Go Vintage Or Go Home!!
It seems that I’ve been enjoying more pre-loved retro looks of late – it fits with the direction my life is taking with a greater focus on sustainability and lovely quality over the option of fast fashion.
Found this little gem in a local haunt last year and after a quick removal of the shoulder pads I felt it just had to be mine!!
To be honest, it’s a little bit oversize, but I just found the red colour and the lovely heavy drape of the fabric too gorgeous to resist.
It’s a coat-dress, and those of you who have been here before would know that I just adore coat-dresses … oh, and of course, dresses in general!
COVID-19 Australia Update: Here in New South Wales, we have had many restrictions relaxed, which has seen us return to Wollongong for a couple of weeks where I’ve had multiple medical appointments and scans as it’s that time of the year again for the breast cancer monitoring. I really hate all this stuff but I just have to get on with it and be grateful that I live in a country where healthcare is pretty good.
We’re now able to hit the town and get out and about more, keeping reasonable personal space and distancing in place. To be honest it’s been a bit strange being able to move more freely and socially engage.
We were able to celebrate Mother’s Day and also my daughter’s birthday, and it was just the lift that I needed during this tricky time.
We’ve been lucky because Australia has only had 100 deaths nationwide, but there’s no room for complacency, and so we are packing up the cats and heading back to the farm at Eden tomorrow, a 400 kilometre, 6 hour drive south that will be worth it when we get there!!
Seriously though – what about this groovy belt??
Life is so uncertain these days that it’s great to wear something that’s all about the fun and that’s what wearing this beautiful dress was all about, to me when I wore it for my daughter’s birthday celebration.
I kept the eighties vibe going with this dress with the spotted stockings, sunnies, hat, animal print bangle, gold dragonfly brooch and high heeled booties too much? Who cares??
Thank you for joining me in my little corner of the web and I hope you are all keeping safe and well during this challenging time!! I’d love to hear from you in the comments below or you can follow me on Instagram donnadoesdresses
Nancy
May 21, 2020 at 6:52 amThat red is gorgeous on you! I have a similar brooche, don’t you just love dragonflies! Now I don’t understand something, don’t you always live on your farm?
donnadoesdresses
May 21, 2020 at 9:09 pmOh thank you – dragonflies are such beautiful creatures!! No we live between our apartment in Wollongong, which is about 90 kms or an hour south of Sydney and our farm in Eden which is 400 kms south of Wollongong and about a 6 hour drive away.. we have commuted between the two places for a while now although we are thinking of shifting more permanently to the farm… hope things are ok with you 🧚♀️❤️🐝
lifestyleadventurebeauty
May 21, 2020 at 8:34 pmHappy birthday to your daughter. You look wonderful, and I absolutely adore the belt! X
donnadoesdresses
May 21, 2020 at 9:05 pmThank you for your kind words and wishes – it’s definitely a fun dress and this belt is something else!! Hope you’re doing ok!
🧚♀️❤️🐝
Jonathan Caswell
May 23, 2020 at 11:05 pmWOW, WOW, WOW-WOW-! YOU WRAP YOURSELF IN CLOTH AND FAMILY MAGNIFICENTLY! GLAD TO HEAR AUSTRALIA CAME THROUGH THE FURNACE WITH RELATIVELY FEW LIVES LOST (ALTHOUGH EVERY LIFE IS PRECIOUS!)
donnadoesdresses
May 25, 2020 at 6:55 amYes – COVID hasn’t been so bad here but then we had the dreadful bushfires through spring many of our communities, including ours in the southeast coast of Australia so it’s time for things to pick up a bit, quite frankly… 🧚🏻♀️❤️🐝
Jonathan Caswell
May 25, 2020 at 9:14 pmsUFFERING IS STILL SUFFERING—GLAD YOU-ALL ARE GETTING THROUGH THIS. People in the U.S. want to wake up, too,
donnadoesdresses
May 25, 2020 at 9:34 pmWe’ve had so many people lose their jobs and small businesses fold while greedy multinationals thrive and our conservative, useless government panders to the rich … time for revolution
Jonathan Caswell
May 25, 2020 at 9:50 pmHuman beings are just that;;;helpless and lowly or powerful and evil. No matter who runs things. “(
donnadoesdresses
May 25, 2020 at 9:53 pmDisagree
Can’t compare the leadership of Kennedy and Hawke to the likes of Trump, Morrison and Johnson ..
Autumn Zenith
May 27, 2020 at 6:41 amDazzlingly gorgeous, dear Donna. I’m with you big time regarding nixing shoulder pads in most vintage garments. If they’re wafer thin (or sewn in between layers of fabric), I’ll often leave them, but as I’m relatively petite of frame and have very small shoulders, hulking shoulder pads end up looking comical on me most of the time.
Happiest birthday wishes to your DD. You’re such a sweet, awesome mom to spend it with her and bring a scrumptious cake to make the day all the more festive.
May everything go as smoothly and positively for you as humanly possible with your medical work, dear Donna.
Big hugs,
Autumn Zenith 🎃 Witchcrafted Life
donnadoesdresses
May 27, 2020 at 7:27 amOh thank you so much dear Autumn!! I’m sorry I haven’t been around of late but I’ve just been finding myself lying low doing the basics at the moment. It seems the reality of the cancer and past traumas have caught up with me but I’m working through it all and seem to be in the constant process of releasing a whole lot of stuff and have actually been using a shamanic ritual of burning toothpicks over a candle and sending the rubbish thither… I thank you for your kind comments about my outfit as I’m now trying to get my diet and exercise programme under control in this crazy, uncertain COVID19 world!
I hope the warmer days see you and Tony going along well – and my daughter is a true blessing and I’m lucky to have her!
Sending love and affection to you dear Autumn!
Donna 🧚🏻♀️❤️🐝
Lizzie
May 29, 2020 at 6:01 pmWow, you pull this off so well! Such an amazing look! We are still locked down in California but things seem to change daily it seems 🙂 Glad you could celebrate something while quarantined! My birthday is coming up soon so I’m definitely looking forward to that
Lizzie
http://www.lizzieinlace.com
donnadoesdresses
May 29, 2020 at 9:50 pmThese are the most bizarre of times, Lizzie – thank you for your kind comment, I really appreciate it!! I love messing about with a whole lot of different looks and this red eighties dress is just so fun!! I hope you are spoilt rotten on your birthday – you deserve it!! 🧚♀️❤️🐝
INXSKY Minimalist Jewelry
June 10, 2020 at 10:26 amYou look stunning in red!
Absolutely adore this vintage ensemble!
Gold Necklaces for Layering
donnadoesdresses
June 10, 2020 at 10:29 amOh thank you so much for your very kind comment – appreciate you saying that!! It’s great to acquire something special and be able to style it for today .. well that’s what I was trying for lol!! Enjoy the rest of your week!!
Donna 🧚♀️❤️🐝
Nicole of High Latitude Style
June 13, 2020 at 4:40 amThis outfit looks quite similar to what I wore at my wedding. Love the look.
donnadoesdresses
June 13, 2020 at 4:45 amThank you for your kind comment, Nicole, it’s so fun to style these finds in different ways – and fun has been hard to come by of late!! 🧚♀️❤️🐝