by Candice DeVille | Jan 14, 2015 | daily outfit, Vintage Shopping
In my family we have a little habit. Some would call it a bad habit, I prefer to think of it as an eccentricity. We sing about everything. Yes, you read that correctly, it is often like a broadway disney mash up over here. Every little thing that triggers a line from a song has me singing as much of it as I can recall. My dad did this right throughout my childhood and is now amusing my girls with the same habit. It became a running joke for my brothers and I, often mimicking his rather flat rendition of Beatles songs at odd moments.
I’m just as bad if not worse. When I found this amazing blue velvet vintage style dress at Vicious Venus in Melbourne, I already had the sounds of “She wore blue velvet“, running through my head. (The era of that song tells you quite a bit about my childhood upbringing). It is a beautiful slinky midnight blue velveteen, with the perfect drape and fall. It may not be an obvious choice for a Melbourne summer evening dress, but with travels taking me to all climates, I always buy a great piece when I find it. Unlike a lot of these slinky type of dresses, it hugs in the right places (not the wrong ones) and mearly glances past the bits you don’t want to spend all night sucking in. Because really, if you’re going out for a great night on the town or a delicious dinner, the last thing you want is to feel like a stuffed sausage! I actually decided to go up two sizes just for this reason, then had the shoulders tailored for a better fit.
I’m surprised (well not really), just how often we get stuck by the number on a sizing label and refuse to buy anything bigger or smaller due to vanity, rather than just finding what fits us best. If there is one piece of advice I can give you about dressing well and looking glamorous, it is to buy the correct fit. And if you can’t buy the right fit, spend the few dollars to have someone tailor it just for you. For something you really love and you know will become a go to piece, it is worth every penny. Even though I do have the skills, I don’t have the time, so the wonderful Jayne at Empire Room here in Melbourne does my alterations. as a professional costume maker and seamstress, Jayne is worth her weight in gold!
Such a fabulous dress required equally fabulous shoes and these are simply amazing! Covered in crystals, these heels from Bordello are my new favourites. The last in their shoes are so well made and suit my feet beautifully, making every pair I own incredibly comfortable. Once I discovered that this last worked for me, I’ve gradually been building up my collection of pieces, including all their mules.
This was the outfit I had planned in my head for Christmas festivities, but the way things worked out with travelling and trips, I haven’t had a chance to really get out there in it. Instead I plan on putting it out there on the red carpet for the opening of the Strictly Ballroom musical on Saturday evening; which given the musical stylings this set off for me, seems all too appropriate!
by Candice DeVille | Jan 12, 2015 | Community, Self
As vintage lovers, we spend much of our time looking backwards.
Backwards into the history of pieces we love, romantic, nostalgic versions of the past. We live for a great part, in our memories. It is habit forming and perhaps not the best of activities for those wanting to bring about change in their lives.
During my usual Pinterest rounds, I came across this;
It was then that the penny dropped. I have stopped looking back.
So much of my past has defined me as I’ve gone forward in life. The words in your head, the things people have said you are or are not, the mistakes you’ve made and those chances you wish you’d taken. One of the sayings I hate most in life is “You’ve made your bed, now lie in it.” Which to me translates as, “You made things this way now you have to put up with it, forever!”
Nope. That is about as defeatist as you can get.
How about remembering who is master of their own destiny, the only one who has the power to change anything, the one who has the power to change by starting with their own mind. This is why I believe we need to be much more cautious in looking backwards.
Instead it is time to use your imagination, tap into your creativity and imagine a future where things are as you wish them. Begin from the point that is now, with all the lessons you’ve learnt, the skills and talents you have, and then start to build.
As I’ve been going through this massive process of culling all my belongings, I’ve become very aware just how much stuff holds a type of security for me. Reminders in memories of things I haven’t yet achieved, projects left unfinished stop me from moving on to new goals. What a waste of space and a waste of a perfectly promise filled future; that is why it is suddenly so easy to let it all go.
2015 is my Year of Living Bravely, of moving forward and taking new adventures that have so far only lived in my mind. There are no do-overs, and looking backwards will only keep you behind the starting line.
Let’s change our habit together, stop looking over our shoulders and instead, out at the sky.
by Candice DeVille | Jan 9, 2015 | sponsors, Travel
One of the best words I can use to describe Dubai is “Surreal”. The way the light hits the buildings, bleached of colour and towering in stature. The grandeur in its clean and tidy splendour that feels simultaneously ancient and new.
Although it has a long and rich history, nothing in Dubai is truly old. The city has sprung to life from the ashes of the old, with the speed and glamour of an F1 racer. It is easy to be so overwhelmed by the final picture; it is difficult to see which colours went into painting it.
Being the history lover I am, learning more about the story of Old Dubai held (and still holds), a great fascination for me. Unlike many big cities where the old sits along side the new, this is not the case in Dubai; the adventurer in you must seek it out.
The obvious starting point, and where I began my journey not long after stepping off the plane (not rest for the wicked), was in Old Dubai. Somewhat of a misnomer, Old Dubai (or Al Fahidi Historic District) is instead a replica of the old style of buildings, alleyways and quarters that made up the earlier Bedouin settlements on the mouth of the Gulf. Many of these settlers were Iranian, and their style of architecture is mimicked in these buildings. Their open turrets providing the first known natural air conditioning, with poles and wet sheet systems.
I consider myself very fortunate to have had the most excellent guide who shared so many nuggets of history with me. Xavier has a real passion for his adopted city, and I was to discover, the majority of the population are all adoptees. With me for the week, Xavier (of 1001 Events) gave a whole new depth to my journey that could not have been gained from guidebooks, answering my incessant questioning with insight and humour. Not only of the historical and economical, but also the idiosyncratic.
Wandering the warm alleyways of Old Dubai, I felt I’d landed in quite the other world. Perhaps it was the jet lag and the warmth, but there was a distinct feel of stepping out of the Tardis and into another realm. Sandstone walls took on a silken texture, colourful enamelware whispered stories and a lone Raven called from atop a towers edge.
A generation of shopkeepers stops to tell me the stories of the enamel portraits, painted by great artists and the brush of a single hair. Pride and awe fills their voices as tales of beauty light their eyes.
by Candice DeVille | Jan 7, 2015 | 1970, daily outfit, swimming
The great irony in building my amazing pool and outdoor area, is that I’m not a sunshine kind of girl. Like all we porcelain white ladies, I burn to a crisp as soon as I look at the sun, so my idea of pool side glamour is very much the over the top, not getting wet version.
This is actually a great and cunning plan, as it allows me to play with my wardrobe of things, creating all kinds of style vignettes that often mirror what I’m reading or watching at the time (American Hustle this week), then enjoy the vision of the pool from the shade until the sun dips down.
Everyday I slather myself in SPF 50+ from head to toe, whether I am planning outdoor adventures or not, I just don’t like to take the risk or skin damage. Large sunglasses and huge hats feature heavily in my summer wardrobe, along with all manner of cover ups and other shade options. So while I may not be the kind of bronzed, Bond Girl who is able to emerge sun kissed from the surf; I’m the one who will mix your martini and throw you a towel from the comfort of my cabana.
I find my pieces all over the place, generally not with one specific outfit or look in mind. It only really comes together when I start to think about the “story” I have in mind for the day. My instant obsession with oversized gold everything began the moment I watch American Hustle (which I highly recommend). The costuming, sets and the story in this one immediately put it in my list of top favourite movies.
The Seventies is not a decade I’ve not really explored too much in my fashion adventures, mainly because I was born then and saw a lot of the fashion first hand. As a teenager I remember thinking, “Who on earth would want to dress like that?” Our house was filled with oversized floral wallpaper, orange kitchen accessories and lots of Mission Brown. Now I am much more partial to its glitzy, decadent charm. The Mission Brown they can keep.
Outfit Details
Bikini – Seafolly Australia
Kaftan – eBay find
Black felt hat – Eugina Kim on Shopbop
Sunglasses – Sussan
Bamboo gold hoops earrings – Lovisa
Gold hinged bangle – Op Shop find
Sandals – Airflex
by Candice DeVille | Jan 5, 2015 | Home & Garden, Self
As I stood looking at it all prior to Christmas, I realised something, that light bulb went off. I don’t actually need to declutter. Clearly, the “definition of insanity is doing the same things time and time again and expecting a different result”. What I actually needed was drastic action, an apocalypse of the domestic kind. The kind that can only happen when something monumental shifts in your mind and in your heart. Perhaps following a comprehensive room by room de-cluttering, the type you do when you are moving houses would come in handy.
Either that or you get completely jack of the crap.
While I am only in the first throws of this process, it is moving along at a screaming pace, with the intent to be complete by the end of January when school goes back. All the thoughts and ideas that have come to mind while my hands are at work, are things I want to share with you. Some of these tips you may have read before, others may be totally new to you. Either way, if this helps you on your own personal journey to clear out the crap, I want to know!
The First Step
Know why you want to declutter or minimise.
- Is your stuff stressing you out? Is it causing arguments, yelling, tension, wasted time?
- How often can’t you find things?
- How much money are you wasting on things you don’t need or looking after all the excess you have?
Really, ask yourself these questions because when you get tired or your resolves starts to break, you only need to be reminded of the truth here.
My personal answers are ‘yes’ to all of the above. The biggest factor is the amount of time I spend looking after stuff, both mine and the rest of the family’s. And it drives me fricken nuts! Collecting vintage has been a wonderful pastime, but when you consider how much time it takes to restore, clean, mend etc.. Then add two primary school kids into the mix, everything becomes a burden and the beauty fades.
