Highway Robbery!

Do you have any idea how much it costs to have leather drycleaned? I had a nebulous idea of current costs, but recently I had cause to discover exactly how much prices had risen.

Not long ago I wore my caramel coloured leather skirt to a house party, and when I eventually got home, discovered that I must have sat on a potato chip. There was a grease mark the size of a thumbnail right on the tush. There was nothing doing: I had to bite the bullet and have it professionally cleaned, or never wear it again.

I took it – along with sundry other items that needed laundering – to the local drycleaning outfit. I was informed that the skirt must be taken to a specialist leather cleaner; would cost $70 to have cleaned; and could take up to two weeks before it would be ready. Furthermore, I had to sign an indemnity form indicating I would forgive them if the skirt suffered any further damage. THEN in addition I had to give them a $40 deposit!

What kind of racket was this?

I was miffed, but resigned, and forked out the cash (after having to traipse to a nearby convenience store to get some money, as the drycleaners did not have EFT; another count against them). Then, to my consternation, I was told it might be a week before my other items were ready. A week! What kind of racket was this?

It transpired that three weeks passed before I darkened their doors again. Another $64? I shrugged. Certainly. By that time I was utterly indifferent to the dollars fluttering out of my purse and merely wanted to finalise my first and last transaction with this shady operator.  

Thank heavens I can report that the grease mark had been well and truly rubbed out.

When in Arabia…

When I was in Arabia (er, actually, Dubai) I danced with a belly-dancer. I was nowhere near as limber or flexible as she was (nor as scantily clad) but it was a lot of fun nevertheless.

Later on, whilst meandering through the twisty alleys of the souq in Dubai with X, I saw numerous belly dancing outfits fluttering in the breeze. Of course I became fixated with purchasing one.

Hot pink or sapphire blue or apple green with red? Bells tinkled and sequins sparkled…

We found a merchant whose goods looked better quality that most, and I happily rummaged through the vast array of silken garments. Short or long, pants or skirt? Hot pink or sapphire blue or apple green with red? Bells tinkled and sequins sparkled; the merchant’s eyes twinkled (with dollar signs) as he hastened to find a colour that would please me.

At first I hankered for something bright and gaudy like the belly dancer’s. The merchant suggested X take a photo of me modelling one such confection so I could see what I look like. I quickly decided it was too gaudy.

Before I could settle on the black silk embroidered with silver beads and sequins, X firmly directed me out the door to ‘confer’ about the price, as he informed the merchant. I should have been accustomed to X’s flair for the dramatic. “But I want it!” I exclaimed to X as I was bullied up the alleyway. “Yes, yes,” he replied, “but we’re bringing the price down… Alright, we can go back now.”

And sure enough, when we returned the price was suddenly right.

Wooden Neutrals

I own a lot of costume jewellery (some of it made by myself) but there are always those few favourites that I reach for time and again. These wooden beads are some of them.

I find that they act like neutrals, able to complement many garments and styles. For example, wear wooden beads with a long floral print dress and call them bohemian, or with an avant-garde structured piece and call it sculpture. For that reason I particularly like them with some of my Veronika Maine garments; the combination also puts me in mind of Marni.

The intricately cut headband is actually made from very flexible birchwood, and is from Russia; I bought that unusual piece on eBay. The earrings, a gift, came from Design A Space*, and both necklaces were unearthed in local charity shops. At least those are carbon neutral too!

*Turn your sound down before clicking here!

Vintage delights

Here’s a delightful way to spend some time this coming weekend: at The Way We Wear vintage fair at Williamstown Town Hall.

I’ve never been before (which is very remiss of me), but apart from a large number of dealers selling all sorts of delicious vintage goodies, there is an exhibition on lingerie through the ages, called Undercover, and good coffee available on site to keep you going.

Read more here and check out some pics to get you drooling.

Sat 21 Nov 10am–5pm, Sun 22 Nov 10am–4pm
Williamstown Town Hall, Ferguson St, Williamstown
Adult $12; child (10+) $6; family $30

I’ll be there with bells on!

Twin Takes on Tweed

Two looks that capture the spirit of the Thirties and Forties but with a twist: on the left a demure kick of pleats for a lady; on the right, cuffed mannish trousers for former tomboys who like to stride through the world.

I gathered together a selection of tweed garments: a jacket found in a vintage boutique in Bega, NSW, many years ago; a vintage skirt bought from an English girl at Camberwell Market years later; a pair of trousers found in a local op shop. Ditto the fedora and bag, and the Aldo Fanta-flavoured platforms I found on eBay during a mission to find brightly hued shoes.

I had in mind the heroine from Hitchcock’s 1938 film The Lady Vanishes, in which trains, mysterious disappearances and romance feature. And there’s plenty of tweed to be seen in it too!

As for Tweedledum and Tweedledee, they may or may not have been twins, but I think my incarnations of them complement each other nicely.