Melbourne Vintage Shopping: Part 2 of 3

Click here to read Part 1 of Melbourne Vintage Shopping

While perusing the vintage shopping delights of downtown Melbourne I stopped in a tiny cafe tucked in one of the wee laneways for a coffee. Near the cash register there was a beautiful black & white postcard stuck to the wall with a lovely vintage-looking woman and the name 'Circa Vintage Clothing' and an address underneath.

And thus my next mission was born.

After getting directions from the cafe owner to the suburb of Fitzroy, I set off in search of this mythical vintage clothing shop.

Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Fitzroy is a short walk (or even shorter tram ride) from downtown Melbourne, and it's a lovely spot. The words 'funky', 'kitsch', 'vintage' and 'eclectic' all spring to mind. This is definitely a neighbourhood with character up the wazoo.

Gertrude Street is one of the main shopping drags. I spent most of a day on just one block between Brunswick and Smith Streets (which are also full of shopping opportunities, which I'll cover in Part 3 of my Melbourne Odyssey).

I arrived a tad early and most of the shops didn't open for another hour. Top tip: when shopping in Melbourne don't bother leaving the house until at least 10am - most shops open at 10 or 11am, and sometimes not til noon! Those Melbournians really know how to live!

I got excited walking along the street because even a lot of the signage was beautifully old-school. I killed some time at a cafe called Birdman Eating, which I chose soley based on the fact that I liked the retro typeface in their signage. Turns out that you really can tell a cafe by its cover because the asparagus and olive oil soup was delish!

I recommend the soup...

It's hard to get mad about shops being closed
when the signs are so art deco-ly pretty

Top Pick:
Circa Vintage Clothing
102 Gertrude Street
www.circavintageclothing.com.au

Dresses and handbags and suits, oh my!

Thank goodness I saw that postcard! Circa is the top highlight of my vintage shopping forays on this particular trip. When I entered the shop I swear I could hear angelic music go "La LAAAAAAAA!!!!" because obviously I had stepped into heaven.

And the angels sang... stepping into another

time and place in Circa Vintage Clothing

The interior of the shop is lovely. It's a little like Anton's, only the clothing is vintage instead of new. There is a huge array of stock, including a decent amount of menswear (including things like tuxedo tailcoat suits). Gloves, handbags, scarves, jewellery and accessories are all presented beautifully. It's a joy just to enter the store and soak up the atmosphere. And they're happy to let you do so - I spent AGES in there trawling through every rack, trying on a few things and rifling through their collection of undies and sewing patterns. You'll never want to leave!

Men are well catered for.
You could buy a top hat and tails!

All the displays are artfully put together
and beautiful to behold

Jewelry, accessories, and frilly things

You know how you can find a dress in a vintage/thrift store and think "It looks 1940s-ish, but is it really from the 1940s?" Well in Circa they can tell you. Proprietress Nicole Jenkins is passionate about all things vintage, having started out in costuming and working for film and theatre. She's been collecting vintage items for most of her life and really knows her onions when it comes to identifying the real era of vintage garments from their style, fabric type, fasteners, etc. All the garments in Circa are labelled with their actual vintage, so you know you're getting a 1940s dress and not a 1970s one.

Evening gowns, including quite a few from the 1930s-40s.
Prices range around $145-245

Three original 1930s dresses,
including a satin wedding dress

Frocks and day dresses - prices range from A$145-185
That one in front is an original 1930s number in mint condition

Circa has been going for five years, and for the past two years Nicole has also been hard at work distilling all her knowledge about identifying, collecting, caring for and wearing vintage clothinginto a book, to be launched in about a month's time.

Nicole Jenkins' forthcoming book on collecting vintage clothing

I'll see if I can arrange a Diamond Dame book review. In the meantime, I recommend you wander over to Nicole's blog and have a read, especially if you're based in Australia.

I spent tons of time in Circa, and could have easily stayed there all day chatting to the lovely shop assistant Victoria, but alas I needed to explore the rest of Gertrude Street and beyond. Victoria gave me some names of other vintage stores to check out; one place she sent me is the highlight of Brunswick Street, which I'll cover in Part 3 of my Melbourne vintage shopping odyssey.

And I didn't leave the shop empty-handed! I nabbed this glorious 1940s sewing pattern for A$25.

My new not-even-preloved 1940s dress pattern.
I love the two-tone version - what a humdinger!

It was still sealed in its original envelope, in pristine condition. I've already nabbed the sleeve pattern piece to add 1940s-style sleeves to a different dress pattern I'm making - but that's another story!

Other places of interest on Gertrude Street:

Moustache
124 Gertrude Street
Moustache is a small shop with an unassuming air. It doesn't have the same gloriousness of presentation that Circa has, but a black flowered dress on the mannequin just inside the front door caught my eye and I ventured inside.

Moustache Vintage Clothing

The interior - not huge or fancy, but cheerful nonetheless

After rifling through a few dresses I noticed nothing had price tags. Figuring this to mean "if you have to ask, you can't afford it", I was pleasantly surprised to discover the shop has a one-size-fits-all pricing policy - all dresses are A$65. How refreshingly simple!

I was rapidly succumbing to vintage shopping fever and broke one of my cardinal rules of vintage clothes shopping. Due to my never-ending pile of 'home sewing projects' that never see the light of day, I try to be very strict about refusing to purchase any vintage clothing items that need adjusting or altering, unless they are truly dirt cheap (less than 20 dollars).

However, the fresh Aussie air must have got to me because I purchased two dresses in Moustache that I really rather liked and mostly fit me, more or less. I really liked the fabric of each and I'm sure I can alter them to suit.

This is the dress from the mannequin that initially caught my eye...
(modelled here by Daphne, my trusty sewing dummy)


See the pretty butterfly sleeves!

This dress is a smidge big on me and I don't care for the elasticated waist, but overall it's got loads of potential. Ideally I'd like to take it in a tad, get rid of the elasticated waist (bleah!) and add a belt and some decorative buttons, like this 1930s dress pattern:

I will probably forgo the UFO hat.

Here's the other dress I bought from Moustache:

It's similar to black dress above, but with a sleeveless design,
buttons insead of a side zip, and more fitted/less blousy
in the bodice (and no elasticated waist!)

I totally fell in love with the fawny color and pretty retro-style pattern of the fabric. And it's got POCKETS! It fits me everywhere except it's just a tad too small in the waist, and does that thing where the material strains sideways and the button looks like it's about to pop off. I had to dial Daphne's wait in an inch just to get the dress to fit (her equivalent of 'sucking it in').

You can see how the fabric at the waistline
'pulls' against the button and gapes slightly

I have a cunning plan involving inserting some contrasting side panels to make the dress fit better - it's so crazy it just might work!

I'm pretty sure these dresses are from the 1980s or thereabouts, but I'm more of an 'in-the-style-of' girl rather than a stickler for 'actual vintage'. I prefer to be inspired by and pay homage to the past, rather than be a slave to it.

Faster Pussycat
120 Gertrude Street
www.fasterpussycatonline.com
If you're keen to rock your billy this is the shop for you. I'm not really a rockabilly type but sometimes I find the odd bit of clothing I like in these places so it's always worth a look. I tried on some Bettie Page-style wiggle dresses but nothing fit me very well. What's Bettie got that I haven't got?

Title
183 Gertrude Street
email: orders@titlespace.com
Music lovers and movie buffs will love this joint, for there are scads of hard-to-find, old-school, and rare-as-hens-teeth CDs and DVDs - jazz, soul, funk and blues; arthouse, film noir, classics and docos.

I just about fell over when I spotted something I'd searched for on Amazon but had given up on finding: a complete box set of Buster Keaton's short films .

Eureka! I found it!

Amazon has various Buster Keaton collections but nothing complete and definitive. I wanted ALL his short films in one DVD set. Thank goodness for the folks at Eureka over in the UK, who have done just that. I snapped up the Keaton box set knowing how much my beau and I would love it.

Dr Follicles
240 Gertrude St
This gent's barbershop is next door to the yummy Birdman Eating cafe - make sure you look in the window because it's filled with gorgeous art deco wooden furniture and looks like a Golden Era Hollywood set. This is the kind of place Cary Grant would get his hair cut I'm sure.

It's men only, I'm afraid. And you even get a cold beer with your haircut!

Dante's Cafe
150 Gertrude Street
The windows are plastered in kitsch movie posters, the interior is highly eclectic bordering on just plain strange, and the grilled lamb salad is outstanding.

Dante's cafe. And their many film posters.

That just about wraps up my wanderings around Gertrude Street. There are other vintage shops (look out for Curve and Ruby Red Dress), plus other various interesting artsy/eclectic/groovy places - too many to mention here!

Stay tuned for Part 3 of my Melbourne vintage shopping jaunt, when I reveal a gem of a place on Bruswick Street where you can purchase a real vintage Sally Rand-style burlesque ostrich feather fan ... or a real no-nonsense 1940s girdle!

Melbourne Vintage Shopping: Part 1 of 3

I had the very good fortune recently to spend 4 days in Melbourne, Australia. I have to say that I am in love with the place. It seems to have all the best bits of New York City, Vancouver and Seattle rolled into one, all wrapped up in gloriously happy and sunny Australian packaging. It's the kind of city I could easily see myself living in for a spell.

There's a wonderful array of glorious historic buildings sitting cheek-to-cheek with fabulous modern architecture, and in the central city you can't turn around without stumbling over some quirky public artwork. A vast network of trams criss-crosses the city making transport a breeze and fun to boot. Melbourne has been called one of the world's largest (and most under-appreciated) Art Deco cities, so vintage-minded folks will love soaking up the various historial details that abound in the city.

So with four days at my disposal, I decided to investigate some of Melbourne's vintage shopping opportunities - and trust me, there are plenty. I only managed to scratch the surface in the central downtown area and just one (of the many) near-central shopping precincts.

This trip to Oz was totally last-minute (I decided to tag along with my beau, who was being sent over for work), so I did zero research before I went, and just left things up to the fates.

So, without further ado, here's Part 1 of my four days spent scouring for vintage treasures in sunny Melbourne.

Downtown Melbourne
Central Melbourne city has more shops than you can shake a stick at, and features a labyrinth of tiny 'laneways' bursting with small boutiques, cafes and other delectable designer shops. You could easily spend a few days just poking around in this relatively small area.

Top Picks:
Retrostar Vintage Clothing
corner Flinders Lane and Swanston Street
www.retrostar.com.au

This shop is billed as the 'largest vintage clothing shop in Australia' - so make sure you allocate plenty of time to get round everything. Their stock covers the gamut from the 1940s through the 1980s, but I'd say that (as is the case with most vintage stores) 1970s/80s is the dominant theme.

RetroStar is indeed quite big - allow plenty of time for browsing!

Pricing varies depending on the items. Things of recent vintage (1980s) seem fairly reasonable (for Melbourne) at around A$45-65 for a dress. Here's a couple of 'not-actual-1920s-but-could-pass-for 1920s-with-the-right-accessories' dresses I found:

The pale dress has cute little front pockets, and although the hemline is too short for the 1920s it could easily be lengthened by inserting a panel sash at the dropped waistline.

I really liked the darker dress and it fit nicely, but it was the morning of Day 1 and I didn't want to peak too early with my shopping endeavours. Turns out I ran out of time to make it back to RetroStar at the end of the trip - perhaps if I sent them the photo I could buy the dress by mail-order.

I also found this amazing 1930s style ladies' suit - which fit me PERFECTLY.

Front and back views - apologies for bad changing-room lighting!


The jacket fit like a dream!

I'm not sure if it's actual 1930s or a later era - it was definitely oldish. It did have a few wee holes in the fabric here and there and the jacket lining was extensively ripped, so I put it (and its A$185 price tag) back on the rack.

I was heartbroken to find out that I'd be leaving Melbourne the day before one of RetroStar's famous Warehouse Sales, where oodles of stock is sold off at rock-bottom prices. You can check their website news page for updates on sales - there's another one coming up in December.


Antons
Level 2, Melbourne Central Mall, 300 Lonsdale St
Phone 03 9663 8610

Anton's has a very unique approach to their business: They do no advertising, they have no website, and they don't even have signage on the front of the actual store. You have to either a) stumble across it accidentally, or b) know about its existence and use Google maps to find the darned place.

On the down-low: the unnamed exterior of Anton's
in Melbourne Central mall

Anton's stocks new (not secondand) clothing, which the lovely shop assistant Keira describes as "1940s-inspired with a modern twist". The look is very classic and tailored, but with just a dash of eclectic vaudeville and burlesque elements here and there (as hinted at by their marvellous window display).

I like the devil man...

The shop is an amazing place to browse. There's vintage and kitsch curiosities everywhere; I discover a (life sized?) Yoda statue sitting atop a vintage steamer trunk and peering out from under a display of electric blue satin pussybow blouses.

This is definitely a shop of suits - and all things suitably suity - for men and women. There are no frocks (GASP!), but what they do have in store is luvvvvverly. Anton's may not advertise, but it's proven there's always a market for good craftsmanship and elegant style. Customer service is top-notch. The assistants are friendly and knowledgeable. Impressively, Keira recognised and remembered me from a fleeting visit I made to the shop 6 months ago.

mmmm... can you say "Perfect Wedding Suit?"
photo by xntrek on Flickr

In addition to their 'no advertising' policy (which meant they wouldn't let me take photos inside the store), Anton's has an 'as and when' policy for the clothing ranges. Everything is made in short runs, when they feel like it. When a particular style sells out it may or may not ever be made again. While the runs are short, the overall styles are kept similar - which means if you visit the store 6 months later the items will be a little different but you know you'll still love everything.

Although they don't offer a completely bespoke tailoring service, Keira did note that you can choose to have an existing style made up in your size from any fabric from their available stock.

Suit from Anton's - photo by xntrek on Flickr

And in case you're wondering, there really is an Anton, who's been in the 'rag trade' for 20 years and designs the clothes for the shop. The story goes that he loves vintage style but got tired of having to wear moth-bitten secondhand suits to achieve the look - and hence the idea for Anton's was born and the shop has been going for 15 years now.

It's definitely a bonus to get retro style clothes in brand new, gorgeous fabrics. I tried on a pair of pinstripe slacks in a buttery soft grey material and they draped like nobody's business. The clothes are priced to reflect the quality and workmanship - suit pants are A$298 and suit jackets are $595. They do have a sale rack and an excellent layby option (used by many a poor-but-style-hungry university student).

Melbournians are defintely lucky to have Anton's, but Sydneysiders are in luck too as Anton's has a small shop in Sydney (don't ask me where it is - you'll just have to find it). Although they don't do mail order (surprise surprise), Anton's does do a trunk show in Auckland about once a year where you can try on samples and order items in your size.

Other places of interest:

Coops Shot Tower
After visiting Antons be sure to walk to the other end of Melbourne Central mall to see the wonderful old Coops Shot Tower, a lead shot factory built in 1890. Instead of demolishing it to make way for the mall, it was left standing and a giant glass atrium was built around it. How cool is that?

Coops Shot Tower before and after being swallowed by a mall

City Hatters
If you're in the vicinity of the marvellous Flinders Street Station, there's a lovely shop called City Hatters just under the station (right near the main entrance). The shop dates from 1910, and stocks all manner of dapper headwear from top hats to trilbys.

Flinders Street Station in 1927. It looks much the same today, except in color.

American Tailors
I came across this shop at 68 Bourke Street and was impressed by their spiffing window display. Apparently this is one of the only tailoring places in Melbourne worth their salt.

I say, that's some spiffing stuff, old sport!

Crazy Unnamed Fabric Store
Just a few doors down from American Tailors there is a crazy little fabric store. And when I say 'store', I mean 'hovel'. I was lured inside like a moth to a flame by a shonky-looking sign in the window that said "Vintage Fabrics" - and this is what I found:

Stop the insanity

I think this is where rolls of fabric go to die. Nothing is labelled or appears organised in any meaningful way. I wandered into the back, poked around here and there, couldn't find anything of interest, and then discovered the only way out of the shop (a narrow path about a foot and a half wide) was blocked by two ladies purchasing 28 metres of gaudy green fabric for bridesmaids dresses. 15 minutes later I managed to make good my escape.


Thus concludes Part 1 of my review of Vintage Shopping in Melbourne. Tune in next time to learn about a fan-ta-bu-lous vintage mecca in the suburb of Fitzroy where the owner literally wrote the book on collecting vintage garments...

Click here to read Part 2 of Melbourne Vintage Shopping

A String of Pearls, for a vintage touch of class

Nothing says "classy vintage dame" like a string of pearls - in fact, Glenn Miller even wrote a song about it!

One of my all-time top tips for how to add a dash of vintage style to a modern outfit it to accessorize it with pearls (and I'm pretty sure I was saying it before Sarah Jessica Parker was doing it). Whatever the outfit from boardroom to boudoir, pearls really make the girl.

Diamonds evoke glitter and glamourousness, but can if overdone can actually look tacky and 'try hard'. Pearls, on the other hand, are more refined and sophisticated. They're less 'in your face' but just as classy and without needing to scream from the rooftops. Where diamonds can sometimes be brash, pearls are more quietly self-assured. Sort of a Ferarri vs. BMW kind of thing.

Sure, diamonds are still a girl's best friend (as spoken by a true Diamond Dame), but diamonds do need to be worn judiciously - a sparkly diamond necklace is more of a dress up item, whereas pearls are a hugely versatile accessory that can more easily be worn dressed down as well as fully 'up'.

And, just like diamonds, a classic string of white pearls will go with just about everything in your wardrobe :)

Not for Nannas - pearls are for sexy ladies

When thinking about vintage pearls, the first thing that usually springs to mind is the super-long pearl necklaces of the 1920s flapper era. These pearls mirrored the feelings of the the women who wore them, jangling around freely while they danced the Charleston, evoking a lassiez-faire attitude with a dash of sexuality thrown in.

Pearls were worn by many Hollywood stars and other celebrities in the 1920s, including entertainer Josephine Baker and actresses Pola Negri, Louise Brooks (the ultimate flapper), and Mary Brian, to name just a few.

1920s Alfred Cheney Johnston portrait of Jean Acker
(Johnston actually used a lot of fake jewellery in his early portraits
because he couldn't afford the real stuff - but he knew the effect pearls
would have in the photo, real or not)

Josephine Baker

Pola Negri

Flapper icon Louise Brooks (sporting a lovely pearls-and-feathers combo and
looking like she's off on a date with Hawk from Buck Rogers)

Mary Brian looking totally glamourous

But pearls weren't just the domain of flappers - in the 1930s and 1940s pearl necklaces (and accessories) continued to be worn as a symbol of success, sexuality and glamour, with the longer flapper-length necklaces giving way to shorter styles.

Peggy Knudson (of The Big Sleep fame),
sports a long-yet-short pearl necklace

Ann Miller rocks the sultry 1940s look with short pearls

So what does today's Diamond Dame need to know about pearls? Here's some of the basics:

Are They Real?
If you've got some secondhand pearls bargin-hunted from a flea market or inherited from Aunt Bessie you'll want to find out if they're the real McCoy. If they feel cold to the touch and quite heavy, they're probably real. If you want to get more scientific, check out How to Tell if Your Pearls are Real. Quick summary - if you can crush one by stamping on it, it's ain't real. If you can dissolve it by putting it in a glass of Coca-Cola, it is real (but sadly, dissolved).

Pearls and Perfume Do Not Mix
Perfume contains alcohol which can be damaging to pearls - so spray your Chanel No. 5 on your wrists not on your neck if you're wearing a pearl necklace.

Know your pearl necklace lengths
Choker: About 16”. The most popular length, suitable for both formal and casual occasions.
Princess: About 18”. Longer version of the choker.
Matinee: About 22”. The usual length for daytime wear.
Opera: About 30-32”. The most common length for formal wear–may consist of two strands.
Rope: About 40” or longer. There are a number of variations, including two strands, three strands, and knots.

Freshwater vs Saltwater Pearls
Freshwater pearls come from various species of freshwater mussels that live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. Saltwater pearls grow within pearl oysters that live in salty oceans and are usually farmed in protected lagoons or volcanic atolls.

Generally speaking, freshwater pearls are not as round as saltwater pearls, and don't have the same degree of luster and shine, therefore they tend to be less expensive pearls from saltwater oysters.

Natural vs Cultured Pearls
Natural pearls are created 'by accident' in nature (the kind of pearl you hope to find when ordering oysters in a restaurant). Cultured pearls are created 'on purpose' by human intervention - a small granule is inserted into the oyster to kick-start the pearl formation process.

Essentially, any pearl that is grown and marketed today, (with few exceptions) are considered cultured pearls, whether freshwater or saltwater.

Mikimoto - the Rolls Royce of Pearls

"I would like to adorn the necks of all the women of the world with pearls" -Kokichi Mikimoto [no arguments here!]

Kokichi Mikimoto of Japan is widely regarded as the grandfather of the cultured pearl industry. The son of a noodle maker, he saw the potential for pearls as high end jewellery and way back in 1905 he successfully created the world's first perfectly round cultured pearl. From that moment on, he worked tirelessly to promote the high-quality of Mikimoto pearls - in 1932 he staged a publicity stunt where he burned a mass of inferior quality pearls in order to emphasise his standards of quality.

The 'Yaguruma', a sash clip with interchangeable

settings displayed at the Paris Expo in 1937

Just as you have the '4 Cs' of grading diamonds (cut, color, clarity and carat), pearls are graded based on five characteristics: luster, surface perfection, color, shape and size. Mikimoto pearls are widely regarded to be the best in the world, with only the top 5% of cultured pearls evaluated as good enough to carry the Mikimoto.

Mikimoto pearls were famously worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in the 'Sex and the City' movie. You can buy the same style 'Sex and the City' pearl necklace online for mere US$11,900. Note too that the Carrie Bradshaw character wears them in a variety of scenes, including in bed with Mr Big - proving that pearls really DO go with everything!

From movies stars of yesterday to today - pearls are still a favourite

The Mikimoto range includes some pretty amazing stuff - like this US$1.6million dollar necklace called "Goddess" featuring 25 perfectly matched, perfectly round cultured pearls that took the company almost a decade to create. Oh, and the clasp has 7 carats worth of diamonds. In the CLASP. My mind boggles.

The Mikimoto "Goddess" pearl necklace
(available at the company's showroom at
730 Fifth Avenue, New York, if you're interested)

But don't despair, there's a wide range of Mikimodo pearl jewelry, with quite a few items under US$1,000.

Mikimoto pearls are so sought after that there are quite a few that crop up on the secondhand market, and there's also a lot of fakes around. Genuiune Mikimoto pearls are usually identified by the unique Mikimoto clasp, but there's no telling if someone has used a Mikimoto clasp and put it on an inferior string of pearls. Apparently Mikimoto clasps are are sold on the black market for this express purpose!

If you want to know more, check out this eBay Guide on How To Identify and Buy Mikimoto Pearls

Personally, for a purchase of such value and where imitations abound, I'd want the piece of mind of buying new rather than secondhand.

If you'd like to splash out on yourself, or perhaps make a not-so-subtle suggestion to your significant other (well, Christmas IS coming up, after all!) why not go shopping online to buy Mikimoto pearls. My favourite piece is the triple-strand 18" 'Princess' necklace. Now I just need to find a Prince willing to give it to me :)

Some, dayyyy my Princess necklace will come...