Lavender & Twill : mama style

Showing posts with label mama style. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

༺ Mother & Daughter: Buttercup Dandelion ༻

True story time ~ don’t try to work with children when you are in a tight jam!

Also, we don’t have buttercups… Just a lush field of greenery, dotted with brilliant yellow dandelions and fluffy, itchy-as-all-heck, seeding grass to stand in.

Yesterday I had planned to get ready, do an outfit shoot, then go and do the grocery shopping. Everything was comfortably rolling along until I realised that I’d forgotten about my first Pilates class of the year ~ and that was happening in half an hour! I had exactly thirty minutes to get these photos done… Argh! (◉ Д ◉)

I swiped on my new favourite lipstick, grabbed the Mister, the camera and the children {somewhat in that order!} and headed across the road to take some pictures.

Then of course, there was my genius idea to get some photos of Belle and do a Mother & Daughter post ~ mostly because every day she is looking so much more adorably grown up, and less and less like my little baby girl. But working with children is tricky at the best of times, and we were on such a short time constraint that it made it a hard to get a good picture.

I think I might have to do an outtakes post sometime soon, and include some photos from this shoot because there were a few hilarious shots where Belle was just like “Nope! I’m out of here!” and all we have are blurry pictures of her back as she takes off. This was even after she very seriously informed me with her arms all crossed that she “had to get dressed’n {dressed and ready} for de day, n’ take some photos for my shog too Mummy” while I was getting ready. Haha! Whoops, I think she’s a bit young for blogging just yet! ◟(• ε •๑)◞ ₎₎ ₎₎

When came the time for taking those photos ~ she naturally had other ideas about what she should be doing ~ namely, playing with her big brother and running about the place! We managed to get a few snaps, then I dashed back to the house, scrambled into my gym gear and went to Pilates with a full face of makeup ~ which, to be honest, I don’t normally do unless I’ve already been out for the morning.

I prefer not to wear makeup when working out as I don’t want to clog up my skin when the product mixes with perspiration! Not a nice feeling at all…

However, I was pleasantly surprised that it all stayed perfectly in place, and my face didn’t get shiny at all, so when I got home I simply changed, then went to the shops as originally planned. *phew!* A bit of a topsy-turvy day, but these things happen.

It was a good thing that I had a cute, easy to wear outfit that I could throw on and off. My hair flower is a beautiful pastel rainbow rose confection {try saying that five times fast!} from Daisy Jean Floral Designs and I love it so much! When it came in the mail, I promptly clipped it to the towel turban I was wearing as my hair dried, because sometimes I’m far too excited to wait to wear my new pretties! ‘‘\(*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ･✧*:ﾟ

I love how well it goes with another wardrobe favourite ~ this top is the Rio blouse in Lilac Rose Gingham from Vivien of Holloway, and it’s pretty much the best thing ever.

I’ve been wearing it just about non-stop this summer, and it has proven to be an extremely versatile piece. The style of the blouse is easy to wear with circle skirts, or pants, and another favourite pairing is with my Vivien of Holloway capris.

Plus, a great bonus for nursing mothers ~ the ties at the neckline undo and allow really easy access for breastfeeding, which is another reason that I’ve been loving this top a lot. And how can you go past the darling lilac gingham with sweet pink roses scattered all over it? It’s really my favourite fabric ever ~ I wish I had yards of it to make myself a couple of dresses, a skirt or two and more blouses from it!

Do you have a favourite quick and easy outfit uniform? Mine is definitely a dress of some sort, or a skirt and top, but that’s only if the blouse is easy to wear. I don’t like wearing a blouse that is fussy, like if you have to keep tucking it in, or it doesn’t allow for a full range of movement easily. Or worse ~ the fabric isn’t comfortable! As a whole, I prefer knit tops to blouses, but not in the case of the Rio top which is easy to move in and comfortable as well as being cute! Also, a great peasant blouse is definitely for the win. ☆(*ゝω・*）

xox,

bonita

Disclosure | Daisy Jean Floral Designs and Lavender & Twill have partnered up this year to bring to you some amazing floral hair accessories! I bought the DJF hair flowers because I really like them, but I’m also excited to feature this wonderful Australian small business, and the pieces I buy are discounted as part of our agreement. (✿◠‿◠)

༺ ♡ ༻
Isabelle wears ~

Lollipop Hat | Mini LuLu by Avenel
Dainty Daisy Dress | Kmart
Sparkles Owl Little Girl’s Purse | Gifted
Dainty Daisy Sneakers | Kmart

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

༺ Road to Neverland ༻

Sometimes you just want to be a unicorn princess. ❤ And sometimes I think I don’t want to grow up….

As a teen I always admired Japanese street fashions, and I think I’ve mentioned it here before, but I was really into the Gothic Lolita fashion {this was back in my monochrome days ~ so black was clearly the only acceptable colour}. It was something I’d never seen before, it was so different, so frilly ~ so… fun!

I never really had the chance to wear Goth Loli styles however. There wasn’t anywhere I could buy those kinds of clothes in Australia, and buying them from Japan was not only prohibitively expensive, but also super difficult ~ the wide range of online retailers you can find today weren’t around, plus translation and shipping issues where numerous.

I ended up buying myself my first Goth Loli outfit when I was in London, some years ago. I went shopping at the Camden Markets, and being a mecca for alternative style, I found a Lolita/Gothic Lolita shop and was so excited to see the fashions I’d wanted to wear for ages!

Did I ever wear the full fashion?

No, not really.

I did wear my outfit to a fancy dress party once, dressing as a magician’s assistant. I never dared to wear a full Gothic Lolita look. Yet, to this day, I still love the Lolita style ~ though I am far more drawn to Lolita and Classic Lolita fashions than the Gothic now. I might have moved on from my love for all-black-everything, but certainly not my love for alternative fashions!

Every now and then, despite being a Vintage Girl through and through, I still try out my favourite doll inspired styles. Sweet and girly are definitely two key words to my personal style ~ but I wonder if I’ll have to leave them behind as I grow older?

I know that there’s a lot of rhetoric about not letting age define us as women, being able to wear whatever you want ~ and I think that’s great! I also notice that there’s still a certain, mmm, age appropriateness going on?

Even vintage girls, outside of fashion trends and influences, seem to move away from the more ‘youthful’, sweet sixteen vintage looks as they go through life, and adopt the more ‘mature’, elegant vintage styles. I’m not saying that this has to be the way, or that it’s a bad thing. Those that do this, absolutely wear their chosen fashions with aplomb, and I think they look smashing!

I love that classic vintage fashion doesn’t rely on a woman’s age, or her looks, to create fabulous style ~ but rather the fact that she is a woman. Full stop. I feel that the impact of vintage fashion springs from our inherent femininity. And every woman has that ~ it’s just up to her how she wants to express it.

Even so, it feels like there is a necessity to not be “mutton dressed as lamb” ~ can you look silly wearing girlish style when you are indeed, a girl no longer?

Are you a vintage girl, or a vintage lady?

I wonder about these things, and what I’ll do when my children are all grown up. Whether I’ll still wish to dress like a unicorn princess, or want to be a more grown up version of a doll. Maybe I’ll start wearing historical costumes instead of sweet girly dresses! (❀◕ ‿ ◕❀)

I don’t feel a particularly pressing need to find an answer to these questions, but I do wonder. Maybe those changes will happen naturally, and I’ll slowly gravitate towards more classic looks. Or maybe I just don’t want to grow up, and one way for my feet to be forever on the road to Neverland will be through my wardrobe…

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

༺ Mother & Daughter: Pretty in Pink ༻

Getting Miss Wiggle-Pot to stand still and take a photos for this shoot was much harder than usual! Most of the time she loves to come and photobomb my blog pictures, however, this time I got lots of cute-but-not-quite pictures instead.

I guess that’s why they say don’t work with animals or children, but I keep finding myself breaking that rule. Oh well…

Funnily enough, she was very happy to come and show me her outfit after she got dressed in the morning. She runs into my bedroom while I’m getting ready for church and says “Look at my pretty!” And proceeds to bend down and point to her favourite pastel pink shoes with the white and pink daisies on the toes, then pick up her skirt and swish it around. She also pointed to her buttons ~ “Look! Buttons!” she says. ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ

I may or may not have proceeded to point my toes and say “Look, Mummy’s wearing pretty shoes and a dress too!” while swishing my skirts. *coughcough* (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

It is so fun having daughters! I find it so amusing how, without very little {or none at all!} encouragement from me, Little Belle has already decided that pink is her favourite color, and that pretty dresses are her favourite things to wear.

And I swear I had nothing to do with the fact that she’s been obsessed with shoes since she was six months old! Unless it’s genetic… Lol.

Mind you, if it changes later on, that’s perfectly okay, but for now I’m definitely loving the joy that we have from sharing fun things like pink and dresses. (♡◠‿◠)

On that note ~ how cute is this vintage pink and grey gingham 1950’s frock? It was an absolute steal on eBay {less than $33.00 including p+p can you believe it!?} ~ a rare, but sometimes lucky find. I just love that this dress has pockets, yes, two of them! I might have had to wait for a year to wear it, but it was so worth the closet space.

That’s one of the problems buying vintage out of season, or in this case, if you’re pregnant! Sometimes you have to wait several months before you can find out whether it fits… And sometimes you know straight away that it’s not going to. I have had one or two like that ~ where I was over-optimistic about how much give the cut of the top had, or some measurement somewhere else other that bust or waist ~ like arm scythes or shoulders ~ don’t fit like you’d expect from the bust/waist measurement.

To that end, I’ve created a new Instagram! @lavenderandtwillvintage where I’m going to be selling off the vintage, or vintage reproduction pieces, that I no longer love, or that don’t quite fit right. I actually have a huge box of clothes waiting for me to do something with it, so I’m exciting to finally be finding new homes for these lovely pieces so that they are no longer languishing in the bottom of my closet!

Please bear in mind, it will take me a while to get everything listed, but I hope you will follow along for the goodies I have in store. ( ^ _ ^)∠☆

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

༺ A Foggy Day ༻

Brown and black vintage accessories | Lavender & Twill

Winter vintage style in Australia | Lavender & Twill

I wake. The world outside is white. Pale mist gently blankets the ground. Foggy tendrils curl, muffling the dim shapes moving beyond the curtain closed around my horizon. We are blinded by soft grey cloud, the limit of our perception tethering us to our own solitary islands. Which is just another way to say that not only was the temperature a chilly 1.5° on the weekend, it was also extremely foggy!

It always seems extraordinary to me how much fog does change the world; creating an air of mystery and adventure amongst everyday life by the mere act of veiling and obscuring our view. It even changes the weather from one day to another. Saturday was a delicious day of warmth and sunshine, on the other hand, Sunday was cold and miserable and I was extra glad for my new-to-me vintage coat. (♡◠‿◠)

I purchased this caramel wool coat back in summer because I needed a new coat for winter and I thought it would be just the thing. I was right! I adore the fur collar ~ it’s so soft and fluffy, and it keeps my neck super warm. Plus, the muted caramel hue is the perfect addition to my wardrobe.

I have needed to buy more basic pieces in shades of brown to build up an alternative to the black that has been be my only option for outfit basics {when winter comes} for many years now. Not that I don’t enjoy black, as you can see with my accessories I chose ~ I think this combination of shoes and purse are my new favourite pairing ~ but sometimes you need something a little lighter.

Also, the awesome thing about this black, brown and white plaid dress is that it allows me to mix my color scheme. And yes, there are tiny embroidered yellow daisies centred in every white square on my dress. Fun! ✧*✿❀✿*✧*✿❀✿*✧

Now I know it’s not winter for most of you, but I am wondering, do you have a core color scheme that runs through your wardrobe? Mine, as you might be able to tell, is black ~ a hang over from the days where I only wore shades of monochrome and had over thirty pairs of black shoes!

I’ve been slowly whittling away at my black items, and have practically tossed all of my old black spring/summer items. However, I hold on to my black basics for winter, even though I’m also collecting more brown these days, which I prefer in summer.

I find it interesting how I’m tending towards a more seasonal wardrobe in terms of color now, which I certainly didn’t bother about before. I think it’s the influence of you lovely vintage fashionistas out there keeping me up on the trends. (•ᵕ ᴗ ᵕ•)❀

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

༺ Mother & Daughter: Lilac Sprinkle ༻

It must come as no surprise, but every time I see this photo of Charlotte’s beaming smile it makes me giggle! Of course, when I realised we were wearing matching outfits, I did what any good blogger does and was all “Eeep! Outfit photo time!”. My baby girl is so beautiful, and is growing bigger and bigger every time I blink, so I am glad I took a moment to get these pictures. ❤

Time flies by so fast, but somehow I’m managing to finish up a few projects here and there ~ my studio website is ready to go live after many months {years? I really can’t remember!} of work and waiting, so I’m excited for that.

Another project that I just wrapped this week after hours of woe and frustration, not to mention refilming{!} ~ is a introduction video for my YouTube channel. I have been meaning to get one up for ages, and finally did it! w00t! (ง •̀_•́)ง ☆

As you can see, this wonderful lilac 1950’s reproduction dress sure has been busy sashaying about. In the last month I’ve worn it to two dedications, church, and for both the videos I filmed {one of which was no good due to lighting issues, but oh well}.

It was a Christmas present from my parents in 2013, and I really do enjoy wearing it. It was custom made for me, and tailored so professionally. It was the Selena dress that I ordered, and while I desperately wanted it in the original fabric, a delicious golden beige color, unfortunately it was out of stock, so I settled for the lilac instead.

I’ve been really pleased with it, and every time I wear it, someone compliments me on how pretty it is. The fit is really spot on, and the sewing is neatly done.

Also, I asked for pockets in the skirt and working buttons on the bodice, and they did that for me with no extra charge, which I thought was very generous. At some point I think I would like to order another bespoke dress from the maker ~ Top Runway. They are actually on eBay and you might have already come across them if you were looking for vintage reproduction on eBay at all.

I can highly recommend working with them. I found that they really did everything they could to make sure your dress is the way you order it, plus their prices are extremely reasonable for a custom made dress. My dress was $120.00 AUD, which is roughly $90.00 USD, and came with free shipping to boot!

Have you ever ordered a bespoke dress? What would be your dream dress to create? I know I’d love to have a ruby or violet velvet 1940’s evening gown someday and if I can’t find a vintage one, I might just have it made for me! ヽ(*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ

xox,

bonita

Discloser | I am not affiliated with Top Runway in any way; I was given this product as a gift and chose to do a review because I like it.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

༺ Hello Hello Kitty! ༻

Daisy. Red nails. Jeans. | Lavender & Twill

I picked up this Hello Kitty t-shirt while I was pregnant with Charlotte {about 28 weeks-ish? I think?} ~ anyway, I knew I’d love wearing it even though I couldn’t even imagine it stretching enough to fit over the bump at the time.

A few months and one baby later, it turns out I was right! :P I really love this t-shirt, the fabric is soft, and it feels very ‘vintage’ even though it isn’t in the slightest! I totally get the obsession with vintage t-shirts now. You also can’t go wrong with a classic kawaii Hello Kitty print.

I’m wearing it with some Freddie’s I bought off Stephanie of The Girl with the Star-Spangled Heart when she sold some of her wardrobe in a blog sale. {I have discovered I love blog and Instagram sales, even though they are dangerous to my budget!} I also picked up a fabulous 50’s dress, but that’s a post for another day. (⌒▽⌒)

Jeans and some sort of blouse/crop top/t-shirt would appear to be my day-to-day outfit combination this autumn ~ I’m not entirely sure why, though I suspect it might have something to do with the sad lack of ‘winter’ type dresses in my wardrobe currently. I’ve been keeping my eye out for appropriate dresses, but it does seem that longer sleeved dresses, or ones with a winter-y colorway such as jewel tones, are harder to come by without resorting to buying black!

Not that I’m against black, it definitely has a place in my wardrobe, but I just seem to be leaning more towards tan or navy blue, rather that the starkness of black for my accessories. And black clothing just seems a bit, well, boring. Actually, it can be really awesome in person, but it never seems to photograph properly you know? That also makes buying black clothing online pretty tricky.

I do wear darker colours more in winter, but my sensibilities still are yearning after pastels and florals! Even the dress I’m sewing at the moment is a floral sprig print. *shakes head* I think I need to get my act together. If I’m sewing my own clothes I really should be sewing the pieces I need!

There’s always the next project though, right? (*≧ω≦)

Do you like wearing t-shirts with your vintage jeans or do you prefer to stick with classic blouses or knit tops?

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Thursday, May 14, 2015

༺ Mother & Daughter: We ❤ Mother’s Day ༻

Circle skirts are easy and comfortable to wear | Lavender & Twill

Following on from the awesome day we had Saturday, it was time to celebrate Mother’s Day with our extended family in Sydney.

My Grandmother and Grandad came to lunch with us and my Uncle, Aunt, and cousins ~ and I have to say, I think that’s really special. My children have two great grandparents to enjoy! That’s also four generations of women on my mother’s side, which is pretty amazing.

We all got dressed up in pretty dresses, and yes, Charlotte was supposed dressed up in a pretty dress too! But she was sleeping, so she’s snuggled up in her spring time wrap that is a special gift from when she was born instead.

Despite the cooler autumn weather, spring time was the inspiration for these mother and daughter outfits, mostly because my new me-made skirt has a delightful pastel pink and lilac floral print on a mint background. Yes, this circle skirt is actually my March “Sewing All The Things” make. I really did make it in March, I swear!! It’s just that it’s taken me this long to get the photographs of it. (> o <)’

It doesn’t mark off any of my goals from the Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge, as this pattern might be vintage, but it is self drafted and neither “a vintage sewing pattern, nor a reproduction vintage pattern”. That’s alright though because pastel! Pockets! Gold buttons! All the fun things! (＾ ε ＾) ♡

Did you do anything special for Mother’s Day this year? I loved the chance to dress up in matching outfits with my daughters, as I probably won’t be able to con them into matching outfits when they are older. Have you ever worn Mother & Daughter outfits before? Would you do it now?

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Lacy Look Knit Top | Thrifted
China Doll Circle Skirt | Me Made, March 2015
Dragonfly Chain | Gift, Christmas 2009
Rose Garden Peep Toe Heels | Thrifted

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Friday, April 17, 2015

༺ 2015 does 1950s: A Vintage Look via Modern Clothing ༻

Confession time!

Though I’m sure you have already guessed from the title what I am going to say, here it is.

Only one item in this entire outfit is vintage.

*le gasp!*

Can you guess which piece it is? And no peeking at the outfit details! (⌒ ▽⌒)

I hadn’t realized when I was putting together this outfit that most of it consisted of retail items ~ in fact, one third of the clothing is quite new, as in I bought it this season!

I think this makes an excellent point however ~ you don’t have to buy vintage to dress vintage.

I started with a simple A-line skirt, then channelled my inner Dita and popped a cropped t-shirt on to keep the outfit more ‘casual’ and less ‘business’ looking. I added a pastel pink cardigan to soften the effect of the black and white monochrome {a styling decision influenced by Briar Rose from this post.}, a carved clasp belt for interest, and gold sweater clips for sparkle. Then I tossed my faux fur swing coat on top for some extra warmth and texture.

What I really liked about the whole ensemble is that any of these items could pass for vintage, and by styling them in an era appropriate manner, you really can’t tell that they are new. Unless you happen to see the labels!

And that’s the great thing about vintage. So much of it is about the way you style it, not what you are actually wearing. It’s so easy to personalize ~ less vintage can be more with the addition of classic retail pieces, and it can be mixed up so that you look modern or like you stepped out of a photograph ~ you can really wear it any way you’d like too!

So tell me, do you have any favourite retail clothing that is “I can’t believe it’s not vintage!”? Which classic items do you buy from the shops rather than buying vintage? Mine are cardigans. I hardly ever buy vintage cardigans, and I have a box stuffed full, and overflowing, of cardigans of every shape and color. It seems to work well for me. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ

xox,

bonita

Fun note: I wore this outfit when going out for breakfast with friends and happened to have the most perfect hair day ever ~ right before I had to go get it cut at the hairdressers! ( ゜-゜)… Isn’t that always the way?!

P.S. ~ It was the faux fur swing jacket. I bought it at a Canberra vintage fair, and though I don’t know the exact era, I peg it as late 1950’s to early 1960’s.

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

༺ Goldenrod ༻

We are almost one month into autumn and the leaves are falling fast. Everywhere I look there are goldenrod carpets of crunchy, crisp foliage scattered beneath shaggy, half-naked trees.

Autumn is my favourite season ~ the late roses come into bloom, and brisk breezes cool the morning and evening skies. Fall days slip by, as glided beads sliding off string, and so time turns ever on.

In Australia, autumn weather is usually quite mild, and I’m lucky enough to still be enjoying my summer dresses, and my summer hats, including this new-to-me, vintage daisy yellow boater.

I had placed a bid for it on eBay, and then I spied this super cute, yellow enamel hat novelty brooch and knew I had to get that as well ~ all the matching pieces! (＾ε ＾) ♡

Yellow isn’t a colour that features very heavily in my wardrobe. This dress is my one and only “yellow” dress that looks a lot more like cream with a hint of butter, but I like the effect of the yellow and caramel accessories with it ~ I think this combination works well.

All that being said, after wearing this yellow straw boater I have realized that I don’t actually know whether it will work with the rest of my wardrobe! I did have a certain look in mind when I bought the hat, but I’m not sure that I considered the “wider” wardrobe picture when purchasing it. This is kind of a problem, as I don’t really want to keep a hat that I can only wear with one dress.

I don’t actually know what I might do with it. I could keep it, but I’m not really wanting to waste the space on a ‘one look’ hat. I really only have the wardrobe space, and the time, for versatile items. I have a few vintage pieces like this ~ ones that don’t quite fit right, or that I’m not really keen on anymore. I think I might sell them, but I’m not sure where or how. eBay? Etsy? Instagram?? {Actually, I don’t have enough followers to sell through Instagram} Or maybe I could do a giveaway???

All these questions I’m pondering, and I’m curious ~ have you ever bought vintage only to realize you don’t know if you’ll get enough wear out of it? Have you ever bought vintage online that you discovered you didn’t like after it arrived? What would you do with vintage you didn’t want?

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Pages

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

༺ Mother & Daughter: Buttercup Dandelion ༻

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

༺ Road to Neverland ༻

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

༺ Mother & Daughter: Pretty in Pink ༻

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

༺ A Foggy Day ༻

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

༺ Mother & Daughter: Lilac Sprinkle ༻

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

༺ Hello Hello Kitty! ༻

Thursday, May 14, 2015

༺ Mother & Daughter: We ❤ Mother’s Day ༻

Friday, April 17, 2015

༺ 2015 does 1950s: A Vintage Look via Modern Clothing ༻

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

༺ Goldenrod ༻

AddThis