A Right Royal Affair

Lovely!

Vintage treasures: Fashion fair

It’s time for eager vintage lovers to descend on the Albert Hall again. Wrapped in scaffolding it may be, but the doorways will be wide open to welcome you. Once again, dealers from around the country will be selling fabulous period, vintage and retro fashion and fashion collectibles. The fabulous exhibition this time round will be Undercover: a revealing look at lingerie through the ages.

Albert Hall, Commonwealth Avenue Friday 23rd October 6pm - 9pm, Saturday 24th October 10am - 5pm and Sunday 25th October 10am - 4pm. Tickets at the door $12

The best kind of retail therapy - recycling at its best in a fabulous venue with good coffee on site. A great day out.

Spotted... this gorgeous rocking chair on Allbids Me2u, with more than a passing resemblance to the original Thonet rocking chair. It's probably a reproduction, but still a knockout piece in my book...

Check out the listing here for it's amusing life story as a nursery feeding chair by an exasperated father!

Oh yes: KimoYES

Since discovering KimoYES at the first Vintage fair last year they have been my most eagerly sought stall every time. I was thrilled to learn they are Canberrans and are expanding their range of handmade items which will be available at the Old Bus Depot markets and at the next installment of the fabulous Handmade Market (Sept 12)...

Already established as merchants of beautiful vintage kimono panels and off-cuts online, mother and daughter team, Jill and Jane Grant of KimoYES also create incredible quilts and cushions. New to the collection are baby booties, fashion brooches and an amazing collection of unique fascinators - what an awesome way to use these fabrics!

Stay tuned at Handmade Market for the launch of Chinchilla Creations, a fashion line of embellished shirts and fascinators developed by Jane... I can't wait!

So Gorgeous! Shop online at KimoYES.com and see them at Handmade Market in bloom in September. Love it!

Fashionistas: Don't miss this

It's on again........hoorah...

The way we wear fairs is back this weekend, this time for 3 days of vintage fashion loving heaven. The fair brings together all of 'the best' dealers from around Australia at Canberra's historic Albert Hall for the best vintage clothing, accessories, fashion ephemera, jewellery and more.

"Life's too short to wear ordinary clothes"

The theme this time around is "Fly me to the moon", with a 1969 fashion display celebrating the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing. But of course you can still expect the fabulous open slather of vintage and retro frocks, accessories, textiles, ephemera and more. OMG I can't wait...

Friday July 3 from 6pm-9pm, Saturday July 4 from 10-5, and Sunday July 5 from 10-4 at the beautiful Albert Hall.Tickets $12

Something for the Weekend: Tweed Ride

How adorable is a man (or woman) in tweed? Inspired by the British Tweed Run held earlier this year, here's your chance to dress up and have a little dapper fun...



For more tweedy inspiration, check out more images of the London Tweed Run.

Love it! Hope you have a marvelous long weekend,

Love Nina x

High Tea with a retro twist

This Sunday at Benedict House get retro ready for a high tea with a difference...

Dress inspired by Safari Suits & 70’s, Abba, blow away hair, flairs, platforms, Star Wars, and Cat Stevens. Dress up or ‘hat up’ according to the theme. Participate in quiz on fashions, food, trends and arts on the theme – light hearted fun with giveaways and prizes

Carrie Fisher stars in Star Wars. The ABBA look in the 70's

The classic safari suit. 70's tragic glam rockers Slade

Traditional high tea food, served with traditional etiquette. Four savoury, three sweets, glass of sparkling, tablecloths and tiered plates. 22nd March $25 per person 3pm-5pm

And if the seventies aren't your thing, then fear not, the next one goes glam...
26th April - Deco Delilah
Jazz, Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, Schiaparelli, Tamara de Lempicka, Sonia Delaunay.

The work of Tamara de Lempicka; Coco Chanel (sigh); Marlene Dietrich; Elsa Schiaparelli... smoking optional!

Sounds like fun! Hope you have a divine weekend,

Love Nina x

Re:loved recycling in style

Have you ever wondered what has become of the clothes you discard? With the current availability of disposable fashion, what are we doing to our environment? What if our cast-offs could become something new, something extraordinary - reborn, reloved?

Former CIT Fashion grad and emerging Canberran designer Lee Dewar, and her handbag designing mum Hanny, decided to take a closer look at ways we can reduce, re-use and recycle in style by challenging themselves and a handful of talented designers to create new garments and accessories from recycled materials and deconstructed garments.

Above: Event organiser and designer Lee Dewar (Third from left) with some of her amazing collection for her Craftilee label, all created using recycled garments and materials.

Supported by the Salvation Army's Fashion with a Conscience campaign and Green Threads, an ACT initiative "based on a commitment to sustainability and reducing the impact of discarded clothing in a way that is exciting, fun and doesn’t sacrifice style in the process."

Above Left: Handmade by Hanny handbag, designed by Hanny Dewar
Above right: and recycled couture by Zoe Denise.

And this t-shirt shall become my new motto!

Above Right: Michele Grimston of Green Threads rocks her amazing recycled Tupperware jewellery!

"We are about recycling, rescuing, recirculating and refashioning old garments, fabrics and accessories, saving clothing from landfill and wardrobe purgatory." - Green Threads.

Above: Designs by Grazed Youth's Amelia Thompson, all created from recycled materials from Salvo's op-shops. Amelia also produces jewellery using recycled clock parts and tiny barbie shoes!

Wow, well done to all of the designers, I feel completely inspired!

Love Nina x

The Art of Display: Behind the Curtains

The discovery that my milliner friend has the art of display well perfected in her Griffith cottage came as a revelation. Her training in Interior Design is certainly evident in the clever and humorous way she puts her collected artworks, photography and ephemera together so well. I had to share with you what I love behind the curtains with Deanna Mann...

Above Left: A most effective and unusual way to display photographs, the suspended tubes are from Ikea (circa ten years ago), it's small shelf above houses a few loved trinkets.
Above Right: A loving photograph is underlined by a row of coloured yarn, a sweet tribute to the smallest person in the house.

Above: Collected toys are artfully arranged on the mantle in the lounge room

Above Left: A tribute to the "Eternity" graffiti famously attributed to Sydney's Arthur Stace takes centre stage in the kitchen. Above Right: A reproduction WWII poster sits beside vintage print cushions in the lounge room.

Above: An entire wall of frames hang from the original picture rails, an amazing first impression in the entry to this home. Each frame is different and their content can be changed easily.

Above Left: Some of the frames in the entry hold 3 dimensional items and one is a chalk board, today it has on it a recipe for banana bread... yum!
Above Right: Strings of origami cranes are suspended against the hot pink wall, the "freedom" script is a wall decal, a beautiful child's bedroom.

Deanna's collection of inspirational images are even in the hall, breaking up a long expanse of wall.

Above Left: Collected postcards and photography are displayed near the back door. Above Right: Even the loo has a fun arrangement, including an image of a "No Loitering" sign! Love it! (click on the image for a closer view)

So inspiring, thankyou Deanna! xxx