Venus x Abigail

There is such a joy in op-shopping when one stumbles upon a rare and fabulous find such as this 1970s Regency-inspired maxi dress with shirred bodice in tomato red with slit bell sleeves featuring prints of a hybrid Botticelli Venus-Flora figure. (No fashion journalist could ever have dreamed of penning such a sentence!)

I actually must credit a Vinnies staff member for bringing this priceless treasure to my attention, for in my excitement at finding another 70s dress (hand crocheted turquoise) I had unbelievably missed spotting this on the same rack! The lady declared it a quintessential 70s dress, and reminisced how she herself had worn such garments when she was young to her high school prom.

Someone whose chest was too ample to close the zip had actually altered the dress. The back had been opened up and sewn flat, and two sets of ties had been added to the back. I think the fabric for them had been cut off the hem of the dress, as the hem is not very well hand-stitched. When I got it home I unpicked all the stitching, hoping that it would fit me, and fortunately it does.

Of course the caped sleeves are mind-blowingly awesome, and I also love the little peaked shoulders, but the pièce de résistance is the printed lady. I immediately recognised her as Sandro Botticelli’s Flora, the goddess of flowers and the season of spring depicted in the painting Primavera (painted in the late 1470s or early 1480s) – she’s the one casting flowers about out of the folds of her robe. But what is even funnier, I realised later, is that the head is that of Venus, flipped around, from another of Botticelli’s paintings, The Birth of Venus (1485)! (Was this the designer’s answer to avoiding copyright infringement?)

Primavera, Sandro Botticelli (late 1470s or early 1480s)The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli (1485)The label is Clementine, and states ‘dry clean only’, at which I scoffed as I laid it into a laundry tub of water to hand wash. It is probably a poly crepe, or at best, part rayon as well.

The dress really comes to life in movement. I am planning to wear it to the opening night of Abigail’s Party, a 70s period next on stage at the theatre I work at. It is exactly like something the titular character might wear herself. I shall have to make sure to swish and swan about just like her.

A scene from Abigail's Party (1977), Mike Leigh's film of his own original stage play (Abigail is wearing the red dress)

Photos: Yesterday (March 2018)

Same, Same, But Shorter

I had my hair cut again last Wednesday. I decided I needed the chop a day or two previous, rang my salon, Lady Marmalade, and fortuitously my stylist had a cancellation the next day. Hurrah!

I knew I needed it cut off SHORT, but not quite as short as the pixie last year. I wanted a super-short fringe and for a while looked up pictures of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (I’ve always been partial to her do in that film). But it turned out it was not quite as short as I imagined, not even shorter than it currently was.

One of the pictures my stylist Alex used as reference for my haircutThen I remembered a fashion editorial from a few years ago that I knew I had put in one of my tearsheet scrapbooks – but where was it? I knew the photos were taken by Ellen von Unworth … I scrambled for half an hour or more and finally found the pages.

Another of the pictures – the back is exactly like this, pretty muchOf course shortly after I arrived for my appointment, my stylist, Alex, asked me if I had brought pictures. “Of course I have!” I told him. “I know how you love pictures.” He approved them, and after a consultation, started chopping away.

And voilà! Just like the pictures, only shorter! (You can’t see the back yet, but you will – I did lots of certified fresh photoshoots today.)

Photo: Last Wednesday

Words of Wisdom

On this International Women’s Day, I give you a homage to a woman who hardly needs an introduction: Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993). As famous for her grace and beauty of spirit as her chic appearance, Hepburn was a model, an actress and a humanitarian, working with UNICEF in her later life.

Here are some of her words of wisdom, always and forever relevant:

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!

Paris is always a good idea.

Audrey Hepburn as Sabrina (1954)About a year ago I cut my hair super-short for the first time since my early twenties (quite a while ago!), in a pixie-cut. And although I don’t think I took any reference pictures of Audrey to my hair stylist, I was later reminded of her pixie cut during the filming of Sabrina in 1954. So here I am, emulating a publicity portrait of her with gloves.

I hope you have had time to celebrate the day with your best women friends, for in Audrey’s words: ‘The best thing to hold onto in life is each other’.

Photo: March 2017

Life is a Bowl of Cherries

We are enjoying another string of summery days this week – so much for autumn – and what more summery way to celebrate that than to wear a sparkling cherry necklace?

I had to go to market today to buy not cherries, but coffee beans, and I wore this necklace along with some other cheerful red accessories and a checked navy and light blue 70s cotton sundress. The enamel and crystal necklace was an op shop (thrift store) purchase quite a while back, and it really is the cherry on top when it comes to accessories.

The lady serving at the coffee shop no sooner clapped eyes on me than she complimented my outfit, insisting I was the best-dressed person at the market today. “Are you going somewhere special, or do you always dress like that?” she asked me. I laughed, and answered, “I always dress like this.”

But even a trip to the market can be special, and why not? Life’s too short to dress dully: stop to smell the roses, and eat wear the cherries!

What I Actually Wore #0137

Serial #: 0137
Date: 25/03/2013
Weather: 14°C / 58°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

It was a cold and very windy day, with gale force winds forecast for the afternoon. I had a hair appointment after work too, so I knew I had to dress warmly as I would be making my way home in the evening.

My old favourite Sonia Rykiel wool sweater! I loved how the stripes on the attached scarf tie were narrower than the body of the top. Sadly by this time the sweater was quite worn, and had a couple of holes in it that I had darned – one of the reasons I layered the cotton tee over it; the other was for extra warmth. And how I adore this vintage suede and rabbit fur coat, the ‘Zhivago’ as it was called in the 1970s – one of my all-time favourites.

I pulled my outfit together quite quickly, but as I had just written the accessories story for the Ten Commandments the night before, I deliberately thought about how I matched my accessories. I originally wanted neutral socks, but my favourite French brown ones were in the laundry basket, so I went with the red. A bit more lurid than desired, but only a little of them would be glimpsed (and you can’t see them at all in the photos). They annoy me all day as they’re supposed stay-ups that don’t stay up! The earrings are striped ceramic (they are not visible either, sadly in this case) and the ring turquoise – they were both souvenirs from Barcelona.

The tan leather lace-up boots are old favourites. My oldest sister has told me that in the 70s, lace-up boots really were lace-ups: there were no cheating zips up the sides like today. They took forever to take on and off, so you didn’t remove them until you had to.

At my hairdresser, the receptionist raved about my outfit – she said I looked gorgeous, like a little doll, and so creative. Hmm, not so sure about the doll part, but gorgeous and creative I’ll take! I still have all these items except for the two tops, but I actually still like this outfit.

Items:

Tee: Oxford
Jumper: Sonia Rykiel
Skirt: Ojay
Stockings: The Sock Shop
Hat: boutique
Coat: vintage 70s, Stephen Dattner
Scarf: souvenir
Earrings: souvenir
Ring: souvenir
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Boots: Joanne Mercer

Photos: October 2013