Filed under: Accessories, Art, Etsy, Fashion, Modern Victorian, Print, Rings, Shoes, Shopping, Trinkets | Tags: Bioshock, crochet, designer, Etsy, Fashion, Jewellery, photography, salvage, Treasury, Victorian
Being an eclectic magpie by nature, one of the features I most like about Etsy‘s website is the ‘Add to Favourites‘ heart button. It basically serves as an “OOOOH! SHINY THING!” bookmark. Once you’ve registered, you can set about quickly building up a list of stuff you ♥, with time to go back later and peruse at your leisure.
Recently, I took the [protoype] Taste Test and found a whole new batch of tasty morsels to smack my lips over. I found the most successful way (after taking it a few times) was to keep hitting the option to “show different items” until I found something I loved, rather than just liked. It’s not fail safe, but I think it’s a fun way to browse and was really impressed with the choices it threw at me. I made a Treasury (curated selection) of some of my absolute favourites, and shall explain what drew me to them, below…
I often tell DT (the fiance) that he’s my favourite. And you know what? He really is. I think this would splendid over his desk, and would be something for him to look at, smile and feel grateful for every day. By the way, Fifi du Vie‘s shop has loads of great prints. I especially like the “Darling, let’s be adventurers” one.
Just exquisite tailoring, very feminine shape but with a nod to masculine style – I was obviously going to love the Victorian inspired shape, but I also really like how they’ve styled it here. I posted a comment on Twitter that I wanted one of everything in Laura Galic‘s shop – and I do! Totally my cup of tea.
Not only would this be cute at as a top table wedding decoration (in between the bride & groom) but this wooden ampersand could be put anywhere in the house for that shabby-chic style statement ‘not trying too hard’ look. On a shelf, in a window, hanging from a plate rack – I really like having letters/typography characters around. They have a certain geeky charm.
These Juliet shoes by Palmy are sturdy but sexy. I love the retro look to them – quite 1940’s-ish I think – and the fact that they look comfortable. This is the major factor for me buying shoes these days, I’m afraid, dear hearts. Having been in retail for the last 15 years, and spent more hours than I can count on my feet, the ol’ tootsies aren’t at their best. Most of the styles at Palmy are made with heel and arch supports. Magic words to those of us who stand all day, I tells ya! Palmy is a talented graduate of the Footwear Diploma of London College of Fashion course, and I have added lots of their items to my favourites!
This hand-stitched shawl is something of an heirloom for the future, though I would certainly wear it over a maxi dress or just slung over jeans and a camisole to add some instant elegance. Crochetelle learned to crochet when she was a little girl, then picked up the hobby again.
“I recently was living in a very stressful, dirty city and felt the need to create something beautiful and I picked up crocheting again. Basically, it’s like learning to ride a bike – you never forget it! And after searching around on the internet and seeing all the beautiful, modern patterns that are available now I plunged right into it again and have been going non-stop.”
The shop really has some really beautiful designs and Crochetelle also welcomes custom orders.
Look closely at the above picture. It’s obviously inspired by Old Master’s still lives, but if you can believe it, it’s actually not a painting at all – it’s a photograph! I love everything about this photo – the lighting and the layout of the props just perfectly capture the mood of those old paintings. Kate O’Brien explains how the picture came to be:
“I got to thinking about the works of the Dutch masters and the kinds of fruit they used in their paintings. I live in a tropical climate, but for obvious reasons, they weren’t painting a whole lot of Mangoes and pineapples back in the middle ages. So I set off to my local fruit and veg store in search of some more “classical” choices. This image is the result of that trip!”
Kate is a professional photographer and stylist from Australia, and looking through the rest of her shop, I’m really impressed by Kate’s work, the way she uses colours and plays with historical imagery. Definitely a new favourite!
There’s something quite plaintive about the little bird waiting on a wire – you can put any picture you like in this circular glass locket, but I’d be quite tempted just to keep this one in it, it’s very sweet but sort of heartbreaking. There, that shatters my ice-queen image once and for all. Not that I had an ice queen image – I can be turned into a blubbering wreck at the drop of a hat and am really quite awfully sentimental. Hard to believe, I know.
Anyway, yes, this necklace by Garden of Sypria is very much my sort of thing and I like the battered looking silver frame, it looks like it has survived a few things. Maybe the bird has, too.
I was immediately drawn to the style of Philippe Fernandez‘ work, it has that fairytale quality of being darkly foreboding yet simultaneously comforting – a soft-edged air that is often found in children’s story books, as, indeed, this picture shall be.
I painted this painting for a very special children’s book that I plan to be published late this year. This specific painting is when Ponteia found her dear Mr. Kats very weak. Ponteia knew something was wrong. “My goodness!” she exclaimed. Ponteia was outraged that anyone might of hurt him. “Who did this to you, dear Mr. Katz?” With great care she scooped the cat up. Very gently, she raced home with him snuggled softly in her arms.
This is one of those really simple ideas, beautifully executed, and it works so well. What an absolutely perfect little gift for a fan of the Oz or Wicked books, too. Your book becomes Dorothy’s house, and those iconic black & white striped legs and ruby shoes stick out helplessly, beneath. “Things just haven’t been the same since that HOUSE fell on my SISTER!”
3d-printing is one of those jaw-dropping we’re-living-in-the-future technologies, don’t you think? I love that artists and designers are exploring the use of this technology beyond that of engineering, for which it was originally designed.
Nervous System is a design studio that works at the intersection of science, art, and technology. We create using a novel process that employs computer simulation to generate designs and digital fabrication to realize products. Drawing inspiration from natural phenomena, we write computer programs mimicking processes and patterns found in nature and use those programs to create unique and affordable art, jewelry, and housewares.
The studio consists of Jesse Louis-Rosenberg and Jessica Rosenkrantz who met as undergraduates at MIT where he studied math + computer science and she studied architecture + biology. They live together in a house by a stream in a forest in Western Massachusetts.
These pieces of jewelery by Nervous System are at once strikingly modern and very organic in design – like pieces of coral or the model of a cardiovascular system. The story of how the designers met and what they studied totally makes sense when you see these wearable pieces of art. It’s the symbiotic relationship of nature and modern technology. Gorgeous, I love them all. P.S: I’d just like to add how very well done their photography is, and how beautiful the model is! I want to look like her. 😦
There are so many designs of clothes I would like to own in this shop – they look so cool and comfortable, and all of them look to be partly inspired by historical designs, which I like very much, as you can imagine. These are simple, clean-cut pieces to wear and love every day, and this red maxi skirt is particularly appealing. I’d wear it just with a little silk chemise top and beaded sandals for the summer, and with Victorian style boots and velvet jacket in the winter. Something which is both very ‘now’ and yet trans-seasonal.
Now you might find this odd, but I am very drawn to rusty things. Slightly decayed looking salvaged items that look as though they have been pulled from a ship wreck. When these items are placed in the context of a modern setting, together with the comfort and clutter of everyday objects around them, they take on a certain beauty – like museum pieces placed on a breakfast table, but in reverse, if that makes sense? Their ugliness is made beautiful by the oddity of their surroundings. That applies to two pieces in my selection of new favourites – the industrial lamp (above), which I love because it looks like something from Bioshock; and the old wooden/metal drawer, below.
This drawer is pleasing both for its battered exterior with mysterious wording “half surface” stenciled on the front, and the fact that it can still be jolly useful. I see this in a kitchen, enjoying its later years in the comfort of a home, used to store balls of twine, kitchen scissors, favourite cookery books or pots of fragrant herbs.
Now, this little necklace probably isn’t going to cut the mustard as a perfect bridemaid’s gift (depending on your choice of bridesmaid, of course) or something to hang on the Christmas tree for your future Mother in Law; but I happen to adore these pieces made from reproductions of old brothel tokens that would have been given to their best customers. Certainly a talking point at dinner parties, I think we can agree. 🙂
Again, my liking for these old printers blocks stems from my love of typography and to be surrounded by words and letters – appreciating them as works of art in and of themselves, not just the means to an end. These would definitely have pride of place on the mantelpiece, or on a shelf along with my favourite books.
This necklace by Caroline Henry is just breathtakingly beautiful – I gasped when I saw it as a suggestion in the results of my Taste Test – it’s just so perfectly balanced, simple, elegant yet with a real dramatic presence. I would certainly wear this on my wedding day – it is very Deco in design, but timeless, too. Totally lust-worthy, as are so many of the pieces in this talented designer’s shop.
Well, I do hope you have enjoyed this amble through my latest favourites – perhaps in exploring their shops, you may find some to add to yours, too…
If you want to see all the items grouped together in my Treasury selection for Etsy, please click on the pictures below to be whisked to that page.
Until next time, dearies,
Miss Nightingale
x
Filed under: Autumn, Fall, Fashion, Fripperies, Modern Nostalgic, Modern Victorian
Ever since their latest brochure arrived, I’ve been obsessing over Wrap’s Autumn collection. Every time I turn the page, I find a new item to lust after – they really have outdone themselves!
Their silk empire-line dress strikes just the right note of grown-up whimsicality. I would have one of each colour and wear them with my omnipresent biker boots (or, I suppose, Victorian button boots to go with our theme).
The above dress also caused palpitations in my dear friend Melanie (writer of the Madame Guillotine blog and brilliant historical novelist to boot). I mean, honestly – a silk velvet dress styled with fingerless gloves and boots for instant [what we like to call] ‘Victorian prostitute chic’. What’s not to like? Both colours are gorgeous, but smoky grey shall forever win my heart.
Love everything about this outfit. Although I actually (again) prefer the smoky grey option, the mix of colours is winning me over, here. I really like the sprinkling of sequins on this jacket – particularly as they’re matte, so not too ritzy-glitzy to team with jeans, should you wish. And I would.
The dress worn under the jacket is this one… and I want every single option. Again. Yes, I’m greedy; but if forced at gunpoint to choose (an unlikely situation), I would plump for the aubergine. One of my favourites from the whole collection – I feel this would work especially well on those of us blessed with opulent bosoms and chunky arms…
Another combination I covet all examples of – silk, merino, stud and frills: a marriage made in my personal heaven. The cardigan manages to be both cosy and sexy (a rare pairing) and the top (shown below) is the perfect length and reminds me of my grunge days. In a good way. 🙂
These have to be my highlights from Wrap’s Autumn collection, but it’s simply bursting with wearable pieces with something special about them. Go and feast your eyes (and sign up for email alerts – their sales are amazing, too!)
Filed under: Fashion, Fripperies, Modern Nostalgic, Modern Victorian, Shopping, Trinkets, Victorian, Victoriana | Tags: 1928.com, ASOS, Miss Selfridge, Nemesis watch, Revlon lipstick, ROOTOTE
If yesterday’s Wish List selection of tasty trinkets had you clutching your credit cards and making death-rattle gasping sounds – as well they might – then I present for your delectation a platter of more purse-friendly gothic treats…
Filed under: Alexander McQueen, Bawdy Couture, Fashion, Fripperies, Modern Victorian, Shopping, Trinkets, Victorian, Victoriana
Flipping through the glossies reveals pages dripping with lace, leather, blood-red lips and more skull jewellery than you can shake a [skull-topped walking] stick at. Yes, my pretties, it would seem that GOTH IS BACK.
It makes me smile, as I used to be a dyed-in-the-wool Gothic Sort myself. I don’t count myself as such nowadays, though I do still hanker after some elements of the style, now and again. There are times when my inner goth still makes their presence known… and y’know what? Seeing some of the editorials infused with such trinkets does still make my heart beat a little faster!
I shall split this look up into items I can only, truly, dream about: Wish List; and items I could happily purchase without the bank manager having an apoplectic fit: Shopping List. First, bring on the dreams!
$2,685 – net-a-porter.com
More Alexander McQueen dresses »
Filed under: Accessories, Bawdy Couture, Competions, Decadence, Etsy, Fripperies, Modern Nostalgic, Modern Victorian, Painted Ladies, Victoriana | Tags: Deshabille, Rococo, Romantic, Rumpled
Déshabillé is the French term for being partly or ‘carelessly’ dressed. That slightly sleep rumpled, decadently sexy boudoir chic one sees in 1920’s films.
You know the sort of thing – starlets nonchalantly shrugging silk robes from their shoulders, tugging the pins from their curls, lounging around on days-beds wearing lacey little somethings, eating sugared plums and generally kicking up their heels in fancy tasseled slippers.
I have to tell you, it’s my one of my favourite ever looks, mainly because I end up looking somewhat déshabillé anyway (well, shabby at any rate) within minutes of being primped and preened. I am just not naturally a neat person. But there is just something so appealing about looking effortlessly glamorous (however much effort one has to put into looking that ‘effortless’!)
There is a yawning chasm of difference between déshabillé and shabby, however. A stray curl or rumpled robe too many means the difference between looking nonchalantly sexy, or mad cat lady wandering the street in her nightgown before being apprehended by the authorities. Subtly rumpled, darlings… undone. Like this divine silk lace robe, which is just made for this look.
Here is a beautifully embellished yet still simple day dress which partly inspired this post – it shows that déshabillé works equally well out of the boudoir and into day-wear. Add a layer or three (for the unpredictable Spring weather we’re experiencing in the UK right now) then remove as many as you wish to. With all the beautiful neckline detail, I would eschew necklaces and stack random bangles & charm bracelets. Charmingly carefree.
Dear Lillie have an amazing opportunity to win one of their Adeleine dresses on their blog: click HERE to enter, just by leaving a comment. (I have already entered as I love their designs, and you get to choose your own favourite colours, too!)
Of course, with our delightfully rumpled gowns & lace robes, we need somewhere to nonchalantly drape ourselves, and what could be more perfect for our theme than this romantically decadent handmade bed by one of my favourite multi-talented designers, Attila Design? A considered purchase, yes, but utterly unique.
This print of an original water colour is so reminiscent of summer mornings (and long afternoons) spent stretched full-length on rumpled sheets with a purring cat, basking in the sunshine, not caring that we should have long ago risen from our lazy, loose-limbed slumber. The colours are just perfect, don’t you think?
Whether on a bed or propped on a chaise, we of course need a whimsical pillow to lean against, or rest on our knees with a trashy novel weighty tome to read as we sate ourselves with Turkish Delights (or violet creams, or whatever retro confections take your fancy). This one is exquisite and I just love the Gibson Girl picture, having always been quite obsessed with that look.
Do have a look at my other hand-picked selections for our theme, all the shops are well worth a snoop through, full to bursting with treasures ready to be plucked…
Direct links to items shown, left to right:
1st Row: 1) Mistress Collection, 2) Liaison, 3) Stella Dottir
2nd Row: 1) Branch Handmade, 2) Dear Lillie, 3) Painted Cottages
3rd Row: 1) Attila Design, 2) Bayou Salvage, 3) Beads n Thingz
4th Row: 1) Ciao Bella Photography, 2) Crafts by Posie, 3) Rachel’s Studio
Filed under: Etsy, Fashion, Modern Victorian, Spring, Victorian, Victoriana, Vintage | Tags: Spring Fashion, Spring Photos
Yes, there’s still a nip in the air (in fact, it’s absolutely freezing in our little town in the Kent countryside, today!) but whilst the sun is shining, one can quite easily feel that it IS Spring, and even though we might still wish to layer upon layer; it is time to turn our thoughts to softer, floatier fabrics and colours too.
How about layering this pretty chemise underneath a slightly shorter dress, with just the broderie anglaise hem peeking through, teamed with a cute little cardi, opaque tights and dolly shoes? Warm enough to be worn now but with a hint of warmer times to come.
Now you all know that I love all things Victoriana, especially the quirkier, seamier side of life. I am aware that not everyone shares that passion, however, and also felt the need to search for a softer, distinctly Spring-like feel that still kept the Modern Victorian look at its heart.
Loving the determined and somehow quite self-satisfied look on this charming gal’s face (below). It’s as though she’s bested some dastardly bully on the hockey pitch. Great just teamed with jeans or a flippy skirt, tights (blue legs are never a good look, ladies) and biker boots.
I just love this colour combination of sky blue (I always think of it as Wedgewood blue) with a light wheaty beige. Cosy yet distictly Spring-ish rather than Wintery looking, I feel. It’s a tonic for the heart, I swear.
How can you not fall completely in love with this darling Bearded Lady cushion? It’s the traditional pattern & colouring with the striking overlay of the Victorian print that I adore – the conventional slammed together with the bizarre – my favourite style rule of thumb, from homewares right through to fashion!
This pretty little white linen eyelet top has something incredibly feminine and frivolous about it – I could equally see this worn layered with a long boyfriend-style camel cardigan and leggings & ankle boots. Maybe even desert boots (though I’m not absolutely convinced about them yet).
Do have a gander at all the shops listed below – they are a treasure trove of delectable pieces. 🙂
Direct links to items shown:
1st Row: 1) Designed Threads, 2) Bustle, 3) Designed Threads (yes, I like them both, so there!)
2nd Row: 1) Critter Jitters, 2) French Sugar Couture, 3) Southron Creations
3rd Row: 1) Mojo Spa Style, 2) Call Me Mimi, 3) Julishland
4th Row: 1) Ikvotha Mashiach, 2) Utilitarian Franchise, 3) Bunny and Pear
Well, I hope you have enjoyed this little tiptoe through a softer side of modern Victorian style, darlings!
Until next time…
Yours, with Spring in her heart,
Miss Nightingale
x