The Ultimate in Flissmas Outifts

If it is possible to have a more festive outfit I would love to see it.

I may have missed the boat in regards to posting this outfit in time- but I figure a couple of days late won't bother anyone too much.  I have already had to wait MONTHS to wear this outfit (I bought it in April) and I couldn't bear to wait another whole year before posting it here.

It's not that hard to look like Christmas really. Green and red by themselves will usually get the point across. Throwing in some white accents can add the extra effect. When you use all of the above- and then tie it in with holly patterned fabric.. woah. You would be hard pushed to get more festive that that unless you were wearing one of these. Ok. Or maybe one of  these. 

Could be a challenge for next year mayhaps...

This skirt came from the ever fantastic Peachy Keen on K Rd. The day I bought it I got chatting to the proprietor Thomas as I often do while browsing in there. He told me that he was about to put a sale on a particular style of clothing- and was happy to make that sale on whatever I chose to buy that day. Ha. You know you are onto a good thing when the owner of an amazing vintage clothing store will work a daily sale around you! It prompted me to pick up this beautiful swing skirt. An obviously seasonal piece- but I knew I would get the mileage out of it as long as I could be patient. I did have to wait 8 months before it got it's maiden voyage after all.

I have teamed it with a plain round neck cotton tee from Valley Girl, red belt, red peep toes, red crinoline petticoat and a red and white striped hair band. Perfect!

This skirt actually came up in a conversation with someone a few weeks before I wore it for the first time. A dear friend of mine was saygin that she had won a competition at her work the previous year for the most Christamssy outfit- and that she really wanted to step up her game to take home top prize for the second year running. She casually asked if I had anything I could lend her that may help. Well yes. I think she came to the right person on this one! I decked her out with this whole ensemble and she proudly rocked it into her work- confident that the 1st place prize was hers. Sadly they decided at the last minute that the Christmas prize was going to be chosen raffle style so sadly she missed out. We know that if it was purely based on a festive outfit she would have won hands down....

M.O.M!

I had SOOO much fun last night...I was a guest keyboard player for the legendary "Masters Of Metal"!

For the uninitiated- M.O.M are an Auckland outfit of serial muso's that typically play one show a year (around Christmas) as their 80's/ early 90's glam rock hair metal alter ego's.  The set consisted of such awesomenes as "Unskinny Bop" , "Dead or Alive", "Heartbreaker" and my 3 contibutions. "Jump", "Black Knight" and "The Final Countdown" (do do doooo do do....) I swear I have had these 3 songs stuck in my head for weeks.

One of my favourite things about this show (or any M.O.M show for that matter) is how much fun it is to rock out to this music. Even the staunchest bar leaner can't help but hold a lighter up to "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Even the non-dancers have their heads nodding and are throwing the goats in no time. It's pretty hard to not have a great time at these shows- and I haven't even started on the costumes!

So my obvious P.O.F for this show was 80's glam rock hair metal. Actually quite a hard outfit to put together if you're a girl. After extensive google image research looking for inspiration- I have officially gathered that this entire genre was driven by a bunch of dudes that look like chicks with long hair, and bad make up. I threw myself into the wardroom with a positive outlook. Surely with a room full of clothes I can piece together something right? WRONG. 10-15 trial and errors later and my frustration got the better of me. I got on the phone to my good friend Phloss (who also now has a wardroom ... spread the word ladies!) for some much needed assistance. I needed an amazing outfit if I was going to share the stage with THIS guy!

These incredible slashed shiny leggings came from her. Now the only thing to ponder was what on EARTH was I going to wear with them? I checked all the local op shops and second hand stores. Nothing. (Always the way when you are looking for something specific I find) I was about to give up hope completely when I hit the jackpot. Valley Girl of all places. The sale racks there were bulging with long tops and short dresses in lace, tie dye, slashed lycra... I seriously found the motherload. The one I decided to roll with is a black lace singlet short dress with full length zip down the back and side pieces cut out.

 The pics do not give this feature justice but in my defense I did take the photos post gig at about 2am with a few beers in me.

Don't drink and frockstar kids.

To finish it all off I wore snake skin stiletto peep toes, a red leather fingerless studded glove, vinyl studded wrist cuffs, a string of faux pearls, green star "Spar Kill" necklace and a plastic jesus cross on a chain. But I still felt like I was missing something. I finished it all off with a high side pony (waaaay too hot to wear the wig I had planned to go with) purple eyeshadow, my favourite green and black drag queen lashes and some violet bedazzling on my temples. I even manged to get in a discreet homage to the festive season with my glove and necklace combo in red and green. Yeah. I think about these things way too much....

I may have over shot glam rock to land a little closer to " Desperatly Seeking Susan" than originally intended but I think it worked nonetheless.

Red Leather

I know I have already apologised for the lack of entries of late. I literally have not had a spare second to take any pictures! December is usually a pretty busy month and 2010 has been no exception. I will endeavour to get a few more posts in this year. I have the best ever Flissmas ensemble to cover as well as a Glam Rock Outfit and a couple of new frocks to showcase!

Back to the outfit at hand.. this may be the last Melbourne outfit yet to be talked about. (Best I go back to buy some more huh...)

Red leather is all kinds of awesome. Especially when it is tomato red. And in a pencil skirt.  Even better when the leather is the softest most buttery leather you can imagine touching. If you ever have the good fortune to see me wearing this I will almost definitely enforce a quick stroke so you can understand.

Tactile heaven.

This skirt only set me back $45. An incredible price for an incredible piece!

I have matched it with a black short puff sleeved shirt, black peep toes and red leather fingerless gloves. Oh yes you read that correctly. Red. Leather. Fingerless. Gloves. With studs and zips. Sadly it is a little too warm right now to work them into many outfits. I also found out on their maiden voyage that they kinda turn my hands pink. Still totally worth it....

Stay tuned for a close up shot of the gloves. My nails aren't looking too good so have been waiting to address that before getting a glove shot. It will be worth the wait though. I promise.

Green and Sparkly. Again.

I know. You never would have picked me to have another green and sparkly frock....

This dress is something I can imagine wearing if I was on "Dancing with the stars" or some similar kind of show. It has a definite ballroom dancing/ figure skating feel to it. I dont know if its the asymmetric hemline or the sequins but I'm not fighting it. I just wish I could dance like that to really make the most of that P.O.F!

This dress came from my favourite of frock shops- Trademe. It was handmade sometime around 30 years ago- and you can really feel the loving touch in this dress. (if that makes sense) There is a sewn in fishing weight to keep the hemline sitting where it is supposed to. There are 2 domes behind the neck of the halter to stop twisting and the sequined flowers are all hand applied with not a single sparkle missing. It is in amazing condition for it's age!

I really like that the sparkly flowers have been continued round the back of the dress too. Seems like people get lazy when it comes to continuing a theme around the back. You may not be able to see it- but anyone behind you certainly can.

I have teamed it with some silver mary janes to match the silver in the sequins- but could also be worn with black or green shoes too.

I have been saving it to wear to my end of year derby party. It's a "Vegas": theme so I thought this could work. I have also just bought another outfit that could be even more Vegas- so contemplating a mid party outfit change... Why commit to one outfit a night when you can do more?

NB- the night I wore this dress out I was snapped again for Auckland street style!

Aqua Dots

I'm sure it isn't just me that is having a crazy December already. Seriously- I have had this photo loaded and ready to write about for 4 days now.. I apologise in advance for any Frockstar post delays that are a direct relation to me living this crazy December '10 life...

You may recall from previous posts- how much I love Lost and Found in Melbourne. If you don't recall then read it here so I don't start repeating myself like a mad woman. (ha. God forbid...) This is the second dress I bought that day.

I have been known to buy things that aren't quite right. I always have trhe best intentions of slight alterations here and there but often these pieces end up relegated to my "stuff to get stuff done to them" garden sack in the corner of the wardroom.

(Ok. Its more like a garden sack and 2 suitcases but I digress....)

This dress was definitly in the realms of not quite right upon the initial purchase. It had sleeves. Bad ones. Imagine for just a few seconds what this frock may have looked like with slghtly baggy ad gaping sleeves that came down to my elbows. Ridiculous may be one of the words you come up with. Elderly woman may be a phrase in your mind too. Even while it was still on the rack I could see there was frockstar potential beyond the old age pensioner quality of this dress. Once I got it home and had the sleeves removed - it all made sense.

The fabric is a very thin Summer weight crepe. A pale turquoise with white polka dots and a white ruffled neckline and button detailing. I know that this dress can be worn anywhere. Dressed up with black and white brogues for dinner or work. Dressed down with jandals for just hanging out. Ah the possibilities!



P P P Poker Dress

To me Summer is all about sunny days, jandals, fresh fruit and BBQ's with good people. Nothing quite kicks off a great Kiwi Summer in Auckland like the Grey Lynn Festival. 

To sum it up for the uninitiated- it is a day full of markets, fresh food, live music and general entertainment, scores of people and picnics and a genuine sense of community. These parts all make up a fantastic way to celebrate the beginning of Summer - on the 3rd Saturday in November.

My personal G.L.F tradition is heading in early before the sun gets too hot- and hitting the markets. They are guaranteed to be full of bargains and clever crafts- and I look forward to them immensely.  This year was no exception!

I have had many great purchases from these markets over the years (like THIS one!) and people travel from all over NZ to sell their wares and crafts. This year I was fairly restrained in my spending- but came away very happy. I bought a new wheat bag and matching slippers. (Genius right! Now I can have toasty warm feet next Winter) I also bought some homemade coconut ice and this fantastic 70's sun dress. An absolute steal at $20.00!

Its no secret I am a sucker for Summer dresses from the 70's and this was a no brainer purchase. It is a beautiful shade of cornflower blue with a deck of card theme print. It made me think of poker straight away.

I suck at  playing poker but have been learning from my ever patient boyfriend. Apparently the hardest thing about playing with me is that you have no hope of ever telling when a person is bluffing if they themselves do not know when they are bluffing either.

Green and Stripey in the Key Of Flissmas

I cannot believe it is December again. 2010 has flown by and we are on the downhill slide to the festive season and another year already. I predict 2011 will be a big one- but before I get ahead of myself lets get 2010 all done and dusted! 

The first of December has always meant a couple of things to me.

• First of all its the day that you are supposed to put your Christmas tree up.
• It is the day that you are officailly allowed to start listening to Christmas music (if a. such things float your boat and b. you do not work in a mall)
• It is also the day of the year that I become very aware of how many red and green outfit combos I have while vaguely attempting to welcome in another Flissmas.

Don't get me wrong- I can go ridiculous on a Christmas theme should I choose to. I just try to celebrate the start of Flissmas in a slightly more subtle fashion...

This is a fine example. Red and shades of green meets 70's nylon in diagonal stripes. One of my favourite parts about this dress is the way that the stripes have been used to create its own pattern. I like that they are off set by each other on the seams to give a "criss cross' effect with the center focused on the (in built) belt buckle. It is finished off with a zip up front and collar with black stripe trim. They really don't make 'em like this anymore...

This dress has been kicking around a long time now. So long I do not recall where it came from or how much I paid for it. Sadly I have a less than flattering memory of this dress burned into my brain. I used to be substantially... heavier than I am now. I wore this dress to the Waiheke Island Santa parade during the heavier years- and was asked by a friend of mine when I was due. Not my proudest Frockstar moment by a long shot- but nice to know I can safely wear it these days without providing the illusions of pregnancy!