I recently had a photoshoot with Dutch top pin-up photographer Martin Philippo with a tiny part of my vintage collection. I thought you'd like to see! I'd like to apologise in advance; my hair looks absolutely horrible, due to the bad weather we were having. I tried to fix it with a curling iron when I came inside but my hair is very straight and the curls were gone after fifteen minutes. I recently cut it shoulder length, much easier! I am especially proud of my 50's sunflower swing dress! It has a circle skirt and a lovely pocket on it where I can put my lipstick and wallet. I found it in a lovely small vintage shop in Amsterdam called Tut & Hola (I can definitely recommend this, for any vintage lovers who visit Amsterdam!) and it's in perfect condition apart from a few small pink stains on the skirt that I can't get rid of. They don't really stand out so I wear it all the same. This pink 50s/early 60s (I think) Laura Ashley dress with roses is also one of my favorites. I found it on ebay for cheap, as it was an auction. I don't really like pink so I was a little afraid that it wouldn't look good on me or that I wouldn't be comfortable wearing it. It turned out to be one of my most comfortable dresses and I wear it a lot. It is a tiny bit big on me but that problem is easily solved with a nice belt. The one I'm wearing is from a vintage shop in Amsterdam called Laura Dols, I think it's 80s but I'm not sure. This gorgeous emerald heavy velvet dress is one of my favorites for winter. I think it makes an excellent Christmas dress paired with a nice pair of red heels. It's completely hand made and it was a lucky find at Laura Dols. The hem is invisibly stitched and everything about it is just so beautiful! I can't wait for fall so I can wear this again, haha. The heels are official limited edition reproduction by Harrods of the Ruby Slippers worn by Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz. Not genuine vintage, but I think they're really sassy and I wear them a lot! I hope you like these!
Wow! You look amazing. Laura Ashley weren't around in the 50s/60s, so yes, your dress is probably 80s. And I love your Ruby Slippers...
Ah well, the woman on ebay stated this as a Laura Ashley dress. I couldn't find a label myself and according to the stitching, the metal zipper, the pattern of the dress and the flowers on it I dated this myself as a late 50's/early 60's dress. Could be that the ebay seller had it wrong or that I have. But it looks like a 50's/early 60's dress to me
Ah okay - it can be 50s/60s or Laura Ashley, but it can't be both! If you ever want help dating, you can post questions and pics in the Q&A forum. We'd probably need detailed pics of the construction, not just the whole dress. Looks like it has a side metal zipper, so you are probably right.
Wow! fabulous photos Miss Absinthe nice to see a model who's also interested in original fashions and costumes as well as modelling.
Thank you all! I will double check the dress for sure and post some detailed pictures later tomorrow. For now it's past midnight here and I don't have sufficient light to take photos. Perhaps someone can help me with the dress. It has a side metal zipper indeed, it's pink coloured like the dress. And well, I'm not a professional model since I have weird sizing (perfect for vintage clothing, not so perfect for regular fashion) and it's very hard for alt/vintage models to set food on (paid) ground (especially when you're living in tiny Holland) but I have been modeling for five years now just as a hobby. I also think that beautiful vintage finds deserve beautiful pictures
Thanks Alice - my mistake! I should have checked, so it could be mid-sixties and be Laura Ashley, but not earlier or 1950s. ETA; I think I felt that the style of that dress was not likely to be an early Laura Ashley, but I could be wrong. Also I realise I misread your original post, I see now you were saying the belt with the pink dress is 80s, but I thought you meant the dress (I was clearly confused )
If it's an early Laura Ashley I'd be keen to see more of it, but you said it doesn't have a Laura Ashley label?
Nope, it doesn't have any labels! I will upload some detailed pics of the dress later today in the Q&A Forum. I suspect it might be hand made, the hem is definitely hand stitched.
Hiya! what can we call you? I really like your style - it's very much the sort of outfits I choose to wear too. The first dress is great - it really reminds me of the laminated tableclothes my grandmother used to have in her 50's kitchen (cream wooden self standing units with mint green doors - wish I could have brought it to England with me!) I have been to Holland (we have some distant relatives there) but I was so young I have to admit I can only remember that the house we stayed in was wooden and on stilts! Postage is indeed more reasonable from the UK, as we have a lower international rate for posting to countries within the EU. I have just had feedback today from a buyer in the Netherlands I posted some shoes to at 5pm on Monday and she received them this afternoon! (that's quicker than it can take to get round the UK normally ) Hope to see/hear more from you!
Melanie, that's incredible your shoes got to Holland in two days! I've had packages take longer to get from one end of London to the other. I stayed in Amsterdam for a few months, twice, in my teens then again in my early twenties. It gave me a soft spot for the Dutch.
Great photos and lovely dresses! I know what you mean about vintage size - buying modern skirts or pants/jeans is a tricky business - usually my hip/waist ratio just doesn't work with most modern clothing. When I find essential basics like jeans or black pants that actually work, I buy several of the same at once. According to Levi's, I my figure is defined as "bold curve" . My great-grandmother was Dutch, and I definitely have a soft spot for your country! Been there quite a few times, mostly to other cities than Amsterdam (I love Haarlem!), and I understand the language quite well, though I dare not speak because I never learned it. Karin
Ooh, Haarlem is a beautiful city too! I used to visit there a lot. A bit like Amsterdam but everything is cozier and less crowded. I never wear pants. I do own some but I don't like them - most of them were gifts from my ex boyfriend who wanted me to wear pants and checkered oversized blouses just like he did, haha. The first dress is my absolute favorite, in fact, I am wearing it right now. Your grandma's kitchen sound lovely! Unfortunately my kitchen is utterly ugly modern, and tiny as well. I wish I'd had a kitchen like that Postal service in the Netherlands is usually rather quick but I think that's because the country is so small. Driving from the top north to the bottom of the south usually takes about three to four hours max. 99% of the post is delivered the next day.
I'm certainly wearing a lot more dresses and skirts since I got into vintage seriously - that goes with the territory. On a hot day like we've been having so many now, a light vintage cotton dress is simply the nicest way to stay cool and be well-dressed for the office. Most of our business partners like to visit in our summer, so I have to think a bit about what I should wear. Yes, that's what I loved about Haarlem - it's so cozy and of course all the old buildings - it still looks like in the old paintings (of which I'm a grat fan too - another reason to visit Haarlem). Sky Radio is probably the reason I learnded so much of the Dutch language - we got this at least 2o years ago here and know lots of people who like me used to listen to it just because it had less talk and more good music than any public or commercial Swiss radion station. Even when I wasn't consciously listening to it, I guess I picked up a lot from the short news segments. In the time before the internet caught on too much I actually once walked into a CD shop in Amsterdam on a trip and asked about the song they played so much on Sky Radio - and I got the CD! Karin
