What I Actually Wore #159

Serial #: 0159
Date: 25/12/2013
Weather: 32°C / 90°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

Well, it’s interesting to reflect on what I was wearing ten years ago! My style has changed a lot since then, and I would rarely wear a top with such a low-cut front as it’s not at all a 1930s look. The other reason is to avoid sunburn, as I inevitably end up with unsightly suntan marks on my chest, as I am rather slapdash about sunscreen (unless it’s of the parasol variety).

I remember when I bought this dress it reminded me of the one Marilyn Monroe wore in the famous 1954 photo of her standing above the subway grating, taken by photographer Sam Shaw. I would not be surprised to learn that was the designer’s inspiration either. My dress had a satin sash, but it was so soft and floppy it wouldn’t stay tied up tightly, as you can see in the photo.

I’m not sure if I bought it specifically for Christmas day, but that ended up being the one and only time I wore it – afterwards it returned to the charity store. But it was a hot day, and the dress was cool. In my notes for this outfit I’ve written that I had to get ready really fast as I had cut the timing of my departure for the family’s Christmas lunch really fine. Fortunately, I had already planned my accessories, and my makeup was as usual minimal.

I remember how much I loved those high-heeled sandals – I wore them a lot back then. Out of season, I used to store my summer shoes high up on a shelf in my closet. It must have got hot up there, being under a skylight, and when I brought them back down, I was horrified to discover that the glue in the soles had completely detached! After getting some expensive quotes from a shoe repairer, I decided that I could fix ’em myself – and I did, successfully. In fact, today I made a similar repair to a black leather thong (flip-flop) using Selley’s Fix & Go Shoe Repair glue. It works like magic and if you don’t have any in your drawer, go and buy some immediately!

The shoes though were another casualty with my segue into lower-heeled 1930s style. Another long-term favourite, the handbag however stayed in circulation until the day one of its handles broke. Mournfully, I couldn’t bear to part with it, and kept it in storage to ‘get fixed one day’. One day did not come for years – until last year in fact. I found another shoe repairer, and this time I did pay his high price to repair it. It was worth it, as since then I have carried it 16 times. (I can state that definitively as I record my outfits in an app.) I’m still wearing the onyx jewellery set, and while those sunglasses are modern, I now almost exclusively wear vintage 30s and 40s shades in the same round shape.

Items:

Dress: Martini
Earrings: handmade
Bracelet: souvenir
Ring: souvenir
Sunglasses: MinkPink
Bag: vintage 60s
Shoes: Zoe Wittner