Well Frock Me Sideways with a Pitchfork!

It's about time I wore this frock.
The poor wee dear, who really deserves a name, has been in my mending mountain for way too long and she's finally received the new zip she needed.
So she spent Frock on a Friday, out and about with The Phoenix and I.
Let's call her Betty Blue eh?

There's nothing quite like a 1950s wiggle frock and heels to make a gal feel a million bucks.
Take my advice.
Keep it tight at the knees, crank up the heels and you'll always have plenty of wiggle room on the pavement - gawpers and gaspers alike will simply part like the Red Sea.

Of course, accessories and a bit of 'tude help along that feeling of nothing-can-catch-me-but-a-crack-in-the-pavement.

1950s frock - Etsy

1950s straw beret - Madame Virtue, Melbourne

Faux-fur and lace brooch with vintage button - made by the cunning hands of Helga Hotness 

Earrings and sunnies - Fitzroy, Melbourne

Other jewellery - thrifted, Etsy and leather bangle from darling Erica Louise

VW Melissa's - eBay

Leopard bag - Dandelion Vintage

Ostrich-skin bag - Camberwell Market, Melbourne

Oh what have we here?
1940s sheer black and lace knickers.
I'm feeling very Black Dahlia!

Ooh let's kick the weekend off with a lovely big bang in pale blue fishnets and six-strap garters.

I swear the six-straps are the shizzle - no dragging, saggy stocking tops like I get with the four-straps.

You can get the magic-sucking-in-garter-belt here at Sock Dreams.

I also snapped up the fishnet stockings from Sock Dreams for a piddly five bucks but I'm sure you could make your own by cutting the pants off a pair of fishnet tights.
All this talk about snapping, I think The Phoenix needs to get strappy-snappy pronto!

I swear Young Moira is giving me ideas - are you watching American Horror Story?
If not, why not?

Betty Blue baby wishes you a happy weekend and a jolly good pounding.
Baci,
Desiree xox

Summer Chillin'

Let's get one thing clear.
I am a bit of a Christmas Grinch.
No apologies.
Just not into it in a big way ... so I let The Stylist have free reign when it comes to lights and decorations.
The dear wee hen has already done all her shopping, wrapped her pressies and festooned the house with blue lights.
Stumble out to the loo at 1am and it's a full-on disco going on minus the thumpin' beats.

I must say though, I am really enjoying the cool snap we're having here in Bris Vegas.
We've been rugged up with heaters on, sneezing with colds and I'm back in tights - weeee!!

After the Melbourne Cup Day vintage parade I've been stalking eBay for hot sticks to curl my hair 1930s style and they finally arrived in the mail last week.
So last night The Stylist and I had our first hot stick hair-do playtime.
I'll need more practice, but I thought I'd show you my virgin attempt.

I must have had heatstroke when I bought this 1950s crepe wiggle frock with this amazing fur collar from Etsy about two weeks ago.
It was on sale for $19 - bargain!!
But my, my it certainly came in handy to keep me toasty warm last night.
Anyone out there have ideas on what type of fur this is?

I picked up Gloria Swanson's autobiography from an op-shop for a buck this week.  I've added it to the leaning tower of bedside books - she sounds like one feisty lady and the pics are amaze-balls!

The rose flower clip is from Circa Vintage in Melbourne; 

earrings and bangles, thrifted; 

green glass beads from De Mille Vintage in Melbourne; 

white pearl necklace from the glorious, multi-talented and beautiful Claire; 

bag from Dandelion Vintage; 

I see you baby, shaking that ass!

Glory hallelujah I can wear tights because it's so chilly!
I'm making the most of it before the drippy, sweaty humidity returns.

Oh dear, I seem to have done it again ... Melissa Australia had a two-day 75%-off online sale last week so I got these VW Temptations II for a song - yee haa!!!!

Last week a surprise parcel arrived from the amazing Claire.

 I nearly fainted!!
An utterly gorgeous peach lacy jacket and french knickers (they fit!), a lovely vintage double-row string of pearls aaaaaaaaaaand ... MICE!

 Mink mice sweater clips ... oh lordy I'm in heaven!!

They both have their pink eyes intact.
Thank you so much Claire you wonderful, adorable, talented woman!!
Happy belated birthday to my darling Vix! What a hornbag!
Molti abbraccio e baci.
Desiree xo

Wedding Cake and Corporate Scumbag Tours

Just two hours before our wedding in October, I decided it was time I did something about a wedding cake.
So I wiggled into a random French bakery all dolled up in my 1950s cocktail frock and pointed out a cake I thought looked pretty wicked and yummy.
I happened to mention I was getting married in a couple of hours and could they deliver it to the Italian restaurant we were eating in that arvo?
That's the great thing about Melbourne.
Very rarely does anyone raise an eyebrow at such "odd" behaviour, which would certainly be frowned upon here in Brisneyland.
I mean one is supposed to have some hideously expensive monstrosity to show guests what an amazing couple you are right?
Like zis?

Sorry wrong one.
I meant something like this.

Yikes!

As it turned out, we had our wedding dinner the night after the ceremony which wasn't planned, but turned out to be a really good idea.
We were well-rested (bahahhahahaha!) and it was a super relaxing evening.

I wore my wedding frock because the lovely lacy tart just needed a good thrashing for the second day in a row.
But I carried a gold lame clutch bag gifted to me by Hot Pants Helga instead of the beaded tapestry bag I used on the wedding day and kept the jewellery pretty casual plus some different stockings - ooooh err!

Wedding shoe fetishising ... 

Notice the bed-hair?
What a flippin' disgrace!

The flour-less chocolate and almond mud cake was even more yummy as breakfast for the next two mornings in a row!
A couple of days later The Phoenix's ankle was still giving him some serious shite and luckily the hotel had an excellent wheelchair we could use so we went for a whirl around the city.

First stop, the Occupy Melbourne camp where we spent lots of time talking to people and getting to know some of the different issues people were campaigning for.

The following day, police encircled the camp and moved wire fencing in little by little until the protestors had only a couple of metres to move.

Of course, that's when the shit kicked off.

It was pretty bad as we'd met and talked with so many of the people we saw on the news being dragged away and they were genuinely passionate, highly-intelligent and peaceful people.

Calm before the storm.
The Melbourne camp was the first in Australia to be targeted by authorities.

Oh we is tired!!

The following morning I went for a walk for morning coffee and danish and enjoyed "losing" my way down alleys and newly-discovered tiny streets.

While waiting for the coffee to brew, I spied this pair of shops across the road.
I instantly longed for my darling dump-ring sister Helga to just appear out of nowhere, as the restaurant and "liberated" bookstore seemed an appropriate way to spend a couple of hours with the gorgeous hornbag.

This is Darryl - owner of De Mille Vintage - an outrageous vintage store on Crossley Street, where all the precious stock is in MINT condition.
Among his talents Darryl is a film and television art director and perfectionist and did all of the art direction (ie. everything you see except the the actors' wardrobes) in Season One of Kath and Kim.
We talked for about an hour about Italian films, his wild adventures on many sets around the world and current projects.
I was in heaven and believed for a while that I was so fabulous that I bought this 1940s heavy Czech glass green necklace and a men's top hat.
I was supposed to be buying coffee and pastries.

Next door was another shop with a totally different vibe - Madame Virtue.
I thought I was backstage at a fashion week runway show.
The shop was RAMMED with the most amazing clothes, which were flying around the room as a customer stood at the front door stripped off to her smalls, slipping on everything the owner Dean threw at her, with shrieks of excitement from them both.
Even the black Prada disc dress - drool ...
For me it was like watching a show ... nothing to buy but lots to perve over ... then I spotted a stack of vintage hats hiding in a basket near the front door.
A 1950s orange-striped straw hat beckoned and I caved.
Again.

Back at the hotel, here's what my dressing table looked like.
There's the top hat and green beads, orange striped beret, my beaded wedding bag, red sunnies from a shop in Fitzroy, lame bag and leopard-print bow-tie, both gifts from Helga.

So much vintage shopping naughtiness ... weeeeeeee!!!!

The feather vest was from Shag, which you may have seen in this disgraceful post.

 There's certainly nothing disgraceful about the woman in this lovely painting, one of many in The Hotel Windsor's lobby.

A rare peek out of our hotel room door.

And in honour of Darryl's talents, if I end up like this, feel free to boot me up the arse.