i want victorian boots.

and i love these:

from simplicity is bliss on etsy.

romper needs home.

wow, this pretty two piece novelty print 40's playsuit is so cute.

from metro retro vintage on etsy.

you know you live in africa when...

so, no blog posts for ages because some little bugger stole the copper out of the phone lines of our building at work. so, no phones and no internet. ah well, its africa. these things happen.

back to business. i poke around a lot on etsy for dress inspiration, because, really, there's always so much good stuff to look at. here are my tuesday favourites. i hope you enjoy them too.

a 1960's wiggle dress with a sharp collar, and the low dip of it at the back reminds me a bit of the latest dear creatures collection's collars, which i love. and i'm not sure if its clear on this picture, but it has little buttons down the back too. a plus. from allen company inc.

peter pan collars and bows... i never tire of these. this is an exquisite little hand stitched 1930's dress. and there's the sweetest little story behind it too! from thirteen eighty five.

there is something architectural about this 1940's dress's sleeves and giant bow that i love. its not girly, like one would expect from a dress with a giant pink bow. its sophisticated and lady-like and grown up. i would find any excuse to wear this dress as often as i can, and feel all sophisticated and lady-like and grown up and stuff. from thrush.

okay, that's about all from me today.

x

blair vs me.

last night saw the return of my infamous insomnia, so i ended up watching gossip girl all night. i'm not a fan, but i do sit through an episode every now and again to see 'What Blair Wore Last Night'. i know season 1 is old, and i'm obviously super behind on this topic, but these 'WBWLN'-dresses are still pretty awesome.

mustard yellow, buttons, bows and mutton sleeves... bliss.

my obsession with navy is no secret, so obviously this 40's inspired nautical wiggle dress is a favourite.

and finally this one, personally it reminds me of a 20's/30's flapper or party dress. i especially love the beaded 'collar'-like detail of the straps.

DIY it:

the navy dress above on the left actually looks to me like the exact one blair is wearing. imagine that.

fig a. (clockwise) 1960's mod sailor dress; cotton day dress; 1960's velvet bow dress; all aboard heel.

fig b. vintage style sailor dress; vintage sailor dress; 1960's linen sailor dress.

fig c. off centre of attention dress; sequin beaded mini dress; gunne sax vintage velvet dress; vintage sequin halter dress.

foolish.

i can't believe this morning i actually stood in front of my closet and thought to myself, i don't have a thing to wear.

anyway, i'll get over that, i hope.

this afternoon i came across this little dress from ana!s while tinkering away on the net, and thought to myself, its amazing how a sweet lace collar transform a relatively plain dress into something special.

and then i thought to myself, a separate little lace or beaded collar could perhaps be a fine solution to a cupboard full of boring dresses.

and then i looked at these with a mmm expression on my face.

from tiny vintage wardrobe.

and that, my friends, is my little trickle of consciousness for the day.

dream for me.

this 1920's smocked dress is amazing. its probably not something one would wear every day, in case of a tea or red wine spillage disaster (almost inevitable in my case). but even just to look at, its what romantic would look like if it were made of fabric.

from timeless vixen vintage.

print me happy.

this is actually an extension of my previous post, a few etsy favourites with pretty novelty prints, for a sort of do-it-yourself mui mui inspired look. the first dress should be mine methinks.

from top to bottom, here are the listings: one, two, three, four, five

the second one.

so here’s a few dresses on etsy i wouldn’t mind having for my own. click on the numbers above the images for the listings.

1.2.3.4.