Frock on Friday, Vintage Dresses and a couple of Skirts

Hi Everyone, hope you have had a good week.  Today I want to show you a few outfits as I am not organised enough to post daily.

First up, a photo of me and my cat Handbag, some blackcurrant jelly being made and some pikelets - all taken the first week of January.  When we returned from our holiday on the West Coast I picked more blackcurrants at our new section of land.  I have made two lots of jelly - the first not so successful, and the second much better.  I have also made a small amount of strawberry jam which is just delicious with fresh pikelets and whipped cream.  My outfit is a cut down home-made maxi dress bought from St Vincent de Paul, a denim jacket bought on sale retail several years ago and the brown shoes (not a good shoe photo I know) I bought in Blenheim for $2.  

This week the weather has been just lovely and I have enjoyed wearing items which do not transition to winter such as this amazing art deco print nylon/polyester skirt below.  I bought this skirt three years ago at the Blenheim Savemart.  I have adjusted it a couple of times as I found the waist to be too bunchy.  Two rows of elastic have improved the comfort immensely.  I am wearing it with a thrifted tee shirt, retail hair flower, belt, bracelets and Melissa shoes.  I also used my straw flower bag bought from the Hospice Butterflies Shop.

 For some weird reason I changed the setting on my camera to super vivid which has brightened up the next outfit too much.  I am wearing a pink Osti polyester dress from Toffs for $2.  The necklace is purchase from this week - I have wanted an aurora borealis style necklace for a while and to my delight I found one at the new Hospice Shop for $6.  

Yesterday I wore a more modern dress - but still vintage, and still not new: a polyester dress dating from the 1980s I think.  I found it at Toffs on the $2 rack earlier this week and knew immediately that even though it said size 18 on the label it was more like a modern 14.  The waist was incredibly tiny as the elastic instead of perishing and stretching seemed to have shrunk so I very very carefully unpicked bits and then snipped, allowing for some stretch.  It is still a bit tight and I need to adjust it again slightly, and in the photos I don't think the blue belt from the Hospice Shop is sitting right but I love it as it is so bright and cheerful.  The beads and bracelets are all thrifted.  The shoes are Melissa bought new a couple of years ago. 

 Today's dress for Frock on Friday was the white and blue polka dot dress below right.  It is another Toffs $2 find and I think from the label it dates from the 1980s.  I am not a great fan of sleeveless dresses but this one has cute pintucks down the front and tiny buttons and fabric loops so I wore a cardigan over it.  

The photo on the left is my old faithful cotton polka dot dress, and in the centre is the skirt I bought at Blenheim Savemart recently teamed up with a thrifted tee shirt.  It was a wrap-around but I sewed it up and put on some hooks and eyes to keep it closed at the waist.  

I bought two other dresses from Toffs this week but have not yet worn them - one is a polyester (surprise surprise) style shirt dress in shades of green and purple.  The other is a red and white polka dot 1980s style with puffy sleeves.  It needs an iron and its been too hot to even consider ironing in the evenings.  Well I am really glad it is Friday night as I am weary of work.  The weather forecast is excellent for the weekend and I am looking forward to some gardening in the sunshine!