Friday 31 October 2014

Halloween Party

Reader Beware - You're in for a scare!
(Thank you, R.L. Stine...)





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Franny Gets...
SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED
as "Bond Girl" Domino Duvall, played by French actress Claudine Auger in 1965's "Thunderball" opposite 
Connery, Sean Connery.

Dress: Vintage, Ralston cotton (from RetroSheila, Coolangatta)
Heels: Novo patent
Bag: Vintage, Glomesh
Headband: Sportsgirl
Chunky Bangle: Vintage, American brass
Thin Bangle: Du Monde brass

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A vibrant printed 1960s style maxi dress & hair bow are all that's required to channel ingenue Domino, who is unfortunately mixed up in an international extortion scheme to steal American nuclear warheads after her wealthy benefactor, Emilio Largo - actually a super-villain working for SPECTRE - murders her brother, an Major in the Airforce. She & Bond meet in typical fashion - while she is in a bathing suit - & begin yet-another ill-fated romance for the dashing Secret Agent. 

www.vintagemovieposters.com 



Completing this ensemble are a pair of black patent platforms, vintage Glomesh handbag & brass bangles for that touch of Joie de Vivre...  



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Franny Gets...
ORIENTAL
as "Bond Girl" Kissy Suzuki, portrayed by Japanese actress Mie Hama in 1967's 
"You Only Live Twice" alongside Sean Connery.

Dress: Gift, Vintage 1970s satin
Heels: Novo patent
Bag: Target
Flower Headband: Lovisa
Pearl Bracelets: Adorne
Hinged Bangle: Wallace Bishop silver & elastic

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An oriental print, late 1960s vintage satin kaftan conjures up images of only one character: Bond Girl & Special Agent Kissy, James Bond's only ever WIFE! Sure they get married as part of the case, to save his life & to make his trip to a nameless Japanese island with a bunch of Secret Service ninjas (yes, really...) seem plausible, but they DO end up enjoying what can only be described as a honeymoon when the case is said & done, the spacejackings (again, really...) are a distant memory & the threat of nuclear war is no longer hanging over the heads of the world's leaders... 

www.vintagemovieposters.com


Just add black accessories - patent platform sandals & a fan-shaped clutch as well as a striking large floral headpiece -  complemented by the addition of a silver hinged bangle & pearl bracelets & there you go... Instant Kissy Suzuki! Arigato...



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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

After attending a 1960s themed Halloween Party in which I dressed as one of the best-loved Bond Girls, I headed home for a quick change & then headed out for trick-or-treating with friends dressed in yet another Bond-themed costume before retiring – candy in hand – to watch horror flick Prom Night, followed by the comic relief of the Bette-Midler-driven Hocus Pocus & finally finishing the night off with my childhood favourite, 
Scooby Doo meets the Boo Brothers. 






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Dress: Gabrielle Fratini
Sandals: Corelli @ Williams
Headband: Dollar Tree
Cuff: Wallace Bishop silver
Bracelet: Oxfam silver & onyx

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Sartorially-inspired Halloween get-up... this time NOT a costume. Spooky black & grey stripes & spiders print cotton shift topped off with silver & black accessories in the form of a cuff & beaded bracelet as well as some hilarious dollar store finds - a spider headband & plastic spider rings for all of my fingers! Perfect for sitting around watching scary movies & stuffing my face with candy. 

Scroll down for pics of me trying to look scary... 
Pretty comical, really, considering that I'm even cuter than that Annabelle doll...




“What’s your favourite scary movie?” as they say in Wes Craven’s 1996 gore-&-giggle-fest Scream (the first of 4 films) which incidentally didn’t make this list despite the fact that I LOVE the mix of horror & comedy & the whole poking-fun-at-the-genre thing… We all know that horror movies are often fatally flawed (ha ha, see what I did there!?) when it comes to continuity & plot, so it’s great when someone actually plays on it WITHOUT making a spoof…

Franny’s Top 5 Flicks 
(to watch on the scariest night of the year)

1 Friday 13th (the Kevin Bacon one from 1980) – I never understood WHY anyone would want to go to summer camp as it just seems like MORE school IN NATURE & I certainly don’t want to go after watching this flick! If you’ve ever heard the name Jason Vhoories or seen that Simpson’s episode where Homer busts in on Bart wearing a hockey mask & brandishing a weapon, then HERE is where it started…

www.movieposters.net

2 The Ring – either the original Japanese version OR the American remake with Naomi Watts) – so scary when turned up LOUD! I nearly jumped out of my skin in the cinema when the horse jumped over the side of the ferry & was sucked back up against it…

www.movieposters.net

3 Prom Night – I like it more than the Halloween movie franchise & it just wouldn’t be fright night without Jamie Lee Curtis, right? And it has Leslie Nielsen & it’s not that ridiculous Naked Gun movie… that alone is a win in my book.
www.movieposters.net

4 I Know What You Did Last Summer (not to mention the horrendous sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer) – what can I say? I was a high-schooler in the late 1990s..! Jennifer Love Hewitt (she was in Party of Five, you know), Freddie Prinze Jnr, Ryan Phillipe & Sarah Michelle Geller – need I say more?

www.movieposters.net

5 Carrie – anyone who hated high school will know what I mean... Stephen King’s 1974 novel has never been out of print & the 1976 Sissy Spacek film has cult status. In fact, it’s even been remade into a 2013 film starring Chloe Grace Moretz & although they may have changed vast chunks of the story, they still kept the infamous Prom Night pig’s blood scene word-for-word. 

www.movieposters.net

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Look Delightful on Derby Day



With Derby Day happening tomorrow & late night shopping in most cities tonight, it’s not too late to get your monochromatic ensemble sorted!

Aside from the classic look that I wore to a pre-Derby Day Fashion Preview luncheon, I have also styled up a second more eclectic option for those of you who like to “push the envelope,” so to speak. Hopefully they will serve as inspiration to get you “off & racing!” 







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LOOK #1
Dress: Liz Jordan taffeta
Heels: Novo patent
Bag: Navie's Jewellers
Belt: Blue Illusion
Fascinator: Lovisa
Cuff: Gian Paolo Maria @ Lannah Dunn
Ring: Swarovski

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This timeless black & white spotted taffeta waisted dress with origami skirt detail, tasteful cut-out back & exposed zipper is enhanced by the addition of stretchy belt with silver clasp & larger-scale floral fascinator, the silky black rose petals curling around the side of my face. The look is anchored by black accessories in the form of patent platform sandals & a Victorian silk drawstring bag with 3D roses in shades of black & silver.



Finishing this classic outfit is a stunning Gian Paolo Maria cuff replete with semi-precious stones & Swarovski crystals as well as the matching Swarovski cocktail ring for tasteful daytime shimmer. 


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LOOK #2
Dress: Simona crepe
Heels: Novo patent
Bag: Vera May
Headband: Tie Rack
Pearl Bead & Stone Bracelet: Keepsakes (in Pitlochry)
Pearl Bead Bracelet: Mott & Mulberry
Ring: Marc Jacobs (promotional)

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This funky, “Roaring Twenties” style leopard print crepe tiered dress is full of movement for a breezy springtime event, juxtaposed with the structured leather headband with stylised leather flowers & grey pearl beads. The look is anchored by black patent platform sandals & an Art Deco style handbag – small enough to look “special occasion” but large enough for ALL of the essentials, not just a lipstick… 



Eclectic jewellery completes this ensemble in the form of a semi-precious stone & grey pearl beaded bracelet from a boutique in the little Scottish town of Pitlochry for my right wrist & a grey pearl beaded two strand bracelet from Mott & Mulberry for my left, finished off with a tiny flower ring that was a freebie in a Marc Jacobs “Daisy” promotional pack a few years ago... Just goes to show that you should ALWAYS keep "freebies" as you never known when they might be useful...


Scroll down for requisite "movement" pictures...
"Charleston" Take 2, anyone?!



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Thursday 30 October 2014

Style Spooktacular: Part 2

Just to recap: I believe that inside everyone's closet, there are plenty of potential quick & easy Halloween costumes - suitable for any "fright night" party - just WAITING to be put together with a little imagination... & $20 worth of additional props from my local dollar store... So without further a-do, here are the final 3 stylish amalgamations of well-known fictional characters or pop culture icons...





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Franny Gets...
FLAPPERED
as Phryne Fisher, Lady Detective

Dress: Belle Curve chiffon & sequins
Heels: Novo patent
Bag: Vera May
Turban: Witchery
Brooch: Vintage, Gift
Necklace: Sportsgirl

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A drop-waist dress & a long strand of pearls is all you need to create a "Roaring Twenties" look to garner the approval of the Honourable Miss Fisher herself! The main character in author Kerry Greenwood's series of detective novels, Phryne is a wealthy aristocrat who lives in St Kilda, Melbourne in 1928. With the assistance of her maid Dot, taxi drivers & "red raggers" Bert & Cec, butler & housekeeper Mr & Mrs Butler & her adoptive daughters Jane & Ruth - not to mention her Chinese lover Lin Chung & erstwhile detective Jack Robinson - she solves all manner of crimes from missing children to cocaine smuggling... And she does it with aplomb, flying planes, driving her flaming red Hispano Suiza motorcar & wearing only the most stylish of ensembles...

www.fanpop.com

www.dayna2000.wordpress.com

www.abc.net.au

Finishing this look is a pair of black patent t-bar sandals - a style popularised by "flappers" who wanted a pair of heels that showed off their dainty feet while being secure enough to dance the energetic "Charleston" in - as well as a curved, Art Deco style handbag, turban with vintage marcasite leaf brooch (a popular motif for the beauty-starved post-war time period) & a "gasper" cigarette in a long holder, Phryne's preferred brand. 

For an amusing picture of me ATTEMPTING to dance the "Charleston," see below:


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Franny Gets...
MYSTICAL
as Madame Zuleika, Gypsy Fortune Teller

Kaftan: Vintage, 1970s cotton
Heels: Emerson @ Big W suede
Headscarf: Big W
Bangles: Kashmiri @ Tree of Life

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For me, this vintage tie dye kaftan instantly conjured up images of Gypsy Fortune Tellers, consulting a crystal ball to see into your future... 

Throughout history, the Gypsy people - who call themselves Roma or Romany - have been associated with fortune telling, including palmistry, tarot cards & crystal balls, a tradition that continued to grow until the two became interminably linked in the minds of many. Rumour has it that even Napoleon Bonaparte consulted the cards before battle...

Indeed, pop culture has long been obsessed with the idea of the woman with long flowing robes being a figure of mystery & magic, featuring fortune tellers in songs such as "Dark Lady" by Cher & "Devil Woman" by Cliff Richard as well as a myriad of television shows including Dalziel & Pascoe, Taggart, Midsomer Murders, The Waltons & cult children's cartoon, Scooby Doo. In this instance, I am channeling Madame Zuleika from Agatha Christie's 1956 murder-mystery "Dead Man's Folly," made into a 1989 movie featuring Peter Ustinov as Detective Hercule Poirot before a recent remake starring the superbly talented David Suchet as the Belgian super-sleuth. 

All that is required to complete this preternatural look is a pair of red suede wedges, a flowing headscarf, tied on the side of the head, armfuls of Kashmiri hand-painted bangles to evoke the idea of a Romany caravan & a water-globe to serve as an admirable stand-in for a crystal orb.

www.kleo.com

www.tarotreadings.com.au

www.agathachristiereader.wordpress.com 

[Hercule Poirot] was standing by the tent labelled "Madame Zuleika will tell your Fortune for 2s. 6d." Poirot bowed his head, entered the tent and paid over his half-crown willing for the privilege of sinking into a chair and resting his aching feet... She took Poirot's hand and gave him a rapid reading, agreeably full of money to come, success with a dark beauty and a miraculous escape from an accident.

"It is very agreeable all that you tell me, Madame Legge. I only wish that it could come true."

"Oh!" said Sally. "So you know me, do you?"

"I had advance information - Mrs Oliver told me that you were originally to be the 'victim,' but that you had been snatched from her for the Occult."

"I wish I was being the 'body,'" said Sally. "Much more peaceful..." 

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Franny Gets...
FEROCIOUS
as Jane Porter, wife of Tarzan

Dress: Flirt elastane
Flat Sandals: Payless Shoes

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A leopard print dress such as this could only signal one thing: Jane Porter from Edgar Rice Burrough's popular series of books - first published in 1912 - about jungle hero Tarzan. There have been many movie adaptations over the years but my favourites have always been those from the 1930s, featuring Johnny Weissmuller & the talented Maureen O'Hara, probably better known for her later portrayals of John Wayne's love interest in a slew of Westerns. 

 Finishing this look was a cinch as the character is SO iconic - a pair of flat sandals (not strictly accurate for the jungle but necessary in modern-day suburbia) & a large plush lion toy from Big W. Voila! Instant Jane. 

www.theredlist.com

www.suspense-movies.com

"Me, Tarzan. You, Jane."

www.jrspages.co,uk

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