why i love vintage, part 2.

sensible shoes.

or, missing the days before scary victoria beckham monster shoes.

or rather, i am turning into my mother before my very own eyes.

i suppose this post is inspired in a way by the current orthopedic shoe trend (worishofers anyone?), which i approve of. i have had a soft spot for our local greencross shop since they brought out those beautiful leather brogues a few years ago with the cushiony arch support and the heel that won't kill you, and i love finding a pretty vintage shoe with a heel of an only inch or so that are both lady-like and your granny would approve of.

here are a few of my favourite dorky-comfy vintage specimens:

- i found these orthopedic klinik two tone pumps at the hospice shop on louis botha. they kind of make me think of a WWII nurse's shoes. which is good.

- these nude leather slingbacks belonged to my norwegian granny, so they are priceless to me. my gran was a shoe fiend like myself - she had a whole flippen closet just for her shoes. so its in the genes.

- i got these black cut out peep toes from bellbottoms in pretoria, my absolute favourite shop ever. they've got a bit of a 40's structural look about them, which i like, but in reality they're probably much younger than that. i'm not good at guessing though, so i won't.

- my mom had a pair of brown tasseled pumps similar to these when i was a kid, which probably explains why i was drawn to this pair when i saw them in deerhunter in greenside.

- these lace ups are also from deerhunter, and although they are not heels, they are strange little dorky platform orthopedic shoes, so they count.

- and lastly, these are not vintage, but i just had to include them. i bought them at an old lady shoe shop in portugal, and my friend leslie called them 'the unsexiest shoes ever'. well, i thought they were pretty cute...

x

80's does 40's.

probably my favourite decade for dresses are the forties. and for shoes. and for fashion in general really. and for history. yes. let's conclude that its my favourite decade for stuff as a whole.

that said, this dress is not from the 40's, but its a really awesome 80's take on it, methinks. i love the strong shoulder, and the pleats and buttons on the bodice.

one day, i'll copy this pattern, and make many clones of it. yes i shall.

dress from q's daydream,

(thank you, x)

for old times sake.

i was organising my closet the other day when i came across this 1970's dress i bought a few years back at my beloved bellbottoms in pretoria. i was really into the 60's and 70's back in my student years, but now i can't seem to pull off the bright colours and bold patterns as well anymore.

perhaps i'm getting old and boring :)

anyway. this dress was one of a whole closetful that used to belong to a lady who worked for a big, fashionable department store back her youth, and she bought so many dresses (probably on store discount!) that there were several that still had the tags on, never worn, and also several of the same dress just in different colours.

that day i came home with pretty much a truckload of dresses, and i wore them constantly, but now, years later, most of them are sold or given away. i'm holding onto only a handful of them, including this one, that even if i don't wear them so much anymore, i just can't bear to part with.

x

how to embrace a creature.

dear creatures is one of my most favourite things in the world, but perhaps my only chance of getting hold of one of their things down here in SA seemed to be the calivintage dress from modcloth. so i damn well got it. and its really really pretty. dear creatures, i love you.

ross took this picture of me last night, while he was trying to give me a photography lesson. the dress is quite a summer dress, but hells, i wasnt not gonna wear it even though here its dead of winter, so: cardigan. also, note here are my new spectacles...what do you guys think?

my favourite dresses #1.

a duck print? yes. i know its pretty strange, but this 1950's cotton daydress is one of my treasured ones. it has full skirt, fitted waist, and a row of cute little buttons down the front. print aside, its a simple and flattering pattern thats really versatile, i think. does anyone else like it? (i'm making up patterns soon, so input will be super appreciated.)

apologies.

dear wallet, i did you wrong. i broke the truce between us and bought this jacket. i am sorry, but given the chance to do it all again, yes i friggin still would! i hope you can understand someday (i'll make it up to you i promise).

from here.

on your way.

this is a 1940's chiffon and lace dress that i bought last year and meant to alter a bit, but kind of forgot, and its been in the back of my closet since. its not a tragic story because i remembered about it again the other day, and i think with a bit of work, and a pair of warm tights, this could be one of my favourite dresses this winter.

here are some of my inspirations. there is something about lace that is just so utterly romantic and wistful. i want me some of that too.

from the top: the snail and the cyclops; wild rabbits; przymierzalnia; the snail and the cyclops again, and the last two, miss pandora.

love.

this weekend i received these in the mail. they are probably my new favourite pieces of jewelry in the world ever. they are so incredibly beautifully crafted out of wood and hand painted by love by geneine honey based in australia.

the 'holiday' brooch set. (picturesque landscape postcard included). this is the piece that originally attracted me to the shop, but then i just couldn't leave without...

the 'i wish i was a real girl' necklace (with moving arms and legs, which is a bonus). there is also a boy version. which i now need too.

my 50's plaid wiggle dress.

i'm really into the shape of wiggle dresses right now, they make me feel like a real, grown up woman lady. this is one of my favourite dresses, even though it is a size too big, and rather than looking like this...

(which i'm not sure i could manage anyhow) i look a little more dork. which i am fine with by the way. made peace with my dork self long ago.

also, no one wears the dress like joan holloway. but its fun to try.

and finally

here is one of my own vintage dresses. just a simple one from the 70's with a peter pan collar and a tulip skirt. one of the few 70's dresses i have left after my almost apocalyptic spring clean a month ago. i literally must've gotten rid of dozens of dresses. but it feels good, strangely.

below is a snap of a bunny who was lounging on the sidewalk just watching the world go by. he lies there every single day, and when he's done snoozing, he just darts back under the gate into the yard he belongs to. smart rabbit.