Bewitched and Bedazzled

Today I bring you another kind of cap: a 1920s wool felt made from stars. How cute is this?! I saw it on Etsy last year and was instantly smitten. The base is white felt, with cut-out stars as well as the large appliqués and tiny sequinned stars bedazzling it. It’s stamped on the inside with the Merrimac Co mark. I own a few other 1920s hats, but this one is really a show-stopper – it may even have once been part of a costume.

I found the star earrings, which are made from shell in a thrift store, and sometime after taking this picture I also found a blue jumper (sweater) patterned with rows of white stars. The label is New Feeling, which I’ve never heard of – it’s made from a viscose/acrylic blend, the little which I forgave because of the stars. The wool dress by Arthur Galan that I am wearing here is also from a thrift store. I’m looking forward to making heads turn wearing all these starry motifs together this winter! 

Photo: September 2018

The Split-Cap Sleeve

Here is a variation on the cap sleeve, featuring a split at the top; the effect is similar to a split flutter sleeve. Another variation is called the hanging sleeve: exactly the same cut on a long sleeve – it is the length that creates drama.

The body of this tee is made from silk jersey, with sleeves and neckline with tie made from silk satin. The label is Country Road, an Australian high street brand. I loved it so much I bought it in three colourways: black, charcoal and cream, and I wore them all to death. (The dark grey is pictured, although the picture effects make it look brown. You can see me wearing it in my gallery A Few Things I Heart.) The black lasted the longest, because I wore it the least. Sadly, I have never seen t-shirts made from silk jersey since, and I have regularly scoured stores and on- and offline. They’re on my Holy Grail list now.

Click to view the full Sleeve Styles gallery.

The Cap Sleeve

Today I am starting a new special feature on sleeves. While I enjoy the sleeveless garment in the heat of summer, I love to don an interesting sleeve as soon as the weather allows for it. I confess I particularly adore a puff sleeve – the bigger the better – and that is one reason why I love 1930s fashion, which focuses strongly on the shoulder line.

Serving both function and decoration in a garment, sleeves come in a multitude of lengths and shapes – here I shall cover as many as possible (as many as I own and can photograph!), beginning with the shortest: the cap sleeve.

The cap is a style of short sleeve that is cut and seamed to fit on the shoulder, and tapers to nothing underneath the arm. It is not usually loose-fitting, but is fitted to just cover the shoulder. It can add flair to an otherwise plain sleeveless top.

I’ve created a Sleeve Styles gallery under the Look Books menu, where you’ll easily be able to refer to the different styles as I add them.  

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I am wearing a vintage 1950s blouse with an ikat-like floral print from my closet, which I have sadly culled from my closet since I took this picture. (Sometimes I am too ruthless for my own good.)

What I Actually Wore #0152

Serial #: 0152
Date: 19/10/2013
Weather: forecast 26.5°C / 80°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

It was a Saturday evening on quite a warm spring day, and I had a date with a friend to see the 1945 film Brief Encounter in a pop-up outdoor cinema at Federation Square. I had not planned to dress up, but my friend insisted I had to, so I wore a new secondhand dress I had bought on eBay, by Australian brand Witchery.

I have long liked woven ikat fabric, and also watered silk, and this dress combined the two effects prettily. It is a rather shapeless tunic and I wore it with a grosgrain ribbon as a tie-belt as a leather belt felt too heavy for the delicate silk fabric. Although it was still balmy, I took a wool cardigan just in case – another eBay purchase. It has Juliet sleeves – that is puffed in the shoulder and then tight to the wrist – and delicate patterns down the front. (My knitting knowledge is practically non-existent so I don’t know what that technique is called.) I omitted to photograph it on, but you can see the cardigan here.

As I was walking, I needed a pair of comfortable shoes, and I chose this ice-blue pair of wedges and took them on their first outing. I ended up giving them away to a different friend as they were too big for me. Sadly this is another brand that has since closed down.

I still own my other accessories: chalcedony earrings and pendant necklace, the turquoise ring which was a souvenir bought in Barcelona, and the green eelskin bag, which I bought from a thrift store. I was carrying it so much during this time that one of the straps became detached – it’s been languishing in a basket for quite some time, awaiting repair. The dress though, as much as I loved the print, I ended up giving away as I just didn’t like its shape. I do like the summery sorbet of colours in this outfit though.

Items:

Dress: Witchery
Cardigan: Nanette Lepore
Bag: vintage
Shoes: RMK
Necklace: Portobello Lane
Earrings: self-made
Ring: souvenir

Photos: January 2014

Sweater Clips DIY

I have always wanted a pair of sweater clips, for those times you want to draw your cardigan close, but not button it up, or for those garments that do not have closures, such as vintage 50s outerwear. I’ve searched in thrift stores to no avail, for they are an item one just does not see in Australia. Maybe they simply were never a popular fashion accessory here. I have searched online of course, but with such high shipping costs (when buying from America in particular), they became ridiculously expensive.

So I decided to make my own. First I found a pair of giant 1980s pearl clip on earrings. Then I scoured op shops for a suitable chain. And I waited patiently. And I scoured some more. Finally I found a gold necklace that had a more interesting chain than the usual link. I already had some suitable gold findings from a previous repair, and at last I set to work with some jewellery tools.

I’m really pleased with the result. It’s been a very mild autumn in Melbourne and I’ve yet to break out my vintage cardigans, so I am looking forward to using the clips now that the weather is finally becoming cooler.