This is what I would wear if I was a secretary. In the 70's. In Hawaii.

Says it all really...

I bought this dress on my birthday this year. I was on the way home from a pretty awesome day at work (awesome because I had a pretty dress on and I got to eat cake and I was being taken out for amazing Japanese food for dinner. Its the simple pleasures after all...) - when I decided to stop at one of my favourite central vintage stores. Peachy Keen Vintage on Karangahape Rd. Besides the fact that this store is CHOCKA full of amazing vintage American clothing- Thom who runs the store is awesome and always up for some good yarns while browsing. It's so dangerous having to walk past this store at least twice a day and seeing the incredible rockabilly petticoats and retro cowboy shirts in the window. I have literally spent hours trawling through the racks there- and there are always pieces that I daydream about long after I've left .

So this birthday induced "excuse for a new dress" dress started life as a sleeveless mu mu a couple of sizes too big. I saw some great potential as I love the colour combo.

Orange + Blue = win every time.

I made the (historically fatal) mistake of buying it knowing that I needed to completely change it before it could be worn. I have a rubbish bag full of things that need altering and I notoriously never get around to doing anything about gettign them fixed. Maybe it was my sugar hit from a belly full of cake- but I felt surprisingly motivated. A quick stop in at the alteration store further down the road and it was finished and ready to be picked up the following day. Its debut was 1 day later.


The shoes are amazingly ridiculous. And bright orange. And stupidly high. Maybe not the smartest choice footwear while I was speed walking to work this morning. Although once the immediate danger of falling off and breaking my ankle was outta the way- it was all good. These were a very lucky find on trademe a few years back. I was in fact looking for a replacement for a pair of cork wedge platform sandal that were essentially identical to these babies- but in pale green and yellow snakeskin. (now THOSE were a good buy. $10.00 in a seconds store and I literally wore them for 10 years until I snapped the sole right down the middle. I can still feel the excitement I felt when I saw them for the first time and I still miss them dearly!) I still can't believe I found a pair in the exact same style. Some days you can handle being short. When you REALLY can't- you break these puppies out.

So to complete the Hawaiian 70's Secretary ensemble I have gone for a dark blue pair of glasses, navy hair flower and my car bracelet.




Its a little scratchy if I wear it too long- but makes me smile every time I look down at my wrist so totally worth it.