Lavender & Twill : vintage reproduction

Showing posts with label vintage reproduction. Show all posts

Monday, January 14, 2019

༺ Sugar Doll ༻

I’m so excited for this new year!

It does promise to be one of a upheaval, as we have plans that may see us moving back to Australia before the end of 2019. Although we are not at all sure when that will happen, I think we are all looking forwards to going home.

It’s not that we don’t enjoy living in Thailand still, as there are certainly things here that we really like and will really miss ~ I think it’s just that we are ready to move back. We have done what we set out to do, and we are getting to the stage where now we miss everyone back home, as well as our life there.

It’s been a grand adventure, but I guess missing Christmas back with our family has really hit home on how lonely it can be in a country where you don’t speak the language. I think we all have {but especially me} a good ol’ case of homesickness. Yes, we’ve met people we are friendly with {I’d call them acquaintances}, and we do have fun hanging out and chatting when we can, but you can’t really make friends easily.

I don’t think that’s necessarily the only reason we have for moving back though… We are also at the point in planning for the future where we’d either be committing to staying in Thailand for a much longer term, like five years or so, or we are coming back.

The long and the short of it is that we never wanted to make this overseas stay a permanent thing. Yes, we were open to it if it turned out that was something we really wanted as a family, but I don’t think that’s really happened. We’ve enjoyed our time here, but we haven’t really found an alternate home, if you know what I mean. We are so ready to move back.

It’s just time.

After a year and a half of our overseas adventure, it’s time to start the next one! While moving back to Australia might not look like an adventure on the surface, there’s definitely a lot of stuff coming up that will be keeping us on our toes.

Butttt, although that is where our minds are at presently, there is so much still up in the air as to when that might be happening! So we try to get on with it, and just figure out what we need to do in the meantime.

That seems to involve our usual weekly routines, like dressing everyone up on Sundays! We go out to Central Festival and have lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, either Panda Palace {not actually the name of the restaurant} or Sukishi {actually the name of the restaurant!}.

I wore this new-to-me Bernie Dexter dress a few weekends ago, and I’ve got to say, I am so obsessed. It was one of those ones that just make you feel special as soon as you put it on, like it’s total “end result of a movie makeover montage scene” moment. That’s when you know you really love something, when you feel like a million bucks wearing it…

The original cherry red belt was no longer with the dress when it came to me, but I substituted this cute scallop edged, shell-toned one instead ~ and made up for the lack of red with my 1930’s celluloid leaf necklace.

The necklace is a bit dusty and stained, even after a gentle wash, and a couple of the delicate spots have snapped. But you know how it is ~ you just can’t beat true vintage for those special details.

I was inspired by the gingham bow print fabric to wear a giant red gingham bow in my hair and I gotta say ~ I am into it. Hehe.

I don’t usually go for cherry prints ~ although I really adore cherries as they are my favourite fruit! I personally feel like they’ve become so ubiquitous to rockabilly and modern pinup {along with polka dots which I also don’t “do”} so much so, that no matter that they are found in vintage prints, I simply don’t like to wear them.

I had to make an exception for this dress however, as the gingham bow print is too perfect with the cherries and I really couldn’t resist! I’m glad I didn’t ~ I just love it!

Plus, how cute does my jelly purse look with this frock? I received a pink jelly purse for my birthday from the Mister, but when I was back at that shop later, I saw the blue one and knew it would go so well with so many dresses in my wardrobe that it came home with me too.

All in all, this ensemble is a totally eclectic mix of true vintage, modern pinup, and flat out high street-modern fashion, but I just don’t care. I love the look and that’s all that matters!

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻
Find me:

Monday, November 12, 2018

༺ Within A Dream ༻

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes,
Within a dream.

Ernest Dowson - 'Vitae Summa Brevis'

If there was a soundtrack to these pictures it would be ‘The Silk Road’ and ‘Alba’ by The Sidh. But even though I am sure I could have music playing along thanks to the technical genius of The Mister, there’s no way I’d subject you to that horrible moment when a website randomly starts blaring out music and scares the heck out of you! Haha!

However, the celtic inspired tracks do meld beautifully with the magic of this amazing winding road into the sunset…

I finally found my golden hour, the treasure of light and location that transports you to a distant world when you find a place that feels like you stepped into a dream.

Where the misty beams of glittering light transform the deeply overgrown road into a place of wonder, a scene from a fairy tale…

But the reality of it was that I had to be so careful not to twist an ankle as I trotted down the rutted track as fast as humanly possible over terribly uneven ground, in heels no less, to beat my camera timer! Haha! Whew, I was “glistening” by the time I finished that shoot, that’s for sure. Romanticism has it’s place but nothing beats a cool lime popsicle from the restaurant next door after an hour of shooting in tropical heat!

Still, I was so thrilled to be able to shoot at a dream location with a dream dress and a dream chapeau.

It’s such a fantastic moment when unicorns land on your doorstep!

This Tatyana Flower Cart Dress is one that I immediately loved when it came out years ago. But I also had to admire it from afar as it was way out of my budget. Fast forward several years and it pops up in a BSS at a decent price AND in my size!

It was meant to be!

Just in the same way this darling hat dropped into my lap…

Some months ago, I saw a notice pop up in my Instagram feed that Tanith, a talented and lovely friend of mine, was giving away some of her old millenary work for the cost of postage. I don’t think I breathed a single second when I posted to put my hand up for this amazing raspberry pink straw boater hat with cherries!

You see, I remembered this hat!

Tanith had posted about this particular boater when she’d made it, and I completely adored it back then. I gasped aloud when I first saw this delightful confection. That’s how much it spoke to me, I felt like it had been made from the stuff of my dreams!

I have always told myself that one day I’d save enough to purchase one of her amazing pieces, but I thought there was no way that the cherry & raspberry boater would still be around because it was {is} STUNNING and I’d just have to accept it would be snatched up in a heartbeat!

And honestly, I have no idea how this one wasn’t whisked off immediately, but I’m so grateful because it’s allowed me to own this dreamy chapeau and I couldn’t be happier!

Tanith’s work is so impeccable. I love the way she’s paired the pink straw with red cherries, and the how the rim of the hat has straw that goes inwards rather than it being simply coiled around in a circle. It’s those little details ~ such as a tea rose pink satin lining and loops for bobby pins to secure your hat to your head that make this such a special piece.

Of course, it came carefully packaged in it’s own hat box, and that is so great for storing your hats away from the evils of dust and sun fade. I have footage of me unboxing the package in my Instagram stories, so feel free to check it out if you want to see it in live action!

I’m sure it will be back on the blog as well, as I’ll have to force myself not to want to wear it constantly. And if you want to see more of her awesome work, she has Instagram, a blog and an Etsy shop so be sure to check those out!

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻
Find me:

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

༺ Western Rose ༻

I took these photos, oh, roughly over a month ago?

But I didn’t post them and it was a whole thing....

I don’t know why now, but I was convinced that they needed to be reshot. I think I did have trouble with the lighting being so varied throughout the shoot. But when I came back and re-edited them for a second time, I was like ~ okay, but why did I hate these again?

I’m guessing it’s because they are so dark and saturated? Being a total pastel princess this style and mood is really not my aesthetic, but I can’t seem to avoid it. Especially as the following two shoots I did after this one came out nearly exactly the same despite the time and location changes!

I think I am so used to golden hour being the last hour of sunlight that I’m not taking into account the mountains and the clouds they catch at the top. They block out a lot of the late afternoon light, and I really have to adjust for this by shooting at 3:30pm, not 5pm.

But blah-blah, I’m rabbiting on about photography again, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to hear my agonising over blog photos!

Can we just talk about how Hell Bunny has been absolutely crushing the vintage reproduction game recently? I think I just about died when I saw this year’s summer offerings, and although it took me the whole of summer I picked up my four favourite skirts and this dress… This dress!!

I bought the skirt in this print as soon as I saw it because I knew it was something I just had to have in my wardrobe. Then I saw how amazing this dress looks on a variety of body shapes, and it became a must-have. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to spend $90.00 to buy it. Then it was almost sold out everywhere in my size, and I just had to bite the bullet and go for it!

I think I might have even grabbed the last one…

I’m sooo glad I did however, as I just love this dress so much. The shape is so flattering for my shoulders, and I really love how the straps sit further in on the décolletage like true vintage tends to do. I feel like a million bucks when I wear it which is always such a good sign.

You can expect to see a lot more of Hell Bunny on the blog in upcoming posts. I’m sorry it’s going to be late and out of season for all the Northern hemisphere, but I have to roll with it, living in the tropics as we do!

Sometimes I’m sad that we miss autumn with its cozy knits, and crunchy, glorious foliage, but I really don’t miss layers and layers of clothing. When we had spent much longer in Australia than we meant to at the beginning of the year, I was already so glad to get back to sundress and light cardigans after only a couple of weeks of really cold weather!

Plus, all of these gorgeous prints from my current favourite repro brand definite deserve some time in the spotlight.

And speaking of spotlight, I am obsessed with the Starstruck Flexiclogs I’m wearing with this outfit. They are such an awesome pair of reproduction vintage sandals, and I’m planning to do more of a featured post about them later on as this small brand really deserves some love. I think their design is so fab, and I want to share more about them!

They go so perfectly with my bamboo purse {yes, I have two of these ~ one in pink and one in white!}, and just fit really well with that “vintage on vacation” vibe that I am all about these days! My style is far more relaxed and chill than it used to be and while I do miss the process of putting together full outfits at times, there’s no denying that this is the best way to continue to stick with vintage style in the tropics.

If you have an Hell Bunny summer dress recommendations, let me know what they are! I swear I’ve seen them all as I keep going back to see what else they have, but you never know ~ I might find the next perfect one for me…

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Pink Peony Hair Flower | Dollar Shop
Harlequin & Roses 50s Dress | Hell Bunny
Pink Bamboo Purse | AliExpress
Flexible Wedge Sandal | Starstruck Clothing

༺ ♡ ༻
Find me:

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

༺ Autumn Lane ༻

First world blogger problems…. I have too many photooosssss and I don’t know which ones to choose!

Well obviously I did actually choose something, but it was hard… I had to leave so many good pictures out… *dramatic sigh*

And actually, in all reality, I shouldn’t be sitting here writing this post. We leave for Sydney on Thursday, Thailand on Friday and it’s Tuesday as I type. Wow, that’s coming up fast!!

There’s not a whole lot to pack, although there is a veritable butt-ton of cleaning to do. I really don’t want to leave half of my Mum and Dad’s house looking like a nuclear waste zone, but I’m procrastinating. I think tidying up when there’s no real good place to put things is the utter worst.

So I sit amongst the mess and just tough it out until it’s all sorted.

Coffee helps.

A lot.

Until it doesn’t anymore and you wish you could replace your coffee with a glass of wine… Haha!

It’s really hard to gather my thoughts together, as I’m feeling very scatter-brained at the moment. Trying to think of all the things I guess!

I really did like how this outfit came out though. The dress is another great 40’s inspired Hellbunny piece. I paired it with my favourite vintage chestnut straw hat, a cute little canvas purse, and a fab pair of spectator heels from Chelsea Crew.

These shoes are new to me and I can really recommend them, I think they look good, they are quite comfortable for heels and I really like the details. They feel quite authentic to me, which of course, I love!

In this look, I wanted to play on the autumn theme and thought the caramel and chestnut brown accents where perfect with the cornflower blue of the fabric and those bright scarlet apples! I’m also wearing a cute enamel coated vintage apple brooch that I’ve had for ages. It sort of disappears in the fabric, but I can’t resist a good matchy-matchy moment.

Luckily, we found the most amazing carpet of golden leaves to shoot with. I just love how the yellow glows in the late afternoon light ~ it’s a breath of magic to transport to you to a fantasy land for just a short moment.

And l know all the autumn stuff is a sudden 180 turn from the last outfit I posted, but the weather has done exactly the same thing here in Canberra. We went from 30 (86 f) degrees sunshine to 15 (59 f) degrees wind, rain and grey, grey skies in the space of a week! Insane!

Winter is no longer coming… It is here.

And we’re leaving for Thailand. Yay! See you on the other side!

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻
Find me:

Friday, December 8, 2017

༺ Rose Red & Curls ༻

I think I’ve finally done it. I’ve finally found the perfect sunny weather style. This look really is my dream summertime ensemble!

The miniature roses, the sweet strawberry dangles on my straw purse, combined with chic wooden clogs ~ all these details add the finishing touches to my ideal red gingham dress. For me, it doesn’t get much more summer than this!

I’ve had the vague ideas of this look floating in my head for a while now, so it really felt great to finally put it all together. We wandered the streets of our Moo Baan after a long afternoon of shopping to find a picture perfect spot, and thankfully we had the road to ourselves.

We only just managed to sneak these photos in not long before we left Thailand, so they are a few weeks old already! It’s been a rather crazy year, and I really can’t believe it’s almost over… Eeek!

We have made it safely back, and now that we are finally over the jetlag; I can safely say that I’m definitely more acclimated to a tropical environment than I ever thought I would be…

You guys, Canberra is COLD! And grey. And cloudy. And it really makes me miss the gorgeous sunshine we had over in Thailand, like when we took these pictures!

However, one thing that I’ve bought back with me, and that I’m still enjoying very much ~ funnily enough ~ is my natural curly hair!

Quite a while ago I posted a picture on Instagram where my hair had gone pretty curly ~ almost to the point of an afro(!), or a Vogue editorial ~ and honestly, the response I got was quite astounding to me! I had people commenting on it left, right and centre ~ just about on every social media platform and I was shocked.

Everyone seemed to just love my natural curls! Even as wild and crazy and bouffy as they were that day. I mean, they were soooo fluffy! I would have firmly pegged it as a “bad hair day”! Yet, no one else seemed see it the same way.

So I got to thinking, maybe I should just roll with it and let my curls do their own thing? I wasn’t sure though, so polled it on Insta, and everyone was super positive about letting my curls run wild and free. {Yes, hair can totally run wild and free ~ the mane is unstoppable and untameable! It just wants to have fun and do it’s own thing… Haha!} And again, there where random supportive, and super positive comments all around the place from people I would NEVER have expected to chip in!

I was kind of overwhelmed, but ready to go for it. Since then, that’s what I’ve been aiming for ~ the curliest of curls I can possibly get!

It’s a bit strange, as I have been trying to tame, smooth, and flatten the mane for such a long time! I’ve worked hard on achieving a good pin curl set on my hair type over the last six years. To let it just do it’s thing feels very weird. But it seems like it was the right time for something new.

I feel like all these little changes I’ve been making since moving away at the beginning of this year has really transformed my style. And while I will always have a soft spot for a neatly defined pin curl set, I do have to admit ~ this natural mop is by far soooo much easier to achieve!

I’m not sure I’m even ready to go back to pin curls yet, but maybe in time I will revisit them. If I haven’t forgotten everything I have learned by then! Haha!

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Miniature Rose Hair Flowers | Chiang Mai Night Market
A Gingham Summer Dress | c/o Sisjuly
Palm Straw Purse | Chiang Mai Night Market
Black Strap Clogs | OPERA, Malaysia

༺ ♡ ༻
Find me:

Pages

Monday, January 14, 2019

༺ Sugar Doll ༻

Monday, November 12, 2018

༺ Within A Dream ༻

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

༺ Western Rose ༻

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

༺ Autumn Lane ༻

Friday, December 8, 2017

༺ Rose Red & Curls ༻

AddThis