What I Actually Wore #0058

Serial #: 0058
Date: 09/02/2011
Weather: forecast 28°
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

It was a very warm summer day, and I was going out for a birthday lunch with a friend. We were going to Como House & Garden, a historic mansion that has been protected by the National Trust since 1959. The house was built in 1847, and is a mix of Australian Regency and Italianate architecture, and is famous for its pretty gardens that have been restored to their original glory. So of course I had to dress in honour of the surroundings, as well as the occasion.

I wore a 1950s satin dress in a lovely Wedgwood blue. The fabric is a minimal kind of brocade, with moon shapes woven from blue and silver metallic threads. And because I love to wear slightly wrong colours together, I added a belt made from vintage fabrics: olive green silk velvet ribbon and a rose fashioned from silk chiffon. The wool felt rose hair tie carries through the rose motif, and was a souvenir from Vietnam. I am even wearing tiny oxidised copper rose earrings.

The vanilla snakeskin bag is also vintage, as is the blue rhinestone ring. My shoes are the only ‘new’ accessory: patent leather chopines from Wittner.

I had a lovely afternoon with my friend, and it was a beautiful, sunny day to wander around the gardens, posing by the tinkling fountains and under enormous 150-year-old trees. Oh, how the other half drifted through the days, once upon a time!

Items:

Dress: vintage 1950s
Belt: vintage
Earrings: Portobello Lane
Hair tie: Vietnamese souvenir
Ring: vintage
Bag: vintage
Shoes: Zoe Wittner