In the early 90s I met a nice Greek boy & we got engaged after 12 months. We were due to be married in late November 1995. He was a really decent fellow & smart & funny. But we couldnt seem to agree on anything - he was conservative (& I am not talking politics here) & I hated going with the grain. Plus I was good at spending money which he didnt quite appreciate as much as I did.
Eight days before the wedding, he said to me that he couldnt go ahead with it. I was SO relieved. Best decision ever. The very first thing that went through my head was "Thank God I dont have to tell him about the sweater." No joke.
Rewind.
The sweater
Back in the 90s there was an amazing designer store called Papoucci in Double Bay. Owned by a very classy Greek lady
called Tina Hatsatouris, her stuff was outstanding. Unfortunately it was also expensive.
She also had the licence for Adrienne Vittadini in Australia and had concessions in the larger David Jones stores. Did I mention her stuff was expensive? Oh yeah, I did.
All the more reason to camp out for her annual warehouse sale in Double Bay.
The sale was in the office - not in the store.
TIP: I NEVER go to warehouse sales held in the store - they are never really reduced by alot and they are far less likely to bring in additional merchandise (which hasnt already been on the floor all season). When the location is the head office - that's when I do a Linda Evangelista & get out of bed for a sale. Because head office sales have the interesting stuff. Plus brands curate head office sales so the discounts are way deeper than the store.
So in 1995, on a Saturday morning in late November, I arrived, first in at the papoucci warehouse sale. I grabbed the navy daisy sweater in the photo. It was $300 which was alot of money back then (for a sweater) but I knew instantly I had to have it. The original was $795. I still have the tags.
Vittadini did oversize cotton sweaters with daisies, like this most summers, they were featured in Vogue & finally the planets were aligning.
I love the daisy pattern.
It was dark navy (dark navy is my black).
It was 100% cotton.
It had these little baubles all over but had a tight weave (so no pulls).
The yellow & green popped beautifully against the navy & white (but back then I never would have used the word pop) The yellow & green werent overwhelming (since green & yellow are my worst colours).
it was oversize (I love big & sloppy in a fun print).
It was Vittadini (yes, i am a brand slut, but in my defense, its due to the quality associated with brands).
So despite the fact that I had been saving like crazy for the better part of 12 months, I splurged. It was mine. I hid it in the boot of the car, wondering if I would ever have the courage to take it out & show it off.
As it turns out, a few hours later, I took it out & admired it. I started wearing it the next fall.
Did you notice how the elbows each have a daisy & its not randomly placed?
Look at the back. There is a daisy at the top of the centre back. Too cute & no daisies on the butt (sometimes I dont know what brands are thinking with print placement). No, this baby was carefully thought out & that's what explains the price.
The only drawback with this baby is that it takes about a month to dry - & I place it on a mesh sweater dryer & it still takes a month! Almost.
The jeans
Not Your Daughter's Jeans, you've met these before.
The necklace
This gun metal piece is an Emporio Armani.
I bought it at a massive warehouse sale at the old casino in the late 1990s.
Up til that time, the Armani license was held by a Singaporean woman called Chrisitina Ong. Her company was called Club 21. She also had other luxury franchises like Bvlgari & DKNY.
So she decided to give up (?) on Armani & DKNY franchises & held the biggest clearance I have ever seen. Think around the time of the Asian financial crisis hence why I am querying whether she gave up the franchise or the economic climate forced her hand.
A girlfriend of mine & I went & stocked up. I bought 2 jackets, 2 silk shirts, 2 pairs of pants, 1 evening dress and this necklace, all in Emporio Armani (diffusion). The necklace is the only remaining piece I have. The rest have shown too many signs of wear for me to keep, mind you I was wearing them for a long time - they were not one hit wonders. In total I spent about $1,100 on these items.
In addition, I also scored 2 pairs of shoes & a handful of runway jewellery which were Giorgio Armani, main line. I still have all of these & they still look amazing because they are so unique. This is a good example of why I covet main line items & avoid diffusion like the plague.
TIP: IMO, its better to buy less diffusion & save up for main line.
I remember looking through racks & racks of the main line Giorgio racks & thinking they were out of my price range.
Why? Why? Why? Did I not give back all that Emporio Armani stuff so that I could afford one or two items of main line? I had no brain back them. Obviously.
The rings
The yellow one is a Lovisa ring for $7. I bought a few colours in the silver tone. The yellow was the only one in gold tones.
The large one is a Jan Michaels piece - a San Francisco jewellery designer who uses semi precious but isnt far into the stratosphere priced. I think I paid $200 for it. Its massive & a very bold piece.
This came from a costume jewellery store in Double Bay called Inro, owned by Caroline Rowe. I think this store has closed recently - it was an amazing place - most of her pieces were French or Italian. She had an amazing eye.
Interestingly she took all manufacturers' branding off the items she sold & simply displayed the items with the Inro tags attached to them. By eliminating the other brand names, she made it harder for people to track down items elsewhere & made it easier for her to secure the sale at her mark up.
The shoes
The shoes are from Nine West. Purchased at Birkenhead Point for $15. I also bought the pink version & the yellow version for that same price. About 6 years old.
Unfortunately, not leather lined, but I pick & choose the days/occasions I wear them so the feet arent trapped in them for a long day.
I love how the grosgrain ribbon is sewn at the ends & not left to fray.
I rolled the jean's hem up to show off the ribbon.
See you tomorrow.
