What I Actually Wore #112

Serial #: 0112
Date: 29/03/2013
Weather: 17°C / 62.6°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

This afternoon I was going to visit my friend at her home on the other side of the city from me. It was a cool day, and quite a long journey, and I knew I would probably be heading home in the early evening, so I should be prepared for a chill. I took my favourite coat of the moment, a vintage 1960s plush black velvet pile that has been treated to emulate sealskin. The fur collar is real however (although I’m not sure what kind of fur it is).

I wear a rather quirky outfit, based around the gold velvet polka dot skirt by Anthropologie and an ethnic-looking wooden bead necklace I had bought in Lisbon a couple of years earlier. The blue ruched top is a nice contrast against the yellow, and the neutral grey socks complement them both.

I decide black mary-janes would be too obviously matchy, so I wear a pair of taupe suede and patent shoes instead. They are quite comfortable to walk in, but when I arrive at my friend’s, she suggests going for a walk, and insists I must borrow a pair of her shoes so I don’t wreck my new patent mary-janes. She wants me to wear her heeled boots so I don’t ruin my outfit (which is gorgeous of her), but I settle on a pair of comfortably worn-in ballet flats.

The outfit makes me smile now because it is so whimsical.

The outfit makes me smile now because it is so whimsical. There are no Anthropologie stores in Australia (still!), and I had bought both pieces on eBay; the skirt was new, but the top second hand; both have since been culled from my wardrobe. I have never been definite about my feelings for ruching, but I think that top finally convinced me it was not for me, and while I still admire the skirt because it’s amusing, it just didn’t fit with my current 70s-influenced minimalist leanings, so out it also went.

I’ve just noticed I forgot to photograph a bag, but I suspect I may have carried my old standby, a little 60s black patent bag which I have owned for years. The earrings, which were a birthday gift from the friend I was visiting in fact, are Moyou, a label by designer Amy Kerr-Menz who now seems to have moved into textile design. A few of her earrings are still available in her Etsy shop.

Items:

Top: Anthropologie
Camisole: Diesel
Skirt: Anthropologie
Coat: vintage 60s, from Salvos
Beret: vintage 90s, Melbourne boutique
Socks: ASOS
Necklace: Portuguese souvenir
Earrings: Moyou, from Design a Space (a gift)
Ring: NGV Gallery giftshop (another gift)
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Shoes: John Lewis Women

Photos: April 2013

High-Waist, Wide-Leg, Low-Risk

One of my fashion holy grails is a Forties-style high-waisted, wide-leg pant. I prefer a drapey style rather than a cut that clings, and love the swoosh of voluminous fabric as I walk (although this can prove dangerous when paired with heels and negotiating stairs – they have proved my downfall at least once). So I am always on the lookout for them when I go op-shopping.

When you go thrifting, you must always remember to check a potential purchase for flaws, and decide whether the financial outlay plus the cost of any required alterations make the garment in question worth the investment.

In the case of these polka dot pants, the waistband had a huge hole in it as though a belt loop had been ripped out, and fabric pooled around my feet; I would certainly have to have them professionally altered. (I am not on cordial terms with my sewing machine.)

In the change room I considered the trousers dubiously: I could repair the hole myself, and besides once the long fabric belt was tied, my mending would be obscured. The fabric was certainly very nice too, 100% viscose. Though I admit silk crepe would be even nicer, viscose is made from wood cellulose, so it is a natural fibre, which is always a plus. Moreover, they were only $5. This was virtually no-risk fashion!

Moreover, they were only $5. This was virtually no-risk fashion!

When I took the pants to my tailor a few days later (taking with me the pair of shoes I intended to wear with them), the tailor observed there were a couple of extra inches in the waistband, so it would be easy to repair the hole. With the waist sitting in the correct position, the pants were not as overly long as I originally surmised. Still, the tailor – who thought they were fine as is – agreed to take them up another inch to pacify me. They still look a bit too long for my liking in the still photographs, but seem less so when I’m walking, as they swish around.

The only problem, I told my tailor, was that they were too long to wear with walking shoes on my commute, which is a half-hour walk each direction. They’d drag in the dust. I would have to wear heels all this way! My tailor was extremely unsympathetic and told me that was the price of fashion.

In the end, I spent around $30 on repairs and alterations. Even on top of the cost of the trousers, this still makes a bargain!

Photos: This week

Staple Sequins

Who would have ever suspected that a sequinned t-shirt could become a basic in one’s wardrobe? But that is just what happened to me.

Two or three years ago I found this silver matt sequinned tee in an op shop. It had obviously been barely worn, and was priced at only a few dollars. I had already given sanctuary to several spangled items (I am such a magpie), but I took it home with me anyway. And to my surprise since then it has become a staple item in my wardrobe, unlike my other sequinned garments, most of which are really eveningwear.

It is the combination of simple tee shape with the neutral grey colour, and the fact that the paillettes are matt, rather than reflective that makes this top so versatile. The back of the tee is just plain cotton, which also helps to make it feel more dressed-down, yet it dresses up an otherwise plain outfit, and gives it really pizzazz.

What a great find it was!

Photo: December 2015

A Final Fling

A week into April, summer has finally ended, and it went out with a spectacular bang. Melbourne treated us to a last burst of sunshine and warm weather (29°!) and I decided that I ought to honour the day suitably.

Yesterday morning I considered my wardrobe, trying to decide which outfit should have a final fling, and I decided on cheerful pistachio and Kelly greens. This Phase Eight skirt and Icons top were bought from different thrift stores and months apart, and although the shades of green were slightly different, I was delighted to find that they both tied with jaunty bows at the back.

… I was delighted to find that they both tied with jaunty bows at the back

The straw hat with its raffia pompom is by Australian label Country Road (I fear they copied a Burberry hat from a season or two ago), and the two-tone woven leather slingbacks are by an unfamiliar French label, Bleu.C; I bought them on eBay a few years ago. I spotted a similar pair on Etsy, albeit in garish lime and orange,which states they are from the 1980s.

Fashion editors love to wax lyrical how flattering monochrome outfits are (elongating the figure), and I particularly like to pair slightly differing hues of a single colour, just to tease the eye. I like that out of these two greens one on the warmer side of the spectrum, and the other on the cooler: I think this is much more interesting than simply wearing lighter and darker variations of the same shade.

And now it’s a farewell to summer, and welcome autumn – and hello lovely autumnal layers!

Photo: Yesterday

Easter Soufflé

Sadly, there aren’t too many millinery traditions upheld at Easter these days, except perhaps in the classroom, where children still construct Easter bonnets. So this Good Friday, I bring you a robin’s egg blue soufflé!

This vintage 1960s glorified beret has so many enjoyable points: it’s striped; it’s robin’s egg blue (or, if you like, Tiffany blue, one of my favourite colours); and is has an amusing amount of volume. That latter characteristic is why I’ve dubbed it my soufflé hat. It can, however, be flattened to a less conspicuous and more omelette-type shape if I want to go about incognito.

So many eggscellent reasons to wear it at Easter time!

Photo: April 2013