mad men about dresses

I've been treating myself to season 3 of Mad Men during the weekend, enjoying every second of it as usual. I've got the last two episodes left, and in a way I wanna save them, cos I know the long anxious wait for season 4 will start as soon as they're over. Some critics may claim that nothing much happens in this tv-show, or rather that the same thing happens over and over again: ad meetings, drinking and smoking excessively, adultery, suburb vs. manhattan, married life vs. single life, men vs. women. But to me that's part of the appeal, cos seriously: how exciting is every day life for most people? Of course I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the main reason why I love Mad Men so madly is the impeccable recreation of the 60's in clothing and interior design. Not so much the gender games, even though that can be interesting too, and often infuriating. Anyway, in one episode Peggy was wearing a very cute dress that reminded me of this one above. I got it at Judit's some 4 or 5 years ago, and I think it was about 200 kronor. It's polyester again, with a silk lining giving it a little bit better fit, and my guess is that it's from the 60's, especially after seeing Peggy's dress yesterday. I might have mentioned before that I really like the combination of geometrical patterns and more organic flowers or shapes.



Here's a little cute sailor dress that I cannot remember where I got it from, or what it cost. It's from Stockholm though, I'm almost sure about that, and I'm positive I like it a lot. It was also the perfect outfit when I went to the Maritime Museum in Stockholm in July 2007, to see the ongoing Tintin exhibition. Although I don't remember it that well cos of the exhibition, even though it was very nice indeed, I remember it that well cos of the company I had. Today we're married.



I wanted to include a final dress in green, a perfect find from the 'sale chest' outside of Emmaus in Götgatsbacken, Stockholm (the "trend" one in the middle), where everything costs 50 kronor. I'm not really sure about the material, it reminds me of polyester but is not as stretchy and smooth, it's got a bit of structure to it. It's as warm as polyester warm, if not even warmer, which makes it a perfect winter dress paired with some white wool tights and a cardigan. I've been told I look both like a 60's air hostess and a school girl wearing it, which is completely fine by me. I don't mind one bit, I love that putting on a dress can make you look like someone else. Or rather like me being something else, I guess. Although, I would argue as well, just for the sake of it, I'm every dress I've ever worn, and then some for the future. Just try and pin me down.

Grahamstown, City of Saints, pt. 3: porches

Grahamstown was a very nice town to walk around in, as I've mentioned, and we saw some really beautiful houses along the way. I've never really dreamt of owning a big house, I like living in city flats, and see no reason to have a lot of rooms you're never gonna be in. I would like to have a huge kitchen in the future, that I dream of. At least as big as to fit a table that would comfortably sit 8-10 people, so that I can cook while my family and friends sit and talk and have a drink meanwhile. I wouldn't say no to a small garden as well, preferably secluded. But most of all I dream about having a porch.



I don't know why I dream of a porch, maybe from seeing movies from Maine or the American South or New Orleans, when people always sit on their porches on hot summer nights, in porch swings, drinking ice tea, chatting away into the night. Or old men sit with an old cracked guitar singing the blues. Or old ladies sit in the morning splitting peas for dinner. I guess that's the romantic picture I've got of porches. Apart from them sometimes being very ornamented and pretty as well.



This blue house is the Observatory Museum in Grahamstown. Unfortunately we didn't have time to check it out, but met someone who told us one of the old uses for it: if you were looking for someone you'd go up in the tower and look for them, see which street they were in, and go meet them there. That's how flat and small the city centre of Grahamstown is, it wouldn't be a problem seeing someone from this after all rather small tower.



If I had a porch, I'd get a porch swing first, and some old wicker chairs and paraffin lamps. Then I'd sit there, peel apples for a pie, pet my cats, listen to the crickets, take out the guitar and sing when the sun goes down, sip mint julip (I don't even really know what that is, but it sounds tasty), wave to the neighbours walking by.



That is if the porch isn't infested with ants, or it's got snakes underneath like a friend of mine's, or the evenings bring clouds of mosquitos forcing me to stay inside, or the neighbours are inconsiderate idiots playing bad music too loud and getting too drunk every night. Anything can happen. Even in my dreams I assume the worst so I won't be too disappointed if it happens.



But I'll keep my dream of the perfect porch, something like this one above. So pretty and relaxing by the look of it, with just enough shade for the hot days. With apple, mango, avocado, and lemon trees in the back, sided by some raspberry bushes, and rows of beans, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and other edible greens, I'll be quite happy. Quite happy indeed.

scandinavian legends and folk-tales

As I think I've mentioned before the book store at Euphoria, Davenport Rd, Last Chance Books, is a really good one with great find potential if you take the time. This is one of the latest finds, a beautiful book from 1957 (reprint, first edition 1956) called Scandinavian Legends and Folk-tales, retold by Gwyn Jones and stunningly illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe.



This is the gorgeous endpapers, and if you look closely you can see the bargain price: 50 rand (about the same in kronor). I really love 2-colour printing, or duplex as it's called as well. There's so much nuance you can get from just using two colours if you know what you're doing, I admire that a lot. And I love the sweeping lines Kiddell-Monroe use, like Chinese calligraphy.



For those of you who might wonder: no, there are no polar bears walking the woods of Scandinavia, just as there are no elephants walking the streets of Durban. One time a few years ago a brown bear did walk past my neighbourhood in the middle of Stockholm though, true story! I didn't see it, I was sound asleep as most people, but someone spotted it and it made the papers the next day. It is very rare indeed I must add, bears usually never come that far down south, let alone take walks in cities. That said I completely love this picture.



This illustration is from Authun and the Bear. If polar bears were that cute and cuddly looking in reality I wouldn't mind if they did walk the streets in Stockholm. In a leash preferably though. I'm not exactly proud to be a descendant of the vikings by the way, but what can I do about it? I'll just pretend and hope my distant relatives were peaceful farmer vikings, surely there must have been a lot of those around too.



Hello kitschy blonde He-man! Volund the Smith. Not a lot of Swedes look like this, but it's a funny picture. I think maybe in the Finnish woods you'd find someone who might look like this even today. But I've never set foot in the Finnish woods, so clearly that's just my imagination being influenced by folk-tales I guess.



From The Seven Foals comes this picture with some rather evil looking horses. I don't know why Kiddell-Monroe doesn't draw pupils in the eyes, but it's very effectful. And that's a very nice sword, don't you think?



This is my favorite picture of the bunch, maybe cos I really love the story as well: The Wild Swans, a true classic. Most of these legend and folk-tales I don't know or remember, but I guess it's cos not all of them are Swedish. This story however is most famously re-told by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, one of the best Scandinavians of all time. I really like the Brother Grimms stories too, not to mention Oscar Wilde's fairytales, but H.C. Andersen will always have a very special place in my heart. I definitely believe he is one of the main reasons why I love tragedy almost as most as comedy, cos sometimes it's as nice a feeling to have a good cry out cos of something you read, as it is to laugh until your sides hurt. I do prefer tragedies with happy endings though, any day of the week.

what i'd wear this wednesday

What I'd wear this Wednesday, had it not been around 27 degrees, and also packed in my basement in Stockholm, is this lovely dress. One of my definite favorite finds this winter, that I unfortunately just made one opportunity for myself to wear before I left. It cost a mere 65 kronor at Stadsmissionens best shop, that I know at least, at Nytorget. As I may have mentioned before I like my polyester dresses. I'm pretty sure this is from the 70's, mostly based on the collar obviously. I usually like collars like this, but in this dress I thought it was a bit dominant.



So I decided to change it, and made it into a more Chinese looking collar, adding a thin red ribbon to hold it together. I also shortened the sleeves and the length, cos full length sleeves on a polyester dress can make it even more difficult to wear should it not be really cold. Black, white and red is by far my fave combination of colours, or any of the two combined. What I love about this particular pattern is that it reminds me of typographic characters, which can never be a bad thing in my book. After all, typography is what builds a book in the end, when it's left the writer's mind.



Here's a close up on the former 70's flaps, gone Chinese below. It's a very satisfying feeling when you buy a dress that you know you want to alter a little bit, and you can picture the alterations in your head, and then it actually turns out like your picture. But they don't always turn out that way, unfortunately, mainly cos I'm nowhere near being a seamstress. I just know what I wanna do, and then I sit down and decidely try to get there. I have a few bigger projects I haven't gotten around to yet, cos I think they actually need that sewing machine I don't own. But I haven't forgotten about them, oh no, those dresses are just waiting for their day to come.



This dress I'm very happy with though, and I'm looking forward to wearing it lots and lots when I get back to Stockholm and the temperature will start dropping again. Cos undoubtely it will, and stay that way for far too long. Good thing that I've discovered that polyester vintage dresses sure has made Swedish winters easier to endure.

the weekend trifecta

A good weekend starts with breakfast somewhere they make a mean cappuccino, for example at The Little Italian Place in Pavillion, here in Durban. Their cappuccino is seriously perfect! Or veramente perfetto, as they would put it in the Mother Country of Good Coffee. It will then continue with finding the jacket I got obsessed with in Grahamstown a week ago, in my size at Truworths, and buying it. 550 rand is not the cheapest, and it does feel silly buying a winter jacket when it's 25 degrees outside: but come on, look at it! If that is not a perfect jacket I've never seen one, and I rarely have to be honest. I'm a coat person mostly, I love coats.



In all sizes black and white hounds tooth pattern is one of my absolute favorites though, that was probably the main attraction of it. And the very classic cut, that at least reminds me of a 60's jacket for example Audrey Hepburn could have worn. Absurdly enough I now long for winter again, so I can pretty myself up with this cutie. Not really though, I can't wait for the unpredictability that is Swedish summer! Especially since I missed it last year, I'm very much looking forward to the long bright nights, park coffee drinking, long walks by the water, new potatoes with pickled herring, fresh strawberries and rhubard pie. It'll be nice for sure.



Getting back to the trifecta weekend, the second ingredient was finally getting the second season of Flight of the Conchords, one of my all time favourite comedy series. Back home again after shopping just to putting it on and watching the whole first disc in one go, then saving the second to Sunday, trying to prolong the pleasure. Indeed it was a pleasure, and I loved the documentary that was featured too. I'm a little bit sad that this is it of course, there will be no more Flight of the Conchords, or so they say. Maybe they'll make a comeback to the career they never got in 10 year's time? That would be sweet. I'll wait for that then.



Thirdly, finishing off the trifecta, was baking "hallongrottor" ("raspberry caves") after finally finding a very tasty raspberry jam in the store, and eating most of them fresh. It is the most divine cookie I know, and only has one flaw: it's completely impossible to just eat one.

In my opinion this makes a good weekend without trying too hard.

tie the knot and add a button

The other night I found some pretty ribbons and buttons, and decided to put it all together. I will admit I was inspired by the Cupcake Couture brooch I bought at Mooi, and hers are obviously better looking than mine. But I have no intention of selling these, just to wear them for my own pleasure, and I had great fun doing them. I really like sewing by hand, even though it strains my neck if I do it for a long time, it relaxes the rest of me. I think it's also been too long since I created something outside of my laptop.



I have thought about buying a sewing machine for a while now, and finally get over my slight panic of using one, which I know is completely ridiculous. As much as I enjoy the hand sewing, some things would of course be a lot easier and quicker with a machine. I don't really remember when I got scared of the machines, but it was a long time ago in school. I didn't sew my finger or anything, like many others, including my brother if I remember correctly. I just didn't get along with the teacher we had, and I usually got along pretty well with most teachers. So wood shop became my thing instead, and except for the fumes in the painting room I really loved it.



Sewing class made me feel like a failure, cos even though I had a creative mind, the teacher never cared enough to really show me properly how to do stuff, hence the failing. When you're 9-10 it's not the easiest thing in the world to teach yourself knitting or hemming or making button holes. I still nurtured the dream of one day becoming a fashion designer for a long, long time. I figured that being able to draw okay, and having all these ideas for clothes and accessories, would surely be enough to make it. Around the age of 14-15 I started to plan a business with a cousin that was very good at sewing, but along the way I somehow realised it probably wouldn't work out. It did work out for my cousin however! She's still working in fashion, and worked as a seamstress for many years in London before that.



Eventually my interest in fashion and clothes became one of my biggest hobbies instead of a future career dream, and my previous biggest hobby of reading became my career. Librarian was my first choice for sometime, until I seriously started to think about what made a book and decided publishing must be THE best job in the world. 13 years later I still think it's the best job in the world. And probably a much safer income than fashion design, unless you're brilliant, which I don't think I ever was. Or will be. My sense of book style is definitely more accurate I believe.



Every now and then it feels good to send a thought to the 10-year old me thinking she was a failure in sewing class, letting her know she did alright in the end after all. And with a completely different career going, I can still pick up some ribbons and buttons and turn them into something that at least I think is very pretty. As well as buying a vintage dress that doesn't quite fit, knowing that I can alter it myself, making it the way I want it.

The brooch above is the last one I made, and the one I think turned out the best. I'm gonna do some more I think, but I've run out of buttons for now.

Grahamstown, City of Saints, pt. 2: Signs

The local newspaper in Grahamstown had this stunning entrance, a little worn out, but completely beautiful. I would very much like an entrance like that to my own publishing house/book shop one day. Shops nowadays just don't have the same signs as they did back then, at least not most of them. Now it's more about the brand than what the shop actually sells, which I guess isn't all that bad in general: you usually know the stores you need to know in your neighbourhood/city/country. But for visitors, or newcomers, it would come in handy to know what they can find inside other than the obvious things they might see in the display windows.



As for myself I like the browsing part of shopping, even though it means sometimes going in the "wrong" store and hopefully realising it sooner than later, before a store clerk gets to you asking if you need any help. Having moved to another country I've still got plenty of shops I've obviously not been to, as I have back home in Stockholm, but I do feel I've got a pretty good grasp of the most common chain stores, and some small independent places around Durban at least. What I don't know is if there are any vintage clothing stores for example, if there are they're pretty well hidden.



I went into a hospice charity shop in Grahamstown, but it was pretty far from vintage. They had some nice books, that pretty much didn't cost anything. Another catholic charity shop looked slightly more promising, but was closed on Mondays, which was our only opportunity for shopping while there. I did however fall in love with a winter jacket during our stay, from Truworths, and seeing as it was a cool 27 degrees outside I thought it seemed like a good idea to at least try it on! They didn't have my size, but that's the beauty of chain stores: there's always another one that might keep your size. Some people might argue that that would be one of the few advantages of chain stores, but I find that the best way of keeping up a vintage wardrobe is by adding new pieces to complement them.



This pretty butterfly was on top of the Butterfly Snack Bar, as seen above, a bit curious seeing that the bar itself was kinda shabby. But maybe it used to be a fancier place, back in Grahamtown's history, when the churches were still filled with people on Sundays, listening to priests that now have moved somewhere else, and the churches have been turned into lawyer's offices and whatnot. On the other hand I really appreciate the contrast between the beautiful signs, and the rundown place. It's not all about the facade.



Curiously enough, when we got back home, I got this lovely gift from my mother-in-law. I'm gonna put it up in the kitchen, and create my own Butterfly Snack Bar, where I'll serve chilled white wine or cool beers, with cheese flavoured microwave popcorns, pickled cucumbers, and cream cheese filled roasted baby tomatoes. In fact, I'm gonna do just that right now.