Stakeout: The Way We Wear Fair, Williamstown, November 22 – 23 2008

Gee it seems like a long time since I’ve done any op-shopping/thrifting/vintage rummaging. I’d love to say that this is because I’m getting all, like, zen man and simplifying my life, but the truth is that I’m holed up working like a dawg to try and get a conference paper finished and thus am gadding about in more birkensocks/’house’ jeans (ie the jeans that are too old and/or ugly to wear out of doors)/’Barcelona ‘92′ t-shirts than glamorama frocks and such.

However, as the Summer ‘The Way We Wear’ Fair was held in my hood over the weekend, I decided to temporarily come out of my burrow and have a look around.

Costume Envy: Vivre Sa Vie, 1962

I am in no way a smoker. Can’t stand the stinky things, plus it always makes me think of Bert Baxter and his hideous cigars in the Adrian Mole books. But the seedy glamour of Jean-Luc Godard’s classique of Nouvelle Vague cinema, Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Life/To Live One’s Life/It’s My Life) is enough to make even the most staunchly anti-tobacco peeps out there sigh wistfully as the tragically chic main characters blow smoke and think about life and stuff.

TVD Dress Up Box: Olde Time School Marm

Well, well. This won’t be a long post. I’m off to a costume party tonight, for which the theme is ‘School’s Out’. And seeing as every other Young Lady my age is bound to rock up wearing an old school uniform with about twenty inches or so taken off the hem, I’ve decided to go as…an olde time school marm.

For this costume, I’m going to wear the following: 

Costume Envy: All About Eve, 1950

Have I already blathered on about how much I’m loving my local library at the moment? I hope not, because here goes – It’d been a good long time since I’d headed in there, mostly because the selection seems to extend only to Westerns (for the gents), neon-pink spined Rrrrrrromance novels (for the laydeez) and Large Print (for the elderly, who, let’s face it, make up the bulk of the public library’s clientele). But a few months ago I wandered in and, while the books were mostly still el crapola, the dvd section was now out of control.

Thus, I’ve been watching a whole lotta free movies/old BBC TV series lately. I won’t lie, there have been hits and misses - among the misses, I would number The Nanny Diaries (great new york apartments, shame about the script) and the off-putting Bottom (yes I KNOW that’s the point, but it still sicks me out. Bring back the Young Ones, etc etc).

Which, in a roundabout way, brings me to that masterpiece of the Golden Age of Hollywood, which I happened to borrow this week - All About Eve, starring the one and only Bette Davis, along with Anne Baxter and a very young Marilyn Monroe.

Lea Stein Delaunay-Inspired Brooch Hits the Market

Just in time for Christmas (well, actually I think it was released a little while back but I only just heard about it while googling around like a bmx bandit) Lea Stein & co has released a new design – so, following on from Dragon and Moustache earlier this year, what will it be?

TVD Hits the Headlines…Again…Sort of

Ok. so you all remember when I was temporarily famous in Bendigo. Well, looks like TVD is back in print … Leader style:

Aunty Detective: Avoiding the Hazards of Cheap Polyester Dresses

Listen, I’m not going to judge you. We’ve all been there. You’re standing in an op, minding your own bizzo, when all of a sudden WHAM! An dress in an amazing colour/print catches your eye and you swoop on it raptor-bird style. Only to realise that, despite its wonderfulnesses, it’s polyester. D’oh. Cheap polyester with an elasticised waist. Double d’oh. But you can’t resist and buy it anyway, and now you don’t wear it becasue it’s not entirely flattering/has static to the degree of Yahoo Serious’ hair/smells vaguely under the arms.

Well, never fear. You can take action if you’ve fallen into cheap polyester temptation. Here’s what to do when…