Poirot

Rome and Tuscany outfits review

Posted on by The Girl

Rome Italy sightseeing fontana Di Trevi

Sorry for the long delay to write this review. I had a wedding to plan, my wedding dress to make and moving house! (Which also means I’ll be writing a post on my dress.)

While the weather is still cold it’s rather nice to think about holidays abroad in the sun. Maybe you’re about to go on a winter break somewhere sunny or need packing inspiration for your summer holiday. Here I review my holiday outfits from my 2018 summer holiday in Rome and Tuscany.

The weather was hot and we even had a couple of stormy days, which while in Rome wasn’t the best experience because of the mosquitos coming out to play and not so glamorously getting drenched in a downpour while at the Trevi fountain. Long sleeves and long baggy trousers would be ideal to protect yourself against the blighters.

As usual, getting full length photos of good quality was non-existent, as the group of us was fairly big, and by the time we’re all in a photo, we look quite far away!

Colleseum, cat eye sunglasses
Arch of Titus, blouse collar and vintage scarf detail
The Colleseum, Rome, Italy

I wore the striped cotton blouse I made based on a photo of Marilyn Monroe ( in a striped shirt dress) with a reproduction of a favourite linen skirt I owned that fell apart. I co-ordinated a true vintage square scarf. This outfit was my Roman Holiday homage. It was light and cool except for the belt because of the extreme heat in the colleseum.

A vintage outfit with comfortable footwear is always a good idea if you are going to do a fair amount of walking. I added gel soles to my flat sandals which made them really comfortable.

Leaning tower of Pisa cream Palazzo pants thirties repro striped blouse
Taking inspiration from Phryne Fisher

On our trip to Pisa I wore cream high waisted Palazzo pants from La Reroute, which I altered to fit. These were cool and easy, with no apparent creasing, unlike the linen. The blouse, made from the same remnant of fabric as the other blouse, was made using an original Thirties pattern. It wraps t the back and ties at the front. The shaping works well with What Katie Did bras. In this case, it’s the CC09 1940’s bra. I wore comfortable wedge sandals to keep my cream trousers off the floor!

I packed a cotton shirt dress which I could button over swimwear or shorts and was a flattering shape without a belt, although I did wear one to smarten it up.

Apart from a couple of days sightseeing, I spent time by the pool in swimwear and high waisted shorts. I didn’t stay vintage all the time, but there’s a good selection of vintage style and retro swimwear around. It all repeats eventually! For example, forluna.co.uk do a good selection, some similar to styles worn by Marilyn Monroe.

There’s no reason why vintage can’t be comfortable if you keep your destination needs in mind, like weather, walking and activities you have planned.

Rome and Tuscany

Posted on by The Girl

I am busy planning for a summer holiday to Rome and Tuscany. While I lately go more towards the Fifties, I felt like going for a Thirties theme for my sightseeing and going out clothes. While most of it is from memory from hours of ‘research’ throughout my life (I think I should probably have a degree by now in my specialised field), I refreshed my memory on a few of the summer holiday episodes of Poirot.

Here are a few of the best.

Poirot- Thirties holiday outfit
Poirot – Peril at End House
Poirot – Thirties blouse
Poirot – Peril at End House

While I still haven’t made any beach pyjamas, I do have some wide leg Palazzo pants. I can wear a number of different blouses, including a wrap blouse from an original Thirties pattern I have.

Thirties beach pyjamas
Thirties holiday snap
Thirties holiday snap
Thirties casual

A couple of exceptions are a Roman Holiday ensemble and my Marilyn inspired Niagara dress, in case we go out in the evening.

Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday
Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday
Marilyn Monroe Niagara dress
Marilyn Monroe Niagara dress

I’ll post my holiday outfits and see how well they worked in practice.

How to Wear Vintage Hats – Part 2

Posted on by The Girl

 

Miss Lemon green hat
Miss Lemon light camel hat
Miss Lemon navy hat

In Part 2 I’ll show some of my inspiration for styling Thirties and Forties hats.

ITV’s Poirot is a delight to watch, not just for the story, but the attention to detail for the era. It’s difficult to find photos of the characters that only show up in one episode, which means you have to watch it to see their headgear! Miss Lemon is a resident character at Poirot’s flat, working as his secretary, so I found photos of her hats! I think she is a good example of a well-dressed lady, without being from the upperclasses, so a good role model everyday or office wear dressing in the Thirties.

Thirties style dress and hat
Cream hat with feather

One way to wear a hat for a Thirties style outfit is to wear the hat on top of your head, which sounds silly, because isn’t that where it’s meant to be anyway! Look at the photos to see what I mean. Hair is shorter or done up close to the head.

Black and cream hat with feather worn Thirties style – back
Black and cream hat with feather worn Thirties style
Black and cream hat worn Thirties style – side
Thirties style summer skirt and frill sleeve blouse worn with black and cream hat

I don’t often wear hats with my Forties outfits as I tend to go for high updo’s, then it’s a shame to cover it up. Look at Death by Deco for a masterclass in hat wearing, especially the Forties styles – and brilliant turban tying lessons!

Forties hats

The series Agent Carter is one of my favourite Forties set TV shows. The red hat! Interestingly, the more masculine, power dressing style and tailoring for the Forties was partly born from wartime ‘make do and mend’ ingenuity. The women at home were encouraged to keep up appearances for the troops morale, and that meant one was allowed to raid the husband’s wardrobe for altering to womenswear! This was not just jackets, but hats too. That’s why some of the hats have a trilby look.

Brown Forties hat – back
Brown Forties hat with asymetric hairstyle – side
Brown Forties hat with vintage thistle hatpin
Brown Forties hat with front curls
Forties style utility dress – by Jasmine Guinness
Forties style dress platform shoes and brown hat – side

I’ve styled the same hat from the Thirties look for the Forties, by wearing at the back of my head, so the brim frames my hairstyle and face like a halo. If you don’t have a high updo at the front, you can wear perch (or tilt) hats like in the original photos above.

Forties style summer outfit platform shoes and hat
Forties style hat, earrings and flower corsage
Black and cream hat with feather – side
Black and cream hat with feather – front
Black and cream hat with feather – Forties half up hairstyle- side 2
Black and cream hat with feather – back

For historical accuracy, Forties films, (I like film noir), will give you some amazing creations to look out for. This turban/ knitted headband from Hitchcock’s Suspicion, worn by Joan Fontaine had me rewinding the final scene. I think this is going on my wish list of knits.

NB. Since writing this post, I can offer to knit a recreation of this knotted headband. Go to my Contact page to enquire or through FB (thegirllovesvintageshop), my Etsy shop (GirlLovesVintageShop) or DM on Instagram @thegirllovesvintage.

Joan Fontaine in Suspicion - knitted turban hat headband

In Part 3 we’ll look at the Fifties and Sixties.