Yep, I’ve been at it again. Finally I found some time to make myself another pair of those high waisted jeans I love so much. They are light weight, comfortable and just about the best pants I think I’ve ever made.  Today’s outfit post is also a very good example of why I started taking outfit photos. Sometimes things look one way in your mirror and quite differently once you head out.  It wasn’t until I looked at these shots on the camera that I realised just how transparent the top was and just why choosing a white bra was a bad idea! Straight off the change it before I headed out then.  So you’ll have to forgive the bad choice of undergarments here and rest assured that I didn’t spend the day like that!

Sheesh.. I am so glad I took these photos and checked things before I left!

Outfit Details:

Leopard print top – Zara (Singapore)         High waisted pants – designed and made by me

Snood – Lindy Charm School for Girls Pearl Bow Earrings – Equip

Cream Bow Bangle – Friends of Couture LOVE ring – Equip

Hair bow (almost out of shot) – My Little Rockabilly

Some Daily Outfits give me more challenges than most – especially when children and roller skating are involved! I was invited to take Miss Five on her first skating expedition this week along with a group of mothers and children from her school.  She was SUPER excited about going, wondering if she was supposed to win a gold medal and jump off big stuff! Me, well I used to be a big skater, going a few times a week and carving up the floor…. but that was a very long time ago.  I still had the old skates out away in the cupboard, but the have only been out on the rink about once or twice in the last eleven years.  This presented a whole new wardrobe challenge – just what does one wear when rollerskating with a bunch of five year old children??

I had to think long and hard on this one as my first instincts were to go with some of the outfits I last wore and break out the whole Olivia Newton John in Xanadu tpe of look.  But just in case that may cause the other mothers to shield their children from this crazy woman I decided to go with something a little less theatrical.  There was no way I was going to wear my workout gear for this ,as for me, workout gear belongs only in the gym so I had to think of the next best thing.

After a bit of a rummage around in the depths of the wardrobe I came up with an outfit that I haven’t worn in a while – it was one of my last pregnancy staples!  I have this great skull print jersey dress that has an open, cross over back that I used to wear backwards while I was pregnant with Miss 2. I’d throw this over yoga pants for casual days and it did the trick.  So it was the perfect thing to be both cute and comfortable whilst skating too.

Outfit Details:

Skull Print Dress – Episode    Tank Top – Portmans

Cropped Yogo Pants – Puma   Pewter Ballet Flats – U.B.H

Hair Bow -Bought so long ago I can’t remember!

Skates – Check your local skate store!

Of course it turned out that none of the other parents intended to skate and I ended up the only one over 3 foot tall on the rink!

We’ve just made our very own gym at home. I had allowed my schedule to get in the way of my exercise activities and the consequences are dire. All the usual things, from feeling more and more tired to not sleeping at all.Something had to be done.

So we’ve brought home the elliptical trainer, found my hand weights and set up the T.V with a whole seasons worth of Gossip Girl to distract my legs form their activity. But how do you go about making something as ordinary as exercise a little vintage glam?  And even more so, how do you do it without messing up your hair?

Ladies work out wear of the past had much more in common with what we now see on the tennis courts or the golf course – well unless your Venus Williams!  High waisted shorts, pleated skirts, all in ones, tennis dresses and the ever cute (but difficult to manage) playsuit. Surprisingly, when you think about it, most of these things are rather easy to come by, but the key difference is in the overall presentation of the look. Hair was still beautiful, not scraped into a ragged ponytail that would have your hairdresser shrinking with shame. When you consider the time and effort that went into an old-school weekly set, it wasn’t likely that these ladies would be working up a sweat, more likely a ‘lady like glow’. Exercise was less about cardio and fat burning,and more about gentle shaping and toning – invigoration. In fact, it all sounds just about my speed.

So I’ve taken a leaf from the vintage book yet again and come up with these; my very own Vintage Inspired Workout Wear look!

High Waisted shorts with a little cropped t-shirt. Some matching flat canvas trainers and bobby socks, as well as a cute hair band – cause we can’t have your hair in your eyes making you fall off the treadmill now can we!

Don’t forget the robe to keep you warm after said workout too!

Again with the high waisted shorts and this time with a cute tailored polo shirt. Don’t forget the clips to keep your curls out of your face.

I love this cropped top with the detailed neckline. Pair with a short pleated skirt (very lady like if you please), bobby sock and flat canvas trainers again. A nice wide headband can be worn turban style to keep your curls up, safe and dry while your twisting away to your 18 inch waist!

Now is that a more attractive way to train than in your boyfriends old high school t-shirt? I think so!

How often do you get your knickers in a knot?

If I can go by the number of emails I receive on this topic, it is A LOT!

It seems that even with all the technology, fancy fabrics, multitude of designs and brands names at our disposal, we still can’t find the perfect pair of knickers. Well I’m tired of a drawer full of underwear I never wear, tired of them creeping where they don’t belong, leaving nasty red marks on my body, and VPL’s.  All those ones that promise no VPL’s only work for me because they disappear to where they aren’t meant too! Seriously, it can’t be that hard right?
Over the last few months, I’ve been on a quest to find the perfect pair of everyday underwear.  I’m not looking for fancy, I’m not looking for overtly sexy, and I’m certainly not looking for something that will break the bank.  What I had in mind was something that hugged and supported my body nicely, and didn’t leave me tugging at them. Something I could just throw in the machine and know that wouldn’t kill them, and something that had a great retro vibe.
I do own a few pairs of some very fancy, high waisted vintage styled numbers; and while they are beautiful, their prices tags weren’t.  Yes, worth it for what they were, but certainly not something you’d fork out for ten pairs of just for every day.  I had a picture in my mind of pants that looked great with my vintage long line bras.  Something that covered my butt properly, and were cute enough to wander around in while getting dressed.

Then Bonds came out with a cracking ad campaign featuring Sarah Murdoch looking all 50’s glam. It wasn’t just her look that made my heart skip a beat, but what she was wearing! Was it my holy grail of undies? It was the Bonds Cottontail –revamped. Ohh, maybe this was it!

I raced out and promptly got myself a pair to try, and here are the pro’s and cons I came up with.

Pro’s: Good fabric composition, nice stretch, fabric memory, more “body” space.
Con’s: Not really high waisted enough for a full retro feel. The big wide branded elastic waist band – well, I’m not a fan.  I like a nice flat stretchy waist band, and I understand the trend, but putting this on women’s pants gave them a strong masculine vibe that was contrary to the whole retro, girly styling I was looking to achieve.
Okay, so they weren’t a total winner, so I decided to revert to the originals. I’d never worn Cottontails before, as they seemed to be marketed to a very different demographic, but what the hell – it was a quest right?

So I got my white cottontails home, irrationally excited by the prospect of trying out a pair of undies that have been Nana’s favorites for years. I held them up, marveling at their size – what the hell would the neighbours think seeing these on the washing line?? But you know what, I put them on and my doubts melted away. I was instantly transformed into a 1950’s saucy housewife type; a Betty Draper getting ready for a day with the kids.  There was nothing in the least revealing about them, but it was the way they looked like a pair of retro shorts that made it work.  The cut was high enough to reach my belly button (no hipsters for me), and the legs actually fitted under my butt, giving it a nice perkiness.  (Stop me if this is too much information).  In fact I was so pleased with the overall styling, that that evening, while watching T.V with the Mr., I decided to hang out in my underwear and sheer robe to see what kind of reaction they got. Let’s just say – A Big Thumbs Up!

So, all is going well, but being the perfectionist I am, I wanted to test how they would wear after a wash or two.  The original Cottontails are just that, Cotton. So the fabric memory wasn’t the best, and while they still fitted, they didn’t have quite the snap back I was looking for to keep a nice smooth silhouette.  But would that stop me in my tracks? No, I hopped onto the Bonds website and filled in a customer feedback form.  I don’t know about you, but when I send those things off I always imagine them ending up in a virtual trash bin and only an auto response ever being sent.  But kudos to Bonds, not only did they answer my email, they organized a phone conference with their development team to get my feedback!
The team was brilliant, filling me in on all the details of the whole Cottontails range.  I had no idea there were so many to choose from.  So we chatted about what it was I was searching for, the pro’s and con’s of those I had tried; and they decided to send me out samples of the whole range to trial.  I have to hand it to them, that is dedication to customer satisfaction and I was infinitely impressed.

Here is what I’ve learnt.  Cottontails were designed in 1955 and their design has not been altered since.  There are variations in stores with different finishes, lace trim and extra lycra, but essentially the pattern remains the same.  Bonds has kept with tradition (unlike so many other companies) and provided a product that is unchanged from the design that Nana wore as a little girl.  And while the technology may be shy of what I have come to expect from modern lingerie, you couldn’t get a more authentic piece of vintage underwear on regular supply if you tried!

So taking into consideration that Cottontails are made to fit a certain size range (I was in the smallest size) and reach a much older demographic than myself, I had to understand what was happening with each pair.  The pedantic scientist in me even made charts for comparison!
The results are this: For me there was one clear winner in the group.  It fitted my body shape, size and stood up to all the washing, the wear and tear and still looked Retro Sexy at the end of one months wear.  The Cottontail with Extra Lycra comes out on top.  It has a nice wide banded leg that fits under your butt in a way that means it will not disappear inconveniently. The waist is high for extra retro points, and it comes in basic colours with no fancy trim so it is easy to wash without fear of fading, tearing or losing some delicate piece.

Yes, I’ll still be forking out the big money for the special occasion pieces, but for a day to day, vintage underwear look I think I’ve found the best solution currently on the market.

That is until Bonds and I collaborate on the Candice DeVille Cottontail range! (have your people call my people)*wink*

Update: You can find the range of Cottontails with Lycra at Big W stores. Sizes 14 – 26, in Black, White and a light beige for $10.32. I went and checked personally today as it seems their marketing department is not interested in getting back to me.  If I find a US or UK supplier, I’ll let you know!

N.B: This post was in no way sponsored by Bonds.  They were kind enough to help me in my quest and give me full permission to reproduce their images here. Please do not use any of these images without their express permission.

Finally, phase one of the Great Wardrobe Project is complete! Not for lack of trying, but other pressing matters keep pushing this project to the bottom of the list.  Well, that was until I decided to take a total ‘time out’ on my weekend, not leave the house even once, employing my mini troops in the battle against chaos. Occupying children when you have every piece of clothing and accessories you own scattered around, can be a little tricky. So I armed them with swimming goggles, spray bottles (of water), dusting cloths, cameras and clip on earrings! Rather than tackling the Everest that is all my clothes (that is costumes, collection etc..) I stuck to only the current day to day wardrobe.  With vacuum in hand, plenty of boxes, tape, surface spray for warding off any critters;  we set to work.

Taking everything out of the wardrobe is the best time to check for any creepy crawlies, give it a thorough vacuum, wipe down and take measures to protect your threads until next time.  And while you have everything out, check its condition – holes, buttons, seams, threads, cleanliness. Only the pressed and perfect go back in, and I keep a clothing rail in my studio for all the fixer-upers.

Maximise your space with clever thinking. All my long necklaces and belts are housed on tie racks at either end of the wardrobe, making use of the depth of the wall rather than more horizontal space. All the larger, soft handbags and totes go into a big plastic storage container with pictures at the front. Each bag is in its own dust cover inside and these are rotated out seasonally. I don’t like to keep things in plastic as a rule, as plastic gives off fumes that aren’t great for textiles.  But this container has a front opening door that allows me to reach inside and pull out what I want without taking the whole box down.

Special occasion hats are all in various hat boxes, with those I use most frequently, able to be grabbed at a moments notice. I love to colour block my clothes, but the various lengths and space restrictions make this tricky.  So they are blocked by colour and length to allow for more shoe storage and drawers under the shorter garments.

Of course, there is never enough room to house ALL the shoes, so those not worn quite as regularly as housed in boxes with their photos on the front. An old trick, but a good one, as even though you can now buy those see through plastic boxes, I resent paying for something that comes with the shoes already and is better for the environment and the longevity of my shoes than yet more plastic in the closet.

My dressing table houses the majority of my accessories, and as you well know, accessories are one of those things you really need to be able to see at all times or you totally forget what you have.  So I make good use of all the drawers, using yet more old boxes to help separate and store things so they don’t become damaged and jumbled. Even the scarves are folded and stacked so I can see the ’spines’ of each of them to help identify them quickly.

And as for all the hair & makeup stuff… how do you tame that beast? With the help of fishing boxes from the hardware store, makeup cases, and lots of hooks.  Also, having a handy MR. SKM around to get the shelf on the wall was rather critical to the success of this one too!

If all else fails and you know like me, that your wardrobe has to extend into the rest of your house just to find homes – get creative.

China cabinets need not just be for nana nick nacks, they are the perfect place to do a bit of visual merchandising with your favorite handbags, hats and small plastic friends!

…… and Done!

If you’ve got any other great wardrobe organisation tips – share them with us in the comments.