Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

Categories: Fashion

What I Wore: To Dinner at Beadnell Towers

Sustainable fashion has made leaps and bounds in the last twelve months alone.  With Second Hand September taking place in the same month as Fashion Month, it’s taking huge steps in the curation of our wardrobes and really making us think not just what we want our clothes to say about who we are as people, but what they say about our purchasing choices and power.  There are so many ways that people can tap into sustainable fashion, whether it’s by sourcing ethical materials and fabrics from high street stores whilst still buying new, or buy purchasing vintage clothing (older than 25 years) or from second hand / charity / thrift stores.

Personally, I do all of that, but I do have a penchant for vintage and as you know, I can’t resist a prairie dress.   I’m not sure if I mentioned this already but Bo turned 40 earlier this month.  Actually I did, I mentioned it in this post and yes, it’s still a very sore subject for the same reasons.  Anyway, we were recently invited up to Beadnell Towers for an overnight stay, seriously the hotel is amazing, it’s recently been overhauled completely and the place is just brimming with original features that are complimented beautifully by new homages to the old.  You can read about our stay here, but the reason for the mention is more to do with setting the scene for my vintage prairie dress.

Beadnell Towers is the most perfect location for blending the old with the new.  It’s exactly what Dynargh Design have done in their interior design brief.  It’s what we do with our wardrobes every single day, maybe not to the same degree, but all of us every day are mixing old and new clothes to create something individual, to stand out in a crowd.

Pixie Tenenbaum stands in front of twin copper slipper tubs wearing a blue midi prairie dress and brown cowboy boots at Beadnell Towers Hotel

For dinner I put together a really easy outfit, I say it every time and I’ll say it again: a dress is easy because it’s one piece.  Easy to pack, easy to dress and easy to accessorise.  This particular one is a vintage midi prairie dress in cerulean blue with white trim and I’ve paired it with my favourite battered old cowboy boots from Topshop.

Pixie Tenenbaum wearing a cerulean blue midi vintage prairie dress in the Muckle Hoose Suite at Beadnell Towers Hotel

The thing I love about this dress is that unlike most other typical prairie dresses, it doesn’t trail on the floor, and it has elbow length sleeves which is quite unusual for the type of dress.  Also, I never normally wear a sash belt with a dress but occasionally with this one I do because it works really well with the ruffles on the front – which are also great for creating the illusion of a bust.  Top tip, or maybe that should be top tit?

Whenever I wear this one, and it’s not as often as I’d like if I’m honest, it always garners lots of compliments – it’s one I’m thinking about taking to London Fashion Week with me because it never seems to get enough of an outing in that I never seem to wear it for a full day.  I’m trying to shake that whole thing of it being a bad thing for Bloggers to be seen in the same outfit twice because I really do love my clothes!

Pixie

Categories: Fashion, Pixie

What I Wore: Styling the Vintage Prairie Dress

When it comes to trends there’s one that’s been building momentum for some time now.  It started with the resurgence of vintage dresses from a particular era as far back as seven years ago and the emergence of new brands like Batsheva and The Vampire’s Wife who have dedicated themselves to creating modern versions of Gunnies and the prairie dresses we scour vintage rails for.  Now designers like Bora Aksu are reinventing the prairie dress for a new audience to great effect.

I do own a Batsheva frock and two Vampire’s Wife dresses and I do feel amazing in them, but it has to be said, there’s nothing quite like an original vintage prairie dress.  The thrill of finding one, especially when it fits and it’s the perfect length and composition – well, that’s just unbeatable.  So, what exactly is a prairie dress?  Well, let’s get that clear first off…

A true prairie dress has three main features (and a lot of vintage sellers will list any old maxi dress with a few ruffles and call it a prairie dress which is absolutely not the case), so what should you be looking for?

1. a high, stand up collar

2. a feature waist – either elasticated, belted or ribboned, but not empire line

3. a flounce – that’s the detail which appears in the bottom third of the dress

Anything in addition to this is a lovely bonus.  If it has an empire line it’s a different type of dress from the same, or a similar era and your vintage seller is cashing in on your lack of knowledge, or maybe even theirs.  The rules are simple though, if you like the dress, buy it, if you’re definitely and resolutely looking to buy a prairie dress, then stick to the protocol.

Here’s my current favourite (subject to change literally daily) and the one I wore to the VIP launch of The Cosy Club at Durham’s Riverwalk complex.  It’s a full length navy blue true vintage dress, fully lined and covered in tiny polka dots, bought right here in the North East from an expert vintage curater and re-seller called The Pansy Garden.  It’s a dream to wear because it’s so light and flowy and not at all heavy meaning that when it’s warm outside you don’t get all hot and bothered in it.  I’m wearing it with a Topshop leather and chainmail belt which I bought a few years ago, you can find a similar one here, a Western style works well.  Chuck on a pair of cowboy boots (again mine are Topshop) and a fedora (out of shot because the wind picked up), and that’s one fast, easy, and pretty damn sustainable outfit.

Pixie