For both vintage girls and non vintage girls alike, a simple but elegant black dress is a necessary wardrobe staple. Black is often seen as a more serious colour, but it really doesn’t have to be as it is quite versatile. A classic black dress is just the thing if you like a bit of spontaneity and there’s a chance that your work day might end with a night out. I personally always like to be prepared!
I’m sure you will all remember this beautiful building from a blog post earlier this year, and ever since that post I had been hoping to be able to take photos there again. At the time I took photos here last, the building was vacant but now some businesses have taken up the rooms. I was relieved to see this as in Brisbane older buildings are seen as of little value and sadly disappear so I’m glad that it should be around for a while longer. I believe that originally in the 30s & 40s this building belonged to a successful local furniture manufacturer, hence the beautiful and ornate details that can be seen throughout.
Today I was feeling brave and couldn’t resist venturing up the lovely wooden staircase that is in the foyer, and when I reached the top I found a room with some rather nice lighting for blog photos! The beautiful dress I’m wearing in these photos is the Mae dress by The Seamstress of Bloomsbury. In a nod to the stunning starlet, Mae West, I decided to style the dress with a wide brim tilt hat in the style that Mae herself often wore.
The Mae dress is made of a jet black crepe de chine, one of my favourite fabrics. My rule when it comes to clothing is that if it needs to be ironed, it’s not for me. This is why I love crepe de chine so much. All you need to do is give the fabric a quick steam and any crinkles come out within seconds! Something to keep in mind with crepe de chine is that there is no stretch in the fabric, so for the Mae dress I have sized up to a 12 which is the size I wear in all of my Seamstress of Bloomsbury dresses.
When I first went to try the dress on, my husband remarked that the dress was in great condition for a vintage piece and looked as if it had never been worn. I played along with this for a few minutes until I eventually cracked and revealed to him that this was in fact a repro! So out of curiosity I asked him what it was about the dress that made him think it was vintage, to which he responded the buttons and the collar. It’s these beautiful little details that we love so much about vintage that The Seamstress of Bloomsbury are dedicated to recreating and when you wear one of their pieces you instantly see that they do a fantastic job.
Wearing:
Mae Dress courtesy of The Seamstress of Bloomsbury
Vintage 1940s hat – TheVintageHatShop Etsy
Bait shoes
Wow! Such an awesome hat and dress combo. As usual, styled beautifully with wonderful photos
Soooo elegant and pretty! And kudos on the scenery – it’s so hard getting good shots indoors. I’m the exact same about ironing – I hate it so much I probably do it about once a year. Luckily B irons shirts all the time and he usually doesn’t mind too much if I throw a skirt in… Until he realises it’s a circle skirt 😉
That dress is so pretty! I love black dresses with white details.
Wow, I really love this dress on you, I adore your hat as well! Beautiful place for blog photos! xo
This is such a head-turningly beautiful – and deeply elegant – vintage style frock. I love the contrasting detailing and the classic silhouette that it creates. Truly, truly lovely garment and series of snaps to accompany it.
Oodles of hugs,
♥ Jessica
*PS* Your hat!!!! 🙂
Beauteous choice of dress, looks very smart on you. I love SOB dresses for that very fact – they look authentic. I wore an SOB dress to a festival over the summer, and a few people thought it was vintage. And what a lovely little photo location you found! I would love to do a few photos in some of the gorgeous hotels here in the city in Cardiff, I might have to persuade my husband to come and explore them with me one day – gorgeous Victorian buildings with high ceilings and chandeliers galore. x
Wow, you really have the knack of creating a beautiful mood with your indoor photography Harlow ~ I love the haunting, dreamy feel of these pics. Plus, your gorgeous dress and hat!!
What a beautiful combination, and good eye for the details Hubs! I think a dress is always a special one when the misters actually notice it long enough to comment on it… 😛 ❤
xox,
bonita of Lavender & Twill
The dress truly does look vintage! It’s always nice when repro has the details to cross over into looking truly vintage, as this dress does with that lovely collar. This building is a fantastic spot, I am envious as I’d love a place similar to take outfit photos when it gets snowy here in winter. I’ll have to snoop around for a spot as great as this 🙂
Such romantic pictures. You have captured the feel of the elegant location perfectly and fit in seamlessly with your sleek black dress. I must say, since I have to wear black for work I have gone off it, but this dress is incredible so I am definitely rethinking my work look right now.
That is a very good repro- I would have guessed it was vintage too if you hadn’t said that it wasn’t! It looks very lovely on you, and I’m so glad to see this building again- the details really are so beautiful. And I agree that a black dress is such a good thing to own- I currently don’t have a black dress (aside from a cocktail dress), and I miss not having one!