What I Actually Wore #105

Serial #: 0105
Date: 10/01/2013
Weather: 27°, balmy evening
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

The amusing thing about writing stories about outfits from so long ago is firstly, being startled by my hairstyles, and secondly, rediscovering clothes which have since passed out of my closet. In the case of the latter, the shoes, which I loved, wore out. All the other pieces are still there however.

I remember this evening, dressing quickly after hurrying home from work, only to rush back into the city to go out for dinner with a friend to celebrate her birthday. We ate Korean barbecue.

It was a warm and sticky evening, hence the lightness of the silk chiffon top – still festive with that delicate beading. It is a very pale pink, and with that cream micro-pleated cotton skirt, the overall effect is light and sugary, which is why I offset with the contrasting black accessories and the burst of strong colour on the feet.

Those yellow suede wedges were so soft and comfortable, and easy to walk in despite their height. I was sad when the tan leather around the platform wore out so badly, but I am ruthless about turfing shoes that have seen better days. All the other items are still in circulation however.

(Photo: January, 2013)

Items:

Top: Sportsgirl
Skirt: Ricki Reed, vintage 80s
Earrings: hand made
Bangle and ring: souvenirs
Bag: vintage
Shoes: Sole Society

I'm Back!

Serial #: N/A
Date: 05/12/2015
Weather: 22°C / 72°F, (forecast 31°C / 88°F) – a sultry morning
Time Allowed: 5 minutes

Hellooooo! I’m back! (Do you love the pun?) After a very long hiatus from Snapping, I am staging a comeback (additional pun below: see brand name of top). I can’t promise how often I will post every week, but I shall try for at least once.

I was preparing to post a What I Actually Wore story, picking up where I left off, but I realised that it was so old that I really felt I needed a little interjection first. I am so far behind (more puns) with these – two years! Since then, my style has evolved a little. I tend to swing between two extremes: minimalism, and maximalism, and the pendulum has swung once more to the former.

While I still wear vintage clothing, I style my garments quite differently to how I used to. For quite some time I was, inspired by the Ballet Russes, obsessed with pattern on pattern on pattern; now, not so much. My colour palette is simpler, my clothes more streamlined, and my accessories limited. I find myself gravitating often to white, grey, navy, tan, and sometimes black, alleviated with shots of colour. Occasionally I still bust out the big guns and go bold, like yesterday, when I wore a vintage 70s yellow dress (with tan accessories). I wear prints and patterns rarely.

Fashion is still a joy though, a way to inject some beauty, colour and fun into life, and I enjoy all sorts of looks (my own past style, other people’s), even if they don’t feel quite myself today.

I still have a huge backlog of stories and photoshoots I have not yet posted, so I will take care to note when images were shot.

(Photo: Today)

Items:

Top: Backstage
Skirt: Gerard Darel
Earrings: Mimco
Lipstick: #840 Poinsettia, Revlon

What I Actually Wore #104

Serial #: 0104
Date: 25/12/2012
Weather: 22°C / 71.6°F
Time Allowed: 20 minutes

Everything’s vintage on this Christmas Day except for my shoes, and the outfit started with those. Then one day, when I was killing time in the city in the vintage store Shag, I came across this Fifties ikat print blouse. I was quite breathless, because the print seemed a perfect match for the shoes! Excitedly, I told the salesperson, and he became quite enthusiastic too. I had to try the blouse on of course, and then look the shoes up online to show him. (You can see the shoes a little better here.)

The heels of the shoes are gold, so I chose my Indian gold foil rah-rah skirt to wear with the ikat pair – it’s such a festive skirt. I had bought it secondhand years ago for a friend’s wedding for $20, and it has seen a lot of use since then. It’s so much fun when you stumble serendipitously across those quirky items that you fall in love with at first sight, and they stay in your wardrobe forever.

As it was not a warm day – and indeed turned quite cool by the time I travelled home – I wore my vintage Seventies pink silk coat over the top, carried a Fifties cane bag that matched perfectly. My jewellery was also vintage aurora borealis rhinestone earrings and ring.

Mum exclaimed in delight as soon as she saw me – an unusual occurrence. I knew she had a bit of Bollywood lurking in her!

Items:

Coat: vintage 70s, from eBay
Top: vintage 50s, from Shag
Skirt: vintage 80s, from Brotherhood of St Laurence
Bag: vintage 50s, from Etsy
Earrings: vintage 50s, from Salvos
Ring: vintage 60s, from Salvos
Shoes: Wittner

What I Actually Wore #0103

Serial #: 0103
Date: 26/11/2012
Weather: warm and 22°C / 71.6°F
Time Allowed: 20 minutes

It’s a warm day for my cousin Robert’s wedding, and since I had planned this outfit a long time ago, it’s just as well. I purchased this 60s silk dress on Etsy some time ago, specifically for the occasion. Although the 60s is my least favourite fashion era, I was attracted to this dress because of the candy-coloured stripes, and because of its rather free trapeze shape with the inverted pleat in the back. I also really love silk dupion fabric.

The rather outré pink trapunto-stitched toque/turban is also original 60s; I bought that in a vintage bazaar in Melbourne. There are long tassels dangling from the top (you can see the hat in more detail here). My clip-on earrings are from the same era – they are amusingly huge and, made from cheap plastic, they bobble about lightly. (In fact, I recall January Jones wore a very similar pair in a Mad Men episode.)

This dress is also virtually impossible to do up completely on one’s own however: the straps fasten with large buttons at the back, just below the shoulder blades, which requires the skills of a contortionist to reach. This is why I have not photographed the back.

Lamentably, I had a little wardrobe malfunction in the car …  and one of the buttons tore off!

On the day, I had to wait for my cousin Amelia Jane and her husband to pick me up so she could fasten the buttons for me. Lamentably, I had a little wardrobe malfunction in the car reaching for something on the back seat, and one of the buttons tore off! One of my aunts came to my rescue with a safety pin, but it meant I was unable to remove my linen coat (handmade for me by my sister Blossom, from a Claude Montana Vogue pattern) in the church throughout the ceremony, and I suffered in the heat. I was able to mend the button at home before the reception in the evening however.

I was bemused to receive so many compliments all day from other guests, especially for such an unusual hat. A couple of my aunts were both astounded to hear I was wearing such ‘old clothing’ – one of them assumed it was because I ‘want to get noticed’! I assured her dryly that it most assuredly was not. I choose vintage clothes for their beautiful fabrics, unique designs and because I believe in recycling. It was a fun family wedding all in all.

Items:

Dress: vintage
Coat: Montana (handmade)
Hat: vintage
Bag: vintage
Earrings: vintage
Ring: Autore
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Shoes: Escapade

What I Actually Wore #0102

Serial #: 0102
Date: 21/11/2012
Weather: 22°C / 71.6°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

As usual the BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) let me down: they forecast a temperate 22°, but by lunchtime it was windy and cool. I was quite underdressed, and out of desperation had to resort to the cashmere shawl I keep in my tote bag for cool office days when we can’t wrangle the temperature controls.

In my favourite striped red and white, the shawl is a souvenir from Sharjah (UAE). I remember trawling the upper level of the Blue Souq, and it caught my eye hanging on a ladder outside a pashmina shop. In keeping with good bargaining etiquette, I entered the shop and pretended I was interested in anything but the striped shawl. Finally I discovered there was no other like it inside, and had to confess I wanted the shawl that was hanging outside. They were onto me from that moment. I think I paid about AU$90 for it, which is still an excellent price for such a fine cashmere shawl. It is very lightweight, yet extremely warm. I love it, and you’d have to rip it from my cold, dead hands before I’d give it up.

The Marni blouse was still quite a new purchase, from eBay, and I loved the striking combination of blue and white with a cherry red skirt that I brought out from storage. It is by New Zealand brand Obi, and I purchased it a great many years ago. The multiple rows of gathered frill along the front always put me in mind of antique petticoats. By Free People, the striped espadrilles were also fairly new; I liked that they perfectly complemented the striped shawl.

I am wearing a sliver convex ring by Roun with my onyx band that is always on standby. The silver ring I have since lost – it slipped off my finger (a bit like the One Ring, only not dangerous and magical) in the Botanic Gardens one morning on my way to work. I still look for it sometimes when I think of it.

I like that all the components of this outfit have a story; that’s one reason why I love vintage clothing – I like to imagine the original owners of the things I now own. The black 60s bag is the only vintage item here, but it has been a great addition to my wardrobe.

Items:

Shawl: souvenir
Blouse: Marni
Skirt: Obi
Bag: vintage
Earrings: hand made
Rings: (onyx) souvenir, Vietnam; (silver) Roun
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Shoes: Free People