༺ A Decade of Style Challenge ༻

I’m in the middle of a very fun challenge on Instagram called “The Vintage Fashion Challenge”.  Created by Carla of Tiny Angry Crafter, Jenny of @jenni.lee.knits, Sara of Canteen Cowboy and Mena of @makethislook, it’s a really great way of connecting to the vintage community on Instagram!

I’m not participating strictly, as I really just want to do this for fun and not because I have too, but so far I’ve managed to post for 4 of the 6 days from the first week. I’m basically picking my favourites to post about. :P

Along the way I had to look up a bunch of photos for Day 5 – “Style Evolution”, and I had so much fun I decided to create my own blog challenge based around that concept. Because of course I had too many photos and far too many words to fit it all in an Instagram post…!!

“A Decade of Style Challenge” is exactly what it says ~ the challenge is find pictures of your style over the course of ten years and have fun seeing how much it can change! Write about it if you want too, or don’t. You can also participate on Facebook or Instagram if you aren’t already doing The Vintage Fashion Challenge over there and would still like to join in. Anything goes, interpret this challenge how you will!

As I went with the “photo-dump-and-lots-of-words-to-explain” type of post, let’s jump right in…

It was definitely tricky for me to find photos from 2008 as I would never have thought to take a picture of my clothes. In fact, I had only just gotten my first digital camera so up until then I just didn’t take very many pictures at all!! Luckily, my sister and I went traveling in Europe for six months and we took a few pictures while over there, as you do!

The first two pictures were taken in Scotland, the wall at Inverness, and in the Natural History Museum in Glasgow. The last picture here was in 2010 – so we skipped a year as I had nothing for 2009 that I know of. I had been reading the Modcloth blog during the month of June 2010, and was fascinated by this thing called fashion blogging.

I have always adored clothes and “dressing up” for as long as I can remember, and on this particular day, I thought I’d try and take a mirror shot of my outfit to see if I could blog that way. I loved the thought of fashion blogging but was petrified to ask anyone to take my picture as I was afraid I’d be considered super vain if I wanted photographs of my clothes to post on the internet!

I quickly realised that there was no way I’d be able to blog with just a mirror, and I was actually very disappointed. This was something I really wanted to do, but I just didn’t know how I could do it. It took me a bit of time to work up my courage, but I think that day or the next, I nervously asked the Mister what he thought about fashion blogging…

He thought it was a really weird idea, but that if I wanted to do it ~ why not. So that day I brought my camera with me to family dinner, and asked my youngest sister to take some pictures of my outfit! My family all thought I looked like a librarian. I didn’t care. Haha!

I think it was my sister who snapped the first few outfits for me, but it wasn’t long until I plucked up my courage and asked the Mister if he could take some pictures as it really wasn’t convenient for my youngest sister to help out when I needed pictures.

He was willing to help, although he still thought it was a weird idea!

My style was definitely all over the place at this stage… I was heavily inspired by Japanese Gothic Lolita and skater style as teen ~ I loved wearing cargo pants and skater shorts as well as vests and fedoras and flared jeans ~ paired with black lace and cute jewellery. I never wore skirts or dresses ~ like ever. I liked being a tomboy, very active and as “street” as a white 18 year Aussie girl could be in the early 2000s.

So through the years of 2010-2013 my style was undergoing a lot of change. For the last half of 2010 I played with the idea of vintage, but I would also drop into Hime, Dolly, or Lolita inspired looks a lot.

I had also spent the last five years straightening my hair, so it was weird to embrace my natural curls again. I was very inspired by Liz of Delightfully Tacky, and chopped a heavy bang to match her look.

I soon realised bangs didn’t roll into victory rolls very well and as that was the only true vintage hair style I knew of, I promptly started to grow it out!

It was 2011, and I was also pregnant with our first child by this stage, so also had the added trouble of dressing a baby bump. I didn’t do a lot, but I did have fun trying to go as vintage as I knew how! Boy, I had sooo much to learn…

2012 and our Theodore was born and that’s when I really started to get into the swing of vintage style.

I turned back to sewing with my very limited beginner skills and determined to learn to sew vintage dresses so I could wear the styles that I couldn’t afford at that point. {If only I knew how expensive vintage would get!! I thought $80.00 including shipping for a detailed 1950’s dress was way too expensive back then… For real..!! I’d only buy them if they were under $50.00. I have no idea what I was thinking…}

I was busy learning all I could about vintage style ~ I read all the blogs I could find, trawling through post after post. I didn’t really have a lot of vintage resources, but I was obsessed with the few things I thought would create the perfect “vintage” outfit. It was all about those Bakelite bangle stacks, Victory Rolls, and red lipstick for me in the beginning days!

I would do my best to thrift vintage appropriate pieces from the op shops, but that was fairly challenging in itself as I was still learning what silhouette, fabric prints and colours would work in a vintage wardrobe.

I also got really into sewing. I started with a dress from all old vintage quilt cover, and then I drafted a circle skirt, and made it extra complicated by making it reversible. End of 2012 and I was pregnant with our second child. I had another go at dressing my bump vintage style, but never really quite got there. I stopped sewing over that time period because funnily enough, it’s really hard to sew for yourself when your body is changing daily {if not hourly…!}

After Isabelle was born in 2013, I bleached my hair blond and dyed it pastel pink for 6 months or so, but you aren’t getting any photos of that because 1. it looked terrible :P and 2. I stopped blogging during that time as I really couldn’t handle blogging and adjusting to a toddler and a newborn.

Sometime before she was born I really started to embrace my love of pastels. I’m not sure if it began around the same time as my love of florals, but the Swirl dress below was my first ever pastel pink item of clothing in my wardrobe and I adored it. I also had no idea what a “Swirl” was and how desirable a 50’s Swirl was when I bought for it for a staggering $50.00 including postage. FIFTY DOLLARS FOR A SWIRL! I’m shaking my head at how times have changed, but I digress…

Baby number three came along in 2014, and I was lucky as I had managed to pick up a few vintage maternity items by then, my absolute favourite being a 1940s lilac maternity frock. It was most definitely the cutest maternity item in my wardrobe.

In 2015 I continued down the path of all the pastels, and discovered my love for hats and wicker purses. And I also figured out that vintage reproduction shoes where really a good investment for a vintage wardrobe. Modern shoes can sometimes fit the bill if they are in a very classic style, but when you really want to finish an outfit off, you can’t go wrong with matching accessories, a hat, gloves and a pair of really good vintage style shoes!

I did buy my first pair of actual vintage shoes when I was pregnant with the third bubba, but never wore them as my feet ended up growing a whole size {almost a size and a half!!} by the time I was done with the three pregnancies. I was sooo glad that my feet didn’t grow any further as I could juuuust squeeze into most of my shoes, but quite a few have bit the dust since then and I’m not so sure that wasn’t thanks to the feet growing. Literally one of the worst changes from pregnancy. Just saying…

After Charlotte was born I spent the rest of 2015, 2016 and 2017 battling with Hypothyroidism and all the tolls it takes on my body. I have briefly touched on that in a post before, but it remains hugely relevant to my style changes.

My chronic illness has meant that I have gone up multiple sizes, sometimes two or three in a year – depending on how badly I was swollen and bloated. I was a solid size 10, and yes, while pregnancy changes your body drastically, I know hypothyroidism has also played a major role in my size 16/18 curves. It has been difficult for me to loose more than 90% of the true vintage that I’d collected and loved over the years, basically all that was left to me were the gloves, purses, hats and other accessories… Which has absolutely led to my obsession with brooches for the last two years, and also cost us a lot of money when I’ve had to buy a whole new wardrobe several times over…

But I think that’s a post for another day, so I will leave it where we are now: living in lush, tropical Thailand!

The tropical environment has definitely focused my wardrobe to breezy sundresses, strappy sandals and loads of wild, naturally curly hair {thanks humidity}. While this summery, casual fashion is not the closest to my favourite vintage aesthetic of a glamorous, tip to toe vintage looks from the 1940s or 1950s, it still feels like a fun, beautiful style to wear. Vintage on vacation if you will!

So I hope this post wasn’t too crazy long of a read, and if you enjoyed it, I want to pass the challenge on to you! #adecadeofstyle to share on social media, and please tag me if you do it! I would absolutely love to see what your take is on this challenge, and hear all about your own fashion journey over the last decade…

xox,

bonita

P.S. ~ This could also be a “Watch My Photography Improve” post; yeesh…! Some of those early ones are shocking! Haha!!

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༺ Oh Tea ~ It’s an Erstwilder Pinup Picnic ༻

Okay everyone, you already know that I’m about to get super excited because picnic, but to add to all that ~ Erstwilder ! Pinup! Picnic! Brooches!! *✧･ﾟ:* \(◕▽◕✿)/ *:ﾟ･✧*

When I saw all the gorgeous designs Erstwilder were releasing in their new Pinup Picnic novelty brooch range, you must know that I had the most agonizing time trying to decide which ones I was going to pick! They are all stunning, but in the end I had to narrow it down to three.

The Rosy Lee Teapot was first on my list, as tea is always an absolute must for me. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that I have a rather large collection of teapots, including this darling little stacking bunny pot “Tea for Two”. And what better addition to my teapot collection than a pink pot and cup brooch with dainty red hearts? The tea lover in me says “Yes please!” (♡ヮ♡) ∠❤!

But where would you be at a picnic if you didn’t have cupcakes?? So the delightful Cherry on Top brooch is modelled by Miss Loulabelle, a vintage loving gal that I met last year. We finally got the opportunity to hang out and spend some time together last weekend while doing this shoot, and I was so happy to have that chance! I also couldn’t go past a pretty pinup miss ~ and the self-titled Pinup Picnic lady is the perfect complement to round out a delicious selection of Erstwilder sweet treats!

Miss Loulabelle and I had such a grand time with our little picnic for two ~ I swear, half the fun is in the getting ready for these sorts of events ~ don’t you just love a chance to do your girl thing with another friend? And while our conversation revolved mostly around petticoats, make up and the like, I do seem to recall a certain helpless lapse into giggles over some silly lines about Mr. Darcy coming up out of the pond in his white shirt, all while taking photos?

Thank you Colin Firth. *ahem*

When it all comes down to it, what I really loved about this fun time is chance to make new friends. I think merry get-togethers over a pot of tea, or a good old fashioned bottle of Coke, are really a lovely way to spend time with your friends, new or old, and certainly the best for a summer evening out!  (⁎＾ᴗ＾⁎) ☆☆

Have you seen the Pinup Picnic range yet? Which is your favourite ~ if you can pick! ~ of the bunch? Or better yet ~ where would you hang out with your friends if you went on a picnic. Beach? Pool? At a park perhaps?  

xox,

bonita

Disclosure | This post was created in collaboration with Erstwilder and the items I have reviewed were gifted to me, but all views and opinions expressed in this review are solely my own. ʚ♡ɞ(o•ᴗ•o❁)

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Rosy Lee Brooch | c/o Erstwilder
Pinup Picnic Brooch | c/o Erstwilder
Buttercream Blouse | Thrifted
China Doll Circle Skirt | Me Made, March 2015
Peach Petticoat | Doris Designs
Gingham Picnic Wedges | Modcloth, Old

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Miss Loulabelle wears ~

Cherry on Top Brooch | c/o Erstwilder
White Eyelet Dress | Thrifted
Rose Lace Cardigan | Thrifted
Nude Pumps | Portmans

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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.  ❀(◕ ‿ ◕❀)

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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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