Taking On "The Terraces"

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Dress: Sha Sha cotton & embroidery

Sandals: Airflex leather & sequins

Bag: LouenHide leather

Hat: Vintage, 1950s straw

Bangle: Buddha's Birthday Market Stall cinnabar

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Wandered around LaTrobe & Given Terraces in Paddington - the opposite end to the Paddington Antique Centre for a change - with a friend yesterday, stopping to rummage through vintage stores for pre-loved clothing that I can have altered, accessories from bye-gone eras & dusty bric-a-brac to clutter up my dressing room; hit up funky boutiques for the latest threads (hello asymmetrical, Grecian-style sack dress, coming to the blog very, very soon!) & sample yummy fare at some (!) of the shi-shi cafes along the roadside. 

Fanta Spider... just because...

Awesome vintage at amazing prices...

Loving this store for all things weird, wacky & wonderful...

HEADS UP: if you are looking for somewhere ah-mazing to eat breakfast, brunch or lunch, look no further than Ruby Cafe on Given Terrace. The pulled pork burger with a side of beer-battered chips, washed down with a banana & coconut smoothie is to. die. for. 

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Finn also enjoyed her smoked salmon bagel with beer battered chips & aioli...

Milkshakes and/or smoothies are pretty much my life...

Loving the rustic touches as much as the food...

But I digress.

This is Franny Gets Frocked, so you probably want to hear about the dress, right? This gorgeous navy brushed cotton maxi comes from a new store at Garden City called Sha Sha & is super-soft & cool. I love the way the Indian-style gold embroidery really makes a statement against the dark background while the mirrored sequins around the neckline glint in the sunlight. That's one of the great things about having my hair cut into a bob - it sits above 90% of necklines.

To enhance the gold embroidery, I decided to bust out my new gold wedge-heeled sandals with embellished straps, mixed with a slouchy light gold leather handbag, perfect for carrying around all my hipster swag while doing my bit by eschewing plastic bags & therefore saving the environment...

A modern recreation of a Chinese cinnabar bangle - the ore of Mercury popular 1000 years ago in the Song Dynasty - bought at a market stall during the Buddha Birthday Festival at Southbank & intricately carved with images of the dragon & phoenix, serves as a "pop" of colour to match the tiny embroidered circle just underneath the bustline of the dress. 

See the labyrinthine carving in detail below:

Of course, summertime in Queensland dictates that outside activities require hats to be worn, so this vintage baby was "in like Flynn," the yellowish straw & stylised embroidered rattan flowers working in harmony with the vibe of the dress to create a cohesive look.

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