Headscarves & Manly Beach

Ah, the headscarf. A must-have in a vintage wardrobe; it is versatile and chic. They provide a quick and easy alternative to achieving a vintage look and are a life-saver on windy days or when you need to hide your hair set. I almost always wear a headscarf with 1940's styling, I just find it easier. Here's how I learned the art of tying a headscarf from Candice DeVille (Vintage Current).

 

Some 1940's headscarf inspiration...

www.theatlantic.com
Lake demonstrates the importance of safety for factory workers in WW2 - bring on the headscarf/turban!

www.forgeofinnovation.org

1943 Canadian munitions factory - www.sfu.ca

www.flashbacksummer.com

weheartvintage.co

www.livinghistoryfarm.org

Scarf - Vintage.

My mother, grandmother and I ventured to Manly, a beach suburb in Northern Sydney. It was sunny and warm for a change and definitely felt like Spring. Two train trips and a ferry ride later, we walked around then ate at the beach-themed Ivanhoe Hotel. It turned out wearing a scarf on a ferry is a good idea (and securing with bobby pins is a must). Sometimes the time spent setting hair and styling is just wasted when it's windy.

Beer Garden

I promise we don't always take photos of our food!

My philosophy - never say no to crème brûlée.
Sunglasses - Ray-Ban
Jacket - Cripple Creek (gift)

The ol' "coat hanger"

- Kirsten

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High Tea at The Palace Tea Room

On Sunday 21st September; Sue, Grandma and I went to The Palace Tea Room for high tea in the QVB (level 1) for Grandma's birthday. We chose this restaurant because the reviews praised the quality and freshness of the food (who wants stale scones??) and the price was good compared to other places for what you receive.
The decor is Victorian themed with beautiful chandeliers and furniture. We ordered the Sparkling Afternoon Tea as a treat - I didn't know what I was in for... at this point I would like to highly recommend booking a high tea for lunch not afternoon tea!

The Palace Tea Room

It was appropriate to dress up for the occasion and for some reason dressing in your 'sunday best' is always fun (a trend we wish would come back).

Sue's Dress - Retrospec'd
Cardigan - SES

Cheers!

The chinaware was pretty; Royal Albert, Royal Doulton and Wedgewood. Sue and I drank Paris Vanilla Tea (delicious). We got about 4 cups of tea each in the pot too.
The savoury part of the high tea included: chicken, salmon and egg sandwiches, lobster pastry, crab/lobster biscuit and a large scone with jam and cream. These were all fantastic, fresh and light.
The sweet part: passionfruit macaron, lamington mousse slice, raspberry cheesecake, raspberry (?) meringue tart and small cupcake.

We were SO full at the end. I wanted to be rolled home. After tea we walked around Pitt St.

Earrings - Vintage from Etsy

I did a pin curl wet-set on my hair for a change.
Cardigan - Vintage 50's from a past Love Vintage Show (bargain!)
Dress - Retrospec'd
~ Notable beard in background ~

My shoes - Clarks
Sue's shoes - David Lawrence

Bag - 50's Vintage from a past Love Vintage Show at a great price

Pitt St, Sydney

On a side note, strangers do act differently towards you when you dress up. We got some pretty great service in Myer, people came after us to help us (a la Pretty Woman) and a lady asked what the occasion was because she could "sense a theme."

We really enjoyed the high tea; the service was great, the food was tasty and the decor was elegant. They also have regular meals including breakfast, lunch and desserts.

- Kirsten

Art & About Sydney 2014

On Friday 19th September Sue and I went to see Art & About in the city for the first time - specifically, the Quarter Acre Block Party.

Art & About Sydney

Held in Martin Place, it was a free event meant to celebrate the opening of the festival with live music and  food with a theme of kitschy 60's and 70's suburban Australian culture. 

It was pretty crowded when we first got there so we decided to get a hot dog from the 'Car-B.Q.' At first I was highly confused then I finally realised there was a man barbequing on top of a car bonnet. I should add the pork hot dog with pickle remoulade was delicious.

Car-B.Q. ... apparently it's a thing.

After listening to The Morrisons, we boarded a free vintage bus (the same buses we got to ride at the Fifties Fair) to the Art Gallery of NSW.

Beret - Vintage from The Shire Vintage and Collectables Fair
Cardigan - Forever 21
Bag - Sportsgirl
Jeans - Retrospec'd
Lipstick - True Red (Revlon)

The only exhibition open to view was The Archibald so we just looked around and decided to eat.. again :)

AGNSW

We ordered a 'scone' with jam & cream but what came out of the kitchen was one tiny scone, not worth the price. It was fun to see the gallery at night too!

Sue awaits the scone

  - Kirsten