Frock Art

A beaut dress is a joy forever. Or something like that.


1. "Mona Lisa"

 

               da Vinci, 1507              SWAK Juliette dress


2."Madame X"

            Sargent, 1884                       SWAK "Eternity" Dress


3. "Girl in White"

                 Whistler, 1892                   ASOS Curve dress

          mulberry paper fan, stylecolor,cultured pearl earrings,LaBelleDesign

4. "Green Study"

  Waterhouse, 1908                    ASOS Curve broderie dress

5."Time Flies"

          Kahlo, 1929               ASOS Curve smock; necklace, CharleysRoses 


6."Glamour Queen with a Paintbrush"

 Lempicka, "Woman in Yellow," 1929                         ASOS curve shift dress

7."Blue Music"

ASOS Curve dress                             Lempicka, "The Musician" 1929

8. "Op Shopping"

Riley, "Loss," 1964                                Jessica London dress

Featured artists (order of appearance--and chronology [yep, I'm a nerd]): Leonardo da Vinci, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent, Frida Kahlo, Tamara de Lempicka, Bridget Riley.

In a Plaid Mood

I hate acrylic. So in the winter I look for wool. There isn't much of it (new, anyway) in plus sizes. What there is, is often . . . plaid. Which I like. In theory. Sort of.


1. "Not Too Plaid"

OSP, Jessica London wool-blend plaid skirt $30 (up to sz 28) and cotton rib-knit turtleneck $40; Etsy, vintage high heel wing tips, WORNandWENT, $33 and vintage black tooled leather purse, MPRailroadCo, $25; ASOS reclaimed vintage glasses, $29 ($157 total).

2. "Raving Plaid"

OSP, Jessica London wool plaid jacket, $50; any old jeans (pictured: ASOS curve flare $43); ASOS rainbow/unicorn tee $31; Etsy vintage bangle AngiezillasBoutique $8, vintage keds, wolfmamavintage, $24 and handmade floral tote, tavatotes, $23; ASOS sunglasses, $22 ($158 total)

An uncharacteristically restrained combo:

3) "In Plaid Faith"

 

OSP, Jessica London Cotton Cashmere boatneck tunic, $30; ASOS plaid shoes $63; yoursclothing black twill jeans $36; Etsy handmade tote, BuildMakeDo, $28. ($158ish)


4) "The Good, The Plaid, and the Snuggly"

Autograph Australia dress, viscose knit in graphite (goes up to their size 26/xl, which equals a 34w/4x on the one stop plus ‘easy fit’ chart—struth! Yet in most cases AUS sizes are pretty much the same as UK. I know I'm not the first to say this--or the 918273645,000,000th, even, but why is this stuff so complicated?) $70; OSP Jessica London wool jacket already in my fantasy wardrobe (!); Etsy, vintage boots (cheating a little with these as I think they'd be a bit small on me, but don't they look great?), NuMoonVintage, $26 and vintage so fugly-it’s-totally-adorable leather-ish slouch bag, alicksandraflin, $8, upcycled wool infinity scarf, DentOnVintage, $15, handmade clay bead necklace, HaniaMarysia, $10. ($129 total) And BTW this is really how I tend to dress, because I dislike fiddling with things like buttons, zips, belts, ties, etc.

5) "When A Good Girl Goes Plaid"

(See previous for Jessica London wool skirt and Yoursclothing UK blouse)Chunky mary jane heels from Etsy vintage shop, RevengeOfTheDress, $42, and also from Etsy, handmade custom-length black leather belt, AngelGrace, $20, NOS attitudinous pewter bulldog belt buckle (with red enamel eyes and a shiny black nose!), MilkaCervenka, $25; OSP woman within cropped denim jacket, $35 ($122).

6) "Sometimes I have Plaid Dreams" 

 

(Already in wardrobe: Jessica London fit and flare ponte dress, yours clothing black leggings and denim jacket) From etsy, aaaaa-maaaazing! vintage plaid boots, ironorchidvintage, $48, 1970s kimono clutch, StyledinJapan, $28, navy red gold origami earrings, HelloCamellia, $16. ($92 total)

 And here's a bit of summer for those on the other side of the world.

7) "Taking the Good With the Plaid"

 

OSP, plaid muk luks sneakers, $34, Jessica London cotton godet dress (comes in petite plus up to 28, too!) $40, and Woman Within cropped denim jacket in spot print $35; Etsy vintage lucite bangle, TracysVintageJewelry, $12 and vintage tote SweetShopVintage, $11; ASOS Rio Necklace $29 ($161-- but couldn't resist the necklace!)

Cold Down Under

Here in Oz we are finally heading into autumn/winter. 

Cool weather makes me yearn for brown suede and wooly wools. So I'm starting off with a 1970s-inspired ensemble built around a FAB! wool plaid suede trimmed vintage bag from Etsy (if you like the look, check it out--the inside has polka dots in the same colours!).

1. "Hot Chocolate" (AKA "I Believe in Miracles, You Sexy Thang")

 

ASOS aviator sunglasses, $15 ; Jessica London ribbed henley jumper OSP, $20; yoursclothing brown ponte skirt with black thong belt $29; Etsy, vintage vera bradley suede-trimmed purse, EpochandEra $14.00 and vintage suede shoes, HighwayChildren $30, vintage gold plate necklace bracelet set, edinburghvintage, $20. ($128 total: all clothing available up to 30/32)

 Winter solstice is 21 June down under, so. . .

2. "Wiccan Curl Up By the Fire"

 

Jessica London boatneck tee OSP, $15; Etsy creepy-cute little cat brooch, SunAndRainbowVintage, $10 and vintage microfiber zodiac messenger bag (yes, it has straps) HeyTokyoVintage $12, handmade velvet scarf, xyuezw, $13; yoursclothing embroidered skirt $45 and black button boots $45--add a pair of rust or plum or purple tights from We Love Colour, $9  ($149 total, clothing to sz 28/30)

 

Love all this upcycled wool and cashmere:

3. "Pink, Black, and Cozy All Over"

Yours black skinny jeans $36; Jessica London boatneck tunic OSP $15; Etsy upcycled felted cashmere infinity scarf, LadyBaabaa1, $26, handmade pink owl messenger bag, miasunique, $28, and upcycled wool wrist warmers, mcleodhandcraftgifts, $12; ASOS boots $39 ($156 total; clothes up to sz 28)

Another outfit that started with a vintage purse.

4. "Black is the New Black, Except When It's Blue"

 

Etsy vintage blue wool clutch, KittyCatShop, $13 and cocktail ring upcycled from 1950s earring, mariearnoux, $14; ASOS shoe boots $39 and longer length v-neck swing dress $49 ($115 total)

Cuddle up in a sweater that looks like it was knitted by the world's nicest, most talented--and stylish--nanna (who then let you plunder her collection of earrings and scarves to accessorise it!)

5. "Love from Nanna"

 

Etsy, GORGEOUS custom hand knit sweater  in plus sizes, afra, $104, earrings RumiCollections (they are supposed to be peach, but they look pink, so I went with that) $15, vintage pink silk scarf, laZycatdesignZ, $7; yours clothing boot cut jeans (various lengths, up to US26) $27;  (vintage bag and zappos boots see previous for details)($153)

Always kind of wanted a suede skirt; not really worth it in a place where it is spring/summer lasts 10 months of the the year. Still, it could be fun fulfilling those urban cowgirl dreams every now and then . . . 

6. "Ranch Dressing"

(see "In a Plaid Mood" for details re. osp ww crop denim jacket, vintage western booties) OSP, Jessica London tan suede skirt, $75; ASOS boyfriend tee, $20; Etsy, custom distressed tan leather belt, AngelGrace, $20, western style buckle with turquoise and red beads, StrayJane, $7, vintage bandana, MagicSnakeVintage, $3, handmade earrings, DorysBoutique, $18. ($143)

7.  "Purr Suede Me"

(see above for details re skirt, belt) Yours clothing black denim jacket $54; Jessica London v-neck ribbed sweater, $50; Etsy, black beige cat infinity scarfdailyaccessoriez, $15 and cat sugarskull belt buckleDogCentralDesignsm $17 (would make it actually worth the hassle of wearing a belt); ASOS flats, $30. ($112)

Another love note to brown suede and another leather jacket (I'd never, ever, ever purchase an ivory leather jacket, but it's got a retro vibe that I appreciate and, like other JL stuff comes in sizes up to US28). And, yes, this would be something that you could only wear in winter here.

8) "Rolled, Bowled, and Suede"

Etsy, vintage suede shoes, CuratedCloset, $20; OSP jessica london ivory leather jacket, $90 and stripe top, $15; (Yours bootcut jeans, see previous for details); blue q bicycle messenger bag, $20.

Starting to Work Wardrobe: Size 26

I picked out a job interview outfit for a friend of a friend --well, actually a relative of a friend. It was her graduation gift, so I was told to get first, not second, market stuff and keep it under $200.

Details: Size 26ish all over, but more like 24 in the waist, somewhere between hour-glass and pear-shaped. (Haven't actually met this person, just second-hand observations, plus measurements.) Medium height. Everything must be washable, no dry cleaning, little or no ironing. She's not "into" fashion, so no piling on the groovy accessories (as I am wont to do). All blues and purples are ok; but only cool (blue) greens; black, white and gray are good, as are berry colours; but no coral, warm pink, bright red, yellow, or orange--(sigh)--no brown or tan. No scarves. No trousers. No high heels. 

I do like a challenge.

Here's what she got for her graduation gift/interview outfit (which I totally ripped off and re-accessorised for "Job Hunt!" in my earlier post):

Not earth shatteringly chic, but not dowdy either. Some may disagree with me on that one, but IMO the fit makes the difference--fit and flare, just-below-knee length with pretty shoe, plus high hip length jacket means that she shows off her shape without being squeezed into anything--no belts, no spanx needed. If her field was more artistic, the challenge would be a bit different.

Anyhow, while I love to have fun with clothes, sometimes work is just work. Having a uniform to get you through, so you can think about other things, is OK. You are allowed (provided, of course, you can find the stuff out there AND you can afford it.) One of the things I like about the UK clothing sites is that they acknowledge that sometimes people need just nice enough stuff to work in, so there are these reasonably priced, OK looking items that they label "work blouses" "work skirts" and "work court shoes," sometimes with helpful additions (if you speak British) like "smart office."

Here's a "work blouse" from yoursclothing:

Now the relative of a relative's friend has a job offer (lucky gal). And needs a working wardrobe.  No real dress code in the company except that certain things have to be covered and no jeans are allowed and the over all vibe is rather conservative. $150 to spend on additions to the interview outfit to get her through the summer.

I went over a bit, but not by much: $167 with shipping.

The fit-and-flare dress is a hit--and still on sale, so another two of those, plus a skirt, plus inexpensive cami's and some lightweight cardi's that can either be buttoned up as a top, worn on their own or under a jacket, or layered over the cami's.

I'll spare you the details, but you could make at least 18 different outfits from this stuff plus the interview suit--more, actually, if you don't mind looking like an Easter egg from time to time. 

(Personally, this Borg-asmorg of cool brights would drive me nuts in a matter of days, but the recipient is, I hear, delighted, in fact, tickled, um, fuchsia.) 

You work it, girl.