Sunday, 4 July 2010

Thinking thirties thoughts

This little crepe number is my latest vintage acquisition, purchased from a wonderful local vintage fair.. Even better, I have found out that this fair happens once a month! Hmm.. Significant sums of money might just make a magic disappearing act (once I've worked out how to earn it!) I nearly didn't buy the dress as I wasn't sure I could justify spending £30. However, the two deciding points were, one, that it fitted like it was made for me, and, two, the stall owner then offered it to me for £20 as it has some minimal damage. Well I couldn't just leave it hanging forlornly, could I? It might have got lonely..

Where to start with its virtues? Let's begin with the bias cut. I have a particular love for bias cut thirties drapery: so reminiscent of the days of Greta Garbo and Ginger Rogers. And as a passing woman remarked while I was discussing the dress, "Bias cut was made for film stars to look good in while lounging on sofas." I love the simpicity of the design, along the comfortable crepe.

Then there is the colour, one part green and one part grey. I like to think of it as a very 'sea froth' shade. And to finish my little soliloquy about this garment I shall mention that it is handmade and has the most fantastically erratic set of fastenings - a mixture of hooks and eyes and poppers in a weird z shape.

Here I added a pair of silver Betty Jackson shoes found in a charity shop. She is another British designer who I admire, and her clothes are incredibly covetable. I like the slight art deco influence on these shoes. I also put on a crystal necklace (present from my parents) and a small satin purse I found inside a vintage handbag of my great-grandma's.

My dad took the photos this morning - the weather was very wet, but the slightly dull light seemed to compliment the scene. I love this chair, complete with removable footstool section! And a little leather bound Shakespeare never goes amiss, especially when it matches the shade of the dress! My favourite of his plays is A midsummer Nights Dream.

The rest of the morning was spent drinking coffee and reading newspapers before persuading my little brother to pose for some black and white photos.

On another fashion related note, I watched updates from Graduate Fashion week with a mix of interest and jealousy - being interested in all the amazing graduates, and jealous about the fact that I wasn't there to see it all in person!

There were quite a few designers who caught my eye, and I want to share one of them with you...

Nathalie Tunna is one of my favourite new graduates. Now you often hear the term 'modern classics' being bandied about in fashion magazines, but I really feel that Nathalie fits that label. Her clothes are classic with good quality tailoring, but there are innovative details such as the 'eyelash peplum' too. The colours are neutral in the best possible sense - very pale blues, creams, navies etc. I would very happily wear her pieces, and I never thought the adjective delicious could be used to describe clothes, but they certainly can in conjunction with her bags!

For a more cohesive and eloquent review of her collection, then take a look at the article by Style Bubble.

I have also just flicked through my new Vogue and the collections report, and after seeing everything ptu together, Oh My Goodness! is a good way to describe my response. So much to covet.. How can I possibly get my hand on one of those Prada dresses? Or an Erdem floor length dress? Or anything from the Chloe collection? To cut a long list short, this is one of the most desirable seasons for me yet.

I was overwhelmed by your very lovely comments in response to my latest photography post! I can't wait to share part two with you..