New Years Resolutions...

My very sad vintage wardrobe...

It was the collapse of my wardrobe rail that signaled I could no longer ignor my fashion weakness. It had gone past something that could be hidden behind closed doors. So I decided to start the year a fresh and this means the dreaded wardrobe clear out. In my case it has been a rather drawn out affair. I started towards the end of last year and I am determined to get the job finished.

As a former fashion retail sales assistant I freely admit I can be a bit annal when it comes organising my wardrobe. So I can usually find what I am looking for, however when it is full of clutter things get hidden and forgotten.

It is amazing what treasures you can unearth when you start digging. That dress you wore on your 21st that holds happy memories, but has probably seen better days. The Ra Ra skirt that should be abandoned in a charity bin for someone else to treasure. (Alanna Hill made many of these in the early 2000's and I own two. The last time I wore one was to a 1920's costume party. The other I think I only wore once or twice, a bit of buyers remorse comes attached.) The over sized cardigans, although they can look fantastic on a tall slim model, do nothing for my hour glass figure. Not to mention chunky knit dress, my Zimmerman one was never really a good look for me.

So I will say goodbye to my wardrobe of yesteryear and hello to space and an uncreased blouse.

Now to tackel my drawers, no article of clothing is safe from my clutches...

Everyone needs to dress up sometimes...

 

I love to follow what our local designers are doing and try to as much as possible blog about Australian fashion. So it is a joy when a designer asks me to try on a few outfits to use on her facebook pages.

Last week Fenella Peacock and I spent an enjoyable afternoon styling looks using her current collection. These were some of the fruits of our labors... (In the interest of full admission, I do work for Fenella Peacock on her Facebook pages.)

Photo 2

Fenella Peacock Lovers Knot Sleeves Crop (A favourite in my wardrobe at the moment)
Fenella Peacock Censer Organza Dress
Fenella Peacock Spot Slip
Belt Coco and Lola

Shoes David Jones

 

 
Photo 3
Fenella Peacock Censer Organza Dress
Fenella Peacock Spot Slip

Banks & Bell headpiece worn as belt (my label)

Reveling in the Summer sun...

Summer is knocking on the door and I for one am reveling in the change of season. I can't wait for those long warm days, when you can kick back and enjoy a glass of wine on a Sunday afternoon. The change in weather also means new wardrobe possibilities present themselves. You no longer need to worry about bringing a jacket on a night out, because chances are your going to wish you had left it at home. Layering is a thing of the past, now is the time for a simple chic polished look.

I love it because I can wear a cute dress and a bright necklace and look fabulous. No effort required. Well, accept finding the perfect combination.... So in the interest of looking chic and put together, I have created some outfit options. Why not try these on for size...

Alice McCall S/S 2012 In Motion Dress

Chanel Rough Allure in Pirate

With...

Isson Sunglasses Edyth in Honey Rock


With...

Country Road Plait Belt

With...

Oroton Emeril Clutch

With...

Tony Bianco Egypt Ruby Kid Suede Shoes

Featured images from:

www.alicemccall.com

www.isson.com.au

www.countryroad.com.au

www.oroton.com

www.tonybianco.com.au

www.chanel.com 

 

 

Marcs Mini Silk Spot Pleated Skirt Dress

 With...

Isson Sunglasses Martha in Tortoise

With...

Totomoto Passion Flower Cluster Necklace

With...

Chanel Lipstick Rouge Coco in Paradis

With...

Country Road Skinny Belt

With...

Tony Bianco Shoes Sentani in Tan Monaco/Burnish Finish

Featured images from:

www.marcs.com.au

www.isson.com.au

www.totomoto-australia.com

www.chanel.com

www.countryroad.com.au

www.tonybianco.com.au

Top image I'm wearing..

Dress Gorman Chinese Checkers Dress

Necklace Sweet Dream

Shoes Zomp

Gorman Girl Strikes Again!

As many of my readers should know I love Gorman and am a self confessed Goman addict. So it should come as no surprise that I am in love with the capsule collection created in collaboration with artist Rhys Lee.

I am the proud owner of the gorgeous 'yes! skirt' (pictured wearing above). I love his use of colour, there are just so many outfit combinations to create and I have only just started!

Other looks that I love from the capsule collection include the 'droplet beaded dress' and 'sugarcube pocket dress'.

droplet beaded dress

sugarcube pocket dress

Trend alert! Waist-ed long skirts dominated the catwalks at the recent Paris Fashion Week. Go for bright colours and bold prints with pleating or gathering. I like Gorman's new 'systems of space skirt' and 'fruit salad skirt'. Finish off the look with a pair of 60's style round sunglasses, try them a bright colour to add a bit of an edge!

Gorman fruit salad skirt

Gorman Milly Sunglasses

Gorman systems of space skirt

Top image I'm  wearing:

Sunglasses Waiting for the Sun

Necklace Pigeonhole

Gorman silk shirt

Gorman Yes! skirt

Belt vintage

Ring Totomoto

Shoes from Zomp

Remaining images from: www.gormanshop.com.au

Winter in the Wild West...

Wishing there were puddles...

This winter the weather in Perth has been a little wild and woolly for my liking. Although I do love the rain when it's here, sometimes it would be nice if it wasn't quite so windy.  Fellow Perthites know what I'm talking about, mini Tornado anyone? A new Irish friend of mine couldn't believe how heavy the rain was and that it really does get cold. Yes it may be 15C, but don't be fooled it is 6C with the wind factor (Perth is in the top 3 windy cities in the world).

I took these shots at Easter on my cousins farm. It was still quite warm back then, but I knew that when winter really began photo opportunities would be scarce.

The essential winter item has to be the long wool coat. I'd been searching for unique style of coat for the past 3 years, but to no avail. That is until, against my dislike (my fingers have been burnt) of online shopping I went on ASOS and found the gorgeous green coat above. The Hunter Gumboots are from Love Story on Glyde and the gloves are from Country Road.

Dedicated readers will have heard repeatedly that I am a Gorman Girl and that is exactly what I'm wearing in Photo 2. A Gorman silk Cami and a skull necklace from Zara Bryson, Claremont.

The work has been piling up this month with the imminent launch of my 1st capsule collection for Banks & Bell. Not to mention all those little jobs, that always seem to take twice as long as you think they will.

Until we meet again...

If you go into the woods...

I had to have an excuse to show off my latest vintage hat. (It has been long overdue for those that follow me on twitter.) The unique feature of this hat is that it has no crown, so no hat hair. I wore it with a vintage Christian Dior headscarf, I was channeling the 1930's Riveria look. I have say I got a few strange looks from some of the joggers, but I had been longing to take a picture in this location for a while. Stay tuned for up coming posts on Magdalena Velevska and highlights from this years Outskirts Festival...

Outfit: Vintage hat, Vintage Christian Dior scarf, Industry Mens Shirt (worn as a wrap shirt), 1980's Belt, Mela Purdie, Shoes from David Jones.

Vintage Glamourpuss...

I have been very busy the last few weeks working on some new projects. Hopefully I can share some of them soon! In the meantime here are some photo's I had taken recently by fabulous local photographer, P.J.

As you may have already gathered I am absolutely in love with vintage glamour at the moment. Veronica Lake, Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardiner, all the sirens of the silver screen have inspired my recent looks. Red lipstick and liquid eyeliner have become my staple. I know what your thinking, but I really do wear them everyday (well almost!).

Outfit 1: Silk camisole, vintage leather skirt from Redthreads Fremantle and shoes Sachi.



Pushing up daisies...

Today was a lovely warm day. It has been the first time I have been able to wear a sleeveless top and not freeze! Lately I have been wearing too much black and coupled with the warm weather I had the perfect excuse to wear this bright top from Sportsgirl.

At home we have been doing a little gardening, I just couldn't resist including these beautiful daisies in my photos.

Outfit: Top from Sportsgirl, Sass & Bide jeans from David Jones and necklace label unknown.

The innocence of youth...

At 6 being subjected to wearing a bin bag, masquerading as a Christmas tree.

At age 7 please note the denim on denim look and the tasteful sun hat (taken at the elephant enclosure at Perth Zoo).

At school dressed as a cow girl, not sure why!

In my 1st Communion dress made by my mum.

My 9th Birthday a 'Witches and Wizards' party, this was before Harry Potter!

At 12 back stage in a High School production of 'Mame' ( Don't worry, it is a fake cigarette!).

I recently went to a 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' party. It made me think about what I was wearing in the 90's. I couldn't remember, well I was in primary school for most of it! So I dug up some old photo's and to my surprise discovered I was a bit of a poser then too! So for shits and giggles I've decided to show a few of my memorable fashion moments from the 90's.

Lost in paradise...

It has finally stopped raining. Over the last couple of days I have been itching to go out and take some photo's. This park is about 5 minutes from my home and has so many fabulous locations to take pictures. This is just a small sample of the photo's I took, luckily there weren't too many people around. I could have been there all day if the mosquitoes hadn't been so bad.

Outfit: Alice McCall dress from Billy & Rose, Fremantle, Picnic top, Country Road shoes.

Beauty note: Lipstick by Estee Lauder and Perfume Romance by Ralph Lauren.

Winter is calling...

It's quite cold today, while typing this my fingers are turning blue (my house is not made for the cold weather, it's 12 degrees Celsius inside!). Because of this I'm wearing not one, but two pairs of tights with boots and my rabbit fur scarf.

I'm on my way to Made on the Left markets. You had better head to the city now, or you'll miss out! x

Outfit: Velvet Jacket Vintage Calvin Klein design Circe 1970's, from my mums wardrobe; Raer scarf worn as brooch from Department, Mt Lawley; rabbit fur scarf from Perri Cutten, Claremont; Skirt from Gorman Surpise, Melbourne; ring from Atlas Divine, Leederville and black leather boots from Zomp, Claremont.

Girl Friday...

Ok so this isn't Friday, but today I drew inspiration from the Cary Grant film 'His Girl Friday'. It is also showing off one of my Melbourne buys from the Brunswick St, Vintage store 'Harry Wragg'. More on Harry Wragg to follow...

Outfit: Glasses from Roger Henley, Vintage shirt from Harry Wragg, Cardigan from Alannah Hill, Acorn Necklace from Harry Highpants, Fur Wrap made by me, Vintage Gloves (can't remember where I bought them), Wool skirt Vintage Fiona Andrews from my mums wardrobe, Shoes from Mimco and Vintage Clutch (can't remember where I bought it).

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A splash of tartan...

Being a slightly warmer day I decided to try something a bit different and fashion my tartan scarf into a bow brooch. To finish it of I added the gorgeous rubix cube brooch I bought recently from Lovers & Dreamers. My sister took the photo for me and she couldn't help making me laugh!

Outfit: Vintage Necklace from my mums jewellery box, Munroe tartan scarf worn as bow, Brooch from Lovers & Dreamers, Singlet from Witchery, Cardigan from Country Road, Belt Vintage Country Road, Cheap Monday high waisted flare jeans from Billy & Rose Fremantle and Clogs from Country Road.

The sun is out and everything is smelling of roses...

When got up this morning I just felt like it was a navy and black day. This photo was taken in my backyard. I love it at the moment because it is so green and crisp and it has that wonderful smell you get after rain.

(Outfit: Navy scarf from Trenery, Navy and white stripe t-Shirt made by myself, Vintage Brooch, Leather gloves from Country Road, Mela Purdie skirt and Clogs from Country Road) (Beauty note: Lipstick by Chanel and Perfume by Balenciaga)

Where have all the colours gone?

I love black, it’s great. Having a fat day? Throw on some black. This clever colour (or absence of colour, depending on how scientific you want to get) hides a multitude of sins. It is also the staple of the fashion set. Whether you think that is a good or bad thing, I leave to you to decide.

All I would like is a bit more variety. Purple, blue, red, green, where have all the colours gone? For a country that experiences 35 degree days, has bright sunlight and dare I say it somewhat drab surroundings, why oh why are we subjected to boring dull clothes. Have we turned into nuns over night? Or are we so self conscious of our figures that we couldn’t possibly splash on a little colour.

Playing it safe seems to be the mantra of the high street store. Well I’m saying I’ve had enough. I don’t want to fade into the background. I don’t want to feel like I’m wearing a uniform. I want the bright confident feeling you can only get from slipping into a cherry red dress, with a pair of killer purple heels.

I’m all for trends, but with the beige epidemic that has plagued us for the past 4 seasons, the only alternative is black. The reprieve this season seems to be orange, which has the horrible side effect of highlighting every freckle on your face. Making you look orange, as well as wearing it.

I fear I’m not alone in my disappointment and with winter fast approaching, I’m not going to hold my breath for the bright colours to suddenly to appear. (Although turning blue would add another dimension to my black outfit.)

I guess I’ll just have to wait yet another season, cross my fingers and pray to the fashion gods for a vibrant brighter future!

(Pictured Russh cover for February 2011, classic example of the beige epidemic.)