Vintage Fair & Kustom Kulture

Ground floor goodness

This stall had some lovely winter coats and hats

Me and my new blouse

Well, I have finally had a chance to catch my breath after a whirlwind weekend. There was so much on that I was keen to go to but only so little time. I did manage to make it to two out of three things though, which isn’t a bad effort. As I mentioned last week the 2010 Way We Wear Vintage Fair and Kustom Kulture was on from Friday to Sunday and the Lindy Charm School for Girls was in Adelaide on the Saturday.

Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the Lindy Charm School day, but I did however ware out my wallet at the vintage fair and make a brief appearance at Kustom Kulture.

I went to the vintage fair on Friday night, the first night it was open. I wasn’t sure what to expect as this was the first year I have actually been able to make it. It was great, everyone there was lovely and I managed to find quite a few goodies. I usually go to these and simply rummage through things looking for anything I like, however its getting to the stage where my wardrobe is at maximum capacity so I decided I needed a game plan.

As I mainly look for 50s type fashion I am a big fan of full or A line skirt and petticoats and I have built up quite a collection. As lovely as they are, they tend to be light weight material and easily blow up when there is a slight wind. This usually isn’t a problem on weekend as I can simply hold it down, but I find that when I am walking to work in the city it gets extremely windy and I usually have my hands full… this does become a problem. After many frustrating days struggling to carry things and hide my knickers from passers by I decided I should stick to pencil skirts and wiggle dresses for work.

As such, my game plan at the fair was to look for clothes that I could wear to work (tighter fitting, pencil skirts, wiggle dresses etc). I was also on the look out for a black belt (my favourite one broke a week ago :) and a bullet bra as I can not seem to find one anywhere.

Overall I didn’t stray too far from my plan really which I was quite impressed about. I didn’t find a black belt or a bullet bra though… so instead got a few different accessories I simply couldn’t leave behind.

Here’s what I got…

This dress is cute on its own... but the ensemble made it a must have

I love this powder blue colour

the coat was in fantastic condition, even the lace on the lining

this is made from quite thick velvet, should be good for winter



its actually much closer to this colour, but the flash made it look redder in the above pic

this dress was the exception from the game plan, but I couldnt leave it behind :)

i mean, really... look at these pearl buttons ♥

classic black and white

should go with anything...



especially these shoes

i didnt buy these shoes at the vintage fair, i had bought them earlier in the week.

They are called "Leilah" from Wittner.

this dress is very 80s (shoulder pads and all!), but i loved the colour and the peplum skirt

the back is very low too, and it has a choker neckline

again, with the pearl buttons... thought this would be nice for work though


this hat isnt vintage, but its vintage style. there is something dramatic about a grey hate that i just ♥


this bag reminds me of lollies or something, there is definatly a childhood flashback here...

and this one, although probably not very practical reminds me of summer :)

and lastly... you can never have to many cinch belts

I didnt buy this dress. To my despair it was too small in the bust and I couldnt bring myself to buy it and alter it. I left it for someone else to crush on.

The pictures really dont do it any justice, the colour is stunning.

I especially adored the capey parts at the back.

As for Kustom Kulture, I must say i was slightly disappointed. From the looks of the flyer and the information I found on the net it looked to be an amazing weekend full of music, burlesque, stalls etc. The website even said " a nostalgia weekend for the whole family" and "daytime events run on Saturday and Sunday". The flyer that I had didn’t have any times on it so I took a bit of a guess and headed there on Saturday arvo hoping to get some stall hopping in then listen to soak up some of the music.

Unfortunately I arrived just as the Hotrod and Kustom showdown was ending and none of the bands started for a few hours. Having a birthday party on the opposite side of town later that evening I decided to take a few snaps and leave.

I did find a flyer when I was there that had times for certain things and much more info then the flyer I originally had. I did plan to head back on the Sunday and give it another shot with my new found information but lets just say it was a good birthday on Saturday night and I didn’t make it.

I haven’t given up on it and will definitely make sure I make it there again next year but if anyone else arrived at the time I did, I dare say they would be disappointed too. I am sure the night sessions were amazing and I am shattered I couldn’t hang around but for a "weekend of nostalgia for the whole family" you would think there would be more going on in the afternoon/evening.

*sigh* I suppose there is always next year :)

Here are a few of the pics I managed to snap before we left... I'm not really a car girl but they are just so pretty...

90's Nick Song...

Image from "Just Another Stupid Blonde Moment"

As someone who does not remember all that much of my childhood I tend to cling to the things that I do. I mean, I am guessing my subconscious has blocked out some of my family matters for good reason… but at least I remember a lot of my favourite toys and TV shows. I used to watch Nickelodeon religiously and am still a big fan of 90s nick shows. Are you afraid of the dark?, Invader Zim, Argh Real Monsters, Hey Arnold, Rockos Modern Life, The Secret Adventures of Alex Mac, Clarissa Explains it All, Kenan and Kel… the list could go on for days. I think some of them I simply enjoy for the nostalgia factor, but some of them definitely still makes me chuckle.

Anyways, there was an ad on Nickelodeon that had always stuck in my head. I have no idea why it stuck with me as I do not usually remember adverts all too well, but this one did. It intrigued me that I could remember something like this, and made me determined to find it. Only problem was I couldn’t find it anywhere since all I had to go on was a vague recollection of it being a cartoon, having a catchy song, and mentioning the sun, lights and the environment. I google my little heart out and even emailed the only 90s blogger guru I know "Children of the 90s" but still was at a loose end. Until…

This morning, on my way into work… suddenly the song came rushing right back into my brain! I was sitting with friends on the train who instantly noticed my concentration (which is rare so early in the morning). I had finally cracked the mystery… Knowing too well that I would probably forget it again I taped it into my phone and saved it for later.

“its shining above us all, and its here to stay. we know the sky is the limit…”

Now, this may seem trivial (which is totally is) but this was apparently all I needed. I typed this into trusty google and pleas were answered.

Science and Songs - http://spartanburgimagery.org/id61.html

Having gotten my hopes up I was prepared to pore over every inch of this site, but luckily it didn’t take long at all. There it was… reading the lyrics was like a trip down memory lane.

The Light of the Sun

(Chorus)

Turn on the light, turn on the light, turn on the light , turn on the light

The light of the sun, solar powered light of the sun.

Isn't it obvious every day.

It's shining above us all and it's here to stay.

We know the sky is the limit.

We know the power in it.

It's time to begin it.

We're turning on the light.

The Light of the sun, The kight of the sun, solar powered light.

(Chorus)

Don't have to take a drill and hurt a tree

And it will never spill,. I

t's always clean and free.

We know the sun is the ticket

Hop on, let's go, let's get it.

(Chorus) The light of the sun ooo

Solar powered light of the sun

Solar powered light.

The Future will be so bright.

We've just got to change our minds and

Let the lovelight shine. oooooooo

We know the sky is the limit

With all the power in it.

It's time to begin it.

We're turning on the light.

The light of the sun oooo

The light of the sun

Solar powered light of the sun

The light of the sun, solar powered light

(You can do 2 parts with some only singing turn on the light, turn on the light)

I have continued to google to try and find a video or even a screen shot of the old cartoon, but have had no luck in that department. Apparently there was another environmental song on Nickelodeon in the 90’s called “Why does the sun shine?” by They Might Be Giants but this is the only one I could find a video for.

For those of you who have absolutely no idea what I am talking about I do apologize, but I simply had to do a post about this just in case there is someone else out there who racking there brain searching for the same song. If anybody who comes across this knows anything else about this advert please let me know!


UPDATE: One fine reader over in the USA has been kind enough to send me a link to whole clip! Seems the lyrics on this post jogged his memory and he's a better detective than I and he actually found it!

The folks over at RetroDaze have clips of lots of nostalgic goodness but you can find the actual clip here. Unfortunately I wasn't actually able to view it myself (likely due to country restrictions) but some of you may be able to? Ryan (aka better detective than I and all around awesome guy) sent me the clip in a drop box so once I download it I will work on getting it up so it can viewed in Aus or find another way around the 'access denied' problem.

But for the moment here are some screen shots to get the memories flooding back...

Oh and for those of you playing at home - the song is called "The Light of the Sun" and its by Richie Havens with Rockapella from the album Put On Your Green Shoes.

Also the advert only goes for 1 minute so the lyrics are slightly different - and there is a bit of a voice over it goes like so:

Turn on the light, turn on the light, turn on the light , turn on the light
Isn't it obvious every day.
It's shining above us all and it's here to stay.
We know the sky is the limit.
We all the power in it.
It's time to begin it.
We're turning on the light.
The Light of the sun, The light of the sun, the solar powered light. ohhhhh.
"the amount of solar energy reaching us in one day could supply our power needs for over a year. and we CAN harness that energy. "
Don't have to take a drill and hurt a tree
And it will never spill,. It's always clean and free.
The light of the sun - the solar powered light.
"turn on the light of new idea - to power your future"

And it continues to rain...

Yep, just when I thought Adelaide had hit the vintage high I came across this little gem...

The Adelaide Vintage Fashion Fair

Friday 19 March 6pm - 9pm Saturday 20 March 10am - 5pm Sunday 21 March 10am - 4pm

Up to 25 dealers from all over Australia with designer, antique, vintage and retro clothings, buttons and bows, linen and lace, jewelery and fashion accesories.

Burnside Ballroom, Portbush Road Burnside

Unlimited Admission $12 Adult $6 Child 10+

http://www.vanityfairmartkets.com/ 0408380524

I am going to have to find a way to fit this all in... will post all the delights I get my hands on if I make it.

When it rains...

This month the saying “when it rains; it pours” defiantly springs to mind.

Technically I suppose it started late last month with parties every weekend without fail. It seems that my group of friends has reached the age where everyone is turning 21 (oh and there was a 50th in there too) so there has been a 21st every Saturday until this week which I think is actually a 23rd.

For a town that is considered a little behind the times Adelaide gets kind of crazy in March with the Fringe, with events everywhere all the time its just non-stop. It is strange how the rest of the year can be quite but for roughly a month its hard to choose what to do…

Besides the parties I have just found out that 2 events I have been looking forward to happen to fall on the same weekend. The Kustom Kulture festival and The Lindy Charm School for Girls visit.

From late last year when I saw a feature in (I think it was) Dead Beat magazine about Greaze Fest in Brisbane I was instantly jealous that Adelaide was never host to something this amazing. The vintage hot rods, low rider bikes, market stalls, and rockabilly bands… all of it made my eyes light up. To my delight when googling I came across some info about the Kustom Kulture Weekend.

Being a big fan of rockabilly, swing/big band music I listen to music that has in most cases, been around for 50 odd years. I stick with what I like which usually means I stick with my iPod rather then the radio… this can warrant me the frequent queer looks when I am out and don’t know what the song everyone is singing to is. So it would be amazing to see some live music that I could actually get into!

According to their myspace the Kustom Kulture Weekend is described as: It’s a whole lot more than just a festival, with around bands (interstate & local) deejays, kustom cars, tattoo artist, lowrider pushbikes, traditional ‘von dutch’ style pinstriper, stall holders, art exhibits, drink specials, giveaways, a giant boot sale, fashion, music & mayhem.

Stalls! Art! Drink specials! Boot sale! Fashion! Music! Mayhem! = ♥

The music is expected to be everything from Rockabilly, Blues, Swing, Swamp Rock, Country, Ska, Surf, Western Swing & Psychobilly.

Kustom Kulture Weekend 2010 – 19th -21st March

In an ideal world, I would be spending the whole weekend there soaking up the amazing-ness… but in reality it will probably only be Saturday night or Sunday…

However this brings me to my dilemma…

The Lindy Charm School for Girls – Adelaide – 20th March 2010 – 1:00-4:00pm

I came across a small piece about the Lindy Charm School for Girls in issue 34 of Frankie magazine. The mention of victory rolls, and a few sly drinks caught my attention immediately… I continued to read ready to be disappointed they were not coming to Adelaide only to be pleasantly surprised that they were!

The workshops run by The Lindy Charm School for Girls are dedicated to reviving the golden age of glamour and etiquette of the early 20th century, by introducing girls to red lipstick, bullet bra's, girdles, garters, seamed nylons, sky high heels and how to wear them, pin curls, victory rolls, finger waves, and a wiggly walk to boot.

Bullet Bra's! Garters! Seamed Nylons! Sky High Heeels! and a Wiggly Walk! = ♥

To make matters worse, it is also one of my best friends birthdays on the 20th! I am not sure how I am going to work this but I am hoping that the fates will step in and everything will just fall into place!

Stay tuned for pics soon :)

Amazing, Almost Alice

Image from IconVision

Well, I was defiantly happy with the movie… it was pretty amazing.

****SPOILER ALERT****

I will say right from word go that I am a big fan of the original Disney film and the original original Lewis Caroll novel, so although I realize this is new story I can not help but compare.

I did love the way it tied in with the original movie but still worked with the new story line. I also loved that it was real people with realistic looking CGI animated character. *bless today’s technology*

I thoroughly enjoyed the film and will no doubt go and see it again. I do have a few things that I would have liked to have seen that weren’t in it and a few things that were that got under my skin…

The story starts as Underland (aka Wonderland) has been taken over by the Red Queen and is in turmoil. A prophetic scroll predicts that a blonde wavy haired girl is going to kill the Jabberwocky on the Frabjous Day (which is fast approaching). All the White Queens loyal subjects instantly know this wavy haired girl is Alice and the White Rabbit goes in search of her. Before you know it Alice is falling back down the rabbit hole but she has no memory of being there. It does remind her of a reoccurring “dream” she has had since she was a child. Basically the jist of it is, that Alice now 19 years old is returning to Wonderland.

The majority of the familiar faces are present; although not all in there classic roles. The March Hare is delightfully mad and throws things constantly and the White Rabbit is still very uptight and proper…

But…

The Dormouse
I have always had a bit of a soft spot for the dormouse, as he was such a cute little sleepy character who sung a sweet song before retiring back into his teapot mid sentence. However the dormouse in the new version is way too chatty and kind of irritating. For starters he certainly isn’t sleepy, in fact at one point he stabs Alice in the foot with a mouse sized sword. I’m no expert on Alice in Wonderland but I defiantly wouldn’t have thought that that sleepy little mouse could have turned out like that…

The Caterpillar
I also liked the caterpillar in the original, and above all liked the way his smoke turned into letters as he spoke. Although the caterpillar still smokes in this, his smoke is just ordinary smoke… No letters, no shapes, no nothing. The line “who are you?” just isn’t the same without the letters puffing into Alice’s face.

Lord Ascot
Lord Ascot is a new addition and is the Red Queen lanky escort and defender. The Red King in all in pint sized glory isn’t present in the film, except the mention of his death and quick glance of a head floating in the water of the moat.

The Cheshire Cat
The Cheshire Cat still had the widest grin and the ability to float and turn invisible, overall I liked the cat… in fact I quite liked the him, the only criticism is that he was now blue and grey rather then purple.

The Mad Hatter
I have enjoyed Johnny Depp in every movie I have seen him, he does such an outstanding job becoming a character that I don’t even realize it is the same actor as I watch him. This is no exception. (PS I have no seen Willy Wonka) The Hatter is just as mad with red hair as he was with white, but in this film he actually gets the chance to peruse his career in hat making. The only thing I noted about the hatter was that he was in much more of a leading role and his character was much deeper. It was almost like he had been abruptly shoved into the role of Alice’s friend and guide which was much more of the Cheshire Cat’s role in the original. Of course, the characters are going to have more depth in this, being aimed at a slightly older audience and also at past fans but still it was a bit of a surprise. The only part of this I question is whether the role was made larger simply because it was Johnny Depp or would the Hatter have been the same if someone else was cast?

And last but not least…

Alice
No complaints, besides the fact that I am a 19 year old Australian girl and would have killed for the role. Being years later then the original Alice of course has grown up but she still has the same sense of curiosity and is just as strong willed. If anything, the ending sets a fairly good example for young girls that Alice leaves a fantasy world to pursue a business venture and the final scene she isn’t in her Victorian garb wearing a corset but rather pants and a long coat…

There was also a few more new characters though that I did enjoy like Bayard the helpful talking dog, a huge fat dog like monster who works for the Red Queen (who’s name I can not remember for the life of me) and the Red Queen’s large featured cohorts.

The story line worked well with the timeline they had set and all the characters stuck fairly close to the original. I was very impressed that they had included the line from the Lewis Caroll story “why is a raven like a writing desk?” and did not try to answer it (as intended) and some of the kooky creatures like the rocking horse fly and the dragon fly. Oh, and they did manage to get “twinkle, twinkle little bat” in there (although it wasn’t the same with the new dormouse) which did make me smile.

There were a few things from the first Disney film that I would have liked to have seen re-done that were not included like the talking door knob, Alice’s giant tears, the “very happy un-birthday” song and the Caterpillar’s song and although this was a different story I am sure they could have adapted them slightly and it still would have worked.

The costumes were amazing and I defiantly wouldn’t object to any of them turning up in my wardrobe and the scenery in wonderland (the parts that hadn’t been destroyed) were mystical (especially in 3D) and would make for a wonderful *pun intended* theme park.

Overall I would give the film 8 out of 10, originally I would probably given it 9 out of 10 (probably would have been a 10 if turned out to be as dark as I expected from Burton and less Disney) but right before the ending something horrible happened…

After the climax of Alice defeating the Jabberwocky, suddenly some horrible poppy hip hop music started and the Mad Hatter broke out into some strange dance, his head spinning around exorcist style. The dance had some weird name (something like FrabberLacken?) and is mentioned earlier when referring to the Hatters less “mad” days. The White Queen also then dances (but much more lady like, simply waving her hands a little). Right then, I was terrified that whole cast was going to break out into dance and then the credits would role! Thankfully the dancing ceased without this happening but it still ruined the whole mood of the film and cheesed it up. I am going to assume that is expected to be appealing to the child audience and is simply the influence of Disney but still… it was really like a slap in the face after such a good run until then.

Definitely worth seeing and will undoubtedly be among my DVD collection upon release.

Image from MagicNeverEnds

Back down the rabbit hole...

Well, I can not keep in my excitement today as its finally time to go back down the rabbit hole…

About 2 years ago I was organizing my 18th birthday party which was going to be an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party. When googling pictures for inspiration I came across one short blurb that said Tim Burton was going to be doing a re-make…

I have been counting down since that day for it to finally be released and today the wait is finally over!

Usually if someone was re-making one of my favourite films I would be worried, but I love Tim’s work (Nightmare Before Christmas, Sweeny Todd, Edward Scissor hands… the list goes on) that I don’t have a worry at all… In fact the thing that is worrying me most if that Disney still has the rights to Alice in Wonderland and I just hope it doesn’t restrict Tim’s genius.

Anyway, I am off to see it straight after work tonight :)

I will let you know how amazing it is shortly…

In the meantime here are some pics of how the table set up went on my bday…

Will have to do a post about it one day, amazing day… there was a March Hare, a Mad Hatter, an Alice (me!), all the ladies who attended were dressed to the nines and there was even a magician.
You can not beat an 18th were you get to play pass the parcel, musical chairs and drink tea served by the Mad Hatter!

Fool me twice, shame on me…

Just a note to remind my future to never fall for it again…

Oh, how things looked so different that bleary eyed, alcohol soaked, cigarette stenched morning…

The lies so sweet and sticky that I couldn’t even try…

Every question answered, but perhaps it was all lies…

But now I know, as I did before that I needn’t bother.

I’ll save my breathe and save my time…



I don’t know how you do it and I probably never will…

I don’t know why you did it and I doubt I ever could…

I don’t see what you had to gain or why you tried so hard.



It was like getting everything you always wanted… all at once, like you always hoped…

The only trouble is, once you have it the fear of loosing it is too great to enjoy it.

The last time that I saw you in our first round of playing games, I had no idea… and you were the one to blame.

Well this time I will know when our last time together will be, for this time the decision is up to me.

For all its worth I did have fun and it is was good to feel that way… but with a cost so high, I’m afraid it's one I can not pay.

I thought it might be different, I wanted to believe but I know the ending to this story… so it will end with me.



I did try, not even you could lie about that…
I tried…
If only you could see the you I saw through my eyes…



It was what I wanted, it was what I craved...
But really, what do I know when it comes to playing games…


Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.
I