Rounding off Spring Fashion Week

Although I’ve loved Fashion Week, I have to admit that there wasn’t much I’d actually buy – but this is not so much a reflection on what’s on the catwalks as a reflection on me. I think I’d still take more delight in rummaging through piles of clothes at flea markets or unearthing treasures no one else wants at op shops even if I was so rich I could clean my ears with Prada cotton buds and clean between my teeth with dental floss by Dolce & Gabbana (which may not exist, but you know what I mean). Which is why I was delighted to find this wool cape at Vinnies yesterday for $5.

This sort of find delights me because it makes me think about who might have worn it before… I mean, when was the last time in history that capes were so popular that people would go to the trouble of knitting them? It would have been the 50s or 60s, right? And this one has very distinctively shaped shoulders which are exactly right for me... which makes me think maybe this was originally for a child as my shoulders are so narrow, but also because it’s very short. I can just imagine a little girl heading off to school with her hair in plaits and this cape swinging on her shoulders… my hair doesn’t take kindly to plaiting and it was horribly windy today so I wound it up in a scarf instead.

My Self-stitched September stuff isn’t really worth commenting about – I just altered the neckline on this grey long-sleeved T and made an extra buttonhole in the waistband and shifted the fly on these cut-off shorts so they would sit on my hips as they were originally men’s jeans which were way too big for me. More worthy of a comment, and a perfect way to round off Fashion Week for me was the Round She Goes market today.

I’d heard of this vintage/handmade market before but it’s always been on when I’ve been busy or held somewhere inconvenient, whereas today it was in the Collins 234 building in the city – where I just happened to be for a meeting. It made it all too easy to drop in before lunch… (danger, danger!!)
I was there for all of 5 minutes before I bought some brand new espadrilles for $5, but I’ll save them for an outfit post. Meanwhile, here are some snaps from the market – most captivating were the stalls selling vintage jewellery, some of which was wooden and lucite jewellery from the 40s or so, made by the man who went on to set up Mattel, according to the stallholder!
I love the display case… and look at the great detail in the pieces!

The same stall had other sweet pieces like this brooch of a donkey with a cart full of fruit for only $10… so tempting but it’s not really my style, plus I just blew $15 at the op shops yesterday (on the cape and two other tops which I’ll post about later).

More cases full of more temptation…

Apart from second hand/vintage stuff there were also quite a few stallholders selling things they’d made, such as ties refashioned into headbands and hats decorated in recycled fabrics. It’s always great to see so much creativity on display!