Adornments

Oh, Adornments. I have been drooling over dresses in here for years. Sadly they have always been out of my price range (they are reasonably priced, always stunning and I’ve never seen vintage of this quality cheaper, I’m just perpetually broke). I have however bought jewellery, hats and ornaments from here before. The shop has a huge range of jewellery, most of it quality vintage repro, and beautiful vintage inspired accessories. My bridesmaid bought her dress from here and it is just lovely. Staff are very helpful too. I’d recommend it as a vintage shop for accessories, hats, gloves, scarfs and if you’re looking for an outfit for a special occasion.

Everything in Adornments just screams fabulous, and you’re missing out if you don’t include it in your day of shopping at Paddington. It’s a place that’s packed in with so many things that it might almost be overwhelming, but everything is so lovely that is has the opposite effect: it calms you and makes you happier.
Every time I go in, I’m remain fascinated by the antique-​style umbrellas with frills. They are so ornate and impractical for any modern-​day use, and yet I still think they’re so lavish and lovely.
Two things that Adornments definitely isn’t lacking are bags and jewellery. Everywhere you turn there is another small pile or rail of bags and clutched to sift through, and there is jewellery in every cabinet and on every table you can see. The place is in exceptionally well organised chaos, which I’ve figured out is a common characteristic of vintage-​style stores.
Walking through the front room and across the creaky boards to the back, you’ll find an area dedicated wholly to vintage clothing and shoes. This area is marvellous. If you have the patience to meticulously go through the railings, you can find some truly wonderful and unique styles here like sheer vests and floral, fluffy dresses. Adornments also has some fantastic shoes and I couldn’t resist toying with the idea of buying a white pair of Bally heels. Alas, I left them behind, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be back. This place is excellent and it’s here to stay.

Adornments is a gorgeous store featuring a wide arrangement of funky, unique, and I-didn’t-even-know-these-things-existed vintage items. As with most of Paddington’s boutiques, not all of the items are second-​hand antiques. There is a range of brand new clothes, hats and other items for sale.
What I particularly loved here was the dresses. The ankle-​length, shoulder-​strap summer dress gets a beautiful revamp here with unique fabrics. Some of the dresses are floral (there’s a gorgeous black dress with roses) and I loved a lilac number with a tiny black bird print.
Some of the more unique items include a vintage door-​knock of a horse carved out of wood where the ring («knocker») hangs from his muzzle.

Wow. This is a vintage-lover’s PARADISE. I couldn’t get over how many beautiful treasures call this place their home (well, until they get purchased).
Unfortunately, time was not on my side so I couldn’t spend the hour I needed in here (at a minimum) to truly examine all the loveliness up close.
Next visit, I’ll definitely spend quality time bonding with the jewellery. There’s so many cabinets of it, it’s like someone raided the jewellery boxes of all the glam grandmas and great grannies in Australia and it ended up here. Fabulous diamanté brooches, clip on earrings, bracelets, rings… all unique, stunning, one-​of-​a-​kind.
Walking through the house-​come-​store, I wandered into a room to the left which was full of beautiful vintage clothes (pricey, but well chosen); then at the end, there was a kitchenette full of… yep, you guessed it, vintage crockery etc.
Out on the back patio, it was all about gardening with pots and statues (like a giant buddha).
There’s definitely no tat in here — it’s a wonderland of pre-​loved treasures that deserve a nice home.

Adornments is a gorgeous little boutique in the heart of Paddington. Like many of the boutiques in the area, this store is fitted in and old fashioned Queenslander house. This setting works well for the sort of things they sell which are mainly vintage or vintage inspired items. The vintage era they focus on leans more towards the 1920−1940s era which sets them apart from many other vintage store which focus more on the 1960−1980s.
I came here one day with my sister when she had decided she was in absolute need of a hat. We could not have gone to a better store! This place sold bowler hats, equestrian hats, fedoras, berets and so forth. The woman working there was extremely helpful too, in the end my sister bought two hats as she just could not decide! Adornments also sells gorgeous vintage dresses, shoes, coats and accessories which are all in good condition. These are on the pricier side but the vintage inspired items are more budget friendly.
If you like the 1920−1940s era or just like gazing at that sort of thing, I suggest you give this place a visit next time you are in the area.