STYLED BY VINNIES - autumn and winter 2011

Sat, 9 Apr 2011 13:21:13 +1000

Its not just the clothes that get a new life.
At Vinnies a good deal equals a good deed.
Vinnies is launching a ‘Feel Good Shopping’ revolution across NSW from April until July to showcase how to look good, feel good, save dollars and save lives this Autumn/Winter.
Spearheading the campaign is a series of Styled By Vinnies Events, with Vinnies stylist Karmyn Pembridge demonstrating how easy it is to achieve this season’s key looks at a fraction of their usual cost with unique Vinnies finds.
Julie McDonald, Vinnies Community & Corporate Relations Manager NSW, said, “What’s more, at Vinnies, a good deal equals a good deed, because by shopping or donating you are directly helping people in the local community that need a helping hand. Moreover, you’re directly helping the planet by recycling!”

“It’s a win-win situation because it’s not just the clothes that get a new life,” Julie added.

There will be Styled By Vinnies events across NSW, kicking off on April 16 at Paddington and running until July. Karmyn will share her top style tips to suit different shapes and reveal the hottest upcoming trends including Camel, Aviator, Tailored and Precious Stones.

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO WEAR BRAIDS - BY BRYONY

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:28:39 +1100

On our first full day of our honeymoon in Fiji, the weather was wonderful and coupled with the exhaustion of the preceding days neither Chris nor I wished to do anything too strenuous. The thought of sitting in the shade of a coconut palm being waved by a cool see breeze was extremely appealing.
As we strolled leisurely up the beach we were approached by a very jovial Fijian – Sevi who enquired as to whether I would like my hair braided by his wife Rusilla. It occurred to me that even if having my hair braided ala Bo Derek style in the 70s movie “10” had not actually already been on my “bucket list” it should be.
Hang the fact that I was the wrong side of fifty – it was only a hairdo after all – and if it turned out “eek!” then Chris had agreed he would help me take it out.
I had been growing my hair for the wedding for the last six months and it had managed to get to a length that leant itself to a bit of Fijian braiding.
For two hours I sat in a white plastic chair in the shade under a coconut palm as 89 plaits were carefully sectioned off, tipped with foil and threaded with beads. Two hours is an extremely long time for me to sit still. Ask anyone who knows me. But I persevered.
While I waited, I amused myself with fantastic thoughts and mental images of me emerging from the surf and shaking my head in slow motion, flinging beads of water seductively. Of course I was much thinner in this fantasy and I had a great tan, and everything that should have been tight, was tight and the bits that should bounce, bounced. That’s the good thing about having your hair braided on a beach – there are no mirrors to snap you back to reality.
Chris sat next to Sevi, his legs crossed in the traditional Fijian way under another coconut palm surveying the proceedings and lost in his own musings watching as the tide came in to cover the coral in an aqua blue mirror. From time to time he stretched his legs and took photographs of my head at various stages.
By the time the “do” was done Sevi and Chris were mates and Chris had invited both Sevi and Rusilla to stay with us when next they visited Australia.
As I stood up to pay the lovely Rusilla the beads rattled quite delightfully in my ears. It never occurred to me that this titillating sound might become annoying at some point in time.
89 braids cost $89 Fijian dollars. About $50AUS. What a bargain!
I had also wisely chosen beads that would go with the colours of most of my summer outfits – so I always look co-ordinated and the need for earrings becoming completely unnecessary.
I cannot tell you the amount of comments and attention that has come my way – so a radical do like this is real ego boost for those with an ego like me.
However, although monetarily inexpensive the price of this type of beauty does come at a price.
Sleeping......Or rather the lack of it. I woke at least three times during the first night with beads stuck in my ears and other places – and thank goodness the pillows at the Inn were so soft otherwise it would have been unbearably uncomfortable.
Sunburn......Newly exposed head flesh is particularly susceptible to sun burn and you will need to buy a new hat as previous headwear will no longer fit.
Noisiness.....The rattling around my ears every time I moved, took a surprisingly short period of time before it began to annoy me. I bought a scrunchie and managed to pull all the beads to the top of my head thus ensuring peace and quiet around the hearing bits. This had the added advantage of actually looking quite fetching because wearing my hair pulled back this way gave me an oriental look, pulling my eyes to the point where the wrinkles nearly disappeared. A sort of face lift.
Headache.....Now I cant be sure that pulling my hair up so tightly was the actual cause of my three morning headaches – it could have been the tropical cocktails – but it is worth consideration before you take the step.

I was told that these braids might last for approximately 4-6 weeks. But after 3 weeks, just as I was nearly getting used to the feel of them while I slept, the dreadlocks started to form at the roots.

Besides that my grandson Xavier did not like it at all - saying “I don’t like that dress Grandma” But I know what he meant.
And although the 14 month old twins didn’t seem to mind so much at their Grandma’s new look, they cant talk yet, plus I bribed them with little Fijian dolly’s to play with.
Decision made the braids needed to go.
Three hours later that night and a test of both Chris’s and my patience the braids came out and I looked in the mirror at a blonde version of fijian woman. My hair having become a huge ball of yellow fluff. I quite liked this look for 5 minutes before I hit the shower and sent it back to its natural state of straightness.

At first I panicked that I might have ruined my hair completely when two days later it still would not behave - so off to the hairdresser and a steam treatment. Thankfully the treatment worked and my hair required just a small 2cm trim rather than the balding clippers and all is back to normal once more.

Still I am so glad that I did it and the photos and the memories will last forever.

© Copyright Sascon Pty Ltd (Groovy Grandmas) 2010

Baby Boomer Fashion & Beauty

STYLED BY VINNIES - autumn and winter 2011

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO WEAR BRAIDS - BY BRYONY