Grace Kelly in white sleeveless dress by Kay Windsor, blue sweater by Premier, and Ernest Steiner earrings, holding little Siamese cat with brilliant blue eyes.
Drama, drama, drama - I don't usually welcome drama into my life. I learned about toxic relationships in my mid 20s and got rid of all my toxic friends, I've been with the same guy for 8 years, and I read news less often as it has gotten too negative. I don't want to be ignorant, of course, but it's good to set my own limit to keep my sanity. When it comes to vintage, though, the more dramatic the better. The number of times I almost bought a full-length velvet cape and had to remind myself I'm not part of the royal family is far too many, and I keep telling myself that I need "special occasion pieces" even though I don't go out much! But hey I wore this dramatic outfit on the weekend and that was enough drama for the weekend. I wore this 1950s Kay Windsor dress before but didn't get proper pictures so it was time to repeat it and I'm glad I didn't get photos the first time because I only just got this 40s tilt hat to go with it! Yes it's dramatic but as I always say to the hubby "If I can't wear it in London, where else would I wear it?"
Dress - Vintage 1950s Kay Winsor - Clobber
Hat - Vintage 1940s - Dreamtime Vintage
Earrings - 1950s - Etsy from years ago
Heels - Maika heels from last season - Chie Mihara
I don't have a lot of vintage friends. By that I mean I know a lot of vintage people but only a handful I actually hang out with in real life. My not-so-glamorous job isn't full of vintage lovers (though there is a guy who secretly wishes he could dress up in 30s attire every day and there is another who's obsessed with 1930s architectures!) and most of my friends I actually met from work since I had only been in London for two years. I'm so grateful that they have accepted the fact that I am always overdressed every time we go out, and the fact that they are so used to it makes me feel comfortable enough to wear the most dramatic outfits. Yes, I actually wore this outfit to have Korean BBQ lunch with some mates and they didn't really bat an eyelid!
I got this lovely Kay Winsor dress while on holiday in Bournemouth - I walked into a vintage shop that had mostly 80s clothes but then I spotted the beautiful pattern peeking. When I took it out to try on I then realised it has a beautiful Mandarin collar contrasting the somewhat baroque pattern. Looking closely the dress has flower baskets on it as well as birds on the hem making border prints - kah-ching! I also love the fact that it's longer than usual and I think that is really elegant! I then saw the label "a Kay Windsor original styled by Carol" and thought how uncanny it was. I've seen Kay Windsor dresses around but didn't realise that the dress pattern or style was copied. Anyway I did a bit of digging and found out that there is another color scheme (thanks, Pinterest!) so now I need to find that other one. HELP!!
I got this 40s tilt hat recently because I realised I only have one other 40s black hat. Because I'm slowly acquiring more and more older pieces I realise that I need to up my hat game. I also am rather sick of my hair and have been tempted to cut it really really short - after all who needs hair when I have hats right? But some of you on Instagram have told me to take me time thinking about it so I shall see my hairdresser tomorrow and ask her what she thinks. It's not always easy dressing in 30s and 40s style with short hair as I always think I don't look genuine enough but then I have to remind myself that it's not a recreation and just an adaptation.
Yesterday I did a quick survey on my Facebook page to find out if people still read blogs.. it seems like the answer is no. I sometimes wonder why I still have this blog, but the answer is obvious - I love producing good photos (Instagram photos are so smalL!), I like communicating with people, and I still want to talk about clothes! So for all of you who are still reading this blog I sincerely thank you for keeping me going!
