22.7.13

Retrograde


Wearing electric blue velvet 1960s cape from an opshop via Christie, 1950s cotton floral St Michael's dress via eBay for $2,  belt off another opshopped dress and old back 50s cashmere cropped cardigan. I don't remember what shoes I was wearing but it might've been my white Chloe ballet flats.

So I am wearing an electric blue velvet 1960s cape! Pretty great, right? Back when I lived in Christchurch and Christie and I used to go opshopping together all the time, we found this cape in one of our favourite shops. It was pretty expensive for an opshop (not actual expensive) and so neither of us bought it, but we kept coming back to it and trying it on over and over again until finally Christie bought it. And I pretty much coveted it ever since. Christie and I have a thing going on where we have dibs on certain items in each other's wardrobes for when they get sick of them, and earlier this year I had a couple of 50s dresses to get rid of so swapped them with her for this after a few years of reminders that I loved it.
 
Here's Christie looking adorable in it in 2010. Anyway, now the cape is mine and I wear it like once a week.  Every time I wear it people stop me on the street and in bars and shops and at the office to tell me how amazing it is, which is a nice feeling. It is surprising how many things in my wardrobe go with electric blue.

I am trying to be a more frequent blogger, so will hopefully post some more outfit photos later in the week. My brother is back from overseas and the days are slooowly getting longer so the conditions are more conducive to outfit photography.

Edit: I wrote and scheduled this post on Sunday before central New Zealand experienced a rather nasty magnitude 6.5 earthquake at 5pm. I have today, Monday, off work because my office is in the city. It doesn't really feel like a relaxing day home as I am too anxious to enjoy it. Some reclaimed land has slipped back into the sea and central city workers have been ordered to stay home while damage is assessed and we experience ongoing significant aftershocks. Wellington is a highly active seismic zone and it is an incredibly scary time, especially for the many Wellington residents who moved here from Christchurch following the earthquakes there. If anyone who has been affected by the quakes wants to chat, my email address is in the 'about' section.

16 comments:

  1. What a great little arrangement you have!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's good to pass the love, and the vintage, around! The cape is such a beautiful colour. Pretty frock too.
    The situation in Wellington sounds scarey, hope you are OK. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. The cape is lovely, I can just imagine it billowing in the Welly wind.
    Stay safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha it does tend to billow behind me but I like to think it makes me look like a superhero?

      Delete
  4. AMAZING- you have a cape! That's so cool. Love the first dress also

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gonna let you in on a secret - this isn't my only cape! Thanks :)

      Delete
  5. The cape is fab! I am going through a serious cape obsession at the moment! I hope all is well with you and yours and wish you the best during this scary time. I can't even imagine how horrible it would be to live with the fear of quakes all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That cape is a beauty and I love the St Michael dress you're wearing underneath.
    Stay safe. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Was the cape from Tasman Traders? I saw it there when I went op shopping with Helga, and loved it, but was too poor to buy it at the time. It's so awesome. Freaking earthquakes! I hope you're ok.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was! I am sure the first post I ever read of your blog said something about seeing a blue velvet cape in an opshop and I commented on it being like CHRISTIE OWNS THAT CAPE!! It is such a great garment. Yeah, they're nowhere near as bad as the Chch ones but I am just soooooo overrrrr earthquakes.

      Delete
  8. The cape is beautiful on you, I do hope your city gets back to normal! x

    ReplyDelete
  9. i'm so sorry to hear about the earthquakes, i hope you and everyone you know is doing okay and that the damage hasn't been too significant. i'm thinking of you! x

    and also that cape is fantastic! even more so because it's velvet! that's the kind of think i would find in a opshop and pass up because i don't think i'd ever wear it, but this is proof you can make it work because it looks awesome.

    little henry lee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is surprising how often I wear it! A lot of my clothes are pale blue which goes nicely with it. I am the sort of person who always buys the stuff at opshops that are probably too weird to wear, just in case they turn out to be a pivotal item in my wardrobe.

      Delete
  10. Oh every girl should have a perfect blue velvet cape......just wonderful.
    Take care sweet.....the earthquakes are just horrible for you guys. Thinking of you V&W

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sorry to hear you were affected by the earthquake.

    Up until now I thought I wasn't allowed to wear capes. Not sure why really, I just wasn't. But I've decided to re-assess.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting! If you require a specific answer to a question, you can find our email addresses on our 'about' page. xo

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...