Sydney Summer Love Vintage Show (and a dress called Edith)

Edith

This post just cannot wait. As everyone who has been following me will know, I am not very good at keeping up to date with my posts. But this post simply cannot wait. 

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was making a dress to wear to the Sydney Summer Love Vintage Show. I was almost certain that I was NOT going to finish the dress in time as the date of the show drew near. But I did it. I finished the dress 2 days before the show and I think it's most probably the loveliest thing I have ever made. So, behold, my favourite dress at this very moment - Edith. 

Wearing: Handmade vintage-inspired 60s dress, nude Rubi flats, white vintage purse, white ASOS sunnies

Oh, I also made a matching bow

Don't ask me why I'm calling it Edith. The name just popped into my head as I was admiring it. 

Anyway, the Sydney Summer Love Vintage Show was amazing and I loved every minute that I spent there. There was a sign outside which said no photographs of the stalls were allowed, so I didn't take many photos at the show. But I did take a couple at a stall with the permission of the stall vendor. 

Mustang Sallie

And here are the things I got at the show:  

Vintage red luggage bag, $30

Vintage Australian Home Journal (1951), $18

Vintage handmade crochet gloves, $12. My life is now complete.

Vintage dress, $10. What a steal! 

Vintage sunglasses, 2 for $25. My friend bought one too.

The details of this sewing project will be discussed in another post. Stay tuned! x

Gone thriftin'

The  op-shop

I went to Padstow today to buy a pair of Rock and Roll dance shoes and chanced upon the most lovely op-shop ever. There was something endearing about the dimly-lit shop and the organised mess. It's the kind of shop that whispers, "come, discover treasures." And so, once I got in, I put my stuff down, reached my hands in and dug. 

I went a little overboard with the jumpers. But I have no regrets. Besides, they were on sale for half the price! Behold, the most lovely jumper in the world.

Front and back of landscape jumper

And here are two other jumpers and a couple of other things I bought from the shop. 

Neon orange jumper without a tag and probably handmade

Tiffany blue jumper with amazing cable design

Pin

White shoulder bag

Last but not least, this was the look of the day. I am honestly starting to fall in love with my red lipstick. It might have something to do with how it looks with my hair...

Ciao! x

DIY: Ombre Hair (Like a ray of sunshine)

// Green woollen jumper, thrifted (and rather itchy) / Black dress with tiny polka dots, Valleygirl, $15 //

I have mixed feelings about my DIY ombre hair. I am not sure if I actually like it or not. To make matters worse, I have received quite a bit of negative comments from my friends. Honestly, I do not care about what they think. Well, I did, initially. But then I decided that it didn't matter because this is what I have been wanting to do and now that I have done it, I am glad that I did. Have I just made this sound awfully complicated?

Ok, to put it simply, there are times when I love my new ombre hair and there are times when I am unhappy about it. Mostly, I am unhappy when I see another Asian with the same hair on the streets. I wanted ombre hair because I wanted a different/unique look. But I guess that's silly of me because ombre hair is all the rage at the moment. I should have known better. So, rather than creating a signature look, my ombre hair has, to some extent, reinforced my status of a quintessential Asian in Sydney. 

The hair dye

Less than 5 minutes after washing it out

Regardless, I just want to show everyone here my new hair. Oh, and today is one of the days that I am loving my new hair. xx

Happy - for now

Be right back

Some thrifting finds from Albury/Wodonga: Brown ankle boots and vintage knitting books. (No, I did not buy the lamp)

Yes, I am still alive and kicking. The lack of posts for the past few weeks was definitely an unplanned hiatus. But I will be back in Sydney in a week's time and everything will be back to normal once I get my hands back on high-speed Internet connection and pull my shit together. x

The start of something good

My friends are finally here in Sydney! They are here for a short holiday and I will be travelling around Sydney with them for the next few days. It's gonna be a blast!


I just came back from the airport just a while ago. I've had a long day! I met my uni friends for lunch in the afternoon in Newtown and went to the airport to meet my friends in the evening.


Here's the outfit that I wore today and the things I bought in Newtown!

// Cropped lace top, Supre / Skinny jeans, Kmart / Doc Martens Wannabe, Rubi Shoes / Snakeskin clutch, DIY / Necklace, eBay //

I had lunch at this gourmet burger place and ordered a duck and bacon burger. It was deee-li-cious! I took a picture of it but then it sort of mysteriously disappeared while I was transferring the files to my computer, which is really annoying. So, no photo of the yummy burger. :(

Cheap rings from a thrift store at just 50c each

Vinyl records

I got the Bill Haley record for a friend and the Buddy Holly record for myself. I'm not quite sure what I feel about my growing collection of vinyl records. I do not own a player... yet. But I will definitely get one when I complete my degree. My records are mostly just sitting on the shelf, smiling at me. They are very patient and kind. However, transporting them when I leave Sydney will definitely be a headache.



I also tried a couple of vintage stuff in the thrift shop and other shops along the street but they were either too damaged (i.e. torn), too outrageous (i.e. extra large padded shoulders that can only be worn at a costume party) or... just not pretty enough for me to spend my money for them (i.e. meh). Oh well, perhaps better luck next time. The next time I go back to Newtown, I'll be buying a Ritchie Valens record. :)


So, that's all for now! Tomorrow is the start of my new adventure! ^_^

What you can get with $100 at Spotlight

I'm not sure how many of you know this, but I won a $100 gift card from Spotlight a while ago. So, I've made a trip to Spotlight twice in the short span of a single month and have spent all the money in my gift card. (T_T)

You can't blame me for buying stuff at Spotlight today because it was Sewing Saturday and they had great offers in store! So... I thought some of you may be interested in what I got at Spotlight.

60's inspired retro prints fabric and white cotton fabric for lining (I know, the white bit on the left looks like the table, but it's not!)

I love how this print looks like the tiled kitchen floor/wall of the 60's. I'll be wearing kitchen tiles on my body!!! I don't care if people think that I look silly.

Printed pears jersey fabric and white polyester interlock for lining

Yes, I bought linings for both fabrics because they are not very opaque and I already have plans to make dresses out of them! (No, not using the following patterns)


I think I should really start making the dress using the pears fabric soon because I might get too old for such a cute print on a dress.

Hee hee hee, you have no idea how excited I am about using these patterns! I selected dress patterns that highly resemble a lot of ASOS.com dresses that I like. I'll do a blog post on that soon! Also, I'm a sucker for vintage dressmaking patterns. I actually have a number that I thrifted over the past 2 years.

Pinking shears

Other random stuff: zipper for current shorts that I am currently sewing, sequins, embroidery threads and nylon thread

I can't wait to finish the pair of shorts that I am currently sewing. I started making it in February (2011, of course), but have not had the time to continue with it because of uni T_T. Somehow, knitting and crochet just seem to take less time than sewing!

Speaking of crochet, I am currently crocheting this bag for my friend's birthday. I should get it done by next weekend. Well, I HAVE to. So, expect updates again next weekend!

P.S.: Excuse the poorly taken photos. I did this in a rush!

The Australian Women's Weekly, For Brides (August 22, 1973)

Look what I found at the local Vinnies! They were having a massive sale and I got this well-preserved magazine for just 25cents! What a steal! Wheeeeeee!!!

The Australian Women's Weekly, For Brides

August 22, 1973

It seems to me that second-time brides do not traditionally wear white wedding gowns. One of the things that I never knew...

DIY: Sequin Flower Hairpin/Bobby pin (pseudo-vintage/Victorian!)

Ooh, I just can't get enough of my new hairpin. 

The iridescent quality of sequins makes it sparkle so much under the sun, it's hard to get a clear picture of it on my hair. 

Ooh, and it's pseudo-vintage/Victorian! How can you not make one for yourself!?

MATERIALS

Sewing needle

Thread

20 x Sequins

10 x Seed beads

5 x Small plastic pearl beads

Glue

Felt

Scissors

Plain hairpin/bobby pin

STEPS

1. Thread a long piece of thread through the eye of a needle. Tie the 2 ends of the thread together into a knot.

Bring your needle and the thread through a piece of felt. This is the point where the middle of the flower lies.

Insert beads and sequins through the needle in this order: 

1. small pearl bead 

2. small seed bead 

3. sequin with the concave side towards the eye of the needle 

4. sequin with the convex side towards the eye of the needle 

5. small seed bead 

6. sequin with the concave side towards the eye of the needle 

7. sequin with the convex side towards the eye of the needle

2. Insert the needle through the felt again. The point of insertion should be just a small distance away from the point of the middle of the flower.

3. Pull the thread all the way and make it tight. (BUT NOT TOO TIGHT!)

This is how your first petal should look like from the side.

4. Repeat the same for the subsequent petals.

You can make as many petals as you like. I like to have 5 petals because it makes it look like a sakura.

5. Tie a dead knot at the back of the flower.

6. Cut off the sequin flower from the piece of felt and trim the remaining felt such that the no felt can be seen when you see the flower from above.

Cut a small piece of felt and insert it between a plain hairpin/bobby pin. This piece of felt should be smaller than the back of the flower.

7. This is how your flower should look from the top! You shouldn't be able to see any of the felt.

If you find that your flower seems a bit floppy, you could fold the flower into half to reveal the felt at the centre of the flower. Then add a small dab of glue to the felt and push all the petals towards the centre again!

8. Use super glue (or whatever kind of adhesives that you are comfortable with) to stick the small piece of felt between the hairpin to the back of the flower.

Enjoy your lovely, new, pseudo-vintage hairpin!