Dorothy Frocks Friday

It's been a while since I've done Frock on a Friday.
And it's been a while since this frock, named Dorothy, has been out to play.

 Dorothy chirped up from being stuck in a cupboard after meeting up with a new bag crafted by the very, very talented Nelly.

 Ain't Nelly clever?

A few details for you to have a peek at.

 Oooh and another peek!

1950s cotton frock - market stall

Scrabble ring and record bag - from the lovely Nelly's shop, Vintage Wishes

1950s velvet cocktail hat - gifted by the stunning Sasha of Astral Boutique

1930s rayon and lace knickers - eBay

Earrings - Etsy

Pin-up girl brooch - gift from the beautiful Sarah

Barry M green nail polish - gift from the funktacious Vix

Green glass necklace - De Mille Vintage, Melbourne

Bangles, red bag, other brooches - thrifted

VW Melissa Lady Dragon Heart shoes - Amazon

I hope you have a fabulous weekend lined up!
Desiree xo

Don't Be a Drag, Just Be a Queen!

I took one look at this little number on eBay and thought "Well helloooooooooo dolly, you need a body in you baby!"
So I helped out this poor, lonely 1950s circus costume by making an offer the seller couldn't refuse.
I think our home is becoming a sanctuary for ex-performance costumes.

I clicked my shiny green heels and she made it to her new home all the way from the US of A - land of fabulous vintage carni-girl dreams.
 

'Cept I ain't no gal.
Mi una donna!

Now that's a leap of love.

Spingle, spangle, sparkly, flicky, twirly dreams ... you can live them out at any age.

The Stylist and I pounced on two kids beaded tiaras at the op-shop a couple of weeks ago.
I've covered mine in brooches picked up from oppys or craft stalls.
Now I've been getting women, of all ages I'm happy to say, stopping me in the street and asking where they can get one.

You just make it happen baby!

I feel a bit of a pony ride coming on.

Or maybe a shimmy up and down the silk ropes.

Don't even try to resist the urge to shimmy.

Next challenge: to style this baby for public consumption.
The best part about wearing anything not intended for a life away from the stage is snapping on the creative switch, diving into my wardrobe and letting the clothes fly ... weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

1950s costume - eBay

Tiara - handmade

VW Melissa 3-Straps - Amazon

Desiree xx

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Baddest of Them All?

Leopard-print.
Irresistible.  Diva.  Luscious.  Safe.  Scary.  Show-off ... some of the words to describe what this print-of-prints means to me.
So when I found the Mother-of-All-1970s-Bell-Bottom-Pants on eBay, my primal instincts kicked in and I went for the kill.
Straight for the throat.
RAAAAAAOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!!

None of these pics are of me.
I simply don't exist.
It's all about these darling Fredericks of Hollywood super-pants.

I had no say in today's poses.
The pants made me do it.

It's not my fault the baker nearly lost his load when I walked down the street this morning ... oooh err!!

 As if 70s leopard-print bell-bottoms aren't enough ... these also sparkle!
Klimt demonstrates what happens when such pants are worn ... you get your cheeks sucked on.

1970s bell-bottoms - from Heliotrope's eBay store

Sequin beret, 1970s sheer blouse, tribal necklaces, earrings, sunnies, rings, bangles - all thrifted

Leopard-print bow-tie on hand - from belle of the ball, Helga

Green velvet wedges - Nine West sale

Papua New Guinean basket - flea market

Swimsuit - Black Milk

Don't fight the fever baby, it's a jungle out there!

Baci,

Desiree xoxo

Get Down those Hot Pants!

An hour earlier, I was prancing about like a smug thing, knowing I had a pair of green and silver lurex hot pants cookin' in my bag ...

1970s blue flares - flea market

Tribal necklace, 1970s orange plastic earrings, black metal bracelet - thrifted

Pink skull bracelet - gifted by that nebulus Krista

Red rose headband - made by me

Black VW Melissa Wedges - Melissa Australia sale

Red sunnies and beaded white ring - Fitzroy, Melbourne
Swimsuit - Black Milk

Yes I'm looking very happy with myself here, so I should, Number Three Son had given my newly-thrifted green and silver lurex shorts the thumbs up.

He loves his Lego dude necklace.

That's one very smirky smirk ... soon to be wiped off my face as you know.
Later in the evening a bit of a refashioning went on and now I have a pair of hot pants that are burning my eyeballs!

 I bought a length of thick cotton braid from a collapsing warehouse on my visit to Melbourne last year and I finally found a use for some of it.

I added the braid to the shorts to add extra width by cutting the side seams apart with my shears, sewing the braid to the raw edges and hemming the braid top and bottom.

 I removed the flacid elastic, unpicked the back seam part way down, added a button and buttonhole to the waistband and a hook and eye to the open back (not really necessary but I did it anyway).

I got that funky smokin' hot pants feelin' ... makin' me wanna dance!
I'm back!!!
Ooh, there's more greeny goodness in the latest Everybody Everywhere challenge.

Desiree xoxo

Because We Can

I grabbed the opportunity while I had their attention.
Number Three Son and The Stylist were stuffing their faces at breakfast time and couldn't interrupt me with their mouths full.
They copped a mini rant on some of the freedoms our country enjoys this International Women's Day, thanks to our brave and spirited sisters who put their lives and reputations at risk more than 100 years ago.
I think the wee scalli-wags quite enjoyed their impromptu lesson-of-the-day!

Then I got dressed in an outfit that would have had me arrested several decades ago, or even ostracised in recent times.
I thought about how today I can play my part in empowering older women.
I can go against the grain and wear a 1930s peach ruffled negligee as a frock.
And a homemade purple rose hairband with clashing jewellery.
I don't know if the magic rubbed off on anyone, but I hope so:).

I get to hop into my beloved Penelope Pitstop and drive her maybe a wee bit too fast ... because I can.

I can bump into my best friend's partner in the street and we can have a delightful chat over a coffee without tongues wagging ... because we can.

My children live in a time when we have Queensland's first female Premier and Australia's first female Prime Minister ... because they can.

Quite often I get to wear my underwear on the outside ... because I can.

1930s rayon and lace nightie - eBay
Frida Kahlo earrings - Melbourne

Purple Amazonia Melissa shoes - Amazon

Purple rose headband - handmade

Pink and orange necklace - from the lovely Krista

Pearl necklaces - Circa Vintage, Melbourne

Bangles, floral bag and some rings - thrifted

Scrabble "D" ring - from the luscious Nelly

I hope you too can take a moment and give us gals a jolly good huzzah this Women's Day:)).

Molti baci,

Desiree xo

I'm Loud and I'm Proud!

"Excuse me madam, your music is VERY loud," said the woman with a face like slapped arse, in the library this morning.
"Oh I'm SO sorry, I didn't realise," replied she of the joyfully jiggling hips.
That's coz I'm old and deaf because I've been destroying my eardrums with headphones since I was 15 and anyway you should know better because if your hearing is that awesome you'd know I was actually humping a mic-stand to James Brown's I'm Black and I'm Proud, but you've chosen to ignore everyone yelling about the shit weather we're having and boasting about how many inches they got last night ... of rain that is.  Oh and you think my skirt's too short don't you, you sad bat.

It's the Phoenix's birthday today and he awoke to torrential rain, kisses, pressies, cards, breakfast in bed and a few laughs.
Not a bad way to tip into one's mid-forties eh?
I decided colour and lots of it was urgently required, so inspired have I been by the rainbow lorikeets who raid our umbrella tree flowers every afternoon.

They're so incredibly cheeky, brazen, loud and funny and frequently bash into our huge glass front doors when they get drunk on the nectar.
How can anyone be po-faced and wear grey when you have these guys living it large-style right in front of your face?

I leapt at the chance to don my gumboots for puddle-jumpling (it's true) in this very clashing get-up.

This umbrella is really not keeping anything dry.

Floral blouse - West End Vintage Market

Pink floral headband - handmade by me

Floral granny bag, child's umbrella, bracelets and rings - thrifted

VW Melissa Squiggle gumboots - thanks to the magnificent shopping efforts of Suzanne at the NYC Melissa sample sale

Skirt - Black Milk

The poor Phoenix is still getting used to all the love and attention he gets each birthday ... he's just not accustomed to it yet.
But here he is, four minutes after being rudely awoken mind you, having a giggle over the magnificent, insanely creative handmade birthday book The Stylist patiently made for him.
It's absolutely hilarious, complete with girly quizzes about the daily routines of five-year-old pop stars (I just made that up but it's scarily close to the truth).

It also glows in the dark.
Which reminds me, I took a bathroom break while out and about this morning and found the public toilet had cool UV lighting "for the drug people" the cleaner informed me.
I'm sorry, I thought it was for the frustrated 40+ ravers who missed out on ALL the summer music festivals this year!

I spent a suspiciously long time in there with my headphones blaring.
Then I went to the library.
You know the rest.
Happy, loud Monday y'all!!
Oh, and February 2012 was Black History Month.
Desiree xoxo