Work dress-ups

Blouse - c/o Dangerfield, skirt - made by me, earrings - Lovisa, shoes - Rubi

Here's the full outfit I was wearing in my last post, just something I wore to work the other day. I work in an office with a pretty relaxed dress code - the elusive "business casual" - but I still like to dress up a little. A lot of people in my office will just wear jeans or whatever closest-thing-to-pyjamas pants they can get away with, but I think dressing up for work is a huge mood-booster. I mean, of course I'd prefer to stay home in my pjs all day, but wearing them to my place of employment? Not so much.

One of the best things about dressing in a vintage or retro style is that the styles are (generally) super work appropriate. A 50's style skirt is never going to get you pulled into HR, swing trousers look perfect with cropped blazers or dress up a simpler t-shirt and also, skirt suits.

I know a lot of people worry about looking too "costumey" when wearing authentic vintage to work, but so many modern work-wear styles are based on vintage looks to keep them looking "conservative" that I think it is one environment where you can pretty much get away with it while just looking like you are a bit eccentric. Which is totally not a bad thing at all!

Do you wear vintage to work? Do you play it down or go full on authentic?

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years Eve - how weird that it is January, 2015 already! I feel as though last year absolutely flew by!

This was me on New Years Eve. In true Taygan fashion I forgot to take proper photos, so have a selfie and a poor-quality last-minute-in-front-of-a-pub pic!

Earrings - given to me by a customer, dress & bag - thrifted, shoes -??

The Cheongsam (or Qipao) I'm wearing is just a modern one I found at the op shop near my house and then altered to give a bit more of a vintage shape. I've been doing a lot of reading about Shanghai in the 1930's which has been completely fascinating and was my inspiration for this outfit. I've fallen completely head over heels for the beautiful Chinese starlets of the day and now have a little list of old movies to track down.. hopefully with subtitles! If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them!

2015 is already shaping up to be a super exciting year - there are a few biggish things in the works that I can't share right now (even though I'm dying to) that I am SO excited about.

In terms of "resolutions".. well, I know I never keep them, but my main one is to be a more social person. I'm the kind of person who usually says "no" or "I can't..." when invited out somewhere, partly due to social anxiety and partly laziness, but I'm hoping to say "yes" a lot more this year when it comes to seeing friends and attending events outside of my own home.

I'm also hoping to get my wardrobe situation a bit more sorted. Too many days of "I have nothing to wear!!!!" is really getting me down and now that we have an income and some of the smaller debts have been paid off (yay!) I can actually start looking at investing in pieces to build up my wardrobe. I've already got a little list started that I'll gradually chip away at, consisting of vintage, reproduction and made-by-me pieces. Being a "fashion" blogger who owns basically nothing that she wants to wear makes things rather difficult.

My last one is to *try* and be a little better with my blog.. I say this every year and it doesn't usually happen, but maybe this will be the year!!


How are you guys with resolutions? Do you have any for this year?

florals for spring...

Dress made by me, everything else vintage.

I made this dress from Simplicity 1159, a lovely and easy to make 50's dress with a V neck and short kimono sleeves. The fabric I bought last year some time and ferreted away, bringing it out only on occasion to stare at and stroke it … my precioussssssss…. it's a gorgeous, slightly shiny coated cotton and the colours are just beautiful - I was too afraid to "waste it" so was waiting for the "perfect" pattern. In the end I bit the bullet because this pattern is just so simple and pretty, so how could it possibly go wrong?!

In general life news; I've just started a new, full time job at a very faaancy store, and I am completely exhausted and out of whack, so expect the sporadic posting to continue for a while until I work out some kind of routine. I've realised that my downfall with keeping up this blog, even while I was unemployed and had all the time in the world, is lack of routine (also lack of money) so thats something I'm going to try and work on!!

stripes + engagement photos

Hi!!!

Long time no speak (write? read??)

The last month has been crazy, turns out I just didn't have the energy to plan our wedding, work and keep up the blog so I apologise for leaving you guys out of the loop.

We've just gotten back from our honeymoon this week, and Eli has been whisked off on a tour with his band so I'm without my trusty photographer for the moment.. which is all good really because it gives me an excuse to play catch up and reminisce about our wedding a little.

At the start of the month we did an "engagement" shoot with our wedding photographer - our friend Aleksandar Jason. I ended up whipping up a dress for the occasion, modifying Simplicity's 1873 from the Cynthia Rowley collection to feature a bateau neckline in this blue and white stripe fabric I found at my local op shop.

I had some issues with gaping at the back of the neckline, which I didn't have time to fix for the shoot so had to cover with a cardigan (I was sewing right up until we left!!), but having since washed the dress that problem has resolved itself so I guess I'll put it down to the fabric stretching slightly as I was sewing and/or the bias binding around the neckline.

It also has the fullest skirt I've ever made - perfect for twirling! It's definitely become my new favourite warm-weather dress.

Here's some photos from the shoot, Eli looked particularly dapper in his blue houndstooth suit from ASOS and matching stripes :)

Sun Days.

(everything thrifted)

My new neighbourhood is so lovely. These photos were taken at the park by the river near our house, while we looked for branches to take home for our bird cage.
I'm so excited to be able to have picnics here once the sun is out a bit more and I have more free time!

Hello,

Just a quick post to say I'm still here. Since I've gotten back from Bali (it was amazing!) I've been sick, working a lot, and doing a lot of wedding related crafting...

I also received a very special dress in the mail :)

I'll be back with more outfits as usual as soon as I can!

outfit: facing fears

Beret, shirt, scarf & belt - thrifted, skirt - made by me, bag - Sportsgirl, shoes - borrowed from Katie (although originally from Target!)

So today I did something pretty crazy, for me. I went, by myself, to meet a bunch of people I'd never met before.

It was the Melbourne Vintage Society's monthly meet-up today, something I had just been introduced to by Jess (who ended up being too sick to come, poor thing!) and I was completely of two minds as to whether I would go, despite the enthusiastic "count me in!" I'd mustered up when RSVP-ing via twitter.. In fact even while I was on my way there the nasty voice in my head was urging me to just stay on the tram, tell them I couldn't make it, just bail.

Rather uncharacteristically though, I didn't listen.

This is a pretty big deal for me, as a person who struggles with social interaction even with people I already know half the time.. I'm pretty surprised and proud of myself.

I was probably not the most talkative person (nerrrrves!), but everyone was super lovely, and I'm really glad I went and ate scones, drank tea and talked about all manner of things with them.

 

This skirt I made using the same pattern as the red one I made earlier, only this time I changed the sizing up a little bit and also lined it in black satin.. Seriously every time I make something that is lined I love it 80% more than I would something I don't line.. I really have to stop being so lazy and just make lining for everything because it is SO worth it!!!

Also I learnt that sewing with satin is a bitch and next time I really should just spend the few dollars on some real lining fabric rather than just trying to make do haha.

I have quite a lot of this dark green fabric left over, so I'm thinking a cute, cropped matching jacket would be a nice idea!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! x

travel: wardrobe planning

"A travel wardrobe is personal. It will change from trip to trip. It is a condensation of your regular wardrobe, not a separate entity. After all, you’re still the same person whether you’re at home or far away, and you’ll want familiar garments with you. Never cut your gear so close that you leave your personality behind.”- excerpt from Wife Dressing: The Art of Being a Well Dressed Wife by Anne Fogarty (1959)

So the countdown is on - less than 2 weeks until I leave cold stormy Melbourne and touch down in hopefully-somewhat-warmer Los Angeles for our 2 month and 27 day trip!

I don't think I could be more excited, we have been waiting and saving for this for what seems like forever and now the final weeks of waiting are upon us!

Of course, my head is abuzz with all of the things that need doing (vaccinations, pet care, money stuff..) and naturally I have been trying to work out the most important part first - what clothing am I going to bring with me??!

Being the over-planner that I am, I have of course already thought about this. In an effort to leave as much extra space in my suitcase (in case I just happen to pick anything up!) but also not be left completely without options I have devised a totally mix-and-matchable, multi-season 24 piece wardrobe (not including accessories).

I was inspired by the lovely Annika's awesome mix and matching skills, and basically decided I would take double the amount she usually uses, seeing I'll be gone for almost 3 months. 

Here is my initial wardrobe plan, via polyvore so some pieces are representative of the actual item:

I've already made a few changes, and I'm sure there will be more to come. 

As you can see I've kept to a colour scheme of grey, black, white, yellow, red and denim, with a few brown accessories thrown on for good measure. 

I'm excited to see how this goes - I am a person who doesn't really like wearing the same outfit twice, so this is going to be pushing it a bit for me and I would still like to try and retain a bit of vintage style but I think I can do it!

travel: 2 week countdown..

Eeeeeep! I can't believe that in exactly 2 WEEKS I'll be boarding a plane with my love for our very first overseas adventure!!

It is crazy exciting, as well as incredibly daunting, to think we'll be wanderers for the next (almost) 3 months. And when we get back the adventure continues; we have both resigned from our 9-5's and will be attempting to have a much more creatively fulfilling lifestyle.

We're off to visit Eli's parents for Christmas and then next year we already have planned a trip to Bali for my sisters birthday, and maybe Japan later in the year!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This trip consist of two weeks on the west coast with a big group of friends, then a month and a half just Eli and I driving wherever we please while we make our way across to Chicago, IL. From there we ditch the rental and hop on a train to spend two weeks in New York before flying home with a stopover in Vietnam for 10 days with my parents. Phew!!

We already have an idea of where we'd like to visit, and have drawn out a rough map, but we want to go with the flow as much as possible, and if we miss out on a few places or don't get to stay somewhere as long as we might like its no big deal - we can always come back!!

Does anyone have any suggestions of places to visit? We're pretty open minded since its our first trip, but we won't be too disappointed if we don't make it everywhere.. Anywhere is good for us!

There is so much left to do still over the next little bit, and I'm sure it's going to FLY past!

bunting, bands and cats

Last Friday night was my boyfriends bands last Australian show before we head off on our holiday, so to celebrate they threw a USA-themed bash!

I had been busy all week creating a flag bunting to decorate the stage with, as well as planning my theme-appropriate outfit. 

Here are a few photos from the night. And some of the bunting. With cats.

Apollo never looks at the camera when I take his photo. He's perfected the art of staring wistfully off into the distance.

Disney just tries to eat everything.

Eli and some of the band!

Oh hai! I wore my American flag shirt, vintage skirt and my favourite vintage shoes. I curled my hair and did a little front roll, and wore my new hoop earrings.

I had to make this almost 6 metres long so it would drape across the stage nicely. That's a lot of triangles!! I found that it was pretty easy to make, except there was WAY too much ironing involved. And I hate ironing.

How cute is this toy soldier print? I actually have an almost-finished dress in this fabric.. I really should get around to completing it!

Sorry for the brief posts guys, still sick and my brain is just not functioning. Let's hope it's back to normal by next week :)

cleopatra costume

Sorry for the radio silence guys, I've had a crazy week and now I am sick :( 

I've a few catch up posts coming your way, and then hopefully it's back to normal blogging so stay tuned!

********

Last Saturday was my best friend Katie's birthday, and for her party she had decided to have a "TV and movie" themed costume party.

I dressed up as a slightly Elizabeth Taylor-inspired Cleopatra, while Eli went for his favourite Marvel character, Ironman.

Unfortunately the lighting wasn't the best so I didn't get a great deal of photos - but here are some (horrid quality) pics from the night via my phone..

The birthday girl and I. 

Katie was a character from a TV show that I keep forgetting the name of because I didn't watch it (Dawson's Creek? One Tree Hill?)

I was wearing a little sparkly gold dress I thrifted when I was in high school, a chiffon dress from one of the Retrostar garage sales worn as a one-shoulder dress, a necklace on my head (from Diva?) and around my neck (Diva for sure) and a thrifted belt. I didn't have any appropriate shoes but luckily the party was held inside so I just didn't wear any.

walk like an egyptiannnnnnnnna!

For my hair I parted it in the center, straightened it and did about 6 teeny tiny plaits on each side at the front (it's hard to see).

My hair and makeup was inspired by this look:

But I used purple eyeshadow rather than blue to match my dress.

Katie and I started decorating and cooking early in the day to get ready.

We had a bit of a cupcake catastrophe:

eeek!

But I used my magic skills to fix it, and then we ended up with these delightful caramel-popcorn cupcakes!

 Candy bar!

Katie made these film reel decorations (BY HAND!!) which I stuck around the room.

Eli's Ironman chest. Those muscles are totes real.

We had some rather potent punch and played beer pong all night! :)