Royal weddings, not so royal weddings and 40s dresses

So apparently I've done 7 posts in 9 months, which is pretty lazy by anyone's standards! Not that I'm going to make any plans to blog more often, in fact, the next few months are going to be all about taking it easy and just enjoying life. I have a whole pile of vintage and second hand clothes to write about but as a busy working mum of a very active toddler it's hard to find the time. I'm making no promises...in most cases the problem is that by the time I get round to taking a photo I'm covered in baked beans, yoghurt or avocado.

My husband bought me this 1940s dress for my birthday this year. We got it from a vintage fair at Harewood House which was part of their Royal Wedding celebrations. After spending all morning watching Kate, William, Harry, Pippa et al, we nipped off during the service to spend a few hours making the most of the day off. The vintage fair was an added bonus! There were some amazing vintage wedding dresses, if you were in the market for that sort of thing (I wasn't especially, but supposing one day the husband and I renew our vows??!?)

I always love 1940s dresses, but they are usually among the most expensive items at vintage fairs. I'm not sure why that is: perhaps they are more difficult to come by than dresses from other periods, such as the 1970s? I spotted this one on the rack and just HAD to try it on. Oh, and obviously, it fitted perfectly so I just HAD to have it! The lovely husband really liked it too, and suggested he buy it for me as a birthday present. I'm not sure what the fabric is, but it's amazing to wear and the skirt is pleated and swings beautifully. I love the fact it's so demure and ladylike. It seems like it's a pretty timeless dress that I'll be able to wear for years to come.

I wore it for the first time on Saturday (despite it not yet being my birthday - shhhhhh) for the wedding of some friends of ours. It was a fantastic wedding, possibly the most original I've ever been to. It's hard to make a wedding truly personal but these friends really achieved it - even having a wedding band made up of the bride and groom's dads, uncle and sisters PLUS a unicorn cake buffet presided over by a shop mannequin called Ken.

I felt like the dress needed red lipstick which as someone who only ever uses Lucas' Papaw Ointment on her lips is a huge thing. How do people wear red lipstick? It takes such dedication and I spend the whole time being afraid that it's on my teeth or round my mouth as soon as I've had a drink. I would love to the kind of polished girl who always has immaculate make up but I guess I'm just never going to be like that (see above re: baked beans, yoghurt and avocado on my clothes) even at the grand old age of 31. Oh well, life's too short to have neat make up, right?

(Oh, and if anyone was wondering, I managed to go the whole night without getting food or drink of any kind on my dress - something to do with my little girl staying overnight at my brother in law's house and me being the designated driver?)

1940s dress: vintage fair

white sandals: Kurt Geiger about four years' ago (barely worn: I'm not really a white sandals kind of girl either!)

corsage round wrist: Sportsgirl, Sydney

Oh, and I used my vintage black handbag, bought in Newtown, Sydney but I forgot to take a photo of it