the eyes have it

Just a quick post to mention that there are some quite groovy T shirts on offer on the Uniqlo website at the moment.

Part of their UT 2013 collaborations with a range of designers, these lovelies are by Lulu Guinness, a name of which I am sure you have heard.

I have not been a big fan of Lulu’s designs in the past, as I found them a bit frilly and frou-frou for my taste. My sister used to say her handbags looked like cakes, and I think she had a point.

I was once bought one of Lulu’s umbrellas as a present which, although a nice gesture, did not set my heart aflame due to it’s large size, excessive weight and all-pervading plastic smell.

(I’m afraid I have to confess that I sold it on ebay and bought fabric with the proceeds).

But I digress.

Lulu’s t-shirts are really rather nice. And also nicely affordable, at £12.90 each.

If previous collaborations with Orla Kiely and Celia Birtwell are anything to go by, they won’t hang around for long.

So if you’re eyeing one of Lulu’s designs up, I’m tipping you the wink (groan!) to get your order in before they all go.

I have.

op shop frocks

I have to admit: I was a bit underwhelmed by my first op shop.

Op shopping was one of the things I most looked forward to about Australia. After seeing my family and escaping the British winter, that is.

I had heard tell of Aussie charity shops’ wonders from afar; read endless blog posts singing their praises: the treasures within! The unfeasible cheapness! The vast supply of untapped vintage loveliness, just waiting to be scooped up!

“At last!” I thought, “I, too, will partake of the pleasures of op-shoppery!”

Well, I did manage to make the above small fabric purchase, and it did only cost a dollar, but I had to undertake an almost indecent amount of rummaging to unearth it from under the mountains of broken trash that charitable Aussies had thought worth donating to this particular establishment.

But that was before we went to Kenilworth op shop and struck gold.

I bought a frock.

It’s genuine 1960s/70s. It’s a perfect fit. It is maxi-length (so I could cut the bottom off and have a shorter frock, plus fabric!).

And what fab fabric it is!

Others fared well at the op shop too. Sun hats for lad – 25c each! A vintage wooden napkin holder and crockery for my sis! Fabric for my eldest, crafty niece!

And this 1960s vintage frock for my fashionable younger niece:

I don’t mind telling you, if it had fitted me, I’d have had that one too!

It required a few minor alterations, for which I was happy to lend my services.

And my gold Miu Miu shoes to go with it (an old eBay bargain). She’s keeping those. Well, they do look better on her than on me.

We all agreed: op shop frocks rock.

summer shift

I fell in love with the print.

It spoke to me from the rack of fusty-smelling garments.

It was in that nice, higgledy-piggledy junk – ahem – antique emporium on Lyme Regis prom.

Its a genuine 1960s shift dress.

A Lilian Quayle model.

It needs a little tlc, like most of the things I buy.

A stitch or two at the neck.

A small adjustment under the arms, to avoid the dreaded gape and consequent unwelcome bra-showing-ness.

But the fabric is soft from its many turns in the wash.

And it flatters.

I think it will be just perfect to wander about in, be-sandalled, when the summer finally gets going.

buttoned up

I bought this top the other day.

I was scouring the sort of shops I don’t normally visit, the ones full of clothes for bright young things, in search of a birthday present for my niece.

That pattern’s a bit nice, I thought.

It called to me in a most unexpected and affordable way and I couldn’t ignore it.

There is, however, one thing wrong with it.

That flashy trashy gold button. Not me. It has to go.

But what to replace it with? Something vintage, I thought, rummaging in my button tin.

I have options.

First option: an ibble obble black bobble button.

Second option: a rustic wooden number.

Third option: a fancy dancey vintage flower button in almost exactly the right colour.

I need help to decide. I wondered: who can I ask?

Well, I’m asking you! I’ve done a little poll so you can send me your thoughts with just a couple of clicks.

 Results will be announced…. when I feel like it.

friday frocks

I noticed one of the mums at the school gate in a vintage floral fabric dress yesterday.

I love to see vintage fabrics out and about in the world.

It inspired me to find a few fab flowered frocks to share.

colour craving

I love colour.

I think this is partly a reaction to the monochrome corporate culture of dressing smart, which I did for a good while. At work it was safer to stay dressed anonymously within the black/grey/navy spectrum if you didn’t want to risk offending someone.

Such restrictions currently do not apply and I find myself hankering after clothes that are fresh, colourful and spring-like.

Roll on the days when sunshine and warmth return and wearing colour and florals won’t look odd. Or require daily loading of the washing machine to remove mud.

In the meantime I will be wearing fair isle jumpers and bright woolly tights and making vibrant floral cushions to get my dose of colour.

I hope that this lively little collection will also help alleviate some of the gloom, if only temporarily, until spring really gets itself properly sprung.