Monthly Archives: August 2012

Interview with Clara Fox

Posted by dramaofexile in Fashion, Shopping, Travels & Treasures and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here it is finally! My interview with the lovely Di of Clara Fox, a guest post for Vintage Shops Australia.

Clara Fox is one of my favourite vintage retail spaces in Melbourne and as I’ve come to know Di over the last few years I’ve lived in the city she’s been a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. It was such a lovely afternoon, filled with tea, cucumber sandwiches and gorgeous garments.

Read the whole interview here.

Vintage Shops Australia is a great online database that profiles vintage retailers in Australia. Thankyou to Pru and Tania for the opportunity to contribute to the blog and I look forward to working together again in the future!

Here are some photos and excerpts from the post.

GD: What had you been doing beforehand? Have you always been collecting vintage?

Always, yes. Well we didn’t call it vintage when I was younger but I was into second-hand clothing. I went to live with my aunt, I think I was around 15 and a half and her husband had just died. It was a big old house in Richmond, a big Victorian house. I remember she had two big wardrobes in my room and I wasn’t allowed to go in them, but I peeped into them one day and they were filled with, what her age group called (she’d be over 100 now) costumes. So they would see something or go into the city and draw something, then they’d go home and get them made. And there were all these beautiful, as I know now, 1930′s and 1940′s day dresses with little jackets- but they were all decaying. It was like they’d been locked away for 25 years then.

So from there I used to go around Richmond and Prahran and go into second shops because I had very little money and with very little money I could pick up a beautiful 1940′s black crepe that I thought was beautiful. Looking back, because I didn’t have a concept of how society viewed me as a young teenager, I just did my own thing. I was actually wearing these beautiful old garments, and that’s probably how it started for me.

Di had many treats for me!

 

GD: Do you have a favourite piece in your collection?

DI: I’ve been asked this question before, and I think it’s important to realise that in my case you don’t get connected to or caught up in one piece. When I was younger I had favourite pieces. If I was to say today what would be a favourite piece I guess it would be this crushed velvet dress which I acquired not so long ago. I love that, but I don’t have favourites.

One of Di’s favourite pieces

 

I think for fashion the mid-20′s through to the mid-40′s is a very exciting time. The emancipation of women, they got out of all that boning. Schiaparelli made beautiful knits and it was as if you could be tall or short in those days and they would cut the garments so that it gave you that sort of boyish look. If I could wear it everyday I would love to wear 20′s and 30′s.

GD: Is Clara Fox by appointment now?

DI: No, its all trial and error, nothing is ever set in concrete. Of course you can make an appointment to come here but I am open Wednesday – Saturday from 11-5, and as you can tell the back section has some beautiful pieces in it. I guess the front salon, which I’ve tried to recreate from memory and looking at wonderful old books, is that you wouldn’t want to have a crowd in here, so it’s more like a one-on-one. I even think that people wouldn’t really even wear all of it, it’s almost more about collecting it- as people would collect wine or paintings or motor cars. If you can afford it you should collect a couple of good pieces – everything that I’ve collected I haven’t been able to fit into!

GD: That’s what I do! I keep buying little 24 inch waist tap pants! And then I keep asking myself ‘why am I buying these’?

DI: It will be revealed to you at a later date, it’s a process.

The most beautiful collection of fabrics I’ve ever seen!

I got to try on my dream kimono. It was so beautiful!

 

GD: If you weren’t doing Clara fox, what would you be doing?

I’d be doing a lot of gardening, I love old fashioned gardens and I really love the old fashioned plants. Given that water is so precious in our society today, there are a lot of plants out there that are very hardy that you have to go and find, and are really beautiful. I’d also be growing food, I like the idea of growing your own food, And of course I’d still be collecting.

Di

Clara Fox

479 Brunswick St, Fitzroy North, Melbourne

Wednesday – Saturday, 11am – 5pm

(03) 9481 1990

Don’t forget to read more over at Vintage Shops Australia. And look out in October as I’ll be covering the Melbourne Summer Love Vintage Fair for them then!

xx

She turned to the sunlight and shook her yellow head, And whispered to her neighbor:”Winter is dead”

Posted by dramaofexile in Flowers, Outfit, Personal and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vintage slip with embroidery – Clara Fox

Black underslip with lace – Thrifted

Silk shrug with beaded trim – Alannah Hill

Headpiece – self made using vintage millinery flowers

Hosiery – Falke

1940′s suede pumps – Clara Fox

Antique charm bracelet – my grandmother’s

Tassle belt – self made

I’ve been resourceful this week and have been making accessories again. In anticipation for Spring (5 days to go!) I’ve been embracing nature and flora and making floral wreaths from some vintage flowers and leaves I bought in the beginning of the year from our local op shop.

This is the outfit I wore to my interview with Di of Clara Fox. My interview will actually be a guest post on Vintage Shops Australia‘s blog, and should be up early this week so stay tuned!

I had a wild one last night at our house party, which actually turned into an enormous night! I’ve never seen so many people in one house before! It was so much fun but I wasn’t feeling the best today, let me tell you!

Here are some shots from the party, I didn’t take many unfortunately, I was a bit too pre-occupied!

I wore my 1930′s lace and chiffon gown.

Charlotte, Shantel and I

Charlotte and Shantel

Natasha and Maeve

Natasha

Thao

Justin and Justin!

Justin and I

Jonny Telefone

Things get serious…

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

xx

Show and Tell with Jesse

Posted by dramaofexile in Flowers, Inspiration and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sometimes I really know that Jesse gets me when he finds me treasures like these. I came home the other day to some show and tells, and the following videos have to be some of the most beautiful imagery I’ve seen in a long time! Thankyou so much to my other half for dazzling my eyes once again.

A sample of some very early colour motion picture film. I can’t stop watching this, it’s honestly like a dream!

Extremely old, colour motion picture of floral arrangements with an epic soundtrack

Marlene Dietrich screen test for Blue Angel, 1930

Loie Fuller dancing Danse Serpentine, recorded in 1896. This video has always had me in entranced, and I’ve been rekindling my love for Loie Fuller recently.

Meanwhile I’ve been a busy little bee with lots of social engagements of late. Lot’s of birthdays, openings, coffee/lunch/dinner dates and we’re having a big house party at our place this weekend with some friend’s bands playing. I’ll have to collate all the party photos into one post after the weekend.

Also, exciting for Jesse, two of his bands have been announced to play Sound Summit next month in Newcastle, Mad Nanna and Asps. Unfortunately I can’t go, I’ll most likely be visiting Brisbane that weekend but anyone around Newcastle should check it out! Heaps of amazing bands also playing.

I’ll leave you with a snap from my good friend Tamara’s birthday dinner on the weekend in Chinatown. Happy Birthday Tamara!

Grace, Tamara and I

xx

 

Keeper Of The Stars

Posted by dramaofexile in Inspiration and tagged with , , , , ,

Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in silver feathered sleep
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.  

- Walter de la Mare

Miss Clara Moonbeam

Miss Clara Moonbeam, available to purchase from Forgotten Stitches’ Etsy shop. She is so amazing!

Swooning over the man in the moon again tonight. All these images are from tumblr and pinterest. I’ve decided on a name and theme for the shop and have been researching for hours, this post is a pretty big hint ;)

Here’s a goodnight kiss from me….

xx

Mourning Breakfast Dress

Posted by dramaofexile in Fashion, Outfit, Personal, Travels & Treasures and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My amazing and incredibly stylish friend Justin Hinder came over with his partner Troy today for a lazy brunch. Justin is slowly making a name for himself in the Melbourne art world as the gallery assistant at Utopian Slumps as well, as dipping his toes into numerous other art ventures, and has been my go to resource and fountain of knowledge for anything art related throughout our friendship. One of my best friends, this guy is actually the funniest, silliest little naughty I know whilst being a constant style icon.

Rick Owens and Karen Walker both made appearances at breakfast

 

Justin’s AMAZING inflatable Armani for Reebok sneakers

Beautiful jonquil’s courtesy of Justin

 

I appropriately dressed for a casual breakfast at home in this 1920′s black lace and silk mourning dress with a brooch of vintage flowers, 1950′s velvet opera coat with a fox fur shrug, and hat by Alannah Hill.

Lot’s of freshly squeezed orange juice, salmon bagels, strawberries, coffee and talk of toy poodles and french bulldogs went down, and now I’m ready to lay in bed with an army of movies and a cup of tea. It has been the dreariest week in Melbourne, so cold and rainy and this winter seems never ending. As much as I love rugging up in furs and knits I’m craving a bit of sunshine.

In other news, the All Tomorrow’s Parties ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ festival was announced for Melbourne 2013 this week! I’m SOOO excited, the line up looks insane! Curated by The Drones,  I’ll be looking forward to seeing My Bloody Valentine, Godspeed You! Black Emperor,Beasts of Bourbon, Einstürzende Neubauten, HTRK, Swans, The Dead C and Melbourne favourite, Lost Animal. I feel like this lineup was made for me!

I love the title ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ for the event, as I’m a massive Nico fan. Have you noticed that Drama of Exile is the title of the 1981 album by Nico?

Hoping everyone is having a fabulous weekend!

xx

 

This Old Hat

Posted by dramaofexile in Fashion, Outfit, Personal and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

As many of you wouldn’t know, I graduated from my course in Millinery Design and construction earlier this year. Coming from a fashion design background, when I moved to Melbourne from Brisbane I decided to focus in on millinery as hats have always been a constant love and fascination for me.

I studied at Melbourne Fashion Institute under Richard Nylon, who was such a charismatic and inspiring teacher.  He is one of the most renown Australian milliners of this time and it was such a privilege to learn from him. A blessing in disguise perhaps, but honing my skills only made me realise again how much I only find happiness in vintage, collecting and history. Whilst I’m glad I’ve studied design, as it’s given me an understanding of all aspects of garment construction, fabrics and techniques, there really is nothing like those designs of yesteryear!

My ambition is to one day, in the not-too-distant future, own my own small vintage and antique retail space, and I guess that with my skills there’s nothing stopping me from pursuing my own designs in conjunction with that. But for now I really am focusing on submersing myself in history, learning and listening and reading and watching and nurturing the magpie inside me as I build up my nest!

Tonight I went through some of the pieces I made whilst studying. One of my hobbies is collecting vintage and antique portraits of women, and I was influenced by these whilst I was studying.

This is a hat I made as an assignment for Melbourne Cup. For those who don’t live in Australia, Melbourne Cup is the nation’s major horse racing event in November, where ‘Fashions On The Field’ plays a huge part. Basically no-one really watched the horses, everyone just gets reeeeeeal dressed up and drinks too much. A lot of the fashion is AWFUL (think spray tanned women in neon one-shoulder dresses, strappy silver stilettos flung over their shoulder) but it’s a huge event for milliners as hats are compulsory for women at the big race days. I struggled to design something as accessible as a Melbourne Cup race day hat, so decided to just go BIG and over the top (because that’s normally the theme for race day).

It’s made out of vintage straw, crown-less and hand stitched on a brim block, with gathered velvet trim and a dupion silk hand-made flower.

This is another piece I made, whilst experimenting with wiring.

It’s a 1920′s inspired velvet covered wire headpiece with vintage flowers and leaves.

In other news, I have some really exciting things to share with you all soon, and I’m positively bursting about it! This week has been full of opportunity and it looks like the next couple of months will be jam packed for me. My lips will have to stay sealed for now….but stay tuned!

xx

Love Vintage Melbourne Summer Show

Posted by dramaofexile in Outfit, Shopping and tagged with , , , , ,

Exciting news hit me this week, my favourite vintage fair – the Love Vintage Show, is hitting Melbourne with a new summer fair in October! The Love Vintage Show is any vintage lover’s dream, a shopping extravaganza with the best vintage dealers from all over Australia selling retro, vintage and antique clothing and accessories, antique and vintage jewellery, linen, lace and textiles and small collectables.

The show travels to Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne once a year, and spans three days of incredible talks from professionals in the industry, demonstrations on vintage hair and makeup techniques, fashion parades and did I mention the incredible shopping? Honestly, this is the one event of the year I save for, and normally go all three days. The Melbourne fair was back in May this year, and I picked up some amazing pieces, including a pristine black lace and chiffon floor length 1930′s gown at a very reasonable price.

I am SO excited! There is always a best dressed competition on the opening Friday night, and I was too shy in May to enter, but I might muster up some confidence to join in this time round. To anyone in Sydney, get yourself along to the Sydney Summer Fair in September (I was planning on making the trip to this as well, but looks like I’m going to be blissing out in the mountains of Brisbane around this time).

Love Vintage Show

Sydney Summer

September 14-16 2012

Racecourse Function Centre, King St, Canterbury

Melbourne Summer

October 5-7 2012

Royal Exhibition Building

Carlton Gardens

Buy Tickets

Here are some shots from previous fairs…

VINTAGE HAIRSTYLING & MAKEUP with The Lindy Charm School for Girls

Brisbane Best Dressed

Candice DeVille of Super Kawaii Mama blog

Melbourne, May 2012

Foxtrot India at Love Vintage Show, Melbourne 2012

And I almost don’t want to share this one because I look sooooooooo goofy…..but just for laughs here is Charlotte and I back in May, looking awkward and frumpy and not knowing how to pose in public. How much is do I look like Charlotte’s Aunt Mildred?!

See you there in October!

xx

Instagram My Life

Posted by dramaofexile in Home, Inspiration, Shopping and tagged with , , , ,

RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND MY IPHONE IS DYING! If anyone has seen my phone of late they know it’s been on its last legs, it’s screen more reminiscent of a complex spiders web. But today I dropped it for the last time! It is no longer charging, the ‘off’ button at the top won’t work, and with 12% battery to go I’ve decided that if I’m going down, I’m going down Instagramming!

Here are some snapshots from my week. Jesse and I have had the loveliest day DIY’ing around the house, changing up our room and fixing up our little courtyard, or as Jesse is now calling it his ‘little Parisian cafe’. I don’t think I’m going to have battery power to instagram them! Photos to come though, we’ve got a huge shed at the back of our yard that our old landlord has been storing a heap of ‘junk’ in, and after finally raiding it today we found some gems! Lots of vintage glass bottles and jars, a great ladder we’ve made into a shelving unit, some planter boxes and our housemates brought home an amazing mustard yellow retro two seater that was left outside our local Salvo’s. Primo!

my favourite lil’ guy, he sits in a jewellery box my mother gave me from when she was young and gaurds all my treasures

AMAZING black beans & persian fetta on an arep from Sonido’s, the Columbian cafe two doors down from my work. They DELIVER it to me in the shop and everyone who works there is a babe. Win!

My favourite rouges

 

All the classics

My good friend Tamara gave me this sheet music for my 21st birthday, and I’ve finally gotten around to framing it this week. Only 2 years later…

Just some mates of mine

Finally getting around to reading this, I’ve never been the hugest fan on Patti but the writing is already so beautiful, I’m hooked.

My heaven looks like cream silk and powder blue tulle

We went to see Holy Balm at Liberty Social the other night for a good boogie!

This is just a bored self indulgent selfie

This is me with Jesus

My new addiction. I really am a marketer’s dream, I’m a sucker for some good packaging

So apart from my iphone dying it’s been a pretty good week! To top it all off, I’m going to crawl into my bed with fresh sheets, eat this bowl of vanilla ice-cream with heaps of sprinkles (because I eat like a 5 year old when Jesse isn’t home) and watch some Boardwalk Empire!

Can you tell I haven’t gotten out of my kimono all day?

Here’s Edith to say goodnight to you all, from me…

xx