I have an odd obsession with food-themed clothing and accessories – fruit in particular. For whatever reason, I’m utterly charmed by a strawberry print, a cherry necklace, a fruit-appliquéd bag. Given the plethora of delectable items I’ve come across over the past few weeks, I can at least take comfort in the fact that I’m not alone in my love of consumable-inspired fashion.
Given my love of the sea, it was no great surprise that the minute I spotted this 1950’s seashell print dress, I hugged her so tight and refused to let go. There is just something about border prints – I can’t ever get enough. And when that print manages to be clusters of seashells and fishing nets, whispering stories of fishing lore and a life at sea, I can’t really be too hard on myself. Perhaps it’s a pirate’s life for me?
Picnic weather is rapidly going the way of the dinosaurs over here in Perth. We are all slowly adding layers and shedding our summer sundresses. Like any true dress-loving gal, I fight against the cold weather as long as possible, wearing my dresses with teeth chattering and head held high. Truthfully, my winter wardrobe tends to be my summer wardrobe with tights and cardigans and the occasional swing coat, but for some reason, despite my love of cosy layers, with every transition into the next season I still resist the change.
A friend on Instagram asked me recently for advice on how to use accessories to incorporate pop color into an outfit. She always found that she was reaching for her black shoes to go with her black dress and was looking for ways to shake things up. I’m certain she’s not the only one who’s intimidated by this styling challenge, but trust me that anyone can embrace the pop color to make an outfit look effortless. Sometimes, I go a bit color crazy and over accessorize and have to backtrack to find the pop color happy medium. None of us…
I can hardly believe we’re saying a fond farewell to May today! As per usual, the month hit hyperdrive about mid way through and I’m left sputtering on the side of the road, wondering how the month blew past me so quickly without my permission. For me, the onset of June generally means: Conference Season. I have a lot of travel coming up, and since one of my favorite (nerdy) things to do is make Powerpoint presentations, I’m pretty excited for both. With one conference at the start of July and a second in August, there shall be much far flung…
If you know me, you know one of my very favorite things in the world is live theatre. I have a particularly soft spot for musicals – I actually performed in musicals all throughout high school and college, and found an incredible community theatre during my PhD (that I sorely miss). So, although I haven’t been onstage in quite awhile, I whet my appetite when particularly spectacular shows make their way over to Perth.
One thing I love about collecting vintage is that I feel as though I’m collecting stories. More often than not, we don’t get to know the previous owner of these amazing garments and often are left to speculate about who loved her and what dancefloors she was twirled around on. When is comes to this beautiful dress, I have the pleasure of knowing her previous owner. I am an avid follower of the lovely Jessica of Pinup Persuasion and when this stunning dress, with swirls of violet and teal flowers, came straight out of her closet and onto my radar, I…
To me, there is something a little bit Lucille Ball, a little bit Dorothy, and a dash of Alice in Wonderland about this look, and I have to say I’m loving the combination! I knew the moment I met her that this silk stunner and I were going to have some fun together. Everything about this dress makes me happy. The gingham, the perfect puff sleeves, the full skirt complete with intact pellon (that paper-like lining in some vintage dresses to give shape). There are a lot of dresses in all of our wardrobes that we love for their practicality. This dress,…
When I was young, I was completely fascinated with Russian nesting dolls, which I’ve recently learned are called Matryoshka (matrëška) dolls. Say that five times fast. There was something so ordered and logical about that perfect series of hand-painted wooden dolls of decreasing size, placed one inside the other, like a tight knit family where everyone knows their place. I would carefully place each in the correct order, only to take them all out and start again.
Given my love of the ocean, my simultaneous attraction to ocean-themed items should come as no surprise. Over the years, family members often gifted me all things shark. While I’ve grown away from the novelty t-shirts and figurines for the most part, I still love a bit (okay, a lot) of fishy goodness in my life. If you saw this post, you know I have plenty of undersea paraphernalia lurking in my wardrobe and this girl didn’t even break a sweat when tasked with styling my homemade shark dress.