A French dinner in vintage pink

A few weeks ago, my hubby and I treated ourselves to a night out in Grenoble 'sans enfants' (no children!). We don't go out for dinner much as I am a pretty good cook and, for the most part, I enjoy cooking for the family. It is also pretty expensive to hire a babysitter and pay for a meal and we try to save our money for holidays.

Here I am in one of my favourite 1950's pink dresses (also featured in this earlier post). Some pink gloves and earrings a deep pink pashmina set off the outfit. I picked up 5-6 pashminas of varying colours on a trip years ago to Turkey - they were very cheap and they come in so handy, particularly when you are dining outside like this and there is a little chill in the air.

Here is my hubby enjoying his beer . . .

Which he is just about to choke on as I have obviously said something hilarious and he is trying not to laugh  

. . . (!). That's what being on a night out without your children and not having to cook does to you. Fabulous!

 

 The restaurant we went to is right in the centre of the 'old town of Grenoble. And as you can see it is beautiful . . . 

I really love France - the people and countryside, food and wine are so beautiful. The only thing they don't do is vintage clothing - which is weird. There are absolutely no vintage clothing shops in Grenoble and only a relatively small number in Paris (and of those, they only have expensive 80s Chanel and not much else). But that is why etsy was invented - yay!

I hope you enjoyed that little look into French life and architecture. Stay tuned for a look at another meal out in a typical French brasserie next week!

Vintage Pretty in Pink

Pink is one of my favourite colours (along with royal blue and emerald green!). I particularly like a good hot pink, which seems to go well with my pale skin (after quite a few disastrous experiments with beige I have learnt that I look best with some strong colour). And of course, I loved Molly Ringwald in 'Pretty in Pink' - some of her outfits were fantastic.

This is one of my favourite dresses - being pink AND floral - my two favourite things together! The label is very cute - it reads 'Palm Island "Little Fittings" Specially proportioned American half sizes'. Like I need to be told I am short! (I am 5 foot and a half, 155 cm to those of us who are not familiar with feet and inches). Actually, I don't mind being 'petite' - particularly as I gives me access to lots and lots of vintage clothes (and its good on long haul flights)(gosh, I am really grasping at positives there aren't I!).  

Speaking of petite, these pink shoes are one of the few vintage shoes I own. I find it very difficult to buy shoes as, again, I am small (a US size 5). I did buy a few vintage shoes from ebay and etsy but found it difficult to get the size right. Often the length was OK, but the width not. And if the seller is not 100% accurate in measuring, the shoe won't fit. But anyway, these are one of my successful etsy shoe purchases. I have to say the vintage shoes are much longer lasting than contemporary shoes - I find modern shoes lose their shape very quickly. Vintage shoes can be a bit uncomfortable to start off with as the leather tends to be harder, but they do keep their shape beautifully. And you can get heels that are not dangerously high! (I can't wear platforms or the wedges in modern shops - have you seen Posh Beckham's heels - OMG!)

This fan is one of my best bargains ever - the grand sum of $4.80 from the Chinese junk shop in Oakleigh. Being made of wood it is very sturdy - quite important in the Melbourne winds.

And last but not least, one of my latest crazes - vintage sweater guards. If you haven't seen these before, do try them out, they really add a cuteness and unique factor to outfits. They simply clip onto your cardigan so are easy to use (called a sweater guard as they literally guard your cardie from falling off!).

Outfit details

dress ebay

cardigan Laura Ashley 2011

sweater guard Etsy Rose Acre Cottage
shoes etsy

handbag Frocks and Slacks, St Kilda

A vintage purple prom dress . . . and lots of lucite

My hubby and I went out last weekend to a lovely French restaurant in Melbourne called 'Bergerac'. It is a very traditional French restaurant, so we had snails for entree, a lovely Seafood platter and a Bombe Alaska for dessert, with a Grande Marnier flambe. We then went for cocktails to the Vue de Monde bar (great view but ordinary cocktails). It was a great night.

We were celebrating the news that we are moving to France for 2 years next March. My hubby is from Europe (Ireland) so it is great news for us - we can be near his family instead of 10,000 miles away.Of course, that means that I will be 10,000 miles away from my family, but that is the price you pay for marrying a handsome Irish man I guess (I blame it on my 80's crush on Bono).

I wore this purple 50's prom dress which I got at a vintage store in Melbourne yonks ago, but haven't worn until now (I had to get it taken in a bit, then I had to wait for it to be warm enough to wear it).



I absolutely love this colour. I would love to get a royal blue version of this dress actually.

I wore it with my favourite vintage Lucite shoes. . .

And my very favourite Lucite bag . . .

 



Outfit details

Vintage 50s purple dress Top Hat Vintage, Northcote, Melbourne

Shawl ebay

lucite shoes ebay

lucite bag ebay/etsy (can't remember!)

brooch thrifted/op shop

earrings Callie Whelan, Camberwell Markets and the Vintage Garage

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

What to wear to a fashion show?

I attended my first fashion show yesterday at the GPO in the city (Melbourne, that is, for my international readers). I was quite excited as it was my first visit to a runway show. I agonised over what to wear of course, as I usually wear 'full-on' vintage and didn't really want to stand out too much amongst the skinny panted young fashionistas. In the end I just thought 'to hell with it' I am going to be myself and chose a black and white 1950's vintage dress .  . .

It turned out to be a good choice as it was about 30 degrees on the day and the show was held under the portico at the GPO at lunchtime. This, together with all the bright lights, made for a fairly warm experience!

The fashion show was great fun. It was quite theatrical (they had two dancers at the start prancing around with plates of fruit - sounds weird but looked great!) and the clothes were, by and large, lovely. The show featured GPO store designers such as Lisa Ho, Leona Edminston, Wayne Cooper and Akira. My favourites were a long dusty pink dress from Leona Edminston and a hot pink and red outfit by Akira (odd colour combination, but it worked). Some trends I noticed: skirts are either very, very short, or extremely long; also: quite a lot of feathery vests. One thing I didn't like was the use of snakeskin like material on some of the dresses and jackets (see for instance in Wayne Cooper's collection) - sorry, not attractive at all in my book!

Unfortunately I was a naughty blogger and forgot to recharge my flagging camera battery, but you can see some photos taken by blogger 'Melbourne girl' at this link.

I would recommend going along to this fashion show next year. For a start, unlike some of the other LMFF fashion shows which in my opinion are too expensive ($48 to see a fashion show - I don't think so), this one is free! Just sign up to 'GPO lovers' on the GPO website and next LMFF they will send out an email about tickets and you just reply (which is what I did). Easy! (and you get to sip champagne out of a straw and eat chocolates from Cacao too - lovely!)

1950's dress Frocks and Slacks, St Kilda

Bolero Laura Ashley (2 yrs ago)

Bag St Vinnies, Oakleigh

vintage earrings etsy

flower brooch Portmans

A Three-day Frock Fest . . . (be careful how you say that!)

Given that I am not able to post every day (I am doing a PhD - ouch!) I thought I would roll three days of blog posts into one - three days and two decades for the price of one!

Dress 1 is a lovely 1950's atomic blue, pink and green (my favourite colours!) dress with a shawl-type collar (I think that is how you would describe it?) and a matching belt. The only drawback is that it has some type of synthetic in the material so its not very breathable (gets a bit wiffy at the end of a hot day - dear me!) Lucky I am only around my two little kids at the end of the day! 

  

 

Outfit details: 1950's dress Ebay USA (I LOVE buying from the US - great quality)

Pearls - 'borrowed' from Vintage Suburbia's mum!

Bag (see close up below) - Frocks and Slacks, St Kilda 

This bag is so cute - I think it is from the 1960's (?)

It has a lucite handle (gasp - I love lucite!) and is made up of small leather pieces which are woven into each other - divine! I don't wear it enough though, I keep it for 'special occasions' (which I perhaps shouldn't)  

 

 Pink 60's dress Ebay Australia

Shoes - Myer

Dress 2 is a pink 60's number with a lovely decorative panel down the centre. I don't normally buy 60's dresses as I find they don't suit my figure (which is distinctly pear-shaped!) but I find this one is OK. I have to confess to wearing thigh-reducing 'shapewear' under this dress though!

Close up of cute decorative panel

I don't normally put labels in my posts but I thought this one was was quite cute (says 'Marcia June Sydney SSW'). Although the fabric is synthetic (I am guessing 'Prestalene is not man made?!), it is actually very nice to wear - surprisingly breathable.

And, last but not least, Dress 3 is a lovely 1950's teal floral dress. Teal is one of my favourite colours as it seems to suit my pale, freckly skin.

Vintage Suburbia wearing her favourite pink hat (I wear hats every day)

Vintage Suburbia standing in her son's sandpit with her favourite parasol (Oroton).

Teal floral 50's dress Ebay USA

Pale pink cardigan Portmans (from a few yrs ago!)

Hat - Cancer Council Australia online

(their hats are adjustable and don't blow away in Melbourne's terrible wind)

Parasol Oroton (bought on sale for around $35)

   

I find that Melbourne is so windy in summer (don't you hate that!) that I have to have a very sturdy umbrella. Many of my past purchases have broken in the wind, but I can recommend Oroton ones - they are lined for extra sun protection and seem more resilent than cheaper alternatives (but buy them on special - they are not cheap!)

And finally, a few photos of my Little Mr Moppet, age 2, who decided to get in on the act. His blog is called 'A Two-year old tornado' (he wreaks havoc in my house). He is cute, but he is Trouble with a capital T!

Terrible Two Tornado wears Green Dinosaur shirt sent from Ireland by his Nonny

Ripped jeans (sooo last season!) from our favourite kids clothing store, Target

"I'm off to wreak havoc and cause trouble!"

Red Door Burlesque - Vintage Style

Hubby wears 1960's dinner suit, Circa Vintage, Fitroy

Vintage Suburbia wears Black 50's cocktail dress, Frocks and Slacks, St Kilda

(for full details of VS's outfit - see end of post*)

My hubby and I went to the Red Door Burlesque at the Order of Melbourne last night. It was a great evening. The MC Andrew McClelland was very funny (if you like corny jokes!) and the burlesque dancers and trapeze artist (who is called Anna the Pocket Rocket!) were amazing.

One of the lovely Burlesque dancers doing her fan dance - very classy

Anna the Pocket Rocket . Yes, she is on a trapeze!

I wasn't sure what to expect from the evening as I have never been to burlesque before. It was a very tasteful show, the dancers wear fabulous vintage-look lingerie. At the end the dancers do take off their tops, but they have very cute tassells on, its all great fun and tongue-in-cheek. Needless to say, my husband was in seventh heaven! Anna the Pocket Rocket did a wonderful hula-hoop routine, followed by an amazing trapeze act (with no safety net I must add - quite stupendous).

I also met up with the lovely Sophie of Piroska and the Wolf who looked gorgeous in a red and white polka-dot wiggle dress from 'Stop Staring' (I should have thought to take a photo - damn!).  She really seemed to enjoy the evening too, as did the other members of the audience.

All in all a wonderful evening!

Event details:

Red Door Burlesque is held on the last Sunday of every month at The Order of Melbourne, Level 2/401 Swanston St, Melbourne. Doors open 6pm, $20 entry

For bookings, phone 9663 6707 or email reddoorburlesque@theorder.com.au
The show is perfect for people with children, as it ended at around 9.15, so enough time to get back to the babysitter (there was a DJ coming on later which we could have stayed for though).

*Outfit details

The black 50's cocktail dress I am wearing is one of my favourite outfits. It is one of the first really nice vintage dresses I ever bought and it is one of the reasons I started collecting. It is made of rayon and falls beautifully. It is very flattering. It is also my favourite colour - black, which seems to suit my pale, freckly skin. The only problem is that (a) being made of rayon (which I didn't know until recently is a man-made fibre), it seems to attract moths and so it has quite a few moth holes in it, despite all my preventative measures against this (b) the waist is tiny, so I have to wear a waist cincher which can be a bit uncomfortable - but hey who ever wears vintage for comfort?!

Waist cincher - ebay (they come from Singapore I think, only around AUS$45)

Diamonte brooch - from the lovely Callie at Camberwell Markets (she is usually in the undercover walkway section) - she has fabulous stuff and her prices are reasonable

(she also has an online shop with more exclusive items, at http://www.huntedandcollected.com.au/)

Fake fur wrap - Salvos, Oakleigh

Glomesh bag - ebay Australia

Gloves - Temcare Op Shop, Station St, Oakleigh

1950's blue polished cotton frock

I bought this very cute blue 'atomic' polished cotton frock from the lovely Nicole at Circa in Fitroy (Melbourne) a few months ago. I had to shed a few pounds to fit into it properly (!) but my many hours of Body Jam (that's a dance aerobics workout for those not in 'the know!) and breathless laps of the 50 metre pool paid off. I am actually only a size 8-10 in 'normal' clothes, but as you will all know, that means nothing in the vintage world where clothes are tiny!

It is a very wearable dress - because it is cotton it breathes beautifully - perfect for a summer's day. I also love the colour - with my pale colouring and hint of red in my hair (which is not natural I should confess!) a deep blue is very flattering.

Dress: Circa Vintage, Gertrude St, Fitzroy $165 (in mint condition)

Gloves: Op shop/thrifted (Salvos Oakleigh I think) $3

Bag: Ebay $80 (lucite clasp)

Shoes: from Myer a few years ago, on sale for about $80 from memory (Myer has great shoe sales)(just be prepared for lousy service!)

Earrings: white vintage flower clip ons from Clara Fox Vintage, Brunswick St, Fitzroy (only $10!)

My favourite 50's dress

I wore my favourite 50's dress today. It is a lovely pink white and grey dress (I love those colours together!). Perfect for a summer's day. I think it is made of what they call 'polished cotton' - it is very cool and breezy and does not make me feel sweaty like some of the 60's synthetic dresses I have. As you can see, it comes with a matching bolero - very cute!

 1950's dress: 'Top Hat' Vintage, 873 High St, Thornbury, Melbourne.

White beaded necklace: Fancy Pants Vintage, Barkly St, St Kilda ($22 - not bad)
White bow shoes (kept from my debutante ball 20 years ago - I am SUCH a hoarder!)

It is very rare to find a genuine 1950's dress with a matching bolero so I was really happy to find this one. I may have paid a little too much for it ($175) but I really love it. I bought it at a lovely store called 'Top Hat' (873 High Street, Thornbury). It is owned by a real character called Michelle and the shop is full of vintage treasures. I purchased four other dresses on the day I bought this one, and the others were quite a bit cheaper (eg $75 for a 60's dress). I normally buy my vintage from etsy and ebay but I occasionally like to buy locally - there is nothing like being able to try dresses on and also I like to patronise these small shops, which are often owned by a woman who really loves vintage herself. I love meeting these people, chatting and hearing their stories.

I have also found if I find something I really love I will wear it and wear it and get good value out of it. It is funny, when I originally saw this dress I thought it was too much and put it back on the rack, but I started to dream about it in my sleep, rueing my decision, so I drove all the way back to Thornbury the next week, thinking 'If its still there I will buy it' and obviously I did (along with four other dresses!). This is actually a versatile dress as I also wear it with a white cardigan when it is a bit cooler.

I hope you also find something you love!

A close up of the lovely design on my favourite 50's dress

Vintage Suburbia's Debutante shoes from 1989! Never throw anything out!

Photos: taken by my 6 year old daughter - she is a classic!

1950's Dresses

This is my first blog entry but wanted to share these great photos of 1950's and 60's dresses with you all. Aren't they fabulous!