finally autumn

Blouse, brooch & skirt - vintage, cardigan - Woolovers, belt - market, shoes - made in Bali

I'm so glad that the weather is starting to cool down here now. I can finally pull out all of my winter clothing and get some wear out of some new pieces I've acquired lately, like both this blouse and skirt which I bought off Etsy after deciding to overhaul my wardrobe.

I had done a great job at planning out a colour palette and loose theme to stick to whilst shopping for clothes, but unfortunately the overhaul has been put on hold for now as we begin yet another mad money saving period, so hopefully I can recommence in a few months.

I did manage to pick up a quite a few new (old) pieces with the money I made selling some clothes on eBay which are yet to arrive so I am happy to have them to look forward to at least!

Blush & blue

All vintage/thrifted except for made-by-me skirt

This was a last minute in the morning before work outfit. I had plans to wear another blouse with the skirt (an outfit I have worn a number of times before), however when my eyes fell upon this new-to-me cardigan I realised that blush pink and blue was a colour combination I hadn't previously realised went so well, so I had to wear it.

I kept the blouse neutral and went for brown accessories to match with the beading on the cardigan. Which is so beautiful, by the way.

The quality of these kinds of 50's cardigans always blows me away - the beading is gorgeous and the fabric so soft. This one is in almost perfect condition, save for a couple of sequins missing and what looks to be slight fading in some areas (which, thanks to the light colour of the cardigan, you hardly notice anyway.) The bodice is lined in a soft pink fabric and it has dainty pearl buttons.

My cardigan/light layers collection has been sorely lacking, so this beauty is a very welcome addition, especially on these not-so-summery days we've been having lately.

Do you own any vintage cardigans? What's your favourite thing about them?

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?

I just need some [p]inspiration

Thank you all for your lovely words on my last post - I've decided to put myself on a bit of a sewing ban until the new year, I find whenever I can't sew is always when I want to the most so hopefully that helps!  

As for my wardrobe slump, well, sometimes you just need a bit of inspiration - like this lovely photo of a model from the 50's I've had on my Pinterest board for ages. I was looking through my boards hoping something would leap out at me, when I realised I had basically this outfit, but in reverse..

I tried to copy her pose but forgot what she was doing.. close enough! 

Thank goodness for Pinterest and copying vintage outfits! Not thank goodness for brightness and windiness...

Jacket, trousers and scarf - thrifted/vintage, blouse c/o Dangerfield, shoes - Wittner

just dandy

I've been in a bit of a slump lately. I've started yet another new job (well, it's actually my old job again) and am as usual finding my wardrobe lacking in basic pieces to create outfits with. Obviously I've been wearing clothes to work, but not a great deal of inspiring or "blog worthy" outfits.

I've also been having a bit of a crap time with my sewing. One of those periods where nothing you make turns out right and you encounter all kinds of silly issues, so I'm taking a break from that so as not to stress myself out or waste any more fabric/money.

But on a lighter note, it's Christmas time! I have to admit to feeling a bit cheated living in the southern hemisphere and therefore having Christmas in summer - all of the photos I've been seeing of people up north looking cozy in ugly sweaters, ice skating, building snowmen, having roast meals and hot drinks are making me very jealous. Usually this time of the year is all dry heat and blue skies for miles, afternoon drinks in the sun and days at the beach but we're having a pretty dreary December in Melbourne this year (as I type it is 16 degrees, overcast and drizzling.) Hm. That lighter note turned out heavier than intended.. must be the weather.

Ok, here is an outfit I cobbled together that turned out well, coupled with a good hair day and some smiley faces - I'll leave you with that while I go and eat cookies and try and build up my positivity reserves again!

coat - given to me by a friend, blouse - made by me, pants - Vivien of Holloway, shoes - custom made in Bali

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!!

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!

springtime plaid

Hat & belt - thrifted, scarf & gloves - vintage, dress - made by me, shoes - Urban Outfitters

Hello! It's been a while!

I know I've already talked about how much I love winter, and I do, but this time of year is always so exciting - spring is here!

I tend to get a wee bit sick of the cold by the last month of winter and find myself daydreaming of warmer weather, floaty dresses and picnics with friends. 

This year I'm determined to actually get my wardrobe sorted in advance, before the hot hot weather sets in, though I say this every year so who knows if I'll actually stick to it… That said I've made a bit of a start with this pretty dress I made - the fabric is a marvellous find from the op shop around the corner from my house that I knew what I'd do with as soon as I saw it. I used the same pattern as I did for my yellow flower dress (Simplicity 2539). I actually made it exactly to the pattern size that I have this time, which is for a 31 1/2 inch bust, despite my 34 inch bust since last time I made it a little bigger and it just ended up too roomy.. this time it is actually quite fitted (which I prefer). Just goes to show that ease is as much an issue in vintage patterns as it is in modern ones!

autumn leaves in winter time

Everything thrifted/vintage

Last weekend Eli and I hit up the Dangerfield garage sale that I had previously posted about. The weather was rather awful, cold, raining on and off, but we were determined to score some bargains!

I've been pretty obsessed with this sweater lately, it's super cosy and warm and looks cute with just about everything I pair it with. Yay!

How freaking cute is this little bike brooch? I got it from the op shop around the corner from my house a few weeks back. 

P.S, the Dangerfield garage sale has been extended until Sunday 13th July. It's open 9-6 every day so if you missed out last weekend you still have a chance to grab some bargains!

mustard & leopard print

coat, dress, belt, bag & shoes - thrifted/vintage, beret - dangerfield, gloves - target

Say hello to the cute little 3-legged kitty who hangs out around our house, affectionately known as Lego. She's super friendly and cuddly, if we didn't already have three cats in the house I would adopt her ASAP. As it is I think we're going to take her down to the vet and get them to check if she has a home, she is at ours an awful lot and always seems hungry, and we've already had a few friends wanting to take her home with them!

I wore this outfit out to go look at a new shop that's popped up in Fitzroy, Era Vintage Bride. Run by the lovely Lucy, this little boutique has a great range of beautiful vintage wedding/formal dresses and accessories at very reasonable prices. Not only that, but Lucy can have any one of the dresses in store replicated for you in new fabric which she sources herself. Though I didn't end up actually buying anything, I was super impressed by Lucy's attentiveness, she gave me dress after dress and they were all beautiful and suited me very well. If you're after a vintage or vintage-style wedding or special occasion dress I highly recommend you visit her!

I haven't really worn this lovely dress a whole lot since I bought it, because it was a bit snug and I was scared I'd break it.. It fits much better now and it's the perfect colder-weather dress (with a few extra layers!)

red polka dots

Hat, scarf, coat, sweater, bag - thrifted/vintage, skirt - stolen from my sister, boots - purchased from the lovely Katie-Louise.

Oh, how I love the winter.
Today we did a little bit of exploring around the suburb that we've called home for a whole month now. It's so nice having a lovely park, shopping strip with pretty much anything we could want and lots and lots of beautiful old homes on tree lined streets to look at all within walking distance from our house.

This skirt is my sisters, and I have no idea why I haven't borrowed it before, it is lovely! I was so happy when I realised I could make a pseudo-suit out of it and my recently repaired coat (which I have had now for about 5 years now, and has been sitting in my to-mend pile for about 2 of those.. oops) the colours match almost perfectly!

Lion's tooth

Hat & shoes - vintage, belt - thrifted, skirt & top - made by me

I mentioned in my last post that I had picked up Simplicity's 4044 so I could make the swing trousers, but while I'm searching for the perfect fabric for that project, I decided to use some of the printed voile I picked up at a Spotlight sale recently and give the blouse a try.

How cute is the dandelion print?

One day I will learn how to match prints… 

I am SO happy with the result. The pattern is originally for a long-sleeved blouse, but I wanted to try a short sleeve option for more versatility. The whole thing took me only a couple of hours to put together and came out really well!

I decided to wear it with another made-by-me piece from a while ago which I've only just begun to fit into again (thanks to many a cheeseburger on our holiday last year.. oops).

I would definitely recommend this blouse pattern for anyone who wants to whip up a cute, 40's-inspired blouse in a reasonable amount of time :)

swing trousers in the city

cardigan - sent to me by my lovely friend Sheree :) , bag - thrifted, blouse - ASOS, trousers - Vivienne of Holloway, shoes - Wittner, necklace - present from Eli

Sorry about the bluuuuurry iPhone photo's, I realised halfway through our outing that we weren't going to make it home before the sun disappeared, darn.

I am so in love with these trousers at the moment, I've got heaps of outfits involving them in my head, it's hard to stop myself from breaking them out at every chance!
If you follow me on instagram you would have seen that I recently purchased Simplicity 4044, I can't wait to make myself some more of these trousers in other colours.

Also, how cute is this bag! I picked it up from the op shop around the corner from my house (yep, literally around the corner. Dangerous) for $3.

cape crusader

cape - American Apparel, sweater - Dangerfield, skirt - made by me, everything else vintage/thrifted

I bought this cape quite a number of years ago from American Apparel. It was rather expensive but I justified it because it's wool and a neutral colour and a pan collar and I really, really wanted it. I wore it a handful of times but then my style changed and it was banished to the back of my wardrobe until a summery warm day this year when I realised that capes + pencil skirts = perfect vintage style!!

My hair was a bit of an epic fail turned accidental kind of win, I set my hair but the top layer didn't want to play nice so I had to improvise. Turned out ok in the end!

neutral novelty

 Cardigan - dangerfield, everything else thrifted/vintage

Helloooo!

We are finally (mostly) settled into our new house and have just gotten the internet set up today so I thought I'd get straight to it with an outfit I wore the other day :)

Even though it is now officially winter (yay!), and therefore now gets dark at about 5:30, I can still manage to take semi-ok photos because our new house has LIGHT and WHITE WALLS. So excited. Now I have no excuse.

This dress has narrowly escaped being thrown out many, many times - something about it just makes me hold on to it, even though I don't have that much that goes with it and it has rips near the waistband (which I will fix.. one day) which means I constantly have to check that the belt is keeping everything in place. So when I pulled it out of my closet and magically threw this colour-coordinated outfit together I was very glad it had survived through so many wardrobe purges.. It seems I've picked up a few more neutral-toned pieces recently, so this dress lives to be worn another day!

Anyway, I just thought I'd do a quick post so I can stop feeling bad about not posting, I have a few things lined up (reviews! work outfits! sewing!) so expect those over the next week or so :)