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What I did in Melbourne: the wrap up

Published by The Dreamstress

I’ve told you lots about the Melbourne trip already, but I wanted to give you an overview of the week, with lots of pictures.

So what did I do?

Got lots of exercise:

Bicycling with Theresa and friends

Bike trails along the Yarra River

A very international group of cyclists

Went to three shows in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival:

Theresa loves the Bedroom Philosopher (even if the show was a little…uneven)

Ate lots of delicious food:

Yummy Korean food

And, of course, went to concerts!  I’ve already told you about Great Big Sea, but we also went to see Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot.  The show was great, but the audience was unenthused.  They didn’t dress up, they didn’t dance, they barely bobbed their head.  They applauded.  They seemed to like it, but they just did’t get involved!

Brian rocks the stage  

We dressed up of course.  Catch me going to a rockabilly show and not dressing up!  I managed to get Theresa’s hair into perfect Victory rolls, and wore my Love at First Flight dress.

Theresa’s hair – my first successful Victory rolls!

Fooling around in the bathroom while dressing for the show

And we danced!  We bobbed up and down and tried to lead each other (man, I suck as a lead) until someone finally asked us to dance.  And then another couple saw us and was brave enough to dance as well, but that was it.  Audience of hundreds, and we were the only dancers!  But hey, I’m not very brave, and I was brave enough to dance when no one else was – yay me!

Theresa’s awesome pink dress as she spins

Theresa on the steps of Parliament after the Setzer show

I also helped Theresa and her flatmates do a massive clear-up in their garden.  Why is housework and gardening always fun at other peoples houses, but not your own?

Getting poked by the rose bushes

I also just wandered and explored the city, with Theresa, and alone, enjoying the architecture and the shops and parks.

Having fun on the steps of a church by myself

And with Theresa

And finally, of course, I taught a corset making workshop.  More about that later.

Busy corsetmakers at Thread Den

 

Rate the Dress: Shakin’ the Blues Away in bright yellow

Published by The Dreamstress

The ratings for last weeks pink and black 1890s Worth gown were very different, but everyone agreed on one thing: you DON’T like swag!  Yes, that unfortunate swath of beading dragged the rating down to a 5.7 out of 10, pretty dismal for a Worth.

When I asked for Rate the Dress suggestions someone mentioned film costumes.  It’s been a while since I’ve featured a film costume, and only once before have I shown one with a clip, so you could Rate the Dress in motion.

So here is Anne Miller Shakin’ the Blues Away in 1948’s Easter Parade (starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire)

I’m going to confess right out that I love this clip.  I’m having post-awesomeness blues at the moment, and what better way to shake them off than with a bright yellow and black dress and some fabulous dancing?

I won’t be drawn on whether the dress itself is fabulous.  That’s for you to decide.  I know you haven’t been the biggest fans of yellow and black in the past.  And you don’t always love mid-20th century historicism (Easter Parade is set in 1912).  And you don’t like things you can compare to curtains.

But maybe you’ll love the flair and theatricality of the outfit.  The saucy lace trimmed stockings.  The perfectly fitted bodice.  And the way the skirt goes from sophisticated drape to showgirl short with just a tug.

So what do you think?  Is the dress as good as the dancing?

Rate the Dress on a scale of 1 to 10

 

Finished project: The mistletoe panniers

Published by The Dreamstress

Almost a month ago I mentioned that I was making a pair of panniers.  The panniers are long since done, I wore them, but I haven’t had a chance to photograph them properly and blog about them.

The panniers under my Lady Anne Darcy dress at the Style Session event at Te Papa

I’m calling these the Mistletoe Panniers, because the fabric reminds me of mistletoe.

Sweet little mistletoe branches all over the fabric

Occasionally as I was making them up Nanny Ogg would come and sit in my brain and smirk and drop suggestions that making undergarments for one’s nether regions out of mistletoe patterned fabric is rather indiscrete.  Then Granny glared at her and Magrat looks confused.  My brain is complicated.

The mistletoe panniers

I’ve used Norah Waugh’s pannier pattern from Corsets & Crinolines – basic, easy, and oh-so-quick to make up.

The back of the panniers - or the front, depending on where you tie the bow

For my waist tie and the channels for the pannier hooping I used this fabulous twill tape that I picked up in Napier on a road trip with the Naiad a year ago.  I bought 10 huge rolls of it for $1 a roll – score!  It’s lovely and strong and just the right width for the hoop channels.

The hoop channels

For my hooping I used the very last of my stock of cloth-covered steel hoopskirt boning from Lacis.  Sigh.  Now I need to wait for my next US trip, or suck it up and pay for shipping if I want any more.  And either way, I need to plan ahead for new panniers or bustles or hoopskirts.  I simply haven’t been able to find anything here that really does the trick properly.  I love New Zealand, but sometimes being at the end of the world sucks!

Lovely lightweight hooping, smooth pannier baskets

The best thing about these panniers?  I took detailed notes and pictures as I made them up, so that I can publish a tutorial on how to make your own pair.  They are really so simple that you don’t need a pattern (there is, or was, a pattern online via Tidens Toj, but they have just updated their website and none of my links work, and I can’t find anything!), but a tutorial should help.

So easy and fantastic

So keep a watch out in a week or two, when I have a bit more time!