Sunday in Melbourne was the perfect day for High Tea. It was cold, wet and windy outside, so it made perfect sense to be inside eating cakes, sipping tea and talking vintage with friends. It was also the perfect place to wear this fabulous vintage cashmere embellished sweater I recently picked up. (It didn’t have magical properties that made me shrink Alice style – the flowers were just that big!)It has cord and bead detail with three dimensional white plastic flowers too! The skirt is also an original 1950′s atomic star burst skirt that I’m wearing with a yellow silk blouse and that great vintage style framed handbag from yesterday’s post.

An afternoon at the Langham Hotel is all about the ambience. I’d like to pretend this is my home for just a little while… That sweeping staircase, the amber light, the glitter from the chandelier… le sigh..  It forces you to slow down and enjoy the finer things, like these delightful little cakes.

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The arrangement of the chocolate table was beyond belief. There was a swell of gasps and giggles when we reached the table, but it was all so stunning and delicious that to tease you with images on a screen just wouldn’t be fair. You know that expression “good enough to eat”? Well these were all really far too pretty to eat; and yet somehow we managed it.

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Of course, everyone had frocked up for the occasion, not that this is any big surprise with a group like this; but it makes all the difference when you have an appreciative audience and can break out the ‘fine china’.

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No matter how polite we all are, there are definitely thoughts of mugging each other crossing our minds at this stage.

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With my lovely friends Anne Marie from Melbourne store The Button Tree, Dolores Daiquiri Australia’s tease queen and Abbie Cardwell songstress extordinare.

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We were very tempted to start singing show tunes right about now…

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It doesn’t matter how ‘vintage’ you are, there is no escaping the latest apps to capture the day!

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The only thing I think that is still sorely missing from the High Tea menu of everywhere I’ve been is a bit of sneaky ‘Irish’ in the tea!

Let me set the scene for you. After a weeks worth a delightful, sunny, seaside weather; Saturday decided to bucket down in the most unfriendly manner. And with ten girls all ready to hit the stage in their scanties, Saturday’s parade was sadly a wash out and so we all called it a day and went back to get in a bit of a Nana nap. Lucky we did because…

Sunday’s weather wasn’t much better! But determined to give the crowd something to remember, these valiant ladies rallied together to pop on their fancy knickers and set off running to and fro in the pouring rain.

My thanks go to Brett Dolson Photography for these wonderful images of the afternoon. He has a wonderful gallery full of beautiful shots from not only the parade, but the whole Wintersun week – check it out!

Put together by Bonnie Rose Vintage, the show featured highlights from lingerie, swimwear, day and evening wear of the 1940′s and 1950′s. The ladies all did a wonderful job of modelling the garments, many for their very first time, showing grace under pressure and always ready with a smile.

It’s likely all this has whetted your appetite for something more, so isn’t it fortunate I have another big show right around the corner?! This SUNDAY 26th JUNE, I’m hosting a traditional 1950′s Salon show at Como House & Gardens as a part of the Mannequin Exhibition. It is set to be a stunning event in the grand ballroom, featuring beautiful garments from both local and international labels including Dior and Le Louvre. The show commences at 3.30pm and tickets include a glass of champagne on arrival, as well as entry to the full exhibition.  I’d suggest you book a ticket immediately as there are only a handful left! Clickety click!

Last Wednesday evening, the Mission 65 Fashion event for Prahran Mission went off with a bang! The show was a total sell out with people still turning up at the door vying for a space to see the show. Created as a fundraising event to assist people living with mental illness, it brought together top designers, stylists and fashion students in a time honoured tradition of philanthropy meets fashion. It was an honour to show with Jenny Bannister, the incredible team at Madam Virtue, Anthony Capon, Kim Kniepp, and Philip Boon amongst others.

This year the Mission turns 65, as does the House of Dior; and so it was that a parallel was drawn and inspiration for the evening began. In 1947 as the world was emerging from a time of darkness and austerity, fashion was rediscovering the spirit of celebration and was once again used as a tool to lift the spirits. As a contributing designer my brief was this – to take garments found in the Prahran Mission Op shop and in the spirit of the  Make do and Mend, re-create them into a 1940′s styled master piece with a slightly modern twist.

I wanted to create something that not only looked good, but as much as possible mirrored the quality techniques used in garment construction. Choosing fabrics of the best quality and producing an outfit that would last 65 years. After finding my muse, I went on a hunt to uncover the materials I’d need. And here is a look at the process of creation.

After two days sourcing, one day of cutting and machine sewing, then another 14 hours of hand sewing to perfect the trim; it was ready for it’s close up!

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A BIG thank you to two wonderful bloggers Fashionising and Business Chic who had my back on the photo front for the evening. Please do visit their blogs to see and read more about the evening.

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As you’ve probably figured by now, the inspiration for this piece is the late 1940′s woman’s Western Suit look – particularly inspired by to good friends of mine who are masters of this craft and converted me heart and soul. The Western look was very much in vogue right throughout the late 1930′s to the late 50′s and still has a strong following today.

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I wanted to create a chic ensemble that could be worn as separates or a as a whole for this intensely beautiful look.  The blouse hidden underneath is  sheer red georgette with self rose print. It is collarless and has puffed mutton sleeves that taper to the elbow. I finished it off with vintage red flower glass buttons and a removable blue neckerchief.

The hat is an original Velveteen black structured beret (another op shop find), which I custom trimmed with vintage pieces from my own stash, including the veil with it’s beautiful soft texture.

The jacket and skirt are both fully lined and in wool, and the skirt has a red velvet ribbon trim woven through the scalloped hemline. ( I should note that on me the hem comes nicely below the knee but on my gorgeously statuesque model was rather shorter). From my own stash I added the vintage trim – silk cord and woollen pom poms. The doilies came from the Mission op shop and were just the right thing to add more colour and shape. The snoods did indeed come from my personal stash, but finished off the look perfectly.

Not only was I honoured to create this piece for the event, but I was also Director of Hair & Makeup, ensuring a cohesive vintage look all around.  I wanted to keep it a simple 40′ flavour, without any of the high fashion interpretations so often seen on the catwalk. To me, I felt that each model should shine in the outfits; a radiant version of themselves to echo the tones of celebration for the evening. So yes, as you flip through the images of the evening, you will no doubt recognise my finger prints on these looks.

On one hand it was totally exhausting doing all this, but on the other a totally revitalising and reinvigorating experience. Breathing new life into old garments like this opens up a whole world of possibilities for your wardrobe.  Yes, it is time consuming, but it expands your imagination onto new horizons and goes to show that style doesn’t take a whole lot of cash. The Make do and Mend philosophy of the show was something that I was indeed academically familiar with, and while I’m always restoring my vintage garments, I’d never taken the principle to these lengths. The world of possibilities is endless…

As you saw yesterday, the Love Vintage Fair made it’s Melbourne debut the weekend just past. As a loyal attendee of the Sydney fairs, it was wonderful to have the chance to be a part of the fair in my own home town. And this time I had something extra special up my sleeve.
After many weeks of secret project work, it came time to put it out there on my very own stand. Keep in mind that this is a bit of a peek at the project and the ‘soft’ launch, but I’ll be bringing it to you in its entirety with all the bells and whistles shortly. Together with Finessence Photography, we have created an opportunity for those who want to capture their most glamorous vintage self with our vintage vogue portraiture!
With the help of my beautiful models Marianne, Hannah, Dolores Daiquiri and Vicki,  Circa Vintage Clothing providing the gowns for the shoot,  and Fleurage creating an exclusive range of vintage bridal perfumes, the finished product was altogether divine.

One of my lovely models Hannah comes to visit at the fair.

Left to Right – Emma from Fleurage who has created a stunning range of vintage bridal perfumes that we featured together at the fair. Me in the middle and Karen from Finessence on the right.

A sneak peak at the final images…. all will be revealed shortly!

Thanks to Emma and her exquisite high class, soliflore perfumes, we made an intoxicating impression!

The beautiful Miss Chrissy from The Lindy Charm School for Girls.

With everything on my plate that weekend I didn’t have time to take any outfit pics, but thanks to visiting friends and fans I’ve managed to collect a few to show you what I wore each day.

Thank you Tina for this great shot of the two of us on Sunday.

Saturday’s outfit photo thanks to Rina at Take 2 Markets.

Want to see more? Well we’re just putting the finishing touches to our gallery and can show you the whole beautiful creation shortly!

It has been the most full on couple of weeks and shows no sign of letting up yet as I prep up to head off to Wintersun next week too!  That will be a whole ten days of Fifties frolicking, parties, fashion, cars, shopping and workshops – if you haven’t booked your tickets yet, you can check out all the events, including my styling workshops, here.

I’m living in crazy town at the moment. That place where I forget that I exist in the same time space continuum as the rest of the world and try and pack even more into a week than a sane person usually does. And yet, how can I not with all this fun to be had?

Last week I had a full week of photoshoots, hair & makeup, weddings and events planned; and boy was it a big one! First up on Tuesday  I spent a full day on set with four of my glamorous models putting together a look book of my vintage bridal and formal styling. It was fancy gowns and full hair & makeup looks that ran the scale from 1930′s movie star to 1950′s prom sweetheart. I’m presently working with the talented team at Finessence who produce some of the most stunning wedding shots I’ve seen in ages. I’m putting all this together for a showcase at the Love Vintage Fair coming up next Friday!  If you’ve wanted to see what it is that I do, this is your chance. Come along and check out all the fancy vintage hair and makeup looks we can create for your special occasion. I have all sorts of surprises in store for you!

How’s that for a good looking bunch? My talented photographic team in the front and me with my lovely models and styling assistant in the back.  Just wait till you see the complete picture; I’m simply dying with anticipation to show you!

So after a full day of divas and diamonds, it was my turn in front of the camera again.  This time with the delightful (and secretly hilarious) Helen McLean of Notorious Dames fame.  First up I wore the new “Rocker Girl Jane” dress by a wonderful local designer Peta Pledger. I have a few of Peta’s pieces now as they are all handmade here in Melbourne and are top quality.

And this super cute daisy print shirt with its little puffy sleeve and proper collar.

Remember the Birdy dress that I wore for my Vintage tour outing complete with tiara? We shot that for my lovely sponsor Miskonduct Klothing too.

And then this beautiful ‘Bamboo’ dress by Bernie Dexter that is stocked in Australia by Miskonduct Klothing too!

And that wasn’t all, but I won’t totally photo bomb you today!  It is all systems go here with so many events, shows and new projects on the horizon.  For some reason my winters always seem to be the craziest time of year, but I’m not complaining, I simply love my work!