Back to School

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Dress: Anthea Crawford jersey & organza

Heels: Novo leather mules

Bag: Vintage, Alma Creatzoni woven with gold hardware

Hinged Bangle: Vintage, MOMA silver & gold

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Avid readers of this blog will know that I was never particularly enthusiastic about going to school. Sure, I did rather well, received a great OP score (it's a Queensland thing), went on to achieve a Bachelors degree at university & made some dear friends that I'm still close with as an adult... but quite frankly, I absolutely detested the whole "institutionalised" day-to-day process... & the uniforms. (Tablecloth is quite the understatement where they're concerned!) To be honest, I think I just loved the tight bond that I shared with my mother, father & younger brother at home & didn't see any need to venture into the outside world. We sang songs, drew pictures, created art, played in the sandpit & engaged in imaginative play all day long in some kind of kiddie utopia full of wonder & magic...

 Therefore, it's quite a shock to some people that I adore Roald Dahl's scholarly telekinetic heroine, Matilda Wormwood, who is desperate to go off to school (away from her awful parents) & fill her acquiring mind with all manner of textbook-proffered facts & figures, but to me, it's rather simple: Matilda is exceptional. Matilda celebrates children of differing intellectual abilities by championing the attributes that make them unique. Matilda loves & admires her kind, supportive teacher, Miss Honey, who seeks to instill a lifelong love of learning in her students. Matilda hates injustice of any kind. Matilda is appalled by the actions of the revolting Miss Trunchbull - who makes examples of students she deems "inferior" - seeking to remedy the toxic atmosphere she has created by exacting a form of non-violent "supernatural" revenge, ridding the school (& the downtrodden Miss Honey) of her abhorrent & domineering presence forever! 

Basically, Matilda stands for natural justice in an unjust world, which I have always found appealing. I must have read the book a hundred times & watched the Danny DeVito directed film at least as much, so I was excited to see its newest incarnation: a musical phenomenon written by Dennis Kelly with music & lyrics by Tim Minchin. The production certainly lived up to the hype - it was slick & polished, full of wicked wit & rambunctious, catchy musical numbers & most of all, felt imbued with the spirit of the heroine's original, inimitable creator.

When it came time to dress for the matinee, I decided to go with the theme & wear what I would describe as a stylish homage to a school uniform. Instead of my usual florid floral patterns, I chose an Anthea Crawford dress with navy jersey bodice & horizontal striped organza fit-to-flare skirt with grosgrain ribbon tie, mixing it with a pair of gold mule-style heels from Novo for height & bright yellow, vintage woven bag with front flap detail made by Alma Creatzoni in Italy & discovered at the Ipswich Antique Centre for a cute take on an old-fashioned book satchel... & a pop of primary colour! Jewellery was kept simple with a retro silver & gold scarab hinged bangle that a dear friend bought many years ago at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City & was kind enough to pass on to me.

Scroll down for another look at the entire ensemble...

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