Tropical

One of the things I was most looking froward to on my Melbourne trip was going back to Retrostar. This is one of the most amazing vintage clothing stores I have ever been to. EVER. It is one of those stores that you need to mentally prepare yourself for. There are so many colours and patterns to trawl through! I would never ever go to a store like this with a hangover that's for sure....

A particularly cool part about going back to this store on this trip- was that I got to take a friend of mine who had not yet experienced the joys of Retrostar. I got to relive the initial amazement through her when we walked in- and that was just as exciting for me too.

I knew there was going to be a lot I liked here- and it didn't disappoint. As I was walking around with my hangers of items to take into the changing room getting heavier- I stopped in my tracks when I saw this on the rack. Like actually stopped. I think my jaw may have even dropped just a little. I knew that this was the one. Of all the things I was carrying to try on- I hoped with all my might that this was going to be the dress that fit me perfectly.

A bright electric blue based ra-ra dress with 3 tiers of ruffles along the bottom. Pretty cool in itself. Then you throw in the tropical flower pattern in shades of bright yellow, orange, red and green. just when you think it can't get any better- you realise that hiding among the flower pattern are even a couple of parrots! Yes.That was the  moment that tipped me over the edge. (Maybe I should get out more...)

The only moment in this whole experience that made my heart heavy- was realising the zip was broken. Like proper bung. I quickly weighed up the options in my mind and swiftly went for the one that involved getting the zip re[placed when I got it home. I wouldn't go as far as saying that this made the dress a bargain per se- but it definitely was one of my favourite frocks from this shopping expedition.

Among many many great things about this frock is the accessorising options. With all those colours to contrast the bright blue there is no shortage of possibilities for hair flowers and shoes. In this photo I have gone for yellow- but it could just as easily been red, orange or green.

The only other thing this dress needs now is a large cocktail with a little paper umbrella in it.