You Stay Here... I'll Go On A Head

I like hats. Quite a lot in fact. I don't often think to wear them- but I have a reasonable collection of caps, trilby's, berets, boaters and beanies. A whole shelf in the wardroom is dedicated to head wear that I don't really wear.

In saying that I have purchased a couple of UH-MAZING hats in the last few months and looking quite hard for outfits to team them with now.

One such amazing hat was purchased from Tradme just before Christmas. (I thought I was awfully clever sticking to my self imposed dress buying ban but also narrowly avoiding breaking it by buying a great hat, a pair of shoes and a couple of crinoline petticoats) So anyway. This hat finally arrived at my desk today. Awesome.


It makes me think of the 20's or 30's in that "black and white trench coat wearing waiting for a train in Paris" mental imagery. I don't know if that's just me- but this hat does make me feel like I should be talking with a French accent. For the record I will not be attempting this however well it may go with the hat.

Grey and black with a patent black bow/ cross over detail. I did get into a reasonably detailed conversation earlier about whether or not I was wearing it the right way around. I am fairly certain that I am. Mainly because the peak is a little bit wider at where I am wearing the front. I guess it could be open to interpretation- but this is the direction I will be choosing to go with. I'm thinking that I could tie this into an outfit featuring my black and white gangster wingtip heels too. Then all I need is the trench coat and the train station.


Hat number 2 hails from the markets of the Grey Lynn Fest 09. Another great find by having a rummage through a big trunk of vintage costume treasures. I was totally fascinated with this stall. Heh.

It screams out "day at the races". Or maybe "gold-digging woman wearing to funeral of much older husband". I haven't decided which yet but I have the perfect shoes to go with it whatever the P.O.F ends up being!


There is a lot going on in the design of this hat- and I found that it was quite hard to really capture the essence in a photo. It has a pill box shaped foundation that's covered in a black fabric with shiney purple polka dots. There is the black mesh veil at the front- and a great looped feature on the back.


The 3rd and final hat of this post is a little more "Mother Of The Bride". I found it in the Red Cross Op Shop in Kingsland and it set me back a grand total of $4.00. I actually bought it to wear my own 30th birthday party. (It was a Funeral theme. Death of my 20's and all...) I had the intention of dying it black but never got around to making it happen. I like it white but I'm also quite taken with the idea of dying it a bright yellow or orange. If you're going to make a statement no point in doing it half arsed. Right?


Again it has a veil on the front. (A slightly wider mesh than the black and purple one) It has a good shape on the hat itself- and an almost flower like ruffle feature on the side. I feel like it needs to be worn with a vintage "Chanel Jackie O Suit". Kinda like THIS perhaps...

3 P.O.F's in one post!

P.O.F #1 is an obvious "1950's hostess" theme. (I was going to say housewife- but hostess is much more glamorous!) I have teamed a floral circle skirt with a vintage petticoat (to give it the flouncy shape), a plain black cap sleeved shirt, thick red belt tied at the back and a string of pearls. A pair of peep toed patent wedge heels finish it off quite nicely I think.

All day I wondered if I was born in the wrong era. I think this a lot actually. I love the idea of getting this kind of dressed up every day. The effort that women in the 50's would put into their appearance is nothing short of incredible. Their hair would be pristine and perfectly styled and would not move an inch over the course of a day. They would always be wearing an impressive array of full undergarments (with hosiery and the full petticoats) Then I usually get caught up in fantasies somewhere between being the perfect housewife hostess cooking up amazing meals- and lavish cocktail parties with big bands and dancing. I may have been born in the wrong era- but it is nice to have the choice of ALL the era's from where I am sitting....


Sadly this week I had a funeral to attend. In Upper Hutt no less. I opted for one of my favourite LBD's with a beautiful pin tuck and round button detailing right down the front. I wore this with my killer gangster wingtip heels, pearls, and a Mexican skull embroidered Illicit cardigan. (Pictured outside the Upper Hutt Cossie club- the venue of the wake. )


After 3 consecutive days of heels- today I went for a P.O.F that included flat high top Chuck Taylors. (it isn't very often that comfort is intentionally factored into my outfit choices!) I did feel like I hadn't really stretched myself today- but walking around Wellington for a few hours made me glad I had chosen this outfit based on the shoes. My chucks are olive green so I have teamed them with olive green leg warmers and a light corduroy cap sleeved shirt. To lift the overall effect I added my favourite red hair flower (A dahlia in case you were wondering) and this picked up my red lipstick perfectly.



To compensate for feeling like I had dressed terribly boring today- I cheered myself up by buying a dress from Spacesuit on Cuba St that is fantastic. I am still gutted that there is no more Spacesuit on K RD. I think they should rethink the closing of this store. I used to stop in a couple of times a week to check out their quirky slightly oriental fashions. There were a few more dresses I thought about buying today- but a little restraint can go a long way. (And I'm back in Wellington the week after next anyways!) I also bought a pair of piano key socks and a great pair of hair clips from a punk/ rockabilly store. They have the Winter Coat I should have bought this year- but alas I found it as we're moving into Summer. Lets hope I find another one I like so much when its cold enough to justify it.