I mean, what's so great about youth? The pimples? The groundings? The sweaty, overstimulated boys with clunky cars and keen hands? No. Those years are over, and I'm not sorry.
Close-up of my skin, circa 1994But there are a few happy memories, mostly sartorial in nature. Before I got into, y'know, whippings and black latex, I liked to clothe myself in those sweet-sixteen cottons with little flowers on 'em, delicate culottes and floaty blouses and whatnot. The kinds of clothes that beautiful breezy teenagers with impossibly long legs wear in Italian movies.
Adolescence, as imagined by Bernardo Bertolucci
Not that I ever actually rocked that look. It's amazing how knees that resemble shelled walnuts will ruin a summer frock. But the frocks looked good in my wardrobe at least, such that the sight of today's dress filled me with warm nostalgic memories of happy afternoons spent gazing into my closet.
What made this dress so evocative? Was it the cute early-90s florals? The sweet hint-o-cleavage neckline? The whimsical criss-cross pattern on the waist? Or did I actually own this dress as a teenager and have now bought it back?
Whatever prompted my nostalgia, you too can experience it by popping over to TradeMe and bidding on your own recaptured youth.
Or maybe you're truly a beautiful breezy teenager and are buying this to wear with no trace of irony or nostalgia. In which case: I hate you.
Either way, the link is: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=258805604&ed=true
And my Twitter is: http://twitter.com/vintagemadam
The specifics are below for those who, unlike me, take time to check that something is actually a practical purchase before buying. (I buy in a trance-like state. Usually while chanting: "it's preeetty... so preeetty...")
Love and acne,
The Vintage Madam.
Adolescence, as imagined by Bernardo BertolucciNot that I ever actually rocked that look. It's amazing how knees that resemble shelled walnuts will ruin a summer frock. But the frocks looked good in my wardrobe at least, such that the sight of today's dress filled me with warm nostalgic memories of happy afternoons spent gazing into my closet.
What made this dress so evocative? Was it the cute early-90s florals? The sweet hint-o-cleavage neckline? The whimsical criss-cross pattern on the waist? Or did I actually own this dress as a teenager and have now bought it back?
Whatever prompted my nostalgia, you too can experience it by popping over to TradeMe and bidding on your own recaptured youth.
Or maybe you're truly a beautiful breezy teenager and are buying this to wear with no trace of irony or nostalgia. In which case: I hate you.
Either way, the link is: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=258805604&ed=true
And my Twitter is: http://twitter.com/vintagemadam
The specifics are below for those who, unlike me, take time to check that something is actually a practical purchase before buying. (I buy in a trance-like state. Usually while chanting: "it's preeetty... so preeetty...")
Love and acne,
The Vintage Madam.
| Size on label: | "1" |
| Modern size: | Best on a s8-10 |
| Label: | Estafania - 100% Vintage since 1966 |
| Condition: | Mostly great; 2 tiny, fixable holes at the waist |
| Fabric: | Labelled as "antique cotton" |
| Closure: | Side zip |
| Measurements: | (all taken with garment lying flat) |
| Armpit-to-armpit: | 44cm (but it's stretchy so there's some give) |
| Waist: | 34cm (ditto on the stretchiness) |
| Hips: | Free-size |
| Length: | 104cm shoulder-to-hem (knee-length) |
| Features: | Ruched around torso; adjustable spaghetti straps |
