Managing a rare illness that often leaves her housebound, Natalie Robinson-Tantin, 37, decided she would curate her home as an ode to yesteryear that reflects her passion for all things vintage. The Auckland mum co-runs Facebook group “V is for Vintage”, where 4000 members share their retro op-shop finds, post articles and show off spaces they have decorated.
“When I was a teenager, I actually dressed as a goth. All my clothes were black for a long time. It seems weird now because my brightly coloured vintage print dresses are the opposite vibe of goth, but it’s still about expressing your style or having an identity.
I’ve always been into op-shopping for clothes. At 16, I discovered some vintage pieces and that got me into collecting.
My late Grandma Haruko was Japanese, so she had a lot of retro Japanese items in her house, which I always loved as a kid. She moved to New Zealand in 1955, after meeting my granddad in Japan, when he was there with the Navy. When she died, I got her large wooden Kokeshi doll, which was my favourite thing in her house.
In my twenties, I started scouring second-hand shops and online stores for vintage clothes and items.
My husband Tyler is really into the search and hunt for things as well. But as a sound engineer, his interest is more in vintage microphones and audio equipment.
When we bought our house in Glenfield [on Auckland’s North Shore] eight years ago, we painted every wall pastel and I could do what I wanted with it, like give the bathroom a 1950s poodle theme. People say our place is like a museum, when they visit.
Natalie had picked out her vintage wedding dress a decade before she needed it!
Most of the vintage dresses I buy in New Zealand were handmade by women. The fact that someone 70 years later is wearing a dress that they sat and made for themselves at 13, is a mind-blowing concept.
I also have a cabinet full of vintage fabrics which I sew with to make my own skirts and dresses.
When I’m in full vintage – including op shop-bought Manolo Blahnik shoes reproduced in a sixties-style – I’ll occasionally get stopped by someone like-minded who loves my outfit, which is always nice!
There are a lot of misconceptions from people who think if you like vintage fashion, it also means you’re into the 1950s’ housewife stereotypes and love the way society was back then. It’s overwhelmingly the opposite within the vintage community. We like vintage design style not vintage values, like misogyny or racism. I would never want to bring back the attitudes of those times.
When she’s having a bad day health-wise, Natalie pops on a colourful outfit. “It can be a great pick-me-up.”
Having a passion for vintage helps give me a positive focus and it’s something I can do from home, with my health issues. I’m at home most of the time, so I want to be surrounded by things that I love and meeting other collectors online who share the same interest.
I have a chronic condition called hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome [EDS], which is an inherited connective tissue disorder. It’s such a vast condition and affects everybody differently.
For me, it’s mostly headaches and joint issues – primarily my hips, so I can only walk for short periods of time – but it affects connective tissue everywhere in your body, from poor eyesight to skin
and internal organs.
It also affects women more often and a diagnosis often takes a lot longer for women than men (decades for a lot of us). It’s common to have our concerns ignored. I’ve presented with symptoms since I had my daughter Lily [now 16], but only got diagnosed with EDS three years ago. It was a big relief because it’s a vindication that it’s not just all in your head.
I also have sighted non- 24-hour sleep/wake disorder, a circadian rhythm disorder. Essentially, I don’t have a 24-hour body clock. As a child, I had sleep issues. I was going to bed on time – I just wasn’t falling asleep until 3am. Doctors prescribed various sleep medications, but none of them worked. I got told to try harder.
It’s been incredibly difficult to accept that my chronic conditions will never change. But one thing I can do when feeling crappy is put on a colourful dress or cardigan. It can be a great pick-me-up.”
As told to Fleur Guthrie
Quickfire
Share a favourite vintage accessory?
An Enid Collins Texas handbag, hand-embroidered and made in 1967. I only take it out on special occasions.
Did you wear vintage on your wedding day?
I did! It was a 1950 silk floral dress with tulle. I actually bought it on eBay 10 years before we got married and tucked it away.
Do you own any old NZ Woman’s Weekly issues?
I have a couple from the sixties, but I’ve mostly collected the Australian Home Journal, which includes sewing patterns. The earliest one I have is from 1929.
Is there something vintage that you use each day?
We use strawberry-themed Pyrex dishes – made for the New Zealand market in the 1960s – every day for cooking. I also have vintage 1950 wallpaper (bought off eBay), which we put behind glass to make a retro kitchen splashback.
