In Search of The Pooka

 

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Dress: Forever New viscose, gold buttons

Jacket: Just Jeans leather

Heels: Wittner suede, elastic

Bag: Gift, vintage lurex, patent leather, rope

Bangle Stack: Alex & Ani gold, black stone

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All dressed up in winter florals to see a theatrical rendition of one of my all-time favourite films, "Harvey." For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the 1950 classic - starring the inimitable Jimmy Stewart - it's the story of Elwood P. Dowd, an amiable yet eccentric man whose best friend just happens to be an invisible 6 foot tall rabbit named Harvey. According to Elwood, Harvey is a pooka, a mischievous creature from Celtic mythology & he's more than happy taking him around town to drink at various bars & make friends with practically everyone he meets. You see, Elwood and Harvey are interested in people - their hopes & dreams, their biggest failings, their greatest achievements - & in return, people for the most part seem to accept that they are a package deal. Elwood's sister Veta & his niece Myrtle Mae, who live with him in the large house he inherited after the death of his parents & whose bills he is happy to continue to pay, believe otherwise, however & no longer wishing to be social outcasts on account of his obsession, set out to have him committed to the local sanitarium. I love it so much that I won't ruin the ending for you, but it's safe to say that a series of hijinks & miscommunications ensue before the matter is finally resolved & the question of whether Harvey truly is a figment of Elwood's imagination is revealed... 

Honestly, it's such a cinematic triumph that even after seeing it many, many times, it still causes me to run the gamut of emotions while watching - from laughter to tears & back again - so you can imagine my delight when I was invited to see it on stage! I will admit that it took some getting used to that the character of Elwood was played by someone other than the talented Mr Stewart but nonetheless, it was a wonderful time & a glorious interpretation of something that is so close to my heart.

With all this in mind, I wanted to wear something special for the occasion, so chose this gorgeous new dark, moody floral viscose mini dress with button-down bodice, gently voluminous sleeves, ruffled hemline & self tie belt from Forever New, styled up with a cropped black leather jacket with Victorian buttoned collar from Just Jeans to ward off the chill in the air, a pair of black suede & elastic "ballet" heels from Wittner for a modicum of height, black 40 denier nylon tights from Razzamatazz to keep my legs feeling toasty-warm & a funky vintage floral lurex & black patent leather bag with twisted rope crossbody strap & bow detailing (made in Italy in the 1980s) that a dear friend gave me. Jewellery was kept simple yet intentional in the form of stack of gold & onyx stone wrap bracelets & charm bangles from Alex & Ani.

Scroll down to see the look with the jacket on...