Hello, Hats!

This enormous red straw cartwheel has no label, but it is probably a modern hat. I purchased this in a thrift store while on a beach outing, and quickly discovered it threatened to be carried off by the slightest breeze. I subsequently added a vintage navy satin ribbon, which answered the problem effectively.I have taken a long but unintended hiatus from posting on these pages, but I promise you I have not slacked off in fashionising! I’ve been hunting high and low for new old treasures over the summer, and I have stumbled over so many wonderful things I couldn’t list them all, but they include vintage hats (naturally); 1950s and 1970s skirts, dresses and ballgowns; quite a few 1930s style items (my favourite fashion era) and an incredible hand embroidered modern silk coat.

One of the most heart-stopping of the 1930s style accessories is a pair of handmade green leather heeled sandals, by the label Jolie – a holy grail item for me! I haven’t heard of the brand (and can’t find any information on it), but the swirling script logo on the insole looks very 1970s. I must confess they are a half-size too small, but I can squish my Cinderella’s sister’s feet into them, and there was no way I was leaving them behind in the thrift store where I found them! Someone had had them resoled, but subsequently never worn them.

Another thrift store find and also lacking a label, this 30s-style conical or coolie style hat is hard to age definitively. It's in such good condition, I suspect it is from the 70s or 80s.But here are some of the hats I have worn in the last month or two – some of these are very new to me, some not, but I don’t think any of them have appeared on these pages previously. Information on each one is within the captions of the photos. I’m still looking forward to taking more summer hats on outings – though the season is nearly over, it doesn’t look like Melbourne is going to cool down any time soon.

Photos: December 2018, January 2019

With an unusual clamshell shape, this hat also features black and white cord trim and a black bead decoration that emulates a hatpin. This 1940s straw hat also came from a thrift store in Albury, a large country town in NSW just over the Victorian border. I spotted it for $12 and couldn't snap it up fast enough!I bought this cute little red straw 1930s derby hat from a Facebook seller named Bonita Markwick. The hat is trimmed with black bows at the back and net.Yet another thrift store find, this modern cloth beret with trapunto stitching is by the Australian label Mimco. Another purchase from the Facebook seller Bonita Markwick, this whimsy hat of black net with red silk roses is vintage 40s. I am wearing it here on Christmas Day with a deep red 50s knitted ribbon dress, bought from Birthday Life Vintage on Etsy.This 40s raffia and straw pom-pom hat is by Sally Victor – another holy grail find for me! I purchased this on eBay.

From Fusty to Funky

I am not hugely into fur – faux, fox or fur real – and am not an advocate of purchasing new fur, particularly of endangered species, but I do own a few vintage pieces that I have picked up over the years from op shops (thrift stores). A more recent find was this plush blonde mink 1950s short cape that was so quaint and such a pretty colour that I couldn’t resist taking it home with me.

But I was a bit flummoxed as to how to wear it without looking like I was in costume, or a dusty and fusty time-traveller from the Fifties. I decided the only way I felt comfortable in it was to update it with modern pieces, dressing it down with jeans and a simple white crepe top.

An extra dash of irreverence was added by way of a navy wool Jasper Conran cap (with a fur pom-pom, incidentally, also bought second-hand) and a costume necklace that spells out ‘love’ in gold script.

Tangentially, I lost this hat last week in an op shop but was miraculously able to retrieve it the next day before it was accidentally sold. I was so sad at its loss, as over the last couple of winters it has become one of my favourite casual caps to wear, always adding a fun touch to an outfit and toning down any formality. As an elderly lady commented to me recently, it’s just so jaunty.

I haven’t yet worn this mink out, but in the cold weather I may have to add a warmer layer and perhaps some gloves as well.

Photo: July 2016

What I Actually Wore #129

Serial #: 0129
Date: 01/07/2013
Weather: 18°C / 64°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

This is a very cute outfit! While there are a lot of quirky items, the minimal colour palette of tan, gold, grey and white keeps it from looking too over-the-top, especially when you remember in the office I would have shed the coat, hat and bag. Nearly all of the items are still in my closet too. The socks wore out, and the skirt I gave away to a friend, and only now that I look at it fondly again do I wonder if I should have kept it.

Because the skirt is quite wild, I deliberately chose to wear a neutral grey jumper, and picked out the pompom bandeau to match the circle print on the skirt. I continued the circular theme with my silver bauble earrings and a pearl ring.

The vintage 70s suede and rabbit fur trimmed coat is a beloved favourite. I’ve told the story before, but years ago I learned from a random stranger on a tram that this particular coat was inspired by the 70s film Dr Zhivago. Apparently it was very expensive, and that stranger had it in red. She was so impressed to see that I had found one in such good condition, and urged me to take good care of it.

The truth was that the coat was in terrible condition when I bought it: the original lining was completely shredded, the fur trim was coming away from the suede panels, and some of the buttons were detaching; I paid only $40 for it.

I persuaded my oldest sister Blossom to remake the lining for me as a birthday present (she has been a seamstress since way back). That turned out to be a labour of pure sisterly love as it was a huge job. I managed to fix the buttons myself, and also the detaching trims (that occurred some time after the coat left my sister’s loving hands) by gluing scrap leather on the reverse to reinforce the weak seams. Fortunately my sister had left the bottom of the lining open, so I was able to access the inside easily.

Now I wear the coat only occasionally in order to preserve its life as long as possible – I just have to wait for the weather to cool down and autumn to finally begin!

Items:

Jumper: ink
Skirt: Anthropologie
Socks: Philippe Matignon
Hat: vintage 50s
Coat: Stephen Dattner, vintage 70s
Earrings: handmade
Ring: Autore
Tote: Elise Carrel
Boots: Roc

Photos: October 2013

What I Actually Wore #128

Serial #: 0128
Date: 24/06/2013
Weather: 12°C / 53°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

This outfit amuses me, nearly four years on. I was still on my Ballet Russes kick, but I remember the sheer number of colours in this outfit was a rebellion against my own edict of not wearing more than 2–3 hues at once, as well as being inspired by a life drawing I did twenty years before in art college.

I remember somewhat quixotically selecting two fluorescent soft pastels that were amongst a 12-pack I had bought cheap. (Reduced probably because no one else had wanted to buy it.) I chose hot pink and lemon yellow. As a testament of my drawing teacher’s trust, she did not comment until I was close to resolving the drawing, after the additional introduction of cobalt and neutral shades. Then she told me that she had been very dubious at the outset, but admitted I had successfully pulled the drawing together. It was even framed and exhibited at the end of the year.

And here is the same colour palette rendered in cloth! All the garments are contemporary; only the hat and earrings are vintage, a 1920s cap with feather pom-pom, and woven cane hoops which are possibly 70s or 80s.

The hot pink long sleeved tee is a woollen merino knit, one of Kookaï’s trusty basics; the acid yellow top is by Veronika Maine, a favourite Australian label; and the linen skirt I bought in Spain. My other accessories include a cobalt Italian patent leather belt I bought on sale in David Jones, a local department store, French over-the-knee socks I wore to death, and a pair of wedges I bought from an online sale store.

Unusually for me, I put the outfit together the night before, and even ironed it then! I really liked it then (my notes say), and it still makes me smile, especially because of the inspiration behind it.

Items:

Tee: Kookaï
Top: Veronika Maine
Skirt: Celia Velo, souvenir from Spain
Belt: Alta Linea
Socks: Philippe Matignon
Hat: Merimac Hat Co, vintage 20s from Etsy
Earrings: vintage
Ring: souvenir from Vietnam
Wedges: Finsk

Photos: September 2013

What I Actually Wore #124

Serial #: 0124
Date: 05/06/2013
Weather: 14°C / 57°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

This is an outfit I would still wear! Except that I have got rid of the ponyhair slippers as they were a bit too narrow for my feet and cut in the sides. Pity about that, as they were very nice shoes, with a zigzag pattern created from ponyhair and suede.

I remember I bought these kitten-heeled mules at an end-of-season sale for the extremely low price of about $20 – low for anywhere, but especially for the shoe boutique Zomp. I think I may have been wearing them on this occasion because I had badly hurt my left heel; I couldn’t wear closed shoes for over a month.

The vintage 50s bandeau is faux fur with two rabbit fur pompoms attached on one side; I bought that on Etsy years ago. I also wore a vintage 60s velvet coat and a white leather tote.

While I don’t like to wear too much black, I still like it when it’s paired with white or cream, or another neutral. I’ve worn a lot of these kinds of outfits especially in the past year in a vintage x minimalist style. The only thing I’d change here is to remove the necklace and let those spectacular woven hoops make a statement on their own.

Items:

Jumper: Kookaï
Pants: Ming
Hat: vintage 50s
Scarf: souvenir from Hong Kong
Earrings: vintage
Necklace: souvenir charms
Ring: souvenir from Vietnam
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Shoes: Zomp

Photos: October 2013