Back To Basics: Leather Biker Jacket

Tags

black leather, Camden Market London, leather biker jacket, outfit of the day, vintage

A leather jacket is a staple in every woman’s wardrobe if they live in a cold country, and I will sorely miss looking cool in my leather biker jacket once I leave the UK!

Before I came to the UK for my tertiary studies, my excited mother bought me a leather jacket from Zara. It was gorgeous – except the fact that she had bought it for me in M! I was drowning in that poor jacket! When I asked why it was in a larger size, she stated that once I start layering it’d be too tight for an XS/S. Since mum spent most of her young adult life in Down Under, I expected she knew her stuff.

In fact…she didn’t! I realised that it was not cool to wear a leather piece of clothing that is larger than your size. The reason for this is because leather can expand and fit to one’s body proportions after some long-wearing.

So I found the vintage leather biker jacket (top 3 photos) in Camden Market, London back in 2009 in my size and it still looks amazing on me now. I love the feminine torso cut which is fit for a woman’s curves, and the edgy detailing on both the shoulder and elbows.

Here’s how I wore the jacket on one of Newcastle’s sunnier days last week (can you believe it’s snowing, raining and extremely windy now? Where has Spring gone ):

I felt like a superwoman teaming this flowing cardigan + leather jacket when I was walking! It was as though I had a cape on.

How do you like wearing your leather jacket? Let me know!

♥ P E A C H E S

PTW: Vintage Tokyo

Tags

blair headband, sereni & shentel, vintage, what to wear in Borneo, www.sereniandshentel.com

Been giving new life to mum’s vintage clothing. You can view most Vintage posts here! Here’s a Tokyo tee from her younger days:

Losing 5kg ever since I started the Bar (BPTC) course, it’s brought me back to my pre-university weight when I was much leaner then. My shorts from years ago are fitting me snugly again, and I find myself feeling healthier without the excess weight.

Hence the full-tucked in shirt! You’ve probably noticed that I am currently in love with my skinny gold metallic belt. Old preppy with new metallics. Love it! This is the perfect attire to wear while on the Equator.

Also, no outfit would be complete unless I wore something made IN Borneo!

Blair headband in Mint by Sereni & Shentel

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, I certainly did! Photographs of my trip to the jungle highlands of Borneo shall be up soon (think green lush valleys, wild boars, buffaloes, clear streams). Maybe a post on “How to survive Fashion in the Jungle” would be fun. Haha!

♥ P E A C H E S

Modernising the Baju Kurung

Tags

Baju Kurung, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mum's closet, vintage

This month is the fasting month ‘Ramadhan’ for all Muslims, before the ‘Hari Raya’ celebration also known as Eid. If you happen to be in South East Asia, you will notice a lot more people wearing baju kurungs around in town!

If you’re never heard of the “baju kurung“, when translated from Malay into English it is called “Enclosed Clothing”. Very apt, as it is the ‘national dress’ of the Malays in certain Muslim countries like Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

It is often the Malay ladies who wear this on an almost daily wear compared to other races to cover their flesh. It is a simple piece of clothing, and respectable especially in a Muslim country.

I won’t dwell more on the history of this baju kurung, you can read it all here!

Anyway, my mum has been handing me more clothes lately trying hard to de-clutter her closet from the 70s. She used to be a lecturer working for the government, and therefore owns many a baju kurung (which she used to complain about as it was so hot to wear in this humid country).

In that pile, was this:

Slightly puffy sleeves and totally shapeless Poor mum!

However, they make such nice ones nowadays though, especially the Baju Kebaya!

Yep. Not flattering at all – I reckon the ManRepeller would approve!

I guess this dress does work in not conjuring nasty sleazy thoughts in the minds of some men! Hah. Perverts will still remain perverts! +_+

Well, this ain’t no pretty maxi dress so I decided to give it the Peaches modern twist and turn it entirely into-

- wait for it…

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Dance!

There mum, I made your baju kurung SO much cooler! From being shapeless to looking ultra cool! Vintage, shift dress & puffy sleeves – definitely in!

Do tell me what you think about this look!

♥ P E A C H E S

Vintage from the 80s: Mum’s Closet

Tags

bustier dress, midi, Mum's closet, vintage, vintage choker necklace

My mum has been handing down goodies from her hey-days to me lately, and this one is quite a stunner in pictures. Off the film, not really.

It is a well-made corset bustier. However, the pleat drapes that fold below it is rather heavy for a simple function. This dress is also of a midi-length which is quite a no-no for petite (short) me.

I decided to take a few photo takes before thinking of dropping this dress by the dressmaker to have the hemline shorter and pleats lessened. What do you think?

• I’ve paired this dress with a vintage find from mum’s jewellery drawer: a gorgeous Egyptian bronze choker

If you’re wondering how I suddenly got so fair, well I had some surgery done. Photoshopgery, that is! I used Filter B&W to help reduce the uneven dark tans on my body to make the dress look as smooth as possible.

Let me know what you think on what I should do to this dress If you’re wondering, no it wasn’t my mother’s wedding dress!

p.s: The bustier corset is my only favourite part as it fits so well!

♥ P E A C H E S

Vintage from the 70′s: Mum’s Closet

Tags

70's, accessories, beaded necklaces, fun, Mum's closet, nailpolish, Orly nailpolish, playsuit, rings, romper, skinny belt, vintage

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you - Lao Tzu

Mum has been de-cluttering the house as of late and even held a ‘Take-Away event’ a while back. She’s now at an age that throwing out things is okay, and that it’s perfectly fine. 

“Less is more”, she says.

I on the other hand, won’t throw things that I feel will bring me some use in the future.

Mum probably guessed my predicament because she’s now handing me down bags of vintage clothing and belts (so far) to see if there’s anything I’d like before it gets donated. Many of the clothes are from the 70′s and 80′s and definitely not my style.

However, I’ve found some fun in parading in my choices of mum’s vintage garb and decided to give it a 2nd appreciation through a mini photoshoot before it goes to a lovely new owner, or possibly made into a new piece.

Here’s the vintage for today: Pale pink romper from mum’s college/university days in Australia back in the 70′s.

I can’t believe how unbelievably mini this romper is. Mum must have been quite the flashy one

Simply put, it’s a tube with its pant flossing my bum. You’ll see:

It’s a criminal romper, that’s what it is. Except that it’s pink.

It rides up reaaal high. With obvious thighs and hips like mine (dad’s genes ugh), this would definitely make it into the local Fashion Police record for everything indecent.

I have accompanied mum’s vintage romper with:

• Beaded necklaces – treasures found from Mum’s accessory drawers
• Bracelets – thrifted from markets, Malaysia
• Skinny belt (comes together in 3 colours) – thrifted in Madrid, Spain
• Jewelled rings – thrifted from UK
• Gold-wired star ring – thrifted from Thailand
• Different Nail Colours – Orly SWEET Colour Collection

Is this romper a keeper? Let me know what you think!

I’ll post more vintage finds from mum’s closet in the future, it’s going to be a-may-zing!

I don’t know why I spelt that wrong. I guess it sounded cool.

…right.

♥ P E A C H E S