Latest Op-Shopping Finds

Did some op-shopping on a very warm Tuesday and the best thing was everything I found was priced at what I consider to be 'real' op-shop prices. It seems to be more and more rare to find that these days, with certain items. But enough griping, onto the spoils of the day! (All of these photos are from Instagram because I was too lazy to take some with my 'good' camera.)

 

Some more Paton's knitting patterns to add to my slowly growing collection. I tend to buy the children's/men's patterns for the 'lulz' as they have very humorous photos. One day I should do a post dedicated just to them! (Perhaps.)

 

Not quite a set (missing one cup) but in great condition and it has a little can opener, too. My nonna had a set of these that I remember from when I was little but hers had a green leather case that zipped open/closed around the top.

 

Also not quite a set - looks like these bamboo handle knives are from two different sets but luckily there are three of each so, at least, there's a kind of symmetry. At first I thought they were just made to look like bamboo but, upon closer inspection, they're definitely real bamboo.

 

An old tin for odds and sods. It has 'Cadbury' embossed on the top (and it's definitely the 'Cadbury' logo) but I'm wondering if it's been painted a different colour than its original. I've found a couple on eBay/google (like this one) and they all appear to have a coloured lid and band around the bottom and a circle design on the main part of the tin. Perhaps someone painted it to fit their colour scheme? Luckily, I like yellow and white! I'm not 100% certain it was painted, though - it seems a little too neat!

 

Some EPs from the 1950s and 1960s. I mainly bought these because I liked the covers (especially the Ames Bros - too cute!) but there are some pretty neat songs on there, too. There's a very fun number on the Ines Addio EP but I can't find it on YouTube to share with you all.

 

Some nice little wooden dishes.

 

Fun, chunky plastic bracelet.

 

And these aren't the era I usually write about here but I was pretty excited to find them! Let's Hear it for the Boy is one of my favourite songs.

Edit: Just realised I ought to have said these were from three different op-shops! Oops.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Yellow Chairs for a Red Table

I haven't posted about my vintage buys much lately - this doesn't mean that I've not been buying but I've been buy a lot less. One of the things I've been keeping an eye out for is nice homewares and the like so when I saw these two chairs, in nearly perfect condition, I knew I couldn't leave the store without them.

Even though they're possibly a little dearer than I'd have liked, I honestly don't think I could have forgiven myself if I'd gone away and left them. I love the use of contrasting vinyl and the wave design on the chair backs.

They're definitely more of a lemon yellow than some of these photos look and I'm hoping to find a pair of similar chairs but in grey, one day - I love grey and lemon yellow together. There was one grey chair in the same shop that had these but I'm really set on a pair so I shall keep on looking.

 

This is the table I bought them to go with (eventually) - it belonged to my paternal grandmother and it's the only item of this size I've inherited from anyone. There was a lot of furniture I loved in dad's step-dad's house but, long story short, I just didn't have the storage space for it. I do have photos - if I find the disc they're on, would anyone want to see a blog post on them?

Apologies for the iPhone photo but this is the only shot I have. My dad thinks his mum had the base custom made but he can't be 100% sure. I've not seen another table with a base like this but it doesn't mean there isn't another one out there, somewhere! Also, the table is really quite large but, luckily, the chairs are just the right height for it, anyway.

I may post more of my homewares as I collect them, if you'd all like to see them - maybe I can even just round up all of my vintage of the non-clothing variety for a post?

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Retro Chick and Lady K Loves

Last Friday I showed you all the final result of my collaboration with Lady K Loves - well, today I want to show off the dress designed by Retro Chick.

Drawing more from the 1930s, this dress is made from a striped cotton and has some gorgeous details like the puffed sleeves and an under-bust seam plus that lovely little collar. This is the kind of dress I would imagine having tea and cake in - that's not just me, is it?

The same deal goes for this dress as does with mine - very limited edition with only one in each size (and one for its fabulous designer, of course). The dress, with sizing details, is available on the Lady K Loves site - I've just taken a look and there are only four left! 

Just as Gemma pointed out on her post about my dress, I love that we both went for very different locations to shoot pictures of our very different dresses. Mine are still on pre-order and none have sold, yet, so you can still get one if you like. The sizing charts are now up, too and sizes range from XS to XXL.

If you have any questions you can contact Kessie through the Lady K Loves website.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Nice day for a picnic.

Went on a picnic, on an incredibly gorgeous day. Got some outfit shots before I left but, as usual, didn't take any photos when I was there. So, despite the title, you don't get to see any picnic photos. Does anyone else have this problem? Plenty of photos of yourself (taken by yourself, usually) but so few of others? Or of you with other people? Ah well - at least I remembered to take outfit shots because I was rather pleased with this outfit.

Outfit details: hair scarf - church op-shop; sunglasses - Dangerfield; cherry earrings - made by me; top - ASOS; bangles - various; 1950s/60s skirt - stall at Kustom Kulture Weekend; 1950s shoes - etsy.

I really love this top that I bought on sale from ASOS - It has button holes on the ends of the straps so you can wear it as a 'regular' top (or, I suppose, with criss-cross straps) but I think it looks a lot better as a halter top.

This skirt was bought at a stall at the Kustom Kulture Weekend back in March, I think - I was immediately attracted to the pom-pom trimming. Combine that with the gorgeous shade of green, pockets, and buttons and I was sold! I can say, however, it's not the best for eating lots of yummy food in - felt a good deal tighter on the way home than it did on the way to the picnic. Maybe something with a looser waistband next time would be more comfortable.

I've got a couple more blog posts to write up for this week, which I'm hoping to squeeze in between yet another essay. Until then, I hope you've all had lovely weekends because mine was really rather good.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Andi B. Goode and Lady K Loves: It's here!

Yes, that's right - the dress I designed with Lady K Loves is finally here, dear readers. And I think it was worth the wait. As you may know from the last post on the dress it's more of a orange-red than the red red we had originally intended but it's a gorgeous colour.

The dresses are on pre-sale now on the Lady K Loves website and you can read more details about their availability there.

(As you can see I'm not modelling the dress myself, as the sample was a smidge too small for me - instead it's being modelled by my friend Miss Kitty Boo, who was very happy to help me out.)

As you can see, it's a wrap dress that buttons up diagonally and has two hidden buttons on the inside of the waistline, too.

The crossover neckline of the wrap front is simple but creates a really nice line, which draws you to the waist of the dress.

I think this dress could very easily be dressed up for the evening and worn more casually, as here, for the day. As an aside, I didn't realise the graffiti created a halo around her head until I was editing the photos. Oops.

The dress is handmade by Kessie from vintage fabrics and notions. The orange is a linen and is light-weight but sits nicely, too. (The dress is quite creased in these photos as I had to fold the dress up to take it into town.)

I found the whole process a lot of fun and really exciting, overall, even with the great distance between Kessie and I. The main drawback to the distance was not being able to see the fabric in person before choosing it but it worked out well, anyway. I used to draw all sorts of dresses & clothing items as a child and, growing up, I never stopped drawing things or imagining clothes I wish I had so finally seeing one of my drawings go from a two-dimensional image to an actual product was so fantastic. 

The dress will be a very limited run of only one in each size, from XS to XXL and will sell at 90GBP (see here for currency conversion - it's currently a little under $140AU). You can pre-order the dress on the Lady K Loves website, now, here. Sizing is not yet up but I will let you know when it becomes available. 

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Mary, Mary, where you goin' to?

This Mary, at least, is not going anywhere - that would be my new Mary dress from my sponsor, Heyday! I was pretty excited to be able to get to wear this out the other night because it's just perfect. You may remember my other Mary dress but this is one of the newer ones, so it's made in a matte fabric. I seriously cannot get over this dress - that neckline! The shoulders! All the little details. Completely in love.

Outfit details: hair flowers - ?; cherry earrings - made by me; dress - Heyday!; brooch - gift; bracelets - Rubi Shoes & Equip; belt - Valley Girl; 'Love' pantyhose - ASOS; shoes - Rubi Shoes.

Showing off my new (but I think it has a bit of a vintage taste) bracelet of cream roses. And I suppose the photo shows off my favourite wall in my room, too.

My second favourite thing about this outfit is these pantyhose (I usually hate pantyhose but these were so cute) from ASOS. What I especially love (ha) about them, is that the seems come to little bows under the 'L' of love.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Silver Screen Sunday {Queen of Outer Space}

Well, I haven't done one of these posts in quite some time, now, have I? They actually take a lot more effort than outfit posts, most of the time, so with one thing and another doing movie posts just dropped off my radar. But I watch so many movies (many of which have fantastic costumes) and I really don't have anywhere I can share them all so I may start this up again.

Enough of that rambly preamble, and onto the point of this post: Queen of Outer Space, a 1958 sci-fi film directed by Edward Bernds, which, despite its low rating on IMDB is, at least, a great film to look at. It's also great to laugh (and yell a little) at, I found.

Like other films of this era (Cat Women of the Moon comes to mind) it centres on a group of earth men who go to another planet (in this case, Venus, which is actually inhabitable despite all that science had discovered about it) which is populated by a whole lot of beautiful women who have forged a society in which they see no need for men. So, of course, the earth men have to put a stop to it! (Or you get films like Attack of the 50 Ft Woman where, once again, a powerful woman who controls her own sexuality, etc., is basically seen as a threat to society and social order.) I think this can still be seen as a result of a postwar period when men had returned home to find women doing the jobs they had done before they went to fight, and the tension created by this situation flowing over into films, just as the paranoia and fear of the 'other' sparked by the thought of Soviet invasion, etc., can be seen in other sci-fi films around this time. However, this film is definitely more on the spoof side of things and I think it stands up best as a campy, kitsch film with great costumes and glittery props. (But I'll probably end up switching back and forth between over-thinking it and not thinking about it at all, as I often do with films, etc.) You can read a little more here at wikipedia - it's a tad spoilery but I don't think it matters for this film, to be honest.

 

Joi Lansing - pictured above - plays the only 'earth woman' we get to see - I love her hair but, most of all, I love the red (sequined!) gloves with the nearly chartreuse outfit.

I wish I had something to do for Halloween because I'm rather partial to the idea of going as one of the guards. Probably the red uniform - you should all know by now I'm particularly fond of red.

This is the Venusian queen Yllana who banished all of the men from Venus (I think they're being held captive some place) after a war.

Great hair, perfectly sculpted brows, glittery costumes and sets...my kind of film!

Zsa Zsa Gabor plays Talleah, who (along with some of the women pictured above) wishes to overthrow Queen Yllana and integrate the men back into society.

Zsa Zsa Gabor had some positively gorgeous gowns - I'm drawn to the red one (of course) with a split all the way up one side.

Many of the costumes used in the film were recycled from Altaira's wardrobe in Forbidden Planet, as well as props and sets from other films, too.

Think I'm going to take some interior design tips from this film, too - must get glittery curtains and a sparkly screen! But maybe not so much the strange device (intended to destroy earth) in the last image...

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Just wanted to add that this does have a DVD release that's in its original format (it was shot in cinemascope) but, even if I had it, I wouldn't be able to screencap from it as it'd be the wrong region for my computer to play. Woe!

A little bit '40s, a little bit '60s

I actually forgot that I had this post sitting in my drafts. Oops! I decided to embrace a sunny day and wear one of my sunniest looking dresses that dates to the early '60s. I love the colour combination in this dress and, for some reason, I feel the need to call it my 'Juicy Fruit' dress. 

Outfit details: hair flowers - ?; sunglasses - Lost and Found Market; dress - American Rag; belt - Valley Girl; bracelets - various; shoes - KMart.

Even though I was wearing a '60s dress I took some inspiration from the '40s for my hair. I used hot rollers, which I hate (but it was all I had at that point), so my hair isn't as curly as I usually like it. I just twisted and pinned back the sides and did two little rolls at the front, using the hair that used to be my fringe.

This dress is actually perfect on those days that still have a slight chill because it's a little heavier than my other summery looking frocks (and has slightly longer sleeves, too!) but not too heavy. Oh, and it's very comfortable to boot.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x