Thursday, June 23, 2011

50's Cross Hatch in Pink and Grey

I'm not one to discriminate. I like vintage frocks. I like second hand frocks. I like new frocks. If the frock is right it just doesn't matter. Obviously a downside to vintage dressing is that there is definitly a degree of wear and tear. Zips are often the first to go closely followed by hems in my experience. This makes for a sure fire bonus when I find a new dress that just looks like it was made 60 years ago. I present you- Exhibit A. A fantastic cross hatch little number from Melbourne. (you can probably guess where I bought based on the last few posts!)


This frock really ticked a lot of boxes for me. The pink, white and grey colour scheme isn't one that I would normally buy into- but the design on the fabric grabbed me right by the eyeballs. The brush strokes are pure 1950's and I sure am a sucker for that era of fashion. The design boasts a flaring skirt (crinoline friendly...tick!) and a flattering neckline. You can't see in the chosen shot I have posted but it is also sleeveless so there are some Summer options on its own- or Winter options with tights and cardies here too. Tick, tick and tick.


Anyone who has read more than a few of my posts can probably tell I have some compulsive shopping issues going on here. I channel it predominantly on clothes, shoes and accessories- but to be honest it doesn't really matter what I buy. The thrill is in the chase of a good bargain obviously but it also seems to be in the very action of handing my money to someone and them handing me something I can take home. I manage this debilitating condition by getting excited about going to the supermarket and spending time in trashy "$2 and more!" type stores. I must admit it can be hard sticking to a rule of "I am not allowed to come home with anything that didn't leave the house with me in the morning". Sounds like an easy rule to stick to- but for people like me it really isn't.


I find that if I put my mind to it I can be quite focused in my restraint. Being allowed to break it is all the more sweeter for it if I do! The trouble with being allowed to break the restraint after tracking so well for so long is that it is literally just giving me back the taste for  it. Stopping my compulsive spending again is extremely difficult at this point. A great example of this (and the reason for this long drawn out explanation of my spending habits) is the shoes in this pic.

I had just come back from Melbourne and was literally giddy with shopping-gasm. This should have been enough to keep me going for a while but no. I had the taste for it again. The day after I got home I was back in The Paper Bag Princess buying this ultra cute pair of pale grey peep toes! I don't exactly need another pair of shoes- but I just couldn't help myself. They were only $14.00 and I quickly justified their existence in the Wardroom by the fact I didn't really have this particular shade of grey represented.

Herein lies the problem. Or alternatively. Herein lies the reason I get to have an entire room full of cool things to dress up in. I will let you decide how you choose to interpret that one...



NB-   I am yet to decide if it justifies my spending behaviours or makes me feel more guilty about it- but it is a very interesting article nonetheless...

Labels: , , , ,

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Lost and Found Misery Cardi

I'm not going to lie to you. Having a room full of clothes rules. I don't think it is possible to ever take that kind of thing for granted. Every morning I walk in there to get dressed and think "Hell yeah!" Living the dream kids.

One of the bonuses about having said room full of clothes is that stuff gets lost in the clutter. While that may not sound too awesome- the flipside is after stuff gets lost it gets rediscovered. That leads us up to todays featured piece- a Misery bolero cardi.





I can't even remember exactly when I bought this cardi but it was about 3 or 4 years ago now. It was from the savemart chain of recycled clothes and it cost me about $20.00. I had probably only worn it once or twice before it got lost on the rack so it has been nice to finally get the wear out of it that it deserves.




The cardi itself is a very pale green with a hint of aqua. (Maybe we can call that colour Graqua in the future) It has a very fine black lace trim around the front and rounded hem on the bottom. 3/4 puff length sleeves and the cutest turquoise embroidery of a mermaid and anchor motiff. Perfect for a black wiggle dress or pencil skirt.


Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Rose Cameo Stripes

You may recall from my last post- that a dress will very easily find it's way home with me if I think I can fit a big fat petticoat under it. Some simply scream for one in fact. Others threaten to not quite fit one. And then there are frocks -like this one- that I buy on their own merits and then am pleasantly surprised when I can fit a crinoline under them too. It really is the little things...



It is another Dangerfield purchase from the factory store. $30.00 of surprise crinoline dress awesomeness.
The fabric has a gothicky quality to it. Black and white stripes always make me think of The Dresden Dolls which may be tied into that as well. I really like the combo of the stripes and the old fashioned cameo-esque rose print featured in the diamonds. 



The dress itself is quite basic. Spaghetti straps and flared skirt with a frill along the hem. It actually has an elasticated waist band too- but as it is a little too big on me I am covering it with a black waist cincher belt. (Everyone should own one of these by the way) I think my favourite feature on this frock has to be the shiney black rose buttons down the bodice. The close up I took really doesn't do them justice at all. Maybe one day we will meet on the street while I'm wearing it and you can be all like- "Hey let me see those buttons" and I can be all like "Ok!" and then you will know what I mean. Till then you may just need to imagine their awesomeness and I will enjoy them enough for both of us.


 As if a crinoline surprise wasn't already enough- I got to have a hair flower surprise on this one too. The flower in my hair is new- and was bought to go with a totally different frock.  It is a beautiful shade of dusky lilac. I learnt that it goes very well with this dress too even though the dress doesn't have any dusky lilac in it.Crazy I know!




Labels: , , , , , ,

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Floaty Floral Strapless

It is entirely too easy to justify cute circle skirted dresses. I feel like I am getting double the value of a frock if it means I can fit a crinoline underneath it. It makes the petticoats seem like a reasonable investment and it usually makes me celebrate my smart investment by purchasing something else to be worn with them. (and so the cycle continues....Is it any wonder I need a whole room to hold all this stuff?)




This one was on an entire rack of similar styled frocks. (warehouse factory store on Brunswick St in Fitzroy- Melbourne in case you were wondering...)  Funny - but if they were spread out around the store I might have even bought more than one of them. Because they were all bunched in together I almost got bored of looking through them all. I chose my favourite fabric based on colours featured and what I will be able to wear with it. I was attracted by the light denim blue feel to the base colour. I also like the pen drawn quality of the paisley in the background. Just when you think that is enough to warrant picking the garment from the rack- it hits you straight in the eyeballs with the vintagey roses in shades of coral, burgundy and a buttercup yellow. Sweet.


For this photo I have gone with a white crinoline, black peep toed wedges and a small yellow and white lily in my hair.  I seem to be in this weird gravitational pull towards yellow at the moment so I think I will be focusing more on the beautiful buttercup when accessorising for real.  I can wear it with yellow heels for a night out- or a pale yellow cardi and brown boots for day wear. I think I have justified it enough as a smart purchase now. Almost didn't even mention it was only $25!

Labels: , , , , , ,

Friday, June 3, 2011

Another Floral Frock

I have always been a "floral" kindofa girl. My first real word was "Flower".  I have proteas tattooed on my back and I would be very hard pressed to find an outfit that I didn't have a matching hair flower for. It is good to be prepared kids.

Given my penchant for all things flowery this dress was a no brainer. It was a day 1 in Melbourne purchase from the Dangerfield/ Princess Highway/ Revival/ Alannah Hill factory shop on Brunswick St. (I swear if I could pick just 1 store to go to in a Melbourne visit it will always be this one! Committing to just one frock shop is a pretty big deal really...)



A simple spaghetti stapped dress with a tie back waist and a nice frilled detailing on the neckline. The colour scheme (while vaguely predictable) has an interesting background shade of a colour somewhere between beige and cream. Lets call it sand for the sake of this post. Now arguably someone with my pasty complexion shouldn't really be wearing any colour called sand. Thankfully there are so many other colours represented in the floral pattern there was no issues with my legs blending in too much.


I have chosen to match the reds. It seemed to be the easiest option. Red shoes and red bow for my hair with obligatory Christian Dior red lippie. I have since worn this dress again and a red belt doesn't seem to go astray either.  It also works particularly well with my little red riding hood. (I am starting to think that is my most versatile piece purchased in the last year... it goes with so much!)

NB- With most Summery dresses I own- I do that typical girl thing of changing the season just by adding black tights and a black cardi. If you don't already do that it is a great way to double your Winter wardrobe in one easy go.

Labels: , , ,