Josephine Frances is the mastermind behind the label Frances Baker, giving new meaning to the term handmade by expertly designing and crafting each creation herself at her home studio in Melbourne, Australia (I currently have a Frances Baker dress in my closet and it's become a fast favorite!). While Melbourne (and the rest of the southern hemisphere, for that matter) are going into their winter season, Josie thankfully agreed to play summer vacation for an afternoon and answer a few questions about her local hotspots. Here she is!
I should preface this by saying that Melbourne is a sprawling city with lots of ground to cover, and personally I tend to stick to my home suburbs in the north as well as the city (downtown for you Northern Americans!), but there is lots of amazing stuff to visit in the south, east and west as well, it's a great place to explore!
Where to eat? When my boyfriend and I were living in the city/downtown, our Sundays used to consist of a lazy late morning breakfast at Jungle Juice, followed by buying our veges for the week at the Vic Market. We no longer trek in to the city to do our groceries, but we do sometimes make the effort for Jungle Juice! The tiny little cafe makes out-of-this-world bagels, and they brew a mighty good tea if you enjoy such a thing. I also quite like De Clieu, Luncheonette and A Minor Place for delicious breakfasts (I think breakfast is probably my favourite meal to go out for). For a cheap lunch in Brunswick, I love the rolls at La Paloma. Melbourne is in a bit of a Mexican craze at the moment, and my boyfriend and I are totally on board. We are obsessed with and completely addicted to Trippy Tacos (I am not the only person to refer to their chips as crack fries). Recently for a special dinner we treated ourselves to a meal at Senoritas, complete with a tequila tasting session, which might just be the most fun meal I've ever had.
Best coffee shop? There are so many coffee shops worth checking out in Melbourne it's a little hard to know where to start, so I shall just mention some of my regular favourites! Coffee drinking is a bit of an obsession here, but being a tea drinker myself i am not particularly knowledgeable on the brown beverage. My caffeine loving housemate Sarah swears by Brother Baba Budan in the city for a good cup, and my other coffee drinking friend Josh makes an almost daily visit to the East Brunswick Project. Personally though I am more interested in the tea and cakes on offer, for which I tend to head to Milkwood, Sweet Source, Little Cupcakes, and Grigons and Orr.
Favorite afternoon excursion? It's a bit cliche, but doing some vege shopping at the Vic Market really is rather fun! In summer I will spend my fair share of afternoons with a picnic in the Carlton or Edinburgh Gardens. It's not really an afternoon trip as you will have to get up early but the Camberwell Market on Sunday mornings is fun, thought the crowds can get pretty crazy later in the morning!
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Favorite night time entertainment? For a nice drinking venue I like Meyers Place or the Alderman, and Rooftop is spectacular in summer. I also used to live around the corner from Madame Brussels which I love though I can rarely afford to drink there. When I occasionally go out dancing my all-time favourite is Cherry Bar on a Thursday night for some soul!
Where to shop? My wallet generally confines me to being a window shopper at anywhere other than op shops these days, but I have lots of window shopping favourites. Fitzroy has heaps of great (though often pricey) shops - both vintage and otherwise; I love strolling around Gertrude, Smith and Brunswick Streets! The Lost and Found Market in East Brunswick has plenty of vintage treasures too. I also like places like Mag Nation for magazines, Mr. Kitly for dreamy homewares and such, and Metropolis for books.
Favorite neighborhood? That is so hard! I love Fitzroy for vintage shop browsing and cafes and such, but it can get rather expensive. I love East Brunswick for the shops and bars and cafes up the top end of Lygon Street. I also love Rathdowne village in North Carlton where I used to live for its sweet, friendly community vibe, and I love Coburg where I live now for amazing cheap Turkish food, still decent op shops and beautiful backstreets.
What travel advice would you give to those visiting Melbourne for the first time? As in all travel, going for an aimless wander can always be very fruitful. I find most in Melbourne suburbs have beautiful backstreets to explore! Also, I know most foreigners would tend to associate Australia with summertime and beaches and such. The beaches are definitely pretty lovely, but if you can appreciate the cold without snow, Melbourne is actually pretty awesome in winter too (which we are just coming into now). The city is full of hidden cobblestoned laneways to explore, and I always love sitting in a cosy cafe with a hot drink and doing some people watching.
Thanks, Josie! Check out her blog and shop her collection here.
Due to the positive response I had for last week's project (and thanks for the feedback, by the way!), I decided to feature another vintage renewal project this week - this time, also with a maxi dress but with a much different end result.
I purchased a long sleeved gray silk maxi from a vintage store that was going out of business a few months ago and while I loved the dress, it seemed to be past its prime.. its elastic waistband was stretched out, the silk was faded in spots, and the size and length overwhelmed me whenever I tried to wear it. Rather than shortening it and replacing the elastic waist, I decided to change its overall style by creating a drop hem effect at the bottom and replacing the oversized long sleeves with sleeveless, cutout shoulders.
If you have a long-sleeved maxi dress lying around, this is the project for you. All it takes is an afternoon and it's perfect for hot weather wear. The drop hem effect is best with lightweight and airy fabrics like silk, rayon, and some polyester blends.
First step - measure your arm holes and the desired distance from collar to bottom of arm hole. I modeled my cutout shoulders after a vintage silk blouse I recently fell in love with (seen in this outfit post) that had the same style. The length from collar to bust was roughly 8 or 9 inches, so I copied that on my dress.
Then, cut off the sleeves. The sleeves on my dress were rather wide and batwing-like, so it left a large hole. I sewed up to about an inch above the breast pockets, making a small armhole (too small for wear).
Then, time to cut the shoulders. Measure from your new armhole to the collar at the shoulder seam and cut a diagonal line between the two (I matched the measurement of the cutout silk top from above). Try it on as you go to see if the cuts are right and lay well on your body. Then, finish the seam by folding in 1/4 inch twice and sewing it in place.
Next step - the skirt. Cutting a drop tail hem (a hem that is longer in the back than in the front) isn't tough.. just lay your dress out on a flat surface, folded in half with the center front on the lefthand side and the center back on the right. Figure out the difference in lengths that you would like (a bigger difference from center front to center back means a more dramatic look), then cut at the center front and back at the desired lengths about 6-10 inches across. Then connect the two cuts in the middle by cutting diagonally between the two. My finished dress length in the center front was 36 inches and center back was 49 inches, making the difference between the two cuts about 13 inches.
Finish the hem, and the dress is done!
Overall, I'm happy with the way the dress turned out.. I can't wait to start layering it with pullover sweaters or cardigans. I really considered replacing the stretched-out waistband elastic but in the end, kept it because I liked the drop waist effect it had.. the waistband adds to its lightweight, loose fit. The dress might be the most comfortable thing I own now.
I'm always interested in feedback or questions about DIY projects like this one - let me know if I can help or if you have any suggestions! Comment here or feel free to email me at bloomingleopold@gmail.com.
For my fellow USA friends, Happy Memorial weekend! We're driving to Kentucky to spend an afternoon at the lake - yay for miniature road trips to bodies of water on hot days.
