Anyone for Tennis?

Celebrating the Roaring Twenties in a Special Series

As the Australian Open draws to a close, I thought I would celebrate the fortnight with a homage to this classic 1927 Vogue cover illustration by Harriet Meserole. It’s a picture I have long liked for its freshness and elegant simplicity – something Meserole was known for.

Meserole worked for Vogue from 1919 to 1933. In 1923, she said of herself: ‘I like simplicity in all things and people. I hate prettiness and ice cream.’ I suspect that by ‘prettiness’ she meant ‘girlishness’ – something I can appreciate. Too much sugary prettiness makes my teeth hurt.

In these pictures I am wearing a Zambesi linen dress, BCBG cardigan, and a vintage 1920s shirred headband. The tennis racket is vintage too, and has a wooden press, although I am not sure of its actual age.

Picture note: since time and the weather were against me, I was unable to photograph a tennis court myself. These tennis court pictures came from here and here. 

Shady Lady

He watched her, that incredibly annoying – yet deliciously done-up (he’d like to be the one to unbutton her, he would) – lady detective as she moved stealthily through the shadows. He just couldn’t seem to shake her trail. Or, he thought as he glared at her pausing to listen in the passage, maybe she’d figured out more than he’d bargained for? And how in damnation did she move so silently across the stones in those dangerous high heels? 

From the top of her head (on which a fetching French blue vintage 1940s hat perched), on down her cute little tweed jacket, past that slinky caramel leather pencil skirt and the sexy fishnet stockings, to the tip of her black suede pumps, she was a piece of perfection. (Never mind her piquant little face, with the big eyes that caught too much, and kissable lips that asked too many pointed questions.) 

And then he saw something else that made him draw a sharp breath – something else far more dangerous than those curves. It instantly made him wriggle further back into the niche, behind a colossal statue of St George defeating a dragon or something or other. Peripherally he noticed she was wearing pretty sky-blue vintage gloves (he was an observant man, and he liked to keep abreast of ladies’ fashions), and clasped in an ominously determined-looking grip was—a Colt .38 revolver! And, he suspected grimly, she was fully prepared to use it on him ...

~

Many thanks to my friend Sapphire for yet another guest appearance on SNAP. See Sebastien Hart’s last collaboration with her here.

What I Actually Wore #0095

Serial #: 0095
Date: 21/09/2012
Weather: mild day, 19°
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

I almost never wear jeans, and even more rarely to work. I just don’t find them exciting. They’re so common too. Everyone wears them. And – it may surprise you to learn this – but I have never wanted to look like one of the herd. But once in a very blue moon (ha, see what I did there?) an indigo mood strikes me and I will don jeans and sport them in public. That’s what happened this Friday.

As jeans go, I thought these wide-legged pegged pair were rather cute. I wore them with a striped knit, a casual ruffled cardigan (also striped) cinched in at the waist with a plaited belt, and a pink cashmere scarf tossed around my neck. I particularly love my raspberry red heels here because they clash juicily with the sugar-pink scarf. (Every time I see these in a picture I think I should have bought two pairs – let that be a lesson to you dear Snapettes.)

The outfit is casual and cosy for a mild spring day, although it would be far more fun to wear it strolling on a wild beach somewhere rather than at work!

Items:

Cardigan: Anthropologie
Knit: David Lawrence
Jeans: One Step
Hat: vintage
Scarf: eBay
Belt: Faith
Earrings: Baku
Ring: Autore
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Shoes: Wittner

Christmas Trifle

Rather resembling a string of flat lollies, this necklace is made of shell beads – possibly dyed mother-of-pearl – interspersed with coloured seed beads. The round disc beads are just the size of an average sequin, and as reflective. One of my nieces gave it to me for Christmas and was spot on the mark: she must have known if it were shiny her aunty would like it. A tempting treat sans calories. Delicious!

Summer in Zanzibar

After this appalling heatwave Melbourne dished us in the last week, and continuing the African theme, I thought I’d soothe the soul and refresh your eyes with these beautiful images of summer in Zanzibar. The pictures were taken by Friedmann Hauss for Australian marie-claire – possibly in the early 90s, judging by the slip dresses (and the fact that a FAX number is given in the travel details rather than a website!).

Except for the touches of turquoise blue, I don’t actually like the garments in the photoshoot. They look merely passé and bear no patina of retro charm (not yet anyway). But the photos are sublime, depicting a far gentler summer than this furnace Melburnians lived through in the past week: searing heat and hot, drying winds are not pleasant.

Zanzibar! The name itself is exotic, the whisper of it conjuring up images foreign to my eyes, strange sounds in my ears – the lap of water against a wooden boat, the rustle of the breeze in trees for which I have no name, African voices chattering inexplicably – the sounds to lull one to sleep on the white sand.

Zanzibar is actually an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Tanzania, composed of numerous small islands and two larger ones – the main island Unguja is commonly referred to as Zanzibar. It sounds like a place I should visit one day, but meanwhile I can daydream. 

Click on images for larger versions.