I haven't been posting as much as I'd like to, lately, and this is partly because I've been trying to get my costumes for Supanova finished! I've never been to anything like this in costume (well, at all, really) so I'm excited but it's not left a lot of time for blogging. There will be posts about it next week, I hope, but until everything is over I'm just focussing on sewing and crafting in my spare time.
So, for now I leave you with this lovely video showcasing some of the handmade dresses at local Adelaide vintage store Push Pin Boutique. The video was created by Sugar Smack, an Adelaide based screen production company.
In the past some of my readers have said they'd like to see more photos of where I live but, to be honest, I'm usually quite forgetful about taking photos of my own city when I'm out and about. However, I've just bought a new camera and, wanting to test it out, took some snaps around the town when I went to the movies on Monday. I'm still getting used to it (the photos show up brighter on the display than on my computer, so I should pay more attention to the exposure settings onscreen than the image itself) so the quality, etc., of these may vary! (I did study photography I just feel like I've become forgetful of what I learnt.)
Not quite awkward mirror shot.
Outfit details: beret - gift; sunglasses - Dangerfield 1950s cardigan - etsy; top - Target; belt - gift; tartan pants - made by my mum; shoes - KMart.
Entrance to Palace Eastend cinemas.
View of Rundle Street, with construction/road works.
Some street-art on the wall of The Exeter.
Very grainy photo taken in the low light conditions of the cinema foyer.
Adelaide Library and Institute building on North Terrace.
Testing out the 'self portrait' setting.
Hopefully that was interesting! I'd like to try to take more photos where I live but I have to get in the habit of taking my camera (and not just my phone) out. But here's a little view of my city for those of you who have never seen any of it. Hopefully the extra photos make up for the lack of text in this post!
Last night I went to the opening night of Club Burlesk, a new monthly burlesque show presented by Peaches 'n' Gin Burlesque, and decided to wear my Trashy Diva Sweetie dress in the turquoise birds print. I've actually worn this a couple of times before (and I love it though it creases far too easily for my liking) but never taken photos for the blog! Whilst it's not the best dress to go out to sit down in (because of the creasing factor) I did think it was a good one for a burlesque show. It's such a great print and I adore the cut of this dress!
Outfit details: hair flower - ?; dress - Trashy Diva; belt - vintage fair; brooch - etsy; braceletes - op-shop; stockings - Love Kylie; shoes - KMart or Big W.
Oh and my hair is red now! I've been wanting to go red for so very long but I had been dyeing my hair black for a few years and I just couldn't stand the thought of bleaching my hair as much as I'd have to...so I just let it fade/grow out. (As well as a couple of bleach baths just to lighten it that little bit more before I dyed it red.) I'd be more than happy to go through the whole process if anyone wants me to but, to be honest, it was mainly just having patience. Not entirely though.
I clearly don't believe that redheads ought not wear red but I was still surprised at just how much I loved the red flower on my red hair! I'm pretty sure this is nearly the exact same shade of red that my hair was when I first ventured into the world of red hair in...2006.
Oh and I shan't be matching my eyebrows to my hair, either - I love having dark eyebrows too much.
And the show was absolutely amazing. If you are in Adelaide or planning a trip that coincides with one of the performance dates (you can see the dates on the facebook page) and you have $15 to spare then you definitely should go along. I suppose burlesque isn't to everyone's taste but I always have a great time and I love being able to support local talent as well.
The other weekend I went to the Adelaide Way We Wear Vintage Fair - I've been a few times before and have never left empty handed. However, just as with most other places, I'm finding less and less that I can afford but I did find some knitting patterns (I really didn't need any more!) and a cake container (pictured at the end of the post) within the tiny budget I'd allowed myself for the night.
I didn't stay very long so I only got a few quick snaps with my iPhone - it wasn't as busy this time (I'm wondering if it was because it coincided with quite a few other events) and it just didn't feel as big to me in general, despite seeming to have the same amount of vendors.
There is always a themed display - I believe there were two this time (I didn't actually stop to take a proper look). One for sixty years of Queen Elizabeth II being on the throne and one commemorating fifty years since Marilyn Monroe's death.
I got to a point where I'd just check out the prices on one or two of the items in a stall before moving on - I hadn't given myself much money to play with and I wasn't exactly in the mood for browsing without buying, which was a pity as there were some beautiful things to just gawk at I'm sure!
The cakes/cookies/scones set on the left is the absolute cutest I have ever seen. This lady's stall is always great - I've bought so much from her over the past few fairs and I'm considering going back to the next one just because of her stall (hoping she'll be there again) because I doubt I'll be going back for anything else.
I love the Stitchcraft booklets but only have one other from the 1940s so that was a nice addition to my pattern collection. You can see some photos of what's inside at the end of this set on flickr.
I hemmed and hawed a bit about getting this - was I only getting it because I was disappointed that all the dresses were way way out of my budget? Wasn't I only going to have yellow/grey/red in my future kitchen? etc. - but obviously I ended up coming home with it. It isn't often that I see Nally Ware that is even remotely affordable for me and I do love pink & black so I bought it! I was going to have a colour theme for my future kitchen but I've decided not to worry about that for now. And this now has my stockings in it and suits my bedroom quite well. (I was going to use it for doll clothes but brandnewarmour suggested stockings.)
Hello, dear blog readers! I apologise for my absence but I've been in a bit of pain (hands/wrists/arms...fairly certain it's RSI but self-diagnosing isn't always the best idea...) so I've been resting. I'm still in a bit of pain so I don't want to push it - I do have another outfit post for you, right now, though.
This was worn last Friday when I went to the opening night of Two-Bit Villains new store - they not only sell great threads now but home-made soda! As well as seasoned fries & some other snacks. I can tell you that it all tastes fantastic. Yum!
Outfit details: flowers - a random discount shop; 1940s necklace - etsy; 1950s dress - Salvos; belt - Valley Girl; bracelets - various; ring - Sportsgirl; pantyhose - ASOS; shoes - KMart.
Sometimes I feel a bit funny revealing where I got this dress because it was an absolute fluke, even four years ago, that I found it in a Salvos store. (Funny as I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, I guess?) Now I'm lucky to find '70s dresses in a Salvos! (Though, if there are any '70s, or thereabouts, lovers reading this in Adelaide, do make sure to go to the Good Will on Hindley Street as there were lots of '70s maxi dresses when I was there, yesterday.)
I got so many compliments on this necklace! It's definitely my favourite.
My favourite nylon petticoat, from the now sadly gone Hero Vintage.
Oh, I was asked what the ring I was wearing in this post was made from - it's a new ring so some kind of cheap plastic, I suppose!
And here are some photos of the new Two-Bit Villains store (iPhone shots). I think it looks great!
The opening night was huge and it was great to see so many people there for them. I was kind of overwhelmed so didn't take any photos until later in the night after everyone had cleared out! You can see some populated shots on their Facebook page, though.
I've got a lot of things to blog about so hopefully my break doesn't need to be too much longer before I can get stuck right in. And sorry for so many outfit posts in a row - I only just realised. Ha!
After finishing all of my uni work, I felt at a bit of a loss as to what to do so I was very happy to have a super fun night out at Regattas, last night, with some great company and very good music as a soundtrack, as it were. I even took some photos of things that aren't me for a change!
I wore pretty much the same outfit that I wore in this post so I didn't bother to take a full length shot - well, there was that and the fact that it was the hottest day of the week and I didn't feel much like posing.
One of my goals is to start taking more photos of my friends, so I made sure to snap a few photos of the very lovely, Miss Kitty Boo.
Miss Kitty Boo's sparkly handbag and strawberry daiquiri.
My two (non-alcoholic) strawberry drinks. They were both very yummy.
Betty Jane hiding behind her gorgeous Jane Russell handbag...
but I managed to snap a shot of her, anyway!
Lots of people were dancing but it was still too warm, even after the sun went down, for me to do anything but sit back and soak up the atmosphere.
Also, be sure to check out my guest post at Casey's Elegant Musings - I only had time to write up an outfit post, but I was super chuffed that Casey asked me as she's been one of my favourite bloggers since before I started blogging myself.
Hope you're all having fabulous weekends! I've got some blog reading to catch up on and comments to reply to, so I think that's how I'll be spending my Sunday.
Hello, dear readers, I have an announcement for you, today (which may, or may not, only be interesting for my local readers). My friends at Two-Bit Villains are running a series of classes at their shop each Friday night in October, all centred around the theme of style and beauty with a vintage/rockabilly focus. And they asked little ol' me to teach a couple!
As you can see from the flier above I'll be doing two sessions on the 21st of October - the first on how to get the perfect pair of red lips and the second on faux bangs (that I used to sport all the time - I think it might just be time to start sporting them regularly again). I've never taught anything before so I'm a little nervous but definitely looking forward to it! I really hope it goes well and is useful to those who attend. I also hope that I might get to meet some of my local readers.
For more information, or to book, you can go here or you can always just visit the Two-Bit Villains Facebook page here.
It was ages ago that I said I was going to do a series of posts on vintage shops around Adelaide - well, I did one and never got around to doing any others! So, when I spent the day working at Exclusive Vintage at Prospect (quite a few months ago now), I figured I could snap some photos and do a write up for you all...
Exclusive Vintage is tucked away in a little street in Prospect, a suburb of Adelaide, so it is surrounded by lovely old houses, but it's also within walking distance of some of the boutiques on Prospect Road. The shop is owned and run by a very lovely woman named Fern who has a background in fashion and puts a lot of effort into the presentation of the clothes - practically any piece is ready to be worn right off the rack. This may not seem like something worth mentioning but I've been to other places where I know I'd want to give something a good cleaning & pressing before I wore it but that's never been an issue for me here.
The stock mainly ranges from the 1930s through to the 1980s and, in my personal opinion, is reasonably priced. (I've got some examples of what I've paid for dresses at the bottom of the post - I realise they may not seem 'reasonable' to some but I compare them to other prices I've seen in stores both here and interstate for similar items.)
(I was wishing this 1960s men's sports jacket was just a little bit smaller but it didn't sit right on my shoulders.)
I also made this little video (it was filmed on a iPhone so it's a bit shaky and probably not all that great but I thought it might give a better feel of the space).
The music I used is Song of India by Tommy Dorsey for absolutely no reason at all. (But I've just realised it means you can't see the video if you're in Germany. Bah! Sorry.)
Here are a few of the things I've bought from there over the years...
1940s dress (almost certainly a maternity dress which makes it good for eating one too many cakes!); I think it cost me around $85 (AU) and it's one of the best finds I've ever made because it's just so darn comfortable.
1950s dress; this was on the sale rack as there was a bit of a hole in the skirt so it only set me back $10.
This gorgeous 1950s (home made) dress is one of my favourites - I can't remember exactly but it was around the $100 mark.
Another of my favourite finds is this lovely strapless number but I honestly can't remember how much it cost me. I want to say around $130 or $160 but I could be wrong.
This is definitely '40s style but I think it was made later - I believe it was $45 but again I could be wrong.
I took these photos quite a while ago, so a lot of the stock photographed won't be there, now - but if you're around I highly recommend taking a gander.
