Last week I received this email from a reader….
“I found your blog recently and absolutely love your girly inspirations. I’m glad there are sharers in the world, yay the WWW.
As an eighties teenager I was raised with no fashion sense at all, (in some ways that may be a lucky coincidence of fate) so I was wondering if i may ask, is everything in your wardrobe of matching fashion, is it all in your style on these pages? I wonder whether period fashionista’s have two fashion lives or its all the way?” – B
… to which I (of course) began penning a very long and involved reply. Once I realised it was going to be a short essay I figured it would be something to share with you all, so here is my answer.
If I understand correctly what she is asking is, is everything I own vintage style or do I have a “normal” wardrobe as well? I can’t answer for all other vintage enthusiasts, only myself.
To answer as best as I can, I am not a vintage purist. What I mean by that is that I will happily mix a 1950’s dress with modern shoes or a 1940’s jacket with a Disney headband (yep, I’ve done that at Fashion week). I’ve been collecting and wearing vintage for close to twenty two years now, and find that I wear it with varying intensity over different times in my life. There are indeed times that I wear head to toe vintage, from the hairstyle to the earrings to the shoes; everything is period accurate; but this could be for a variety of reasons. I understand that there are many enthusiasts out there that participate in “Re-Creation” types of events, which is something I have yet to experience. However, outside of specific modelling engagements where I might be hired for this purpose, there is no real rhyme or reason for when I decide to frock up in that manner. It could be just about anything, even a dreaded visit to the supermarket that motivates me to spice it up a little.
Going vintage all the way!
Do I have more than one wardrobe? Yes. But not in the way you might expect. I have (to be honest) about three wardrobes on the go at any one time, and this is to cater to space limitations. If I had a dream walk in robe with a place for everything, then I’d only have one. As it is I have it spilt across three areas in my own room, my guest room and my studio. I divide it up by things that are currently out of season, things that need repair or alteration and things that are in current rotation. It may sound fabulous but believe me it is a never ending source of angst trying to manage such a cobbled together system. The one thing you will not find…. the old jeans and t-shirt or logoed tracksuit anywhere to be seen.
I don’t have an “on duty / off duty” wardrobe, so everything you see on the blog is the way I dress, all the time. Yes, sometimes it is more theatrical and intense for specific purposes like show casing that amazing gown from Violetville earlier in the week, but you will also find that most of it is just my day to day look. I don’t fluff about styling fancy photo shoots in things I don’t actually wear, just for the purpose of this blog. Frankly, with two small children to get fed and out of the house on time I just don’t have the time, and when evening comes around I certainly don’t have the energy. 99% of my Daily Outfit photos have to be done in two minutes flat on the front porch.
While I believe that you can add more glamour and magic to your everyday life through what you wear, there are times when I have to make compromises and times when I just don’t have it in me to go the whole nine yards in dolling up. However, my version of dressing down or casual, seems to be a bit different to the generally held standard these days. The only time you will find me in a dressing gown for the whole day, I must be near death’s door with illness, only appearing from the bedroom to garner more sympathy.
I do own and wear gym clothes (like these), but they will only be seen in the gym or enroute – not picking up the shopping or hanging out for coffee. Now that is not to say that I expect the same from everyone else, it is just that for me if I spend a day dressed like this I don’t feel like myself and that doesn’t make me happy.
Makeup free (if you don’t count lipbalm) going to the gym.
I don’t always wear makeup. There are times and days when it just isn’t appropriate. If I know I’ll be spending the entire day out in the garden working hard (ish), then I will usually be seen in my solitary pair of jeans, huge hat, bare faced only with slatherings of sunscreen and lipbalm. Attempting to reapply 40+spf over a full face of makeup whilst also attempting to keep dirt out of your eyes is just ridiculous. Besides which, with a slathering a red lipbalm and huge dark sunnies that is enough glamour for my rose bushes to handle!
I also try to have at least one makeup free day a week. A day to let my skin relax, breath and have a bit of a DIY facial. This is not as relaxing as it sounds however, as it is usually accompanied by screams of feigned terror at the Mama Monster and her masked face. I attempt to salvage my glamour factor in these instances by wearing a fabulous vintage dressing gown, sipping tea (whilst Tweeting) and imagining myself away.
So B, I hope this is the answer you were looking for, and for everyone else I hope this gives you a better picture of who I am. The short answer is that everything you see on this blog is me. There is no alter ego, no hidden stylist, no pro photographer. The reason I began writing this blog and the reason I am so passionate to spend a large chunk of my life on it is to show that should you wish to, it IS POSSIBLE to make your life a little bit more glamorous.
You don’t need to be rich or famous, you don’t need to be artistic or have a team of specialists on hand.
You just need to want it and be courageous!
























