༺ In Retrospect of Easter Florals ༻

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

༺ ♡ ༻

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༺ Thoughts On Blogging and ‘The Taste Gap’༻

*le sigh* I told the Mister to tell me if my petticoat slipped down in these photos, but here it is making an appearance in just about every shot!  (￣。￣;) 

Oh well, no-one is perfect, and I don’t have to mention the lipstick I photoshopped off my teeth petticoats and the like to tell you that, do I? (*◕‿◕*)

Time for some real talk though ~ I find it hard to post pictures like these when I feel like they are not my ‘best’ work. In this particular outfit shoot, this one, and this one, {there are more, but we don’t have to go through all of them do we?} I feel like the photography is a bit subpar. Now, photography is one of those tricky things. When you are posting outfit shoots, how much of the photography matters, and how much is a good clear picture of what you are wearing?

Is it about the outfit, the writing, or the pictures? 

~ Isabelle wants to show you her pretty pink shoes; these are her favourite! ~

As blogger, I think it’s definitely a combination of both. As a writer ~ it’s all about the words because I’m painting a verbal picture. As an artist ~ it’s all about the composure, the subject, the ‘story’ your picture is telling.

I have this back and forth pull as a writer and an artist, as to which creative expression is more important and I guess that’s how I ended up being a blogger as well!  It’s the best of both worlds. Well, most of the time…

The problem is my inner art critique gets quite dramatic, and looks at the results of a 300+ photo shoot without enough decent shots and goes “I cannot post this! It is insufferable! Intolerable! It simply will not do! You will have to go out and take these photos again!” while my inner blogger is all “That’s all well and good, but I’ve got to post something. Empty blog space = bad. Static content = bad. Not posting regularly = bad! You will loose engagement in your community. Talk to people. Talk darn it!!”, but my inner writer shrugs, and just wants to write about how hard it can be to get good photos!

Haha. I’m not the only one with those voices inside their heads kinds of thoughts right? (⌒▽⌒)

As you can tell, my blogger side wins the argument most of the time, even to the point of putting up videos that are a bit grainy, or eking out a post from a scarce handful of photos gleaned from a shoot gone awry.

I think in some ways this is a good thing for me ~ it tells my perfectionist side to be quiet and just keep on turning out pieces {or posts in this case}. Sure, they won’t be like what I envisioned for the first little while {see this super amazing video by Ira Glass on the artist’s ‘taste gap’ if you haven’t seen it before!}, but the more I practise, the closer I get to creating what I see in my head.

And really, when it comes down to it, I think most of it is in my head. I know it’s not quite there, I know it’s not quite good enough. But the rest of the world isn’t holding it’s breath waiting on me to make the most amazing thing ever ~ and if it was, and if I did ~ how would I go on making more art if I couldn’t get over the fact that the next one might not be better than the one before?

One step forwards, two steps back? 

Maybe so, but as long as I keep stepping, I’ll keep moving forwards. My work will improve, that taste gap will close, and it will get better as long as I don’t quit and I keep learning.

This stretching process really applies to all kinds of creative efforts ~ writing, photography, art, sewing, outfit combining, knitting, blogging and just about anything else you do where you can say “Yes, I made it myself!”

Besides, who wants to make a perfect piece and never make anything again for fear of not being able to create something better? Sounds boring to me!

That’s why I keep on going on, keep on blogging ~ even those less than perfect posts ~ because I just can’t stop. It is continual cycle of metamorphosis ~ making, tossing, changing directions, creating a bridge to cross the gap so I can finally make the art I’m dreaming of.

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

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༺ Really Picture Perfect? ༻

Recently Lauren of Wearing History wrote a very powerful post about Social Media and the Myth of Perfection highlighting the curated reality of social media and the internet. 

She said a lot of things that really resonated with me, and also followed up with a second post, but this line was the key in my mind:

“We all put our best foot forward most of the time.  We don’t know what’s going on in their lives.  We can’t see what’s just off to the side of the viewfinder.”

And it’s true.

We put ourselves out there, we share our lives, our successes, and even our failures with people we may know, and many more that we don’t.

So naturally, no matter how honest you are, you are still going to be a curating an image of who you are online. And so does everyone else.  When we see what they are showing us we may think things are amazing, their happiness ‘rate’ is through the sky ~ in short, we start to believe their lives are perfect. 

Just think though, is your life perfect? Nope.

Is it because they have something you don’t?  Not really.

It is the powerful lens of curated social media changing the way we see others. No longer are we just keeping up with our neighbours, the Joneses, we are suddenly compelled to keep up with a lot of Joneses every where.

But the Joneses aren’t picture perfect all the time; and neither am I…

{P.S. ~ Click on the photos to go to the full post!}

These photos never made it to the blog, but basically it’s two hungry munchkins ~ Isabelle is wanting some food, and so is Theodore, but Mama’s juuust trying to finish this photo shoot guys, can you just hold on a few minutes??

I went to a tiny local park with my son, and then some people showed up to play with their children half way through the shoot. I was standing there with my camera and tripod… Er, awkward much?

But the light was fading sooo fast, and I had photos to take.  What's a blogger to do? Keep shooting and don’t make eye contact of course!

The sun was so bright in these photos I could hardly keep my eyes open! So many pictures, so many squinty faces…. Oh yeah, and I totally got sunburnt taking these snaps.  (⌒_⌒;)

“I always feel like/ somebody's watching meeee/ can’t get no privacy/ whoa-ah!” 

It took me an hour to get the photos for this post, and the entire time I was doing it, some random creeper was sitting on his front porch {off to the side and across the road} drinking beer and watching me run back and forth with my camera + tripod. 

I could literally feel his eyes on me every single second. And he didn’t go inside until I started packing up…. 

Yeah. Those shots were hard to get, I didn’t really like what I ended up with, and no wonder!

I spent ages photoshopping out a random ‘extra’ from this photo. In hindsight, the event was too crowded, and I didn’t try hard enough to get photos in better locations that didn’t have people everywhere. But I just wanted to enjoy a day out with my family, but then I also wanted to get outfit photos and…  Conflict! Drama! And lots of “Urgh. Why do I do this to myself?” afterwards.  (╯°□°）╯彡 ┻━┻

This. Happens. A. Lot. 

Hi babies!  °(• ᴥ • )°

Pregnant with my third child, the all-day sickness I was having still hadn’t subsided by 20 weeks, and continued on until 28 weeks whereupon I got six week reprieve only have the nausea come back with a vengeance at 34 weeks!

On the days I had to go out, I would get up and throw on a frock regardless of how icky I felt. Putting on some nice clothes helped me feel a little more like myself again, and less like a sick whale.

I’m 39 weeks pregnant. My feet are swollen, my ankles have vanished, my face is puffed up like a marshmallow, my children kept on running into the shots, and I am just D.O.N.E.

Trying to take photos without my brain exploding and smiling at the same time?  Near impossible, but hey! Some how it comes off, though I was seriously doubting that it would at the time… 

I’m almost four weeks postpartum here, and in my post I tried to keep a positive outlook about my body and how it looks, but let’s face it - what I really wanted to do was rant and rave and cry about how nothing fits, I have nothing to wear and I think I look like a big blob because no muscles, no waist and giant nursing boobs taking over my chest and when am I ever going to feel normal again and fit into my dang clothes!!! 

And I’m not gonna lie. At least once a day I still feel like doing that. It’s a long road back from carrying a baby, and every time you do it, there’s something else that changes in your body. Something else that won’t go back quite the way it was before. It’s an adjustment ~ to the new baby and to the new you.  Sometimes you don’t like the new you at all, and sometime you wonder if it’s ever going to be okay again.

But you know it’s worth it, even if it is hard. It’s like plucking a rose from amongst the thorns. You might get damaged in the process, but that beautiful flower is a treasure worth the pain.

So you suck it up, {and in! Thank goodness for corsets!} and keep on doing what you do, because in the end it makes you happy.  ❀(◕ ‿ ◕❀)

༺ ♡ ༻

Now for the caveat. As Lauren says in her follow up post:

“Sometimes the image was taken at a time of some of the hardest stories we’ve ever been a part of.  It helps others to understand that the image doesn’t capture how our real life was at the time.  But when we gather them together and are mindful of our own experiences and journey, it can remind us of how far we’ve come.  And if we did it then, we can do it again.  We can never expect smooth sailing through life.  Hard things come, and we get through them and grow stronger and wiser.”

Some of the things behind the smile I’ve chosen not to share, because this simply isn’t the place to do that. Or because I haven’t shared it with anyone in my life except those nearest and dearest. 

Really, in the end I’m not posting this because I think my life is so hard ~ I’m so grateful for my family and all the blessings we have. I am aware that they are many and overflowing, and I’m thankful. Rather it’s because I want to document the stuff that really goes on behind the scenes, including the pimples I’ve photoshopped off my face.

I think it’s nice to inject a little bit of ‘reality’ into my online story, not just so that I can remember that it’s not all sunshine and lollipops, but also so that others can see that we are all people behind the pretty pictures.

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

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Wearing Vintage ~ Real world vs. Blog land

I feel like a princess ~ I have donned my petticoat, pretty 50s style dress, floral heels and softly gleaming pearl jewelry.   Then I step out the door and all of that changes….  I walk with my head high, conscious of the stares and double takes.  Yes, I know I am dressed differently from the average person, but is it really that strange?

I have heard other vintage bloggers talk about their fashion choices and the effect it has on public when they walk out the door in head to toe, era perfect wear.   To be honest, I thought I knew what they were talking about.  I’ve had my fair share of odd looks ~ I haven’t really dressed in ‘normal’ clothing for sometime, but then again I have never gone the full head to toe of any style in particular ~ i.e. Goth, punk, Lolita, vintage etc.

Apparently outfits that are slightly off magazine trendy are unique and edgy, but a completely non~fashionable style such as vintage is peculiar.  I say this because the general public response to my vintage outfits and to my ‘interesting’ arty outfits is not the same and this surprises me for some reason!  Therefore, I am wondering if my expectations of people’s reactions is slightly warped perhaps?

You see, what I see on my computer and what I experience in the real world are two very different things.   You might say there are almost two separate worlds that I wear vintage in, one is the internet in vintage~friendly blog land and the other is my life; amongst real strangers with real judgments and preconceived ideas.

If you are wondering what I mean by saying that, let me say that this is how I see it:

In internet~blog land we read and visit blogs that we are interested in; so if you are into food you will read food blogs, and if you are into IT development you will read developer’s blogs.  It’s much the same with fashion blogs ~ if you are obsessed with runway fashion, you will read blogs that focus on that, and if perchance, you happen to like vintage fashion, those are the blogs you will focus on and immerse yourself in.

So everyday in your feed reader you will see gorgeous ladies dressed in 50s tea length dresses, 20s flapper outfits, 30s, 40s, 60s ~ you name it.  Every era, every style, every part of history is represented online.  And the thing about that is, you not only see bloggers themselves excited to wear these gorgeous clothes, but their readers eager to see them wear those clothes too ~ to me, these blogs are communities built around expressing yourself through your clothes. 

Therefore, in the online world vintage clothing is an acceptable mode of dress; and not just vintage, but pretty much any style of fashion distinct from main stream is okay.  I think that this acceptance creates an idea that dressing in vintage is a part of normal life.

But the thing is, in reality, that’s not the case.  Sure, anyone that wears vintage, or other subversive styles of dress, are really just ordinary people with different ways of expressing themselves.   However acceptable and ‘normal’ this is in the online world, it’s pretty unusual to see someone in everyday life wearing unordinary, un~everyday clothing!

I forget that.   I walk out in vintage clothing and I forget that the majority of people around me may think that queer, bizarre or even odd. 

Because of that I find it easier to post pictures of my vintage outfits than actually wearing them, because in one world uncommon fashions are admired, but in the other, they are just plain weird.

Does anyone else have this problem when they make daring fashion choices?

xox,

bonita

~ ♡ ~

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~ 11 Questions All About Blogging ~

I found this fun little post on A Coin for the Well and thought it was too interesting to pass up. So here are my confessions as a blogger! 

1. When did you first start blogging and why?

I started blogging on the 9th of March, 2005 with a little old blog called ‘Insanity’ that was more of an online diary, and hardly a scintillating read. I had to start it for a class assignment at university, so it was quite boring to begin with, until I realized that no one was reading it, then I continued writing it for fun.

 

 

2. Have you had any past online presence?

Not much ~ I did toy with a Live Journal, and I think I played with a MySpace for all of, oh, a week?  I really wasn’t into the early stages of social networking. ‘Insanity’ was next, and then I fell into the world of real blogging {*le gasp!* There are other people out there that do this! There’s pictures! And fun stuff!` Me likey!!} with my first ‘proper’ blog ~ Depict This!.

3. When did you become serious about your blog?

Pretty much around the time when I started Depict This!. It did take a while to find my voice, even longer to find my style, and even longer than that {four years!!} to evolve to the blog you are reading now, Lavender & Twill.

 

 

4. What was your first blog post?

I think it was something like “OH HAI!1!!! IZ A WEB_LOG n00b AND I CAN HAZ AN ONLINE DAIRY!!11!!” My first post to Depict This! is here, *cringe* and my first post on Lavender & Twill is here.

5. What have been your biggest challenges blogging?

Learning how to network. I’m still not very good at it; I’m on all these different platforms, but each one seems to be segregated ~ I feel like my online presence is very splintered. I am hoping that a website listing all of these things and bringing them together under one branding will help with that. It’s a bit of a pain, and a rather large undertaking, so it’s taking time to get that going.

6. What is the most rewarding thing about blogging?
 
Being able to share my voice, my story and finding other people out there who share the same passions and ideas. It’s so lovely to be able to connect! ♡

 

 
7. What is the most discouraging thing about blogging?

How much time it takes to get really organized. Crazy amounts of social media + no organization = time gobbling black hole!

8. What is your lasting inspiration or motivation?

I’m not sure about this ~ maybe to share, share, share? I just have so much fun reaching out and connecting. That really motivates me.

9. What is your blogging dirty secret?

I find it really hard not to compare myself with other bloggers. She looks so perfect, like a doll. I wish I looked like her… Ugh, I love those Irregular Choice shoes, but I could never afford them! So want… Gah! Those pictures! Outfit! Perfect! *Groan* I’ll never be able to do that… Gee, I wish Betty Page would send ME free dresses… Why can’t I set up a blog and have a thousand page hits in a week?… And so on and so forth. I try to delete this internal dialogue, but sometimes it rings in my ears far too loud and clear.

 

 
10. What is your current goal as a blogger?

To enjoy what I do, so that others can enjoy it too. I love writing, taking photographs and telling stories. I would like to see Lavender & Twill as one of those happy places on the web that cheer you up, no matter what kind of day you are having.

11. Have you learned or become passionate about anything through blogging that caught you by surprise?

Sewing. I only started sewing because of the vintage bloggers that I followed that would sew their own amazing vintage outfits. Being tight in the pocket, but free with creativity, and it didn’t take me much time to pick up my scissors and git ah snippin’!

So that’s my little random post of the week, I hope you have enjoyed it! If you wish to fill out this questionnaire and post it yourself, please feel free to. Also, do leave a link; I’d love to read what you have to say about your own blogging journey!

xox,

bonita

~ Got A Ticket For The Long Way Home ~

 

If I look a little hot and flushed in these pictures ~ well, there’s a good reason for that. My camera was across the road from this delightful little bus stop, and I had to keep running back and forth to push the button for the continuous self-timer shots.

I have driven past this lovely canary yellow and turquoise shelter many times, and I always think that it would make the best photo shoot background. While I was right about that (I love how these photos turned out!), it also was not as quiet as I had expected. 

Isn’t it funny how, as soon as you pull out a camera and tripod in a public place, there are  pedestrians and cars magically appearing everywhere? I really had to steal my nerves to get the pictures; boy, did I feel silly. (o⌒．⌒o) But I prepared a back story ~ I was doing an art project if anyone was to ask. Blogging is an art right?

Nobody actually did ask, and for the most part, people were politely ignoring the crazy woman in pink floral heels and a poufy peach crinoline dashing eleventy-billon (read as 29) times across the road to pose in front of the camera. Well, there were two rather cheeky twenty-something guys staring as they drove past, but I suppose they had never seen a woman dressed up and covered up at the same time… :P

So what is your back story when you are taking selfies in public? Or don’t you bother with that and just cleverly hand out your blogging business card? (≧ ∀ ≦ )

I would if I had one, but I don’t ~ so back story it is.

xox,

bonita

~   ♡  ~

50’s Swirl Dress | Etsy
Crinoline | Doris Designs Adult 26" Petticoat in Peach
Shoes | Thrifted
50’s Dryer Case | Thrifted
Pink Day Gloves | Love Vintage Show ‘11

~ ♡ ~

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