A pretty pink and silver grey floral

This is one of my favourite skirts - a lovely pink and silver grey floral that I picked up for a song in St Kilda.  I am not exactly sure what era it is from - it looks home-sewn and has no label. I have always loved the colour combination of pink and grey - it was hugely popular in the 80s - and I am a child of the 80s - so that may explain things!

I have teamed it with a silver grey tshirt from Myer (Basque label) and a little bolero (Jacqui E)(middle of the road cheapish fashion stores for my overseas readers!). I don't really go shopping at 'normal' shops anymore, but I have a collection of little cotton and wool cardigans and boleros that I have picked up at various sales at department stores over the years and I do admit they come in very handy.

And I do have to say that the tshirt material does wonders for my bust (which after two children is a shadow of its former self I can tell you!)

 And of course,  great way to end is to show a close up of the cute 50s earrings I bought at the Sydney Vintage Fair in October last year. Many of the things there were quite overpriced (in my humble opinion)($350 for a 50s dress is waaay too much in my book!)(etsy has spoiled me I know). Anyway, I did manage to pick up some cheap little 50s earrings - one was this set - for only $12 each pair. Now that's better!

Outfit details
vintage skirt vintage store in St Kilda - no longer there unfortunately

t-shirt Basque label, Myer Department store

bolero Jacqui E women's clothing store

shoes rather ugly but comfortable flats from Myer

earrings Sydney Vintage Clothing Fair

Pink Polka Dots and Hairspray

Hello everyone and sorry for my extended 'holiday' from blogging! Happy New Year!

Now on to more exciting things . . . vintage dresses!

This is a little number I have had for years. I bought it off ebay when vintage dresses were still cheap, so I got it for a song! If you take a good look you might be able to see that the buttons are little ceramic roses - very cute (but they are not the original buttons and so don't 100% fit into the buttonholes, they therefore do have a tendency to open of their own accord - as a result I am always looking down at my bosom)(possibly not a good look!)

I wear it with a little cotton cardigan/bolero that I got from an Australian department store called 'Myer'. I hardly go into stores these days, as I can get everything I want online (yaay!). However, little cardigans like these are good to get from modern 'real' stores and they are very handy for when it is cold in the morning and warm during the day (that is Melbourne weather for you)

I am wearing the dress with $10 vintage earrings from Clara Fox vintage in Fitzroy (another 'yaay'!)

This dress is actually a 'junior' dress I think as the waist is quite high and bust is very small. However, as I am only a little over 5 foot it is perfect for me! The dress has a lovely cotton petticoat inlay - a very nice touch.

I wore the dress to see the Melbourne production of 'Hairspray' on the weekend which I really enjoyed. The dancing was quite extraordinary. There were a few dancers from the Australian version of 'So you think you can Dance' (which is my favourite show!) and they were amazing - I have trouble doing one turn and they did about ten!

It is great to be back in blogging land and I am really looking forward to posting lots of photos up for you this year!

Vintage Suburbia xx

A little 'holiday'

You may (or may not!) have noticed that my posts have been a little far and few between of late. The demands of my two 'full time' jobs (mother and uni lecturer). Unfortunately due to some looming deadlines at work I am going to have to take a little 'holiday' from blogging for a while and will be back to 'normal' (as normal as I will ever be!) in January.

I have some great posts planned for next year, including a little homage to my very first (and favourite) vintage icon - Molly Ringwald (remember those great outfits she wore in Pretty in Pink? Fab!).

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and I will see you in the New Year.

Lots of vintage love
Vintage Suburbia x

Decorating Vintage Style

Like many of you, I not only collect vintage clothes, but love to collect other vintage treasures like old paintings, crockery and old books. So for this week's post I thought I would share some of my favourite pieces with you. I love this painting, mostly because I love books and it shows a very beautiful girl reading a lovely old book, but also because I got it for only $15 at my local St Vinnies op shop - yaay!

As you can see, I love a good doily. This Carltonware bowl was also purchased from my local St Vinnies. It has a slight chip at the back so I got it for a bargain. Carltonware in good condition is very collectable and worth quite a bit of money. I don't mind the odd chip in things like this though.

Next, is part of my fairly large collection of vintage children's books. I LOVE Enid Blyton - I grew up on The Famous Five and The Secret Seven. She writes so well too. My daughter has just started reading The Secret Seven series which is great. 

 This is another one of my favourite pieces of chinaware - a vintage cake/slice plate, again bought from my local St Vinnies op shop. It was a bit pricier, at $25, but it is gorgeous and the money goes to a very good cause, so its win-win for everyone! I bake a lot of cakes and slices at home, so this has gotten quite a bit of use. I love the handle, a little bit art-deco . . .

For a little bit of fun, I have a few 80's albums scattered around the house. I LOVE 80s music, like New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode etc and this Simple Minds album is just great - very unusual style (a little bit Russian)

Sometimes you can pick up old stockings and other lingerie at op shops for only $1 or $2. Even if you cannot wear the actual stockings, sometimes the boxes themselves are worth buying. I got this lingerie box for free at my local St Vinnies!

Vintage lingerie box (op shop) pictured with wooden jewellery case (homeware shop in St Kilda)

Last but not least, these are some of my vintage books. I love books and have hundreds of them around the house. I buy most of them from book sales and fetes that they have occasionally around Melbourne. They are usually only $1-3 so are a great, cheap way to decorate a home.

(the photo on the right is of myself on Graduation day and my lovely Mum)

I hope you enjoyed that look at some of my vintage bits and bobs around my house!

A French inspired Lilli Ann outfit

Recently I went to the annual French Festival at Como house and thought I would wear the French colours to fit in with the theme of the day. C'est magnifique as the French say! 

I love red and navy blue, such a great combination.

Lilli Ann suit ebay

Hat etsy

earrings ebay

top op shop

In between drinking lots of red wine and eating fabulous Brie cheese and crackers, I went on a little tour of Como House. It is sooooo me - lots of old furniture and bits and bobs. It is well worth a visit . . .

Look at this - the most beautiful pair of gloves and a real live box from Georges Department Store! (formerly the best department store on Collins Street, Melbourne) - everyone talks about how wonderful this store was . . .

And my personal favourite - vintage canisters!

 

And last but not least, a cute little tea cosy in the dining room of the 'servant's quarters'

Como House, Toorak: see http://www.comohouse.com/

A Vintage Geoffrey Beene dress

I wore this lovely pink and black checked dress by the American designer Geoffrey Beene out to dinner last week. I hadn't really heard about this designer before - I really just stumbled across the dress during one of my (many) browsing sessions on etsy.

Geoffrey Beene seems to have been rather an interesting character - he studied medicine, but after a few years, left to pursue an artistic career, eventually becoming a fashion designer (much to the angst of his parents as you can imagine, who were counting on having a doctor in the family!). There is some really interesting information about he and his designs at The Vintage Fashion Guild website.

From the look of the label on my dress and consulting the Vintage Fashion Guild information, I would put it as being made in the 1970's, which is interesting as the cut is quite 1950's.

The material in the dress is quite interesting - the label does not say what it is made of but it is an unusual cross between satin and taffeta (if that makes sense!). It is very soft to the feel but also quite stiff, which gives the skirt great structure. I actually usually wear the dress with a patent black belt which draws in the waist and sets off the checked pattern, but in a mad rush to get two children and one husband fed before rushing out the door I seem to have forgotten to wear it!

Those buttons down the front are sort of 'false' in that there is actually a zipper right up the front so the buttons are just for show.

The whole piece is of magificient quality and I love wearing it, it is very flattering and just beautiful to wear. I would really recommend his vintage pieces if you can find them.

Outfit details: Vintage Geoffrey Beene dress etsy USA

earrings ebay I think!

Shoes Myer, years ago

A vintage Snakes and Ladders game - A lesson in morality

I had to share this great vintage snakes and ladders game with you that I purchased from an op shop recently . . .

It is a real lesson in morality - you go up for honesty and kindness and down for bad temper and pride. . .

Although I was wondering just how many of the 'Snakes and Ladders sins' I was guilty of - pride, greed, gluttony, lust (does lusting after Don Draper count if he is fictional?!) The list goes on and on!

Wouldn't it be great if this applied in real life?