Waist Woes

Slightly somber salutations,

I decided to do a quick post about confidence, as it as issue that has been weighing heavily (no pun intended) on my mind. I recently put on a bit of weight, during my revision period, and did not feel very comfortable in my own skin.  Weight is an area I try not to fixate on and ignore but one can't help but occasionally address the issue. My weight has fluctuated drastically throughout my life and unfortunately, after my recent weight gain, I was left feeling less confident. When suffering from bouts of feelings of inadequacy, my method to counteract these feelings, my patronus if you will, (can you tell I'm a Harry Potter fan!)  to vanquish the dementors which roam my mind, is to put on one of the beautiful vintage dresses I own, regardless of whether I'm even going to leave the house. 

This 1950s dress perfectly illustrates this point, it nips in at my waist and then fans out underneath, giving me an hourglass silhouette. The dress sculpts and accentuates a small waist whilst skimming over my stomach. I always feel elegant and womanly when wearing it, even when I have the urge to go sit in a dark room and not venture from it, this dress allows me to hold my head high and feel comfortable. Thank god for vintage, unlike in modern clothes in which the proportions of fail to suit my figure. Have I gushed enough yet about this 1950's dress? It was created by a company called California Cottons. I did not know much about the company until I found this fascinating blog post by sheep and chick blog featuring adverts for the company, all of which look amazing!

  

Clothes can definitely inform your mood, by choosing to wear this dress instead of hiding myself under  baggy layers of black in a bid to make myself feel less exposed, I actually make myself  have a sunnier disposition. Due to the construction of the dress I feel feminine and curvaceous, which gives me a more positive outlook. I know that this is not a groundbreaking or original thought, but I just wanted to share with you one of the many reasons for my love of vintage clothes.

Yours positively,

Evalily Harlow xxx

p.s. I'm embarking on a trip to Berlin soon, so will not be able to post for a while, but hopefully I will have many interesting experiences to share.

Roadshow Rendezvous

Hello!

Today I have written up my experience at the Antique Roadshow filming, last week. One could not help but feel the excitement and anticipation surrounding Wightwick Manor on the morning of the taping. I live near the manor and noticed that from eight o'clock  there were alot of coaches arriving and the car park was beginning to fill up. The excitement in the air was palpable.  I apprehensively acquiesced to my Mom's request to the take the dogs with us. They are generally very vocal dogs and especially delight in barking at toddlers. Luckily Bertie and Seth were very well behaved and kept quiet during the filming. They may even feature in the show! I will have to look out for them because the camera did pan down to them. Bertie, in the typical poser manner he inhabits, as soon as he got any sort of attention from the cameras, rolled onto his back with this legs in the air and started to wag his tail.

The impressive roadshow tour bus, I wonder if they have any treasures in their? 

The cameras were very impressive and I really enjoyed getting to see first hand how the show is filmed. I just felt very sorry for the experts, who though all looked impeccable, due to the blistering sun, must have been rather uncomfortable. I especially enjoyed listening to the military paraphernalia expert who was very enthusiastic and engaging. My favourite tables were the ones dedicated to teddys and dolls, the association with childhood's now gone is rather poignant and fascinating. Additionally, being a massive bookworm I was of course inquisitive about the books. I wanted to ask how much they would be prepared to sell them for, them remebered this was not Flog It! It was heartwarming to hear stories of the significance of, for example, a beautiful ring that had been passed down through generations, and hear the affection the new guardian of it had for it. I thought it was a romantic notion.

 Had lunch at the newly open tearoom, which was originally the stables, and architectural details of its prior use can still be observed. The space is much better than the original tearoom, that whilst quaint, was not sufficient for the numbers of visitors the manor receives. The new tea rooms are airy and spacious and utilitarian in contrast to the house. The aesthetic of the room though in contrast to the manor,is for the benefit of the property. The tearoom has pictures on the wall of  the Mander paint company advertisements and the paint making factory itself. To highlight where the wealth of the family came from, the Mander's were not aristocratic people who inherited their wealth but were wealthy industrialists, whose paint adorned number 10 Downing Street among other addresses. Volunteering at Wightwick Manor at the moment is especially exciting due to the greater visibility of the property due to the media interest over the past year and due to the investment in the property, from the snazzy new visitor centre and bigger car park and the new tea room. I'm sure if Geoffrey Mander was able to see the changes he would be very pleased at the properties continued popularity and beauty.

What a beautiful setting for the show, with the majestic manor as the backdrop, the sun shining and the gardens in bloom one could hardly think of a more suitable location for the programme.

Due to the weather, and, in homage to the cacophony of colour to be found in the flower beds, I chose this lightweight forties dress which has a red, green and blue flower pattern. I have noticed in alot of the pictures of me on this website that I give the impression I never wear shoes.  In fact I had just taken my shoes off before this picture was taken, I desperately hot and my oddly shaped feet, which at this point even the chiropodist has given up on, were hurting after walking round for a long time. It annoys me that when shopping for vintage I can never find shoes, I own pairs of reproduction shoes, taken from twenties, thirties and fourties designs but it breaks my heart when I see original thirties shoes that I know my clodhopping size 7 feet will never fit into.

I am also wearing my thirties sunglasses, mentioned in a previous post. I had been wanting a pair for ages after seeing that iconic image of Marlene Dietrich and after weeks fruitlessly hunting I found a beautiful pair on etsy. 

Actress Marlene Dietrich Eating at the Paramount Commissary Wearing Sunglasses by Alfred Eisenstaedt.

I just realised how unflattering it is to include an image of myself and Marlene in close proximity, ah well, it was just to show the influence her style frequently has on mine.

Finally, after all the hullabaloo of  the roadshow we decided to go for a walk round the acres of grounds. It must have been the perfect place for the Mander children to play hide and seek and the elegant garden parties that would have been hosted there must have been divine!

Anyway, ciao for now! 

Now for an aside- Did I really just say ciao for now, maybe I should delete in from the post, no I will leave my corny signing off sentiment in.

Evalily Harlow xxx