Blowin in the Wind

*

Dress: Romance Was Born lurex

Slip: Taking Shape elastane

Ankle Boots: Wittner patent leather

Clutch: Anthea Crawford patent leather with silver hardware

*

Avid readers of this blog would already know about my deep & abiding love for folk music, particularly from the 1960s & 1970s, when it was pretty much at its peak & in particularly, the protest/folk hybrid tunes of none other than Bob Dylan, who is pretty much a personal hero of mine. I've loved his songs since I was a little; the only one at kindergarten who thought that Mr Tamborine Man was a kid's song & couldn't understand why the other children didn't know absolutely all of the words & even the places where he stopped to take breath & keep on going?! Clearly I've always been a "think outside the box" type of person & for that I thank my parents & also my darling uncle, who introduced Dylan's songs to my mother as a teenager.

I was lucky enough to catch a Dylan concert a few years ago with my brother & cousin, thinking that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience but I'm elated to report that it is now a twice-in-a-lifetime one & just as transcendent. One reviewer said that "trying to offer a fair & objective assessment of a Bob Dylan concert is mug's game" (for more, click here) & I have to wholeheartedly agree. The man's genius & gravitas clearly precedes him & the much older man he has become fades into the ephemera after the initial shock of seeing him & hearing his voice - both of which are (admittedly) more frail since the release of his seminal works like "Highway 61 Revisited" (1965) or "Blonde on Blonde" (1966). If you truly love Dylan, you go in with no expectations whatsoever & no desire to hear anything from his back catalogue in particular & if you're lucky, he'll play something RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU like "Blowin in the Wind" that seems to stop time & make you feel as though you are floating above your own body... It's special. It's indescribable.

Luckily for me, however, this outfit is able to be described... The "hero" piece is definitely this utterly magnificent, glittered lurex smock in shades of blue, purple, orange, silver & gold with ruffled mini hemline, voluminous sleeves & tied neckline from Romance Was Born that was MADE for twirling, worn with a black elastane slip from Taking Shape underneath for decency, sky-high shiny navy patent ankle boots from Wittner (a little change from the usual black) for height & a matching navy patent clutch with silver hardware from Anthea Crawford to carry all the bare essentials. Owing to the extravagant nature of the former, no further jewellery or embellishment was required, so the ensemble was complete in four easy pieces. Scroll down to see the dress in action...