Yesterday I listed a beautiful 1920s silk velvet coat of purple velvet with grey silk lining on the webshop.

The quality was self-evident: the lushness of the fabric, the generosity of the cut, the detail in the construction. The silk lining is unbelievably soft: more luxurious than any modern silk. The original label was inside and also, spoke of quality.

This exceptional piece sold quickly and prior to packing her up and sending her to her new home, I did a little googling about the maker.

We all know that Regent St in London is one of the best shopping destinations – the border between Mayfair and Soho. Home to Hamley’s and the beautiful Liberty, and many other major retailers. Not surprisingly, every building in the street is heritage listed.

A business that occupied numbers 252 to 264 would be a very large and successful one – today these shops are occupied by many retailers including Monsoon and Natwest. It’s right near Oxford Circus, and I walked past these buildings every day when I worked around the corner for a fashion wholesaler in 1992.

I discovered that in the 19th century this part of Regent Street was the home of mourning dress with many shops dedicated to its wares. Peter Robinson’s was one of the largest – originally occupying the whole block from 250 to 264, and as demand changed, so did the shops: in 1894 they occupied 256-264 and in 1909 it could be found at 252-264. This suggests the garment was made after 1909.

The cocoon coat is such a distinctive style: introduced by Paul Poiret in 1913, this one could be from the ‘teens or it could be the early ’20s – I always date pieces as the most recent possible, to err on the side of caution but the construction, materials and label suggest this one is probably from the earlier end of that spectrum. It came from the wardrobe of a lady who also wore Poiret and Chanel.

An advert for Peter Robinson’s from the Illustrated London News 1885.

The Victorians were big on mourning and the proper fashion: for a period of up to several years they would wear black after the death of a loved one, followed by a period of “half-morning” when the colours of grey and purple would be introduced. Here’s a half-mourning dress in the collection of the Victoria and Albert museum in London.

This beautiful – and rather modern looking gown – was worn by Heather Firbank in 1910-1912 and designed by Redfern. It’s featured in the excellent V&A publication “Black in Fashion” by Valerie Mendes.

So with this in mind, the colours of the cocoon coat no longer look like fashion and more likely are to be the later stages of mourning – when a lady is re-emerging back into Society and ready to enjoy herself again. Further information could be obtained by enquiring from the original owner, who may be able to recall or research when family members passed away, helping to pin down a date.

I applied this knowledge to another ensemble in my collection – this luxurious skirt suit, that came to me via the Banana Room, a legendary vintage clothing shop in Adelaide. Like the cocoon coat, it features the colours of purple and pale grey – this time in reverse with a silver grey devore velvet stripe lined in purple silk crepe.

Like many older items, it’s a mysterious suit with style elements from many eras: the glass and enamel buttons look Victorian, the fabric could be too, and it has been meticulously hand tailored by experts.

At first sight I thought it must be late 19th century or early ’20 century were it not for the skirt length: but skirts are often updated when fashions change. Most telling are the large structured shoulder pads. I am not aware of ladies wearing shoulder pads prior to 1933, hence my dating of this suit as ’30s but there is no reason why a fashion innovator could not have requested such a detail earlier: perhaps she had admired those in her husband’s jackets and seen how they could rectify her own rounded shoulders? Perhaps they were inserted in later, although I doubt it as the jacket is so well made and shows no signs of alterations – you can always tell when shoulder pads have been added or removed, because the structure is built to accommodate them. Or not.

Margot Riley of Sydney’s State Library was in recently and recalled seeing the suit in the Banana Room collection: it was originally going to be part of the auction in 2005 but was withdrawn. Margot is of the opinion that it dates to the late ‘teens and is half-mourning. Margot, I think you’re right.

This is what I love most about vintage and antique fashion: there is so much to discover and learn, and how it adds depths to garments that we, in the modern age, can choose to wear as we wish. These were treasured pieces, worn for a transitional time in their original wearer’s lives but they’ve both experienced so much more since then and due to careful care, are now ready to be worn again or enjoyed as beautiful collectables of social and cultural history.

If you’re interested in mourning dress, the NGV had a wonderful exhibition on Black in fashion in 2008 with some great examples of mourning dress. Their publication should still be available from the NGV shop.

UPDATE: I think I have another item of half-mourning dress on the webshop – check out this beautiful crushed velvet purple cape with light grey cotton chenille flowers.

Tonight. Quick – what to wear?

I get a lot of people coming to see me because they are looking for help for a ’20s themed event. The real 1920s authentic fashions are wonderful but a little problematic: firstly, they’re not that easy to get. Circa is one of only a handful of shops in Australia that stock original ’20s. Secondly: we might not have the style you’re looking for – or in your size or preferred colour.

This is the downside of authentic fashions – we’re limited to what people wore, and how well it was preserved and how well we can restore it now. Fashions from this decade are almost a century old – we wouldn’t expect to find a Model T in our local car yard and so it is the same with ’20s fashions. Even if you find that Model T, it may not be up for a night hooning around with your mates. Fashion is the same: they’re often fragile or easily damaged and deserving of gentle treatment. You can wear them (and I do my best to make my ’20s wearable) but it’s not the same as wearing modern clothes.

For this reason I generally recommend two things for parties:
1 – Costume Hire.
2 – Creating the look with ’20s style items from other eras, especially accessories.

I love dress up events and I have a little advantage that most people don’t have: a vintage shop to dip into – here are some ways you can create a ’20s look without investing a lot in an outfit that might be in shreds by the end of the evening, and enjoy yourself at the same time.

Firstly, there are two things to consider:
1 – What does the event call for? Where will it be held? Inside or outside? Is there a theme? Day or evening? Will you be sitting, standing, dancing?
2 – What would you feel good wearing? There’s no point dressing up in something you feel terrible or uncomfortable in – the whole purpose of these events is to enjoy yourself, so you still need to preserve an aspect of yourself, even if it’s only a little one.

For my event tonight, it’s a Murder Mystery hosted by Secret Squirrel Productions set in 1927 Chicago. Yes, there will be gangsters! It’s held in a Fitzroy cocktail bar and there will be drinks and canapes – I imagine there will be places to sit but we’re probably going to stand for a lot of the evening, so I need to consider my shoes and how comfortable I will be in them.

My character, Marjorie, is a brothel Madam – so she’ll probably be wearing something dark, something sexy but business-like. Her style will be mature and glamourous. Being the ’20s, her dress will be fairly shapeless, with no cleavage or waist and the emphasis on the hips and legs.

The character suits me, but the ’20s style does not suit my figure – I like to emphasis my curves, not downplay them. I’ll create this look by using a dark but glitzy colour palette.

Firstly – research: I reached for my convenient copy of “Jazz Age Beauties” with many beautiful photos by Alfred Cheney Johnston, and I posted a few nice ones to Instagram.

Then I bobbed my hair. Don’t worry, I wanted to cut it short anyway, so this was a good excuse.

Generally I dress from the shoes up, especially if I’m likely to be standing a lot – I love Mary Jane style shoes and have lots, so it was easy to pick out a couple of pairs.

But these are the ones I’d really like to wear: Edwardian style lace up boots. Custom made when we were in Paris last.

Perfect for a contrast stocking underneath, so you can see all the lacing – ideally I’d like an Edwardian style stocking with vertical stripes but alas, not in fashion currently so I bought a selection.

Now that I had my shoes and stockings sorted, I added some headwear: this piece was made by Louise Black who has a wonderful sense of dark ’20s style.

Lots of beads are needed too…..

I’m going to wear a simple black dress and the accessories will do the work, but I need something to go on top – perhaps one of these jackets, now available from the salon, and coming soon to the webshop.

Or a silk knit ’20s cardigan.

If you need a dress, you could wear a ’20s revival dress from the ’60s or the ’80s – here’s one available now from the webshop.

Lastly, here’s what I wore to the NGV Deco exhibition opening – can you believe this was more than five years ago? I’m wearing a black silk ’20s dress, ’30s silk velvet jacket and Deco dress clips…and blonde hair! Sometimes I forget that pink isn’t my natural colour.

The important thing with your ’20s party is to look fabulous and have a wonderful time! If I can be of service in helping create your look, come and see me.