What I Actually Wore #119

Serial #: 0119
Date: 29/04/2013
Weather: 20°C / 68°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

I wore this outfit to go to a Hollywood costume exhibit with a friend. The hit item was the vintage 40s hat: everyone waxed lyrical about it, from my friend, random strangers, the male cloakroom attendant (who, to our astonishment, asked me if it was an antique Phrygian cap as worn by French revolutionaries!) to the various staff and customers in a textiles store I visited after the exhibition who also asked me if I had made it myself.

The hat is red wool felt, and features a tassel-like adornment of grey-blue flowers on long red stems. The same flowers are scattered on the top of the cap. The 1940s was a popular era for novelty hats of many inventive designs and shapes.

… the male cloakroom attendant … asked me if [the hat] was an antique Phrygian cap as worn by French revolutionaries!

That is what I most lament about contemporary millinery fashion: while there are wonderful and whimsical hats available, they usually come with designer prices. More affordable chapeaux seem to be limited to the ubiquitous fedora, newsboy, or a floppy 70s boho-style with a diamante buckle on the band – and even those mostly come in black, tan or grey, at least in this country. It’s so dull! What’s a hat-lover to do? (Shop online.)

The navy knit features a polka-dot bow on the neckline, and was a gift from a friend. It is 40s-style, with ruched shoulders, which didn’t at all suit her broad-shouldered frame. I eventually gifted this on to the very friend who joined me on this day’s excursion to the costume exhibition. The wool skirt was by Anthropologie, and was eaten by moths (curse them!); the cable socks came from ASOS; the bag is my standby 60s black patent; and the suede boots are by an Australian brand I’d never heard of, but which I bought from a sale website. My jewellery is a mixture of souvenir and eBay purchases.

Items:

Jumper: vintage
Skirt: Anthropologie
Hat: vintage 40s
Socks: ASOS
Earrings: ceramic, souvenirs from Barcelona
Bracelet: beaded sterling silver from eBay
Bag: vintage 60s
Shoes: ROC

Photo: September 2013

What I Actually Wore #118

Serial #: 0118
Date: 26/05/2013
Weather: 21°C / 69.8°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

It is a mild day, and I quickly choose an outfit for work, starting with one of my go-to skirts for this kind of weather. It is a navy linen skirt that I had bought from an online sale website a couple of summers ago. It features an asymmetrical cut, a style I have always favoured.

I pair it with a purple and red striped Sonia Rykiel knit which, with its skinny tie at the neck, has a 20s flavour. I have always been partial to purple and red worn together; it can be a startling and vibrant combination but really works. I match the top to a red wool felt hat, a modern hybrid of cloche and fedora.

As the morning is not warm, I wear ribbed over-the-knee socks with my patent and wood wedges, and add a 1960s black velvet coat with a fur collar. I spotted that coat in a country Salvos store when I was on a visit with my niece. I certainly didn’t need yet another coat, but I fell in instant love and bought it. I’ve worn it many times, and it is surprisingly warm for a cloth coat. Also from this era is the black patent bag I carry often. For a vinyl bag, it has lasted well. I wouldn’t ordinarily buy vinyl, but it is permissible for a fun vintage item!

One of my work colleagues compliments me, and tells me I look fabulous, very 1920s, which had not really been my intention (the 20s part, not the fabulous part!). I guess a reminiscence of certain eras is inevitable when one is attracted to the style and shapes of particular eras. I love Art Deco, which covers the 1920s–40s, as well as the 70s revival.

Very regrettably, this knit got eaten alive by evil and hungry moths (which happens to me a lot), so I ended up donating it to charity a year or two ago – I had darned the first couple of holes but then even more appeared and in a ruthless moment, I decided it was a lost cause. It must have been a particularly tasty merino wool. The skirt has also retired from active service, but with my new interest in navy, it’s very possible it will make a comeback in the summer.

I don’t normally talk about the watches I wear, but this favourite Kenneth Cole with its chain band was recently repaired, so I am most excited to be able to wear it again! The chain had lost a couple of links and had stretched out, thus becoming unwearable, until I finally got around to taking it to the jeweller to have it repaired (along with two others). I now have four to choose from, which is a bit mad. I’d love to add to the collection a vintage 30s or 40s man’s watch, one with a large round dial and a tan leather band.

Photos: September 2013

Items:

Top: Sonia Rykiel
Skirt: Kokomarina
Coat: vintage 1960s
Hat: Milana (available at David Jones)
Socks: ASOS
Earrings: handmade
Ring: silver – Roun (now defunct); onyx – souvenir
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Bag: vintage 1960s
Shoes: Aldo

What I Actually Wore #117

Serial #: 0117
Date: 20/04/2013
Weather: 16°C / 61°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

Several things are amazing to me in this outfit: first, it’s so old! I’m more than three years behind with these stories. Secondly, I actually still quite like it and might even wear it today. And thirdly: MY HAIR! It’s making me want to book a long-overdue appointment with my hairstylist immediately.

The silk dress has a kimono cut featuring the typical enormous sleeves, and a grosgrain belt that peeps through at the front and back, threading through slits at the waist. I really loved those red tights because they exactly matched the colour of the suede peeptoe heels – a sneaky technique to lengthen the legs.

I really loved those red tights because they exactly matched the colour of the suede peeptoe heels …

This dress was a great one for evenings out, and I wore it to a friend’s birthday party in the city. It was a freezing night, and I wore my black vintage 60s faux-sealskin coat, a black velvet cloche cap both of which are fur-trimmed, and carried my 60s black patent bag (all of which I forgot to photograph).

I actually snagged those tights that very evening, and the pull developed into a large hole on the upper thigh. Disappointingly I’ve never been able to find the exact same colour since, even at the same store. The dress I culled from my wardrobe years ago (although I think it may still be in storage), and I wear the coat and hat irregularly as I have so many coats to choose from, so it’s unlikely I’ll be wearing this outfit again after all.

Items:

Dress: Luella
Tights: Sock Shop
Earrings: handmade onyx beads
Shoes: Wittner

Photos: September, 2013

What I Actually Wore #116

Serial #: 0116
Date: 17/04/2013
Weather: 19°C / 66°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

Well I will say this for myself: I certainly made some bold sartorial choices a few years ago! I look like a doll. This is not a compliment; however, it is fun? In hindsight, I think what I most disapprove of now is that velvet headband by Australian designer Alannah Hill. It’s plastered in multiple grosgrain bows, and that is what, in combination with my hairstyle, makes me look like a china doll.  

The silk blouse and pleated skirt are both vintage, and the polka dot combination is quite a fun mix of prints. You can’t see the lilac silk camisole underneath; it had some pretty gathers at the back, but sadly the silk shattered in one place and it became unwearable. Both the blouse and skirt have been retired from active duty since.

I was rather cold that day in this flimsy outfit, despite the lightweight blue vintage 50s coat I wore on top – but at least I looked cute. One must suffer for fashion after all!

Items:

Blouse: Milo’s
Skirt: Clio, vintage 80s
Camisole: Country Road
Coat: vintage 50s
Headband: Alannah Hill
Belt: Mango
Ring: ceramic, souvenir from Barcelona
Earrings: ceramic, souvenirs from Barcelona
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Shoes: Gorgeous

Photos: January 2014

What I Actually Wore #115

Serial #: 0115
Date: 10/04/2013
Weather: 25°C / 77°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

This outfit is a pick‘n’mix of quite a few vintage eras! It’s just as much fun mixing decades as it is clashing patterns. I was quite gratified, too, at the end of the day on my walk home through the botanic gardens, when a woman walking her dog told me I looked fabulous, like someone in a French film.

I am covering the Thirties, Fifties, Sixties and Teensies in this ensemble. The white straw hat is the oldest piece, and I remember the pleasure of buying it on eBay: it was a Buy It Now auction, and there had been more than one offer made, which had obviously been refused. I was surprised, for the asking price (around $30 if I remember correctly) for a hat of that age and good condition was not high. On the contrary, experience had taught me that was very low. I took great enjoyment in immediately clicking the BUY IT NOW button, wondering who I was disappointing. Snooze, you lose!

The Fifties coat is a standout cobalt colour. I love the three-quarter sleeves and the funnel collar. It has a matching dress too, the short sleeves of which I had altered to cap length after I tore one of them on a fireside poker after slipping and falling at a wedding (I was not all that inebriated either)! Anyway, the knee-length shift dress looks much better with the cap sleeves, so it was a fortuitous accident.

The Fifties coat is a standout cobalt colour … it has a matching dress too

I have very often carried that vintage Sixties patent bag, and it has featured many times in this journal. Despite being made of mere vinyl, it has lasted the test of time and is still in quite good condition. The grey leather shoes, by Finsk, were relatively new. I still remember when the package arrived at work, and how I struggled to deal with the multitude of straps – I felt like one of Cinderella’s sisters.

Underneath the dress I was wearing a printed Marni blouse, since given to my sister, and a finely-striped mint and white skirt that I donated to charity a year or so ago (I did not photograph them in this instance). All the other items are still present and accounted for in my closet.

Items:

Top: Marni
Skirt: Veronika Maine
Coat: vintage 1950s
Hat: vintage 1930s
Earrings: vintage 1950s
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Handbag: vintage 60s
Shoes: Finsk

Photos: April 2013