A belated birthday gift from Heartbreaker Fashion

I love vintage clothing. Just about all my favourite items of clothing are vintage. I also love vintage re-creation, which is all about flattering cuts and fun fabrics that you don’t see on ‘fashionable’ clothing. Unfortunately, re-creation vintage can also come with a price tag that is out of my tight budget range.

However, a couple of years ago I found Heartbreaker Fashion, a vintage inspired clothing company founded by a Californian mother and daughter team. Their clothes are simple, comfortable and flattering. Unless you order from the ‘fancy’ ranges, the dresses are 100% good quality cotton, well made and perfect for the Queensland climate. Best of all, they are very reasonably priced. A friend and I each treated ourselves to two dresses as a ‘test run’ and are still happily wearing them a few years later.

My previous purchases; 

Super Spy Dress Anita in Black. Made of cotton knit, it is perfect for evenings out in Brisbane.   
Aimee dress, colourful and comfortable cotton. Mine is a different pattern.

 Images courtesy of Heartbreaker.

So when a good friend gave me some money for my birthday to spend on a ‘nice top’ I knew just what I wanted. I had seen this photo on the Heartbreaker website a few weeks before and been completely seduced. It was exactly how I wanted to look!

 Ella top in Turquoise Cosmic Dot. Image courtesy of Heartbreaker 

For good measure I threw in the same blouse in leopard print (because who doesn’t love leopard print) and I was very tempted to get this super-cheerful daisy top as well, but I chose to be restrained. 

 Ella top in Hip Kitty and Springfield.

They’ve only been around a couple of days but I am really happy with them. They are great for work and casual and are a great fit. Downside is I (theoretically) have to iron them, but I can cope with that in exchange for looking adorable. In fact, I can get away without it. Which I always will, if I can. Ironing sucks.

Me in my two new purchases, with appropriate shoes; leopard print on the left and turquoise frilled leather BCBG Max Azaria on the right. The latter bought at Retournez-vous second hand shop in Mooloolaba

The only negative was that it took 7 weeks for my two blouses to arrive. They ask for 7-10 working days to make the order, which is fine. But then the package was dispatched from the US and I watched in horror as the online tracker told me it had left the states, arrived in Brisbane, two attempted deliveries were made within 15 minutes on the same morning and then the package was on its’ way back to the states! WHY?!  

When it arrived back at Heartbreaker it was dispatched back immediately, first class. It still took 2 weeks to get here but nevertheless, it arrived on my desk safe and sound.

The delay in arrival was not the fault of Heartbreaker, rather the Postal Services, but that doesn’t make it any less irritating and of course the only people I could whinge to were Heartbreaker. They always responded politely to my emails and did whatever they could to fix the situation, which truth be told isn't a lot when the package is somewhere in transit over the Pacific.

Anyway, the package did arrive and I am delighted with the contents. So much so I rather want more of the same. Particularly as there is new one with a bee print on it.

Provided you don’t need anything in a rush, I would heartily recommend Heartbreaker for fun flattering summer dresses, simple vintage-inspired cocktail wear and now, cute blouse tops. 

Check out the Heartbreaker Fashion website or if you like them on Facebook, you can see latest design, what's cooking in their test kitchen and of course, sale items!

Five for Friday

Well, this just seems wrong.

The suspended coffee movement in Brisbane.

A smartphone app for Melbourne bars and pubs. Because every person I know enjoys indulging in Melbourne's nightlife. 
 

The Vintage Dress Company. A New Zealand Company started by a former flight attendant with an eye for delightful vintage fabrics.  

Image courtesy of The Vintage Dress Company website.

Sedating children on long-haul flights; this will sound un-PC but I approve. Parenting blogs explode at 'near child-abuse' but parents who have ever taken a child on a long-haul flight think it's the ideal solution. Read one mother's account here.

I took a lot of long flights myself as a child and I think I was ok but with every landing, my ears would hurt so much from the pressure that I would scream at the top of my lungs. If I had been gently sedated, the whole experience would have been much less traumatic for myself, my parents and the rest of the plane.

On the flip side, I have been on flights with screaming, chair-kicking, running down the aisle, peek-a-boo playing children and I just want them to sit in their damn chairs and shut up.

Honestly, I'd sedate myself on long-haul flights if I knew which drugs to use. 

Five for Friday no.33

A 'real life' temporary pop up store showcasing the work of QUT Fashion graduates. 

How to tell what a person is like in bed by the books they read.  

Brisbane's Retro Film Society, who host monthly film nights at the Old Museum. Coming up in September; Notorious, a 1946 film starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

A very pretty vintage shop, run by a Sydney couple through Etsy. 

Puppies being cute.

Why you should buy vintage and second hand - pt. 2

The excitement of the perfect fit.

Op shopping is always a game of chance. The chance you're going to spot something you like, the chance it is in your price range and the biggest chance of all – that it will Fit you.

When I take friends op shopping for the first time they struggle with one and three of these. The way to beat chance number one is to not be looking for anything specific and broaden your mind to what you would and wouldn't wear Price is often not an issue unless you start looking at original 1950's prom dresses and the way to beat chance number three is ...compromise.

A lot of vintage clothing has sizes but not all. Really anything pre-1970's you're lucky to get a size. So much of it was hand made or made-over the notion of it being a size 8 or a size 12 is laughable. You have to know your size, hold up the clothes and guess if it is worth trying on. Sometimes you get it horribly wrong, like I did one day when I dreamt I could fit into a leather mini dress … that poor dead-cow-tube never stood a chance …

Other times you try something on that is so obviously too big but you love it anyway and you will it to work. I did this once in Copenhagen. I'd been travelling for 5 weeks and worn nothing but jeans. There was a party that night and I was determined I would wear a dress. I could have made it easy on myself and gone to H&M but Copenhagen has such amazing vintage shops there was really no question. Working within my travel backpack and budget parameters I fell in love with a dress that was certainly a size 14 on my size 8 frame I bought a belt for it an voila! Instant outfit. I still have the dress today and I still wear it with the same belt; it is mightily comfortable.

A couple of weeks later, the dress (left) gets a second airing at a random French guy's birthday party. No full length photos available with me looking halfway sober.

For the record – I was the only person at that crowded party not in jeans and sneakers. I felt pretty silly at first but some charming Danish students persuaded me otherwise

Then there is that occasional, wonderful moment when you try on a dress, a pair of pants or a top and … it fits! It fits perfectly, like it was made for you. Like you could rewind the decades and have the same gasp moment when the dress maker brings out the finished cocktail dress. This happened to me late last year at the Brisbane Vintage Fashion and Homewares Fair when I found this 1960's cocktail dress. The moment when a dress fits so well you have to buy it.

For me, the joy of finding that almost miraculous perfect fit in amongst a rack of clothes at a second hand store is so much more rewarding than having it at Target or CUE or Dogstar (as much as I love them). I know what size I am in all these stores and if there is a problem I just pick out a different option. There is no other option when vintage shopping. You either take it or leave it but if you're lucky enough the dress will help you decide.

What would you take with you if your house was on fire?

I recently discovered a website called The Burning House. It's an open blog of what people (mostly professional photographers, it seems) would take with them if their house was on fire. It's beautifully photographed – of course – but also really fascinating to see what people perceive as essential and irreplaceable in their lives.

I think part of the 'about' explanation states that all people and animals have been safely removed from the building, so there's no need to include them in your lists. I think 'your handbag' is also excluded. This is all about the material possessions that are part of you and the loss of which you would truly mourn.

There are a lot of cameras, old negatives, photo albums. There are also a lot of favourite shoes – none of which are new, they're all old and battered and comfy-looking. Most people have something that belonged to their parents or Grandparents. Some people seem to have just decided to save the most expensive items from their living room.

When you look at it – which I'm imaging you have by now – you start to wonder what you'd take with you. Well, this is my list:

• my holiday scrap books


• my box of letters


• the grey wool dress that is the first piece of vintage I ever bought


• the first print I ever bought, on a family holiday in Regensburg


• my external hard drive


• my Bally heels


• vintage two-tones bought on holiday in Cairns


• collection of sketch pads containing my drawing of shoes I wish I could make


• my favourite pair of jeans


• jewellery belonging to both of my Grandmas

And this is what that looks like:


It's not exactly an easy collection to carry, but that's not the point. When I sat down to think about this I was looking around my room, my bookshelves really thinking about what I couldn't replace. There is a lot of stuff I'd miss and while it wouldn't be the same brand new, I could still replace it - my 5 year long collection of international Vogue's, my books, my HUGE closet and all my shoes. I'd miss them, but ultimately it is all replaceable.
The items above I could never replace. Some of them – like the shoes and jeans – are just absolute favourites. But my hard drive with 10 years worth of photos and the start of a crappy novel I'll never finish? Irreplaceable.

Why you should buy vintage and second hand - pt. 1

Today I started a new job. It was my first corporate job in 3 years to Ever. I spent a whole weekend for shopping for acceptable work clothes. My last 2 jobs were in a coffee shop and a delightfully relaxed arts organisation, so it's been jeans and t-shirts for 3 years. So I went out and bought pants, knits shirts - new and from some of my favourite op shops - but that's probably going to feature in a later blog blurb.

What I want to rave about right now, reason to buy vintage no. 1. is quality bargains.

Last night I decided what I was going to wear to day 1 of new job and I put it out. I was that excited / prepared. Very day 1 grade 8 it was. I had a new navy (love navy!) CUE dress and old vintage heels. I love my new dress but I love these shoes so much more.

They're Bally - a luxury leather goods brand founded in the 1850's in Switzerland and still among the highest-quality leather goods brands you can buy in the world. I bought them in a London vintage shop for £25. More than I've spent on most of my op-shop / vintage purchases.

They're navy (love navy!) 100% leather made in Italy and everything about them is high-quality, designed, thought-out, made to last. You can tell, when you put them on that they are beautifully made shoes. It's not just about how they look - and they look stunning. Or the details, such as the snake skin feature on the heels where no one can really see it. What sells it for me is that after 9 hours in them, getting up and down, many flights of stairs and walking to the coffee shop, they still felt great. No blisters, no aching feet like I would get during a drunken night out. I am a big heels person but I've spent the last 4 years of my life in flats. I was really worried about how I'd do in heels this first day because I didn't think it would be a good first impression to change my shoes half way through they day.

But my beautiful, quality Bally shoes were the best choice. I just wish I could duplicate them and have an ever-lasting pair.

My vintage Bally heels. Because I sure as hell can't afford a new pair.