Not too many words rhyme with classic

I haven't come to any firm conclusions about classics but I have realised that what are universally claimed to be classics, and what are classics in my wardrobe, are two very different beasts. I cheerfully admit to wearing most of their classics in the working week but on the weekend and in whatever down time I can snatch, classics are very different. Observe:

They say a red cream lipstick
I say a stain like Bobbi Brown's Blackcurrent, Clinique's Black Honey or Covergirl's Diva, all of which I wear frequently.

They say a little black dress
I say a vintage silk print dress and brooches

They say sober mid heel pumps
I say peep toes

They say ankle boots
I say riding boots that finish at the middle of my kneecaps

They say plain black tights
I saw woolly tights with patterns

They say pencil skirts
I say A-line dresses and a cardie

They say diamond studs
I say antique earrings

They say a plain sensible bag in brown or navy
I say a carpet bag

They say a trench
I say give me my Old Navy parka

They say a long sleeved white shirt
I say a hippy blouse or tunic

They say nude underwear
I say a silk slip

They say bootleg jeans in a dark rinse
I say battered jeans in a size too big.

They say bookclub, theatre, yoga
I saw two cats, a pot of tea and Philip Larkin.

They say milk paint and blonde woods
I say this is my new lace tablecloth.

It's the little things

Next to hearts, my favourite symbols are stars. I love starry skies, I love to see a starry brooch on a coat, I love to see stars doodled on message pads. 

I especially love finding them in thrift stores, like these large silver earrings from the Out of the Closet thrift store in Los Angeles. They were in a basket on the counter with some scrunchies, a couple of plastic bangles and a broken headband. True, they're not really my style, and they were very tarnished, but I picked them for silver and could see they were made by hand, probably from a sheet of silver rather than moulded. I gave them a good polish this morning and rather liked their emphatic celestial statement. Not one I'd make every day, to be sure, but one I enjoyed on a hot bright Sunday.

 Nearby on the same counter, there was a plastic dish filled with cheap jewellery. I found this brooch in amongst the clatter. 

I thought it was excellent value for a dollar and am fairly certain it will find itself pinned against white or navy blue clothes in the near future. 


The best op shops always have a box or bowl of those little touches that you'll wear for years. A couple days later in the Goodwill store in Culver Hill (maybe?) I spotted this old gem under the counter, biding its time amongst a range of pendants and necklaces. 

Yes, the enamel is chipped and the brass is dull, but the design is beautiful and the wear she's endured makes her all the more lovely to me. Eight dollars was a lot (well, based on her intrinsic value) but I know I'll never see another like her. I wasn't sure how I wear her but I knew I couldn't leave without her. She would, I was certain, add a touch of history and romance on something I own sooner or later. 


I love the little touches. Everyone has their own little touch in some area of their life - adding garlic salt to their minestrone, finishing their grooming with a swipe of creamy beige lipstick,  wrapping a present with two different coloured ribbons. In all the blogs I read, it is the little touches that intrigue and inform me most. 


Another thing I've learnt about on the US blogs is Target. We have Target here but not as our American cousins know it. Our Target is safe and reliable and its range is limited. Last year I enjoyed the Target Liberty pop up store in Times Square but this year I found giant Targets on a our little road trip and did some serious Target trawling. I was mesmerised by the quality and range US Target offers. I found lots of little touches there, including this : 

It's the perfect spotty Saturday bag for keeping safe sunglasses and purses while you haul a huge bag around for groceries and vegetables. Better still, it was very receptive to a little touch of its own. 

Brooch + spotty bag = nice touch. 

The American thrift stores were good to me. In St Matthews Thrift store in Santa Monica (well worth a visit: great range, extremely well priced) I found three silk scarves that cost me a total of $2.50. 

The drug stores were just as helpful. Walgreens offered me touches of two of my favourite cheap cosmetics. 

I love both these products - they render my skin and hair quite pleasant to the touch. 


While the holiday is still fresh for me, I have to say - home is good. It's been nice, unpacking everything, allocating the space in the wardrobe, sleeping in my own bed, making my own breakfast with my own special touches. 

I miss the side order of toast with grape jelly, and I really miss sweet potato fries, but my sister-in-law (an accomplished artist and fabulous cook) made sweet potato salad today that more than satisfied that craving. 

                                              

There's beetroot, carrot and beans in there too. The recipe is from Neil Perry's book, but the almonds are her idea. I thought they were a lovely touch. 

It's there in black and white

 All the lady blogs are currently celebrating the bloggingsphere's love of coloured clothes. The best I can celebrate at the moment is  that I'm awake, able to answer simple questions and managing to feed myself at regular intervals. Coloured clothes are, as yet, still outside my skill set: this week I've worn a plain black dress every day. Today, muggy and blurred by clouds, was no exception.

That's a Veronika Maine dress from the sales two years ago. The brooches are both flea market finds ...

..the shoes are Ferragamos I snaffled for an excellent price on eBay...

..and the cuff is Louis Vuitton. It was a gift when the Vuitton store opened in Sydney a decade ago. It serves as a reminder that I once worked in television and used to get invited to some interesting gigs with nice freebies. 

 

Tomorrow - possibly black dress number four. I haven't quite got to the planning-twelve-hours-ahead stage yet. 

The weekend! Oh, and whiskers. Don't forget whiskers.

There are no mittens in my glove drawer and I haven't much time for string. Notwithstanding, these are few of my favourite things:

Brooches on wool coats

Pansies in the park

The old wood cooker in my kitchen

Cockatoos!


Carefully washed hairbrushes dried in the sun. (Every three weeks my friends, every three weeks.)

Grandmother coat hangers from op shops. Knitted (or otherwise crafted) coat hangers can't be beat. Always inexpensive, always a wonderful example of some dexterous woman's unpaid labour, always pretty and always superior to clanging wire hangers. My inordinately patient spouse literally trembles when he sees me looking at coat hangers in op shops. Here we see a pink crochet number carefully supporting a vintage silk Bill Blass dress that makes several appearances in the summer months.


Gardenias! They make me swoon.

Choosing my jewellery in the morning and remembering where I was when I bought it.

Sorting the ironing and establishing a new colony of orphaned spousal socks. (Where are all the missing sockmates? The world must be littered with them.)

Vintage handbags. Here is a small selection including Pucci, Bottega Veneta, Missoni and Dries Van Noten.

And most importantly ...

I hope you have lots of favourite things coming your way this weekend.

Pin it up

Brooches! I love them. I own dozens - enamel, marcasite, plain silver, a couple of gold, some prim, others are great big hand-print sized things. I am indiscriminate about where I will pin a brooch. Sometimes you'll see them twinkling on my lapel, other times I use them as a kilt pin and if I am lucky enough to go somewhere demanding sparkle at night I'll pin one to a head band.

My friend, work neighbour and colleague took this extreme close up of one of my favourites last week. He has a new lens for his camera and calls it a "glass". I find that expression charming. Later he enhanced the photo on his computer so my scar is gone. I was quite excited to see me scarless.

Mon brooch:

The vest I have pinned it to is a favourite, not only because it is merino wool and the perfect boxy shape, but because it cost me four dollars at the Newtwon Markets. The two necklaces are also flea markets finds from Surry Hills.