Leather Weather

Don’t you love it when you go shopping in your closet and find something totally amazing you’d forgotten about?

Recently I had realised I needed a new tote bag of sorts for this inclement weather. All spring and summer I had been using a cloth bag made for me by a friend, but it was no good on rainy days. I was about to hop online to start searching for a likely candidate when suddenly I remembered a white leather tote bag I had not used for a couple of years.

I love the minimalist white that will go with anything.

By Melbourne accessories designer Elise Caarels, the tote bag is made of soft but sturdy vanilla-coloured leather decorated with piping, and lined in beige cotton printed with an Art Deco style geometric circle print. I love the minimalist white that will go with anything. I purchased it new online many years ago and used it for some time before retiring it. Sadly the label closed down in 2010. I found the tote stored lovingly in its dustbag, sitting in the bottom of my closet.

It is a perfect size, and fits a smaller handbag that I use at lunchtime if I leave the theatre for a spot of shopping, as well as my heels, my lunch, a magazine or book, and a few sundry other items. Even better, it zips entirely closed and is weather-proof. And best of all, it didn’t cost me anything!

Doomed Cassandra

I have always enjoyed stories of classical times, whether myth or legend or more prosaic fact. Greek tales are entertaining and fascinating; tragic and comic. Cassandra, one of those poor, tragic heroines who suffered a terrible fate, was both a Princess of Troy and a toy of the gods.

Daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, Cassandra was astonishingly beautiful, which meant that she inevitably caught the roving eyes of a god. Apollo fell in love with her and blessed her with the gift of prophecy. Accepting his teaching, Cassandra afterward refused to become his lover. Petulant in his rage at being spurned by a mere mortal, Apollo cursed her so that thereafter no one would believe her words.

Cassandra foresaw the destruction of Troy at the hand of the Greeks, but to her despair and frustration she was unable to do anything to save her city or those she loved. She was believed to be either mad or a pathological liar, and was rejected and locked up by her own family.

But the tragedy doesn’t end there. In the aftermath of the war, she was raped twice and was finally carried off by Agamemnon as the spoils of war. She bore him two children only to be murdered with them by Agamemnon’s wife Clytemnestra at the last.

Creating Cassandra

To bring Cassandra to life (sans long red hair) I wear a white cotton dress by i.sixseven I’ve had for many years. It ties with a sash and is embroidered all over with a paisley pattern. The jewellery is from several sources: the gold coin earrings were the very first item I purchased on Etsy; the turquoise blue pearls were found on eBay, and the multi-strand seed bead necklace from a Melbourne boutique. White, gold, turquoise: I always associate these bold colours with clothing and jewellery of antiquity.  

But the piece that lifts this modern day bohemian and places it in antiquity is the turban: a hand made rope of fabric twisted with ribbon and pompom trimming that comes from the talented and creative Lana of Crude Things, my American alter ego. The rope can be looped and tied anywhere on the body – wrapped around the torso, for instance. Lana and I met via Instagram, where she discovered this journal and she asked me if I would consider using one of her pieces in a story on this blog. I said yes of course, and the rest is history!

The background images are pictures of the Palácio Nacional da Pena in Sintra, Portugal, taken in 2011. 

Wool-Gathering for Winter

Melbourne’s first day of winter is a fitting entry to the season: the skies are white with clouds overhead, everything is still outside after one of the most sensational thunderstorms in years the night before. The thunder didn’t stop rolling for hours. It’s a day fit for staying indoors, wondering and wool-gathering daydreams.

White for winter is always beautiful, and this vintage 50s wool felt hat found on Etsy is no exception. It features a veil, a large bow at the back, and pretty silver bead and rhinestone embroidery that makes me think of snowflakes.

The cute sterling silver raincloud earrings I am wearing I have had for many years, and were bought in Portobello Lane, an old jewellery boutique that is sadly closed down now.

Bought years ago in a designer pop-up store, the short-sleeved knit by label AM. St is probably on its last legs though, unless I can rescue it with some gentle fabric whitener suitable for wool fibre. Because winter whites must really be snow white.

A Twenties Cameo

Celebrating the Roaring Twenties in a Special Series

I was very excited the week before last to have my hair expertly cut again by the fabulous Alex at Lady Marmalade. Although I still wanted to keep some form of a bob, we both agreed it was time for a change. After some discussion we decided this time to cut the back quite short and keep the front longer – the opposite of my last two cuts, which Alex told me was a concave bob. (So I guess this might be a convex bob?)

I love how short it is! Yet it is still feminine. I really feel like a boy head now though with my neck utterly bared. I made a little complaint about frigid winter temperatures, and Alex (with a suspicious amount of glee in his tone) unsympathetically told me to buy a scarf.

He also suggested for a change I could style it with some texture, blowing upwards with the hair dryer to achieve a tousled look à la Audrey Tatou in Amelie. This turns out to be fabulously easy – much more than achieving a sleek flat style (why is this almost impossible to achieve at home?) – and negates the effect of the mischievous wind on my way to work of a morning. (I’ll leave this picture for another time.)

The same night of my haircut I had also been shopping in jewellery boutique Lovisa, and had almost literally pounced on this diamante cat ear headband. It was too darling to resist. I wore it to the theatre two evenings later and caused a sensation – very much in keeping with the Twenties, I feel, and ssssuits my new do purrrfectly! 

Patently Irresistible

I do like patent leather. It’s so pretty and shiny and delicious looking. Looking at an array of patent leathergoods I feel like a kid standing before an ice cream counter, mouth slavering over all the scrumptious flavours. The only trouble is deciding which one. It’s hard to believe at first it came only in licorice. 

Patent leather is a type of lacquered fine-grained leather that has a high gloss. Sometimes it’s smooth, sometimes it has a delightful crackle finish. Waterproof and easy to clean, patent leather needs only to be wiped with a damp cloth to restore its lustre.

The process was first invented in the late eighteenth century in Belgium, and was afterwards taken to the United States by the inventor Seth Boyden of New Jersey. He improved upon the process, applying the linseed oil base as a lacquer coating. Commercial production began in 1819. Ironically, Boyden never got round to patenting his process.

Ironically, Boyden never got round to patenting his process.

Originally patent leather came in black only because lampblack was mixed into the lacquer, and the glossy leather was advocated for formal dress, particularly for men’s shoes. It didn’t take long for women to claim this wonderful material for their own though. 

Today patent leather is plastic coated. The simplified, cheaper method has made mass production possible – and of course today, happily, it comes in every colour of the rainbow.

My two favourite colours are here rendered in patent leather. The first is a red handbag, bought on eBay from the UK (as noted in a recent post, red patent leather handbags seem so hard to come by), and the second, a pair of Tiffany blue strappy heels – heaven on a platform! I haven’t quite decided, but I think they are my favourite summer shoes. I also own large and small patent black handbags, and numerous pairs of shoes in hot pink, cobalt, black, red, teal … One day I would love to own a 60s style pea coat or short trench in black crackle patent leather. Patently I cannot resist this tactile leather!