Half Price Sale at my Favourite Op Shop

Today was my lucky day. It was the Half Price sale at my favourite Op Shop in Cronulla. I'd been eying a few pieces in the store for some time and I finally had a reason to buy them. They were all HALF PRICE!

Angora Sweater with Mink Detailing - $8

Purple Sequin top - $6

Matching Sequin skirt - $5 (But it's going to be ebayed - the waist is WAY too big)

Floral Top - $5

Black and Gold Woven Handbag - $4

90s Black Evening dress with Fur Cuffs - $4

Sequin Evening Clutch - $2

The evening dress is a bit big, so I'm taking it in.

It's the perfect 90s remake of a 60's style dress. I'm going to wear it to one of the Mad Men galas for "The Schelling Point." I've got around 6 different outfits I can wear to the Mad Men galas, but I've been dying for an evening dress with fur cuffs my whole life.

Hope Y'all enjoyed my finds! There will be a post soon about the make-over of that horendous phone in "Wiggle Dress and Turn Dial Phones."

My list of Fashion Faux-pas

This might end up as a very controversial post, and I may even get a few blog-haters because of it. But I just wanted to share with y'all my list of fashion faux-pas that bug me...they pinch and twitch and crawl and squirm and I just don't like it. They bug me. Period.

1. Leggings. No one wants to see your camel toe. Cover up, and at least wear tight jeans.

2. Jeggings. Tight jeans does not mean jeggings. Jeggings are an even more unflattering version of leggings. Really, just buy really tight jeans that are really jeans.

3. Boots with more than one access, I.e. a combat boot that laces up, but also has a zipper. Are you too lazy to untie your boot so you need a zipper? I don't get it.

4. Ugg boots outside, especially in the snow. They are slippers! They're not designed to be worn everyday outside. They give you horrible structure and make you shuffle. Also, they're not waterproof and rot if they get wet. Really, the only time you can get away with Ugg boots is when it's below 0 degrees in AUSTRALIA and you've just gone for a surf.

5. Flats that don't fit over your foot. Why wear a pair of shoes that don't fit? They make you shuffle and have bad posture.

6. Flip flops in the winter. It's cold! Cover your feet.

7. Leotards. Now, this may be the controversial thing, but leotards are not flattering. Well, they may be flattering if you're a twig and have a flat stomach, but if there is a bulge anywhere, no way. Just wear a t-shirt, it's the same idea and covers you up. And we all don't want you to walk around flashing all of your Lady Gaga, so a skirt over your leotard and tights is always a modest touch.

8. Fake eye glasses. Why wear glasses at the time of your life when you don't need them? They are cute, but you'll have to wear glasses for 50 years once you turn 30, so savour your good eyesight now! And you can get cute glasses when you really need them.

9. Fake leather bags. This is just a personal pet peeve, but I really don't like fake leather bags. There are great real leather bags that are affordable, just hunt them down. Pleather also feels funny, and the word sounds funny too. Heehee...Pleather.

10. Unoriginal style. Why copy everyone else? Try something different. It's amazing how many groups of girls that I see where I can't distinguish between any of them. There are heaps of looks out there. Don't just take your style advice from the popular stores in your area. And if you want to try to look like you're wearing vintage, at least buy real vintage/op shop. Not some re-make of a 90s dress from Sportsgirl that you could just as easily find in an op-shop for $5.

11. Bad manners. Whatever happened to good manners? "Please" and "Thank you"s are always nice, and answering the question "how are you?" makes everyone's life a little bit sweeter. Plus, it's always fashion-forward to be polite.

I apologize if I offended anyone, but I really needed to vent. But I'm not the only one who thinks these things - just read all the good fashion blogs out there and you'll get my drift. Go Fug Yourself is a good one to catch up on what's popular but shouldn't be. They had a great spread about Lindsay Lohan and all of her leggings. Unfortunately they haven't written anything yet about her going to jail, or her "fuck u" nailpolish. Lindsay always did have nice shoes, though.

The best type of pet

I seem to have accumulated a lovely collection of animal jewelry. They're great pets. They don't make noise, or poo. They don't run away either. And they sparkle, that's always a plus.

People who know know that I swear that i started the owl necklace trend. The silver owl in the top left corner is a vintage piece I bought in 2006. The next summer, Billabong had owl necklaces throughout their shops. I did it! I know I did. My other owl necklace is from Turkey. My Mom brought it back for me from her trip last year. Some of those coins are real Romanian coins. You'll see owls like this in stores in Australia, but I doubt they have real Romanian coins.

My little turtle was my first broach ever. He was my Grandma DJ's. And my little Teddy was given to me by my God Mother. That's amber in his belly. He used to have emerald eyes, but they fell out in the jewelry box over time.

My spider and my shrimp are from a little shop in Melbourne, the crocodile was $10 from Colette Accessories (rival to Stylust...whoops), and the little gecko is from my ex-boyfriend and is a copy of a Cartier piece (he bought it in China).

My new things

Here's just a collection of photos of some of the new things I've gotten recently.

Madonna-esque 80s Lace boots from Etsy

I love Etsy! It's better than Ebay.

Awesome Dr. Strangelove Glasses

Grey Alaskan Knitted Fur Hat from Stylust

Rose Rings ($5 each from Colette! Bargain!)

(...shhh....Colette is the rival store to Stylust)

Measurement Worksheet

Does this happen to you? Whenever I take my measurements to either find out what size pattern I need, or to draw up my own, I always loose them after I've finished the project. Well, I've found a solution. On One Pretty Thing I found a printable measurement worksheet by Keyka Lou. It's cute and you can just file it away and it helps you keep track of all of your measurements. I've even used this sheet for the measurements of some of the actors I need to make costumes for. I just thought I'd share, since it's a great tool.

Printable Measurement Worksheet

Just another reason to live in Paris

How great is this? A cafe where you can get a great cuppa and then rent a sewing machine and DIY with other fellow DIYers. There is nothing better than sewing with good company.

Sweat Shop Cafe - OutsaPop