The Black Sundress

That's me the beach dress-the one that's casually thrown on to go to the beach, you get there and the first thing you do is rip me off and throw me in the sand, leave me for hours to then throw me back on for the ride back home. Do you realise that sand gets everywhere? That being black leaving me in the sun for hours makes me boil? And your salty sweaty seaweedey skin stinks? And I definitely do not enjoy being crumpled up to be used as a pillow for your wet hair!

Ok, ok, breathe- I really must learn to control my temper but I just get so angry, first off I sit in the wardrobe for most of the year next to the most beautiful dresses that get worn all the time (except poor old Christmas dress) then it comes to summer and all I get to see is a couple of trips to the English Seaside. To be fair, the seaside is beautiful I just wish she cared for me more- I'm just a means of getting there, a cover up for the real masterpiece, the main attraction- the slinky black swimsuit or that dotted bikini she insists on wearing even though it makes her hips look huge. No one cares about me, I'm never complimented, you always spill icecream on me and guys are always pinching my behind, eurgh.

And here I've been for at least a lifetime now- in some box, in someones attic, I get pushed from pillar to post and back again, apparently I'm not 'cool' anymore, everyone wears 'kaftans' not dresses nowdays. Who'd of thought it- a time when a little black dress is no longer sufficient to even get you to the beach, I'm only good for taking up room in your dark dingy attic, even all my friends have been taken away to put on eBay, some come back and then they go forever, apparently it's the best way out of here. They take your photo, measure you, spray you with some fabric freshener and you're put up for auction, the highest bidder wins and then you're shipped off to some magical land with a fresh start with owners who care- and today is my day to shine.

How exciting I get to get out of the attic see the day light again, oh this is bizarre. She has no idea who I am- shoving me on some plastic hanger, this is going to be as embarrassing as those year book photos still in the attic- she could have at least have got the wrinkles out of my skirt and sewed up that button that's so nearly falling off and ahhhh a flash- that was bright! is this really how we get out of here? It's like a horror movie!

*****

That was the worst journey of my life, god knows where I've been, I feel like I've been thrown around for weeks, I'm crumpled beyond belief! Hopefully when she tears the brown paper off me my new owner will love me and adore me and I swear this time I'll love the beach- I don't care if you leave me in the sand- bury me for all I care I just want to be worn!


*****

She loves me, she loves me, she washed me (by hand!) hung me in the fresh air to dry, ironed out my creases and fixed my buttons. She even wore me the other day-and we didn't even go to the beach- I was the main attraction, me the plain old black dress, we went to town and went shopping and sat and watched movies and she didn't spill any icecream on me- oh I love her and she said she can't wait to wear me again!

New Buys

So as of the end of this month I'm banning myself from ebay, I'm a magpie and I buy anything shiny or pretty all though to be fair this month I've bought some gems. The first is my platinum and firestone ring (although this wasn't an ebay buy it was a little quaint jewllery shop buy), an art deco style (I'm not sure how old it is) purse- I've been on the look out for an old purse and as soon as I saw it I had to have it.




A Jantzen swimsuit which was a bargain as it was listed as just a 'vintage swimsuit' and it the description it mentioned 'the cute little diver badge' clearly the seller had no idea what sort of a gem she had!

I also got a 1960s button back blouse with a cravat to match my sequin trousers that I bought in the January sale, that I'm still yet to wear and I have a feeling it was the January before last I bought them! I can't wait to wear it as an outfit though, I feel it needs a posh dinner/ drinks occasion.

My most random buy this month is a 1956 potato sack dress, which is yet to come through the post, it's pretty self explanatory- it's a sack dress. I've heard that they're pretty rare, this one is uncut and I can't decide whether to cut it or display it as it is. I found this one on Etsy which is identical (other than the fact it's cut).

The Secret Lives of Dress

I've just finished reading 'The Secret Lives of Dresses' by Erin McKean and I loved it, it was a pretty easy going read and somewhat predictable story line but I didn't care how predictable it was as they writing was amazing. I won't spoil the story but it's centred around a vintage dress store in which the dresses are sold with 'secret lives'- the owner of the store has crafted stories told by each dress to explain where theyv'e been and why and what they've seen- from affairs to wedding days, it's brilliant and such a great idea. I have quite a few vintage pieces and the book is right- they're all tiny bits of history and they each have a story, I may start crafting stories for my dresses just to see how it goes as some of them do seem like they have personalities and great stories to tell.

All in all I loved the book and I love how it talks about clothing and the way women dress- read it!

At a Crossroads

So I'm at a crossroads, not a majorly life changing one but a big one in its own right. My wardrobe has reached the point where it is ready to become a vintage wardrobe. All I need to do is get rid of the modern things that are just not going to work- personally this is huge decision for me but I've come to realise there are millions (maybe not actual millions) of things that I don't wear and have been sitting in my wardrobe for 2 years or so now without being worn (there is one top I haven't worn since 2007!). I enjoy wearing vintage so much and I've decided that the majority of the clothes in my wardrobe will now be vintage or vintage style so a lot of other stuff needs to go. Thats the plan anyway- on Thursday I will be sorting through the contents of my wardrobe, the brand pieces such as Hollister, Gap, Topshop etc will probably be offered to friends first and if they don't want them I'll be selling them to a boutique in Rochester and all the rest will be donated to charity =) I'll let you know how it goes and take photos!

Birthday Buys

It was my birthday on Sunday and unfortunately since then I've been on a stint of night shifts so haven't been able to post anything. I had a lovely day, unfortunately I got sunburn the day before and was a little on the lobster side! I went to Rye with my parents, its such a beautiful little town with cobbled streets and antique shops- there was even a vintage shop in a cave! I didn't actually buy much in Rye except for some vintage cottons for my 20s dress as they looked as if they'd be a perfect match (I bought two slightly different orangey shades) and one was perfect, I just have to find some metal sequins, metal thread and pinky peach thread now.

Anyway for my birthday I got money and antique shop vouchers for Fieldstaff Antiques in Rochester so inbetween one of my night shifts I paid them a visit, I bought some long black suede opera gloves that go perfectly with my Dior dress, a cute silk dress and bolero which is very smart looking and I managed to buy a painting which I've wanted for ages- it was hidden in their kitchen which doubles as a changing room and I was told she's not for sale however the owner decided she wanted it to go to a good home, so she's now on my wall!

The Ideal Home April 1939

Here are some adverts from my 1939 Ideal Home magazine, look at the cost of houses! And there are some scary looking adverts in there- I'm sure I'll post more soon when I've had a proper read.

1920s dress

Today the postman bought the most amazing thing ever, it came in just a plain old box but inside was this little treasure....







A genuine 1920s peach silk flapper dress. It has a silk chiffon lining and has an amazing sequin and metal thread embellishment on the front and the back, and the plain cirlces that you see are also metal thread. At some point its been hung up so there are some tears to the lining and some stress to the silk and tiny holes on the shoulders, all the sequins are folded up probably due to their age and the item being in storage. As if the dress wasn't amazing enough it also came with a copy of a photo of the original owner wearing the dress. She is a very elegant lady and was apparently a nanny to a Russian family, who had this dress made as a gift for her. I can barely put into words how amazing this dress is, its stunning and so amazing that it has lasted this long in such amazing condition along with a photo of its original owner! I'm proud to own it in a strange way and I'm going to wear it as that's what it was made for but first it needs restoring. Like I said the sequins are all folded and it needs some repairs as there's a slit in the bottom as well and some of the beautiful embellishment need sewing back on so not to loose them forever but what a stunning piece and once I've unpicked all the sequins and made it show stopping again I'll post more photos.