Decorating Vintage Style - 1950's sewing baskets

I have been on the look out for a 1950's handmade sewing basket for months and months. They are such a cute way to store bits and bobs around the house. I use the baskets to store my (far too many) books . . .

These baskets are usually made from all sorts of cards and photos, sewn together and then laminated.

The basket above is a very large representation of these vintage items - normally they come in smaller sewing basket styles. I imagine the above version was made by someone to hold knitting needles and wool.

The second basket I bought is a rectangular one depicting old photos from various cities around the world. I am not exactly sure which cities are depicted, but the main two look like something from Scandinavia, definitely Europe somewhere.

Its quite funny though, because on the side of this basket (see above) there are ugly photos of suburban sprawl and what looks like coal plants and furnaces. Quite the contrast from the main photos of Scandanavian harbours! (perhaps the maker was trying to make a subtle political statement!)

 I would love to know more about how these baskets came to be made.

I imagine there must have been groups of women across Australia in sewing or craft circles making them? There must have been thousands made because my mother and all my aunties had one in their houses.

I love the fact that they are 'shabby chic' and so individual, but also because they represent someone's thoughts and creativity (and they are exceptionally well made and sturdy)

If you are interested in buying one of these sorts of baskets, you will need to look around quite a bit as they have become a collector's item in Australia. Any that I have seen on ebay have been quite expensive. I managed to buy these on ebay recently because no one bid on them (perhaps because they are much larger than the 'standard' sewing baskets people collect?).

These are the sorts of treasures you may be able to pick up at a thrift/opp shop - so keep your eyes peeled!

My Cranlana Fashion Parade outfit - Deep blue dress and yellow opera coat

On Thursday morning I attending a lovely vintage event - a talk and vintage fashion parade organised by Charlotte Smith of the Darnell Collection, with assistance from Nicole Jenkins of Circa Vintage Clothing. It was held at the lovely historical Cranlana home in Toorak (Melbourne) which is owned by the Myer family (the owner of the largest department store in Australia). It was a lovely event and the talks by Charlotte and other guests (including a curator from the National Gallery of Victoria) were really interesting. Unfortunately, I can't show you any photos of the parade itself as no photos were allowed in the home. But you can get a glimpse of the outfits worn on Nicole's website here: Circa.

As it was a morning tea event, I wanted to wear something appropriate - not too dressy but something smart and sophisticated (for my international readers - Toorak is a tres elegant and fancy suburb - the most expensive address in Melbourne so I wanted to look the part!)

 

I chose a vintage deep blue fitted dress (late 50's perhaps?) with a 50s mustard yellow opera coat.

The coat was given to me by my mother's cousin, who was in her 70s at the time. I love the label 'Le Monde Modes - Melbourne'. Sigh . . .

 With my fair skin and propensity for freckles, I wouldn't normally wear yellow (I only have three yellow things in my wardrobe, all given to me!). However, I find I can get away with it if I wear a strong colour next to my skin - like this deep blue. Blue is my favourite colour by the way - I particularly love royal blue. It is actually sometimes difficult to find that colour in vintage dresses. Not sure why!

 I did all these photos with a self-timer and pedestal-thingy - what do they call them again? Oh yes, tripod! Anyway, as you can see I need to practice a bit with placement - but thought you might like to see some my treasured dresser - which I had to quickly dust before I took these photos! (I am THE worst housekeeper)

Last (but not least) the fab silver buckle shoes I wore with my outfit. They are 60's era, so not quite in keeping with the 50's dress and coat. But still, they are fabulous! (quite uncomfortable by the way, but comfort is not really something I factor in any more to my outfits!)

Outfit details

late 50's blue dress Top Hat vintage clothing store, High St, Northcote

50s yellow opera coat  gift

brooch op shop Edinburgh ($5 bargain!)

50s earrings Callie Whelan Camberwell markets

60s silver buckle shoes etsy

My austerity drive

I am in the midst of my annual 'austerity' drive. This usually comes around every year when (a) my work offers to send me overseas and (b) I realise I am penniless and cannot afford to pay for my share of the 'personal holiday' bit of my travel (because, surprise surprise, I have spent all my money on vintage!) This is where my desire to have a wonderful time in Italy and Canada overrides my etsy obsession (and who of you can blame me for that?!). This time however, the austerity drive is going to last quite a long time as my hubby and I are saving to buy a house next year. Ouch!

Unfortunately I am not naturally frugal with money. For me, money is there to be spent on wonderful things. When I could have bought a house in my 20s I instead spent all my savings backpacking around the world. It was totally worth it and the best thing I ever did (just the night making out with the handsome Canadian welder in Hanoi was worth it alone!!)(I will spare you the details don't worry)(unless you want to hear them - that will cost you $5 a minute - ha ha!)

But when I do have to save (and I usually need a reason), I actually find it quite therapeutic. Although etsy have great stuff, and it is difficult sometimes to resist its allure, it is actually nice to just enjoy the things you have without having to buy things all the time. And it allows me to take a good, long hard look at my wardrobe and realise I have waaaaay too many clothes anyway - why do I need anymore. Exhibit A - my wardrobe:

Now I have to be honest and say I probably have the equivalent of another of these wardrobes stored in various parts of the house so I cannot tell myself that I don't have enough clothes. And some of them I have worn only once or twice so I really need to work on better utilising the wardrobe I have. I am also starting to find it hard to look after all the clothes I have - make sure they are all mended and clean and free of moths. Another reason for my austerity drive!

Of course, austerity drives are vintage in of themselves. During World War II, rationing was very strictly controlled and there was a public push to 'make do and mend'. . .

Of course this philosophy is also great for the environment. The less I consume the better it is for the health of the world.

But of course, saving and not consuming is not always easy. So if you are interested, these are my personal keys to saving success:

(1) Get creative and feed your soul
There is a good reason why the best pop music ever made was in Britain under the rule of Thatcher in the 80s. Everyone was poor and depressed. Result: genius pop music creativity. Now, we don't want to go back to Thatcher (do we?!). But it is an indicator that not buying stuff helps your creativity. So utilise your free time that you would otherwise waste buying things - write a short story, read 'War and Peace', join a Toastmasters or book group. I have had such a great time this past month reading books - I have been devouring about one a week. They have all been brilliant and made me so happy (if you are stuck for recommendations - start off with the No. 1 Ladies Detective Series by Alexander McCall Smith - brilliant. Then go on to Dickens!)

(2) Learn how to bake a cake
One of the best ways to spend your time, and save money too, is to bake your own cakes, and make your own pikelets, scones and pancakes. Your family and friends will love you for it and home made food is much better for you than processed stuff (it is also less fattening as it is more natural)(believe me, its true!). Start off with the Women's Weekly series or recipes by the Country Women's Association (CWA):
http://www.cwaofnsw.org.au/merchandise/home.do;jsessionid=1E13DD59631A48C130F1F6960995A54D
Don't go for smancy fancy, just plain honest home cooked fare your nanna would have made. Delish!

(3) We are all in the same boat
Sometimes I read blogs where the writer seems to have limitless money with which to buy fabulously expensive vintage clothes all the time and they live in an enormous house and you think 'where do they get the money for this?'. The answer probably is: debt! We all know about the GFC (Global Financial Crisis). My husband is Irish and many of his family and friends are under financial pressure (another reason for my austerity drive). So I try and remember that everyone has to save - not just me!

I could go on and on about this, but there are a few hints to help you out if you are interested. Hopefully I can stick to my austerity drive and make it to Italy for my trip. You may see me curled up on a park bench in Pisa if I don't start saving for my hotel bills so I had better do it!

Happy saving!

Pretty blue (and green, and red and . . .!) floral vintage dress

I tend to say this about all my vintage dresses, but this really is one of my favourites summer frocks . . .  

 It is actually one of my very rare finds from an op shop (Brotherhood of St Laurence in St Kilda, which is really a 'vintage' op shop I guess - although don't expect to find any treasure there now, it has changed a lot since I bought this dress many years ago).

 Although this is not in the class of a designer vintage dress (think Adele Simpson and the like), this is just a great, versatile and wearable dress. And, importantly, the cut is quite flattering. Although I have a small-ish waist (which I work on, believe you me), on the downside I also have a fairly large behind (it sort of sticks out at the back - my ballet teacher was always hounding me 'pull your bottom in! I wanted to say 'I can't, its just like that!!).

Anyway, the cut of the skirt on this dress is quite flattering to my rather fullsome rear-end which is nice (the cut that is!). If I was handy I would make a few copies of this dress, but I can't sew (and really don't have time to sew more importantly!) so I will just enjoy this version.

The other reason I love this dress is that the pattern is very very cute. It also has a number of great colours in it, so I can team the dress up with various nice bright cardis and accessories to make up different outfits. Love that.

 I am not sure of the date of the dress as it is evidently handmade. I would say the 1970's? Definitely not the 50's. But I don't mind either way, its just a great, individual day dress which can be worn almost anywhere - even to the park with my troublesome, headache-inducing 2 year old son! (who at this moment is headbutting my desk computer - God help me)

 And of course, an outfit would not be complete without some gorgeous vintage Trifari earrings (part of a demi parure, that is, comes with a matching necklace). I love Trifari jewellery. Pity the size of my wallet doesn't allow me to buy more of it - it is very well-made and great design.

Outfit details:

dress  Brotherhood of St Laurence, St Kilda (years ago when it was a 'vintage' type op shop and had great stuff  - no longer like this, a lot of tat)

Blue cardi Saba (their cardis are good)

bag Old Hat Northcote

earrings etsy

Pink and white stripe pleats

I have been home all this week after I had a little knee procedure done last Friday (so sorry for delay in posting!).

I do jazz ballet (or should I say 'did' - that may have to be in past tense now!) - hence my bad knees. After asking how old I was (I will admit to being 'late 30's' to you all!) my doctor 'tsked tsked', shaking his head and said 'no more ballet!' so Natalie Portman can feel safe and secure - there will be no menacing 'Black Swan' pirouettes from me!

But I digress, although it has been fun to stay at home and catch up on some great films and read good books, it has been soooo depressing not to be able to go out in my fab vintage outfits. So it was great today to go out for a latte and get dressed up for a change. Unfortunately I had to go out with crutches, which did not really go with my outfit - but at least I was in a dress!

I looked at my wardrobe last week and thought 'I really need to have a big cleanout and sell some of these dresses on ebay' (I really do have too many clothes). From time to time I have these brilliant bursts of thought and then I try some of the said dresses on and think 'no! I can't possibly part with this!'. This is one of the dresses I was going to cull - it is actually not great to wear on a hot day as it is polyester and totally un-breathable (is that a word?). To be honest, the pleats also make my already generous butt look seriously huge (!), but it is very cute, so its staying put. Also, I just can't be bothered selling anything on ebay (I am a buyer through and through!)

I am not sure who I am trying to channel with my pose here - I look like I've swallowed a lemon! I would be terrible as a model! (don't worry, I am not going to give up my day job!)

Outfit details:

60's dress (I think?) ebay Australia about 5 years ago

white cotton cardigan David Lawrence - again many years ago

handbag vintage store in Northcote (Old Hat I think its called?)

earrings Sydney Vintage Clothing fair (they are great, but they hurt like hell!)

My wedding dress (vintage peachy pink)

This is the peachy pink vintage dress that I wore to my wedding in 2003 (that is my hubby on the right!). Now wearing it again in 2011!

I am pleased to say that I still fit into after 8 years which is nice (thank you Pilates). I have not had the occasion to wear it again since my wedding so I took it for a much awaited outing to a 'Debutantes Dinner' in Melbourne last night, organised by the lovely ladies at the Lindy Charm School. 

I searched for a vintage wedding dress for ages before I found this dress (in a little French-style shop in South Melbourne). This was before shopping online was as easy as it is today - there are now lots of vintage wedding dresses to be found on etsy. I actually don't think the colour of the dress does much for my skin tone - a deeper, mauvy pink probably would have suited me better, but it was such a lovely style, I couldn't resist it.

This is a close up of the embroidery/flowers on the dress:

 The flowers have a little diamonte/rhinestone in the middle of them so I wore a pair of vintage diamonte earrings to set that off. The fabric in the dress is a sort of stiff, papery-type material which drapes beautifully, but is quite delicate and prone to tearing, so I am always careful when putting it on. I probably should have ironed the flowers to make them sit down a little flatter on the bodice but I was a bit scared to given the delicacy of the fabric. I will have to do that when I have some time and space to concentrate on such a task (which is usually never!)

I hope you liked looking at my wedding dress!

Outfit details:

Vintage (1950's?) wedding dress Little French-themed shop opposite South Melbourne markets

diamonte earrings Callie, Camberwell markets

fake fur stole and vintage purse ebay

gloves modern - Myer

handsome husband from Dublin, Ireland (picked up for a song in a little hostel in Rome, 1998!)

A pretty purple floral and lucite purse

I love pink . .  and I love purple so I was very happy in my outfit today. This is one of those dresses I have had in my wardrobe for ages, waiting for (a) being slim enough to wear it (my excuse: I have had two children!) and (b) having the right accessories to pull the look off. I wore it to Chadstone, one of our big shopping malls in Melbourne, where I took my 7 year old daughter to see 'Yogi Bear' and have lunch. I had to have a stiff red wine when I got back home . . .! (I am not a fan of modern children's movies, give me Disney's Snow White anytime)

 I bought this dress last year on ebay and at first did not like it (sometimes things look a lot different from what they appear online!). The texture of the fabric is shiny, so it looks and feels like a bridesmaid dress (perhaps it was?!). I was going to give it away, but in fact, I have found that with some hot pink shoes and a pink cardigan it looks quite nice (excuse the non-ironed cardigan by the way, as usual I had to get dressed in rather a hurry).

 Of course, an outfit always looks good with a matching hat and earrings. I got this hat from etsy for a song (as the netting has deteriorated). I bought these earrings from the Sydney Vintage Clothing show - one of my batch of $10 pairs - I love these chunky clip on style earrings - really fab (although I can only wear them for 3-4 hours before they start to hurt!)

I am only 5 foot and a half feet tall (note the half, very important!) so I find I the 'teen' vintage outfits fit me the best (and I think this was made for a teenager). Otherwise I have to pay my tailor to adjust everything and that can prove a bit costly if shoulders need to be adjusted etc. Still, I do find it is worth it to have something fit really well.

Last but not least, one of my two vintage lucite bags. This is not a 'designer' lucite bag from the 50's (not a Wilardy or Rialto which are highly collectable) but it is still very cute. As you would know, some lucite bags can cost $200-300 dollars, but if you look around and don't care too much about whether the purse is signed or not, you can get one much cheaper (this was $59 on sale on etsy). The only thing I would say is careful of flaws such as cracks and odours with lucite - those things are hard to fix (always ask about any chemical odours with lucite as this is a sign the lucite has started to break down).

Oufit details:

dress vintage of uncertain age (handmade) - ebay Australia

cardigan Cue

shoes etsy

hat etsy

earrings Sydney Vintage Clothing Show Oct 2010

lucite bag etsy