Story of a Dress

Ok. Sorry for the lack of posts, I have been busy getting a job (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and not really anything else. My employers read my blog (the horrors of working for a media company) so I won't say much else. But yeah. Today on the way to choir I dropped in to Recycle Boutique and saw a glimpse of fabric sticking out of the 'vintage dresses' rail that made my heart stop a little bit. When I pulled the dress out, I was so thrilled. We were reunited, and it felt so good.

When I was 15ish and much, much smaller than I am today, I got an adorable 1950s children's dress from Two Squirrels Vintage. When I was 16 I was in a band, and I wore this dress when we played at an art gallery's Christmas auction. Thanks to documenting my entire teenage years in depth on Livejournal, I have photos from this very day of me in said dress.

Wearing a 1950s beaded cashmere cardigan that I opshopped the day this photo was taken for $4.
  With my then-bandmates Steven and Bryn.

But then I got old, and got fat, and grew out of the dress. I sold it on Trademe and I seem to remember it going for a pittance, and me being really disappointed. I regretted it almost immediately, and have had occasional pangs of regret ever since for letting it go.

But today it came back to me, in a different city, after 3 or 4 years of being apart. It definitely does not fit me anymore but that is entirely beside the point, and I am so happy to be reunited with it. I'm trying to decide what to do with it- I could chop off the top (and its lovely collar) and turn it into a skirt, or I could chop off some of the bottom and turn it into inserts to put in the sides to make it fit my boobs so I can wear it as a babydoll mini-dress, or I could just leave it the way it is, hang it on my wall and keep it for my future children. What do you guys reckon?

It begins.

Today I got lunch with my brother, then ran into everybody I know in this city at various points on Cuba St, then decided I had two options: walk home in the light rain and treat myself by ducking into the opshop on the way home, or treat myself by taking the bus and no opshopping. So... yeah.


The little blue gingham shift is a school uniform, made in the 70s judging by the label. The white one though... SO happy about this dress. I saw it in the window of the Vinnies a week ago when it was closed. I planned to go back and try it on but when I next walked past it was gone from the window, so I assumed it was sold and was so disappointed. When I wandered in today it was there in the kids' section waiting for me (along with the blue dress). At first I thought it might be modern, but it has these amazing diamante buttons, a metal zipper and lots of lovely hand-stitching so it's definitely fifties. It didn't have a price tag on and I was worried it would be lots of money, but the shop assistant was SO nice and gave it to me for $5 when she saw how excited I was about it. She also gave me a volunteer application form and a trial in the shop next Wednesday- I've applied for maybe 50 jobs in the last fortnight and been unsuccessful thus far, so I may as well spend my time doing something worthwhile rather than sleeping in until 1pm and marathoning The Simpsons every day.


Here is a bad photobooth photo of me trying it on and feeling like a whimsy magic fairy princess etc. I am probably going to wear this with bows and flowers in my hair and the most saccharine things I can conjure from my wardrobe. Also I am kinda jealous of bloggers who have nice plain backgrounds to take photos against indoors, but I would be jealous of myself if I saw a photo of the space curtains on another blog.


I love kitchenware. I got an old aluminium colander (we use them as fruit bowls) and some Agee preserving jars for the 7kg of tamarillos Jack's mum sent us. The 90s sunflower-print tray was a present from my little brother, who got it from a free box at his architecture faculty. I also got red Roman sandals and a polka-dot cap, not pictured.

I wrote this post last week but without a card reader I couldn't upload photos. Today I had my first ever shift at the opshop! Here's what I brought home with me, for $2 total cost...


This gorgeous print, titled 'Vermont State Flower' (which Google tells me is Red Clover) from 1970. The artist's name looks like Harry Evans to me, maybe. It's a bit rumpled so I got it for free, and I'm gonna put it up on my wall with drawing pins- poor man's framing.


Lovely editions of some of my favourite childhood books, and a biography of Alexander Pope.


These are my favourites, they're 1948 editions and were given to someone named Rachel from her aunt Dorothy for her birthday. I wish there was the whole series. I'm working again tomorrow though, so who knows what I'll come home with. When I told Jack I'd got the job (well, not-really-job) he said 'so, the hoarding begins'.

Bonus non-thrifting photos...



We went up to the big mountain in the middle of Wellington, Mt. Victoria, and met a fat cat. The end.

July's favourites

I've never really thought to do this before but I've seen lots of things I've liked around the internet lately, so here's a round-up of clothes and outfits from my favourite blogs of late:


Amazing approximation of a 1940s suit by Camelias and Crinolines



Bright colours and smart combinations by Kelly from Made By White.


Yellowstone on medium format by Katie-Louise Ford.


Embroidered 1950s velvet pants on Naked Cowgirl Vintage.


A raspberry beret by Street and City Photos


A perfect vintage suit by Zoe from Vagabond Language


Seafaring with Black Swan's Pond


Vintage florals by thrifting goddess high socks

Wonderful cats-eye glasses by Milk Teeths.


Jelena's perfect fringe on Toronto Street Style

Judging by this I'm really into longer-length circle skirts lately. I was actually gonna make a post of my latest AWESOME opshopped finds today, but Jack spilled whiskey on my card reader so that is not happening. May this suffice until I can nag him to get me a new one.