Wardrobe restoration

Last summer my grandparents passed away, leaving behind many treasures from the past. As well as a new understanding of my family history they left lots of trinkets, antiques and a lifetime of possessions that took months to sort through. We found camp beds from the 60's, games and toys from years passed, as well as Victorian irons and letter presses. Coasters, lampshades, coins, medals, trophy's, ornaments, collections of china and crystal, stamp books, photos, and much much more. But it was also the wardrobes of my grandparents we started to sort through and it made me think about how wonderfully they always dresses and presented themselves.

My grandmother always loved to dress up and look her best. I remember her mainly in dresses and skirts, but even when she wore trousers she knew how to add that feminine touch. The last outfit i saw her in is one that I would rock myself, lovely 'peg' trousers, a white silk blouse with a beautiful pink cardigan topped with a navy blazer and gold jewellery. While sorting through her wardrobe, I found dresses from the 30's, coats from the 50's and all sorts of random one off pieces. Jewellery collected from years ago including some hideous 70's pieces and beautiful lockets. She truly had developed a lifetime of style and her wardrobe was just beautiful. She made a lot of her own clothes and used to make them for me too. I thought it was fabulous, and when sorting through her wardrobe I found a lot of her hand made dresses. It is really this that got me into fashion and all creative per suits in the first place.

My grandfather had that brilliant style that old men do. Bow ties, and tweed jackets with braces and polished shoes. Boater hats, and briefcases from years gone were amongst the treasures I found that belonged to him. He never failed to get dressed properly. His jackets still have that tobacco smell that I always associate with him also. I found photos from when he was young and its clear that this way of dressing is something he had developed. I know that when he was young all guys dressed that way but the dress so well for so many years is something I love.

While I love these beautiful pieces, and have happily adopted them into my wardrobe some of them need to be altered in order to fit, or just to modernise them and make them fit my style. This is going to be an ongoing process but hopefully will mean I can enjoy combining these styles with my own. I will upload photos of each piece of clothing before and after as and when I complete them. Below are some of my favourite pieces....



1954 Farthing necklace with elizabeth second on the back



Red patterned silk blouse



Black lace top dress



Various patterned skirts



Floral scarfe



Black dress with pearl sleeve detail



Cream pinstripe jacket



Boater hat belonging to R.J. Thornhill, possibly bought from my great great grandfather's shop

More images will be added soon including beautiful fur coats, silk blouses, and tweed jackets.

-Rhianna