What I Actually Wore #0078

Serial #: 0077
Date: 01/08/2012
Weather: 15°C, a cold day with fitful sunshine
Time Allowed: 15 minutes

It took me about 10–15mins to get dressed this morning, what with searching frantically for my ‘Sweet Cherry’ sky-blue cashmere jumper, only to find (when I finally located it in my darning pile) that it didn't suit the skirt at all, being loose and floppy. So I tried on a strawberry pink silk and wool knit, and that didn't look right either. Finally I went with the layering option.

It wasn’t going to be warm, I knew, so I wore a striped long-sleeved tee from Free People underneath an old well-loved top – a diagonally-striped blouse from one of my favourite Aussie labels, Veronika Maine. The double layer turned out not to be nearly enough, so it was lucky my new ‘Sunset Sails’ cardigan arrived in the post that day. It is so soft, so cosy, so comfy! All the girls at work admired the new arrival. The cardigan is by Anthropologie which I purchased on eBay. I love this label, but it is pricey, so I shop for older season stock in eBay stores at a much-reduced rate.

The 1940s wool felt hat was also purchased online on eBay (the seller has a store, The Mad Hat Lady, on Etsy now), and I absolutely adore its little bows, the cutouts at the back, and the robins egg shade of blue. The colour is such a lovely contrast with the orange stripes, and the shape creates such a lovely silhouette. (Looking at these photos nearly a year on makes me excited that it is autumn and time to bring out the cool weather hats again.)

I’ve matched my jewellery to the hat this time: blue chalcedony earrings made by myself, a chalcedony pendant necklace, my charm necklace and my blue turquoise stone ring bought in Barcelona. The shoes I have deliberately chosen because they are green and don’t match – I love to break conventional fashion rules as much as possible.

Items:

Tee: Free People
Blouse: Veronika Maine
Skirt: Veronika Maine
Cardigan: Lill’s Closet for Anthropologie
Coat: vintage 70s
Hat: vintage 40s
Stockings: Columbine
Earrings: handmade
Necklace: Melbourne jewellery boutique
Rings: souvenir

Lace and Line

Remember poor old Anne Hathaway at the Oscars this year? Her necklace was so wrong for her gown, and she looked like she was being strangled. It is very hard to choose one’s accessories of course, especially when one has a stylist whispering wicked nothings in one’s ear. But fear not, SNAP is here to right fashion wrongs.

A neckline serves to frame one’s face, and there are of course more or less flattering necklines for every figure. In turn, a necklace should enhance a neckline, and draw the eye, and lace and line should certainly not engage in battle.

A case in point: this giant bauble necklace – a statement piece if there ever was one – while complemented by the polka dot vintage 50s blouse, is engulfed by the collar and vee-neckline. It and I need air to breathe.

… lace and line should certainly not engage in battle.

Swap the blouse for a striped kimono top with a slashed neckline and suddenly everything is okay. There is enough skin to frame the necklace and I no longer look like I am being choked. And the baubles look just as cute with a different type of graphic pattern. (The right necklace for the blouse, incidentally, would be something like a delicate and short chain that did not fall below the apex of the vee.)

Right, now go forth and decorate thyself!

What I Actually Wore #0077

Serial #: 0077
Date: 31/07/2012
Weather: 15°
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

It was a blustery day with weak sunshine. This outfit seemed just the right weight for the temperature, and I wore it when I was interviewed by a journalist from a local newspaper last year.

The outfit is reminiscent of the 40s, although I can’t date the vintage items precisely. Very likely the hat is 70s-does-40s, and the knit could be from any time in the past decade or three. That particular cut of sleeve with the puff on the shoulder and sleeve tight to the wrist is called a ‘Juliet’ – after Shakespeare’s Juliet that is. It was a very popular style in the late 60s, influenced by Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet. (Incidentally, it was the first movie that made me cry, when I was about eight. I watched it on our black and white tv late at night – undoubtedly long after I should have been in bed.)

My red suede platform heels are amongst my favourite shoes, and certainly have a 1940s look. My trousers though are a little big and must be belted else they fall down – but I love them too much to get rid of them! They are so wide-legged they flap in the wind, and I have almost been squashed by a car because of them, after almost tripping over the yards of fabric while jay-running across a busy road. Tsk tsk! Suffering for fashion …

Items:

Top: vintage
Pants: i67
Belt: vintage
Hat: Otto Lucas Junior, vintage
Earrings: Baku
Rings: (onyx) souvenir, (silver) Roun
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Shoes: Wittner

Dress Like an Egyptian

Nothing says summer like cool blue and white stripes. Linen knit from flax, by Zara.When I was a teenager I remember being warned against linen fabric: “It’ll crease terribly,” doomsayers were fond of declaring. Linen suffered from a bad reputation in the fashion world, but it had a renaissance in the 1990s, when about 70% of linen production contributed to textile apparel. This was a huge leap from the 1970s when only 5% was used by the garment industry.

Jaw-dropping: a field of growing flaxFlax flowerLinen, a fibre made from the flax plant, has been used for millennia. The ancient Egyptians wrapped their mummies with it; in the days of Homer warriors used linen to make a type of body armour called a ‘linothorax’, while in the Middle Ages it was used for shields, bowstrings and gambeson (a type of jacket worn as armour). From pool cues and bread couches (a kind of mould to hold dough), to canvases and dollar bills, linen has many and varied uses.

Garments made from linen are expensive however, and this is due to the labour-intensive manufacturing process. The crops must be nursed along, being more difficult to grow, and more expensive to produce than cotton. Flax thread is difficult to weave without breaking threads because it is non-elastic. Those random slubs, or knots visible in some fabrics are actually flaws, associated with low quality – fine linen fibres will be very consistent. The rewards of perseverance are there: fabric is cool and smooth to the touch, lint-free and unlikely to pill, and it softens the more often it is washed.

Flax fibre looks at first glance like sheep’s woolAs for the dreaded wrinkling: this is due to linen’s poor elasticity – it does not spring back readily and formal garments must be ironed often. Happily it is a hardy fabric, and is the only one that is actually stronger when it is wet, although constant creasing or folding in the same places will weaken those threads. Interestingly linen fabric can absorb and lose water rapidly, and can gain up to 20% moisture without feeling damp, which is why it is perfect for hot weather. It was the Egyptians’ favourite fabric, and they wore only white in the desert heat.

Linen weave is a plain, almost coarse weave with large holesAlthough I overcame that early fear instilled by some nameless adult, today I particularly love linen knit fabrics: the somewhat loose (almost holey) weave makes up such light, airy garments. I own two tees by Zara made from flax linen (the term ‘linen’ can also be applied to garments made from other fibres such as cotton or hemp when the textile features a linen-style weave) and they have held up beautifully over two summers and are so comfortable to wear. In a hot climate, you just can’t do better than to dress like an Egyptian.

Click on any of the images and jump through to learn much more about the history of flax and the manufacturing processes of linen.

Botanical drawing of the flax plant

Autumnal Tunes

Autumn seems finally to have really and truly arrived here in Melbourne. The temperature has dropped to lovely mid-20s; the sun shines gloriously with that special golden tone you see in autumn; leaves are slowly beginning to turn and the birds chirp busily about their business.

Inspired by the season, I’ve styled an outfit here I’ve never worn before. It’s all cosy knits in tones of warm greys and pinks and peach (ugh, never thought the day would come that I donned peach – summer fruit season is over!).

The newsboy cap – a style I almost never wear – has an asymmetrical cut in peach coloured velvet, and is designed to sit on a jaunty angle. So here is a hat with two crosses against it: newsboy and peach, and yet I’m rather fond of it. The vintage cap is from Georges, Melbourne, a posh department store that has opened and closed over the decades.

From Pony Clothing is a sugary pink scarf knit with random ribbons and tinkling shells. It’s extremely long so can be wound round and round the neck, which epitomises the perfect winter scarf, don’t you think?

The cardigan was bought last winter, by Lili’s Closet for Anthropologie, and the grey knit tee underneath is Italian merino, bought many years ago. Some basics really do last the distance. My beautiful cream leather gloves with a lace insert are vintage, and were bought on Etsy, also last year.

Excuse me while I commune with my little Robin Red breast now.