Evening Ladies (and Gentlemen)

Hello! Greetings after a verrry loong hiatus – I have had an extra contract job for a while now, so life has been busy and SNAP has suffered. But I’m back just in time for the changing seasons. And to ease myself into it, I bring you a snap out of the album, taken at my cousin’s wedding about 15 years ago.

The women I’m with are all cousins, and the two blondes were bridesmaids; I can’t get over how young we all look! I am wearing a vintage 70s cream satin blouse, and I think a modern silver satin skirt.

The red rose choker is made of leather, and I bought it from Fat, a Melbourne boutique that was very cool at that time. My then-boyfriend loathed it: he thought it made me look like a Russian Lady of the Night, to put it politely. That annoyed me very much and I wore it in spite of his ungentlemanly opinions – and I’ve punished him by obliterating him behind the fold!

We have another family wedding coming up (the blonde on the left in fact) so I am looking forward to another family reunion. Maybe I’ll bring that choker out again!

Earring in the New Year

Recently I’ve had a real bonanza on vintage earring finds in op shops (thrift stores).

The first pair that caught my eye (below) in a Sacred Heart secondhand shop were red and navy clip on baubles that are suspended on chain. The navy beads have dotted lines around the centre, so that they look like cricket balls. I guessed they were 1960s or 70s, so I thought $5 was a fair enough price for them.

The following four pairs were all bought on the same day, in two Salvos stores.

The very fun French flag hoops are made of enamel (70s or 80s?), and were the cheapest of the lot, costing all of $1. They were actually an afterthought purchase, serendipitously spotted at the counter in a sale bin while I waited for my friend to finalise her purchases.

The gold oval hoops and the snaky knot danglers that you see in swinging action are also metal, and both possibly 1970s. Each cost about $3, and were found at the second Salvos store.

And once more in the same shop, I made an afterthought purchase with the 1950s (or 80s?) jumbo pearl clip-ons. I was actually leaving the store when a staff member, busily stocking a display box near the entrance, showed me them to admire. I laughed aloud because they were so enormous, and immediately decided they were so OTT I had to have them. She and I both agreed they looked much better on than in the hand. I think these were $5–6, and worth it for sheer fun.

I remember when 1970s and 80s fashion was considered so passé, hideous even, but given enough time any era regains a lustre. Old things, taken out of their stuffy or old-fashioned contexts, become new again, especially when they are recombined with modern items or things from quite different eras. Tarnish transmogrifies into desirable patina.

A Fresh Start

What better jewellery, I thought, for a brand spanking New Year than a pair of earrings that sparkled with fresh, clear colours? These vintage earrings twinkle with bright promise in pastel colours. I am not actually at all sure which era they are from however – perhaps the 1950s.

I am very happy that it’s a new year, for I was done with 2017 and quite ready to dust off my hands and farewell it. I have a few ideas and resolutions for the coming year – some carrying on from the last – and simply feel inspired by the notion of a clean slate, all those empty days and months lying ahead, glimmering and shimmering mysteriously in the distance, like a mirage in time.

While pragmatism forces us to acknowledge our lives can’t all be a bed or roses, may we all feel inspired and motivated to look for the sparkle and magic around every corner. Here’s to 2018!

Firecracker!

Here we are at last – the end of the year. I’d like to say it’s been a blast, but I confess, I won’t shed a tear to see its close, though it seems it’s flashed by so fast. It’s had its joys, and it’s woes, but the time to sing auld lang syne is drawing near.

So I shall say farewell in style, with firecrackers in my ears – a burst of diamonds and a shower of gold to celebrate the year of old—happy New Year, dears!

The Truth About Boxing Day

Apparently, on the second day of Christmas, in Great Britain lords and ladies historically gifted servants and tradespeople boxes of Christmas goodies. Apparently. But I believe this is a hoax; a world-wide cover-up for the real truth. It is in fact a global holiday recognising the enormously enjoyable sport of boxing.

I haven’t done any boxing for a few years, and I miss it. So today in homage I give you my sterling silver boxing glove charms that swing right! and hook left! from my charm necklace. Aren’t they pretty?

I think I feel a New Year’s resolution coming up(per cutting) …