How Can I Resist You?

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Dress: Anthea Crawford jacquard

Sandals: Florsheim leather with gold buckles

Bag: Nine West textured vinyl with silver hardware

Bangles: Gift, gold, silver, beads

Ring: Thousand Island Dressing shell

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The band ABBA has been on permanent rotation on our record player at home for as long as I can remember (in between our other favourites like Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel or Creedence Clearwater Revival) so the opportunity to see a matinee performance of Mamma Mia - the musical created using some of their greatest hits - was a joyful trip down memory lane for me, particularly as I was accompanied by my parents, younger brother & his girlfriend, who generously gifted my mother the tickets for her birthday.

When it came to dressing for the occasion, I admit to being initially stumped. As a general rule, I always "dress up" to attend theatre performances, as I have always felt that it shows respect for the actors/singers/dancers/acrobats who have the talent & gumption to stand up time & time again in front of the paying public (who can be cruel at times, as we all know) & attempt to entertain them for, let's face it, far less money than their movie star counterparts make. This performance, however, was a different kettle of fish, as my mother would say, mostly because the storyline - a young woman living on a Greek island with her mother is getting married & decides to secretly invite the three men who could possibly be her biological father to the ceremony - is just so, well, bohemian & you know, inherently CASUAL.

Cue this gorgeous hibiscus floral jacquard dress from Anthea Crawford with its muted shades of blue, silver & white, "cold shoulder" detailing & waterfall hemline... the perfect hybrid of formal & coastal. I kept things low-key with a pair of mid-heel silver leather sandals with oversized gold buckles from Florsheim & a silver textured vinyl shoulder bag with silver hardware from Nine West to carry all the essentials. Jewellery was also simple: a trio of sparkly mixed metal beaded bangles that a friend brought home for me from India & a chunky shell cocktail ring from Thousand Island Dressing in Paddington to draw the entire look together & really take the beachy vibes to the next level.

Scroll down & see how the rest of the afternoon unfolded & if possible, try to stop yourself form humming at least one ABBA song under your breath while doing so... 

(Truth be told, I'm humming "Super Trooper" right now!)

Couldn't resist a smiley selfie with my mother before leaving the venue...

A few quick pictures with the props from the State Library's Summerfest program before heading back to the car (& on to dinner at our favourite spot, Creole Soul Kitchen at Spring Hill) while the sun sets over the Brisbane River...

Ending the evening with BEST alcoholic Root Beer in creation...