My kind of vintage - from my wardrobe

 I was just in the middle of photographing some clothes that are going up for sale on the weekend when I thought it might be fun to take some quick snapshots of my personal favourite pieces.  Now I'm not what you might call a vintage 'elitist' but I think that's perfectly acceptable.  Although a great deal of my clothes are second hand if not vintage, I still like to mix and match them with regular clothes too.  I'm also not bias when it comes to decades.  I adore the flattering shapes and cuts of the 40s and 50s, the bright and playful fabrics of the 60s and the carefree comforts of the 70s!  I also wear vintage according to what best fits my body shape.  Because I am tall (5'10) a lot of the dresses from the 40s - early 60s are simply too short for me in the waist so I tend to go more for separates.  I like any skirts that sit high and snug on the waist, I love bright colours and crazy patterns and preferably natural fabrics. I'm also a huge fan of beautifully embroidered blouses which is what I tend to wear on a regular basis.  Being that I spend a lot of time hunting down the most beautiful vintage pieces I can find, I also have an ever expanding wardrobe!  Although I have to admit that after a while you do tend to become more picky and know exactly what it is you are after.  Anyway without further ado here are some of the favourites from my own collection...
The little blue crop jacket

This is actually one of my most recent finds... and one of my favourites!  What's even better is that I found it at the nearest little town by my house!  It fits me perfectly and goes incredibly well with one of my most beloved high waisted mustard coloured pencil skirts!

The little black crop jacket

This beautiful number belonged to my grandmother.  It also has a matching full circle evening skirt that goes with it.  Alas it is just a little bit small in the waist for me so I keep it at my mum's house for safe keeping. The jacket I still squeeze into sometimes (other times I have to leave the bottom button undone!).

Hand embroidered 50s skirt

I scored this darling skirt off Trade Me recently for a mere few dollars.  It is all hand sewn and embroidered, you can tell that somebody has obviously put an awful lot of effort into it.  I absolutely love it (although it has just come out of the wash and desperately needs an iron still)!

White full circle summer skirt

This skirt came all the way home with me from Berlin!  I found it in a huge four story second hand shop and couldn't resist buying it.  Funnily enough the first time I wore it out in Berlin to a picnic in the woods we had a freak downpour complete with lightening and thunder  and I quickly discovered that this skirt goes completely see through when wet!  All the same it is so perfect for summer.

The Vested Gentress skirt

There's something you should know about me... I am hopelessly in love with a designer from the 1960s whose label is called The Vest Gentress.   They do all these crazy, quirky bright animal prints, all of which have been screen printed by hand.  I currently have two dresses and this skirt in my collection and am always searching for new ones.  One of these days I am going to do a post dedicated to The Vested Gentress.

The ultimate winter skirt

Well here you go, this is my number one favourite item of clothing EVER!  This skirt looks amazing on, fits like a dream and is super warm and cosy.  I found this one in a local op shop.  Originally it was really long an skimmed my ankles, to be honest it was too 'Little house on the Prairie' looking for me.  So I took it in to a seamstress and got the whole thing taken up so that it sits just below knee height now.  It is made of 100% wool and comes from Paris.

The pink sparkle number

This is another dress that once belonged to my grandmother.  She had the most amazing wardrobe!  The majority of her dresses where tailor made by a renowned tailor in Switzerland.  A lot of the time these clothes were only worn a couple of times (if that) before being replaced by something new.  Funnily enough later on in her life my grandmother made most of her own clothes.  She was crazy about crafting and creating and did everything from weaving huge carpets, to keeping sheep so that she could use dye and spin the wool to knit clothes out of.  Whilst a lot of her early clothes seem to have disappeared, I did manage to get my hands on a surprising amount and I feel so honoured and proud to be their new caretaker!  I can't wait to show them to my kids one day.

The cute flowery summer dress

This dress is probably the best example of what I wear in summer.  Most of my summer dresses are bright, light and have beautiful floral patterned fabric or embroidery on them!  I got this sweet little dress last time I was in Paris.  I knew that I had a 12 hour stop over in Kuala Lumpur the next day and that it would be stinking hot!  I also didn't want to be offensive to their culture or stand out too much by wearing something inappropriately tight so this dress was perfect. 

The little black dress

Every girl needs a little black dress right?  I'm pretty sure that's the rules!  Well this is mine.  Unfortunately it is in an increasingly delicate state and needs to see a dress doctor before I can wear it again because the inside lining is completely falling apart now.  I just love the shape and style of it, I always feel so elegant when I wear it.  I also adore the hand beaded detail around the waistline!  One thing I should say though is that this isn't a dress for eating in, or having to go to the bathroom in... or really sitting in for that matter.  But that's not really the point is it now?!  I still wear it all the same.

Anyway so there you have it, a little glimpse into my wardrobe.  At the moment it's spring here so the weather seems to change five times a day and it's hard to know exactly what to wear.  I have to say that I am very excited about summer coming though because I have a lot of clothes that I collected over winter and haven't had a chance to wear yet!
How would you describe your vintage style?  I'm always curious.
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