A Style Post – of sorts

OR: I’m a blogger and I gots to get paid.

Hey All,

How the dickens are you? It’s been a while, but I have returned from an impromptu sabbatical that involved a little vintage expedition. he role of ‘blogger’ is very often used with a slash. As in, she’s a DJ / actress / blogger. More recently the trend of the slash list is more along the lines of she’s a vintage seller / blogger.

It makes sense really especially if the blogger in question is a vintage fan and has a pretty large stock of vintage pieces… You can see where I am going with this right? So yes Whsity has embarked on a teeny tiny vintage project with a company called Once Removed, ‘launching’ a range of vintage pieces, called Once Removed Vintage.

Here’s a few of the pieces on-line:

Suits

Vintage 80′s Floral Suit

Vintage 80′s Thistle Print Suit

Maxi Dresses

Vintage 70′s Maxi Dress with Matching Cape

Vintage 70′s Tapestry Print Maxi Dress

Shirts & Skirts

Vintage 80′s Check Print, Roll Sleeve Top

Vintage 80′s ruffle-neck shirt & Vintage 80′s Leather Pencil Skirt

Vintage 70′s Paisley Jacket & Vintage 80′s Pleated Midi Skirt

Dresses

Vintage 80′s Denim ‘Rah-Rah’ Dress

Vintage 80′s ‘Laura Ashley’ Cocktail dress

Vintage 70′s Pink Secretary Dress

And a couple of pieces I may just have half-inched for my own wardrobe…

Vintage 80′s striped shirt & Vintage 80′s reworked pleated skirt

Vintage 80′s Leopard Print Blazer.

Yours,

Whisty Xx

‘Like’ the Facebook page HERE.

Shop the collection on Asos Marketplace HERE and Etsy HERE.

Lucy in Disguise in Dublin

Hey All,

If you watched any of Channel 4‘s Riches to Rags documentary you’ll know that Lily Allen and her sister, Sarah Owen worked together to create high-end vintage collection, ‘Lucy in Disguise‘ which culminated in the opening of a flagship store in Covent Garden, central London.

This weekend the two company founders were in Dublin to launch their pre-fall collection of vintage-inspired fashions in Brown Thomas Dublin and BT2 Dundrum. The collection takes inspiration from various past eras and each piece is named after a place or time from a different decade. Like, ‘Altamont’, ‘The Roxy’, ‘Goldrush’, ‘Capone’, and ‘Zanzibar’. It’s a clever way of describing each piece; without even seeing the collection you immediately imagine a  collection of romantic yet edgy pieces.

Lily wears, the short ‘Honky Tonk’ dress €130; Sarah Wears the Silk ‘South Kensington’ Maxi dress, €320. This one is undoubtedly my favourite.

More examples from the collection:Pink chiffon maxi-dress, €355; Black lace maxi-dress, €475.

Pink chiffon dress, €355

Red jersey jumpsuit, €230; Silk sequinned dress, €475

<iframe width=”560″ height=”349″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/RJGSdoxsLdk” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>

It’s a brave collection, with so many Maxi-dresses and jumpsuits that are both notoriously tricky retail-wise. With original vintage dresses, they are very often made of heavy polyester so the design team behind Lucy in Disguise have been clever to use lighter, floaty fabrics for their vintage-inspired designs. I think I’d still prefer the real thing, but then with those prices I have no choice!

Yours,

Whisty Xx

A Style Post – Flowers and Florals

Hey All,

White and pink blossom, yellow Daffodils and purple crocuses, hazy sunshine long shadows and fresh-cut grass. I love when spring arrives. It also wants me to wear this shawl with its floral embroidery.

I have a park near my house that always has people in it; I ventured out on a much-needed walk, yesterday afternoon having dealt with a major laptop malfunction… 

How to mix vintage and High Street; hat, T.Shirt and Jeans and Shoes – High Street

Jacket, Belt and embroidered shawl – Vintage

More photos and outfit details on HerApparel.

I took a few pics of the flowers too…

Yours,

Whisty Xx

Pretty Woman vs Dublin Man

Hey All.

I had a rather unusual day last Thursday. I went to meet the film makers of Rent-a-Friend for RTÉ‘s Storyland, to film a promo for their episode.

It was a parody of a scene in Pretty Woman… when Vivian wreaks revenge on the snooty bint in a posh Beverly Hills boutique, who refused to serve her. Except instead of a glamorous Vivian, it’s a dude, in jeans, looking to rub the sales assistants nose in his shopping haul.

Image via: cinema-fanatic.com

We filmed in stylish vintage boutique, Horse & June on Drury Street, and yours truly stood in as the film’s snooty assistant.

Owner Zoe took a few behind the scenes shots:

I was in the shop earlier in the year to have a snoop about:

And this is the final video. It’s pretty darn funny (nothing to with me you understand, I’m just standing there being awkward )…

(Because of stupid licensing laws (love you Roy Orbison), you might not be able to watch it here but it works fine in youtube…)

If you think it’s a bit of a giggle, see the actual Rent-a-Friend episode HERE and vote away if my unashamed plugging hasn’t got you all riled up!

Yours,

Whisty Xx

Style Post Intermission – Vintage Shopping

OR: Dandelion Daydreamer Vintage Pop-Up and Interview

Hey All,

In case your horribly bored of looking at my wardrobe, I thought I’d better post about some of the clothes that I wish I had in my wardrobe.

Imagine spending your summers by the beach, shopping in markets and boutiques in the South of France; hanging out with beautiful friends and your boyfriend; who happens to be a bit of a dab-hand, dans la cuisine. It may sound too good to be true but is the real-life of Sorcha Gillett, owner of Dandelion Daydreamer Vintage clothing and interviewee on Whisty.

Back from France for the winter and armed with her vintage collection, Sorcha invited me along to try her wares this weekend. We drank mulled wine, ate mince pies and chatted as I shopped…

Whisty: So you live in the South of France most of the year but have come back to Dublin for the winter? How Come?

Sorcha: I have lived there for 2 years now; about 2 hours south of Bordeaux on the coast in a surfer’s paradise. It is a seasonal lifestyle so while it is quiet there in the winter I have chosen to return home to launch Dandelion Daydreamer Vintage in Ireland; also to enjoy living the city life for a little while!

Whisty: Where do you get all your pieces? Can you give us any insider tips on how / where to hunt for vintage bargains?

Sorcha: When I’m in France I travel the country to markets, and as my French has improved, private vintage sellers. For anybody who is visiting France – Paris in particular – look for “friperies“. These French vintage shops selections can vary but generally treasures can be found. When I find a good shop I always ask the staff for local recommendations. When I lived in Dublin I remember trekking along Georges St up to the top of Camden St. in search of charity shop bargains. I have heard wonderful things about the Dublin Flea market and am looking forward to checking that out this winter… if the snow permits!

Whisty: Where are your favourite places to shop?

Sorcha: New York, New York! The Big Apple has such a diverse choice of vintage to choose from. Whether I’m rummaging through vintage boutiques in the East Village or warehouses in Williamsbourg, I will always have a huge smile plastered across my face! San Francisco is another vintage goldmine, particularly around Haight Street where you will find almost 20 vintage boutiques lined up in a tantalising row. If you have the patience, there are some huge charity shops in America where you can find bargains a plenty but often time is of the essence and it’s better to go somewhere with quality not quantity! France is my number one spot for vintage handbags, belts and shoes. I have recently posted a little guide to vintage shopping, eating and sleeping in Paris on my blog with some tips for any potential visitors.

Whisty: So you spend your life shopping! I’m so jealous, is it really as good as it sounds?

Sorcha: In a word, yes! It is a huge excuse to travel and when you are passionate about what you do it never feels like work anyway! The only drawback is that I literally find it impossible to pass a vintage shop/market without popping my head in. It can make for a very frustrated boyfriend sometimes!

Whisty: How do you convince yourself to sell all the stuff you buy, and not keep it all for your own wardrobe!?

Sorcha: If I am lucky all the beautiful pieces will be too large or small for me, then the decision is already made! I do find it very hard to part with items sometimes, that’s when I have to remind myself this is a job not a personal shopping trip!

Whisty: What is your favourite vintage era?

Sorcha: Hands down it’s the 1950s, give me Betty Draper in romantic florals and nipped in waist day dresses over 1980s bling any day!

Whisty: When is the next Dandelion Daydreamer Vintage pop-up shop please!!

Sorcha: We are currently open all week up until Christmas Eve and I am already working on the next pop up shop! I will be sure to let you know as soon as the preparations are finalised! For any Dublin ladies who wish to visit our showroom for a private viewing just drop us a line to book an appointment. (sorcha.gillett (@)gmail.com) tel : 0861283472

The coat I should’ve bought…

I think I need a bit more lemon yellow in my life… Hello pretty vintage 60′s dress. Now mine.

Dandelion Daydreamer on Facebook HERE

Dandelion Daydreamer Blog HERE shop HERE:

Whisty

Xx

Charity Shops and Vintage Clothing

Hey All,

Happy Forever 21 Friday!!

This is a really quick post just to mention an new vintage display that went up in the windows of Age Action on Camden St. this week. Whenever I mention vintage pieces that I’ve found in charity shops in Dublin people often say things like, “Oh that was lucky“, or “I never seem to find anything like that“.Well here’s proof that vintage can be bought in charity shops… for now.

With rumours rife that there is a high-street clothing store buying up a lot of the vintage in the charity shops around Dublin to sell in their own store, it is good to see that some charity shops still have vintage. If the rumours are true, then everyone will loose out. But for now there is still some vintage to be found; these pieces range from the 1950′s – 1980′s and the prices are fantastic. The 50′s prom dress for example is €50.

L-R: 1960′s floral dress, 70′s blazer and red trousers, 70′s floral dress, 70′s mint green short dress, 80′s shirt and trousers.

1950′s prom dress, blazer and skirt.

Window displays will be going up on a Friday evening and all pieces will be on sale the following Saturday.

Xx

Wild Child Originals, Dublin

Hey All,

This week I’m mostly craving printed maxi skirts and dresses. 60′s / 70′s vintage printed, maxi skirts and dresses to be more precise. Since I’d noticed Wild Child vintage clothing had moved from Georges St. Arcade to Drury Street., I thought a bit of window shopping / dressing-up was in order.

The new shop, 26 Drury Street

Navy printed 70′s maxi dress

Mint-green embroidered 70′s maxi

Ground floor, a row of vintage cowboy boots, (sans cowboys unfortunately).

First floor, vintage frocks and furs

The basement, seriously Sweeney furniture.

I think I want to go to a party wearing the mint-green dress above. One where I get to sit in this chair and drink Babycham and brandy, while smoking cigarettes through a large, gold cigarette-holder.

Xx

Two days, Two outfits, One hat.

Dear Readers,

I wore my Hunter wellies the last two days and I have to say I really liked it. Puddles pah! No match for my rubberised feet! I’ve had enough now though… Sunshine please come back!

So the bank holiday was fun, of course. I wore this Trilby a lot. I was surprised by how many outfits it goes with and how it changes an entire look. The hat’s the thing it seems.

I was watching the Buddy Holly story and I remembered this 50′s style, vintage (80′s) tea-dress that I asked my Mum to alter for me. The sleeves came off, there was a big bow in the front and some massive shoulder pads that were hastily removed, and it was about a foot longer originally. It’s thrifted and cost about €8, I added the belt to cinch in the waist to give it a bit more shape.

The bracelet on my left arm is actually a belt that I found in a charity shop. The sunglasses in the first pictures are my “Deirdre Barlows” from Dunnes.

More photos and full outfit details on HerApparel, here and here.

Xx

Tweed and Lycra… That shouldn’t work.

I have recently re-discovered my love of Tweed. I think it’s a culmination of things, a love of vintage fashion, a love of beautifully made clothes, watching Atonement last week and seeing the costumes used in that. Or possibly it’s just from watching the coverage of the Cheltenham Festival. I mean tweed and horses live hand-in-hand.

Anyway, this jacket circa 1940, was made from Scottish Tweed by Barnett-Hutton. Some Tweed can be quite masculine but this jacket has really pretty shades of lilac, pink and pale green in it and has three little, worn, leather-covered buttons. I have to be a bit careful wearing it, which I find really hard to do so I wear it as little as possible. You can see that it was really well looked after before I got my hands on it.

Because the jacket is quite busy, I put it with plain pieces; a silk blouse a plain hat and peep-toe flats. It was looking a bit old-fashioned and prim so to give it a bit of edge I pulled on a plain fitted skirt and a 70′s multi-chain necklace. All outfit details on Herapparel.wordpress.com.

I came to get down, I came to get down…

OR… I’ll serve your A$$ like John McEnroe

OR… White girl can’t jump… Not in these heels anyway.

Sometimes I just can’t decide on a blog title.

Don’t you just love an impromptu party weekend? The girls arranged a bit of a do in town, involving one or two cocktails, I hasten to add. Anyway, I knew there’d be a bit of a boogie involved too and having just bought this skirt & blouse, I jumped (soz) at the chance to wear them.

Both are made of really light, sheer fabrics, (if you can imagine a kind of faux silk-chiffon) which it means that they move really well when they’re worn… like when I’m dancing.

The skirt was about 2/3 inches longer until I chopped off the hem and taking inspiration from Hermés SS10 pleated tennis skirts, I left it rough-cut so it would fray slightly.

The blouse is a few sizes too big which I think is a good thing when the fabric is this sheer, more fitted might be a little tacky? It also means that the sleeves stay up on my arms without rolling which gives a much nicer looking effect I think. I tried opaque tights first and the whole look was too dark and a bit witchy, I opted for fishnets  instead.

Seeing as it was all looking a bit ‘saucy-secretary’ (unintentionally), I added bright red lips, a thick slick of Kohl on my eyelids and, I think, the highest heels I have.

All outfit details at HerApparel.