Sumo Salad

First things first - the wedding was as sweet and lovely as a perfect afternoon daydream, and surely there is no better way to spend a summer saturday afternoon than sipping Pimm's and nibbling on pink coconut ice on the lawn. There is arguably no better way to spend a sunny summer saturday morning than wandering around a vintage market (in this case Surry Hills Markets) with friends, having a good old rummage and pillage among the racks.



In the olden days (even say five years ago) Surry Hills markets was still pretty cheap, but since the vintage explosion the prices have rocketed sky high. I was astonished to find things priced over $100 in some cases - and we're talking eighties stuff! Most things were in the $40-$65 range, which still seemed pretty steep considering the average price range back in the day was more like $2-$8. I felt like such an old timer, grumbling away about the good old days. I did come away with a bag of stuff though, all ferreted out of huge "Everything Here $5" mounds scattered here and there around the markets.



I was wearing my Battle Elephants dress and I think its crazy colour and pattern overload affected the part of my brain which controls shopping because everything I bought was bright and, well, busy. Exhibit A is that little floral dress ($5) which is about three times brighter than it looks here. Unfortunately a combination of overcast day and TERRIBLE camera mean everything looks a little bit flat and dull compared to reality.





Exhibit B (also $5) is even brighter in real life than Exhibit A, an intense eighties print which skirts the edges of fluro without ever crossing the line.



I love the print on this so much that it's hanging on my bedroom wall right now. Once again the photos do no justice (oh the frustration!)





You may have noticed another pair of new sandals, and I have to admit that yes, I have succumbed once again to the lures of the Sportsgirl sale table. These suede studded beasts were reduced from $100 to $24, and since I had been eyeing them off for months I felt only a twinge of guilt at buying them. I really do have to stop now though, the sandal situation is getting a trifle embarrassing.



Exhibit C - Floppy high-waisted shorts in one of those prints which you shouldn't look at for too long because you'll start to hallucinate. I recklessly teamed them with the floral top here because it was the first thing to hand when I opened my shirt drawer (and I was in a slightly contrary mood), but they really work better with something a bit less reminiscent of a TV test pattern. Belt would be good too!



The shorts don't really work with Exhibit D - an eighties silk tank ($5) printed with diary entries.





Irresistibly kooky (although infuriatingly incomplete, I want to know what happened after he found the letters hidden in her lingerie drawer, dammit!)



Last but not least were these green wooden earrings (you guessed it, $5) which partially satisfied my hankering for giant disc shaped earrings. Once again, the colour is a little brighter and sort of softer in the flesh (or in the wood as the case may be).



There's another dress too, but it requires some shortening before it makes an appearance. It too was five dollars! All of these prints, patterns and clashing colours reminded me of my favourite bag of all time. I bought it from a garage sale about six or seven years ago (for a dollar) and I think it might have been a nappy bag originally so it's extremely capacious (is that a word that anyone ever said out loud?) and I never get tired of looking at it in all its patchwork magnificence.






Now I really, really need to go to bed - and I think my hair needs to be released from sumo bun captivity before it mutinies, so goodnight or good morning or good afternoon wherever you may be!

xx
Skye
PS. For those who were wondering, I ended up wearing the pink orchids (despite their distant second place in my poll), because when it came right down to it the blue birds, dress and shoes was just too much blue to be borne. When I saw all the hydrangeas dotted around the wedding garden in various shades of pinky purpley wonderfulness I was so glad I had my own pink flowers to wear.