Double Happiness

Bluebirds have been a symbol of happiness and hope in many cultures for thousands of years. This little pair are billing and cooing, so they are surely very happy.

I found this in a thrift store quite a while ago; I think it is probably from the 1980s. I collect brooches, but I prefer vintage plastic or enamel over rhinestones. However, when it is a novelty shape as opposed to an abstract, I do like the sparkle of rhinestones.

At the time of purchase, I put it into a zipped compartment of my wallet, and forgot all about it. As I’ve switched back to a tiny vintage crocodile leather wallet that can hold only a couple of plastic cards, I only recently went back to the longer wallet to look for a not-oft-used card, and rediscovered this brooch inside! It’s like being twice-surprised by a sweet find.

Photo: Today

What I Actually Wore #0158

Serial #: 0158
Date: 21/12/2013
Weather: 20°C / 68°F
Time Allowed: 8 minutes

Wide-leg pants with a fun top and colourful accessories are, and forever will be, a staple silhouette for me (in fact I am wearing a version of this ensemble right now as I type). I wore this outfit to work, and then made only minimal changes to my outfit before going to see a play with a friend in the evening.

I no longer own the pants; they were a bit big to start with, and eventually they became too big when I lost a bit of weight. (You know your pants are too big when you can slip them off without undoing the zip!) The blouse is still with me, as are all the other items except for both pairs of shoes. The tan brogued sandals are among the most favourite I have ever owned, but sadly they completely wore out and I had to bin them.

During the day, I wore a vintage 1950s silk cropped jacket in a beautiful shade of blue, and in the evening swapped it for an evening coat of pink slubbed silk or rayon. I love the drama of its maxi length. I walked into the city to the theatre, and chose comfortable leather platform wedges – although the leather of these was so soft they stretched out and became too big as well, and impossible to walk in. I ended up giving them to a friend.

The ceramic jewellery I am wearing is all souvenired from Barcelona. The necklace and earrings have become a bit lost amongst my huge collection of costume jewellery, but I regularly wear the ring, and its companion, a ceramic cluster of green balls. I thought they were great mementoes of the city that Gaudí made particularly his own.

I still remember buying that leather clutch bag with its plastic tortoiseshell frame – maybe 15 or more years ago now – from a vintage boutique that is no longer, in a street that is also no longer what it was, having become gentrified, near my old art college, which also is no longer, having closed down many years ago and subsequently was torn down! What a litany of closures, and memories they conjure up.

I still visit that neighbourhood, and marvel at how much it’s changed, and smile nostalgically at what is still the same. That vintage boutique was the last hold-out of a large number in that cool street (hipster before hipsters existed) that all gradually closed down, sadly, and it was a really good one. I also remember buying there a fantastic pair of vintage 1970s pink metallic kid leather high-heeled strappy sandals by Christian Dior that were a size too small for me for about $15. It hurt to wear them, but … CHRISTIAN DIOR. One day, in a ruthless fit, I donated them to a charity store. No regrets. I since found a pair of silver patent Christian Louboutins for $4 IN my size. Thou givest to the charity store, and the charity store givest back to thee.

Items:

Blouse: Veronika Maine
Jacket (am): vintage 50s
Coat (pm): vintage 50s
Pants: Dizingoff
Sunglasses: MinkPink
Bag: vintage 70s
Sandals (am): Wittner
Wedges (pm): RMK
Earrings: souvenir
Necklace: souvenir
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Ring: souvenir

Photos: January 2014

Faux Thirties Style

Lapis lazuli is a metamorphic rock of deep blue that has been prized for its colour since antiquity. In Egypt, lapis lazuli was a favoured stone used in jewellery and ornaments, such as scarabs, and Cleopatra herself used powdered lapis as eyeshadow! Not as surprising as it might seem at first, for the same was used until 1826 to make natural ultramarine pigment for paint.

This little trifle I picked up recently in a thrift store is a double-strand faux lapis lazuli choker. It has no maker’s mark on it, and I can’t imagine it was expensive when it retailed, although the fact that it is knotted between each bead is an indication of better quality.

French postcard: (from left) Irene Wentzel, Miss Russia in Paris in 1930; Ingeborg von Grinberger, Miss Austria; Rie van der Rest, Miss Holland. Image from Pinterest

I’m always on the lookout for 1930s style items, and I am more partial to the costume jewellery styles of the era than the fine jewellery, which often seem too ornate for my taste. I prefer opaque stones in any case.

A lot of 30s daywear was high-necked, featuring interesting necklines, collars and sleeves, so very often women did not wear a lot of jewellery, and it is not easy to find pictorial examples. Here are a couple below, however, of Miss Europe candidates of 1930: Miss Russie is wearing a choker; and the April 1930 cover of Vogue magazine.

Vogue April 1930, illustrated by Jean Pages

Photo: September 2019

Hybird

I love a little word-punning! This cute beaded and sequinned parrot is a hybrid brooch and hairclip, which I have dubbed a clooch … I fully expect that word to take off and quickly become ubiquitous in the sartorial lexicon.

I found this clooch in the jewellery boutique, Lovisa, and was taken with it because I love birds in general. I am yet to wear it, but will more likely do so as a brooch than a hairclip, since I wear hats all the time. Additional bonus: it was $6 on sale, very cheep-cheep!

Photo: September 2019

What I Actually Wore #0156

Serial #: 0156
Date: 31/10/2013
Weather: 18°C / 64°F
Time Allowed: 12 minutes

First of all: LOOK AT MY HAIR! I have no idea how I made it look so perfect regularly, because I am pretty damn lazy low maintenance about hair styling.

It was Halloween, and I decided to go not at all thematic (it’s not really a big holiday in Australia) and wore bright pops of colour instead. The outfit started with the teal leather skirt (the brand on the label is Suede); the ribbed jumper I am wearing is actually a real ultra-violet, but the hue is impossible to capture with a camera (the shade is captured better in the close-up below); and the shoes are cobalt. I like to mix colours that are close in hue, but slightly off or unexpected – the violet and teal are an unusual combination.

The really standout item is the tights; these are not traditional fishnets, but rather skin-toned illusion hosiery with the fishnet pattern applied as flocking. I managed to wear the pair a few times before they laddered.

I’m wearing sterling silver hoops, a cuff and a ring (since lost!), the latter two by the jewellery brand Roun, which is now defunct. I bought quite a few pieces from them in my minimalist phase – I considered the cuff a real investment, although I rarely wear it now.

I’ve been carrying a small bag as well as a larger work tote these days, but back then I was usually only carrying a large tote, which is why there is no handbag in this picture. This day I wore my beloved vintage 70s white leather trench coat that has long since died, and a white leather oblong tote by Elise Carrell, which has also worn out. In fact, the only item from this outfit that I still have in my wardrobe are the suede and patent wedges, and the jewellery, as the jumper and skirt have gone in my most recent cull just last week. Still, overall I like this look.

Items:

Jumper: op shop
Skirt: Suede, vintage 80s
Tights: Leg Avenue
Shoes: Mollini
Earrings: Baku
Bangle: Roun
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Ring: Roun

Photos: January 2014