Bundled Up Beauties

Renee Perle

Oh my, it certainly has been a while; I guess I have some explaining to do. House of Harps is not extinct, but certainly rather stagnant at the moment. My life is very different now from when I first started the blog three years ago... gone are the days when I had time to post every day (yes, I unbelievably used to post daily). This is actually a good thing; I started blogging as a pleasant distraction from health issues that took over my life.The healthier I get, the more I am actually living life and the less I blog. I started a new job a few months ago, unfortunately leaving House of Harps looking a little sad and empty. I guess I just wanted to say that I am still here, and will continue to update the blog, just not as frequently as usual.

And now it's December, I've been enjoying the cold. Winter is the most fun season for dressing up, swathing oneself in furs and velvet, hats and gloves. Some winter outfits will be posted in the near future, but for now, enjoy some early 20th Century ladies who managed to beat the cold whilst still looking badass. If anyone knows the names of the unidentified ladies, feel free to contact me. 

Lily Elsie (who always reminds me of Rachel Weisz)

Lily Elsie

Lily Langtry

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Zena and Phyllis Dare

Ruth Vincent

Joan Crawford

Louise Brooks

Myrna Loy

Norma Shearer

Dorothy Arnold

Cameo

We had a mini heat-wave at the start of October, giving me the chance to wear this dress one final time this year. Once again I found myself inspired by Bottega Veneta and their jewellery offerings...this time the lava cameo pieces presented for SS2011. The usual fusty connotations of cameos were turned on their head with varying shades of carved lava rock and blackened filigree. The classic Roman profiles carved from volcanic lava got me thinking of Ancient Rome, Vesuvius, draping...basically, that's how I got to this outfit. I dug out a few cameo pieces (annoyed I forgot about my cameo ring...oh well)....and added a tasselled belt I searched for months for and have hardly worn.  

Vintage dress, belt (eBay), shoes (Bruno Premi)

Faux-bob, angular liner and no lipstick (I barely recognise myself without painted lips!)

images from bottegaveneta.com and style.com

Silk Road

I bought this beautiful jacket at the start of summer and pretty much wore it non-stop. I'm not entirely sure on the age; it's an Oriental design typical of the 1920's, but it may be from the 40's or 50's. The poor thing was never lined and needs a bit of a tidy up, but other than that the silk is strong and the embroidery as good as new. I consider myself very lucky to have found and bought this before anyone else did!

Vintage jacket, vintage vest, trousers (H&M), vintage shoes

Gold Shell

This outfit began with the bag; a pale gold, shell shaped beauty. From there, I developed some sort of 'turn of the century, summer seaside look.' I love the brooch I'm wearing because it looks like its been at the bottom of the sea for a while... although its colours are pretty awkward to fit into my outfits so it really doesn't get worn much at all. Mint green and pearl accents finished the look off (pearls come from the sea too! I do like to carry a theme through).

Hat (Accessorize), bag (Zandra Rhodes), vintage shoes, vintage bag, skirt (Asos)

Wild, curly mermaid hair (i.e. I didn't have time to straighten it) and mint green eyes.

I created a little seaside themed treasury over at Etsy. I was feeling quite shell-y after I bought the bag! Creating treasuries is similar to using polyvore to create sets, except its a little more restrictive. I think I prefer it this way though.