cool day, rain in the evening
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

This winter I had determined to make more effort to wear my hats. I am usually in such a rush in the mornings that I don’t have time to go delving into different hatboxes – that’s my only excuse for sartorial laziness. Well, that and an antipathy towards mending, and a lamentable procrastination in ironing clothing. (Yes, I firmly believe in ironing garments that need it – I’m not one of those modern women who wear clothing straight from the clothesline.)

On the 14th of June, I made time to pick out a striking 1940s black wool felt hat, with a chartreuse feather cunningly tucked into the sharply angled peak. The architectural design of the hat is a marvel. 

I matched the hat with a chartreuse pleated wool tank by Veronika Maine. I love the details in this top, but I loathe and abominate its babydoll shape, so I always belt it. I believe that is also how the top was shown in the brand’s season campaign. Under it I wear an old cherry-blossom print top and a wool skirt made from a suiting fabric. I choose the cloisonné earrings (a cheap souvenir from my last trip to Sydney) particularly because the floral design contrasts with the print on the top. I love the contrast of textures and patterns in this outfit. Over it all goes my white leather trench.

I brace myself for stares on the commute, but the daring hat is obviously a success …

I brace myself for stares on the commute, but the daring hat is obviously a success, for I garner two compliments from passers-by, and a chorus of delighted exclamations from the girls at work. (See it from other angles here.) The latter can’t believe I bought the hat on eBay for a relatively inexpensive price (around $80). I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if you live in Australia and you love to shop vintage: go online. There is so much more available overseas, and a hat of this caliber would cost several hundred dollars if purchased from an Australian boutique (online or brick-and-mortar).

Sadly, the shoes have since been tossed in the trash, having been deemed too worn-out to keep for another winter. It’s a shame, for although they were not cutting-edge at all, they were truly comfortable to walk to work in.

One subtle detail I really love in this outfit is the zip on the skirt: the black teeth are interspersed with silver. The skirt is by now-defunct Melbourne designer label Ammo, and it really is a detail you just won’t see in high-street brands. Plus, the skirt is many seasons old, bought long before the recent craze for giant, exposed zippers, and it still seems contemporary. This skirt won’t get tossed aside like an old shoe – I’ll be holding onto it for yet awhile.

Items:

Blouse: Bracewell* 
Tank: Veronika Maine
Skirt: Ammo
Hat: vintage, eBay
Belt: Alta Linea, from department store David Jones
Earrings: souvenir
Ring: souvenir
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Shoes: Naturalizer

*Unfortunately, Sydney label Bracewell may also be defunct as I am unable to find any live URLs. 

Vintage Shopping At the End of the World

Fifties Dress at World’s End :: Tinto 1848 // C-Type Plate // No flashIt was the end of the world, they said, and instead of preparing myself for it … and creating a post-holocaust/Mad Max type of dress-up story to commemorate the event (SO disappointed I didn’t think of it earlier), I was vintage shopping instead.

In Shag, I found a 1950s sleeveless blouse in pink and green. It had a washy floral print, and would complement my new ikat-print heels. I still had some time to kill before meeting a friend, so I moved on to Retro-Star Vintage. This shop is enormous, an Aladdin’s cavern of vintage splendour as it were, and one’s mind boggles slightly at the prospect of sifting through so many racks of clothing. But my eye was caught by a rather dazzling iridescent purple dress, poking out amidst the jammed racks.

Fifties Blouse at World’s End :: Americana // C-Type Plate // No flashThe fabric – which I guess is jacquard woven rayon – features square checks on the bodice, and diamond checks on the skirt. There is no zipper, but it slips over my head. It is a trifle loose at the high waist – lower than an empire line and most assuredly not a babydoll – and I realise if I decide to have it altered I would also have to have a zip inserted as I would not be able to get my shoulders past the waistline.

I am not sure whether to purchase it, and put it to the Facebook test. It takes only a few minutes before a number of SNAP followers immediately urge me to buy the dress. Then my friend arrives, and I drag her off for an opinion – she practically twists my arm (it’s Christmas after all), and the dress and I go home together.

Christmas Ikat Shoes :: Tinto 1848 // C-Type Plate // No flash

Merry Christmas North and South

Celebrating the Roaring Twenties in a Special Series

If I was celebrating Christmas in the northern hemisphere in the 1920s, I think this is just the coat I would wear to ward off the cold. Isn’t it luxurious, with its fur trim and matching pompommed hat? I was very excited when I realised that my vintage 1970s Stephen Dattner coat was cut along very similar lines – it is just not so full, nor is the rabbit fur trim so extravagant. My fur-trimmed velvet cap is vintage too, even if it doesn’t match.

But here I am in the southern hemisphere in the twenty-teens, and instead I am wearing a vintage 1950s top and a 1980s gold foil rah-rah skirt with my new ikat print heels (scroll down below to see those). The top is not quite ikat printed, but its washy floral has a similar feel, and I was pleased to see that the colours of the shoes and top clash slightly – it’s so much more modern not to match isn’t it? It has a mini-peplum effect which is very now too, although it’s tight enough I might just have to cut back on that third piece of dessert.  

Merry Christmas dear readers, and may your day be beautiful, joyful and bright, wherever you are. 

Shoes of Christmas Past

It might have come to the notice of regular readers of this journal that I quite like shoes – amongst other accessories. This Christmas Eve, I thought it was high time to celebrate the shoes of Christmases Past. Let’s start at the bottom of the ladder and work our way up – that’s usually how it works.

At bottom left is a pair of black patent peeptoes by Nude. They have only a little platform, and I wore them six years ago in 2006 – at a guess, platforms were just starting to come back into fashion.

The red satin peeptoes at bottom centre are by Barkins, with vintage white pearl pompom shoe clips added. I paired them with a mint green 50s dress in 2009.

Also satin, the green d’Orsay pumps from Aussie chain store Sportsgirl feature a sheaf of jewels across the toes. I wore those two years ago in 2010, with a shimmery vintage purple dress.

On the first step of the ladder is a pair of snakeskin and black patent slingbacks by Wittner. I wore them with a blue silk dress by Ammo, in 2007.

Who could forget the red glitter Dorothy shoes on the second step? I gleefully bought them last year from Wittner, only to discover on Christmas morning that the salesgirl had put the wrong-sized shoes in my bag! I paired these shoes with a white cotton piqué David Lawrence dress. I just love white and red together.

I accidentally forgot to include in the photograph little silver sandals also by Wittner that I wore in 2008, when I was celebrating Christmas in Dubai with friends. They were matched with a mint and white striped dress by Veronika Maine (above right). And then in 2004 there were a wonderful pair of red patent low-heeled pumps (above left) that had a wonderful crackled and glazed appearance. They were from Zomp, and also were often likened to Dorothy shoes. I wore them until they fell apart. I wore those with a lovely vintage 50s dress in a delicious shade of Alice blue. I have no record of what I wore in 2005 at all, because in a horrible freak technical error I tragically lost nearly all my digital photos from that year. 

But what’s on the top of the ladder you are wondering? They are the Shoes of Christmas Yet to Come. Yes, that’s right, I’ll be wearing them tomorrow!

I was a bit Scrooge-like in my acquisition of them: they are also from Wittner (I live near the warehouse shop), although I saw them first online. They were quite expensive, so I resisted purchasing them.

A few weeks later, Wittner announced a pre-Christmas sale: all shoes were up to 75% off. Somehow I managed still to resist temptation at half price, and then all of a sudden they were sold out in my size. Then last week I was walking past the warehouse shop and, killing time (yeah, right), I wandered through. I like to check out what’s on the seconds and sample rack in my size. And there they were! A tiny scrape on one of the metallic gold heels, but they were reduced to $45. With my loyalty card I received an additional 10% reduction, so I finally paid only $41.35 for them. Now that’s what I call a Christmas Miracle.

Happy Christmas Eve everyone – one more sleep to go!

Pink Epiphany

It’s funny how I discovered a love for pink as an adult. I never took to it as a child. Although I loved to dress up, I was a bit of a tomboy, and always had scraped or bruised knees because I didn’t really like trousers. I preferred to climb trees and people’s roofs in skirts.

I had my pink epiphany in Australian chain store Sussan’s when in my early 20s I tried on a true cotton candy pink shirt and to my shock (and the sales girl’s delighted amazement), discovered how well it suited me. That was when I realised bright, clean colours suited me more than the subtle, muted tones I had always preferred. Now my wardrobe is exploding with colour.

In this homage to cotton candy I am wearing a knitted tee from Zara, an indulgent satin and straw swirl of a vintage hat bought on eBay from the UK, and an expensive Betty Jackson necklace I purchased online earlier this year. 

In Australia, cotton candy is called fairy floss, a somewhat unfortunate name since it conjures up images of fairies flossing their teeth dutifully before paying visits to the fairy dentist. I used a vintage silk scarf to conjure up my cotton candy. It’s always fun to play photographically with silk fabric too – it floats so beautifully. And tis the season to enjoy some sweets too. Happy Saturday!