Secret Garden

 

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Dress: Anthea Crawford x Van Gogh Museum chiffon, lace

Jacket: Tree of Life patchwork, upcycled sari fabric, cotton quilting

Ankle Boots: Wittner matte leather

Tights: Razzamatazz 40 denier nylon

Bag: Sussan vinyl

Bangle: Gift, 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles vintage silver

Bangle Stack: Gift, vintage Mexican silver

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Mixing patterns like the sartorial professional I am for a morning spent attending a beautiful ballet rendition of Frances Hodgson Burnett's coming-of-age masterpiece, The Secret Garden, which incidentally turns 111 this year! For those who may not be aware, it's the story of Mary Lennox, a young girl who is orphaned in India & comes to live with her mysterious uncle in his manor on the Yorkshire moors. Treated as little more than a nuisance by many of the servants (other than the young, sweet natured Martha) she spends her days dodging the nasty Mrs Medlock as she endeavours to explore the manor's nearly 100 rooms - many of which are kept locked up tightly - to find source of the crying she believes she hears in the night. Then, Mary discovers a garden, hidden behind high walls & locked with a missing key. With the help of an unexpected companion, she finds a way in, only to find that it seems as maudlin & lamented as the rest of the manor seems to be. Although I'm quite sure that you can work out exactly how this story ends, I won't ruin it for those who might read the book or watch one of the film adaptations for the first time (my pick would be Agnieszka Holland's 1993 rendition with Maggie Smith) as it's actually incredibly emotional for what some consider to be just a piece of children's literature. The main themes - love's ability to bring people & things to life as well as the healing power of nature & the natural world - are just as pertinent as they were 111 years ago & just as beloved by fans, such as myself who absolutely adore it... even after first reading it more than 30 years ago...

For the occasion, I wore some of my favourite pieces - the beautiful "Daubigny's Garden" print chiffon bias-cut midi dress with tie neckline & black lace cuffs from Anthea Crawford's stunning collaboration with The Van Gogh Museum, an upcycled, patchwork sari jacket with burgundy quilting from my local Tree of Life store for that aforementioned print-mixing moment, a pair of black matte leather heeled ankle boots with pointy toes from Wittner for a modicum of height with the long dress, 40 denier nylon tights from Razzamatazz to keep my legs feeling toasty warm in the freezing temperatures & a black vinyl shoulder bag from Sussan to carry all the essentials. When it came to jewellery, I donned a vintage silver bangle from (sadly now defunct) 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles at Coolangatta that was given to me by my younger brother & a stack of vintage silver Mexican bangles that were given to me by some dear friends who now reside overseas.

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