Lavender & Twill : formal style

Showing posts with label formal style. Show all posts

Saturday, July 20, 2019

༺ In the Courtyard ༻

One of the prettiest places that I really enjoyed visiting in Chiang Mai was Nimman One. A group of buildings in Nimman {the district} just outside of the Old City that are arranged around the loveliest courtyard.

I fell in love with this place the moment I laid eyes on it, and instantly knew it had to be featured on the blog!

Of course, it’s difficult to fully portray the beauty of the architecture and surroundings ~ there are lovely tall green trees in the courtyard, and outside of the building ~ and it’s a very popular place. Lots of people walking through to visit the tiny shops tucked away in the walls, my favourite of these being the Monsoon Tea Shop which stock local teas made up into a huge range of delicious blends and flavours.

While we were there, another group was also taking photos ~ but they had set up a mannequin and were taking stock photos. Which was certainly easier than trying to figure out the timing for taking some of the pictures we did!

At night time the whole area is just as gorgeous, as the lanterns light up the clock tower, and the fairy lights that are strung all over the courtyard in the shape of a marque make the cobblestones glow.

Story time though, ‘coz the unexpected can still happen in the prettiest of surrounds!

…So to start at the beginning: I’m wearing a stunning true vintage dress in these pictures, and I just love it. It’s homemade I think ~ no label, and the waist is sewn shut with no opening or fastening so it’s a bit impossible to put on. It’s one of those “wiggle gingerly and smoosh through one boob at a time” kind of dresses ~ and if you’ve ever had one of those you’ll know exactly what I mean!

And all is going fine and dandy with the shoot, I’m so happy with how the whole ensemble looks in this location ~ but of course, it’s tropical heat so I’m “glowing” in no time at all.

And unbeknownst to me, this had caused my dress to stick horribly!

Most of the way through the shoot, and I do is put down my handbag… Then I hear that dreaded ripping sound that is every vintage wearer’s nightmare. Uh-oh…!

Of course, I can’t actually see where the rip is located at first, but that won’t be a problem for long because the more I’m moving around, the more ripping I hear ~ *le GASP*

Obviously, I’m doing my best to minimise my motion, I’m keeping my arms glued down, so I really didn’t think it was that bad until I tried to adjust my hair, and not one, but BOTH armpits had blown out significantly ~ yes, you could totally see almost all of the side of my long line bra through the holes! *cringe*

So now I’m tucking in fluttering shreds of fabric, smiling for photos and trying to make sure no one sees my bra, because OF COURSE everyone’s looking at the strange lady dancing around in the middle of the courtyard.

Thankfully, we finished the photoshoot and walked back to the closest shopping mall, which is Maya. On the way I noticed that there was a tiny clothing stall selling dresses and I stopped immediately to pick up an emergency dress.

It was only when I got changed in the bathroom at Maya that the full extent of the damage was revealed ~ unfortunately it was the worst I’ve ever seen happen in a vintage dress. On one side it was the fabric right next to the underarm seam that had popped, which is perfectly fixable, but on the other side, underneath the sleeve had shredded, and this giant tear went straight across to the apex of the bust, and down the side of the bodice. Somehow that tear had decimated the sleeve completely.

So there went my hope of an easy fix, but there’s enough fabric left in the sleeves to mend the bodice, so thankfully I can repurpose the sleeves for that. Then I’m going to purchase some black velvet and make replacement cap sleeves for the dress. And I’m also going to fix the waist and create some sort of waist opening because it’s just a pain to put on. But now I know why such a stunning dress was priced so cheaply… Haha!

So all’s well that probably ends well, and I’ll almost have a different dress to wear out of the whole ordeal.

But gosh! I've never had a vintage dress {or any other kind of vintage} disintegrate so completely while I’m wearing it, and I really hope it never happens again. I should say that it doesn’t deter me from wearing vintage in any way whatsoever, because even while my dress was literally falling apart on my back, I still felt so elegant in this frock. I loved the way it moved, and the pleated skirt was so swishy. Plus, that little black velvet touch at the lapel really adds that extra detail that I do so adore. So while I might have had the worst experience vintage has to offer with this dress, I also had the best experience at the same time ~ and I love it!

Of course, now I want to hear what’s your worst {or best} experience with wearing vintage. Do you have any fun stories? Let us know if you do, I’m keen to hear them!

xox,
bonita

༺ ♡ ༻
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Tuesday, July 5, 2016

༺ High Times at the QVB ༻

Um, too many photos. Too much good foods. Too many giggles! And gelatine…. Wayyyy too much gelatine…!

I want to leave the giant pile of pictures to do most of the talking, but the gist of the story is that we had high tea at the Queen Victoria Building on George St, in Sydney. The lovely Ellen from A Wild Tea Party hosted the event and we were a small, but definitely glamorous, party at the Tea Room in the stunning, historic QVB.

It was such a dazzling venue, there were pink crystal chandeliers on the ceiling! All the gold gilt and embossed features reminded me of the glittering palaces in Europe… We were even treated to dainty fine china ~ the Royal Albert Old Country Roses collection. A timeless tea set covered in roses and gold, which of course, I adored. ﾟ:*✧❀❁❀✧*:ﾟ

~ All of the ladies around the table: AWildTeaParty, MissHarlowDarling, LadyLauraBell, CurveCreation, EmmaAime, LilaJeanVintage, Rozelle_Rose ~

~ The gluten free scones were the best I’ve ever tasted… Total food melt down here! ~

~ A behind the scenes snap of our little walk that landed us at a church a block from the QVB; after we had finished up at the Tea Room. It was blogger chaos, dozen of pictures being taken, chatter and loads of selfies… Hilarious to see I’m sure!! #bloggerlife… : P ~

Everyone looked perfectly fabulous! We had a range of decades represented; from 1930’s elegance to early 1960’s Audrey Hepburn inspiration, and then of course, some gals were dressed in the ever popular 1940s and 1950s fashions.

~ All of our group together! There was definitely an unofficial red & black theme going on here, but somehow Ellen and I missed the memo! Haha! ~

I went for a 1950’s cocktail inspired look myself, as I had a very special piece of vintage that I’d been dying to wear out. ヾ(≧∇≦)ゞ Sometime ago an extraordinary hand painted, hand sequined, novelty print circle skirt arrived in the mail for me {that was a red-letter day I can tell you! Even my non-vintage friends who were over for coffee at the time could see that it was a unique piece of vintage; judging from my excited squeals over the parcel and how I simply had to try the skirt on straight away!!}, and I knew I needed a extraordinary occasion to wear it.

Skirts are one of those odd clothing designs that can look casual, even when they aren’t. This skirt definitely falls into the tricky spot of being a daytime special event piece. With all the bling, it’s definitely dressy, but being a separate tones down the special effect of the sequins…. If you can tone down sequins that is!

I could style it with a casual vibe to rock it to a vintage fair or something, but for it’s first official outing I was dying to glam it up. Therefore, it was an easy choice to pair it with the Collectif gold lurex top I’d purchased a while back, and once I added some more gold, beading, and rhinestones in the form of accessories, it really gave this ensemble the elegant feel I wanted for this amazing meetup.

My clear rhinestone decorated clutch, gold lurex gloves, beaded bow fascinator and burgundy fur shawl were all vintage finds that brought the perfect finishing touches to the outfit. The shoes were Betty Page, and arrived in the mail two days before the trip! Lucky last minute… Whew! So between the breath-taking outfits on everyone, and the melting delicacies of the table, it’s a wonder we had anything to say at all…

Haha! Just kidding! I think we just about gabbed the whole time away without a second to spare!! In between the giggles, there were multitudes of pictures taken, as you can tell, but I’m going to pop in some more… Sorry, not sorry!

Let’s finish with the fun "polaroid" pictures, because every time Ellen and I try to take a serious photo together it usually dissolves into a fit of silliness.... So there’s also a gif of goofiness, brought to you by our fabulousness. You're welcome! ₍^·͈༝·͈^₎◞♡

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

༺ Brocade, Taffeta & Some Thoughts on Dresses ༻

I honestly can’t believe how last minute this outfit was…

I usually try plan ahead for events ~ particularly special ones such as the wedding we attended recently, but we have been soooo busy, {ever since Christmas really!! (ô □ ô) …} that I just haven’t had a single minute to think. Not one!

I literally lay down in bed Friday night {the wedding was Saturday evening} and went, “Oh ~ that’s right, we have a wedding we are going to tomorrow afternoon… Now what am I going to wear??” And you’d never guess, but I did not have a thing that I could wear!

I searched my dress closet, and even went so far as to ransack the mending pile ~ figuring that I had time to do the mending if I found a suitable dress, but no… After rejecting a few different options, there really was only one thing I could do. (• •๑)_ ₎₎ ₎₎….

I had to go shopping.

Mind you, I absolutely do enjoy hunting down the perfect vintage dress for an event, so you know that shopping itself is never a problem. {Haha, maybe it should be?} However, I knew that having two hours to do the shopping was going to be the interesting part. I had no option but to go retail. Say what??

The whole family came with me to help pick out the dress, and I decided we would check out a shop in the city centre called Review. I’d been in there once or twice already, and I knew that they had a very nice “vintage” look to their pieces. Their knits are all gorgeous and completely vintage appropriate, and I was hoping that I would be lucky enough to find something that would both work into my wardrobe, and also be good for a formal reception dinner. Spoiler alert ~ we found a dress.

It did take a bit of finding, as I spotted the 50s inspired taffeta brocade frock straight away, but wasn’t convinced that the coppery tones would suit me. I picked out a few other dresses that seemed to be more in my style. They didn’t work out, for although the fabrics were more to my taste, {pearls, pastel pinks, florals, etc} the cuts were just too modern-does-vintage for me. Too short, too strappy, too sharp…

Then it was a decision between a 1940’s influenced dusky blue lace dress, or this one… I was still a bit meh, but I tried it on a second time and discovered ~ it. had. pockets!! (•̀o•́)ง✧

Of course I was sold then and there ~ that was the perfect vintage touch to my very 1950s modern cocktail dress. It was just a matter of figuring out what accessories to wear, and what colours to accentuate when styling my ensemble. Once I paired the dress with a fabulous vintage beaded handbag{the best evening bag I have due to it being on the larger side ~ winning!}, gloves, and some vintage jewellery, I actually ended up with an outfit I totally adored. This frock made me feel pretty for the first time in a while, despite my health issues, and it was a good feeling.

The nicest thing about the whole ordeal of finding a dress to wear to this wedding, was that I realized that it doesn’t have to be a vintage dress to feel special, it just has be a dress that feels like you.

I love vintage, I love my vintage dresses ~ particularly those amazing evening dresses with divine couture details. But what I like about those dresses is how wearing the right one makes you feel so comfortable, yet elegant at the same time. The perfect dress allows your inner beauty to shine through and enhances you. You wear the dress; the dress doesn’t wear you.

When that happens, it feels amazing. *.⋆( ˘̴͈́ ॢ꒵ॢ ˘̴͈̀ )⋆.*

And that’s why personal style is so personal, but also why as a vintage girl ~ or indeed, anyone who wears any kind of alternative fashions, or simply clothing full stop{!} ~ we still need to stay true to ourselves. Because when we do that, it doesn’t matter how old the dress is, or isn’t, or where it came from, be it a thrift shop or a couture house ~ it will be the right one to wear, anywhere.