Andi B. Goode

And now for something completely different!

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:29:00 +0000

No, don't worry - it's not John Cleese in a bikini! And it's probably not actually completely different but it is a little bit of a change, though it is still an outfit post.

Lately I've just been feeling the itch to change up my style a little - don't get me wrong, I'm still in love with what I've been wearing the past...4 or so years but I've had the urge to wear little '60s or '70s style dresses that seem to be fairly popular at the moment. And to not set my hair! I actually started writing up a post about how I've been feeling about clothes, lately, and the style I've created for myself but I'm not sure if I will finish it or not, yet.

Outfit details: bow hair clip - not sure but possibly Forever 21; dress - Dotti; vintage brooch - etsy; bangles - Salvo's; shoes - Big W.

I bought this nail polish for $3 from Price Attack (the brand is Colour by TBN) and, for a cheap nail polish, it's surprisingly very good.

To be completely honest, I had more fun getting ready that night than I have in a really long time. I don't know if many more dresses like this one will find their way into my wardrobe, but I will definitely be keeping this one in regular rotation. I can't wait until it's cooler and I can wear it with tights and cardigans.

(I also wonder if all the episodes of New Girl I've been watching influenced this outfit, too. I started out with a vague dislike of the show and now I'm addicted. I love/hate when that happens!)

I occasionally search etsy for vintage name brooches - not in the hopes of finding my own name but for old names that aren't used as much today and when I saw this one for 'Babe' I had to get it. Mainly because 'babe' is my favourite adjective to use when I talk about attractive people!

My hair didn't keep the lovely loose curls I created with my straightener for very long - my hair just will not take to heat styling, no matter what I do.

Ruffly shoes!

My friend Kate posing for the camera - she's wearing a dress that she bought at Coles! I was very impressed when she told me. And she made the cute oversized bow in her hair.

I seem to bring out only the best poses and facial expresses in my friends when I photograph them! Photographing my friends is something I intend to do more often (though I have, of course, been saying this for years!)

Perhaps I will finish that post about how I've been feeling about my style, lately - anyone interested in reading something like that?

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Art, art, art

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:08:00 +0000

I have to start this post by saying that I'm quite overwhelmed by the amount of people who commented on my last art post! It's so encouraging to get that kind of feedback and I really appreciate it. I must admit that my motivation has plateaued since my last post so I've only managed to make a small number of drawings since then, but I've photographed them to share, anyway.

I watched this video (Dumb Dumbs by Supercute!) which I thought was OK but I was really taken with the heart-shaped blush and wanted to draw a picture of someone sporting it. Oh, and definatalie has drawn some really cool illustrations with heart blush, as well. I didn't see those until after my drawing but I love her work and find it inspirational, too.

This one was inspired by this but I've simplified the details, etc. Apologies for the slightly blurry photo, though!

This wasn't inspired by anything in particular...except for perhaps these heart eye-lashes from ASOS.

I don't think I'm 100% satisfied with any of these but I definitely still like them. I was hoping to start selling prints soon but, alas, I cannot afford the scanner I would need to do so. Until then I'll keep posting some drawings intermittently and hope that I can save up enough money for a scanner. I'd rather not sell any original pieces until I have the means to get good quality reproductions of them. I also need to think of a name to sell my art under, as well. Hmm. Thinking cap on!

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Etsy update

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:11:00 +0000

Firstly, thank-you to everyone who participated in my survey - I closed it earlier today and I'll be going through the results and possibly posting a round up here but that all depends on whether I find it necessary or not. Either way, I appreciate everyone who took the time and apologies to those who no longer can (I felt I had all the feedback I needed).

Now, to the point of the post: an etsy update. As I mentioned in my first etsy post, I will probably be listing things quite slowly but I will definitely post an update here whenever I've got a few new listings done.

Vintage 50s blouse / aqua and white western / 35 bust

1990s dress / tan gingham shirtwaist / 22 to 29 waist

Vintage 40s/50s dress / moss green polka dot / 28 in. waist

I've actually already made a couple of sales, which is lovely, but three of my original listings are stil in the shop so please take a look at those, too: Andi B. Goode, Vintage etc.

Love,

Andi B. Goode
x

Blue & white stripes and cherries ripe

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:16:00 +0000

I went out for tea for my sister's birthday, the other night, and despite feeling miserable because of the heat (I'm really a mild weather kind of girl, to be honest) I managed to put together an outfit I ended up liking quite a lot. I'm not sure if this dress has made its way to the blog before but it's one that I like to throw on when I'm not sure what else I should wear. This is the first time an outfit centred around it has come together so well, actually.

Outfit: scarf - op-shop; sunglasses - ASOS; earrings - made by me; brooch - gift; 1960s dress - etsy; belt - ?; bangles - op-shops; shoes - etsy.

I can't believe that I've not blogged about this beautiful necklace, yet! Mum got it for me for Xmas (after I'd pointed her in the right direction) and I'm completely in love with it. I've adored these cherry necklaces from afar for quite a while, now, as they tend to go for more money than I have. But this one ended up being a lot less than most I've seen, which is how it made its way from etsy to my neck. It also goes nicely with my handmade cherry earrings & the brooch I've had for years.

My bracelets nearly match the stripes of my dress.

Oh, and I've also put together a survey - it would be great if anyone who has the time could fill it out for me! I would be very grateful as I'm hoping it will help me take my blog a little further this year.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Diner dress & heart brooch

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:34:00 +0000

On Monday I went to the cinema to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - I was wary of the film having enjoyed the Swedish adaptation as well as the book, so I was happy when I ended up liking the film very much. However, this post is not to write about the film but to show off what I wore to see it.

Outfit details: 1950s dress - etsy; 1940s/50s brooch - etsy; belt - gift; shoes - etsy.

I've said this before and I will say it again: I'm not a particular fan of Valentine's Day. However, I do love vintage Valentine's ephemera and also these very sweet pins. Isn't this just adorable? It combines some of my favourite things: bows, hearts and plastic. (Vintage plastic, of course.) I've found a few more similar brooches on etsy since I bought this one (one of them was a steal but was bought up whilst I was sleeping & waiting for an answer on shipping costs)...I think I started looking for them after Art Deco Dame had posted about her collection.

I feel like this dress has a very 1950s diner waitress vibe to it. I especially love the check fabric on the cuffs & at the collar as well as the oversized buttons.

This ring was made for me by one of my friends, as a Xmas gift.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Playsuit & ankle socks

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:41:00 +0000

Gosh, it's been nearly a month since I've done an outfit post on here! To be honest, I just haven't felt like taking photos of myself (in fact, these were snapped really quickly by mum, not me, on the way out) for quite a while.

I wore this out for a fun day with a friend - walking in the city, burritos for lunch, a lovely swim, watching High Fidelity and home made dinner - because I knew I wanted to wear something super comfortable. And this 1930s playsuit, that I bought from adelinesattic a while back, is definitely one of the most comfortable things that I own.

Outfit details: sunglasses - Dangerfield; earrings - made by me; playsuit - etsy; bracelets - various; socks - Happy Socks; shoes - Payless.

I love this fabric - I'm not usually one for floral patterns (to wear) but with the plaid base how could I resist? I also love the colour combination - I was originally going to wear it with peach accessories but I think the yellow works a lot better.

I haven't been setting my hair much, lately, instead opting to wear it in two braids. Being able to wear my hair like this is one of the main things stopping me from cutting my hair shorter.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Andi B. Goode on etsy

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:36:00 +0000

I had planned on making today the return of the regular movie feature I used to do, however I am posting with a little announcement, instead.

After literally years of saying I was going to sell off some unwanted vintage pieces on etsy, I've finally taken the plunge. There aren't a lot of things listed at present but I'm going through the pile slowly...as they are all pieces from my personal collection, there isn't a lot of variety in the way of sizing, unfortunately.

I'm neither completely sold on the banner I made, nor the name of the shop but it was what I used at the last vintage fair I went to and I thought it would do for now. At the moment I've only listed shipping options for Australia because I was feeling a bit lazy, but if anyone outside of Australia is interested in anything, send me a message on etsy and I'll add other shipping options! I will probably be adding other options (or just an 'everywhere else') quite soon, anyway.

This is what I've managed to list so far:

Vintage 50s/60s dress / Brown Stylised Check Design / 27 Waist

Vintage 80s Dress / Pink & Mauve floral design / 26-29 waist

Vintage 50s/60s dress / Grey & green plaid / 27in waist

Vintage 1940s dress / Dove grey long-sleeved / 26 in waist

Vintage 1940s/1960s dress / grey green Gala Gown Melbourne / 27 in waist

Andi B. Goode, Vintage etc.

Please do take a look and I might post updates here as I list new lots, if anyone is interested in keeping up to date.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

I love your friends, they're all so arty

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:24:00 +0000

All the way back at the beginning of 2010 I posted a small selection of the photographic work that I had done in the graduating year of my visual arts degree. Since then, I haven't posted any of my art here (I've posted a few craft projects since then, though) - partly because I haven't really been making any art but I've finally decided to have faith in my abilities as an artist and just make work.

Another reason is that I felt, no matter how much this is my blog & I can obviously post whatever I want to, that posting my art didn't fit in with the vague 'theme' I'd made for myself here. But the aesthetic of my work is almost always inspired, at least in part, by my love of the 1940s and 1950s so I thought I'd post a small sampling of what I've been working on lately. (I've also been struggling to blog at all so, until I find the time to sit myself down and brainstorm, I figured this was as good a thing to blog about as any other.) Hopefully it's enjoyable to my regular readers, and a welcome change of topic, rather than a nuisance. (Though I suppose it's vintage link is no more tenuous than my ukulele posts. Ha.)

At the moment I'm not doing any photographic work but have returned to my first love: drawing. And then painting the drawings with watercolours. I'm getting happier with my work the more that I do and have had some lovely & wonderfully encouraging comments on both Tumblr & Instagram.

I was thinking of doing an entire series of these floating heads but wasn't sure how many I could do before they got boring and repetitive.

A piece of fanart in celebration of Mink Stole's character in Pink Flamingos, Connie Marble.

I've tentatively written 'cherish' on the banner on her left arm - no other reason than it was the first word that popped into my head.

When I started looking at the picture above this one, she made me think of Helga from Hey Arnold! but I was sad that she didn't have a mono-brow. I decided I needed to draw my own version of a grown-up Helga (but not too grown up - she still wears a giant pink bow and has 'Arnold' tattooed on her arm) and that's what I did!

Anyway, I'd love to know what you all think! I've always been uncomfortable calling myself an artist but I've recently realised that I need to make myself stop caring - I am an artist and shall endeavour to feel comfortable to refer to myself as such. I also need a scanner as photographing my work isn't that great.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Musical Interlude {Fabienne Delsol}

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:30:00 +0000

Well, it's definitely been a while since I've done a 'musical interlude' post but I'm toying with the idea of doing one every other Sunday (and maybe finally starting up my Silver Screen Sunday posts again on the alternate weeks...) Until I decide, you can all at least (hopefully) enjoy today's music post!

As you all probably know by now, my personal style tends to reflect the fashions of the 1940s and 1950s, but when it comes to music I'm usually more drawn toward the 1960s. This little fact is exactly why I'm so in love with the French singer Fabienne Delsol and her infectious (but never, to me anyway, overbearing) brand of indie-pop music.

Fabienne Delsol's music reflects all of my favourite aspects of 1960s music (wikipedia describes it as a blend of UK garage, pop and psychedelic), with many tunes having a distinct yé-yé flavour. In fact, the first song I ever heard by her was a cover of France Gall's Laisse Tomber Les Filles at a club I used to go to when I was 19 or so. I asked the DJ what it was and he just showed me the cover of the first volume of So Frenchy So Chic and I soon went out to buy it. It wasn't until quite a few years later that I acquired more of her music. As an aside, this song was possibly more famously covered by April March, in English, as Chick Habit, featuring on the soundtrack for Tarantino's Death Proof but also, where I first heard that particular cover, on the soundtrack for But I'm a Cheerleader.

I only have two out of Fabienne Delsol's three albums and am finding it very difficult to find copies of the albums released by the band she was in, The Bristols (except to download on iTunes and I'm rather old-fashioned in that I like having a physical copy of things that I pay for, which is something I'm sure I will have to get over one of these days. I've been searching eBay and there are a few copies floating about, at least). Since I got a turntable for Christmas that isn't attached to a great big ugly 1990s stereo, I've decided to start collecting more vinyl and I think Fabienne Delsol's albums might be some of the few I get!

I mentioned earlier in the post that she was also the singer of a band, The Bristols, who are no longer together. But they made even more fantastic music reminiscent of the 1960s. One of my favourite tracks is this cover of The Dave Clark Five's Can't You See That She's Mine

Hopefully some of you have discovered a new (to you) artist to enjoy because sharing the music I love is definitely one of my greatest pleasures. If you'd like me to continue sharing please let me know - as I said, I'm just toying with the idea of doing this as a regular feature. For now, you can always go to this neat site I found that allows you to stream all of the music posts any individual user makes on their tumblr: trntbl.me. Enjoy!

Love,
Andi B. Goode
x

I'm just a kid again, doin' what I did again

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:28:00 +0000

It's been rather a while since I last posted a ukulele video but, as I uploaded one last night, I thought it was about time to post another. I'm really not sure how interesting these are for everyone but I shall continue to post them, anyway!

This one is a short recording of a sweet little ditty written in 1926 that most of you will know: When the Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob Bobbin' Along). The song was written by Harry M. Woods and, since 1926, has been recorded by many artists including fellow uke player Cliff Edwards, as well as Al Jolson, Doris Day, Dean Martin, et al. It's a very fun and simple song for me to play, so I hope you all enjoy listening to it.

Since the last time I did one of these posts, I've actually uploaded a few videos to my YouTube channel (which you are all more than welcome to subscribe to) but I don't want to inundate you all with videos of me singing and playing, so I shall just add one more to this post.

A while back on Tumblr, I asked my followers for requests/suggestions of songs I should do. I got 5 (or maybe 6) responses...and only recorded one so far. Eep! Anyway, this song has also been covered by a few artists but was originally by The Zutons and was then covered famously by Amy Winehouse on Mark Ronson's album Version. I have so much fun playing this song, too, so I hope you like this one, as well!

If there are any other musicians (uke players or otherwise) out there who have some music up online I'd love to have a listen! I'm still at the stage where I'm only covering other people's songs for YouTube but I hope to start dabbling in song-writing a bit more this year.
Love,Andi B. Goodex

Ceramic Kitties

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:24:00 +0000

Well, happy 2012 dear readers! A lot of other bloggers have been doing posts to reflect on 2011, but I honestly don't want to look back, right now. I did post my favourite outfits of 2011 on Tumblr (you can see the first part here and the second part here) and that was fun but other than that I'm not feeling particularly reflective.

Instead, I decided my first post of 2012 could be dedicated to my ceramic kitty collection. A little while ago I made mention of said collection and a few of you said you'd be interested to see a post on it, so here you go.

Most of these were bought from various op-shops and have no particular significance other than that I thought they were sweet. It's a very small collection at the moment, but it's growing and I'm always on the lookout for more. I started out collecting small ceramic animals in general but then decided to focus mainly on cats. Most of these are no bigger than two inches tall (or long, for those lying down) and I prefer the smaller sized ones to any bigger.

These were in my dad's step-dad's house and, when my dad was clearing it out after his step-dad passed away, he saved these for me.

I love the serene look on this little one's face.

This is the biggest kitty in my collection - as you can see, she's a vase but I just use her as a display piece. I love the little bonnet and that she's carrying an umbrella.

These are the newest pieces to be added to my collection - they're salt and pepper shakers and I bought them at the North Adelaide Vintage & Fashion Fair just before Christmas. Hopefully I haven't opened up the floodgates of salt and pepper shaker collecting, now! They were too lovely to leave behind, though.

I can't remember where I got these from but their stylised design is very different from the other cats I've been collecting. They live in a different part of my room from the others, too.

I hope you all enjoyed this - I love doing posts like this because it gives me incentive to photograph my collections and keep a visual record of them. I also just love being able to share my various collections with all of you.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Happy holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:18:00 +0000

I haven't been feeling the holiday season much this year but my mum made my two Midge dolls (I've decided they're twin sisters) Christmas dresses from some scrap fabric we had, so I took this little holiday photo to wish all of my blog readers a happy holiday season! I hope you are safe and well in whatever you are doing and I will most likely be back to my regular blogging in 2012 so happy New Year, too. (And one of my posts will definitely be about my Midge dolls, so everyone who was keen on more Barbie posts should keep their eyes peeled!)

Happy holidays from me and Midge & Midge, the Hadley Twins!

Love,
Andi B. Goode

Two Cinema Outfits

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 09:29:00 +0000

As the subject of this post probably suggests, I went to the cinema on two different occasions last week. The first time was to see Rebel Without a Cause at the Mercury Cinema (part of the same season during which I saw Johnny Guitar when I wore this dress) and I opted to try to channel Natalie Wood's wardrobe from that film...which I suppose ended up not looking very different to a lot of what I usually wear, anyway!

I wore the skirt from the stutterinmama order I posted about at the beginning of the month, as it reminded me of the green skirt Natalie Wood wears near the beginning of the film, though hers was a darker more olive green and she had a really cute matching cardigan, too.

Outfit details: 1950s cardigan - etsy; scarf - ?; black top - Target; 1950s pencil skirt - etsy; vintage stockings - ?; shoes - KMart.

I wore the second outfit to (finally) see Midnight in Paris (which I loved and had ambitions to write about after I'd watched it...but still haven't written anything) on a rather warm day. I basically planned this outfit around a new pair of shoes I'd bought the day before...

The belt is from another dress but the tan colour of my shoes matched the belt quite well and I thought it was a nice way to tie the outfit together.

You can see one of the newest additions to my slowly growing collection of ceramic kitties just to the left of my face in this photo - maybe one day I'll do a post on my collection if anyone is interested?

Outfit details: white bow - bought a set of these somewhere ages ago; heart necklace - belonged to my nonna; 1940s dress - etsy; sweetheart pin - etsy; bangles - various; shoes - KMart.

Here's a not particularly good shot of the shoes - they're from K-Mart and I think they have a very 1940s feel to them.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Polka dots, doilies & buttons

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:41:00 +0000

I was so excited about getting my stutterinmama order (which I posted about here), last Wednesday, that I had to wear the dress out the very next night when I went to the Mercury Cinema to see Johnny Guitar as part of the Nicholas Ray season. I'd initially wanted to go in something that channelled Joan Crawford but after this arrived I scrapped that idea.

Outfit details: 1940s dress - etsy; 1960s earrings - church op-shop; belt - gift; bangles - various; shoes - KMart.

I love the twin collar and pocket flap details on this dress (where the 'doilies' in the subject comes from) - it's a sweet little addition and I think it breaks up the polka dots quite nicely.

I didn't manage to take very many photos of myself but if you want a closer look at my earrings (that I got at an op-shop last week - one of the few pairs of clip-ons I can actually wear without too much pain), I posted a photo from photobooth on Tumblr.

These may still be round buttons but I think the black centre makes them a little different. I also like how they're doubled up.

I'm not sure how much more blogging I will get done in 2011 - I'm feeling both exhausted and overwhelmed, right now (as I'm sure many of us are at this time of year) so, as a consequence, haven't much had the right frame of mind for blogging. I'm hoping to get some ideas down and make 2012 a bigger and better blogging year for me. There will, hopefully, be a post or two before the end of the year but just in case inspiration doesn't strike, I thought I'd say something!

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Grey Chairs

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:36:00 +0000

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post about the yellow vintage chairs I had found for my future home. Today, I would like to show off the grey vintage chairs I found to go with them. First, though, a little story. When I wrote about the yellow chairs, I mentioned how I fell in love with them immediately...

It wasn't just the colour but the use of two different fabrics in such an interesting (to me, anyway) way and the combination of plain and pattern, too. So, when I was out for a drive, one day, and saw some grey chairs that I thought might go with these I had to go straight over to the shop selling them. When I got up close and saw they were practically the same, I got very excited. It was short-lived, however, when I noticed they were selling the chairs as a set with a 1970s-ish table (very boring and completely useless to me) - I asked if they'd break up the 'set' but they wouldn't. So, I went away feeling a bit sad but hopeful that I'd at least find some nice grey chairs in the future.

But each time I drove past the same shop I had to look to see if the chairs were still there, sitting outside...one day I finally gave in and went back and, to my delighted surprise, noticed they were no longer being sold with the table and that I would actually be able to have my dream grey chairs after all! Hurrah. I put them on hold and picked them up last week and now I can show them to all of you.

As you can see, unlike the yellow chairs, the grey sections are patterned, too, which I think makes a nice little difference between them (aside from the colours, of course.)

I honestly still can't believe my luck! To find the exact same style in the very colour I was hoping to find. I'm sure it helps that they were made by a South Australian company but it doesn't make me any less excited about them.

Has anyone else had such a fortuitous find? I know I've read about this sort of thing on other blogs and it really makes me think about all of the matching sets or even just similar items that are out there waiting to come together one day.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Etsy got me again...

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:31:00 +0000

Being a bit Barbie crazy, lately, I've found that I haven't done much, if any, shopping of the human-sized clothes variety. However, the other night I made the fortuitous mistake of browsing etsy (after promising myself I wouldn't - oops) and seeing that one of my favourite stores was happily one of the many having a holiday sale.

I was on the verge of getting the dress pictured below but, as beautiful as it is, and despite the fact that it's not so easy to find something like this in my size, it just wasn't practical. That's always a terrible thing to realise and sometimes I will admit it doesn't stop me but this time, alas, it did. I rarely get to wear some of the other fancier dresses I have and, whilst I could wear this to do the shopping if that's what I truly wanted, I still have my own set of thoughts about what sort of thing I like to wear and feel comfortable wearing (not what I think one should wear) on different occasions. And I can't envision myself having the occasion to wear this in the near future, so I decided to get three other pieces that had been in my favourites from this shop, instead.

{1950s emerald green party dress}

(...I'm still swooning over this dress, though. That colour! The bows on the back! Sigh.)

In all of my etsy browsing, I rarely see skirts that will fit me and that I actually like, so I thought getting this was a very good idea. Plus, it's such an interesting colour, don't you think? Of course the problem (for me, anyway) with getting separates is that I've such a small but eclectic collection and it gets tricky finding two pieces that actually suit each other! Then again, it also means I get to play dress-ups when this arrives to see what will go with it. Hurrah.

I have a lot of cardigans but very few pullover jumpers, so I felt this was a good purchase, especially as it's in my favourite 'neutral' colour: red.

And last, but not least, I got this beauty. It's so sweet and I love the colour and detailing, like the doubled buttons and doily-esque additions to the pockets and collar. I think this dress could be easily dressed up as well as worn in a more casual setting. To be honest, I've started looking for this in dresses more often, lately.

If anyone hasn't checked out stutterinmama on etsy, I highly suggest taking a look, even if it's just to ogle. I've never been anything but impressed by the selection on offer and I just wish I could buy everything in my size! Did anyone else take advantage of the various sales (I actually had to google 'black Friday' so all of my American twitterers tweets make a lot more sense now) across etsy?

Love,
Andi B. Goode
x

Sheer blouse and hair flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0000

After many years of admiring sheer blouses on others, I finally bought one of my own...and then spent a lot of time at home, on the couch, writing essays and generally not feeling in the 'getting dressed up' mood. Luckily, the end of uni not only brought relief from having to write so much but it also brought the opportunity to wear aforementioned blouse. Last Tuesday I went to the end of year drinks for my course at the art gallery and, whilst I was dragging my feet a bit about going, ended up being very excited after I had realised it was a great time to wear my new blouse out.

Outfit details: hair flowers - various; cherry earrings - made by me; sheer 1940s/50s blouse - etsy; brooch - Fisherman's Wharf Markets; bracelets - various; belt - gift; 1930s skirt - Red Ruby Vintage; 1950s wedge sandals - etsy.

As you can see I have the annoying 'bra strap falling off the shoulder' problem. Why does that only ever happen with shirts or dresses you can't get your hand into properly to pull it back up again? I wish everything had those neat little loops at the shoulder to keep your bra straps in place - I don't think this is something I could sew them into, either. Ah well. I still love this blouse!

I had really wanted to wear one of my many vintage hats (which, unfortunately, don't see the light of day nearly enough) but none of them sat right with my hair like this. So, I just stuck a whole lot of flowers in, instead! Oh, and I love the buttons up the back of the blouse - I know it's not a necessarily uncommon detail but it's one that I love.

The best part of the night was when they announced the essay prizes for each subject because one of them was awarded to me! The essay that I wrote for Modern Art (about three female photographers from the 1930s and how they explored representation of women through self-portraiture) won me a whole heap of art books, which will make up for the texts I had to buy in first semester. Also, I really love light green & some kind of pink together, right now. I'd be wearing it more but I don't have much in the way of either light green or any kind of pink. Time to get some more, maybe?

As a last aside, I'll be selling off some clothes (ranging from the '40s-now) at the North Adelaide Vintage & Fashion Fair today, so if you're in Adelaide, do pop along!

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Pedal pushers and a record bag

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:30:00 +0000

When I saw Tuppence Ha'penny's post on how to make a bag from old vinyl records, quite some time ago, now, I was very excited. I remember having instructions for something similar many moons ago but never got around to making one. This time, I was determined to do it! And, so I did. (Just realised the bag looks tiny in the picture below because my hand is so close to the camera. Ha.)

I used two records: one by James Last which I don't think shall be missed as they are everywhere and one by Liberace which are also to be found in nearly every op-shop I've been to. (I've kept the Liberace cover to frame or use somehow in the future). I also cut up an old (as in, I bought it some years ago, not vintage) dress that has a very cute print and bought some handles from Spotlight. I only cut myself once (when I was trying to change the blade in my stanley knife) and had a lot of fun. I'm not sure it's the best bag for an Australian summer so I'll use it on cooler days or at night when there's no sun to buckle it.

I took it out for a test run on the same day I took my new-to-me 1960s top for a first outing, too. I'm thinking I would like to attach a pom-pom trim to the bottom of the top.

Outfit details: record bag - handmade by me; 1960s cropped top - etsy; pedal pushers - Miss Hussy; shoes - K-Mart.

As an aside, I stupidly deleted two comments, instead of publishing them, from my last post. And I didn't even see who left them first! Argh. So, if you don't see your comment on that post, that's because it was deleted. So sorry! It was definitely a mistake.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Friday at Regattas

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:47:00 +0000

After finishing all of my uni work, I felt at a bit of a loss as to what to do so I was very happy to have a super fun night out at Regattas, last night, with some great company and very good music as a soundtrack, as it were. I even took some photos of things that aren't me for a change!

I wore pretty much the same outfit that I wore in this post so I didn't bother to take a full length shot - well, there was that and the fact that it was the hottest day of the week and I didn't feel much like posing.

One of my goals is to start taking more photos of my friends, so I made sure to snap a few photos of the very lovely, Miss Kitty Boo.

Miss Kitty Boo's sparkly handbag and strawberry daiquiri.

My two (non-alcoholic) strawberry drinks. They were both very yummy.

Betty Jane hiding behind her gorgeous Jane Russell handbag...

but I managed to snap a shot of her, anyway!

Lots of people were dancing but it was still too warm, even after the sun went down, for me to do anything but sit back and soak up the atmosphere.

Also, be sure to check out my guest post at Casey's Elegant Musings - I only had time to write up an outfit post, but I was super chuffed that Casey asked me as she's been one of my favourite bloggers since before I started blogging myself.

Hope you're all having fabulous weekends! I've got some blog reading to catch up on and comments to reply to, so I think that's how I'll be spending my Sunday.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

My newest obsession...

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:33:00 +0000

One of the things that kept me going through my blog's disappearance, as well as the last few weeks of uni, was my latest obsession (or, perhaps, 're-obsession' is more accurate!): Barbie. I'm not going to say every little girl loved Barbie growing up because I hate generalisations like that but I can tell you this little girl did! I realised I must have had nearly 30 dolls (including 4 Kens and various friends & siblings) plus cars and caravans and a disco and a horse...plus lots of clothes for them as well as a couple of books and comics. It's kind of embarrassing to realise I was actually more than a bit spoilt.

A few weeks ago something spurred me to get out my old dolls and the pangs of regret over culling my collection by nearly half a few years ago were so strong that I set out to find all the dolls I used to have but got rid of. One thing led to another and I've found myself collecting Barbie dolls in earnest again, though I've mainly been buying vintage/vintage reproduction ones (I do have one that I had as a child on the way, though, and a few more on my watch-list!)

Anyway, I thought I'd share a few photos of what I have so far and hopefully it interests at least a few of you! (If you want a little more info about the dolls, you can click on the links below each photo.)

{The Original Teenage Fashion Model Barbie Doll, 2009}

I actually bought this doll when it was first released in 2009 - I was so excited as I'd admired the original Barbie doll ever since I was a little girl but had never thought about collecting vintage dolls. I remember when I bought this how happy I was - she has pride of place on one of my bookshelves and is still in her display box.

{Campus Spirit Giftset, 2008}

I remember seeing this giftset in the shops when it first came out but couldn't bring myself to spend the $120 it cost on it. So, when I was browsing eBay and saw that a local store (as in, there is a physical location near me) had it for only $70 I had to go grab it! A lot of serious collectors wouldn't have taken the set out of the box at all but I'm not fussed about that sort of thing at this point. Plus, it was easier to photograph! They do still live in the box, though, just because it's one less thing for me to dust. Oh, and Ken's speech/thought bubble says 'My favorite part of the game? The huddle with Barbie!' Corny, huh?

{Vintage Straight Leg Skipper Doll}

My first actual vintage Barbie purchase was this vintage Skipper doll, dated between '64 and '66. She's Barbie's little sister and I think she's rather sweet. She's now dressed in her original swimsuit & red flats, which my mum bought for me, but I don't have any other photos of her, yet.

{Vintage Dramatic New Living Barbie Doll}

My second vintage purchase was this mod-era Barbie. I love her rooted lashes and 'groovy threads'. That gold and silver swimsuit is something else, no?

{Solo in the Spotlight reproduction Barbie Doll wearing Fancy Free}

This is the latest eBay arrival - I bought her to model some of the vintage Barbie clothes I've bought (only this dress has arrived so far) while they're not on my other dolls. I'm a bit in love with this dress - I wish I had Barbie's early wardrobe all in my size! I probably could have done a whole 'outfit' post just of this dress on this doll. You can see more photos on my Flickr stream.

One thing that's rather tickled me is learning that Barbie and all of her friends have last names and everything - Barbie's full name is apparently Barbara Millicent Roberts.

I hope that was fun to look at. Would anyone be interested to see semi-regular Barbie updates from me? As I get new dolls/clothes and as I learn a little more along the way. Or should I just keep the photos to Flickr and the occasional Tumblr crossover? (And I know this is my blog, but I like to post things others are interested in as well!)

I have photos of all of the Barbie dolls I currently have up on my Flickr, too, for anyone interested. Oh, and I tried to think of some kind of snappy, clever title but this is the best I could come up with. Ha.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

This Filthy World

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:38:00 +0000

I did say I wouldn't be blogging until after Monday, when my final essay is out of the way, but I'm on a study break so I figured I'd write up a post because I've missed blogging so much. One of the most exciting things that I did whilst my blog was down was going to see John Waters do This Filthy World at Her Majesty's Theatre. I've been a fan of his films for quite a while (I watched Cry Baby quite a few times as a child though it wasn't until I was about 19 that I began watching his films in earnest) and have watched the recorded version of This Filthy World so I was beyond excited to finally get the chance to see him in person.

{I need to go to IKEA and get a nice big frame for this soon}

The last time he came to Australia, he didn't come to Adelaide and I'm pretty sure I cried a little bit about it. So, when one of my friends told me about this show I jumped at the chance - and she got us front row tickets, too! I had planned on getting something new and fabulous to wear but ended up wearing something (still fabulous) that I already had.

Outfit details: necklace - mum's; 1960s dress - Red Ruby Vintage; belt - gift; bracelets - various; stockings - unknown; shoes - Rubi Shoes.

I've only worn this dress a couple of times - I don't generally wear straight skirts so much, just because I find full or circle skirts more comfortable - but it's a beauty! The colour is just so vibrant; I bought it as new old stock so I still have the tags for it around somewhere. I can't remember exactly where it was made but the fabric was made in Sweden - I looked up the company that made it and they're still in business! I was going to email them with a photo of the fabric but I never got around to it.

It's only just struck me now how much I like the combination of the blue of my dress with the pink walls of my room.

A close-up shot of my eye shadow - I don't usually wear anything other than a creamy beige colour but felt this gold was more in order for the occasion.

{My hands were shaking and my knees were weak...}

As for the show, it was fantastic - possibly the best night of my life, thus far. I can't remember the last time I've laughed so hard (though I tend to laugh easily) and at one point my friend had to lean over and ask if I was okay because I was laughing so hard. I thought I was going to pass out! It was brilliant. Laughing is one of the best things ever and laughing uncontrollably (when it's not in a situation where that might be awkward) is just so wonderful. Sorry for gushing but thinking about it still makes me smile. And you could tell he was enjoying himself, too - especially in the Q&A session at the end.

As you can see from the photo above, John did a signing after the show and my friend Jacoba and I got our photo taken with him - I was too nervous (as my caption may indicate) to say anything except for 'Andi...with an 'i'' when he asked who to make the signature out to. But I'll cherish that moment forever, just as I'll cherish the photo. I was brave enough to ask a question (on behalf of a friend who'd already asked one) in the Q&A session, though! I'm rather proud of myself for that because I usually wouldn't.

I could honestly write pages about how great the show was but I shall restrain myself and leave it at that. Now, I should probably get back to that essay...

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Andi B. Goode is back!

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 06:38:00 +0000

Hi blog followers! As you may have noticed (and I know many of you did because I got lots of concerned messages) my blog has been M.I.A. for the past few weeks. I won't go into details of what happened because I've typed it out so many times already but the important thing is it's all restored! I'm not sure how long it's been back but it is and I couldn't be happier. I still have a fair bit of work to do so I won't be able to do a proper blog until after next Monday but I wanted everyone to know that I'm back and have a lot of catching up to do! (Including reading over a thousand posts in my google reader...oh my.)

Until then, here's an outfit post from before my blog was removed:

Outfit details: flower - ?; sunglasses - Dangerfield; top - Ella Moss via Salvos; belt - gift; skirt - refashioned 1970s dress; bangles - various; 1940s shoes - etsy.

Thanks to everyone who sent me concerned messages and showed me support during this period - I was so lost and upset without my blog but knowing so many people cared really helped me get through it! (As did my new obsession which I will post about next week, I think.)

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Bits and pieces

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:23:00 +0000

Here are a few other homeware-type things that I've acquired, lately as a follow up to the last post. I have even more to blog about but I think I need to space it out a little bit.

This Bristolite canister was given to me with the Gayware set - it originally would have been one of a set (as the biggest, used for flour) but it happily matches the colours of my other canisters. I've decided this shall be used for biscuits because it's nice and big as a biscuit barrel ought to be, I think.

I like the art deco style details (though it was made much later) around the lip - this is where you insert your label for whatever it may be. They originally came with their own labels but this one's is long gone. I'm planning on making one up with some kind of neat '50s style font.

A set of four TV snack plates in different colours. These were dated as 1960s when I bought them and I couldn't guess any better than that. I love the colours and the shape reminds me of an artist's palette. Bought from a stall at the Fishermen's Wharf Market. You can also see the kidney shape of my little coffee table in this shot. While it's very '50s in terms of shape, I think it might be a bit later.

This Nallyware biscuit container is a bit worse for ware - the knob is missing from the top of the lid and the 'i', 't' and part of the 'u' are gone. But it didn't cost me much and it's the perfect size for my smaller craft supplies. I'm also thinking of trying to restore it a little but I shall tell you how that works out when I get around to attempting it. Bought from a stall at the Fishermen's Wharf Market.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Now Colour Planned for Every Home!

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:31:00 +0000

I think it's safe to say that most Australian vintage lovers lust after Gay Ware and I'm certainly no different.

I was beginning to despair of ever finding a set of Gay Ware canisters that I could actually afford when I went to my dad's partner's for dinner the other week. I told my dad how I was on the lookout for some 1950s canisters and his partner brought one of hers out from her pantry and asked 'like this?' I'm sure I said something like 'Yes! Exactly like that' and then she told me I could have them. I honestly couldn't believe my luck.

Aren't they gorgeous? I'm so incredibly happy with them - when I first brought them home I just kept staring at them. (You also get a sneak peek at a coffee table I keep forgetting to take photos of.)

The red and white colour combination is just perfect for my future dream kitchen.

Of course, my search isn't over - as you can see from the two 1950s ads below, there are many items left for me to find to have a complete Gay Ware kitchen.

And look at this window display below - I could just cry thinking about walking past a display like this! Though, of course, one thing that's so satisfying about being a vintage collector is when you find something special or that's usually hard to find, don't you think?

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Green, black and a few other colours.

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:34:00 +0000

My friend bought us tickets to see Gotye, the other night, and it was so fantastic. I saw him back in...2008, maybe, at the St Jerome's Laneway Festival. He was also great to see back then, but this show was a very different vibe as he had other musicians with him this time. Anyway, I wanted to wear something comfortable but that was still fun so I decided to put on this dress - I don't think I've photographed it for the blog before, either.

Outfit details: 1950s hat - Red Ruby Vintage; sunglasses - Lost and Found market; necklace - Fisherman's Wharf markets; bolero - gift; 1950s dress - etsy; belt - Valley Girl; bracelets - various; handbag - Clearit on Brunswick street; stockings - ?; shoes - KMart.

I'm completely in love with this dress - it's so comfortable and I think it's quite versatile, too.

Hopefully you can see my hot dog earrings at least somewhat clearly in this photo. I used to wear a lot of slightly silly/novelty accessories so I decided to trying to integrate a little of that back into what I wear. Hence, hot dog earrings (I made them myself from some charms I bought on etsy).

And, for anyone who hasn't heard of Gotye and has no idea what I was yammering on about, here's the film clip (which is still amazing no matter how many times I see it) for the first single off of his latest album, which also features Kimbra.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Andi B. Goode

And now for something completely different!

Art, art, art

Etsy update

Vintage 50s blouse / aqua and white western / 35 bust

1990s dress / tan gingham shirtwaist / 22 to 29 waist

Vintage 40s/50s dress / moss green polka dot / 28 in. waist

I've actually already made a couple of sales, which is lovely, but three of my original listings are stil in the shop so please take a look at those, too: Andi B. Goode, Vintage etc.

Love,

Andi B. Goode x

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Blue & white stripes and cherries ripe

Diner dress & heart brooch

Playsuit & ankle socks

Andi B. Goode on etsy

I love your friends, they're all so arty

Musical Interlude {Fabienne Delsol}

I'm just a kid again, doin' what I did again

Ceramic Kitties

Happy holidays!

Two Cinema Outfits

Polka dots, doilies & buttons

Grey Chairs

Etsy got me again...

Sheer blouse and hair flowers

Pedal pushers and a record bag

Friday at Regattas

My newest obsession...

This Filthy World

Andi B. Goode is back!

Bits and pieces

Now Colour Planned for Every Home!

Green, black and a few other colours.

Andi B. Goode
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