Frocktober Day 30 - The Final Frock.



The final frock

Today was the last day of Frocktober! I probabaly thought far too hard about what I should wear and in the end I over slept and went for something that didn't need to be ironed! So 40's wrap dress it was with 40's hair and make-up to match.

Waiting for the bus,
it was too bright to look up!

Today was a fairly typical Wednesday, work, then off to trivia!  Trivia was good if slightly denuded, we were down to tweleve teams from our usual nineteen to twenty which made it easy to mark.

After quiz I headed home for a cup of tea and a cuddle with MOH and the poodle (you can see her in the background of the picture on the left!)

Tomorrow I get to wear pants!

Frocktober Day 30 - The Penultimate Dress

Can you tell this felt very awkward?...

 Today is the second last day of Frocktober... I must confess I've been wearing full make-up for so long now it's going to feel odd to not wear it, even my self image has make-up on at the moment.

Selfies at the bus stop.

Today was the first appearance of a Rosie the riveter do rag! I was chuffed when one of my colleagues walked up to me and said as much!  This do rag is just a fabric offcut I've repurposed.  It accompanied my knotty dress and cocktail cardi (availiable from Darling Central, best cardi I own).  No accesories rtoday I ran out of the hous ein a hurry so all jewellery was left off.

Today's photo was taken my MOH at the university before heading home to pat the dog.



Feel the ominous!



Waiting for the bus to meet MOH the sky became ominous... so naturally being the new instagram addict that I am I had to take a photo of it! I managed to avoid the rain long enough to keep my war paint intact.

Frocktober Day 29 - Discoveries!

Selfies at home in the polka dot dress

 Today I went for a very authentic 40's do becasue I was dragged out of bed early by a small brown dog desperate to bark at our resident possums.  Needless to say I locked her outside.  This worked for a grand total of 30 minutes when she realised I'd gone back to bed so she howled and grizzled at the door until I let her back in and then it was definitely up time.

Todays 'do' is another variation on snood style, I love snoods they make life so easy!  It based on the ever reliable victory roll only this time I've topped it with a curly pompadour, hy hot rollers were calling to me.  This is very 40s and very easy, it only took four rollers for five minutes to achieve it!



Incognito, see? I'm practically
invisible!



As alway on Monday's MOH was out hosting his regular quiz so I headed home on the bus, incognito behind my sunglasses... because I'm sure that is all that's required to go unnoticed when you look like I do at the moment.



Love my burgundy bed set too!



When I got home I pottered around changing the bed and cleaning up mine and MOH's room (it looked rather like we'd had our own personal blitzkrieg).  While doing so I discovered my parcel from What Katie Did! I realised I hadn't shown you what it contained yet so here it is! I have a padded bullet bra, a 40's reproduction bra, a beautiful set of french knickers and a new suspender belt!  So exciting, I will get to that post on the importance or undergarments I promise... I guess it will have to be tomorrow!

Frocktober days 26 to 28 - Of Tea and Foiled Plans!



Taking time to stop and smell the roses...

Day 26 - Went early 60's today with my first beehive of 2012.  I love wearing beehives, I get such a positive response.  Mostly from ladies my mum's age shaking their heads and laughing while they tell me about how they used to wear their hair just so!  That's part of the fun of doing something like this, being told that you look just like someone's mother.



The do, undented.

Wearing 60's make up today felt quite foreign, this is the decade when eyeliner migrated to below they ey as well, and it was OVER THE TOP. Like most of the decade.  Take for example, my lovely gizmo print.  Very typical of early 60's fashion it also would not have been out of place on someone's living room wall. 

Visit the Hug-man!

So sporting my 60's beehive do and my gizmo print (not to mention even more make-up than has been usual this month) I headed in town for an iced chocolate with MOH.  Who should I spot but this guy on the left!  He made my day, we had a little chin-wag about why he would choose to do this and what people's reactions were, and yes I did ask him before I took his photo for this blog!  If you need a hug he is in Garema place every Friday afternoon!  

Hooray! New favourite shoes!



Before meeting my beau I had a moment of grooming, after having my nails done yesterday I realised that it was getting to the point where I didn't so mcuh have eyebrows as  two giant hairy caterpillars battling for supremacy over my forehead.  It was time to call in the professionals and a very good job they did too!  I also had just enough time to make a new purchase for a burlesque routine I'm working on; a very glamourous pair of neon pink heels.  



Selfies in the mirror at home

Day 27 - Saturday! At last, time at home with the dog.  Only it rarely works out that way. Today it was my knotty dress again, if I can't wear scungy old comfy jeans this dress is the next best thing.  Treat it like a rag and it still looks fabulous. I teamed it with rockabilly hair and a little crocet bolero I got at the rummage!

The day at home thing was working quite well until lunchtime... We decided to go to Guzman y Gomez for lunch and stop by the art market on the way home. At Guzman y Gomez MOH ordered this little gem:



naturally/artificially flavoured



The English language pedant in me laughed and laughed. MOH didn't seem to find it as funny...

On our way to the art market we rescued a fledgling noisy miner bird (noisy miners are native, it was not an indian miner bird).  It had jammed itself into a hole near club lime on Marcus Clarke street.  We looked for it parents but couldn't spot a nest or any other birds and the poor thing looked like it had, had a run in with and ANU campus cat...  So no art market, off to the RSPCA we went.

They have many chickens, so guess where we will be going to get chickens for our coop?



Why? Oh why must you do this to me?



 Day 28 - Today was spent with the dog. Although at times I'm sure she wished it wasn't (see left).  We went to the dog park and then to Pet Stock for a bath and just to prove it; yes I do actually do just about everything in dresses during the month!



Playing 'Skip to my Lou'

 

After the bath we stopped by Pet Barn, just to have a look you understand. Which meant we had to stop at As Nature Intended for a coffee, of course. While we were having our coffees little Miss Em did her best to talk to everyone who happened to pass by (Especially small children, she loves them, my theory is they smell of more things, also they're at licking height). We go to listen to this lovely little folk duo who were playing in the piazza at Belconnen Markets.





After the Pet Barn we took Em to visit MOH's Nan.  She doesn't really like dogs but Em's never met a person she couldn't win over.  She'd made herself at home in the space of a heart beat.  After a cup of tea with Nan we headed to MOH's mother house for (you guessed it!) another cup of tea.  Again Em made herself at home in the space of heartbeat, on the furniture, in and out of bedrooms and the garden.  By this time it was 4pm and we still hadn't managed to eat lunch and the dog was tuckered!

Yet more tea....

So we went home for... drumroll please... more tea.  The dog promptly conked out on the couch next to us, we gave up on lunch and decided to eat dinner early.

Later in the night... we drank more tea!







 

Frocktober Day 24 - Going all Molly Ringwald.

Today I felt terribly pink!

Today was a flamingo day. I have been promising my lovely quiz contestants  that I would one day wear my Darling Central uniform to quiz for them. Well what better time than Frocktober?  So todays emsemble was very PINK. 

Bar the shoes and the terrible $4 stockings this entire outfit came from Darling Central! Flamingo skirt, collectif (his name is Frank), Flamingo shirt, also collectif (their names are Frances and Freida) and while you can't see it I have a Vive Dulce Marina cardigan which also has a flamingo on it (this one is called Fred).

The hair was rockabilly style, a pomp with a high pony tail (which was very fluffy due to humidity and the braid I sleep in so as not to smother MOH with my hair). Make-up was 50's style with serious barbie pink lippy, it feel odd to not be wearing red...



Thanks for the action shot...



As usual for a wednesday it was a busy day, I finished work and raced off to my lime green chaffer driven chariot to head down to Calwell for trivia.

My chariot awaits...

Not a bad night all in all, contestants were lovely as always one of them has just bought a house (if you're reading congratulations again!).  The babies are getting bigger and one team volunteered for a -5 point penalty because they were determined that they'd come first last week (an impressive feat given they weren't even there).

  

Frocktober Day 23 - Being Beatrix Potter



Make-up refresh before heading out from work.



All selfies today I'm afraid, it was a busy day at work and my fellow frockette and I didn't get the opportunity to step out of the office for a photo shoot. Today's ensemble was my super spy dress and a 50's style french knot; I overslept quite significantly and needed a quick dress and do!  I actually had someone comment of the different era of my outfit!  Nice to know some people are noticing.



Belt detail

I accesoried with my usual belt a cheapy purchase form ICE a number of years ago (I have actually included a detail of it to day) to accentuate the wasit on this frock and my resin poodle pin from the cat's meow in Degraves arcade in Melbourne (photograph als included).



Poodle pin



Tuesday is not ususally a busy day for us but MOH had to work a little overtime so I headed to the university to pick him up.  We were picking up a friend of mine who will be house/dog sitting for my parents to take them down and show them how everything works blah blah blah...

Sp back to picking up MOH,  wandered to his office and up to a place called the 'tank' to wait in the sun for him to finish and who should I see but Peter Rabbit! Actually about twenty Peter Rabbit's along with Flopsy, Mopsy and cottontails too.  Despite my firm belief that rabbits are vermin these little baby bunnies were more than a little bit cute!

Runny Babbit at the university!





Frocktober Day 22 - A little parcel of divinity...



This shot's a bit pensive isn't it? 

Today I got to wear a NEW frock, and yes I know frocktober is not about buying new frocks it's about wearing frocks you already have. However I got this frock at the rummage on Saturday.  It's abeautiful deep blue with lovel button detailing on the sleeves (which I of course forgot to photograph).

It's a wrap dress with what becomes a sweetheart neckline and some lovely gathers on the shoulders which give it a distinctly 40's feel (to me anyway).  I accesorised it with the hideous $4 pantyhose; which are lasting a little too well, and my high-heeled brogues (and yes, I know that traditional brogues are brown but traditional brogues also don't have high heels).



Nanna's brooch



My jewellery today is the reason for this post's title. I wore my Grandmothers anique locket again and this time I added this little treasure from my Nanna.  A beautiful costume piece. My grandfather firmly beleived that a woman could never have too much jewellery and he bought my Nanna some beautiful pieces, costume and genuine, I'm not sure if this is one of them but I like to think it is.



A little parcel of divinity



With such beautiful jewellery and a new frock the day coud not go badly and then this arrived!  A parcel from 'What Katie Did' my vintage reproduction lingerie had arrived!  Because I am a three year old and I can't wait until  get home I had to open it at work.  Untying the ribbon and unwrapping the crinkling tissue paper made me smile.  The pieces inside were even more beatiful than I thought they'd be!  Stay tuned for a post on the importance of proper undergarments! Complete with photographs.



Thanks Big Bad!



Another donation came through today from a delightful friend of mine. I felt the need to aknowledge his donation so I posted this to his facebook wall as a thankyou.

Can you tell I got a new app?

I also spent far too much time playing with my new framing app at home on the couch...



FRocktober Days 19 to 21 - Rummage and BBQs



Oh no! She's gone native!

Day 19 - Can you tell things are starting to go a bit silly? It's 'casual Friday' at work and what better excuse to climb about in the foliage?

Today it was the knotty dress again and a huge pomp, very Elvis inspired.  I also wore huge cat's eyeliner to complete the 50's inspired ensemble.  I also brought out my terribly precious limited edition Transparenze Anthea stockings.  These are no longer availiable and on the day they ladder I will cry.



See? Devine.



They have the most beautiful detailing at the top and bottom of the 'seam' and a ruffled welt.  These are stockings that make me happy.  So I flounced around all day in embellished ruffle heaven despite the fact that I popped a suspender every twenty minutes.





Loungeroom post rummage.

Day 20 -

Today was the day for a Rummage!  If you've never had a rummage I highly recommend them.  What you do is this; someone volunteers their longeroom, everyone brings over all the clothes they don't want/wear or fit anymore, you tip them in a big pile and everyone rifles through it picking out what they like and playing dress ups.  When you're all done everything left over goes to a charity of your choice.



Em and Frank.

First order of business this morning was to vote!  So I primped and preened then walked Little Miss Em down to the local school to vote.  I ran into one of MOH's work colleagues who volunteered to mind the little girl while I exercised my democratic responsibility.

After that we detour past the shops for milk and tea (the staples of life) then it was home to clean the house before my guest arrived.  Em helped by disembowelling frank and spreading little balls of fluff throughout the loungeroom.



Quick! Call the SES!
She'll be crushed!

 Once everyone arrived and the rummage commenced my cleaned loungeroom looked like this:

Yes that is a person beneath the pile of clothes; she took the injunction to 'dive right in' somewhat literally.  Much fun was had by all, a quick and very inexpensive wardrobe refresh! I even snagged a 40's style wrap dress to include in my frocktober efforts!



Slightly dishevelled post rummage...



Then the day was over, I spent a significant ammount of time folding what remained (there's my OCD rearing it's head) and putting it in pilgrim bags for it's trip to charity.  But the story of this rummage does not end here!  A few girls missed out so we'll be doing it again, I'll hold on to what remains and we'll rummage again with some new editions.



Ah couch... how I love thee...



 I conked on the couch breifly post rummage, after pulling dresses on and off my victory rolls were somewhat the worse for wear. So they came out to be rplaced by a braid while I finished cleaning up.

Today's ensemble was my Bettie Page captain dress from the darling shoppy. It's comfy for walking and cleaning in.

Cooking up a storm.

 Day 21 - Today was a busy day!  It started early with laundry and a final clean from yesterday's rummage.  Then we took Little Miss Em to visit MOH's mother who was feeling unwell.  Nothing like puppy lickings to cheer someone up.

Todays' ensemble was my polks dot frock and collectif cardigan (from the shoppy) no stockings today is was far to warm.  I wore a rockabilly syle pompadour with a high ponytail for a look that's a bit younger than the 40's I'm rocking so frequently this month.

After that is was off to a friend's post voting BBQ, not to celebrate or commiserate just yet the legislative assembly is still hung; looks like we'll have another coalition.



Rockabilly hair and make-up



I ate very quickly at the BBQ because then it was off to Holder shops for KOTY rehearsals.  I took some of the more burlesque-y pieces to rehearsals for the girls to look at and came home with significantly less.

Then it was time to race of to shops and home as my parents were coming over to dinner before they head off to South America for a month.  Tough life for some.

Frocktober Day 18 - Dire happenstance and fateful cock-up...



Ghastly uncomfortable things but I was
COLD!!!



Today I comitted a terrible sin and I hope you will all forgive me. I wore those most heinous and uncomfortable things; pantyhose.  These were especially dreadful as they were $4 pantyhose out of a vending machine... yeech.  They were also 'regular' sized so they weren't exactly a good fit on my gargantu-la legs. Well it was cold.



Ne'er a seam in sight....



The only plus side of this sin was that the machine malfunctioned and refunded my $4 with the pantyhose, so as uncomfortable as they were at least they were free! So I struggled my way into said pantyhose. They were most uncomfortable after wearing proper nylons and suspenders.  Getting into them was made even more challenging by the fact that I broke a nail this morning so I had to be very careful not to ladder them before I'd even got them on.



Oh the humanity!  Will dire
happenstance never cease....



Apart from cheap and nasty pantyhose, todays outfit was a revist of my Joelene heartbreaker frock, I love the collar on this it's so perfect for pinning cute little brooches to (of which I have  a number).  Hair was vioctory rolls (again) with a coral flower and my Jackie O shoes (I mean Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis not the radio host).

I neglected to take a photograph of the yellow poodle brooch I wore today!  I will before the month is out, I'm sure I will wear it again.  I wore grandma's locket again (it is my favourite necklace after all) and a coral coloured flower; I had planned to wear a pink rse but my dog had ever so helpfully chewed it and it was more that a little bit slobbery...

What's behind this door? ...Nothing... oh, well nevermind.

Hopefully tomorrow goes better!



Frocktober Day 17 - A Trivial Pursuit.

Are we feeling tirival?

Today was a day to be over dressed... mostly because I didn't feel like wearing a frock I'd already worn and that left me with two options; a home made dress that is still not entirely finished and this gorgeous peach/coral number.  The Lady Luck dress from Bettie page is a Darling Central staple and it's not hard to see why!  This is a  beautiful frock availiable in powder blue and rich coral I opted for the coral because I'm a GIRL and I like PINK.

I accesoried with a matching coral hair flower and my heirloom necklace, I also added some extra sparkle (becasue satin is not dressy enought for the office) with pink diamante earrings.  To battle the unseasonable evening chill I topped it off with my rock steady cardigan.  Due to rationing (read: my dog ate them) I had no nude coloured stockings a situation I will have to rectify...

My hairs was victory rolls... again.  They a quickly becoming a staple style esy to do and long wearing.  I might do a weekend tutorial and show you just how easy they actually are!

Tonight was quiz night and it was back to the Club after my show break.  It's always lovely to hear from the tables when I come back from a break. MOH hosted in my absence and told them all where I was so there were many questions about the show!

My fellow frockette wasn't at work today (unwell poor chicken) so this photograph was taken by one of the lovely fellows on the team 'Norfolk 'n' Chance'.  Go on, read it out loud.  I dare you.

Frocktober Day 16 - The Eleventh Hour



Another photo of the dog!



Today I completely forgot to take a photograph until I got home so I look slightly dishevelled as I have been to the park with the dog and to a catch-up pole class.  Today it was victory rolls again, but, this time I left my hair out at the back.  It looked nice until I got caught in a rather large gust of wind and then it just looked like a bird's nest...

Today I revisited my 40's dance dress which I incorrectly attributed to Unique Vintage it's actually ReVamp Vintage but still from the shoppy!

I accesorised with some less than vintage boots today but they needed an outing, they told me.  These are my Miracle Lourdes boots from the amazing and brilliant John Fluevog; a Canadian designer who makes the most beautiful and wearable shoes on earth! Otherwsie there is not much to mention about to day's outfit.



My treasured possesions!

Frocktober Day 15 - Ladies who lunch...

 40's again in a skirt and blouse combo that didn't work quite as nicely as I would have liked...  The skirt is AMAZING it's military pencil from Collectif and is another Darling purchase.  The blouse was less succesful; it's a lovely piece from Diana Ferrari but it's not quite long enough to tuck in nicely and every time I sit down or bend or do anything I have to tuck it back in.  It's most unladylike.
Today was victory rolls and a snood again, I'm still recovering from the show so I don't quite spring out of bed with vigour ready to do my hair.  I will get back on top of it I promise after a few more good sleeps!


At home with Emmeline



Aligator and I headed into town for lunch and stopped for blog photos at Garema Place's giant silver pillow before heading back to work.

After work I headed home to spend some much needed quality time with my darling dog Emmeline (She's named after the formidable Emmeline Pankhurst, suffragette, protest leader and general fearsome woman).  EM's assesment of the nessecity of quality time was somewhat different than mine...



Glamourous, isn't it?



After changing to take little miss Em to the park I started to pull my hair out and decided I would share this image with you.