Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Green Leopard

I do love a good wraparound dress. They are a very flattering cut on most figure types- and they are also pretty forgiving if your size fluctuates slightly.

This particular one was a no brainer for me. As previously mentioned I am a sucker for all things green and I have a certain fondness for animal print from time to time too. This one had all three of those bases covered so I rolled with my frock instincts.


I especially like that the leopard print is in a slightly different colour combo to the normal gold or red. I have not seen it in shades that so effortlessly combine green, yellow, blue and black in one fabric.



I spent a little but more on this dress than I usually do. I found it on trademe and pretty much fell in love with it. Even though they had a shot that resembled THIS listed next to the photo... I'm definitely not a fan of this socialite but occasionally (presumably by accident) she shows some taste in her clothing choices.



I have matched it to some green faux crocodile stillettos. Great shoes but maybe better for sitting in and slightly less for actually walking...

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Friday, February 12, 2010

Yellow Poppies

This is one of the coolest 70s dresses I have found in AGES.



Originally - the part that caught my attention was the fact that the poppies on the fabric are exactly the same as my yellow poppy I wear in my hair.

After a second look I started to get excited about the buckles on the straps too. This is a feature that I have not yet come across in any other frock from that era.




The yellow really stands out on the black background and I especially like that there are a few different shades thrown into the mix.





As was the fashion at the time- this dress has its own cups built into it. Ive always thought that concept was a little weird....

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With Envy

I am a fan of green. ALL greens. I'm talking lime, forest, moss, sage, mint, emerald. I love them all. I do however have a special soft spot for that really bright middle range green that I describe as "Kermit Green" (As a side note I would KILL for that jacket!)

I own a lot of clothing, shoes and accessories in this particular shade. I thought that I would devote a post to a couple of things in that collection.



First up is this fantastic long 70's number. Cap sleeves, empire line tie, bow in the front and looooooong. I may have mentioned this is a previous post- but I bought this dress while waiting for a pizza.


Second up is this amazing green leather jacket. I have had this for a while now. I found it at the now almost defunct K Rd Markets. I picked this and a long blue 70s leather trench coat for $70.00 in total. An amazing score if I do say so myself!Check Spelling


Last but certainly not least is this 70's wraparound embroidered skirt. It always makes me think of Irish folk dancing or some such. I have owned this skirt now for about 12 years- and it is still in high rotation for being worn. Quite good stats really....


This skirt always makes me think of Irish dancing for some reason.



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A Rose By Any Other Name...

This is a frock that has not been worn nearly enough in its tenure in the wardroom. I have had it for about 3 years now- and I think it has only really seen the light of day once. That is quite a terrible track record I must admit...




I bought this dress off trademe back then as I thought this dress had a really "classic" appeal to it. Being monochromatic in black and whites helps that feel- but also the feature rose detail on the shoulder really brings it home.




The long length, floaty cap sleeves and the empire line tie the style together to create a point of difference I think...

It may not have been worn too otften- but that doesn't mean I can't still appreciate it!

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Accidental- Part 2

So you may recall a few weeks back I "accidentally" purchased a few extra dresses off a trademe seller. This dress was one of those dresses.

The reason I chose to wear it today is that people at work were dressing in red or pink for Valentines Day. The frock I was originally going to wear needed to have a small hole sewed up in it- and I woke up way too late for that kind of morning carry on. (I do hope to have it up and running again shortly though... stay tuned for that one!)

I figured that this was pink enough- and I also had not worn it yet so it had it's debut today.




It is a nice alternative to a flat pink too. A gingham if you will- with shades of cerise, indigo and white to off set the pink.
It was missing a certain something this morning- so I have teamed it with a purple belt and dusty pink suede boots.



I am actually not sold on the cut of this frock just yet. While I do really like the style- it seems like it could be a little more flattering on the lower half of the dress. That said- I really REALLY like the sweetheart neck line and the little bow in the middle. Guess it all balances out somewhere. Right?



Last of all- I added a pink sparkley hairclip. Just cause I can....





I was told I looked like a cowgirl. I have nothing against cowgirls (by any stretch) but I was kinda disappointed that my P.O.F was translated that way! If I was going for cowgirl I could have worn my silver western boots....

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Monday, February 8, 2010

Leather Hotpants.... Really?

Tonight was my first official night back at Derby training after our Christmas rest. We have had freshmeat afternoons and even a game during the break- but tonight was the night that we all officially donned our skates and got back into the swing of it.

I had a really good time at training. It was a nice mix of the familiar faces that become your second family- with the addition of some new faces that have already been bitten by the derby bug. I love getting re-inspired with the enthusiasm and new found passion of our new skaters. You can't help but get excited along with them.

The other OTHER thing that I have been missing from my life during this brief derby hiatus- is the channel it gives me to really let loose on the more bizarre side of my wardroom!



Tonight's choice may not strictly be a frock. In fact they are not even remotely a frock- but I have a particular leaning towards the ridiculous- and they certainly fit that bill.

Electric blue leather high waisted hotpants with a corset criss-cross back. My god yes!

I LOVE these. In a 'feels slightly un-natural almost dirty" kinda way. In the way like you know you shouldn't. In a way like you kinda want to hide it from your friends.



I am not always ashamed of these hotpants- but they are pretty firmly in the "So bad they are good again"pile. Things in that pile aren't always appropriate to wear just anywhere- and that's why derby training is the perfect occasion for clothes that fall into that category. Nobody will judge me. In fact- the more ridiculous/ hideous the outfit the more likely you will get kudos for being brave enough to wear it out in public. Even if it is the most sheltered and open minded of public forums....


(NB- How much would you expect to pay for such a great slice of 80's bongan-ness? I paid a cool $7.00 (incuding postage) from trademe.... WIN!)

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Sunday, February 7, 2010

70's Geometric

This dress has a lot going on. First up it has a unique colour combo that includes navy blue, orange, red, white and tan. No matter what it does from here you know it's kind of a bold statement with that particular colour palette!


It is keeping in line with the short sleeved smock/ supermarket checkout style that I have always been quite fond of. The buttons on the front don't go all the way down though- and it also has a thin belt attached to set it aside from other similar styles.

The cut itself has a slight cowgirl feel to it. If you look really closely you can see the western faux pocket line right next to the collar. Sadly- that feature gets a little lost in the overall look.



The print itself is a crazy mix of lines, squares and rectangles. Makes for a busy pattern with that many colours all fighting for their turn. When I think of this dress I only ever really remember it being orange and blue. The 2 staple colours of many a 70's frock in the wardroom. And probably the rest of the era I imagine.


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Thursday, February 4, 2010

Go Go Girl

I do love a good dress up party. It is the best excuse to pull out some of the outfits I have previously bought- but then not had the guts to actually wear them in day to day life. I have been known to plan entire dress up party themes around something I have bought and then needed a specific theme to be able to wear it!
This dress is not one of those- although it has served me well in the costume party's over the years. This frock was given to me by a girl I used to work with who had cleared out her wardrobe and thought I may appreciate it. I sure do.



It seems to be genuine 1960's for a start. I go through phases with the decades I choose to dress from and may well have been in a strong 60's/70's one around the time of this dress being passed down to me.

The pattern on the fabric is particularly psychedelic with shades of green, orange, and pink that border on fluoro. I have always been really keen to wear it under a black light....

It has a keyhole feature in the back that is punctuated by this great button detail too.





The last time I wore it was to a "dress up as anything you want" costume party. When I was first told of the theme I thought nothing of it. having no theme or boundaries had to make it the easiest dress up party ever, Right? WRONG. Turns out that I am someone who needs slight direction in such situations otherwise my wardroom will drive me crazy. I recall having the mother of all what to wear mares getting ready for this party. I swear it took me about an hour and a half of concerted trying things on and mixing them up before I came up with this dress. While it is a pretty obvious "Go-Go" dress- I think the boots were what really tied it together for me...


The boots make perfect sense with this outfit- but I am the first to admit they are pretty trashy. They are white pointed, ruffled stiletto long boots. Wow. I used to think a lot more highly of them until I saw one of my local neighbourhood prostitutes wearing them to "work". Now they only come out for dress up parties!

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Crushed Velvet Sparkles And Bows

I haven't been particularly wardroom inspired in the last few weeks. While I have been trying to fit this slump in my dressing up excitement- I am also being careful not to go too far the other way. The "Other Way" is a mind frame wherein I blatantly use this blog as a thinly veiled excuse to constantly buy more clothes. "All in the name of Frockstar of course". Its a fine fine line to be treading I can assure you.

So I am trying to get re-inspired with the wardroom and will be using this to delve a little further into it's depths. No matter how ridiculous the outcome!
Today's frock is a great example of this. I am still feeling a little glamorous from the black and white gown in my previous post.- so have decided to roll with it.




This is a very different kind of gown. For a start its velvet. (of the ever so slightly crushed variety in fact!) Now I have never been one to hide from my West Auckland upbringing but I also know that there is a time and a place for crushed velvet. That time is hardly ever- and the place is where nobody can see you. In saying all of that- this particular dress still managed to tickle my fancy through my thick layer of fabric prejudice.

Its no secret that I like green things. A lot. So the first tick this dress gets is for the colour.
I also am rather partial to sparkly things. I'm sure you are shocked and stunned by this revelation. The second tick goes to the sparkly detailing on the dress. This is almost worthy of 2 ticks in itself as I think this is what really gives it a point of difference. It gives the dress an interesting shape on the bodice- and really brings out the key hole feature on the back.





Which brings us nicely to my third tick. And my fourth when I remember the bow at the bottom of the third tick keyhole surrounded by second tick sparkles. It gets a record FIVE ticks when I recall that this dress only cost me $10.00!



I have not have any where to don this dress so far- but I am optimistic. Although I do know myself well enough to realise that should an occasion arise wherein I COULD potentially wear this little number out somewhere- I would almost certainly revert to the "I need a new dress- all in the name of Frockstar" mentality!


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