Summer’s Endings

It’s going to be autumn – officially – in Melbourne in a few days’ time. Of course, that doesn’t mean an end to the heat, but it’s a shame it hasn’t been a great summer as far as enjoying the seasonal weather goes. I have hardly had to wear big hats like this, and I’ve carried an umbrella more often than a parasol.

A few years ago, I bought this fabulously wide-brimmed hat in an op shop (thrift store) for a few bucks. It was untrimmed, so I decided to decorate it with some vintage ribbon and a bunch of cherries. The velvet ribbon was also an op shop find: included in a huge stash of ribbons in a multitude of colours and styles. I have been able to use them to refurbish more than one chapeau. I love mint green and red together, and the way the weight of the ribbon dipped the hat elegantly on one side.

However, I’ve had to say goodbye to it as the hat developed several holes and tears along the top of the crown and in the brim. The straw had become far too brittle to attempt to repair.

And then, alas, a favourite pair of raspberry suede 40s style platform heels also became too worn out on the soles and tips of the toes. After being repaired once or twice, I regretfully farewelled them as well. I bought them new, from the Australian label Wittner, and I remember the first time I wore them to see an exhibition on vintage fashion at the Bendigo Art Gallery – because of the sheer agony they inflicted! They were so high, and gave me blisters where they cut in around around my toes. But eventually I wore them in, and wore them many, many times, so I can’t regret their loss too much – especially since I no longer wear such high heels these days anyway (a matter of style).

This favourite dress though is currently requiring vintage rescue, as through stupid carelessness I tore off one of the buttons, ripping the fabric around the buttonhole as well – one of those moments in life when you want to shout “Undo, undo!”

I feel like this is a fitting homage to these accessories though, and the end of summer too. So farewell hat and shoes – farewell!

Wince Less Princess!

I am always on the lookout in thrift stores for good walking shoes as I run through them at a rate of knots, and I always seem to get lucky. One of my latest finds is a pair are leather brogues in a lovely shade of cognac brown, and they were hardly worn to boot.

They turned out to feel a little tight across the toes after a day of wearing them; the ubiquitous ‘they’ do say one should wear new shoes at home for an hour a few times before actually wearing them out, but I omitted this crucial step as the leather was soft and they seemed fine. I guess I know why they were in the op shop to begin with!

However, a good dose of shoe-stretching spray on the inside, and an hour’s wear at home with a thick pair of socks did stretch them out. I could have used a pair of shoe stretchers if I owned some, but using my feet makes more sense to me. I wore them out subsequently with a thinner pair of socks for safety, and they were quite comfortable.

Hooray! They are the perfect pair of shoes for a casual 1930s or 40s look … But they’re more perfect when I am not limping and wincing.

Photos: September 2019

Marvellous Mauve

A couple of years ago I wrote a story about different shades of purple, and I touched on the discovery of the first aniline dye in 1856 that became known as mauve, the French word for mallow flower after which the colour is named. Originally it was probably a darker shade than contemporary notions of it, as it was first likened to Tyrian purple which is much darker. The first mauve dye was replaced with other synthetic dyes in 1873: a lighter, less-saturated shade that we are familiar with today. As Wikipedia succinctly describes it, ‘mauve contains more grey and more blue than a pale tint of magenta’.

Three shades of mallow flowersHowever, while it was a synthetic dye, in the 1850s it was still quite expensive to process, and if not for Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, taking a liking to it because it supposedly exactly matched her ‘violet’ eyes, the colour might have disappeared. Queen Victoria subsequently gave it the thumbs-up, and for a time it was all the rage, reaching its heights of popularity in the 1890s.

… for a time it was all the rage, reaching its heights of popularity in the 1890s

As with many trends, however, it soon reached over-saturation in the market and eventually it became passé, synonymous with ladies of a certain age. Even in the twentieth century, it was associated with aging, as it was one of the shades white-haired ladies chose to rinse their hair with to remove unlikable yellowish tones. Today of course that trend has been turned on its head and grey hair tinted with pastel shades is all the rage with young people!

Empress Eugenie, 1854, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter – Franz clearly thought, "Pfft, purple eyes, MY EYE!"

Wait, what about the purple eyes?

I was interested in this notion of the Empress’s supposed violet eyes, and some research lead me to learn that Elizabeth Taylor was another celebrity famed for her violet eyes. Paintings are not necessarily true to life, and photographic evidence is obviously unreliable as it is too easy to digitally enhance hues or use colour filters in-camera.

Elizabeth Taylor in 1960 (ph unknown) and 1985 (ph Helmut Newton); she definitely seems to have naturally blue eyes that have been enhanced by the colour processing in the first photoAfter a lot of reading, I can state definitely that the human eye does not naturally come in shades of purple; ie people cannot be born with it. Put simply, the colour of an iris changes depending on how much light reaches it, and can be enhanced by coloured clothing or makeup surrounding the eyes; both Empress Eugénie and Elizabeth Taylor had blue eyes: one wore purple garments, the other purple eyeshadow. [See Further Reading below]

Back to fashion …

Since my original story, I have since found new mauve items in differing shades all from thrift stores: a merino wool jumper, a prettily hand-knitted vintage wool cape, and a vintage angora, pearl-beaded beret. The jumper is modern, but I am not sure of the age of the latter two; the beret was missing pearls when I bought it, but the cape is pristine and could be a modern knit made using a vintage pattern. My printed velvet pants are modern, by the Australian label Charlie Brown.

Scroll down and check out some more mauve outfits from the Victorian era to the present.

Further Reading

The biology behind eye colour in humans

Were Elizabeth Taylor’s eyes really violet?

But wait, Liz Taylor had double eyelashes!

Just how did Lizzie make her blue eyes look purple?

Photos: August 2019

Victorian walking dress, 1896Victorian evening dress, 1896Victorian silk striped walking dressSilk taffeta evening dress, 1860-18651930s fur jacket (sold)1930s bias gown (for sale)1940s catalogue – how I would love to buy this set, especially at those prices!Model Evelyn Tripp, wearing a dress and matching hat, ph Frances McLaughlin-Gill for VogueModern outfitRosie tote in mauve

When Wearing Stripes Becomes Optical Art

If any of my readers want proof of my devotion to stripes, behold this dramatic dress of striped jersey!

The dress, by Olivaceous (a brand I’ve never heard of) has a halter neckline formed by two extremely long ties that lift to create the bodice, cross my back, wind around waist a once or twice and then tie in a huge bow at the base of my back – and the ends still dangle to my knees! In addition, the maxi skirt is so wide and long that I have to carry it like ladies of yore so that I don’t trip and fall on my face. I like to think it evokes 1930s style a little. 

Maximum drama makes it the perfect dress to wear to an Opening Night at the theatre last January, and making doubly-sure I turn heads, I pair with it a 1940s black and white satin veiled pillbox hat. The fabric is made of viscose, so it has flows beautifully; almost mesmerisingly. I feel like a piece of Op Art wearing it!

Photo: April 2019

The Little Red Cap

Red is one of my favourite colours, and has been since childhood, and I am instantly attracted whenever I see it, from clothes and accessories to interior décor and make-up. There is something so delicious about this rich hue: perhaps it reminds me of cherries and raspberries and the rosy apples of Snow-White fame.

Last year I missed out on purchasing a 1940s knit cap that sported two large crocheted pompoms by the ears, creating an effect of Princess Leia hair buns! It was adorable, and I adore pompoms too.

Then early this year this hat – also vintage 1940s – popped up on Etsy at Scarlet Willow Vintage, and I was immediately reminded of the knit cap, except in this instance this hat had two large bows by the ears instead of pompoms. It also featured the same kind of criss-cross lacing at the back of the head as had the other cap.

I lost no time in claiming this one for my own. (Interestingly the seller had photographed it upside-down, but I immediately recognised how it would look worn correctly.)

I own a lot of hats and try to wear as many different ones each season as humanly possible, but still I have managed to wear this one a few times already over the autumn and winter. There is something so delightful about its neat design – wearing a hat like this makes the day magical. It is such a source of wonder to me that hats are largely out of fashion and that more people never experience the joy of a topper  – but equally, that leaves more vintage hats for me!

Photos: June 2019