Piqué

A few weeks ago I mentioned I had bought two new antique brooches, the first of which was my beetle brooch, who I introduced to the world here. The second of the brooches is this example of Victorian tortoiseshell pique work. Pique refers to the technique of inlaying gold or silver into the torstoiseshell, by means of pressing a heated rod of the precious metal into the tortoiseshell, thus metling it slightly. The tortoiseshell then hardens around the precious metal as it cools. The results are amazingly refined and detailed. My brooch only showcases a small example of pique work, but much larger, more elaborate examples can be found. Good quality Victorian tortoiseshell is always in demand, and its increasingly difficult to find good examples in undamaged pique work, so I feel quite lucky to have found this brooch at a very good price (if you're interested in seeing more examples....earrings, brooch, pendant, coin purse and journal, more earrings).

Britain is going through a bit of heatwave at the moment, which means I can happily wear my favourite summer sandals. I purchased them last year, when they successfully kept my feet cool and looking pretty. I also wore my fringe top, which doesn't get nearly enough wear, and accessorised with plenty of long beaded necklaces. Todays bag is one of my most favourite vintage pieces ever. It is a c.1920's black velvet bag with gold thread work in the form of the Taj Mahal. Its kinda kitsch, but the detail is incredible and I love it!

Shoes (Bruno Premi), vintage bag, trousers (H&M), top (H&M),

Make-up shot below - I always wanted to be able to do mad black and white 60's eyemake-up (you know, like this)...but everytime I try, I fail. I think my eyes are too small to carry it off properly, but I'll keep practicing and eventually get something with more oomph than this.