Vintage Lady who came my way.....

This lovely vintage lady comes on a lovely print which I received courtesy of  the just as lovely Sarah Blank, together with the giveaway thatI won from her blog some time ago. Sorry Sarah - was away and didn't find the time to feature this earlier.
You can visit Sarah Blank Studios and see what I won here. And while you're at it, visit her Etsy shop here to see more prints of her exquisite oil or acrylic paintings. Thanks Sarah!

Giveaway Medallion

It's time for the end of March Tuesday Giveaway. Up for grabs is this brand new piece of pristine vintage jewellery. It's a dainty, cute and quirky colourful enamel medallion with a floral design. It is gold tone and 3.5cm in diameter. You can wear it on a ribbon around your neck, hung on a chain or included in your favourite charms bracelet. Perhaps it could form part of your next craft project.

All you have to do to be eligible is to start following my blog and add it to your list of favourite blogs. Remember to send me the name, email address and URL of your blog if you have one too. Will make my pick out of the bag on Monday, so by next Tuesday you'll all know who gets to keep this for keeps.... Have a lovely Tuesday!

Alberta Ferretti

This marvellous red-head was one of the muses of the Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882). The painting is called Monna Vanna, painted in 1866. The model was Alexa Wilding and for this portrait she wore an exotic, sumptuous dress complete with the most ravishing accessories - check out those beads, the hair decoration, the feather fan....

Now take a peek at this outfit.

This is a Boho, Romantic, slightly Hippy camisole of sheer linen from the Alberta Ferretti 1982 collection. Don't the two ladies and their clothes looked just very slightly similar? Same smouldering eyes, same red pouting lips, same red hair, same puffed sleeves........

Spring Flower Treat

Spring is in the air. It's such a relief to finally see some blue skies and warmer weather. Nothing more significant than a glorious riot of flowers to really drive the message home. Here is what I've been photographing while I was away......

Vintage Wardrobes

Kimono

One of the most fascinating experiences I had was an interview with a Japanese girl who was preparing for a very special event. She invited to her house and when I asked what she was wearing, she said it would be a kimono of course. And she invited me to her bedroom where, with ceremony and pomp, she opened her wardrobe and retrieved this huge cardboard box, opened that and from amongst sheaves of tissue paper, this marvellous silk kimono emerged. She treated it and touched it and folded it as if it were the most precious thing on earth and explained that the packing is not just because the kimono is a special one.... all kimonos are treated likewise.
Which set me thinking of the way we store our clothing here in the West. The way we cram and crumple and squash and stash things, just so long as they're stuffed in a drawer or in a wardrobe.

I remember watching Jennifer Lopez as The Wedding Planner with a very slight obsessive compulsive disorder, actually finding time in her busy life to fold sweaters and tees with the help of a sweater folder so the folds would be just so.... Do you use that gadget?
And then I look at all those pretty hat boxes, and wonder if there are people who actually use them.

Hats on book shelves

And what about scarves? Mine, I roll up neatly and store in a drawer box.

I mean, how do you store your shoes? Do you still keep them in their boxes and perhaps stick a polaroid picture of what's in the box so you find what you want easily?
Do you have a walk-in wardrobe with everything sorted out around you for easy finding?
Are you a careful storer or do you just slap-dash your storage and clothes?
Which brings about another question - how do you store delicate vintage clothes? We're not supposed to hang them on the kind of hangers which will mess up the fabric and tear into it. We're not supposed to fold things to save the fabric from ruining itself. Do you cover vintage dresses in plastic? Do you have a special place where you keep your vintage bags?
I keep my old stockings in a hat box.
I keep my shoes in their boxes but always forget which box is which.
I keep my small handbags in a large drawer beneath my wardrobe and the big ones in a trunk.
I have a drawer for panties & bras; another for socks & tights; another for undervests, slips and petticoats.
I could go on.....

The Winner!

Thank you so much for all your participation in this last FairyFiligree Giveaway. Had lovely time reading all your comments and the winner I have picked out of the bag is...... Sarah Lynn of Sarah's Blog of  Fun.  Will be getting in touch with the lucky lady later today.
Have a lovely lovely day. Here the sun is shining again and spring flowers are already out......  We'll soon be packing up those boots - at least those of us on this side of the planet.....

Roll on Summer!