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...

I'm Baaaaaaa-aaaaaaack!

I have a few posts now that start with an apology about the time frame between posts. I'm not going to do that this time. I am going to celebrate my return to Frockstar instead of giving you excuses for my absence. I will however give you a  rundown on what has been going on since we last talked. Well- Since I last wrote anything and you read it. No need to be pedantic.

• We are planning to relocate to Melbourne.
• I haven't been buying clothes.

So my amazingly detailed bullet pointed list gives insight into what seems to  have slowed my Frockstarring down somewhat. I have been making every effort to not buy clothes- as the thought of downsizing and relocating the wardroom to another country is scary enough without adding anything else to it. I have been doing pretty well in that regards but it does mean I have been lacking any enthusiasm to blog about newly acquired things. A double edged sword there really.

I am super duper crazy excited about moving to Melbourne but there sure is a lot to do before that happens. The biggest test of my clothes buying self control will be in the next 3 weeks when we go over for a long weekend to see Ben Folds play. (On a side note- OMFG I AM GOING TO SEE BEN FOLDS LIVE FOR REAL! I sure hope he does this at the show...) I will be trying to stay away from all the incredible shops so as to not blow our moving savings. It is going to be very difficult. I might have to sneak a very quick trip into Dangerfield but it will probably need to be chaperoned.

And that takes us up to now.  Lets get back to the frocks shall we.

The dress I am showcasing in my comeback is a great little number I picked up from a small 2nd hand boutique in Glen Eden. I saw it on the mannequin as I was driving past and did a U-turn to go back to look at it. Not only is it a genuine handmade frock from the 50's it had a fairly reasonable price tag of $35.00. When I took it up to the counter I found out that they were having a one day only half price sale- so I got to walk away with it for a cool $17.50. Heh.

The fabric has a woven lineny (new word) feel to it and you can see the criss cross in the fibres. I love the slightly abstract floral feel to the pattern and I love love love the colour scheme of pinks, purples, teal and a hint of brown. It gives me a lot of room when it comes to matching it to shoes. For this photo I have donned a pair of purple kitten heels with a bow feature on the front. You can't see in these pics- but they are purple down one side and completely clear down the other. I always thought that was a nice touch. Slap on some pearls and a crinolene and I am good to go!

It is nice to be back I must say. I am not going to promise any kind of continued regularity though. Not while I am in this self imposed "Don't buy any more clothes Fliss" time anyway. I have a few things up my sleeve though. You will hear from me again soon.

Pink and Purplaid

Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns. (Tartan is also known as plaid in North America, but in Scotland, a plaid is a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder or a blanket.)

How about that.

Plaid, tartan, checks.. whatever you call it I am quite fond of this pattern. I am also quite fond of the use of it in this double breasted dress. The style is actually quite unusual in a frock. Double breasted lends itself more to a style of jacket or coat than a dress. I think the neckline on this particular outfit is quite flattering- and I also quite like that it has small epaulettes there too.

The colour scheme is quite cool. I like that it will be bright enough to lift black tights boots and a cardi too. It has a nice mix of crimsons, pinks, violets and purples to brighten any Winter day.

Clash

Pink and red as a colour combo is growing on me. It's a good kindofa clash when it's done right.










This dress is a very well homemade piece in hot pink raw silk. I would pick it as early 50's but it has a certain 40's feel about it too. Shirt style button down top with a couple of pleats thrown in fro good measure. It actually has it's own matching belt and also a long shoelace looking thing that I have not really worked out. I left them both alone for this particular outfit though and went instead for a bright red belt, peep toes and lippy.



At the risk of being very boring and saying this in all my posts lately- I have never actually worn this. I really need to sort that out....

Pink Coat

Pink is not a colour I wear very often. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I have anything against pink as a colour - I have just never really been a pink kindofa girl. In saying that I think I have warmed more to it in the last few years. It pops up in outfits from time to time but I have always leaned more towards green, red, blue and lately yellow before pink.


Now when it comes to coats I don't ever think you can have too many options. (although I may be pushing the green options a little. At last count I had 12 green coats in the wardroom!) It's nice to be able to match any possible outfit with a coat that isn't just black.


This coat has a faux vintage quality to it. That was the part I liked about it the most in fact. I actually bought it from Just Jeans of all places. It was on a sale rack for $29.00. Pretty good for a coat.







I would like to think of myself as very open minded about where I buy my clothes from. I have learnt over the years to drop any form of snobbishness when it comes to which stores I will frequent- and which ones I may not have previously looked at. You never know where your next favourite piece is going to come from and you certainly don't want to limit your options by not looking in unexpected places from time to time.


Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Glassons- they all have their place when it comes to clothing purchases. I don't think I am at risk of being stereotyped into an "off the rack" kind of girl. The beauty in these occasional items is being able to really make them your own with how you wear it.


For this picture I have opted to keep it very simple. Black v neck shirt and pencil skirt underneath to really make the coat a feature. My colour co-ordinating OCD kicked in and I matched it to some simple one strap pink heels. These shoes hailed from The #1 Shoe Warehouse's seconds store. I have always called this the #2 Shoe warehouse. They were $7.00. Brand new shoes for $7? Crazy I know!






I love the texture of this fabric. It also has depth with a dark maroon colour layered amongst the paler pink, white and a peachy hue as well.


The coat and shoes may not be in my top 10 favourite things in the wardroom but I think I can still pull together a solid outfit using them with each other.

Pink Jingling Hippie

Some days wardrobe inspiration will start from the ground up. This outfit is one of those. Dusky pink long slouch boots aren't overly versatile in that they can only really be worn with very specific colour combinations. This pink 70's hippie inspired outfit is possibly my favourite outlet for this great pair of boots!

The top is a really light muslin cloth. It has a faintly floral feel to the pattern but if you look closely it is technically more paisley. It also is quite musical in that it jingles. Yes. Jingles.



It's neckline boasts a couple of totally useless pieces of cord that are reminiscent of a drawstring. Yet they aren't. They just kind of hang there. As far as I can tell the only reason to even include them on this top at all is so the hippies that wore it could have something to attach the tiny bells to. That's why it jingles.

I bought this top as part of a 2 piece. Oh yes. It has a skirt in the matching fabric. I'm sure you can imagine what that looks like. Flowing and even more hippie like with matching bells on the waist line. I have not ever considered wearing the skirt and top together. I have not even really considered wearing the skirt on it's own. I tried it on a few times and figured the bells would drive me crazy. They are much louder than the top....

Pastel Flowers

This frock has been kicking around in my collection for quite some time now- and I will admit I have worn it a grand total of ONCE. In my striving to work my way through more of my obscure outfits so I have attempted to try a Winter spin on a Summer dress. Black tights are great for that- and a black belt ties that all together quite nicely I feel...




This dress came with a fabric belt. To be honest I don't think it does a lot for the overall shape of the dress so I have decided to use it as a headband instead. It seems a pity to bot use it for something... right?


The cut itself is quite simple. A v neck, sleeveless style with a frill around the bottom. The colours in the fabric are quite hard to get an accurate picture to represent. The green is in reality much much brighter - and I like the contrast between that with the pastel shade of pink and baby blue with outlines of indigo.




I quite like the "winter" approach to this frock. I'm sure I can get it into a higher rotation with a bit of additional effort!

Turquoise Floral

This is another of my new cotton pencil skirts from Cotton On. Same deal as the leopard print one wherein it has a tendency to ride up a little when I walk. Still love it. Don't even care.



Not a lot else to say about it though. Floral patterns in shades of turquoise, purple, deep pink, black and yellow. Lots of co-ordinating with hair flower options here.... Today I teamed it with a large silk teal coloured one.

Pink Party Frock

Baby pink is not a colour that I have ever really gravitated towards. even as a little girl my pinks needed more substance. You know? Shades of deep maroon, cerise and hot pink were always a little cooler than keeping to the pastels.

In saying that I did have a slip in my colour preference when I purchase this particular pink number. t is the palest pink ANYTHING I own. (other than the perfectly matched hair flower of course) As far as girly dresses go - this may be the epitome.



So moving along from the colour- I really like the cut of this frock. Strapless is always all good by me. Especially with a sweetheart neckline, Throw a bow in the middle for good measure and the add a bubble hemline to give it an additional point of difference. Mix it all together and you have yourself a great party frock!




I must admit I did feel a little like I was 5 years old and on y way to a birthday party wearing it tonight. I'm not one to surpress my inner child at the best of times so I think maybe I'm ok with that.

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....

Jebus's Birthday And The Day After

Christmas day has now been and gone for another year. For me it meant time with family and WAAAAY too much amazing food! (crayfish, prawns and chocolate mostly)

I have been saving this dress for Christmas this year. It seemed to be kind of festive in its colours- and was a nice light wrap around to wear on a very hot day.



It is a 1970's patchwork number and the fabric reminds me of origami paper. Lots of colours involved but mainly pinks and red's with a touch of gold and green.



Technically I was wearing it backwards. I think it looks better this way- but it did mean that I was called Kris Kross all day by my lovely brother. I don't think it looks like I'm wearing it the wrong way- but it does have pockets facing the wrong direction that give it away a little...



Boxing day is another beautiful sunny day. I think maybe we might have hit actual Auckland Summer now. (I really shouldn't jinx it by suggesting such things. If it starts raining tomorrow it isn't my fault.. ok?)

I am cheating slightly again. We are off to a bbq over on the sunny North Shore today- and I am wearing a frock that has already been featured. So as not to short change anyone reading this I have pulled out one that has not been featured yet to balance it all out.


This dress is pretty bright. Even for me. Bright red 70's long halter with a geometric blue, green, white and yellow pattern. It screams awesome. To me at least.



This dress was picked up from a vintage clothing store in St Kevins Arcade that sadly is no longer there. I had made friends with the lady that ran the shop in my frequent stops there on my way home from work on Friday afternoons. We were almost at the stage where I was ready to bring in a bottle of wine for us to work our way through while I played dress ups and marvelled at the beautiful frocks she had to behold. I was pretty sad when she moved on...

A few days worth of catch ups

Sorry. I have been terribly slack these last few days. To make up for my lack of posting I have recreated the last few days wort of outfits to get back up to date!


I busted out this long wrap around skirt on Friday. It's really light fabric and so comfortable to wear. It's another piece that I've had so long I can't really remember where it came from! I have teamed it with a plain black singlet and black high top chuck taylors.


I love the print on the fabric. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for anything with a tropical feel.


Saturday I only really went to the gym and dyed my hair- so nothing blog worthy was worn during the day. I did put in a little more effort that night though with a gig and a bbq on my social calendar! Now on paper I realise that velvet tiger stripes sounds ridiculously westie. But I have never been one to hide from my westie roots- so I ran with it!



This dress was purchased from the Paper Bag Princess about a year ago. I also really like that the grain of the velvet goes up not down. (I'm not sure why exactly that's a selling point- but it is!)



I must admit that since starting Frockstar I have been going out of my way to wear a much wider cross section of my clothing. This has been really good and quite inspiring- but the flip side is that I haven't' wanted to wear anything I have already blogged about. I realise that this is not a healthy way to look at my outfit choices. It did also mean that the outfit I wore yesterday has already been blogged about - so no point putting up another picture! (on days where choosing a new unblogged outfit is not an option I promise to find something obscure in the wardroom and blog about that- but seeing as you are already getting 4 outfits in this post I'm not going to bother today...)

This all brings us up to Monday. I have gone for a "Pink Ladies" short sleeved satin jacket with embroidered bird and flower detailing. I swear to god I found this jacket on trademe for $1.50. A dollar fifty! It cost me more to get it posted to me- but considering the whole thing still came in under $5.00 I don't think I have much reason to be complaining. I have matched the jacket an shoes with a pink hair flower, pink sparkly ring and silver nails.


I'm not an overly pink person but this jacket always gets lots of comments. And it ties in quite nicely with my silver high top Reeboks...


I LOVE these sneakers. They are everything an amazing pair of high tops should be! I also really like the 2 tone pink laces and the 80's inspired pink and green stripe detailing. I spent more on these shoes than I usually would- but who can put a price on happiness right?



This "Little House on The Prairie Nightie Dress" didn't actually get worn today but I thought it deserved a pic. Its verging on ridiculous- but I love the wings effect on the sleeves. I'm actually thinking about taking it up to the knees.


The fabric is nice and light with a pretty 70's floral pattern. I bought it from a closing down second hand vintage store. Everything in the store was $10 the day I ventured in. So dangerous....

It seems like Auckland's Summer weather is getting a bit more consistent- so looking forward to getting reacquainted with lots of bright Summer dresses in the next few weeks!

Pink and Flowery

Today was another beautiful sunny day in Auckland city- so thought it was high time to bring out one of my favourite Summer dresses. I have had this dress for about 10 years now and it is worn to death every Summer.


I've never been overly into the colour pink- but sometimes you just have to roll with it. Pink and orange flowers with a touch of purple and white in the fabric is all good by me. It's a really simple 70's halterneck and I have been toying with the idea of getting more made like it for the last few years.


I have a flower for most outifts- so have found a pale pink to match the dress (and my tattoo!) today.