Kelly Doust introduces readers to her wonderful world of reviving and customising vintage pieces, while bringing a modern and unique twist to wearing vintage clothes – Dita Von Teese
Lordy, it’s Love Vintage
Back to the Future
Feels like yesterday we were having a ball at the last Love Vintage, and yet the next one’s on in less than a month. The new venue means more stalls, more events, more fantastic people-watching opportunities and more vintage thrills. Plus I’m doing workshops again on Saturday and Sunday. Can’t. Wait.
Check out these pics from last year’s festivities, and pop March 23-25 in the diary – hope to see you at one of the workshops below.
Cheongsams and fur
Lindy Charm School for Girls
Stayin' Alive
Can't beat a turban
Vintage clothing restoration with Kelly Doust
Saturday 24 March @ 11am, Sunday 25 March @ 12pm
The bestselling author of Minxy Vintage, A Life in Frocks and The Crafty Minx will be sharing her hints, tips and creative ideas for restoring all vintage clothing at this free workshop. Come along to hear Kelly’s advice on how to fix or customise preloved and damaged pieces, giving them a new lease of life for many years to come. These are fun, easy and environmentally friendly skills for even the least crafty. Feel free to bring along an item or two for specific advice on restoration – after this workshop you’ll never look at those less-than-perfect finds the same way again.
My top five tips for revitalising vintage pieces:
- Shattered silk and holes can be almost invisibly repaired with iron-on bonding – available from Spotlight and most haberdasheries – paired with fabric sneakily borrowed from a generous seam or hem (this works best on printed fabrics rather than block colours).
- Expel musty odours by dipping your vintage piece in a warm bath and adding ½-full cup of white vinegar. Dry in the shade before dipping in a second bath, this time with a few drops of sweet-scented lavender or grapefruit oil, to eradicate the smell of vinegar.
- Eucalyptus and tea tree oil remove stubborn oil stains and chewing gum. Simply apply directly to fabric, before finishing with a handwash or popping hardier items in the washing machine.
- Most other stains can be faded or disappear with Napisan. Dip item in dissolved solution and dry in full sunlight without rinsing. The enzymes react with the sun to bleach stains (be aware this may also fade bright colours or delicate fabrics – try a test patch first).
- Badly stained items are easily revitalised by dyeing to a new hue. Some shades are harder to achieve when added to the original fabric colour but when in doubt, black covers almost everything and is eternally chic.
Signed copies of Kelly’s books will be available at Love Vintage from Coco Repose (stall no.C02) and at both workshops.
Thinking stencils
Damask Fleur de Lys Stencil, hennydonovanmotif.co.uk
We have a sort of alcove in the hallway which, up until recently, was decorated with mismatched frames portraying family photographs, illustrations, artwork and favourite postcards, but I took them all down in readiness for a change. I know the entire hallway would look striking and gorgeous wallpapered on both sides, but I’m loathe to make such a big commitment (have you seen what a faff it is to remove? Scary). So my new thought is creating a stencil to repeat in the alcove, then try out down one wall and then the other, depending on how it looks. At the very worst, I can paint over the lot.
Here’s a few motifs I’m considering – fleur de lys, crowns, tropical birds or orchids – but perhaps we’ll steer away from the traditional with a Banksy-inspired graffiti print, which could work a treat. Decisions, decisions.
Graphics Fairy crown motif
Rainforest mural, madstencillist.com
Orchid, madstencillist.com
Banksy poster
Another favourite Banksy creation
With the birds
Sydney sunrise, courtesy Peter Lee
I’ve always been an eary morning person of sorts, but lately I have taken an almost perverse pleasure in rising with the sun. There’s something subversive about greeting the dawn. It’s like sucking a few more hours from the day. Never mind that I’m toast by 9pm, it’s worth it for the colours alone. Today’s task: find dye to match sun-orange, salmon pink and grey slate water before dawn. I’m staring at a batch of old white silks and linens, done with neutrals, envisioning India in a basket.
An Indian colour powder stall
Feather magic
Jessica Guthrie & me at the Minxy Vintage launch
The Sydney Antique Centre hosted a small soiree for us last Thursday night to celebrate the opening of Coco Repose’s 1900s-1980s clothing retrospective, and launch of Minxy Vintage over truffles, tea and champagne. To see more pictures taken by The Sunday Telegraph, click here.
The setting perfectly demonstrated how a little vintage goes a long way, and if there was a theme at all, it was feathers. I’ve always been intrigued by the use of feathers in vintage hairpieces and clothing, and as a design motif. Indeed, it was the shimmery emerald sheen of the feathers shown above which inspired the entire design of Minxy Vintage, keeping it rich and jewel-toned instead of illustrated with the pretty pastels seen in many other gorgeous vintage titles.
A feathery headpiece or strip of feathers added to a jacket or coat (as I’ve done with the 1960s-era black lace bed jacket shown above) is just the ticket for understated glam.
Feathered friends = instant party plumage.
Florence Broadhurst peacock feathers from Signature Prints
Vintage headgear on display at the Antique Centre
My dear friend Lisa & her Dad, sporting 1940s feather headpiece
My top 5 tips for incorporating vintage into a modern look
Revived 60s frock from Minxy Vintage
1. Pair a favoured vintage item with neutral separates or accessories. This adds vintage flavour and depth to an outfit, without going the whole shebang. It also works a treat for toning down way-out pieces.
2. Reference earlier eras in line with current fashion trends. For example, forgo current bold shoulder styles and Peter Pan-collared frocks in favour of real-deal forties items. In good condition, these look infinitely better than the chainstore rip-offs.
3. ‘Undo’ items from more prim, less-permissive eras with loose and easy tresses or accessories, and vice versa by dressing up more casual styles for modern glam.
4. Vintage shoes are the hardest accessories to make appear current. Only wear them if you have complete confidence rocking a vintage vibe.
5. It’s very modern to clash masculine and feminine, conservative and flamboyant – don’t wear a look head to toe, but rather mix up your references and highlight a mood with what you’re wearing.
Whatever you do, own it.
Top ten tips for a DIY childrens’ party
We had a little shindig for Olive’s 3rd birthday yesterday. Here’s my top 10 tips for hosting a successful, vintage-inspired birthday party for kids:
1. Take it outside – pray to all your gods for good weather, throw open the doors and festoon the backyard with decorations and a cheerful 50s tablecloth or two. Or find a prime spot in a local park with access to shade, picnic tables and a playground. Stake out your colony with blankets and a radio tuned to hits.
2. Set a theme for the children – how about simply dress-ups? Easy on the grown-ups, and lenient enough to allow for princess, fairy and pirate fixations.
3. Bunting – festive, easy, cute… need I say more?
4. Be at one with the sugar content – there are times when fairy bread, cupcakes, lollies and chocolate are okay. This is one of them (adults won’t be complaining, either).
5. Keep it short, sweet and small – set a time limit of say, two hours, and only invite friends your children recognize. All-day affairs with squillions of guests are a modern, somewhat tiring phenomenon.
6. Old school games – pass the parcel, pin the tail on the donkey, What’s the time, Mr Wolf?, egg & spoon and 3-legged races are all oldies, but goodies. Pack a few extra prizes for cheering up teary kids who came last.
7. Alcohol – for the grown-ups, obviously; reward for spending their precious weekend watching a bunch of kids go nuts. Failsafe drinks? Champagne and Bloody Marys. And keep the number of guests without children to a minimum (your twenty-something co-worker might say they’d love to come but trust me, she’s just being polite).
8. Save your efforts until children are old enough to realise what’s going on. If you start with the first birthday, you’ll be over it by the time they hit 3, and that’s when the fun really starts.
9. Keep a list of who gave what – parents will appreciate a thoughtful note, saying thank you for the welcome doll/Lego/book/princess shoes they spent good time making or shopping for.
10. Goodie bags for all the kids – compensation for watching their host tear apart gifts with wild abandon, screaming ‘mine, mine, mine!’
Pompom mania
Pompoms were one of the first craft projects I attempted as a child. I couldn’t get enough of them then, and I’m going through a similar fad now. sass & bide’s recent, genius accessories collection for Papa Sucre tipped me over the edge – I’ve been wearing the Pip Edwards-designed bands offset with copper-toned beading for weeks.
Have a look at these fabulous Cambodian hats, snapper unknown. I’m in the middle of adorning a brown felt fedora right now, using this image as inspiration. What better pick-me-up for such a wet weekend?
Make Do Mend London
London's Make Do Mend
Crafty chic hen 'do
UK reader Isabel put me on to Make Do Mend: apparently crafty hen ‘dos and baby showers are taking place in London hot spots such as Covent Garden’s The Hospital Club (below).
Surely only a matter of time before the trend catches on here?
Bellini Bar at The Hospital Club
Tea and crochet with Make Do Mend
High tea and craft... a match made in heaven
Kids’ craft for The Outdoor Room magazine
Ruby feeds our faux finch
Back in early January the Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie crew visited so we could shoot this kids’ craft feature. It hits news stands tomorrow including the following very simple projects for little hands; a wind chime made from found objects, bird feeder, ‘Dino Town’ living dinosaur terrarium (the moss, not the dinos;) and decorative pot plants.
Trusty helpers Ruby, Enzo and Harvey were on hand to show us how it’s done. Ever the professionals, it was a wrap by early afternoon (I was the one who needed a nap). Styled by me and the lovely Outdoor Room ladies, Tara Davy and Vanessa Keys, photography is by Glen Allsop.
Pretty plant potting at the local park (try saying that quickly)
Harvey & Enzo construct Dino Town
Say it with meaning
Amanda's wedding dress
This is my gorgeous editor, Amanda Carmen Cromer (Amanda edited A Life in Frocks and just finished work on Minxy Vintage).
I’ll let her tell you about these images:
This was my grandmother’s 18th birthday frock, crafted in 1932 by their family seamstress. Silk, hand-stitched, and too big in the waist and bust for me, I had an open back created after taking in the fabric. She died aged 94, on my birthday – and I met my husband after her funeral, so I didn’t really think of wearing anything else!