The Peculiar Behaviour of Lady Perdita

I covered all my school books with pictures from National Geographics (from the '50s and '70s). Just because I could. Also it's now far easier to imagine being somewhere else. School is always so much more exciting in old girls' annuals, the title of this post is in fact a story from 'The Bumper Book for Girls 1956' - why do we never have to solve intriguing mysteries involving a new girl from an exotic country? Today the most interesting thing that happened was my maths teacher comparing calculus to little rabbits with floppy ears that scamper away when you try to cuddle them.

 Also school-related : A homemade school bag and pencil case

 

Holiday Time Fashions - Touring Holidays

 

The last of my 'Holiday Time Fashions' set - accompanied by photos from my family's own touring holiday. We took a day trip while in Northland up to Cape Reinga, which is the very top of the country, and utterly spectacular. The huge numbers of tourists irritated me a little - mainly because I think playing music off your cell phone is a little disrespectful at a place believed to be the 'launching place' of spirits into the next world,and where two oceans collide, but hey, that's just me. So a bit of etiquette advice to go with the following fashion tips - be respectful. Don't run in the art gallery or spit at the statues. Although I'm sure none of you lovely readers would ever think of doing such things :) Without further ado - the 'Touring Holiday'!

This is an opportunity for wearing lots of pretty two-pieces and smart, citified cottons. Go in for fabrics with crease-resistant finishes to avoid lots of pressing when you arrive.

Take two skirts, one straight, the other pleated, and several cool shirts and tops. 

Trousers are all right for loafing around, but choose your tops cleverly so that the effect is neat and crisp. 

You'll need walking shoes and sandals and a pair of smart shoes with little heels.

Holiday Time Fashions - Seaside Holidays

To the Seaside!
Ideally, you'll need two swimsuits - one for swimming and one for sun-bathing. Don't bother to take sun-oil with you, the kind you find abroad is excellent and cheap.

Also, take a look at this old post about retro swimsuits.

Take a four-piece beach set :

Remember that most continental resorts object to tourists wandering about their streets in brief swimsuits, so take some sort of beach wrap or shift dress to slip over your swimsuit from hotel to beach.

Buy a sun-hat when you're there - they're much prettier on the continent.

You probably won't find it necessary to wear evening dress for dinner in the evening, but you should change into a light dress, so pack two or three.  Everything dries very quickly in hot climates, so take two changes of cotton undies. Try to avoid taking stiff, frilly petticoats; they are very hot and prickly and take up far too much room.

 

Nobody seems to wear stockings on continental seaside holidays but I should take a pair just in case! One pair of sandals should be enough and you'll find that these are very cheap abroad. Take a pair of little flat pumps or court shoes to wear with dresses.

 Try to avoid wearing cardigans in the evenings - they stamp you as an English tourist right away! If you do feel chilly, throw your cardigan around your shoulders or get a stole to match your dress

And to truly complete your beach wardrobe, how to make a poncho and beach bag (from 'Smart Girl' 1964) :

Holiday Time Fashions - Roughing It Holidays

As it is now school holidays I figured a post on holiday fashions was in order - the following has been adapted from 'Smart Girl' 1964, a Scottish girls' annual. This first installment is about 'Roughing It Holidays'. 

It's the thing now to be as different as you can when it comes to holidays. I know people who've been ski-ing on Scotland, hiking, pot-holing, Youth Hostelling, climbing, ponytrekking and I even ran across a very earnest type who went on an archaeological dig!
Listening to all the wonderful tales about holidays, I realised just how important the right clothes are - you can't scale Ben Nevis, for instance, in a flower-sprigged cotton dress! So let's take it from the top :

Everything must be highly packable; it must squeeze into the smallest knapsack or a single suitcase. Trousers of some sort are absolutely neccessary - blue jeans are ideal. Start off in the jeans, a shirt and serviceable jacket, anorak or windcheater, thick-soled walking shoes; pack or wear a thick sweater.


Take head-scarves and head-bands (the latter will keep you looking pretty in the evenings). Take quick-drying nylon underwear or cotton if you're going to a hot climate, and a pair of fold-up ballerina pumps.



You may need a dress for evenings (anyway, it's nice to be feminine sometimes!) so choose a simple style in one of the man-made fabrics, which will not crease inbearably. Allow for minimum make-up but take a tube of cold cream - nature really does take it out of the skin!



And you'll need stout socks inside those walking shoes. In hot weather you'll find walking in shorts much cooler so squeeze in a pair.

With these essentials you'll be set to enjoy a roughing it holiday!


(click on each picture for source)

Growing Glorious Roses

I went the botanic gardens the other day (I love walking around old rose gardens) and it reminded me of how many articles about roses there are in the old girls' annuals I collect  (including June Book, which the above picture is from). I think that says a lot about the times - there are interviews with celebrities and fashion tips, but also craft projects and articles about rose growing. I wish that modern magazines aimed at young girls had things like that, but can you imagine what a 10 year old now would think about growing their own herb garden?! Another thing about old annuals is that they had no ads. Imagine that! Turning a page without having air-brushed consumerism being shoved in your face! I really think we've lost a lot of values in recent times, and I find it quite saddening. Anyway, below is the  outfit I wore around the gardens (under the scarf are my pincurls which were setting for that evening), and also some of the old rose articles - including one about cactus growing!

 

Old School

So, we've started back at school for our second term, and I'm super ready for the next holiday after just a week. It's just constant work and lack of sleep, and I can't help but wonder where all the exciting boarding school mysteries, adventures, and midnight excursions are? Being a central auckland high school, that doesn't take boarders, the closest thing we've got is Justin Biebers limo supposedly driving past (information spread around by very reliable third form sources) .What would make it all more bearable, perhaps, (both the school monotony and the fact that justin bieber coming near our school was the highlight of some girls' year )is a uniform as amazing as some of these (all illustrations are from my old girls' annuals from the '50s). We get to wear mufti in our final year, but until then its a plain blue skirt, light blue blouse, and a blue jumper that smells intensely of wet dog if it gets even slightly wet. Nothing on these cute little pinafores, hats, and blouses, and certainly not on those coats!! Wow.


What I love most about the last one is that, in the story below, the girl on the right is described as 'fat and dark, with a passion for doughnuts'.