Franny Gets Frocked: dress up

Monday, 15 March 2021

A Selkie in the Orchid House

Dress: Selkie cotton, lace

Heels: Nine West suede, patent leather

Bag: Swinging Chicks Shop via Etsy velvet

Bangles: Dinosaur Designs resin

Rings: Dinosaur Designs resin

Hat: Forever New natural woven straw, grosgrain ribbon

The "Cottage Core" nostalgic dreaming continues (following on from yesterday's blog post) with this ethereal & otherworldly photographic series taken in in the Orchid Society Greenhouse in historical Ipswich on a sunny & rather warm day in the late summertime.

I'm swanning around in the dappled light wearing the ultimate folkloric & romantic daydream dress - a cotton version of the verified-cult-status puff dress from American female start-up Selkie - in a gorgeous dark floral print reminiscent of the late 1990s for that touch of street creed with its puff sleeves, micro-mini length & black lace trim at the neckline... added by me for modesty purposes. When it came to styling, I kept the juxtaposition between fanciful & edgy with the addition of a pair of black suede pointy-toed stiletto mules with shiny patent straps from Nine West, a pouchy black velvet knot bag - handmade in Spain - from a little boutique on Etsy called Swinging Chicks Shop, a set of matching baby pink & white molded resin bangles & rings in the shape of undulating waves, coral & shells from celebrated Australian duo Dinosaur Designs & finally, a natural woven straw boater hat with black grosgrain ribbon tie from Forever New for that final nod to a bygone era.

Scroll down to see more...

Saturday, 9 November 2019

This is Halloween

Slip Dress: Meg by Design via Bristle linen, paper linen

Top: Shein polyblend, grosgrain ribbon

Heels: Wittner patent leather

Bag: Sourpuss via Poison Arrow Clothing patent with chrome hardware

Headpiece: Target satin, felt, mesh, plastic

Fingerless Gloves: Alannah Hill lace, diamantes

All hail the Queen of Spiders! I'm so excited to share all of the pictures from this year's All Hallows Eve celebrations, beginning with a "spooky" luncheon party earlier in the day before whooping it up with my cousin & her two rambunctious munchkins (an avocado, dinosaur & Gekko for the evening, respectively) at a Haunted House in the neighbourhood, created by an American woman who now calls Australia home.

I'm not usually one for full-on costumes so being able to put together this hair-raising ensemble from pieces that I already owned was a brilliant way to get "into the spirit" without spending a lot of time & money. The costume comprised of a black linen midi-length slip dress with crushed paper linen skirt overlay from "slow & mindful" fashion label Meg by Design (found at the amazing Bristle by Melissa Simmonds store in Paddington) with a white polyblend top with puff sleeves & black grosgrain ribbon neck tie detail from international fast-fashion brand Shein beneath (cut shorter from a knee-length tunic by my alterations lady) to create a slightly creepy, mid-Victorian-era vibe, shiny black patent heeled ankle boots with pointy toes from Wittner & red patent handbag with black bow & chrome hardware from Sourpuss via Poison Arrow Clothing to carry all the essentials while providing a "pop" of Halloween colour. When it came to accessories, I chose a pair of black floral lace fingerless gloves with diamante details around the knuckles from Alannah Hill & finally, an oversized furry spider headpiece with red diamante eyes from my local Target store to really push the whole look "over the edge."

Scroll down to see the costume really come to life with some spine-chilling silent screams...

Want to see more spooky sights? I thought you would!
Keep scrolling IF YOU DARE to share some spine-tingling scenes from the neighbourhood Haunted House... complete the Pet Sematary - a fact that did not go unnoticed by this Stephen King superfan!

Made some quick changes to my outfit to make it more child-wrangling-friendly - swapped the shiny black patent heels for a pair of matte black leather sandals from Wittner & lost the fingerless gloves. Queen of Spiders headpiece from Target still front & centre...