Modcloth Cause for Delectation Jumpsuit

January is by far the hottest month, and today being no exception to this rule, it might seem a bit odd that I am wearing a full piece like a jumpsuit rather than a dress! However, the light airy fabric and relaxed fit of this one piece makes it completely comfortable on days like today. This outfit was worn for drinking iced coffee and browsing books in a vintage book store. With all of the space in our new place I find myself constantly buying books lately, coming home with heavy bags full of them rather than shoes or clothes. If truth be told I am honestly not that much of a fan of novels these days (a major in literature and creative writing can put you off them I'm afraid...) and instead I prefer fiction, crime, history, and autobiographies. And maybe a few books on historical fashion thrown in for good measure!

Jumpsuits and beach pajamas always bring to mind Anna May Wong who wore them so glamorously. I am a bit disappointed that there aren't any vintage reproduction companies who specialize in beach pajamas - but a girl can dream, right? I love the rather androgynous silhouette that jumpsuits evoke and the ease of movement that they allow. This Modcloth jumpsuit was bought with work in mind - I like the strong sleek lines and the not so playful and more austere dark shade. The platforms I'm wearing with it may not look practical but they add a considerable amount of inches making me almost six foot tall - and I walked all over Bondi in them so they are as comfortable as platforms can be!

Other than books, something I've been enjoying lately is paying closer attention to Brisbane's architecture, which all started with some local history books that I bought. I often don't take the time to appreciate the beautiful older buildings in our city which I had long written off as "not as beautiful as Sydney" - however one has only to look up and find the beautiful architecture that is everywhere. Like for example - this cat gargoyle who I had walked past for years and only noticed this week - he has since been dubbed "Anatomically Correct Cat".

Wearing:

Modcloth Jumpsuit

Novo Shoes

The 'Harlow' Dress

I do not let my short stature keep me from wearing maxi dresses! Maxi dresses are especially fantastic because one doesn't have to think too hard about what shoes to pair them with, meaning I can forego wearing heels and could most likely get away with a comfortable pair of sneakers underneath and people would be none the wiser. This particular outfit was worn for a night out full of sushi and cocktails, and because I like to be quite liberal when throwing back Yakuza Martinis, I picked this dress with the intention of wearing a comfortable pair of flats underneath to avoid falling flat on my face at the end of the night.

This beautiful 1930s inspired dress is actually called the Harlow dress, so as it is the dress of my namesake it is only fitting that I own it. I often get asked if Harlow is indeed my real name, and sadly it is not, not officially anyway! Just as Sarah Grubb reinvents herself as Delysia in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, I adopted a new name on the account of my real name (which about as exotic as mashed potatoes...) makes me wince every time I hear it. How I loathe my parents lack of imagination and creativity!

Jean Harlow's look has always been a favorite of mine, of all golden era actresses, and I am always in the process of experimenting with different toners and hair products to get that silvery white look that her hair had. Like the dresses worn by Jean Harlow, the Harlow dress embodies the sensuality of her style with a luxurious silky feel and a figure hugging fit that highlights and enhances curves.

Dress - Unique Vintage

1930s Tea Room

Today was a good mail day - new shoes, and Lime Crime's Velvetine in Wicked arrived, which called for an impromptu outing so that I could finally have the chance to wear it.  I don't believe in wasting fancy makeup on just sitting at home, so it was absolutely necessary to plan an outing for its debut. This resulted in visiting the historic Shingle Inn tea rooms in Brisbane City Hall, a rather grand little cafe furnished with all of the original furniture as it had been in the 1930s when the tea rooms were in a different location in the city. These tea rooms were popular with soldiers during World War II and are a Brisbane institution that was recently featured in an episode of Tony Robinson's Time Walks. Although the tearooms are now located in a different location from the original, everything was restored to look as it had in the thirties and forties, creating an atmosphere as if one truly had stepped back in time, with even the staff wearing period authentic costumes. I had a pot of tea to myself and a slice of lemon meringue pie, all of which was absolutely delicious and I will definitely be back for more!

In sticking with the 30s theme I wore my Hell Bunny Florrie dress which I know  some of you have already seen enough of here and there as it is a dress I wear often! Each time Hell Bunny release an album of their new looks I scour it eagerly hoping that there will be more 1930s inspired pieces and I hope that in the future there will be some more. As you can also see from these photos -I've bobbed my hair! I have been enjoying experimenting curling my hair using different methods lately and I've found that I actually prefer a curling iron to setting pincurls the night before. At the moment I am working on figuring out how to create a decent looking 30s wave.  This set was done using my regular method of pincurling the night before and I found that on short hair the curls are far too poofy and bouncy - although to be fair the second I stepped out of the door I was hit with multiple gusts of wind, and as a result spent the entire bus ride into the city pressing my hands against my hair to flatten things out a bit...

Wearing :

Hell Bunny - Dress

Bait Footwear - Shoes

Another Day, Another Costume Party

As I make my wardrobe transition to the 1920s, it is only right that I have become obsessed with hats - because nothing completes a twenties outfit like a great hat. This Edith hat from Modcloth is a special piece due to its incredibly authentic vintage feel and dainty, delicate details. I had been eyeing this hat for a while and bought this hat with the intention of styling it with many summer dresses, and when I received this beautiful dress as a Christmas present from Hugh I knew it would go perfectly with this hat!

I am a huge fan of the 1920s range that Unique Vintage currently has on offer and hope that they continue creating twenties dresses so that I may keep adding them to my wardrobe. Making the transition from my 1950s wardrobe to a 1920s wardrobe has been incredibly exciting because this is something that I have wanted ever since I discovered the community of vintage wearing folks, say, about 7 years go now!

Having worn fifties styles for the last few years, I am almost desensitized to the asinine reactions of the public to what I'm wearing, whether I am wearing a 1950s dress or a 1920s outfit, how people react to what I am wearing is generally the same: yelling out what (to them) seems like a really witty remark. So while when I'm out in a fifties dress I will get "Marilyn" wearing a twenties dress I get "Gatsby".

To answer the extremely condescending employees of our local garden center where we took these photos, I said I was going to a "Great Gatsby" themed costume party. This I think will eventually become my very well rehearsed answer to the multitude of intrusive questions I get on a typical day out and about. Just please, don't ask me what I think of Baz Lurhman's Great Gatsby...

Wearing:

Modcloth Hat

Unique Vintage Dress

Wittner Shoes

Peaches & Cream

Slowly, but surely, 1920s day wear is making it's way into my wardrobe and I dream that one day I will have as many 1920s pieces as I currently have 40s and 50s, but for that to happen I must count on more vintage reproduction designers to create twenties inspired pieces. If that was to happen I would bob my hair in an instant! Thankfully though hats are fabulous for hiding less than perfect attempts at 20s hair - and allow me to be all together lazy - not that I don't love any excuse to be able to wear a hat!

What I really love about twenties dresses is how comfortable they are due to the lack of the cinched waist that create the forties and fifties silhouettes - there is so much more freedom for movement, and on hot days like today that is something that is much appreciated. This particular dress is made of the softest, airiest fabric that was practically designed for summer days.

When I first saw this dress I knew that one day it would be a member of my wardrobe, and so I waited for the sales - and good things do come to those that wait because I was finally able to snap this up, along with other dreamy 1920s numbers that I am delighted to finally own. As it is, I have a long way to go before I can happily bob my hair and take up wearing twenties looks full time, so if you have any recommendations for brands that create twenties reproduction pieces please let me know in the comments!

Dress - Iconic by Unique Vintage

Hat - Dangerfield

Shoes - Wittner

Evelyn, Esme & Mildred

This week I had the pleasure of finally meeting the wonderfully talented Evelyn Wood, the designer of Evelyn Wood Vintage Fashion House and her adorable little dog Esme! Evelyn Wood is a Brisbane vintage reproduction designer and her current collection features a beautiful selection of dresses, coats and capes that range from the 1930s to the 1950s, all of which are made locally right here in Brisbane by professional seamstresses. The quality of the workmanship of these pieces is absolutely superb and is so far the closest I have seen a vintage reproduction brand come in style and quality to authentic vintage pieces. This is because all of Evelyn Wood's designs are based on vintage patterns with every garment put together using dress making techniques of the past, giving the clothes a true vintage feel without the anxiety that comes with wearing a vintage piece.

Although spring is here, as a result of missing most of winter I have not had the opportunity to get many plaid outfits in and couldn't resist wearing some plaid one last time before it gets too hot. The Mildred dress is possibly the most perfect 1930s dress I have had the pleasure of wearing - I mean look at those bows and the incredibly figure flattering cut! I am a little jealous of those of you for whom autumn has just started as it is the perfect time of year to start wearing dresses such as this one! The Mildred dress will soon be available to order from Evelyn Wood Vintage Fashion House and comes in two lovely colours - and if you are in Brisbane you can pick up one for yourself at the Wooloongabba Antiques Center where Evelyn Wood currently has a pop up shop full of her stunning designs and will be there until next Monday.

For those of you who live outside of Australia you'll be pleased to know that Evelyn Wood most certainly does ship overseas, and, has a great selection of luxurious velvet winter dresses and capes in store right now that will keep you warm and glamorous.

At the Avalon

For years now, I've driven past this abandoned art deco theater on the way to class. It's a beautiful old building and it's a shame to see it boarded up when it has so much potential! I rarely go to the movies, but if cinemas were still like they used to be, I would probably go every weekend. The Avalon was built in 1921 and movies were screened there until the late 1940s. Today the building belongs to the university I attend, and is sadly unused. Unfortunately I don't have a wide angle lens so I couldn't get any full shots of the theater, but there are a few photos of the whole building on my instagram!

While red is always my go-to lip colour, I felt like being a bit adventurous and decided to give dark wine coloured lips a go. I'm a bit unused to the colour on me, but I do like it and I felt that it went nicely with this new Hellbunny dress. I am always excited when Hell Bunny releases a new collection and I really loved their last one a few months ago that had a few great 30s and 40s inspired looks!

1930s Nautical

Ahhh winter in Queensland! This week I've been to the beach and swam in the ocean - which most people wouldn't generally do in winter, but it was wonderful, perfect even - apart from a lone shark that turned up and cut our swim a little short! I still wasn't over my beach kick however, so the next day we drove to another beach which was more of the promenading sort, to take in the sea air and eat fish and chips.

When it comes to outfit inspiration, a lot of the time when I am going through vintage photos, certain outfits stick in my mind and I become determined to recreate them or at least inspired to find something similar. I have been on the hunt for the perfect 30s style trousers for a while now and so I was very pleased to get a hold of these ones that are so similar to ones I have seen in vintage photos! Same thing with these sunglasses which are just like some I saw on the cover of a vintage Vogue.

These trousers are an absolute dream to wear! They actually feel as soft and comfortable as the pajama pants I wear at home, which is pretty fabulous considering they are outside clothes! Since I am quite short, I had them taken up - which is something I have accepted is going to be the done thing now that I am into wearing pants - and that's just fine!

Top - Tara Starlet

Trousers - Collectif via Pinup Empire Clothing

Shoes - Novo

Sunnies - Ebay

The Lighthouse

I used to try really hard to limit the amount of nautical things in my wardrobe. However I am now at the point where I'm not going to bother with these restrictions anymore because the fact is - nautical always look fabulous. Living in Australia means that I have many opportunities to go to the beach, so I may as well embrace it and get all the nautical things! Lately I've been enjoying adding nautical looks from different decades to my wardrobe and have a number of nautical outfits planned for summer.

On our road trip to Grafton we stopped for coffee along the way and came across the most beautiful lighthouse I have ever seen. It was tiny, and I'm not entirely sure how functional it could have been, but it was incredibly sweet. Unfortunately that day it poured non stop, but on our way home we stopped by the lighthouse and luckily it wasn't raining this time. Instead it was a golden afternoon and we watched the sun set over the ocean and the lorikeets gorging themselves on the banksia flowers.

The dress I wore was a rayon Trashy Diva dress with the biggest pockets - perfect for making sure I don't lose my sunglasses! I've often worn this dress to the beach with a swimsuit underneath as it's so soft and comfortable and the large pockets hold all of the pieces of shell and sea glass that I love to collect.

Dress - Trashy Diva

Shoes - Novo

Sunglasses - ebay