A Fashion Miracle

Back in February while I was on holiday, my niece and I did our annual trawl through the country thrift stores (or opportunity shops as they are called here in Australia). I came across many opportunities to increase my wardrobe.

One of the first delicious little bargains I happened upon was this pair of unworn navy patent leather mary-jane heels. In. My. Size. For $12.50. This is a fashion miracle! They might not be the Holy Grail of Shoes – the black mary-janes by Manolo Blahnik of SJP fame – but they are pretty damn close. I feel blessed. 

A Few of My Favourite Things

The Vintage Hat Series: 1950s turquoise feather and pearl bead toqueA few of my favourite fashion things come together in this ensemble: robins egg blue, hats, feathers, beads, pearls, tassels. Both hat and knit top are vintage 50s items – not my favourite decade for fashion in general, but I do love the myriad incarnations of beaded sweaters this era has left us.

This particular short-sleeved wool knit is covered over in tiny aurora borealis sequins, and is also beaded with pearl tassels. Note the very careful positioning of the latter on the bosom, avoiding anything that might remotely resemble pasties! I won this top at eBay auction for around $35, which is an excellent price for this type of beaded knit – I’ve seen many priced at hundreds of dollars.

The little toque is made from curled feathers and trimmed with tiny little flowers that have a pearl bead at their centre.

Also vintage, the earrings are made from pearl beads too, and resemble a bunch of grapes – I came across them in a charity store and have had them in my collection for many years.

There’s no reason to feel blue wearing this charming pair!

Neck Lace

I am a long-standing lover of lace, especially guipure and Battenberg or tape lace (and sometimes a bit of Chantilly). About ten years ago I also started playing around with jewellery making and even did some short courses in silversmithing. I was experimenting with lace inspired pieces, using real fabric lace and also making moulds for casting. However I never pursued the profession seriously. 

Some time after that I started to see a lot of lace-inspired jewellery around, and had to chuckle – I could have been ahead of the competition if I had stuck at it. But as much as I love jewellery, it just was not my métier.

… by conducting a thorough CPW analysis, I find it wasn’t exactly a bargain

Naturally enough I was attracted to this cast metal guipure lace necklace that I found in costume jewellery store Lovisa. It was relatively inexpensive and I bought it, although I think it transpires I have worn it only once or twice. So by conducting a thorough CPW (cost-per-wear) analysis, I find it wasn’t exactly a bargain.

I hereby bring you the inaugural story in my new SNAP category: G.U.I.L.T. Gorgeous, Useless, Irresistible Little Trifles. Sometimes one just has to indulge those hankerings. 

A Forest Idyll

When I was a child a favourite hobby amongst all little girls was collecting swap cards. These cards – the same size as a regular playing card – featured illustrations of all kinds of subjects, but most particularly of little girls and boys doing things (walking in the rain, throwing coins in a wishing well, collecting flowers, etc).

I had a large collection, and displayed my keepers in special albums, while those I was willing to trade were held together by a rubber band. Sometimes we would be willing to trade keepers if something really special came along.

She will use her formidable martial arts skills to fight off dragons and evil step-mothers, and also enormous thorns …

There was one card I particularly remembered, probably because of the excessively romantic imagery: a girl in a quintessentially 70s flowing dress and floppy hat, wandering through a forest carrying a basket of flowers and a large key. I wonder what the key was for? Perhaps she is going to rescue the long-lost prince who has been fast asleep for a hundred years, locked up in his dungeon tower. She will use her formidable martial arts skills to fight off dragons and evil step-mothers, and also enormous thorns that threaten to tear her dress. 

A while back I went hunting online and miraculously found the picture on Flickr! Inspired, I decided to recreate it as a photograph for SNAP.

Original 70s swapcard by the Valentine Publishing Co

Making the Picture

The production process has taken a couple of years. I photographed the backdrop at the bottom of a street I stayed in, on holiday in Noosa, Queensland, a couple of years ago. This was no forest, but rather a little copse of native trees and birches, and the ground was covered in ivy and little white flowers.

Some time later I found the enormous vintage 70s cartwheel hat at Etsy store Archetype Vintage. I’d long had an ambition to own the biggest cartwheel hat I could (because why not?), and when I saw that one, I knew it fit the bill. It was so large the postage doubled the price, and I asked the seller to put it on layaway for me. She told me later that she had subsequently received many requests of people petitioning, begging, pleading to buy the hat, or failing that (in the case of a famous New York bridal magazine) could they borrow it just for a photo shoot please?

I kept a lookout for a suitable dress until one hot summer’s day last year when I saw my friend Sapphire (who has kindly modelled for me many times before) wearing a romantic, flowing blue and white dress. It was perfect. I borrowed a large antique copper key (I had to enlarge and elongate it for the picture) and a flower basket from the Props department from the theatre I work in, and bought some native eucalyptus and purple statice to load the basket up with. 

Yesterday we photographed it (‘look pensive’, I directed Sapphire), and today the forest idyll comes to life. 

The original unretouched photograph – you can see the street in the background

Heartbreak Summer

This Indian summer has turned wistful – or maybe that’s just me, knowing that autumn weather is really just round the corner. But no matter the season, sunglasses are always necessary, and I always carry a pair in my bag.

These Cross My Heart sunglasses from No A have become my favourite this summer, not least because they merge seamlessly with the themes in my fine artwork! Also, I love round glasses – small, vintage style ones and oversize versions like these. But more than anything, these are just irresistibly funny.

Sometimes I forget when I am wearing them in the busy streets or crowded trams, and wonder why the person opposite me is staring so hard – and then I remember and chuckle inwardly.

You can still own a pair yourself, although they are now available only in tortoiseshell.

Picture Note:
The beach photograph was taken by myself a couple of years ago on Rainbow Beach, Far North Queensland.