Andi B. Goode

Are You Being Served?

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:20:00 +0000

Before my blog was removed, I'd started to do a series (of sorts) on the different vintage homewares I've started to collect. One of the items that I'd started a post for was this chrome & formica (I believe) serving cart - I think it dates to the 1950s. It was another gift, which is lucky because I've seen these at various places and they generally cost more than I could afford right now.

Oh, and apologies if anyone got excited by the title, thinking this might have been about Mrs Slocombe et al. Ha!

I got this serving cart quite a while ago but we've had things on it and I never got around to photographing it until it needed to be dusted, so everything came off and I had the perfect opportunity to photograph it sans clutter.

I can't say with certainty that it will ever get used for its intended purpose but until the day it does (if that day comes) it is certainly a great way to display other vintage items - at the moment it's being used to show off my vintage teacup collection.

It's very simple and very much like a lot of other serving carts I've seen but I do love it a whole lot.

I think I'm starting to run out of homewares to show off...maybe I'll photograph the vintage teacup collection that is on this, one day?

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Friday night with some friends

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:58:00 +0000

I want to start by saying that I certainly didn't mean to not post anything for five days, but I suppose these things sometimes do happen! Apologies for that and, now, on to the post. On Friday night I met a couple of friends at Regattas to see Lucky Seven Swing. I threw an outfit together quickly as I hadn't given much thought to what I was wearing but I was happy with how it turned out (in my experience, sometimes the quickly chosen outfits can be better than some you spend a lot of time on).

(All of these photos were taken with my (new) iPhone 4S because I was excited at how great the quality is.)

Outfit details: scarf - op-shop; sunglasses - Dangerfield; earrings - made by me; top - Target; belt - gift; skirt - Goodwill; bag - can't remember; shoes - Betts.

This is the only shot out of this lot that isn't that great, but that's because I took it with the camera on the front of the phone, which isn't as good. But this was the best shot that I got of my hair. I found this tutorial via The DC Metro Retro and it's just so simple and looks great. It's based off of a hairstyle from Mad Men but, as I don't watch it, the main draw for me was that it looks like a beehive but doesn't involve any teasing and/or backcombing.

Miss Betty Jane & Miss Kitty Boo.

Me and Miss Kitty Boo.

I played pool with Miss Betty Jane and lost.

At the end of the night we headed down to the Garden of Unearthly Delights (my favourite place in Adelaide at this time of year) so I thought I may as well share a few photos that I took there.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Blue lace, black tights and a ukulele

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:58:00 +0000

I shocked myself by going out two whole nights in a row! I was a bit uncertain as to what I was going to wear on the second night but luckily my ASOS order arrived and I was able to indulge my '60s mood further by wearing this little '60s-esque number (and listening to The Troggs whilst getting ready). Of course, the look might be slightly more '60s if I were wearing a different shade of lipstick, but I can't imagine wearing anything other than red! (I also don't own any shade other than red - ha!)

Outfit details: earrings - gift; dress - ASOS; tights - Woolworths (was in a rush & had no tights); bracelet - op-shop; shoes - Big W.

I was planning to wear my hair up until I brushed it and this happened. Now if only I can get it to happen on purpose instead of by accident!

I must apologise for the less than stellar quality of these shots - it was raining outside and the quality of light in my house is usually awful, even on a sunny day (what I wouldn't give for gorgeous natural light in my house!) and obviously I didn't feel like getting soaked.

As I mentioned, I was listening to The Troggs whilst getting ready - well, I also recorded a ukulele cover of their song With a Girl Like You (changing 'girl' to 'boy' & as well as a line in the first verse).

And for anyone who is interested, you can see some other videos at my YouTube channel that didn't make it on to the blog.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Silver Screen Sunday {Phantom Lady}

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:01:00 +0000

I seem to start most of these posts off with 'well, it's been a long time since I've done one of these...' but, of course, it's always true. The main reason that I don't do them very often anymore is because they are so time consuming but I shan't dwell on that - instead, on to the film! Phantom Lady is a 1944 film noir directed by Robert Siodmak, which stars Franchot Tone, Ella Raines and Alan Curtis and was based on a Cornell Woolrich novel.

The basic premise of the film is that an engineer, Scott Henderson, played by Alan Curtis, is accused of murdering his wife despite having what he thought would be a solid alibi. Unfortunately, everyone who saw him on his night out whilst his wife was being killed has conveniently forgot him; the only witness they can't track down is a mystery woman with a distinctive hat whom Scott asked to the theatre with him on a whim (he was stood up by his wife, for good reason obviously - she was dead!) He's found guilty for her murder so his assistant, Carol "Kansas" Richman, played by Ella Raines begins her own investigation to clear Scott's name, not least because she's been in love with him for a long time. Her investigation leads her from one person to another, often with fatal results for the witnesses she's tracking down - but I won't say anymore than that! It's one of the 'wrongly accused' plots that I love so much and I like these films even better when a woman takes on the role of the detective and will stop at nothing to get to the truth.

(Click through on any of the photos to see bigger versions at Flickr.)

The only thing Scott can remember about the woman who could clear his name is the fabulously outlandish hat that she wore.

Carol's secretary has a seriously cute outfit - I love how the straps of the suspender skirt narrow as they get to the waistband.

Aurora Miranda plays a singer - Scott and the mystery woman had seen her show on the night of his wife's murder - who is questioned as she had been wearing the same hat as the 'phantom lady'. However, she won't admit that this happened because she insists all of her hats are unique. Just like this one! Isn't it amazing? I love the glittery dots on her top, as well.

But it is Carol (or, as Scott has nicknamed her, Kansas) whose wardrobe most impressed me. Starting with this ensemble - I can't tell if it's a skirt and blouse or a dress but I'm in love with the stripes and the silhouette of the outfit.

I love her clear raincoat - it's one of the nicest plastic raincoats I've seen.

A simple, yet beautiful gown, with a lovely appliquéd design.

Look at the details on this gorgeous suit - the contrast stitching! And you can just see how the waistband comes to a point in the middle. I love the cropped jacket, too.

I think this was my favourite outfit, though. I believe she's meant to look slightly on the 'cheap' side (hence the costume jewellery, darker stockings, etc.) and I think the relative tackiness (compared to the sleekness of her other outfits) is what attracted me to it.

I'm fairly certain the thing that sparked my interest in seeing this was a .gif that I saw on Tumblr of the shoes on the left. I'm completely in love with them. I also love her patent purse with the initial on it - I've been thinking of getting a similar purse and doing something like this for myself.

In any other film, this hat would probably be the standout but there are a multitude of over-the-top (in the best way) hats in this one. I do love the giant floppy flower, though.

One of my favourite things about this film was all of the close-ups allowing us to see details of costumes we don't normally see - like these mesh nylon stockings!

And check out the cameo ring!

It was very difficult choosing which screencaps to post here but there are about 40 or so more over at flickr in this set. I didn't want to go overboard in the post so hopefully I haven't! When I was doing the screencaps, though I was trying to get good shots of the outfits, I was also distracted by the gorgeous composition and camera angles in this film. It's a perfect example of the visual style that is most associated with film noir but I'm sure I could write an entire post on that.

So, has anyone else seen this film? If so, what did you think of it? Did you love it as much as I did?

Phantom Lady at IMDB | Phantom Lady at Wikipedia

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Starry, starry tights

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:58:00 +0000

This is an outfit I wore out on Thursday night, to see The Horrors (well, two of them) do a DJ set at a pub in the city. Their set was pretty good as they have great taste in music but the pace was a little lagging and slightly anti-climactic after the set the previous DJs had done, which was so much fun and included an interesting variety of artists like Nancy Sinatra, Bon Jovi and Coolio! This dress is very comfortable and perfect for dancing (though everything worn underneath wasn't quite so comfy, unfortunately) and not vintage so I feel I can be slightly more careless when wearing it.

Outfit details: hair flower - ?; vintage necklace etsy; 1940s style dress - made by mum; belt - gift; bracelet - op-shop; starry tights - Dangerfield; shoes - Rubi Shoes.

When I wrote that post about how I've been feeling the urge to change up my style a bit, lately, I wasn't just talking about branching out to entirely different modes of dress but to also incorporate little differences in my regular wardrobe. For instance, the tights (well, they were tights but a pair of scissors later they were stockings) would have been something I would have thought were neat but not worn because they weren't 'period accurate'.

But I love glitter and I love stars so I bought them and I think they work really well with this dress. I posted a picture to tumblr that shows off their starriness a bit better. (The title of this post is probably slightly misleading as the tights/stockings don't feature as much as it may indicate! But I keep singing 'starry, starry tights' to the tune of Vincent by Don McLean when I wear these.)

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Photos of Australian Women in WWII

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:31:00 +0000

This is a post that I've had queued for a while for a day when I wasn't sure what else to post. So, here are some great home front photos I found of Australian women in World War II on Flickr. I've seen many good quality photos of women from America and other places during WWII, but very few of Australian women and I was very drawn to these shots. All of the captions are taken from the Flickr photo page and all photos link back to this source.

{A young woman armature winding in a munitions factory in South Australia in 1943. Photographer: Smith, D. Darian}

{A woman stacking practice bombs before transit to the explosives filling factory in South Australia in 1943. Photographer: Smith, D. Darian}

{Members of the Australian Women's Land Army picking an almond crop at Hamilton's Vineyard at Marion, South Australia in 1943. Photographer: Smith, D. Darian}

{A young woman cutting driving bands for anti-aircraft shells in a munitions factory in South Australia in 1942. Photographer: Smith, D. Darian}

{Three young women cleaning dust from the interiors of Beaufort bomber oil tanks in South Australia in 1943. Photographer: Smith, D. Darian}

{A young woman making brass fittings for military tanks in South Australia in 1943. Photographer: Smith, D. Darian}

{A young woman drilling parts of a Beaufort bomber with a portable drill in South Australia in 1943. Photographer: Smith, D. Darian}

All of the pictures above are from the State Library of South Australia Flickr Stream (see the full set here) and are all in the Creatives Commons License set.

I think it's fair to say that they were all staged photos (and reminiscent of some of the photos of women in this set from the Library of Congress) but knowing that they were taken of women, not just in Australia, but South Australia, makes them extra special to me.

{Australian Land Army girls at a farm near Gosford. During war time service with the WANS (Womens Auxiliary National Service), Land Army. Wamberal, Gosford.. New South Wales. 1942.}

{Women volunteers in the Australian Land Army. During war time service with the WANS (Womens Auxiliary National Service), Land Army. Gosford. New South Wales. 1942.}

{Combat practice in the Australian Land Army. During war time service with the WANS (Womens Auxiliary National Service), Land Army. Gosford. New South Wales. 1942.}

The three images above were taken from this set. I like these last images as a contrast to the very obviously staged ones from the library collection. I also love the camaraderie that comes through in these, as opposed to the staged images, where the women seem fairly isolated, even when pictured with other women.

One day I'd really love to research the role of women in Australia in World War II some more because there seems not to be a whole lot written on this area (though I could be looking in the wrong places, of course). If I ever get around to that, I'll probably write more on the blog so excuse the relatively small amount of text in this post. If anyone does have some resources (I have a couple of documentaries - Paper Dolls and Girls Own War Stories - plus the book, Our Girls, which acts as a good companion to Paper Dolls as well as some internet sources) in this area (which is probably a little vague), I'd greatly appreciate it!

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Leopard print and mustard

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:32:00 +0000

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who commented on my last post - I was overwhelmed by the amount of thoughtful and interesting responses to the topic and I may do a follow up based on some other points that were raised in the comments. But for now, here's an outfit from the other day.

I'm not actually sure how many times these pants have appeared on here since they made their first appearance but I know that it's nowhere near as many times as I've actually worn them. These pants have made it into regular rotation in my wardrobe - some may not deem them appropriate day to day wear but they're comfortable, easy to mix with other items in my wardrobe and super kitsch and, therefore, completely perfect for me. I've worn them out dancing with friends at night and I've worn them to do the shopping.

Outfit details: scarf - op-shop; sunglasses - Dangerfield; earrings - made by me; Cheshire Cat necklace - Disney Couture; yellow top - op-shop; belt - gift; bangles - various; leopard pants - Miss Hussy; shoes - K-Mart.

Whenever I wear an outfit like this I think of characters like Peggy Bundy and Alabama Whitman/Worley or photos like Diane Arbus's shot of Blaze Starr at home from 1964. I like tapping into the kitschier or tackier side of vintage styles and how you can see a lot of that style from the 50s and 60s in those later characters like Peggy. I actually got a comment on Instagram on my photo of this outfit that simply said 'Alabama Worley!'

This outfit was a little bit of a revelation for me - I completely forgot how much I love leopard print and mustard together! It's a nice change from the black that I usually wear with these pants.

Anyone else have staple pieces in their wardrobe that are slightly unusual (in terms of what we usually think of as staples)?

Love,

Andi B. Goode

Changing and rearranging yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:21:00 +0000

I've finally got around to finishing this post on my personal style that a few of you expressed interest in reading about here. At first I wasn't sure how to structure the post so I decided to start with, well, the start (or thereabouts). Oh, and the title is from one of my favourite lines from Georgy Girl by The Seekers: Don't be so scared of changing and rearranging yourself.

When I had a 1940s themed party for my 21^st birthday I made the conscious effort to start dressing in a 40s/50s style each day and it's that style that I've been documenting here for the past two and a half years. But, before my 21st, I had already started to experiment with these styles, inspired by the LiveJournal community vintagehair amongst other things.

{Taken at beginning of 2006. This was the dress that I wore to my year 12 formal in 2004.}

Since my 21st (in 2007) I suppose I've refined this look and got to a point where I'm comfortable with knowing what my style is and can explain it quite easily if I had to. There are, naturally, many ways to wear vintage clothes and I enjoy seeing the ways in which others incorporate vintage pieces into their outfits, but as anyone who is reading this will know, the way I've worn it is to create an entire "vintage" look from head to toe including hair, make-up, etc. Online communities and other blogs were a great source of both inspiration and information whilst I cultivated this look and I still have so much to learn about the eras I've been drawing inspiration from, which is one of the many things I love about vintage clothing.

{Photo of my outfit for my 21st birthday - mum made this dress for me}

But as I mentioned in this post, sometimes I get...itchy. To try something different. Or I start feeling less sartorially inspired than usual and just don't feel like putting on one of my '40s or '50s frocks and setting my hair. Sometimes I want to mix it up a little, though I'm not sure where to start. Sometimes I want to go back to certain ways I used to dress. For instance, lately I've just wanted to wear little '60s/'70s style dresses like these again:

{Taken at the beginning of 2007. Wearing a dress I believe was from Deborah K.}

{Taken toward the end of 2007. Wearing a late '60s/early '70s dress - Antique Market on Grote St.}

This photo was taken when I wore this dress to a group exhibition opening night - it was after my 21st when I was still dressing outside of the 40s-50s a little. I still remember the day that I sold it to a local vintage shop - I actually cried! But I was weeding the non-40s/50s pieces from my wardrobe and this dress wouldn't fit me now, anyway.

{Taken toward the end of 2007, wearing a 70s dress from Irving Baby.}

When these moods strike, I feel a bit...stuck. Because I've built up a wardrobe that centres almost entirely on the styles of the 40s and 50s (both vintage and reproduction pieces) and because I've only been wearing it one way - that is, in a slightly more period accurate, though by no means entirely historically accurate, manner, and I think it's starting to feel a bit limiting for me. (Even though there is still a lot of room for experimenting whilst sticking to this approach.)

I started to realise that I'd set out all of these rules (a good deal of them subconsciously) for myself despite the fact that I dislike fashion rules entirely. The one rule or piece of advice I do like is always this: wear whatever you want. That's it. Wear what makes you happy and feel good.

But if I'm stopping myself from wearing cute dresses or even from experimenting because I don't think it will fit into the 'style' I've created for myself then I'm not living by the only fashion rule that I want to keep, am I? I'm thinking and talking about personal style and my beliefs around it one way and then acting another. It hasn't been very often that I've wanted to branch out or to try something wildly different but when I do, why should I curb that urge?

There are so many possibilities for mixing up 40s & 50s (and the late '30s and early '60s I've sometimes thrown in) styles if you look at all the different things women (and men) were wearing during these eras but, despite that, I still sometimes want to try something else. I've rarely been one to stick to one style for long and when I did my hair, at least, was always changing. I don't think I would ever not take inspiration from the past, though...but I do want to start changing my style up a bit more and try slightly different things whilst not abandoning my current look.

My question to the other full-time vintage dressers out there, that is those whose style is more reflective of a particular era than those who wear vintage in other ways, do you get bored? Do you ever want to change things up a bit? And do you have the means to? This question can just as easily apply to anyone who has a distinctive or set style and I'd be interested to hear from all of you, actually.

I'm not sure if this post says everything that I wanted it to but I didn't want it to get into the obnoxiously long territory. Also, you can see the way my style has changed in the Style-Volution series I posted in 2010.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

The new Barbie twists! The new Barbie turns!

noreply@blogger.com (Andi B. Goode) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Thank-you all for the lovely comments on my last post. I will definitely be finishing the post on my thoughts about my style at the moment, but until I get it finished up here's a post on something different!

Back when (way back when, now it seems) I first posted about my renewed interest in collecting Barbies, I was actually surprised at how many of you wanted to see more posts on the subject! And then I didn't post anymore - I think I was getting a little ambitious in the ideas I had for photos. I dreamed of creating furniture and little sets to place my dolls in and making little stories to go along with them, too, like the ones I'd seen on Flickr. I realised, after a while, I was setting my sights a little high and that those of you who wanted to see more posts were missing out because of it. So, here's the latest addition to my vintage/mod collection: a 1968 Twist 'n' Turn Barbie.

{1968 Twist 'n' Turn Barbie doll}

My obsession has lessened, somewhat, since then (most of my obsessions go through an intense, but brief phase before they settle into becoming a regular interest) but I shall still be collecting and photographing, albeit quite a bit more slowly than I was before.

The first Twist 'n' Turn Barbie, released a year before this one, marked the beginning of Barbie's mod era. Barbie got a whole new look from head to toe - her face is completely different to the original Barbies and has rooted lashes and a very sweet look. But the most exciting change was the movement Barbie now had in her waist - unlike the twist waists of the Barbies I grew up with, this Barbie's waist has a slight angle to it so she twists quite differently (it's hard to explain but you can see it in the video at the end of this post.)

I never used to be keen on the mod Barbie face but now I think she's perfectly lovely and I love the rooted eyelashes that most of the mod faces have. I was also not overly keen on the 'Summer Sand' or ash blonde dolls but now that I have one of my own I actually think she's a nice change from the whiter or more yellow blonde dolls that I have.

Also, you have to check out the neat commercial from 1967 when the first Twist 'n' Turn Barbie was released. It's one of my favourite things I've ever seen. There's something about the way the man is narrating it that's just fantastic. Oh, and it has Maureen McCormick in it!

You can see the other dolls I've not yet blogged about in this set on Flickr.

Love,

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

Andi B. Goode

Are You Being Served?

Friday night with some friends

Blue lace, black tights and a ukulele

Silver Screen Sunday {Phantom Lady}

Starry, starry tights

Photos of Australian Women in WWII

Leopard print and mustard

Changing and rearranging yourself

The new Barbie twists! The new Barbie turns!

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

x

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...

Andi B. Goode
x