Hello Dolly...

Still in the throes of Spring cleaning, I've been trying to round up another batch of clothing to eBay, but seem to have narrowed the selection down to a closetful of things that I may never ever wear, but just can't bear to part with. Oops.

The perfect example of this phenomenon is this extravagant puffball of a mini that I found a few years ago to wear to an abandoned 1920s mansion garden party/photoshoot that I ended up not attending after all, which has been languishing at the back of the closet waiting for the perfect occasion ever since:


My obsession with dresses like this basically knows no bounds, despite their being absolutely wrong for me, and I've been eyeing this perfect trifecta of the 60s/70s novelty print, multicolored smocking and mock-Edwardian high collar for months on end:

By way of Vintage-A-Peel, one of my favorite vintage sellers of all time.

The very epitome of the dollygirl look, from the dolliest corner of the British Boutique Movement set, is, of course, probably Dollyrockers by Sambo, the king of perfectly puffed bishop sleeves, just the right bits of velvet, ruffles and bows, Liberty florals, crocheted bibs and tiny candy buttons. These dresses still turn up every so often, and are usually insanely reasonable which always makes them all the more tempting. I still regret passing up this absolutely perfect Dollyrockers frock from Iron horse Vintage, even though it was probably over a year ago:

Yeah, I still can't get over it!

Just making this post has me thinking that a garden party might be just the thing to kick off our first real Portland Spring... croquet and tiny sandwiches, anyone?