Oh! Amazing

K-tel Record Selector commercial

What an amazing concept. Probably the beginning of technological laziness.

GPOY ~ with turban

 I only just this very minute learnt what "GPOY" means.

 I'm such a bad Gen Y. I think I would have been cool in the 60s/70s though, but now I'm just out of touch mannnn.

Anyway I thought I'd name this post after my new found vocabulary (haha) since it is - gratuitous pictures of myself with the added addition of a turban and stuff.

I got home today and was feeling a bit grey so I thought wearing this bright pink turban would cheer me up a bit - and it did! I guess this outfit is channelling 40s 50s and 60s. All of it is thrifted.

Speaking of stripes and jeans, I also love these guys from the 70s! Stripes are, apparently, timeless.

The Ramones

Hope you're having a nice week.

A century (almost) in shoes

I've come to realise what my guilty pleasure in life is:

I really, really enjoy browsing through vintage shoes, whether it's in a market or online I don't really mind.

I think I've always been enchanted by shoes from a very young age, particularly high heels (somewhat ironically since I can't really walk in high heels due to a foot ailment I had as a child). I used to love trying on grown-ups high heels when I was a kid. Then there was the love affair with those little pink plastic princess shoes (you know the ones with the little feathers on the toes that click click around when you walk) that seem to be essential to every four year old girl's life.

I think it's obvious to most people who know me well...or read my blog!...that I love all vintage fashion, but there is something about the design qualities of shoes (their sleekness, shininess, glamour) that seems - when it's done well - to mimic perfection.

A couple of years ago I was browsing through a book shop and I came across a book called Vintage Shoes by Caroline Cox that was basically a pictorial history of shoes, and wow, I fell in love with it. Every decade of shoe history was covered with big colour photographs and biographies of the shoe designers. I suppose everyone who is interested in the elements of design must have one particular object that they favour like houses, or cars, or chairs? Mine I think, must be shoes.

The funny thing is though that despite this visual love for shoes, I don't own many pairs of shoes myself. I think this is because I am very very fussy when it comes to the shoes I wear, I like them to be sleek, easy to walk in and flattering on my feet, and because vintage shoes are often so pricey and hard to come by in large shoe sizes.

The good thing is, I still find pleasure in looking at shoes, even if I can't own them.

Here are some amazing women's shoes (perhaps I will do a post of men's shoes in another post one day) from different decades that I have fallen in love with via etsy.

Just click on the era to go to the source.

Victorian

I am a big fan of Victorian lace-ups. Always thought they looked comfy (but I doubt anyone could fit into them now because their feet were so small!)

1900s

Aren't these just beautiful?

1920s

1930s

1940s-50s

To me, 40s shoes are just the most glamorous...and the 70s tend to mimic the 40s when it comes to shoes so I love them both of course!

1960s

1970s

These are BIBA!! :O

1980s

Love these! Very Molly Ringwald in Pretty In Pink!

1990s...

Well most of us were there weren't we? And to be honest I'm not a huge fan of those chunky Spice Girl platforms....(I'm sure there were some decent shoes in the 90s?) but I'll leave it to your imagination.

What is your favourite shoe era?

Paul & Linda

A nice little seventies flashback:

Maximum Summer

I have been admiring the idea of wearing a 70s maxi skirt this summer. Though unfortunately and strangely I find genuine 70s clothing to be hard to come by. Maxi skirts in particular are hard to find, and are often very pricey when you do find a nice one. The other thing about genuine 70s maxi's is they are often made from heavy synthetic materials and sometimes even quilting (like to find on an old bed spread!) so not so handy for the hot 30 + summer days.

But it is still possible to find amazing 70s dress patterns round and about...so I had the idea that maybe I could make my own - if I could just find a big enough reel of lightweight retro fabric. So this I've decided will be my summer project!

I always love looking at 70s dress patterns, it's like candy for my eyes. Everything is so colourful, flattering and modern in a nice way (ie. you could still wear a lot of these styles today and be considered fashionable but not minimalist like half the fashion designs you see modelled today).

~ I would like one with a frill at the base ~

Here is a short collection of maxi designs for your delight:

Mary Quant and models wearing her designs

70s skirt 60s shirt

This is what I wore on Tuesday - Melbourne's big Cup Day horse racing holiday. However, because I dislike horse racing - as I do any other kind of animal abuse - I decided to dress in bright colours to stop myself getting too depressed about all the fuss.

It sort of worked.

I love this skirt because it sits really nice on, and I love love this shirt because it is an ascot tie and because it is orange and brown!

In other news:

• I saw George Harrison: Living In A Material World and I loved it and it did not feel like 3+ hours to me.
• I also finally started up a writing blog. I wrote an article about Vintage Shop Assistants and put it up there (I am slightly embarrassed about how angst ridden my writing is) but it's good to write to get stuff out of my system.

Hope you're doing well too.

1970s Mens Fashion - Rock Star Style

You know how I am about all thing 70s at the moment, well during my blog reading I came across this great post by Miss Peelpants at Get Some Vintage Appeal revealing some hot photographs from the book: The Faces 1969-75

The post features Rod Stewert, Ronnie Wood and others frolicking around in glam rock velvets, shiny suits and blouses. It is a great insight into 70s mens fashion which I have a soft spot for.

You should check out her full post with more photos here. Plus if you're a fan of the 70s in general I think you will enjoy reading her blog!

60s & 70s School Style Summer Inspiration

Today it was a wonderful 30 degrees in Melbourne. It feels as through Summer has hit early, and I'm excited. Bring on the t-shirts and summer dresses. This summer I will be channeling the sunny colours, patterns and shapes of the two decades of Groovy.

Vintage Barbie clothing - she's not exactly Miss Natural, but you have to admit Barbie did have style

I wouls love to get, or possibly make a legitimate 60s  jumpsuit to wear this summer!

Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst in 'Dick'

The Runaways

Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith

Images via: http://superseventies.tumblr.com/, http://areyoupassionate.tumblr.com/, http://retrogoddess.tumblr.com/, http://plasticbats.tumblr.com/, stylerookie and rookie mag

Outfit Post: 70s 70s 70s

It's been a long time since I've shared an outfit.

This is probably my favourite outfit at the moment, feauturing this same pair of mystical jeans.

Unfortunately the sky is very grey today, not so great for taking pictures. I love this shirt, the green is a lot brighter than it seems, kind of a lime green! I seem to be blending into the foliage.

Hope your having a great Wednesday.

Outfit: T-shirt from Bob Dylan concert, jeans from etsy, shirt and sandals thrifted.

Thinking Out Loud

Todays post is really just my mind in pictures, kind of inspiration and what not.

Firstly, I haven't posted about how much I love George in a while, but I still heart George and love this photo. He has a beautiful smile. Men (and women!) who have beautiful smiles are beautiful.

 

I also bought The Beatles Number 1's last week and am loving it. Love these boys. I love seeing pictures of people when they look genuinely happy, which is why I like this picture below. I like the Beatles because they're a happy band (well in the early years) and when I listen to them they make me happy too.

 I just came across this picture on tumblr, and have decided that I need this room to be my bathroom haha I love how kitschy 60s home decor is!

 It's also been a while since I had my hair cut, and it's slowly starting to grow out...contemplating whether or not to cut it again. On Monday my friend suggested over coffee that I should cut my hair in a little 20s bob and gel two little curls around my cheeks. My first response was, this dosen't really work with my 70s tomboy styling, but now it is churning around the back of my head like a growing possibility. Still pondering...

 I also watched Ghost World for the first time this week and really liked it. I like the fact that Enid has this thing for nerdy guys and how cynical she is. I can really relate to that. Feeling like an outsider sometimes. I also just think it's hilarious, and love movies that can make you laugh out loud in a non artificial/trying-too-hard way.

 Finally I've been doing alot of cooking the past week, and need to listen to music while I cook otherwise it's too boring! I've been listening to Led Zepplin a lot and really love Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. It has great riffs.

Anyway thanks for your comments on my previous posts. I always love reading them.

Happy Wednesday!

 

Blue Jeans

I'm house and dog sitting at the moment, in the lovely (uber hipster *rolling eyes*) suburb of Brunswick. This is a big deal for me because a) I usually live in the outer suburbs about an hours journey from the inner city and b) I am not used to living alone and having total responsibility for my life! 

And so far I'd have to say, having soul responsibility for myself is pretty sweet. I think I am a very introverted person anyway, so it's nice to have my own space for a little while.

In other news I bought a pair of high waisted 70s jeans on etsy which came in the mail last week. I have been wearing them almost everyday. Today I managed to get a snap of them on in the changing rooms with my Runaways t-shirt.

I think I really like wearing them so much because they make me feel super hot and alternative amongst all the hipsters and their skinny jeans ("I mean seriously, that is like, so last year") haha I know. Mean!....And because I like to pretend I'm Joan Jett haha

Anyway, going to the supermarket for food has also made me realise how true this song is:

Apologies for this erratic post!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Living in 70s High-Rise

The most flattering kind of hip wear.

via

Charlotte Gainsbourg

stylepantry

Stevie Nicks via

hypeed

via

Jodie Foster as Iris in Taxi Driver 1976

 

chictopia

via

hypeed

Mmmhmm. That's right.

Happy Saturday!