Wednesday, April 20, 2016

༺ A Season of Leaves ༻

Vintage 1950's autumn style ~ white & blue | Lavender & Twill

Change in season vintage style | Lavender & Twill

Inspired by the 1950's | Lavender & Twill

Vintage 1950's inpired makeup and hair look | Lavender & Twill

Vintage 1950's autumn style ~ white & blue | Lavender & Twill

Change in season vintage style | Lavender & Twill

Inspired by the 1950's | Lavender & Twill

The autumn leaves are calling my name ~ and every day I am delighting in all the beautiful deciduous trees that are carpeting the green grasses with discarded gold and amber foliage.

Our house is situated amongst many flaming treetops so I get to enjoy the colours all the more as I dash about from place to place. I do know that I’ve mentioned how impossibly busy we’ve been since Christmas, and it hasn’t ceased yet…  But hopefully it will soon!

I begin to see the light at the end of tunnel, and I want to cuddle up in all the cosy blankets I can find to keep the chill away, and stay warm at home. Then the sunshine lures me out, and I enjoy the last of these glowing, golden days.

In the meantime, and this is going to sound crazy to those that know me ~ I’ve taken to actually drinking coffee…. *le gasp!*  I’m sure you are all over here going “Really Bonita?? Really?? That’s a big deal kind of thing? People drink coffee everyday, some people even drink lots of coffee ~ like multiple mugs a day!” but really, truly, it’s a big thing to me.

I have gone thirty years without drinking coffee. Well, except for once when I thought I would try it, so I ordered a caramel latte because lattes have loads of milk and that dilutes the taste a little, and I have never, ever, ever liked the taste of coffee ~ even fake coffee stuff tasted really gross to me even though I loooooved the smell of freshly ground coffee beans and would always wonder why coffee tasted so bad when they smelled sooooo good, and ~ whoa… See?  Coffee. Powerful stuff! *ahem*  (๑•̑з•̑๑)੭ु⁾⁾ ༘

The tlrd version of the story is that I have tried coffee once, and it gave me a migraine. I also didn’t like the taste of it, so I never drank it again. I got through university without coffee, planning my wedding in ten days without coffee, and the arrival and subsequent full time care of two children… All without coffee!

BUT apparently the third child was the straw that broke the camel’s back {and we’ll ignore the fact that I turned thirty last year thankyouverymuch!} so this year, I caved.

I now drink a cup of coffee in the morning, and I must say, it’s a habit that crept in quite quickly ~ however, never fear all my fellow tea drinkers ~ it’s not the coffee I fuss over, and I’m still well and truly a tea lover, first and foremost.  I have over 50 odd different varieties of tea ~ from your standard blacks such as French Earl Grey, or English Breakfast to more exotic flavours such as Rose and French Vanilla, Soursop Green tea or Licorice tea! So I think we can firmly say that tea is the favourite.

Which brings me full circle, back to the weather, because I’m so glad it’s finally getting cool enough to drink multiple cups of tea a day, which is what I’ve doing! Calming Peach is the tea du jour, and I think that being able to appreciate a warming cup of sweet, flavorsome brew on a cool, crisp day after the heat of summer is just another of my favourite things about autumn!  ₊·*◟(˶╹̆ꇴ╹̆˵)◜‧*・

Now I’m off to brew myself ~ what else, but a cup of tea! I am wondering before I do so, what are your favourite drinks of the season? I’m afraid it’s mostly always tea with me, but I am looking forwards hear if there are any particulars you like to sip!

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Vintage “Brain” Hat | Love Vintage Show, 2011
Rhinestones, Pearls & Lace, Oh my! Cardigan | Forever New, via Dressed App
Summer Rose 1950s Vintage Dress | Round She Goes Market, 2015
Vintage White Daisy Eyelet Gloves | Thrifted
“Lola” 1950’s Vintage Lucite and Wicker Handbag | Etsy
White Bow Jelly Flats | Mel by Melissa

༺ ♡ ༻

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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

༺ Golden Fox ~ Thoughts on Modern Vintage Style ༻

Bernie Dexter "Foxy Pinup Dress" in Peach Fox Print | Lavender & Twill

Bernie Dexter "Foxy Pinup Dress" in Peach Fox Print | Lavender & Twill

Autumn vintage style with 1940s look | Lavender & Twill

Vintage 1940's style ~ featuring Bernie Dexter Fox dress and vintage accessories | Lavender & Twill

Autumn vintage style with 1940s look | Lavender & Twill

Vintage 1940's style ~ featuring Bernie Dexter Fox dress and vintage accessories | Lavender & Twill

Autumn vintage style with 1940s look | Lavender & Twill

Here’s the thing… I wear vintage style because I want to.

I like playing around with the looks and fashions of the 1940s and 1950s. And sure, I do try to keep my outfits fairly accurate. I’ll mix up pieces, but only if the style fits ~ i.e., a 70s does 40s blouse in a 1940s look, or 1950s gloves and hat styled as 40s accessories {Most “imposters” are in my 1940s looks rather than the 1950s ones due to the difficulty and expense of collecting genuine 1940s vintage}.

But in the end, I know that I’m not going to always be able to recreate authentic looks {as much as I’d like to}, and you know what ~ I think it’s fun to be able to play around with the styling a bit too!

But I’m sure your wondering what on earth has bitten me and the reason behind the random ranting, right? No? Oh, well you can always skip to the bottom, but be warned ~ there’s a rather long session of pondering plonked into this post!  (•   •๑)。。。 ₎₎ ₎₎

So the Mister and I were out taking the snaps for this shoot, and a random elderly gentleman stopped to comment on my outfit ~ saying that it was a lot like what women used to wear fifty, sixty years ago. I laughed, and agreed ~ that was the idea after all!

But when I explained that my look was based on 1940s styling, he said that I couldn’t be dressed like that, I was far too modern… He thought that I looked like I was from the sixties where they were much more progressive!  I replied that it’s a work in progress, and he went on his way.  And I must say, I do think my daily style really is a work in progress. But the whole conversation got me to thinking…

I’ve come across some of this attitude before ~ that if you don’t wear authentic, genuine 1940s vintage and look exactly like a 1940s photograph {or 50s, 60s, etc.}, then you can’t claim to be wearing vintage style. To be honest, this doesn’t really sit right with me. What is vintage style? Only wearing vintage garments? Is that really how vintage style is defined? Because that seems like a fairly narrow restriction, given that the price of vintage is climbing all the time ~ and also the scarcity of the vintage garments themselves.

I feel like if we were to constrict ourselves to the definition of vintage style as only being allowed to be called such when the person calling their style “vintage” is only decked out in authentic garments, or at the very worst, high end, quality reproduction garments that strictly follow authentic styling and quite often command just as high, or higher price tag than original vintage… Well, where will we end up while trying to follow this “rule”?

One, new comers who are interested in vintage style will find it extremely difficult to wear the style, even if it does appeal to them. The budget needed to create an authentic wardrobe is quite ~ well, large. The prices are rising, the supply is diminishing, and as such this alone will be a huge limiting factor for not only those that are already wearing, collecting vintage ~ but again, will be a big barrier of entry to those wanting to start.

Two, what will we all do when the vintage runs out? This isn’t really a separate point, as I did mention it above, but this is actually a big issue that I feel isn’t actually being addressed much ~ if at all ~ by those that subscribe to the “only authentic vintage can count as vintage fashion” theory.

Yes, a lot of vintage reproduction has a long way to go before it reaches the same sort of standards that a lot of vintage clothing has ~ even with its ageing and deterioration, a lot of vintage stuff is “better” than reproductions ~ the fabric is sturdier, the notions, like zips and buttons hold up better, the detailing is so much more clever, ingenious, and imaginative! Now, this is not to say that there isn’t fantastic quality vintage repro out there ~ because there certainly is, and I enjoy wearing it greatly.

It’s more to say that all our much beloved vintage is becoming scarcer and scarcer ~ it’s falling to bits, it’s being collected at great rates, it’s being *shudder* repurposed, and even tossed out into land fill. To put it simply ~ it’s a finite resource, and there isn’t anymore. When that limited amount is all gone ~ then what shall we do?

Companies can only do so much to fulfil vintage lover’s desires, because demand is a very real issue for creating detailed vintage reproduction products. And the demand for one vintage dress may be high; in that ten ladies world wide that are interested in the one piece, but flip that around and you have ten dresses with less than one lady interested in just one dress from a global market due to the niche nature of the vintage reproduction market. Well, you can see where it gets tricky.

So, should vintage reproduction be dismissed from vintage style just because it’s not genuine enough? I really can’t think that that is the answer… We are simply going to run out of vintage at some point and then what are we going to be? Certainly not vintage enthusiasts, or even vintage fashion wearers according to some people. I guess we must just be random people that still like to dress like their grandmas!  (~ ̄ 3  ̄)~…

But back to my little rant up the top ~ and the bias of being too modern to be vintage… Be it the ‘modern’ clothing you wear, or the fact that you just don’t look old fashioned enough ~ I don’t think those are the defining factors of vintage style.

Vintage style to me is solely this ~ using the styles and influences of past fashions from the eras {for the sake of clarity, let’s say from 1910 to 1960} defined as vintage to create your own look and style that mimics these fashions of bygone times. You can be as authentic and as accurate as you like, or you can wear a knee length skirt and a cardigan and call it vintage.

To be sure, I do believe there is a line between dressing twee/kitsch/pinup/rockabilly and true vintage style, but I believe that the difference has to do with the way you style your outfits and not so much the amount of actual, genuine vintage you wear. Embodying the spirit of vintage style is the key to dressing vintage, and again, not the authenticity of pieces you put together.

And for the sake of clarity, the spirit being the cuts, colours, fabrics, accessories, hair styles, make up, outfit silhouettes, etc. ~ and yes, obviously that is vastly helped by wearing the genuine thing, but I don’t think that should be a hard and fast rule…

I believe the beauty of vintage comes, as with all fashion, when you make it your own. When you take what is there, and use it to express you. And sometimes that might not be “authentic” from a historical point of view, but if it’s authentic to you then that will be where the beauty of your style is found!

But altogether this post took are rather unexpectedly serious tone, oops! From a random rant to a story to a dissertation on the spirit of vintage style…

My bad! However, if you stuck with me thus far, what are your thoughts regarding the elements that constitute vintage style? Have you ever come across the ‘must be genuine or not true vintage style’ theory before? I’m very interested to hear your thoughts on this, so please do comment below.  (๑°꒵°๑)・*♡

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Black Double Bow Clip | Old
Lacy Black Collar worn as open Snood | Old
The Foxy Pinup Dress | Bernie Dexter, via The Pinup Gal
Vintage 50s Black Bow Gloves | eBay
Bamboo & Frond Woven Purse | Thrifted
Patent Deco Heels | Thrifted

༺ ♡ ༻

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Ravelry | BJVear
Twitter | bjvear
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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

༺ In Retrospect of Easter Florals ༻

1940s vintage ensemble for Easter | Lavender & Twill

Vintage autumn look with 40s style | Lavender & Twill

1940s vintage ensemble for Easter | Lavender & Twill

1940s hair and a tilt hat | Lavender & Twill

Vintage autumn look with 40s style | Lavender & Twill

Vintage wicker and lucite purse details | Lavender & Twill

It’s late for an Easter outfit post, but I have photos of Easter outfit, and although they were not actually taken at Easter, here we are nonetheless…

The actual photos I took of this outfit on Good Friday were, to put it lightly ~ rubbish. I was tired, the sun was sinking faster than sand through an egg timer, the light was fading as only on-the-cusp-of-winter light can, and to top it off, my hair was poufy and frizzy!

I have learned that many things can be amiss with outfit photos {such as above ~ my top being all twisted from being tucked in crooked}, collars uneven, wrinkled skirts, even smudged lipstick… *le gasp!* (◕ o ◕)!

But hair? Nope, no, nooooopppeeeee!

Bad hair looks bad from every angle, it’s impossible to miss, and it ruins any kind of shot except perhaps long distances ones, and you really can’t base an outfit post around those. So, lesson learned ~ you can get away with just about anything, but fluffy, frizzy hair is not going to be the exception! {Note to self: don’t forget the mousse and pomade next time. (///_///)’}

I did like my outfit though, so I simply wore it again next weekend ~ to a nephew’s 4th birthday party. Problem solved!

Well, sort of ~ can’t do much about the lateness…. Haha.

I am really feeling 1940’s style at the moment, and all I seem to want to wear is the practical, yet elegant, type of look. I think that it might be the change in season ~ for some reason I find that 1940s fashion draws me in much more during the cooler months. The knits, which I adore, the pants and oxford shoes ~ all of it sings of crisp air and fallen leaves and snow to me.

Plus, so many 40s fashions are created in plain, yet striking, jewel tones, and these are colours I am also particularly drawn to during autumn and winter. So I am really enjoying a darker range of shades at the moment ~ wearing all the navy, plaid, and even black nail polish!  The last of which is not accurate to the 1940s, but a lot of fun… Heehee.  (•́⌄•́๑)

It’s also influenced my wardrobe choices a lot. I bought this Hell Bunny skirt thinking from the pictures that it was an A-line shape, so when it arrived I was actually quite disappointed to find it was a full circle skirt! Thankfully, that was an easy fix, and I ran a seam on either side down the skirt to take in some fullness. I think, looking at the pictures, I might want to take the side seam in even more, so I do end up with an A-line.

I wore it with my favourite Robin {Freddie} top, and accessorized with vintage pink jewels, a 1950s vintage halo hat perched on my victory rolls as a tilt, and my 50s wicker purse with an amber lucite handle.

I have never used a vintage purse as my everyday handbag before ~ I am much too worried about ruining them. But this one seems to be really sturdy and is doing the job well! It makes me happy to carry it around with me, so it’s been a great little bag for everyday use.

And yes, that does mean that most of the other purses you see in my outfit posts are selected solely for wearing with that particular outfit. Many of them don’t come down from the top shelf in my closet very often, but I feel like it preserves them for longer, so I’d much rather do that, then wreck them from constant neglect.

Have you used a vintage purse for your everyday handbag before? I have trouble finding them big enough, or strong enough… My handbags have to be able to take such a beating! I’m too busy running around to be particularly precious with them, so that can be problematic... Still, once in a while you do find a vintage bag that can handle that kind of load, and when you do, it’s so awesome!

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

1950s Pleated Halo Hat | Ooh La La!
Signature Rose Double in Apple Green | Daisy Jean Floral Designs
Deeply Pink Vintage Brooch & Earring Set | Gift from my sweet friend, A Wild Tea Party
Robin Knit Top in “Sage” by Collectif | Faster Pussycat, Sydney
Candy Pink Vintage Gloves | Love Vintage Market, Sydney 2011
Chocolate & Roses Skirt | Hell Bunny
1590s Amber Lucite & Wheat Wicker Purse | Ooh La La!
Tapestry Stockings | Old
Hunter Green Swinging Heels  | eBay

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:
Instagram | missbjvear
Pinterest | bjvear
Ravelry | BJVear
Twitter | bjvear
Youtube | Bonita Vear

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