Two weeks ago it had gotten quite cold and grey. It rained every day and I’d come to the conclusion that summer was over. In my enthusiasm I pulled everything out of the wardrobe, packed away all my summer clothes and did the usual opshop run. I could hardly wait to get my hands on cute new autumn fashions.
Then the sun came out again. *Sigh*
The benefit of being a bit ahead of the season is that I’m already well into shopping for great new finds to supplement my autumn winter looks.
As you might imagine, I’m constantly on the lookout for cool vintage inspired cardigans and accessories to freshen up my wardrobe staples. You also know how much time that can take, wading through massive online shops to uncover a few knockout pieces.
Left to Right: Macaron Luggage Tag / Macaron Parasol Umbrella
These picks are just the tip of the iceberg, of course. Do yourself a favor and visit Yesstyle, but be forewarned: it’s a massive site, so have a cuppa or glass of savvy B on hand when you browse the virtual racks.
As you know, I only recommend products and services I believe in, trust and/or use myself. Clicking on the Yesstyle links in this post not only takes you to fantastic fashion, but you’ll also help support our blog and community. Happy shopping!
Yes, this post was inspired by felt doughnuts swooshing through my Facebook feed. You never know where or when inspiration will strike.
My good friend Chris Carroll at The Life Creative, who has brilliant taste and style, has just launched his new online store, The Life Creative Shop.
Filled with chic, simple and bold homewares, Chris has curated a collection of pieces that appeal to our sense of fun with a modern vintage vibe. (He’s even made decorating with Macrame stylish, which isn’t always easy.)
Lured by the felt doughnuts, when I popped by The Life Creative shop, I came down with a serious case of lust over the latest range. And here’s where it gets even better …
I asked Chris if he could provide Vintage Current readers with a special offer to celebrate his site launch. He very generously agreed — see details below!
A Few Favorites + Special Offer for My Readers
I could fill a virtual cart with the items I loved on the new site, but here are a few of my personal favorites to give you a sense of the style and range at Chris’ new shop.
Let’s start with this piece that is, to my mind, a must have for any home office, kitchen party or kitsch lovers abode.
Felted Doughnut Garland It’s 2.5 meters long and comes in 5 different doughnut styles and colourways. *Drooling*
Flamingo Wall Hooks These guys are made of hand painted birch plywood and can hold up to 10kgs!
Monstera Leaf Print Cushion No retro home worth its salt should be without a Monstera Leaf motif. From midcentury to the late 1970s, these giant tropical leaves were a ubiquitous decorating choice.
Foxy Print A good animal print never goes out of style. I particularly love this “Foxy” print because you can never have too many reminders that you are one!
These items should give you an idea of what’s in store, but there are heaps more to help you perfect that mix of classic vintage and modern style in your own home.
As I mentioned, Chris was kind enough to offer our Vintage Current email readers a special limited-time 15% off storewide discount code!
If you’re already subscribed to our email updates, you’ll see that code in this week’s issue. Please be on the lookout for it and let’s show Chris and his new store some love!
And if you’re not currently receiving our updates, we can fix that right away.
Subscribe today and you’ll get the 15% off bonus, plus a free copy of our popular “10 Minute Morning” style guide!
You waited a bit too long, right? Distractions, obligations, hectic schedules … trust me, I completely understand.
Now Valentine’s Day 2016 is well and truly upon us, and many of us are scrambling for the best last-minute gift ideas possible (while pretending we had these planned for weeks).
Fortunately, in our search for creative, clever and unique ideas, we found five brilliant gifts, nearly all of which you can create yourself.
So even if you happen to be reading this on the morning of February 14, you’ve still got great gift options. (After that, you’ll want to bookmark this post for next year.)
DIY & Homemade Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas
1. Create Your Own Video Valentine’s Day Card
You’ve got a bunch of photos of and with your valentine, but standard prints aren’t a very creative gift. A photo album is a nice step up, but why not go a bit further and turn your still images into a short, animated movie clip with a sweet soundtrack of your choosing?
Combine photos, video clips, text and music to create your own HD video with Animoto. It’s super easy to use — no video experience required — and with plans starting at $13 per month, you might want to use it for other projects (birthdays, holidays, who knows).
We love this idea from the Find Joy in the Journey blog. You can keep it simple or go all out and plan your dates in detail, depending on your time and brainstorming energy.
The basic version: Pick one day per month for the rest of the year, plan your romantic activities and itinerary, lock them into your calendar and present your list of ideas in any number of creative ways. Reservations to restaurants, gift cards, tickets to events, day trips or nights in — the possibilities are endless. You can adjust days later if needed.
Are you or your partner old enough to remember the magic of the ViewMaster?
If so, you’ll love RetroViewer, a photo viewer modeled on the red plastic classic with spinning photoreels. You can now build your own reels from your photos, customise your viewer and buy gift cards to share the joy. RetroViewer sets start at $30 USD and they ship worldwide.
While you won’t receive this set in time for Valentine’s Day now, we suspect your partner will be so jazzed they won’t mind waiting a bit longer!
4. Trump the Boring Card with Invisible Ink Love Notes
It’s 2016. Who still wants to get a mass-produced Hallmark card, with sappy sentiments that are generic and impersonal?
Your partner can decipher the messages simply by holding them close to heat (near a cozy fireplace or scented candles, perhaps?). And you can handwrite the note with any number of implements, from a paintbrush to a Q-tip.
Warning: Emptying a bottle of wine or spirits to help house these notes may affect your handwriting. Proceed with caution.
5. Make Fresh Roses from Bacon (Yes, Bacon!)
Must we even elaborate on the deliciousness of this idea?
Putting together fresh outfits for Spring is so much fun and its even better when there are super cute new things hitting the shelves.
I popped over to WildKitty, one of my new go to local stores for retro girly sweetness, to check out their new seasons range and just fell in love with their range. I’m pre-planning my outfits for this year’s Camperdown Cruise in October, as well as finding pretty pieces for date days when he sun comes out again.
There’s a lot to love with these easy to wear and easy to impress outfits!
Lip service brooch, Black and floral Lady Vintage dress, Raspberry pink vintage inspired handbag
Pastel pink cardigan with faux fur collar, Cupcake dress, Freshen up mirror and lipstick brooch, kitty shoes
Cosmetic bag brooch, Pink Polka dot 1940s style dress,gumball pink makeup bag, Woodland fax iPhone 5 case
This weekend looks set to be the perfect opportunity to clear out some space from the winter wardrobe and make room for some new pretties. It’s time to dust off the cobwebs and put some more shine into our days!
I’ve been in Philadelphia for just over two weeks now, and today I head off to Las Vegas for NMX.
It seems that an early spring day in Philly is much like a Melbourne winter, cold enough that the wind gives me an ice cream headache! When the clouds lifted this morning and the sun came streaming through, warming us for the first time in weeks, the sensation was divine. The overcoat stayed in the closet and the sunnies came out.
It’s going to be interesting taking lots of outfit photos for you while I’m on this journey, as I packed only one case for the ten weeks and only a couple of pairs of shoes. My mix and matching abilities, as well as the way I aim to stick to a colour palette, mean that I actually have a lot more combination possibilities than I first realised when packing. Let’s see how this all works out.
Today’s outfit is made up of a few of my tried and true pieces that have earnt their cost per wear time and time again. While not all of the originals are still available in stores, I’ve put together a bit of a “Shop The Look” for you as these basics are total lifesavers for me.
I’ve finally been able to find an online supplier for the foundation I use, and have included it here in the feature. It is a BB cream by Missha and is by far, my favourite foundation. It is the ideal shade for my porcelain skin, gives great coverage, doesn’t melt or disappear.
My Red Velvet Lime Crime lipstick is another favourite as it wears well and doesn’t transfer onto cups or cheeks! The red chiffon scarf is a vintage one and sadly these are a bit tricky to come by. They are a certain texture that gives them good grip in the hair and I use them to all kinds of different effects. Your best bet is to just keep and eye out in thrift stores for these, that’s how I keep adding to the collection.
And yes, I did treat myself to a little something from Shopbop this week. Joomi Lim creates beautiful and edgy jewellery that you won’t see in every high street store. The skull, spike and pearl bracelet has a matching choker (I’ve yet to debut that one), which has a delicate femininity while also being seriously sharp!
I’d love to know what you think of these little in post features helping you find pieces of the look. It’s something new for me and I like the way everything can be seen at a glance rather than having to go off and click a bunch of links to get the info you want.
I have finally hit upon the perfect minimalist shoe combination for all my travels!
After spending far too much of my luggage allowance on shoe weight in the past, I’ve taken a very analytical and practical approach to finding the best options that can handle my style of travel.
I needed:
Occasions:
Business meetings and public speaking engagements
Dinner dates and dancing
Long walks and shopping days
Basic Requirements:
Hot and cold weather
Suitable for long dresses, skirts or casual jeans
Incredibly comfortable and well fitting
Left: Clarks Carousel (now on sale!) Right: Clarks Azizi Immy (now on sale!)
As someone who not only has a specific shoe cabinet complete with it’s own showcase lighting, I also have around 130 plus pairs of shoes in rotation. The concept of being able to pare down this huge selection to only two for the next two months, was incredibly daunting. Shopping for shoes has become such an ordeal. It seems that the more fabulous shoes on offer, the less there are that actually meet the comfort and style factor.
While I’m okay with shopping for shoes online, it is still a bit risky. This is one purchase that I’m happy to trawl the malls to make; and trawling I did for these two pairs. After exhausting all the usual haunts I spotted the Clarks store out of the corner of my eye. I can’t say that I was drawn in by anything other than desperation at this stage, but I was in for quite the shock.
Gone was the old sensible school shoe type of store, and in it’s place I found such a great selection of beautiful new heels it was difficult to narrow down my choice to only two pairs. I’ve read lots of other bloggers in the UK and USA having fantastic finds in Clarks, but until recently, these had not hit Australian shores.
The sizing is slightly different to what we’re used to in Australia, so I highly recommend asking the sales attendant to help fit you properly. My choices? The classic black ballet flat takes me everywhere and is something I’m decidedly picky about. There are too many poorly manufactured options out there, offering no support and creating more problems than they solve.
I went with the “Carousel” in black patent leather and they have taken me everywhere. From Dubai to New York, around Melbourne and back to Philadelphia. These are the sorts of shoes I buy as many (in as many colours) as I can afford at the time and put away for back ups. They are that important to have in your shoe wardrobe.
The black “Aziz Immy” heels are a suede and yes, I even wore these on the cold streets in early New York winter. With a few good coats of waterproofing spray, they have handled the conditions admirably. No stains, no stretching and not even any scuffing. The gold detailing makes them the ideal blend of fancy and chic, allowing me to wear them with cocktail dresses and business attire. The footbed is so well constructed, with padding in all the right places, that I can wear these all day without the usual crippling effect of high heels.
These two simple pair of shoes are taking me everywhere for the next two months as I journey around the USA.
Top Row, Left to Right: Swallow Print Cardigan / Pointelle Cardigan 
Left to Right: Fedoras in various colourways / Beautiful veiled black hat / Rosette Beret 
Top Row, Left to Right: French Bulldog bow band / Scissor hair clip 
