What I Actually Wore #0073

Serial #: 0073
Date: 23/07/2012
Weather: 16°
Time Allowed: 6 minutes

Put your hand up if you were scarred back in the 80s by taffeta? Although I was not quite old enough to have many occasions to wear this rustle-y – and often iridescent – fabric, I entered adulthood with a passionate hatred for the material. Then suddenly, last year I conceived a desire to own a taffeta skirt, or dress. Plaid taffeta was momentarily in fashion, and I managed to find this skirt on eBay for a fraction of the retail price.

Back in the Eighties, taffeta tricked out prom dresses with ruffles, bows, giant puffed sleeves, and ruching. You all know exactly what I mean. Who hasn’t seen pictures of bridesmaids’ dresses gone awfully wrong? But this little plaid skirt was unassuming in its subtle petrol blue and maroon checks, and I dressed it down even further with cable knit hemp stockings (much softer than wool – no itch! – and also an eBay purchase), and a bright wool knit. 

The shoes and hat were also eBay finds. I bought those peeptoes just before the world went wild for wedges – they were in such good condition I suspected the original owner had bought them by mistake, and never worn them. The wooden heel is rather heavy but it is so much nicer than cork (to my mind).

The shape of this floppy velvet cap makes me feel as though I ought to be sledding in Aspen or something. It’s vintage 1940s. I didn’t have much time to do my hair, so went for a low-maintenance pony-tail, and a hat is a perfect cover up for a boring hair day (as well as a bad-hair day). And the bonus? It keeps your head warm on a frosty morning!

Items:

Top: Kookaï
Skirt: Cue
Hat: vintage 40s
Hairclip: vintage
Earrings: Moyou
Bangle: souvenir
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Stockings: eBay
Shoes: Aldo