Reminiscence - Spring Ball

In anticipation of the upcoming historical Poppy Ball, I thought I'd share with you a few photos of the previous period ball by the same Masters of Ceremonies, the Spring Ball at Normansfield Theatre, Langdon House.

The venue is a Grade II Listed theatre with beautiful hand painted decors.

Built in 1877-79, it retains its Victorian side flaps, in full working order, and is still used for performances to this date.

Langdon House itself is home to the UK's Down Syndrome Association, to whom the Ball's profits were donated.

Waltzes were danced, quadrilles, reels and country dances, including my beloved Pride of Erin Waltz and all-time favourite Waltz Cotillion - all to live music by the wonderful Green Ginger.

Photographs #2 and #6 courtesy of Andrew Rawe

Affordable Fashion and the CIRCUS

I AM SO EXCITED. In case that didn't quite come across, let me reiterate. I AM SO EXCITED.

THE CIRCUS IS IN TOWN.


I'M GOING TO THE CIRCUS!

The Moscow State Circus is in town, and I went to get my tickets yesterday. If I wasn't excited enough by the sheer prospect of it, the trip there certainly made sure to correct that. They've erected a huge circus tent in the forest surrounding Alexandra Palace, and the location is absolutely magical.

I don't know what it is about the circus, but I've always been absolutely fascinated by it. The aesthetic of it, the atmosphere, the music... I don't know, nothing else really ever compares. Even world-class acts like Cirque du Soleil seem a little pale to me next to the fun fair-esque entertainment of the People that the circus endeavours to be. Believe it or not, I am actually jumping up and down in excitement as I type.

I couldn't possibly go check out the circus without dressing up for it, so here's the outfit I put together for the occasion:

And then again, this is nothing compared to what I will wear on the day of the performance...

Top - Primark

Bra with criss-cross straps - H&M

Skirt - numph

Shoes - Baker

Jacket - Collectif

Jewellery - Hutan Tulang

Hair From Beyond #5: Do the Clara Bow

It dawned on me the other day that I'd never styled short hair. I mean, sure, I've styled long hair into faux-bobs plenty of times, but actual, real short hair? Never. Conveniently, my flatmate happens to wear her hair cropped very short and very straight. Always up for a challenge, I marched straight into her room and declared I was turning her into Clara Bow for the evening. She never knew what hit her.

Clara Bow was one of the very first silver screen icons, THE 'it' girl of the 20s. As Anne Helen Petersen writes in this fabulous post for The Hairpin, "Girls wanted to be her, boys wanted to date her, and old people thought she was a sign of the apocalypse, which obviously meant she was star material".

And so I set to work curling, teasing and spraying, until I was moderately satisfied with the results. Now, you can't have a Clara Bow without the Clara Bow eyebrows. This posed a bit of a problem, as you can't really get Clara Bow eyebrows without plucking it all away, and my flatmate/beautiful model was (understandably) really not that keen. Thus I was forced to compromise and draw them in on top of her (partly concealed) natural eyebrow, but oh well.

~

Here I'm looking for Clara Bow, but all I see is Theda Bara...

Theda Bara

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Model: Betty. Hair, make-up and photography by moi.

A little silk blouse...

This morning I found a forgotten gem at the back of my closet, a little silk blouse inherited from my great-aunt. I have no idea what period it's from - possibly 40s? any ideas, do leave a comment! - but I have been watching much too much Mr Selfridge lately and thought I would incorporate it into a Belle Epoque-inspired outfit.

Blouse - Vintage

Skirt - H&M

Shoes - Primark

A Very Vintage Valentine's

I know, I know, this dates a little, but I came by the photos while going through my phone and wanted to share them with you. Also, confession number 2: it was only mildly vintage. I just thought the title sounded cool.

Coat - Collectif

Velvet Dress - Collectif

Jewellery - Topshop

I tried to take a close-up of my hair but couldn't get the light right, so all I'm left with is this rather embarrassing selfie to show off my faux-rolls. Oh well.

Despite the fancy schmancy outfits, we had quite the trashy bohemian night, with a Sing-Along screening of Moulin Rouge at the Prince Charles Cinema (THAT is how this movie is supposed to be enjoyed. With singing and mock-crying and shouting at the screen and an audience in show-girl costumes), dinner at Five Guys and witnessing a mysterious break-up scene on our way home. Quite the adventure.

Southbank Vintage Car Boot Sale

Last weekend I was at the Classic Car Boot Sale on the South Bank. I'd gone to the very first one last year (more below!), but this time it got extended to a week-end long event, due to popular demand. Talk about popular! The queue was much longer than last year, but the weather was lovely, so we queued in the sun with a cold refreshing beer (sadly the Southbank Center bar stall wouldn't let us carry a pitcher of Pimm's away...). We were treated to entertainment (in the form of an Everly Brothers-style duo of vintage suit-clad boys playing acoustic renditions of Johnny Be Goode, and impromptu 'dance rehearsal' performances) while we planned and schemed about the most effective way to go around seeing everything.

Any attempt to be logical and responsible in our trawling of the market was promptly abandoned when stall after stall caught our eye and we zoned in on vintage pieces with wonderment. Everywhere we looked, fashion, homeware and classic cars, all at a reasonable price! Most items were mid-century, although I did get my hands on a Regency reproduction coat (which, sadly, didn't fit), and with a little rummaging it was possible to find older pieces.

Dress - 1950s vintage (Peggy Lane, thrifted in Amsterdam)

Cardigan - Vivienne Westwood

Shoes - Primark

Bag - Thrifted (Absolute Vintage)

After a few hours, my friends decided that they 'had lost their rummaging spirit' and simply couldn't take any more of it, so we made a beeline for the food shacks (Ok, so I stopped once. That 50s ball gown just HAD to be tried on. I got stuck in it.) and had the best sautéed  mushrooms on toast ever made.

Somewhere along the way I appear to have decided on a theme for the day's shopping, and ended up with a full 'explorer' outfit - think Indiana Jones, female version. I'll do another post about that vintage haul!


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Last year's Classic Car Boot Sale:

Dress - 1940s vintage (Absolute Vintage)

Hat - bought on site!

So soft!

Sadly, he wouldn't buy it.

Sexy leather trousers

And a few film shots, courtesy of Elisabetta:

 Last year, I walked away with a vintage deerstalker (see pictures), a Victorian black silk apron, and the most beautiful 60s satin gown I have ever seen.

The award for Find of the Day, though, goes to my boyfriend who managed to get his hands on a perfectly tailored, hand-finished original 1930s tailcoat.

Outfits from Outer Space #3: Halloween

Better late than never, right?

Leaving you to ponder this for too long is potentially dangerous, so here's a distracting compilation of all my Halloween 2013 costumes.

1. Pop Art

This was put together very last-minute for MCM Comic Con, inspired by Roy Lichtenstein's art. Mostly it just involved orange face paint and a LOT of eyeliner. Drawing on those dots took fucking forever.

A very confused Castiel discovers pop art.

2. 50s movie character

After reading this inspiring blogpost, I decided to go greyscale for Halloween and aimed for a 50s-inspired look.

Top - Collectif

Skirt - Coast

Behind the scenes:

Originally, we were meant to go as a greyscale couple, but he flipped out when I brought out the eyeliner and wouldn't let me paint the rest of his face..

3. Last-minute Cruella De Vil

I got invited to a Disney pub crawl in Shoreditch, and was too lazy to go home and change, so I concocted this with what little clothes I had at my boyfriend's... Fun fact: I've owned this faux fur jacket since I was 6 years old and my cousin's bridesmaid. It's served me well.

People kept complimenting me on my 'white face makeup'... I wasn't wearing any. Sob.

4. Creepy nondescript Tim Burton character

Inspired by Emma Pickles' makeup tutorial, I wore this for Voodoo Rock Night. 

Corset - Primark

Skirt - Topshop

Armwarmers - Claire's

Annoyingly, it turned out to be one of those cases where everything looked better during the makeup test than on the actual night.

My eyebrows just wouldn't disappear!

5. ...And a minion

...What did YOU dress up as on Halloween?