Novelty Brooch Friday - May winner

Well May came to an end pretty quickly I think, but this month there was a record number of people using #NoveltyBroochFriday and of course entries to win Luxulite’s fruity brooch.  

Thank you Katy, there is a lot of love for your creations on Instagram and Novelty Brooch Friday, thank you for your generous donation.

So without further ado the winner out of 477 entries is number 283…………

@peregrinationz

Congratulations! If you could email me your postal address, Katy will forward you your fabulous prize (tunabake@hotmail.com).

Next month is a special month for Novelty Brooch Friday as it will be its1 year anniversary! Yippee!! 1 whole year of brooching on a Friday! And because it’s a special celebration there will be 2 brooches and 2 winners!  Look out on Friday for June’s special shop and the brooches you could win.

I was thinking of posting my brooch collection for the anniversary as well, I might not have as many as some but I love them and thought you might be interested in seeing them.

I just also want to say I try to be as fair as possible choosing the winner, I have to sift through and count all of the legitimate entries (there are a lot of shops who like using the # now that it gets so many people using it every Friday) once I know how many entries, I use a random number generator app and then I count back through the entries (minus the shops) and come up with the winner. 

If you're a brooch maker/ designer or vintage seller that would like to donate a beautiful brooch to our giveaway and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs, shop or otherwise and we'll get you a spot on the calendar. tunabake@hotmail.com

Dames of Distinction - a Vintage-style Lingerie Boutique & Beauty Salon

It was a few weeks ago now that Jacinta and Margeaux opened their shop Dames of Distinction in the wonderful Art Deco building, Mitchell House in Melbourne.  It really has been a labour of love for them both, sourcing a great venue, furnishing it and stocking it with all sorts of delights ready for their customers.

They really have done a wonderful job turning this space into something special and a delight to visit.

So what is Dames of Distinction exactly? Well it's made up of two spaces: a Vintage-style Lingerie Boutique & Beauty Salon.  

The Lingerie Boutique is run by Jacinta who has had an online lingerie boutique for the past year and a half, she now stocks What Katie Did, Rago and a carefully selected range of vintage lingerie. (she still has an online presence with Betty and Ginger if you are not able to visit her bricks and mortar shop).

The Beauty Salon in the back room has hair styling and makeup services by Margeaux who has been styling and creating wonderful vintage looks for 5 years. Wouldn't you love to sit under that pale pink hairdryer and wile away an afternoon of being made over for a special event or just have your hair set for the week.

Dames of Distinction is a wonderful space, run by two wonderful ladies who have a wealth of knowledge to share with all those who either know what they want or for those who are not quite sure what they need or what would suit them. 

Oh and I just happened to purchase a little something for myself on my last visit, how could I not?

For all their contact details, shop opening times and price list you can visit their website or I've popped a few details down here for quick reference: 

Mitchell House

Level 1, 358 Londsdale Street

Melbourne 3000

Tuesday - Friday 11am-4pm

Saturday 10am - 3pm

telephone: (03) 9640 0555

Dames soiree and discount day is taking place on the 26th October (Saturday) between 12 and 3pm. Maybe see you there for some pimms?


*The wonderful branding of Dames of Distinction was created by the talented Rebecca Hayes

Hello! Goodbye. Shoes

Yesterday I checked out a vintage shop I had never been to called Lost + Found Market. I only discovered it after complimenting a girl in a shop on her lovely novelty pattern skirt. I like to compliment people on their clothes if I like them, I know it makes people feel good and it makes me feel good if someone bothers to voice their admiration.



This place is great, inside it is set out in separate concessions varying from clothes, shoes, jewellery, furniture, crockery, magazines, you name it they will probably have it, I spent a little too long in there and my parking ticket ran out but luckily there were no parking inspectors on the beat.

Oh and I bought these lovely men's Italian leather shoes. I find it quite hard to find vintage shoes in my size - I have quite big feet. These are in great condition, with a slight heel. They are probably not best for the sort of weather we are going to be experiencing this season but they will be ready to go when Autumn arrives.



I bought these Tatty Divine earrings a while ago but as you never see my ears these days I thought they might look good on my collars.

If I were ever to get a tattoo (which I toss up every year or so and then decide against it) I would like to get a little blue bird like this.

Hello and goodbye shoes, until the weather gets cooler.

Dress: Etsy (in a previous post)

Shoes: Lost + Found Market Label: Calzaturificio di Varese

Earrings as brooches: Tatty Divine

Battling the elements

The weather in Melbourne has changed so dramatically that it snowed in the alps, snowed! And it is spring. It wasn't quite that cold in Melbourne City but cold enough to wonder why I decided to go outside.

I went to check out a clothing sale and on the way home just had to pop into one of my favourite shops Kleins Perfumery, They stock a huge selection of perfumes, lotions, soaps, serums, everything that would look lovely in a bathroom or boudoir (if you had one of those fancy houses - which I don't - but I can pretend).



A few purchases later and I was back on a tram and home to the warmth.



This roll-on perfume (Lychee Flower) by MOR is lovely and the packaging is just so cute but my favourite is these bon bons by Les Anis de Flavigny in violet, at first I thought they were OK, but the more I eat them the more I love them and want to get to the little bud of aniseed in the centre.

So with all the heaters on in the house, I am just about to sit down to dinner and maybe have a martini or two...just to warm up the body, of course.

New scarf, rainy weather

I bought a new scarf from Shag yesterday while taking my daughter for a walk along Brunswick Street and a visit to a cafe (which she loves). I must say it was between a scarf that had horses on it or this one with butterflies. Leaving it up to my daughter to make the decision she chose the butterfly scarf of course.



Unfortunately it is so silky it is hard to use in the hair without bobby pins but with the weather being so humid my hair tends to frizz and the scarf keeps it tamed.



It needs a good iron but that can wait until tomorrow.

Sunny colours, rainy days

Spring seems to have left us again, more grey skies and rain to come, which is a great shame as I have some wonderful summer dresses I would love to wear...NOW!

I suffered the cold for a little while this morning and put on a new dress I purchased from Etsy shop Secondhand Addiction (I felt like being bright and colourful). This dress is a great fit and even though it is probably from the 80's I love it's vintage feel.

The belt I bought from an amazing vintage shop in Melbourne called Vintage Garage, I popped along to check it out after reading Andi B. Goode's blog and she was right, this place is huge! You know sometimes when you enter a shop and you see so many things you want to look at you become a little catatonic??? No? Oh well, this does happen to me on the vary rare occasion but I just didn't know where to look first. Concession after concession of amazing clothes and accessories. I also bought a lovely dress which I'll wear when the weather gets a little warmer.

Please sun come out again.