Ball

It has been such a terribly long time since I've posted! I thought a good way to get back into semi-regular updating would be with photos of my recent school ball. I wore the same dress my Mother wore to her seventh form ball (which she bought vintage at the time), a little capelet she made me, and shoes from Peachy Keen. I really only went because a school ball is a rite of passage, and if I didn't go to at least one I would never have truly been a teenager. For me, the ball could have easily been re-classified as four hours of organised torture - as much as I love listening to blaring rap and mediocre popular music while locked in a hall with girls from school. On the bright side, the whole experience did wonders for bringing out my not-so-inner cynic, and allow my best friend and I to pretend we were in Ghost World for an extended length of time. About the time girls started taking off their heels (that's right, they went barefoot at a ball, you cannot even fathom my distress) and grinding we realised we desperately needed to get as far away form the dance floor as possible. This luckily resulted in the discovery of the tea table! Party animals, we are.

   The photos below are from before the ball, the wonderful pre-ball a friend of mine organised, and the official photography at the ball itself.

Rosie the Riveter - Superstud

Today we had a slightly late celebration of International Women's Day at school, which involved some of us in the human rights group coming to school dressed as inspirational women, and other students guessing who we were. It was very last minute (i.e. I found out yesterday), luckily though I just happened to have a blue jumpsuit and red and white scarf lying around home begging to be worn. I found the jumpsuit in an op-shop which is mainly filled with overpriced chainstore clothing from the '80s, and had a small heart attack, realising immediately that there was a giant 40s-style-blue-jumpsuit hole in my wardrobe, and my heart, which needed to be filled. On trying it on I found it fit perfectly, except for the fact it was roughly 4 inches too short, creating a disturbingly 'disco' effect (Images of Sam's 'Parisian night suit'  came flooding). In an observant mood for once though, my friend pointed out it had in fact been taken up a great deal, and thanks to the magic of my Mother's sewing skills it is now a perfect fit. I debated briefly how often I would in fact be able to wear a disco-infused-women-working-on-the-planes-all-in-one-number, and the answer was - as often as possible. No more than a week later was the perfect opposrtunity.As you can (hopefully) tell, I went as Rosie the Riveter -

-never once have I doubted the general knowledge of my 'peers' more. A few girls got that I was 'the woman on that poster', and a number thought I was Amelia Earhart. Although, this is quite good considering that someone at school once thought that Princess Diana was alive and living in Hamilton. Most of them just sort of looked me up and down in disbelief (my friends and some teachers did appreciate the ensemble though). I'm used to getting funny looks for what I wear to school normally (I'm going to do a post about some of those outfits soon), but today's were golden. Weird stares sort of make my day. Not as much as the lovely women who leaned out of their cars, and told me how much they loved what I was wearing while I was walking home from school though.

These photos were all taken at about 8 this morning, just before I left for school, hence the not really awake expressions. Also, please excuse the tiny bit of hair not tucked into my scarf, which I didn't notice until after I'd left.
Jumpsuit - Secondhand store
Shoes - Vintage market
Suitcase - Secondhand store (although I've had it since I was little)
Scarf - Borrowed (it's actually rather small, so my hair is in pincurls in an attempt to make it as flat as possible)

Finally, some pictures from this amazing set, of real women who worked on the planes:

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

 

Studying is Fun

Treasure hunters: Vintage shopping enthusiasts

There was an article in the paper today about vintage/recycled clothing, which included interviews with three vintage gals. I thought I'd post this one about Rose Matafeo, who was my head girl at school last year, and always wears fantastic clothes. Her description of herself is 'I like embroidery and breakdancing. One day I hope to find a way to combine the two. I also have an unnatural obsession with Norman Bates'. She's become a bit of a local celebrity as of late (actually, in NZ pretty much all celebritys are local, you see everyone at the supermarket) as she's also a fabulous comedian and actress. I went to see the show she talks about in the interview, called 'What I've Learnt From the '60s- Based On The Things I've Seen On Television', and it was absolutely hilarious.

Anyway, heres the article. You can find the rest of it here , which has the interviews with the other two women.

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Vintage style endures every seasonal fashion trend, whether it be a treasured El Jay dress from the 1960s found in a specialised boutique, a pre-loved T-shirt from your local second-hand store or a five-year-old Karen Walker dress from an online auction. It's shopping for the dedicated and passionate - taking the time to slow down and dig through the racks to find that something special. With Hospice Awareness Week on until May 23 - secondhand shopping that helps out those in need - we talk to three vintage fans and find out their tips, favourite finds and shopping spots.

ROSE MATAFEO

Comedian and student Rose Matafeo likes things from the past. Her recent show at the International Comedy Festival was all about her penchant for the 1960s, from beehives to Burt Bacharach to beach party films starring Frankie Avalon - and her own wardrobe reflects this love of retro and times gone by. The 18-year-old vintage fan gives us some of her best - and funniest - vintage shopping tips.

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How often do you wear vintage? I usually have a vintage piece in most of my outfits. I really like mixing it up and wearing old pieces with newer, simple stuff. Sometimes I surprise myself when I realise I'm dressed in all second-hand pieces. I come from a long line of bargain hunters, so the cheapskate in me will be like, "Yes! This whole outfit cost $15! Practically free!"

Your show was about your love of the 1960s - so are you partial to 60s clothes? I think one of the biggest reasons I chose to do a show about the 60s was so that I could wear fake eyelashes and ridiculously dated clothing onstage without people thinking I was completely insane... I lean more towards the early 60s style-wise. I love the progression throughout the decade - the skirts got shorter, the hair got bigger, and the clothes got weirder and weirder. I've always been interested in every other decade apart from the one I'm living in, it seems. My taste in films, music, books and style has always been a bit out of sync with other people. This is probably why I'm pretty much banned from putting my iPod on at parties now - Doris Day doesn't really raise the roof these days.

Where did your love of vintage shopping begin? What are your earliest memories of it? I think my love for vintage style in particular started from reading all of my mum's old Seventeen magazines from the 1978-83. They are filled with some of the most amazing styles that you see making a comeback - the only bad thing is that I fall in love with clothes that I can't ever find. My first piece of vintage was this stripy jumper from the 70s that used to belong to my uncle. I wore it pretty much every day when I was 12, it eventually got so worn out that my nan had to sew some sweet denim patches on elbows. I felt like a college professor - but a casual, hip one on account of the denim.

I love vintage clothes because... they're affordable, good quality and always unique. Great style is timeless, so what's better than being a stylish time traveller everyday? It's like being Doctor Who, but with less Billie Piper and weird aliens with no faces.

Your best vintage shopping tip? Don't spend too much! I suppose if you love the piece and you NEED it in your life, then it's worth it. For me though, half of the fun is being able to find something which is awesome and cheap. Oh, and make sure it fits you. Don't fool yourself into thinking it does just because you want it. It will only end in tears and a lot of broken zips in the changing rooms. Wearing vintage can sometimes look wrong - what is your best tip for getting it right? Don't try hard to convince yourself that something looks good just because it's vintage. Ugly clothing has always been made, so just because someone may have hiked the price and called it vintage doesn't necessarily mean it's going to look great. I think one of my first second-hand duds was this emerald green corduroy jacket. In theory, it was good - but it just made me look like a hobbit. I tried for about five years to convince myself that it looked good, but I had to eventually donate it to the dress-up box. I still think about it every day though.

Who does vintage style well? I think the people who do vintage style the best are the ones I look to for inspiration and general worship. For the better part of my teenage years, I've wished that I could be a Hitchcock blonde (or brunette, but he didn't like them as much). Tippi Hedren, Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, Ingrid Bergman, Vera Miles... they all had the ability to come off looking incredibly stylish and pulled together, despite the fact that in every film they're either being chased, murdered or attacked by birds.

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Tell us about your favourite vintage find. My favourite vintage find is this skirt that I found in the Rainbow Op-Shop on K Road. It was one dollar! I bought it on my lunch break from when I went to school at Auckland Girls' Grammar last year. That was the real danger about going to a school so close to K Road, because it meant I would always end up spending all my bus money on clothes. I love this skirt, because it's slightly below the knee which means it's great for winter with boots and wool stockings. I used to be scared of anything that wasn't knee-length and up because it wasn't "cool", but now I'm digging the mid-calf length. "Amish sex appeal" is definitely the inspiration for the season.

Favourite vintage stores? Search and Destroy, Vixen, Rainbow Op-Shop, Hunters and Collectors in Wellington ... and that shop in St Kevin's whose name I can't remember. But it has the most amazing vintage clothes, furniture and decor. I basically want to live in the shop, but apparently that's frowned upon.

What vintage spot do you love that most Aucklanders wouldn't know about? My favourite place in the world is the Te Atatu Peninsula Church Shop. It's criminally cheap and sometimes you can hit the jackpot. I scored a full on skirt suit there for six bucks, it makes me look like a flight attendant and/or Margaret Thatcher.

Do you shop for vintage online? I can't say that I have, but that's more to do with my fear of online shopping. I occasionally do buy vintage on Trade Me, but I much prefer to physically see the clothes rather than through tiny thumbnails. It's easier to tell if the clothes are good quality if you actually have them in your hands as well. God, I sound like a mum.

What is your favourite place for vintage accessories? I would have to say my mum's and grandmother's jewellery boxes are my favourite place for vintage accessories. I don't accessorise much, but when I do I usually just go for brooches and necklaces. I love wearing something with a history behind or something that is special to people in my family. That is unless I lose it.

What new vintage spot should we know about? I can't think of any to be honest - if anyone finds out, let me know. Is there a great vintage shopping spot out of town that you would like to share? Paeroa is not only good for L&P, it's also a brilliant vintage shopping spot. Not only for clothes, but for everything. I bought my brother the coolest birthday present there, it was this little mini bar suitcase from the 60s which has four little glasses in it and room for bottles. Drinking in public has never looked so classy.

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'.