Last weekend Tim and I went to see the Underground Cinema‘s screening of The Good German *.

Actually, that’s a bit misleading.

Last weekend Tim and I dressed up circa 1945 ** and joined hundreds of like-minded people queueing outside a fabulous Victorian Gothic-revival building in downtown Melbourne. After showing our papers to the officials, we were welcomed into the bunker by smiling ladies in army uniforms.

Downstairs we found ourselves in one of the two bars – I think it was the American one because there was a trumpeter playing smooth jazz, and over a drink of Jameson’s and dry, we wandered through the cavernous rooms eaves-dropping on re-enacted scenes from the mystery film we were about to see, fending off sly advances from fallen German women in skimpy ensembles (I’m sure they were pick pockets too), and considered which of the food rations would meet our needs.

Eventually we settled into folding chairs around a vintage radiogramme for the latest news – and with great fanfare, the film began.

Here are a few pics that I took – it was a wonderful night! Oh, how I wish that there was such a place always in Melbourne, where the music was good, the drinks fine and the company graciously dressed. Although this was a once (actually twice) only occasion, the Underground Cinema are working hard every month or two to bring us other unique opportunities to become part of a special film event. I encourage you to sign up if you like what they do.

You can see some pics from the night on Flickr.

* warning, sound is automatic if you follow the link.
** actually, Tim dressed up but I just wore my every day dress because I’m currently loving the WW2 era.

The Melbourne Spring Fashion Week is currently in swing and this year, there’s a lot for those of us who prefer our fashion to be of the vintage persuasion. To make things easier (there’s so much going on) here are some highlights and Must-Sees (including a few small contributions by Circa):

Tuesday 31st August
9am to 7pm: Step back to another era and experience fashion of generations past. Styled by Circa Vintage Clothing, MSFW’s Week of Wardobes will showcase the finest vintage designs in sleepwear for the theme “Slumber in the City”.
Location: City Square, Swanston Street, between Collins Street and Flinders Lane.

2pm – 3pm: Everyone’s favourite vintage fashion blogger, Candice DeVille aka Super Kawaii Mama is presenting a workshop on vintage glamour, with a focus on sleepwear. It’s a free event but arrive early because choice positions will be in hot demand! Candice will be assisted by Eszter and Marianne, who will be modelling outfits from Circa and (rumour has it) one of Melbourne’s most elegant lingerie labels.
Location: City Square on Swanston Street.

6 – 9.30pm: Merry Go Round – a luxury event. “Makeovers, Manicures and Martinis and Miss Money Penny have teamed up to bring you a luxury shopping event that combines mini pampering treatments with a personal styling session and an elegant showing of hand-picked pre-owned designer items.”
Location: Longroom, 162 – 168 Collins St and cost is $70. Bookings required.

Wednesday 1st September
9am to 7pm: Step back to another era and experience fashion of generations past. Styled by Circa Vintage Clothing, MSFW’s Week of Wardobes will showcase the finest vintage designs in day and evening wear for the theme “Women’s Wonderland”.
Location: City Square, Swanston Street.

2.30pm: ACMI are screening “Beyond Biba: a portrait of Barbara Hulanicki” as part of a series of films on fashion icons. “The woman behind the iconic London retail hotspot, Biba, Barbara Hulanicki revolutionised British fashion in the seventies. Capturing the fascinating story of the woman who bought a new level of glamour to high street fashion. ”
Location: ACMI Federation Square.

Photo courtesy MSFW and ACMI

Thursday 2nd September
9am to 7pm: Step back to another era and experience fashion of generations past. Styled by Circa Vintage Clothing, MSFW’s Week of Wardobes will showcase the finest vintage designs in swimwear for the theme “Beauty and the Beach”.
Location: City Square, Swanston Street.

3.30pm: Candice (SKM) is back again with her lovely models for a second Vintage Glamour workshop, this time with a beachy theme. As before, this is a free event. “Ever wanted to discover the elements that make a polished, vintage look? Wondering how to choose the right vintage pieces for your personality? Vintage model and style blogger Candice DeVille shares her secrets in this exclusive session that will help you find your perfect vintage glamour look and how to mix it with a modern wardrobe.”
Location: City Square, Swanston Street.

Friday 3rd September
9am to 7pm: Step back to another era and experience fashion of generations past. Styled by Circa Vintage Clothing, MSFW’s Week of Wardobes will showcase the finest vintage designs in men’s wear for the theme “It’s a Man’s World”.
Location: City Square, Swanston Street.

Might be a good day to go and see the Age of Fashion exhibition that is on at QV Square, QV Melbourne, between Russell, Swanston, Lonsdale and Little Lonsdale streets. “CELEBRATE Melbourne’s love affair with style, sophistication and sleek chic at this must-see fashion photographic exhibition. Offering Melbournians a tangible slice of history, documenting the influences, ideologies, icons and inspirations behind Melbourne’s signature style. ” Here’s one of my favourite Melbourne fashion icons, Jeannie Shrimpton in her headline grabbing 1965 Day at the Races.

Photo courtesy MSFW and QV.

Saturday 4th September
10am: Round She Goes. “Round She Goes is one of Melbourne’s most popular preloved fashion markets for women – buy fantastic preloved designer and quality vintage fashion and accessories from various stallholders. It’s a free event and can be found at Collins234 – Boutique Place, Level 2, 234 Collins Street

Sunday 5th September
2.30pm – The Upmarket. “Miss Money Penny Fashion Emporium and Take 2 Markets present: The UP Market. Join Melbourne’s queens of designer fashion chic-o-nomics at our luxury shopping event. Shop amongst 40 glam stalls for only the finest brand new, just slipped on and vintage designer fashion treasures – for a fraction of the retail price.” Venue is Alto Event Space at Melbourne’s GPO, 350 Bourke Street and the cost is $50. Bookings required!

Lesley Sharon Rosenthal, the local fashion historian who made the documentary “Chapel of Chic” about the history of Chapel Street, has produced a new film focusing on Collins Street.

What: Boutique Magnifique – Memories of fashionable Collins Street, a documentary.
Where: Capitol Theatre, 113 Swanston Street, Melbourne.
When: Thursday 20th September. Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm screening.
Cost: $20. Please send off the booking slip (see below) with payment as there will be no door sales.
Dress: favourite vintage.
For more information email lesleyrose@dodo.com.au

Click on the booking slip to see in full size, print out and complete for tickets.

This one is killing me: I’ve delayed mentioning it because if you actually go I’ll be terribly jealous. I’m not due for a Brisbane visit but this one may just convince me otherwise.

What: Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future
Where: Queensland Art Gallery – Stanley Place, South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
When: 7 August – 14 November 2010
Cost: Adult$20 | Concession $16 | Member* $15 | Secondary students $10 | Child (12 years & under) free | Family (1–2 Adults & Children aged 13–17) $50 | Season adult $60 | Season concession $48 | Season Member* $45

Image courtesy Queensland Art Gallery

From the website:
Exclusive to Brisbane, ‘Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future’ is a major exhibition developed by the renowned institution, Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris. It explores the work of the celebrated Italian fashion house Valentino, known around the world for its sophisticated, timeless design and glamorous clientele.

The exhibition encompasses haute couture from the first collection designed in 1959 by the house’s founder, Valentino Garavani, through to work from the Autumn/Winter 2009–10 creations by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli – appointed as creative directors for Valentino in 2008. Exquisite haute couture garments will reveal Valentino’s mastery of the elegant line, classic form and opulent detail. Particular themes will be explored uniting Valentino’s design approach over five decades: these include the recurrence of geometric patterns and graphic prints, the skilful use of fabric to create dramatic silhouettes and, of course, the distinctive palette of black, white and ‘Valentino red’. The future direction of this most esteemed fashion label is showcased through five creations by the house of Valentino’s new creative directors.

More information at the website

From the in-box: there’s a new place to buy vintage clothing in Tyabb –

Open – Thursday – Sunday from 10 – 5
Location – The Vintage Shed, 93 Morning-Tyabb Rd, Tyabb.

We stock 1940′s through 1980′s plus some select pre-loved designer apparel. Our shop is made up of 14 dealers all specialising in vintage fashion and with myself (Vanessa) on hand to assist with customer service & styling. It’s like a beautiful vintage department store! There is also a book corner and hopefully a vintage cafe to come. Further plans include fashion parades, vintage fashion styling, charity involvement and on-line store.

Vanessa, it all sounds wonderful! I especially love the book corner and vintage cafe – a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Here are some delightfully girly pics that they sent me – we all love a bit of frou-frou:

Photos reproduced courtesy The Vintage Emporium.

For more information, please see the Facebook page Watts Vintage

Lately I’ve been spending time with some very glamourous company: the lovely ladies from the Lindy Charm School for Girls, and the inspirational Ms Candice DeVille.

Now, I’ve always been a big fan of glamour – we can all benefit from that bit of oomph that a flattering dress or a nice shade of lipstick can give us, but my hair and make up was letting me down. I had this crazy idea that all my hair needed was a good cut, colour and the right product to make it look good – cut and colour was easy, a good stylist took care of that, but the product side just wasn’t working for me.

After years of trying, all I got was a cupboard full of expensive formulations and my hair, well, this is what my hair looked like (I’m almost ashamed to show you this photo that appeared on Candice’s blog in June:

Photo courtesy Super Kawaii Mama

It’s a bit like “one of these is not like the other” isn’t it? Candice and Miss Carly look fabulous and I, well, I’m letting the side down. I’m sure it was a source of frustration to my glamourous companions but I can tell you that photo is the last time I’ve gone out in public without styled hair because, oh yes, I’ve seen the light!

The following night we were all going out for my birthday and so Miss Chrissy of the Lindy Charm School treated me to hair and make up – the result was spectacular! I felt wonderful, got lots of compliments and it made turning 45 all so much easier.

…but the look was a big too strong for every day and so each morning I would experiment, looking for something simpler, less structured and most importantly, took less time. Here’s a shot taken a couple of days after Miss Chrissy did her stuff – it’s softer but only took a few minutes to brush the curls and pin up. No longer the ugly duckling!

I found to my delight that the 1940s styles suit my face – and I really like that they don’t need a lot of work. Initially a bit more effort is needed, as I set my hair in hot rollers using setting lotion (which takes all the frizz out and gives me big sleek curls), then allow to cool, brush out the curls and pin up into place. I roll the curls around my finger to get a good shape – the curl dictates what I do with it. Once it’s in place, I might apply a little Brylcreen (yes, Brylcreem!) to smooth the loose ends and flyaways, and finally a good spray of old fashioned hair spray.

That’s it! My hair is set for the day and no more work is needed – and the following morning it only takes five minutes to get it back into style. The other thing that I love is that I used to wash my hair almost every day because after I had slept on it, it had lost it’s shape and needed re-doing. Now I can get a week out of my hair. Unbelievable: that extra time doing it at the start of the week certainly pays dividends.

So I was converted – and then went to the Lindy Charm school when they were last in town. Miss Chrissy asked me to be model, and she and Miss Kim styled me ala Andrews Sisters – the back was done with a few hot sticks and the front was just setting lotion, no styling tools at all except for a small wooden peg and Miss Chrissy’s finesse.

I can’t tell you how impressed I am at all this – I’m a great believer in the wisdom of our grandmothers, and I love that these techniques are simple and effective. What I really love about all this, is not only do I feel like I’m doing justice to my vintage wardrobe but I actually feel more like myself! Glamour has a bad reputation as something that is frivolous and perhaps a bit unnecessary or silly but it’s a powerful tool, surely anything that makes you feel better and more able to go out into the world is a very good thing!

Here are some more shots from the Lindy Charm school – it was wonderful to be surrounded by a group of ladies who were all there for the same purpose: learning how to make more of themselves and their look.

If you’re interested in learning how to transform into a glamourous vintage style goddess, there are still places available in the Lindy Charm’s workshop on Sunday September 12th and if you’re already a convert, Circa is now stocking the “Essential Setting Lotion”, made to the same 1946 recipe.

Coming up: Adventures in Hair Part 2, when Ms DeVille transforms me 1950s style!

Lately I’ve been working extra long hours to get Circa’s webshop finished in time for launching on August 13th, Circa’s 6th anniversary. And it was done! Hundreds of items photographed, edited, measured and loaded online for your perusing pleasure. Hundreds more almost ready to go up, so there will be lots of new stock soon.

Whilst that was happening, it was easy to take some extra photos for the Vintage Fashion Guild’s new fur resource – it’s going to be included in the new and improved site which should hopefully be available soon. Here is Circa’s small contribution. If you hover over each image with your mouse, a title will appear – perhaps you might like to see if you can guess them first?

A note on furs, because it can be a contentious issue – whilst I do not support animal cruelty or factory farming, I have no trouble with vintage furs because the animal has died long ago. The demand for vintage furs is much less than the supply and so I consider valuing and preserving them to be a form of respect for their sacrifice and the aesthetics of our fore-mothers. Besides: many vintage furs are being saved from landfill, as they are little valued these days, compared to the past when they were a great symbol of status.

All of these items are available for sale at Circa, with the exception of the Arctic fox (sold last week to a lovely visiting Gallery owner) and the Baboon (not for sale as it’s an endangered species). The Baboon is pretty popular at Circa actually: it gets regular visitors despite not being for sale.

I spend a lot of my online time at the VFG forums: as well as being the best place to get respected and professional opinions on whether that 1940s cocktail frock is real or a 1980s inspired style, or what a particular fabric or detailing is called, it also has the best Fashion Label Resource. Recently I heard something about there being over 3,000 labels there? The great thing about a label resource is that, as well as providing lots of good biographical information, it’s a useful tool in dating garments, as most fashion companies change the design over time.

But back to Circa’s webshop – it’s now open and you can see it here. There will still be some tweaking but all in all, I’m pretty pleased with it. In particular, hope you like the return policy: it’s my job to find the right owner for each vintage garment so if you don’t like it, or it doesn’t fit you, we’ll be happy to take it back.

Another from the in box:

Pssst! The Vintage Garage is having a huge NOTHING OVER $10 Vintage
Garage SALE this weekend, 14th & 15th August.

…and by the way, we’re offering 10% off everything else
in-store all weekend as well….

What: Vintage Garage Sale
Where: In the garage of Vintage Garage, rear 318 Smith St, Collingwood (near corner of Johnson St)
When: Saturday 14th August 10am-6pm and Sunday 15th August 11am–5pm

For more information phone: (03) 9077 9030 or email: info@vintagegarage.com.au

From the in box –

What: Hunter Gatherer Garage Sale
Where: 274 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 3056
When: Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th August

At Circa we’ve all been working hard on setting up Circa’s online emporium – so far there are 300 items listed including ladieswear, childrenswear, menswear and vintage sewing supplies like patterns and haberdashery.

There is still much to be done before the launch next Friday, but I thought you might like a sneak peak at some of the haberdashery items to be available. We’ve always had haberdashery at Circa, but it was in an art deco cabinet and tended to get overshadowed by all the frocks and other garments, so the webshop will give it a chance to shine on it’s own. I have hundreds of items of vintage haberdashery, so here is a small start.

These laces, trims and appliques originate from the 1920s to the 1950s and will be available from Friday, August 13th – Circa’s sixth anniversary of opening.