Franny Gets Frocked: History Comes Alive

Dress: Carla Zampatti boucle

Wrap Top: Bohemian Traders lurex

Mules: Wittner leather

Bag: Elk the Label leather with chrome hardware

Watch: Montville Woods maple wood, silver

Bangle: Wallace Bishop silver

After randomly seeing a sign on a billboard while stuck in traffic in Toowong, I found myself taking a trip back in time last Saturday at the History Comes Alive event at the Rocklea Showgrounds; my younger brother Louis & his best buddy Mark in tow. Seeing a myriad of imaginatively dressed & resplendently costumed patrons streaming in through the entry gates ahead of us only served to make me more excited about what lay within... & I wasn't disappointed!

A combination of the activities of the Roman, Viking, Medieval, Napoleonic, Colonial, Victorian & other eras, the weekend-long event - organised by the Queensland Living History Federation - was basically a three-dimension history lesson featuring parades, knights jousting, Musketeer fencing, American Civil War re-enactments, Viking cooking displays, maypole dancing, Morris men, interactive tours of military camps, vehicles, hospitals & trenches as well as snippets from life in 19th century Queensland including the typhoid outbreak of 1884. In addition, there were storeholders selling all manner of costumes, army surplus equipment, antiques, historically-inspired perfume & jewellery, wine & a line of food trucks offering everything from slushies & soft-serve ice cream to gourmet pulled pork rolls & roasted sweet potatoes stuffed with sour cream & bacon.

We were lucky enough to experience it all under sunny skies (the second day was almost "rained out" by torrential downpours & a line of unprecedented winter thunderstorms) so a "sun smart" outfit was required that still had a vaguely "through the hourglass" vibe... Cue this stunning gold woven boucle shift dress with attached cape from celebrated Aussie designer Carla Zampatti which provided ample protection from the elements, gold lurex wrap top with three-quarter-sleeves from Bohemian Traders to ward off the morning chill (in all honesty, it lasted 10 minutes in the Queensland weather), a pair of comfortable yet stylish tan leather pointy-toed mules from Wittner with matching tan leather crossbody bag with chrome hardware from Elk the Label to carry all the essentials while keeping my hands free for exploration... & iced tea, of course. When it came to jewellery, I kept it simple despite "mixing metals" - a chunky maple wood & silver watch from Montville Woods & single silver bangle from Wallace Bishop for that touch of daytime shine. Finally, a navy & taupe woven sunhat from Before Sunset (sourced from my local TK Maxx store) was unceremoniously plonked on my head to shade my face from the sun's biting rays.

Scroll down to see snippets from how the day unfolded... including Louis & Mark's "beginner's course" in Prima Spada fencing & swordplay...

Knights Templar

Napoleonic Battle Re-enactment

Ancient Roman Medical Supplies

Vikings

Medieval Hand-to-Hand Sword & Shield Combat

Attila the Hun

Prima Spada Fencing... very Three Musketeers...

Louis & Mark learning the basics of Prima Spada fencing & swordplay!

Seriously every kid's Three Musketeers dream coming true... particularly 80s kids who watched the ridiculously horrendous, cult classic Disney version with Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland & Chris O'Donnell where even the quintessentially French characters had broad American accents but the soundtrack was awesome... especially that "All for Love" song with Sting, Rod Stewart & Bryan Adams...