Daily Outfit: Lady in Lavender

Sorry for the lack of outfit posts lately! I have not been able to thrift or sew much at all this semester; it's been really draining so far. I hope to make a jumper skirt in my Easter break, but I'm also juggling four assignments at the moment so I'm not holding out too much hope of that! I will be so glad when chemistry is over - I love my lecturer, but I find that people in the class have really negative attitudes towards anyone who puts effort into their appearance. It's not just my eclectic style - anyone who looks even remotely fashion conscious seems to get labeled "too frivolous for science" and ignored before we even have a chance to prove ourselves. I'm sorry Chem students, but I can still "do science" if I deviate from your uniform of jeans + year 12 rugby jumpers - just because I care about how I look doesn't mean that I lose valuable brain space to make room for my superior fashion sense.


Check out this perfume bottle I found while thrifting! I've loved playing around with the tasseled bottles on my grandma's dressing table since I was a little girl, but sadly she didn't keep any of them. Somehow my relatives escaped the Forties without the hoarding mentality of the "make do and mend" set - none of them kept anything from their youth!
I want to decant something into this but I'm scared of spilling my expensive perfumes while doing so - not to mention I love Chanel bottles as they are. Maybe a cheapie bottle of Elizabeth Arden's "Red Door" will do instead.



My lips are starting to heal - I have heard that the medication I'm on for it results in massive rebound when its use is discontinued, but I'm crossing my fingers for the best. Especially as I just bought a new lipstick (I'm terrible, I know) from the MAC Liberty of London collection, and I am DYING to know how it will look.
On the subject of beauty, I could not be any more proud of how fabulous my pincurl set turned out. It has less of a 50s style than my usual bouncy curls, but I like how it fits in with this 40s inspired look better.


I hope you are all doing well! It's a long week ahead but we have Easter and lots of yummy chocolate to look forward to - lord knows that's the dangling carrot I'm using to power through! Bye for now!

Devil's Playground Burlesque

I thought I'd share with you all another quirky little something I stumbled upon recently (on the interwebs this time; sadly I'd need a plane ticket to see this in person) - Star Wars, Disney and Video Games Burlesque! Burlesque has always relied on gimmicks to keep itself fresh and exciting, and Devil's Playground gets 10 out of 10 points for originality with their zany ideas. Just take a look at these photo galleries!

Princess Peach peels at Geek Night

Star Wars Shenanigans

Mary Poppins sheds that repressed Victorian skin with some Dirty Disney Dancing

I haven't seen any videos so I have no idea what the execution is actually like (and some of the costumes aren't of the best quality, I'll be the first to admit) but the idea itself has me laughing, and isn't entertainment what burlesque is all about?

Thrifty Find - The Rejuvenator?!

WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN -

?!?!

I pretty much fell over myself laughing when I found this. The manual even said "for inner health and vitality"!! I didn't buy it but I'm wondering if I should go back and get it as a gag present, in case one of my vintage loving friends gets married, haha~

Just to give you an idea of scale, that thing is bigger than my hand! O_O I don't even want to imagine how noisy it is... or what the little old ladies at the thrift store were thinking when they decided to put this on the sales floor! Still reeling omg

Sugardoll Blog Award

I just received a lovely message from Brittany over at Va Voom Vintage - she's honoured me with a blog award! I have to list 5 random things about myself, so here goes:

1. I'm not entirely opposed to modern fashion - however, my idea of what modern fashion should be is probably a little off compared to the reality. I had hoped that by now people would be dressing like Lady Gaga or extras from Blade Runner, and am severely disappointed every time insane trends like Armadillo shoes and pantslessness fail to take off. I don't necessarily want to participate, but I like to see people pushing the boundaries of fashion in different ways. Similarly, I adore seeing people from subcultures such as steampunk and lolita out and about - they are not afraid to be different and dress in a way that they love, even if nobody else does.

2. I love the human brain, and I'm enthralled by everything about it - how it works, how it develops, how it malfunctions when damaged - and thus I hope to someday be a Clinical Neuropsychologist. I also combine this passion with my love of history - I dream of decorating my future office with antiquated medical implements and textbooks (in particular things related to pseudosciences like phrenology - I already have a fabulous reproduction ceramic head) and Victorian-era anatomical illustrations. In those times, science and art were still intertwined and this resulted in some very beautiful sculptures and drawings.

3. I just got informed by the doctor that my horrible lip state is in fact due to Perioral Dermatitis, and I will need to throw away all my lipsticks because using them again may result in future breakouts. My pleas of "but...but...they are Chanel!" fell on deaf ears. I can't afford to replace them once my lips are healed (if they heal at all), so this is incredibly depressing news :(

4. I collect graphic novels and manga. My favourite series are The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, Pet Shop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino, and Yotsubato by Kiyohiko Azumi. I also adore the artwork of Junko Mizuno, Suehiro Maruo and Shintaro Kago (a lot are NSFW/rather confronting, so be wary when googling).

5. My guilty pleasure is trashy girl-power shows with terrible special effects from the 90s, such as Xena: Warrior Princess and Charmed. My sister and I buy a box set at the start of each year and work through all the seasons together. In fact, I think I might go watch some now.
   

I'd like to pass this award onto some of the best blogs I've discovered recently - a lot of them don't get the love that they deserve, so please go check these fabulous ladies out!

Ginger from Sailing Over a Cardboard Sea - once you get over the momentary pangs of jealousy over Ginger's luck in being allowed to raid a veritable Aladdin's cave of vintage clothing - see her posts on Mrs Bolton's house - it's easy to fall in love with her effortless style and collection of jaw-droppingly amazing finds.

Tami from My Moving Finger Writes - I've always wanted to dye my hair as white as hers, but never had the guts! Still, I can live vicariously through her in-depth hair tutorials as she plays with different styles and cuts. There's always something new to be learned from this blog.

HarbourMaster -Not only does this girl have fantastic style, but she runs her own label meaning that we can all get some of that nautical goodness! I especially love her vintage look swimsuits.

Charlotte from Tuppence Ha'penny - This lady has an enviable collection of hats (and I want her to teach me how to do such perfect victory rolls...)

Ruby Roulette Unravels - This darling lady needs a reminder that her blog is loved so that she doesn't quit the blogosphere! As an avid thrifter myself, I enjoy reading about her finds (and dreaming of someday getting so lucky myself!).

Another day, another playsuit, and a happy ending.

It was hot again today, so I wore another playsuit out while I went op-shopping. Seems the universe wanted me to know that I am fine and my style is awesome, because a (slightly inebriated) lady at the train station approached me to say "You look just like Gidget! So wholesome! I wish I had a daughter like you." Hey - it may be an unconventional kinda compliment from an even more unconventional source, but by gosh I'm going to take it! Things like this and all the lovely comments of encouragement I got from my dear readers yesterday really do help me walk off the negative things. So thank you all!

Playsuit from Dangerfield

Daily Outfit: Tiki Playsuit

Melbourne still can't make up its mind as to whether it wants to be in autumn or in summer, so I took advantage of the unusually warm day to wear a new (vintage!) playsuit. I wasn't sure I'd get a change to wear it before the cold change came, so I'm happy I got to take it out and about! Also, thrilled about salvaging my pincurl set after I pinned half of them in the wrong orientation!


I was feeling damn fine until I had a run in with some bratty high school kids who threw their trash at my legs when they were walking past, and when I looked up in shock they smirked and said "oops, we didn't see you there in your camouflage suit". Ugh. I know I should have stood up for myself but I was already PMS-y and upset over the fact that I got locked out of my tutorial class for being 5 minutes late, so I just sat there in dumbfounded silence until they passed and then went to bawl my eyes out (stupid hormones).

I've been trying so hard to get all the anger, hate and drama out of my life that I don't want to dwell on this too much or get worked up about what I should have said or done - I just wish people had the ability to keep it to themselves when they don't like something I'm wearing. I understand it's human nature to judge me because I'm different, but that shouldn't excuse that kind of behaviour or make me a target for abuse.

Of course this isn't going to make me stop dressing vintage - I've put up with such comments before, and I love my style too much to change. However, I've been working hard to get my self-esteem up and to be treated in such a way - it's a big blow to my courage and sense of self worth, even if rationally I know it's not my fault.

Grr. I'm headed to ebay to get myself something even more outrageous, just to show them.

Identity Crisis

Ladies, I am having an identity crisis! I'm enduring a forced separation from my beloved red lipstick, as my lips had an awful reaction to something a week or so ago and have swelled up to the nastiest trout pout I have ever seen.

Like this! But worse!

I've locked away my lippies because I'm trying to work out the cause of the reaction (not to mention how irritated my skin is already) but it's been so. damn. hard. to go without. When I look in the mirror, what I see is washed out and bleh, when previously I could feel glamorous in five seconds flat by merely swiping one of those magical tubes over my lips. It's amazing how much of a difference red lipstick makes to my self esteem - it's like an instant pick me up for my face (as I'm sure you all know!) Without it, I feel naked... I don't feel like myself anymore! I know this sounds extreme but when a part of your 'look' is forcibly changed (like suddenly getting glasses or braces - and I've been through both) it can be very difficult to even recognize yourself anymore.

I've been compensating with some fairly dramatic eye makeup, but it just isn't the same. If this doesn't end soon, you may see the advent of Swinging Sixties Emmi - all bold eyes and nude lips! And I ain't sure that's going to be a good thing! D:

Gah! Get better soon, me! I've only just found my groove, don't make me lose it now!

Full Skirt

It is slowly becoming more difficult for me to find the time to blog, so I apologize if my posts are few and far between for the next few weeks. I'm back at uni, and making a bigger effort to stay on top of my work as I have to attain a certain standard to get entry into the post-grad courses that I want. I'm still lurking about, reading all your wonderful blogs, though I may not comment as often. Sorry!


I finished this skirt the other day - the material has been sitting around in my room for ages; however I changed my mind about the pattern I had originally purchased it for (too hard!) and thus it sat, uncut and unloved, for several months. It's such a fun fabric - green cotton voile - and I felt it only a carefree summer dress would do it justice. Unfortunately I bought too little for all my dress patterns D: so eventually I decided that a skirt would have to do!


This is the pattern I used - you may recognize it; I've made the slim skirt and jacket before. I have -just- enough material left over to make the matching blouse, but I'm not sure if I will... it'd be cute to be able to wear it as both a dress and a skirt, but I can't think of anything else to match a green, sleeveless, voile blouse to; and that makes it difficult to justify the effort required.

I really like wearing it! It's so nice and swishy - I can definitely see why the New Look was so popular! Full skirts are fun and flirty, no questions about it! Don't you just love it when you find an outfit that puts a literal skip in your step?


Going back to uni has also reminded me of why I liked my long hair in the first place - I could tie it back! My campus has a lot of old buildings and narrow corridors, and it is a pain in the butt to have all that work I put into a wetset ruined by the wind tunnels that they create. Ah well! It was nice while it lasted (and I think I'll go for the chop again when my holidays roll around) but for now I'm placing more importance on having a practical style. Besides, ponytails are cute!

Have a lovely Wednesday, everybody!