Dick Van Dyke Day Dress

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I have already noted this on Twitter but yes, today is Dick Van Dyke day, the day where we celebrate the birth of the man responsible for the genius moves to 'Step in Time' from Mary Poppins.  Oh, and yes, lesser beings such as myself, who has yet to discover a sense of rhythm, was also born on this day.  But, we're not calling it a *shhh* 'birthday'.  If I'm still being ID'ed in Tesco's when buying a bottle of cheap Cava, turning another year older is NOT happening… this is all according to my brain of course.

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So yes, Happy Dick Van Dyke day and whilst I may not have spiffy straw
boater hats or stripy jackets or the most showbiz of grins to bring to
the table, I do have this Clare Tough dress.  Now let's talk about the
Clare Tough sale… did ya go?  Was it as good for you as it was for me?  Held on
one solitary day at Tough's studio, it epitomised what a good London
sample sale should be.  Lots of rails, plenty of stock going back through quite a
few seasons, lots of banter between shoppers (in my case, I think I was
encouraging everyone to buy whatever they had in their hands because I
was in such a giddy mood…), actual samples that are one-offs and
best of all, ridiculously low prices.  ¬£900 knitwear reduced to ¬£70?  Clare Tough
present to talk you through how things should be worn?  Bargain bins to
rifle through?  Yes please…

The only wee problem was knowing when to stop as there were so many
pieces I could have scooped up in one big heap and declare to Tough at
the till manically "I'm taking it all!".  No, restraint was required
and in addition to this dress, only two more pieces were bought.  I say
'only two more' like 3+ pieces is in no way extravagant but believe me, if you were at the sale, I'm
pretty sure everyone was wondering why they didn't exit the sale with at
least ten things all bagged up.

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This S/S 08 dress was the first thing I picked up just because I couldn't quite get over how amazing this is as a piece of textiles work… you have a marbled knitted dress as a foundation, speckled with red, blue and bits of blue like a piece of marbled paper.  Then sitting on top of that is this black and white lattice work that is a mad network of scribbling.  This is then all bound together with a velvet piping running up the zipper and some black ribbed edging.  EJ of Style Salvage quite rightly said "Jackson Pollock in a dress" except the 'scribble' work looks a lot more meticulous.  Woe upon the person (or perhaps it was Tough herself) who had to sew this lattice structure all together.  Selfishly (and because it's Dick Van Dyke day), yay for me who gets to run hands over it and wear it out and about, trying very much to step in time.

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69 comments

  2. Happy Birthday! 🙂 That dress is so beautiful…just an amazing display of craftsmanship.

  3. Happy Birthday, Susie! How are you going to celebrate or how did you celebrate? (apparently we are in different time zones. I can’t tell exactly the time at your place now..)Very nice dress. It’s so rich in texture. Again, it just look fantastic on you 😉 wow, ¬£900 knitwear reduced to ¬£70…I want to shop too!

  4. You look RIDICULOUSLY adorable in these shots! Your smile is so absolutely geniune and your eyes sparkle! So sweet :D. What a great dress, reminds me of a Pollock as well!

  5. Happy birthday Susie!!! thanks for all the brilliant work so far, hope to have you with us for many more years to come. You are a constant inspiration, not only fashionwise but also for being the humble, witty and kind, lovely person that you are. Thanks and as we say in Croatia, ‘sretno’!

  6. Absolutely gorgeous. So many brilliant sample sales recently – Peter Jensen’s even had Xmas nibbles and wine which gave everything a lovely festive feel!
    Happy birthday!

  7. OHH HAppy Birthdayyyy!!! That is such a nice dress!! I wished i lived in London now!! Have a great night, I’m sure you will :p!

  11. Happy birthday!
    And what a fabulous dress for the occasion, I love the smattering of colour. Ahhh- the lattice work, it’s amazing, so intricicate and so gorgeous in a random kind of way. Me likey. =]
    Florrie x

  12. Amazing, wish I had money during these sample sales. Next time… The dress is so inventive and looks great on you and though I already twittered this, but Happy Birthday!

  17. Happy Birthday! What a lovely dress to be wearing on one’s birthday, I know that I would be positivly giddy if I was wearing it! 🙂

  19. haha! that song gets stuck in my head like nothing else….
    the closeups of the dress looks like certain paintings in the MET.

  21. Happy birthday! What a seriously amazing dress that is. I’m besotted! Like your new side-bar profile picture, too. x

  22. Van Harte Gefeliciteerd!
    Am headed to london soon and with this set of pictures i think you’re giving me false notions on how warm it actually is in london town.
    from these pics it looks like it’s a nice summer’s day, when i know that there’s no way that london can be that warm right now since it’s absolutely freezing in holland!

  23. That dress is amazing, i love it. Happy Birthday, its my 26th birthday next weekend and i’m always being asked for ID too, weird isn’t it! xxx

  28. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSIE! May you have another year of success, unforgettable memories, and eternal youth ;). xoxoxo

  32. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! YOU look solely GORGEOUS and that dress is INGENIOUSLY FABULOUS!:))
    p.s. May all of your WISHES COME TRUE!
    xoxox,
    Gerri

  35. Awwh Happy Birthday! You share the same birthday as my boyfriend! p.s you look fab!

  36. Happy Dick van Dyke day! 😉 That dress is simply superb and looks lovely on you! Amazing find!

  37. I love all of the handiwork on this dress. It might make an interesting technique for us do-it-yourself-ers. Imagine a pair of jeans with all that stuff on it. Until I read your blog, I had no idea it was Dick Van Dyke day! I am probably your oldest reader. I am 50 now, and actually saw Mary Poppins when it first came out in the 60s. I probably still think about that movie when I think about London. Also, happy birthday!

  43. Happy BDay! That dress has the coolest texture. It’s like a 90’s graffiti print but the textures makes it super modern.
    Fashion X K8.blogspot.com

  56. I hope you had a lovely birthday! I love love love the dress. I’m still kicking myself for walking away from the sample sale with only three items… and without that dress 😉

  57. Happy Birthday Susie! Hope you had a lovely day.
    That dress is amazing, the texture, the shape and the colour. Its utterly perfect. 🙂

  58. Wow very nice outfite !
    i love your blog !
    my fashion blog-
    goldie-fashionblog.blogspot.com

  59. Happy belated birthday Susie! I was celebrating my brother’s birthday yesterday :). Really great dress too btw

  64. Hope you had a wonderful birthday, and a very happy Dick Van Dyke Day! That is one of the most amazing dresses I’ve ever seen; I can’t believe the amount of intricate work involved in the pattern. You are SO lucky to have nabbed it at the sample sale.

  65. and i think i’ve missed your birthday!. happy happy birthday!
    that dress makes me think of… what is that called, that crazy string? which is a good thing.
    happy birthday!

  67. Happy belated birthday to you too!!! I was born at midnight on the 12th and the nurses said my Mum could choose between 12th and 13th and she plumped for “lucky” 12!! x

  69. Dick Van Dyke is without doubt a modern day hero. I suggest that we all take note of the date 13th December and ensure that every year we have a Dick Van Dyke day where the whole world should spend a day on the couch in their dressing gowns watching re-runs of Diagnosis Murder!
    God bless the Porpoises.

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