Fashion is Forever
- Words by Peppermint
From the fashions of Peru to the garments of Switzerland, there are more than a few common threads that link the wonderful world of clothing. The Liverpool City Library’s latest exhibition, United By Colour: Vintage Fashion From Around the World, investigates the element of colour. The 60 garments and accessories on display are vibrant, vivid and all part of the Darnell Collection, Australia’s largest private collection of vintage clothing. Around 23 different countries are represented, all with their own colourful histories to tell. We asked the curator of the Darnell Collection, Charlotte Smith, to tell us more about this exhibition and the beautiful clothes it includes.
This exhibition is themed around ‘colour’. What can colour symbolise or reflect in fashion?
Colour can symbolise economic prosperity or pessimism, world events (like world wars), cultural and social traditions, seasons, national pride, social events, roles in society and a persons social position among many reasons.
Do you think that fashion can be a universal language?
Yes, but I think fashion is interpreted to suit each country. For example, by the early 50s every woman wanted to wear Dior’s New Look, a very feminine and European style, suited to wools and heavy silks. When he licensed his designs for manufacture in Australia, different fabrics were used to suit the Australian climate – lighter in weight and in colours suitable for seasons in the Southern Hemisphere.
How do you feel about the Collection being on public display? Do you think it’s important to share it with others?
My godmother, Doris Darnell, from whom I inherited the collection, was passionate about sharing the clothes and their stories. I am as passionate about this too. Fashion is not only about beautiful clothes and accessories, but it is about social history and, in the case of the Darnell Collection, recording women’s progress in society over the past 200 years by what they wore.
Apart from making a fashion statement, what do you think are some of the benefits of buying vintage clothing?
Wearing vintage means you can dress as an individual, secure in the knowledge you won’t see someone else wearing the same outfit. Buying vintage is also an environmental choice – reducing the number of garments ending up in the tip. But for me, buying vintage continues the life of a dress or hat or handbag – a rather nostalgic thought!
Do you have a favourite piece in the Collection – anything you wish you could keep for yourself!?
Rather than having a favourite piece – difficult to choose one thing from 6000+!, but I do love the sixties fashions. I have some wonderful pieces by Pucci, Courreges, Guy Meliet and many without labels, all from the 60s and made from a wonderful diversity of fabrics from polyester to wool to PVC. I would like to keep all of these.
You can see part of the Darnell Collection on show until November 20 at Liverpool City Library. Its pre-loved clothing at its absolute finest!
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“My piece of advice for makers and designers? Run your own race… make sure your key decisions stay anchored in your brand’s core beliefs.”
- Bec Bligh
Quick show of hands: who’s opened a water bottle expecting a refreshing sip… and instead been greeted by the unmistakable whiff of uh-oh?
Because for something that follows us everywhere (desk, car, hikes, yoga…), the humble drink bottle is strangely prone to becoming a science experiment. Hard-to-clean corners and gaskets. Mystery smells. Bec Bligh and her husband Tim know it well. A six-month sailing trip along the Queensland coast left them with a lifetime of memories and one stubborn annoyance: mouldy water bottles they couldn’t properly clean.
So they did something about it.
Enter @EverVessel. Thoughtfully designed borosilicate glass and stainless steel bottles that keep things beautifully simple: durable materials, wide openings, easy-to-clean parts and none of the techy gimmicks that tend to age badly. Turns out simplicity, done well, is pretty powerful stuff. (Their many design awards agree!)
And lately they’ve added a little extra delight: the Artist Series, where creatives like Paola Castro, Ben Miners and Martin Thompson transform these everyday companions into tiny travelling artworks. There are more colabs in the works, too: hydration, but make it joyful! 🎨💧
We chatted with Bec about the sailing trip that started it all, the philosophy behind Ever Vessel, and why the most sustainable product is often just the one you keep using.
Tap the link in our bio to read the full conversation. 🚰
#EverVessel #ReusableWaterBottle
Pull up a chair… there’s room at this table!
For the first time, Feast for Freedom is bringing people together for a spectacular long-table dinner as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.
A Longer Table is exactly what it sounds like: one beautiful shared table inside the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1), piled with generous dishes inspired by this year’s hero cooks, Noha and Nige.
From 6 to 9pm on Wednesday, 25 March, this is what you can expect:
🍽 A three-course shared feast
🍷 Matched drinks
🎶 Live entertainment
✨ A room full of good humans
Your ticket doesn’t just buy you a delicious dinner. It supports the ASRC’s vital work and helps create a fairer future for people seeking asylum.
Seats are limited, and long tables have a way of filling up quickly – head to @MelbFoodAndWine’s website to book now: feastforfreedom.org.au/mfwf
#FeastForFreedom #MelbourneFoodAndWineFestival #LongTableDinner #FoodForChange
Sew versatile! 🪡
Another great make from Lisa from @SunnySewsEveryday:
My #PeppermintWaratahWrapDress is finished and I’m so proud of it. It has been designed not to flap open and flash your pants in the wind, so I feel confident it will be a great wheelchair or standing dress in English weather.
#PeppermintPatterns #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
Frame your face with the Peppermint Bucket Hat!
Stay safe and stylish in the sun with your very own self-sewn and self-drafted wide-brimmed bucket hat. This beginner-friendly sew is perfect for a sunny day. Get out your pencils – this pattern is created using equations and maths!
This DIY project was featured in Issue 53 and now you can access it for the lovely low price of only $5.
Sun-safe chic is always in style. ☀️
Find it via the link in our bio!
Photos: @KelleySheenan
#PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintBucketHat #BucketHat #BucketHatPattern #DIY
✨ INSTANT CLASSIC ✨
The Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with a few special details based on the ever-stylish shift shape – the perfect dress you need in your wardrobe right now!
Myrtle cuts above the knee with options to customise the length. Don’t think she’s reserved for hot weather either: try a heavier-weight fabric to turn your Myrtle into a pinafore-style garment for layering.
For our fabrics we chose two from our lovely sewing partner @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Location: @ShareTheDignityAustralia
#PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress #PeppermintPatterns
It’s time to Feast!
Some recipes travel a long way before they land on your table to delight your taste buds. This year’s Feast for Freedom invites us to gather our friends, cook something delectable and raise funds for the incredible work of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1) while we’re at it.
The 2026 Feast features recipes shared by two remarkable cooks: Noha, who brought the flavours of Palestine with her when she arrived in Australia, and Nige, a Sri-Lankan Tamil cook whose journey with food began in the most unexpected of places.
You can host your own Feast up until 30 April – simply register online and get planning! Host a dinner, organise a workplace lunch, or gather your community… However you do it, the idea is simple: cook, connect and celebrate the cultures and stories that shape Australia.
Want to find out more? Head to the link in bio to meet Noha and Nige, learn more about their stories, and discover a delicious recipe to try.
#FeastForFreedom #PeppermintMagazine #FoodForGood #ASRC
