Living Room

Last weekend the lovely Katrina and I stopped in at Black Star Pastry on Newtown’s Australia Street for morning tea. We didn’t have time to shop, but next door I spied this little gem of a store and earmarked it for visiting later.

I made it there on Wednesday and what a discovery: they’re doing exactly the same thing I’ve been doing with naff retro frocks for years, except with a much more inventive twist: whereas I’ll raise hems, shorten sleeves, and occasionally dare to cut a new neckline or snip off shoulder pads and shorten the width of the shoulders – adding a huge belt to cinch the whole thing in – the clever people at Living Room are adding details like elastic ruching on skirts, elastic on cap sleeves to add a puffy little flourish, and doing fun things with buttons to boot. The shop displays have a more-is-more effect, but you can pare any of them down for simple chic.

I wanted to buy this tiny blue number, but ended up purchasing the one below for a song instead. Prices vary but you’re not looking at paying a hell of a lot more than you would for pre-transformed eighties frocks from the Rozelle markets.

Bargain!