Love Vintage - The book Has Arrived!

The lovely and super cluey Nicole Jenkins, costume designer, vintage clothing expert and owner of Circa Vintage Clothing in Melbourne has just released a gorgeous book on vintage fashion.

Nicole has been my "Go To" girl on all matters of vintage. Not only has she been extremely supportive of Bowerbird but also very helpful identifying era's on some of my pieces and offering advice when I ask for it.

Her knowledge of vintage is extraordinary and her taste is impeccable so I highly recommend you pick up a copy. It's filled with helpful hints, beautiful photo's and lots of great information about fashion throughout different era's.

"This book is the culmination of almost 30 years of studying, collecting and repairing vintage clothes, fuelled by a passion for the art of design and a humble respect for the dressmaking skills of a bygone era that brought such creative visions into reality"

You can purchase online at CARTERS for $49.95 plus delivery or ask for it at your local bookstore.

Vintage Barbie Exhibition in Perth

Perths Art Gallery of Western Australia is currently holding a vintage Barbie exhibition to celebrate the iconic dolls 50th birthday. The collection includes vintage Barbies from 1959-73 including Dior Inspired models, hippies and mod era dolls.

Vintage Barbie @ The Gallery is on display at the Art Gallery of Western Australia from Wednesday 23 September - Sunday 11 October 2009, 10am-5pm. Closed Tuesdays.

For more info, visit the Art Gallery of WA

A Vintage Muse

I often stumble across wonderful blogs inspired by vintage creativity that I feel compelled to write about on my own blog - the love needs to be shared around after all!

Today, I stumbled once again onto something wonderful...and not via my (work avoiding) cyber trawling and keyword googling methods that I usually get up to either.

Today, one of my very dear customers quietly mentioned that she would be putting up pictures on her blog of the 50's fair at Rose Siedler house that was on over the weekend (and which I forgot to tell you to diarise - I'm losing my touch!).

Having sold several of my favourite (Bowerbird) vintage dresses and vintage bags to her in the past I was more than a little curious to check out the site and to put a face to the name I knew so well. That's the downside to having an online store I'm afraid - no personal contact means I never get to see how the vintage dresses I sell are transformed by the women buying and wearing them. And sadly that's really the most fun.

I do get happy customers occasionally sending through pictures of themselves in their bowerbird vintage finery which is wonderful and a real thrill but I definitely miss the personal interaction and service that comes with owning a shop.

So, it turns out that my lovely customer, who is a Sydney journalist, writes a beautiful blog with tonnes of stunning photo's and bountiful information about all things vintage, thrifted, arty/crafty and creative. I Highly recommend that you drop by right here: A Wild Tea Party

Oh, and yes, she rocks a vintage dress!

Samsung Tap & Take Fun!

I don't usually blog about technology but this is hard to ignore...not only because it looks pretty fab but also because there is stuff to win!

Samsung is launching a brand new camera ST500/ST550 with some very cool new gadgetry including a Tap & Take feature and two LCD screens.

For someone who loves taking a snap or two, this compact little camera might be on my Christmas list this year . The double LCD screens (on the front and back) lets you take a photo of yourself and your friends while watching the image. No self timers needed anymore and no more decapitations or blurry images ever again. Great for street fashion blogging too!

The Tap and Take technology means that you no longer have to use those pesky little buttons on top anymore. Simply tap the screen and it focuses and takes the picture for you. There are heaps of other techno features as well...take a look at the very cool Tap and Take website for more details.

Oh, and here's the good bit! If you sign up to the Tap and Take Twitter and the Tap and Take Facebook page, starting from tomorrow August 20th, you have the chance to win one for yourself.

Simply watch for clues posted on various Australian Blogs, including little ol' Bowerbird Vintage, then solve the (easy peasy) clues and you will have a Samsung Tap and Take of your very own!

30 Days of Fashion Fun!

It was such a hit last year that ACP magazines are doing it again this September!

30 days of Fashion & Beauty will run throughout September and promises to be another fashion highlight for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane!

The entire month is jam packed with competitions, exclusive offers, fashion and beauty workshops, talks by your favourite fashion magazine editors, runway shows and much more.

The event is also aiming to raise $30,000 in 30 days for Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC), a global breast cancer research charity. Just by donating to this worthwhile cause you could win yourself any number of fashion packs, including a Bobbi Brown make-up box, Pandora jewellery or stunning Akira Osawaga dress.

Check out the events calendar for a full listing of what's on each day of September.

Vintage Fashion at Sydeny Design 09

The Powerhouse Museums annual International Design Festival is on again from the 1st of August until the 16th of August. This year it is jam packed with fantastic workshops, exhibitions and talk from experts in all design fields including fashion. In fact, there are a number of vintage fashion events that will definitely weasel me away from my fixed position in front of the fireplace.

What looks to be a seriously unmissable workshop for any vintage clothing collector is the seminar on conservation & restoration of vintage fashion and accessories on the 2nd of August. Experts will be giving advice on preserving, storing precious textiles and garments, and restoring beading and fabrics in vintage dresses and the like.

Also for budding fashion designers is the From Trash to Treasure workshops which explain the process of creating fashion from what would otherwise be waste. The first workshop focuses on “upcycling” of discarded materials through textile manipulation and rich embellishment. Reworking vintage clothing is a passion of mine so I will definitely be booking a spot for this one.

There is a myriad of other fashion related workshops and exhibitions too so I suggest you jump online at the PowerHouse and take a look for yourself.

Of course, if markets are your thing then I highly recommend the Young Blood Design Markets at the end of the festival on the 14th-16th of August. These are one of my favourite markets in Sydney and are usually only on twice a year. You can meet and buy direct from the best design talent in the country including fashion, furniture, jewellery, graphics, landscape and lighting designer to name a just a few.

Vintage Swimwear!

I know it's not exactly sun baking or swimming weather here in Sydney at present but if you love a vintage aesthetic and you are daydreaming about warmer weather (like me!) you should get yourself along to the Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour to see the new Exposed! The Story of Swimwear exhibition which is on right now until early October. Check out the ANMM web site for further details.

Sublime vintage swimwear and a history of popular culture and design influence. Oh, and it's free!

Thanks to the lovely Nicole at Circa Vintage for giving me the heads up!

Oh, to be free as a birdie

I've sadly become a terrible blogger...I used to be so good - sometimes I'd even blog 2 or 3 times a day about various going-ons. Now, it's more like 2 or 3 times a month. And I miss the lovely blogger community and just taking the time to sit down and have a little wander around all my favourites and other cyber haunts like Etsy and Madeit.

Life has gotten in the way! Businesses to run, studies to attend to and husbands to nag (not really...o.k sometimes...he likes it though...)

I'm always startled it's Friday - then the weekend flies by in a blink and away we go again.

I know! that's everybody elses life as well.

So, lets take 5 minutes out of our hectic day and look at pretty things...with birdies on them

...like these:

Someone...please buy me a handmade lamp from the Etsy store The Owls are Hunting

Made from reclaimed and vintage materials from the 60's, 70's and 80's

I'm in love...

or, I'd also be happy with adorable handmade little scarf from MINGUS. Who also makes lovely vintage inspired bits and pieces from reclaimed and recycled fabrics

and finally...

You can snap this little cotton tee up from Erin Jane at Strawberry Jam - home of all things handmade and vintage inspired...