She Collects Hearts

CELEBRATING THE ROARING TWENTIES IN A SPECIAL SERIES

She collects hearts
from the weeping-heart tree
plucks them fresh
from drooping branches
laughing merrily.
She doesn’t want the fallen ones
crushed and withered underfoot
their scent has long-since faded …
But if you ask her prettily,
she’ll give yours back to thee.

I fell in love at first sight with this skirt when I first came upon it on Etsy. It is an antique 1920s costume piece, made from pinstriped pink silk, with raggedy silk velvet hearts sewn all over it. They are fraying all around the edges, which only adds to the charm of the skirt. There are also tiny bells sewn at intervals around the hems of the tiers, although most of them are missing, so I don’t jingle while walking as much as you might think.

I can just imagine a character such as Columbina – wife to Pierrot and mistress to Harlequin (what a heart-breaker!) – wearing it. Irresistible. 

They Want You in the Navy

CELEBRATING THE ROARING TWENTIES IN A SPECIAL SERIES

Forward view: 1920s navy straw hat trimmed with velvet piping and pearls, from the Vintage Hat Series

I rarely wear navy. Probably because it has such dull, conservative connotations of business suits and sensible court shoes. That’s not me, you won’t be surprised to hear. Recently though, I’ve discovered a few special pieces that have made me like navy more.

The hue inherited its name from the dark blue and white uniforms worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748. Navies around the world subsequently followed suit. Initially the shade was called marine blue, but close association with the navy soon changed that.

Woman in navy uniform, 1919; vintage 20s military jacket1920s bathing suit and bathing boots(Clockwise from top left) A navy interior; vintage inspired nautical dress; 1920s Remington Monarch typewriterNavy and white was a classic combination for swimsuits in the 1910s and 20s, and of course there is the sailor-inspired dress that will never, ever go out of fashion entirely.

As for my little 1920s hat, I saw it on Etsy and immediately fell in love with it, especially the tiny pearls scattered in an orderly (one could even say military) fashion across the top – they’re like polka dots. Navy is actually part of the winter colour palette (which is me), so I might just fall in line and join the ranks.

Aft view: 1920s navy straw hat trimmed with velvet piping and pearls, from the Vintage Hat Series

Find them at: Vintage photograph from Two Digging Divas; vintage 20s military jacket image sourced from My Fashion Power; framed bathing suit image sourced from Bronson Design; see the bathing boots at Salon of the Dames; navy interior sourced from Daily Design Elixir; Fedora nautical dress still available in some sizes; typewriter seen at Fab.

Clara’s Bow

CELEBRATING THE ROARING TWENTIES IN A SPECIAL SERIES

Silent Screen star Clara BowI’m thinking, with my change of do on Thursday night, I’m also going to have to rethink my makeup. Doing a little research I discover that the popular colours of the time are actually not much different to the colours I already wear – except much more of it.

Check out Clara Bow’s dramatic eyebrows, (above). I wonder if that famous cupid’s bow of Clara’s was fake? I am not sure if I could be bothered drastically changing the shape of my lips or brows, except perhaps for a party. Just imagine how much concealer would be required – yuk. I wear the bare minimum as it is.

A 1920s collection :: Americana // DC // No flashAt Return2Style you’ll find a very succinct guide to colours and shapes of the era. Fortuitiously, I just bought an orange-red creme blush and a lovely red lipstick (above) that is somewhere between lipstick and gloss. Here is also a little tutorial on how to obliterate your twenty-teensies brows and vanquish a modern pout to create a 20s rosebud instead.

Scroll down for some more inspiration from a vintage British Marie Claire (no idea which issue, sorry, but hey look, there’s Christy, Shalom and the inimitable Linda sporting a 20s bob).

That would be Clara Bow and Louise Brooks in the top leftThe inimitable Linda Evangelista

A Pose with Poise

CELEBRATING THE ROARING TWENTIES IN A SPECIAL SERIES

If ever there was a mad hat for a lover of chapeaux (moi), then this is it. Made from gilded straw and a sheaf of soft chocolate coloured ostrich feathers, it must surely have first been worn by some diva of the stage – like Erté’s still, elegant 1920s ladies, who are poised as they strike a pose. With something this enormous (nearly one metre wide) on my head, good posture and gliding movements are mandatory.

All that remains is an event to wear it to. I work part time at a theatre, and suggestions for Christmas party themes are currently being welcomed – fingers crossed whatever it may be I will somehow be able to work it.

I purchased the hat in a vintage store in Sydney, for the mean price of $33, and it was quite a task to convince the airline staff to let me take it home with me. Read about the adventure here. Scroll down for some of Erté’s precariously balanced ladies. 

Cirse, by ErtéThe Bird Cage, by ErtéAthena, by ErtéAt the theatre, ebony and white, by Erté

All Abroad!

Click for a closer look at the paper-doll princessLast week I had a hankering for some old Hollywood glamour. I chose to watch Alfred Hitchcock’s classic The Birds. I just love all that melodrama, the little supernatural chills I get as the story unfolds. But never mind Hitchcock’s magnificent skills as a storyteller … let’s talk about Tippi Hedren’s character Melanie. Doesn’t she look so prim and proper – a look, mind you, entirely belied by her mischievous behaviour?

However, I don’t want to talk so much about her clothes (she doesn’t have much of a wardrobe here), but rather something Melanie says to Mitch: “When I was abroad last year …”

Going abroad is a much more enchanting notion: it makes me think of cruise ships and trans-Atlantic crossings …

Abroad! I thought, on hearing that line. What a wonderful expression – so much more evocative than saying, “When I went overseas last year …” How dull, how prosaic. Going abroad is a much more enchanting notion: it makes me think of cruise ships and trans-Atlantic crossings; old suitcases plastered with old fashioned luggage labels; long glamorous gowns fluttering in the wind; parties, cocktails, all manner of frivolities (such as being pushed into a fountain in Rome, like Melanie was), and of course, a holiday romance.

Inspired, I off and purchased my imaginary capsule wardrobe on Etsy and packed my bags (in paper-doll style): a discreet little navy suit to sail away in; a polka-dot dress for lazy afternoons strolling along foreign boulevards in the sun; a candy-pink evening gown for those ship-board evening parties, and the cutest little ruched and shirred swimsuit you ever did see. Of course I didn’t forget a lovely selection of accessories.

You can check them out here:
Navy Suit from Catie Nienaber
Polka-dot dress (now reserved, sorry) from Zacharie Boyle
Evening gown from C. R. McCarthy
Swimsuit (sold, alas) from My Vintage Valentine
White sunhat from Cindy
Pink bandeau from Terri
Navy hat from Margaret Kennedy
Black suede oxford heels from Sticky Lipgloss
Satin sandals from Julie Bergmans
Wicker bag from Curious Fawn Vintage
Beaded purse from Dandylioness