She wore blue (green) velvet

Double outfit bonus post, yay! A couple of looks from last week featuring my beautiful 1970's green velvet coat. Honestly, it is a gorgeous deep green, however my camera would like you to believe it is a teal/blue colour. Metallic silver gloves and turban, a tassel rope belt and a lace blouse with a charming ruffled collar complete the ensemble. This outfit actually won me an amazing prize with the V&A as part of their Street Style Competition on Facebook. I was ridiculously excited to win as I adore the V&A Museum; thankyou to the fashion curators for choosing me. 

Bonus cat-picture. I'm a crazy cat lady who tries to befriend every feline within reach. This little guy recently moved in nearby and keeps following me home.

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Outfit two is a pretty standard Winter Russian Princess look with a huge furry Cossack hat, lace dress and patent booties. A polo-neck for warmth, velvet gloves and an antique belt complete the look. I bought the hat at the start of winter and it has pretty much left all my other fur hats redundant due to its immense warmth, size and general awesomeness. 

The hat looks so good and fuzzy backlit 

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

HoH Holiday Highlights (week 2)

Week 2 of my holiday to Provence. The day I wore this Edwardian inspired outfit was perhaps the hottest day of the entire holiday (37°c +). I think the hat helped me avoid a deep tan. Also shown is a beautiful peachy pink caped dress my boyfriend bought me. Towards the end of the holiday it got quite windy (due to the Mistral winds); I was rather pleased as it allowed the cape to fly around in true superhero style.

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And again, just some general holiday shots of the area.

The detail on the Popes' clothing below is wonderful; what looks like Battenburg lace, and wonderful tirered crowns, the 'Triregnum'. This painting is just one of many beautiful Papal portraits I saw in the Palais des Papes of Avignon.

Dented Elbows

Over the winter months I became somewhat enamoured with white elbow-length gloves. There's an elegance to the crisp whiteness that can't be matched. I bought this antique pair off of an eBay seller who didn't provide much information about them, other than that they are kid-skin and brand new, still attached having never been worn. I was pretty excited upon inspecting them to find the faint stamp of 'Dents Gloves' in one of them. Dents have been making gloves since 1777, so who knows how old these are?! I would estimate them to be from 1900-1910. They really are a buttery soft leather, and quite fiendish to get on by yourself, what with 3 dainty buttons on each.

I'm also wearing a lovely Edwardian lace blouse, which is as light as air. I bought the blouse from a seller who had 3 or 4 similar lace Edwardian blouses listed with this one. Unfortunately I only won the auction for this one. I may be bitter and biased but I think I got the best blouse out of the lot. I hadn't intended to look like an Edwardian horse-rider in this get-up, but I'm not complaining!

Cape (Mango), vintage blazer, antique blouse, trousers (American Apparel), antique Dents gloves, shoes (French Connection)

I also took the opportunity to photograph this wonderful hat I purchased last year. It is an antique tricorn hat with a plume of ostrich feathers. I'm unsure of it's age and its base material; it feels like a waxed linen (it is very lightweight and has a slight sheen to it) but I'm no expert on hats. Just a little disclaimer; I didn't go out wearing the hat. One of the problems I have with styling it is that it looks very costumey. I have no problem being a little theatrical, but don't want to look like I'm in fancy dress. Also, it feels a bit lightweight for a winter hat, but a bit gloomy for a spring/summer hat (possibly a mourning hat then?). Either way, I love it and I'm sure I'll find a use for it one day!