Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts

retro fashion love

One day when I'm super good at sewing I'd love to make my own clothes. Lately I have been really drawn to retro and vintage styles, which is quite different to the jeans/top combo that has been the standard for most of my 20s. Must be time to embrace my inner 'lady!'

I have always loved dresses and skirts for summer and feel inspired by all the lovely florals and soft cottons out there. There are lots of options for sewing pretty vintage styles and I think I could tackle a few A line skirts and simple dresses for the warmer months without too much trouble.

Here is a collection of gorgeous dresses and accessories to inspire me into action! 



From Polyvore



from Tumblr

from Polyvore


from Wanelo


 
from Polyvore



from Polyvore




from Etsy

 Lots of bright colours and beautiful prints for Spring. Mmm.

Where do you find your vintage or retro inspiration?

xx

The Mad men collection- Banana Republic

Now, we don't have any Banana Republic stores in Australia (that I know of....) but when a friend tweeted information about their Mad men collection available online, I at least had to check it out.

The line was designed in collaboration with the show's costume designer Janie Brynat, and is 'inspired by the razor sharp tailoring and feminine silhouettes of 1960s style'.

Here are some pieces I like best from the Mad Men Collection from Banana Republic



lace tipped dress

Houndstooth dress

Full circle skirt

cabled dolman cardigan with tie neck top


Bracelet sleeve jacket with head scarf

So wearable and worky. I love them all!

Which piece is your favourite?

Special birthday post

I'm just going to take a short break from crafty and sewing talk today to tell you a little more about myself (read: it's my blog and i'll self indulge if I want to... :). Today is my 30th birthday and I'm pretty excited! I'm happy to have survived the perils of my 20s, and have to say those formative adult years have taught me a lot. Sometimes through beatings with a heavy stick, other times through subtle or startling revelations, but either way, a mostly fun and surprising voyage.

Anyway, the purpose of this post was to tell you about a wonderful present from my dear friends and share some photos with you from my birthday party over the weekend.

For some time, I have been complaining to anyone who'll listen about my sewing machine set up at home. For the last couple of years I have been using one of those school exam hall desks (that I may have 'borrowed' from my previous teaching job....). These desks have collapsible legs and are therefore not particularly sturdy for a sewing machine. One time my cat Claude jumped on the table and it collapsed sending my sewing machine crashing to the floor! It survived but the cat got a bit of a fright.... (He didn't do that again!)

Anyway, on Saturday afternoon as I was getting ready for my party, my good friends Wendy and Aaron dropped by to give me a birthday present that 12 of my friends had pooled together to buy- an awesome sewing station!



 It is such a great size, you can fold it all out when you're using it and put it away when you're finished. There are lots of shelves and compartments to put bits and pieces which will help me to be more organised.
My friends are so lovely and I feel lucky to have such wonderful and thoughtful people in my life. :) I can't wait to use it!

To celebrate my birthday, I went out to a nice bar in a suburb of Sydney called Glebe. The room we booked had a little fireplace and was decked out with comfy chairs and a glam chaise. Here's a picture of me pretending to be regal on the chaise. :)



For my outfit I needed something suitable for winter but also something a little special since it was my 30th. I decided on this dress by the Australian made and owned brand, Pilgrim. I like that it has a vintage quality to it in the neckline and drape. It was lovely to wear. For my shoes I chose a glam pair of patent leather heels with a vintage style buckle. They come from the brand 'easy steps' who make comfy shoes heralded by Australian nanas everywhere. :) I love them and figure now I'm 30 I can get away with old lady shoes! hee hee.


To complete the vintage style outfit I dug up an old jeweled necklace and bought a sweet butterfly applique headband. My hair was curled but in the humidity with the fireplace, the curls fell out almost straight away as evident in this pic.


I had a lovely time celebrating with my friends that night, it was heaps of fun.
Here are a few of my favourites pictures taken by my clever husband: (and yes, my friends are a little mad..... in the best way possible of course :)

































So another birthday is over. It has been fun reflecting on things and I can honestly say i'm excitedly looking forward to the next 10 years, especially if I have these people and my wonderful husband to laugh with the whole way through.

Ok, back to craftiness now, I hope this little glimpse hasn't been too boring!

xx

Inspiration- Mad Men fashion

We just had a lovely long weekend in Australia to celebrate the Queen's birthday. Since it was dismal and rainy all weekend I spent most of it sitting on the couch with the cats watching back to back episodes of season 3 of Mad Men.



It's a great show for fashion eye candy with lots of cinematic qualities and a slow burn kind of plot. It's perfect for knitting and tea drinking while you 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the fashion, hairstyles and sets and tisk at constant smoking and the scandal of the many MANY affairs and romantic dealings. Love it!!!

I really love the fashion of the early 60s as it still has lots of the style and glamour of the 50s. The outfits used on the show are so thoughtfully put together with accessories, hair and make up. They do a good job of making you feel like you're really seeing a snapshot of the time. I think it's amazing!

Here are some pics of dresses/outfits I liked, although they're really just a taste!

Joan, gorgeous pink dress
Betty, stunning floral dress + awesome sunglasses!
Betty, classic dress with polka dot sash

Mad Men's glam ladies

Teal dress in Mad Men style
Joan barbie, I want one!

One day if I ever get over my fear of patterns and conquer sewing clothes, I'd love to try a dress in the 50s style. The shape is so flattering and classic and the possibilities are endless. Until then I'll happily continue lusting after Mad Men fashions!

xx
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