Tag Archive | Fashion

Chromefest 2018

Nov8

On the last weekend of October, I attended Chromefest, held over 3 days at the Entrance.

On the Friday the Chromefest starts with the arrival of all the classic cars. There was over 400 show cars to admire and take photos. On Sunday there were also retro caravans displayed. Below are some of the photos that I took:

There was a retro market with a lot of stalls to make special purchases including: Blue Belle Vintage Clothing, Rainbows n Fairies, Plus Size Pin Up, Koolcarz T-shirt’s, Leo’s Vintage, Bread and Butter Vintage, to name a few. I made some cool purchases too!

Then there was the entertainment featured on two stages: DJ Jimmy D, Matchbox, The Hitmakers, Mr James Band, Midnight Drifters, The Hellcats 3, The Rattlesnakes, Jumpin’ Juke Box, The Lincoln’s, The Class of ’58, Itchy Fingers and Elvis tribute artists. There was also the Sydney Swing Katz performing the Charleston, Swing, Lindy Hop and Rock’n’Roll. They were enthusiastic and so professional!

There was a kids zone for kids to enjoy.

Vintage glam workshops were being held. A vintage glamour fashion parade was held that anyone could enter.

instagram.com/pinupdollaustralia

There was also the annual Pin Up Australia Competition Finals.

Pinup Doll Finalists

This is a national pinup competition run by pinups for pinups. The pinups compete in 3 sections ‘Pinup by Beach’ celebrating The Entrance, ‘Pinup by Hotrod’ celebrating hot rods and ‘Pinup Star’ celebrating pinups through history. They also work for three months raising funds for ‘Share the Dignity’. ‘Share the Dignity’ gives sanitary products to homeless women and fights for domestic violence victims. Both are very worthwhile causes!

The whole Chromefest experience is really enjoyable and well worth attending. My husband and I absolutely loved the whole experience!

Have you been to Chromefest? Let me know what you thought, I would love to hear! I found it to be a fantastic weekend and I will be back next year. If you haven’t been then try to get to Chromefest 2019. Check it out at http://www.chromefest.org or Facebook.com/chromefest

Back soon……

Ridiculously Retro Xx

Tiki Safari

Oct17

On Saturday, my friends and I went to the Tiki Safari held by Barfly Promotions, the makers of the Sydney Rock ‘n’ Roll & Alternative Market

at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville.

The Factory Theatre Marrickville

It was a fantastic afternoon and night! The event is held annually at the Factory Theatre, however it was my first time. What a great place to hold an event, with three levels and an outdoor area!

At the Tiki Safari

There was some fantastic stalls, including Blue Belle Vintage Clothing, Heart Shaped House Vintage, Bred and Butter Vintage, Beyond the Sea Swimwear, Shramek Art and a Tiki mug stand.

I purchased some great items too: leopard capris, green ‘Dolores’ top, retro salt and pepper shaker, tribal doll and a few hair accessories.

And food stands, including Bovine and Swine Barbecue Co, which was delicious, or a chicken and chips stall.

Bovine & Swine Barbeque Co

There was fantastic performers, including DJ Andy Travers, Los Monaros, Hellcat III, Pacific Dreamz Polynesian Dancers, DJ Rod Almighty, Pat Capocci, DJ Jay Katz , Rosa Maria and Thurston Howlers…. and you could not resist dancing along! It was fantastic live entertainment!!

Hellcat III

Pacific Dreamz Polynesian Dancers

Roda Maria

Thurston Howlers

There was a Tiki Fashion Parade too, full of gorgeous retro tiki outfits.

Source credit: https://instagram.com/heartshapedhousevintage?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=1cs0xz7aox1my

It was a fantastic event, and we will definitely be back next year. Can’t wait!! Have you ever been to the Tiki Safari or something similar? Let me know about you experience.

Back soon ….

Ridiculously Retro xx

Round She Goes Fashion Market

Aug21

Last weekend I went to my absolute favourite vintage market at Marrickville Town Hall… Round She Goes Vintage Fashion Market.

Marrickville Town Hall

It is only $2 for entry and there are 60 women’s vintage fashion stalls to shop in. There are so many really great buys! The market is held in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Inside the Sydney Market

I bought so many great buys, and my daughter and friend did too. It is a really great day for vintage shopping.

I purchased a lucite handbag, black go-go boots, retro dress and yellow petticoat

My daughter purchased 3 vintage dresses, 2 pairs of retro pants, 2 funky earrings, and a retro Western shirt

My friend got a jumper, retro bag and top and a crop leopard print jacket.

As you can see, we all did really well with all our purchases and we didn’t have to spend a fortune either! It is really a great market to find some excellent and rare items at excellent prices.

Featured Image

The next Round She Goes Vintage Fashion Market is on again at Marrickville Town Hall on Saturday 20th October. It is really one of the best vintage fashion markets that we have ever been to. Some really excellent and rare items are waiting to be found and at excellent prices. If you love vintage fashion shopping then you really shouldn’t miss it. I know that I will be there.

Back Soon….

Ridiculously Retro Xx

Bodgies and Widgies

Aug16

I was talking to my Mother and she began to tell me about the Bodgies and Widgies youth culture from the 1950s. My dad was a Bodgie and she was a Widgie. It sounded really interesting so I had to investigate it further.

Bodgies and Widgies were a youth subculture that existed in Australia 🇦🇺 and New Zealand🇳🇿 in the 1950s. The culture was similar to the Rocker culture in the UK 🇬🇧 or the Greaser culture in the USA 🇺🇸

Bodgies and Widgies

The males were known as Bodgies. They grew their hair long and wore satin shirts. Pink was commonly worn by Bodgies, despite still being seen as feminine. Often their attire included very long keychains and later, included moccasins and American drape suits with pegged pants. James Dean was a major style influence who inspired the Bodgie fashion. Typically working class, their interests included alcohol, girls, music and cars.

The females were known as Widgies. They cut their hair short and wore jeans, tight slacks, 3/4 length pants or dresses and bobby socks if they went out, like to a dance.

The confusion was arising between the sexes of the Australian youth. They would regularly frequent Kings Cross and Paddington Milk Bars and were associated with the inner city suburbs. Both my parents grew up in the inner city suburb of Paddington.

Outfits of Bodgies and Widgies

Many in society resisted the Bodgies and Widgies and this created tensions through the generations. The older generations felt the young dressed in strange new clothes and jive-danced to loud music, rejecting the values of their parents generation. This triggered moral panic in Australian society. Police seemed to crackdown on these youths and it sparked numerous exaggerated headlines.

Sydney Newspaper article on Bodgies and Widgies

There were different names for the Aussie Bodgies, some called them Teddy Boys, Rockers, Cafe Racers, Greasers or bikies.

They listened to music like Australian artists Johnny O’ Keefe, Digger Revell, American 50s and jazz music.

Bodgies

Widgies

There was often rivalries between the Bodgies and other subcultures like mods, surfies and skin heads.

Many grew out of it, but some didn’t.

How interesting would it be to step back in time and witness this generation!

Back soon……

Ridiculously Retro Xx

Love Is In The Air💕

Feb15

It’s that time of year when love is on everyone’s mind.

Vintage Valentine Card

Valentines Day is here! 💕

Vintage Valentine card

Valentine’s Day originated from a Christian celebration of the Feast of Saint Valentine. It is recognised as a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance.

Vintage Valentine Card

Valentines developed in Roman times with Saint Valentine who was put in prison for performing weddings for soldiers, who were forbidden from marrying. He was persecuted under the Roman Empire, but before his death he restored sight to a blind girl and wrote her a letter that was signed Your Valentine.

St Valentine

My house is decorated, dinner is booked and gifts are wrapped. Now I just need to organise my outfit. I couldn’t find a dress I liked for the occasion so I decided to create one for Valentine’s Day.

I have a red dress that I purchased some time back but never seem to wear. I also purchased a panel of vintage Valentine images to sew on the dress.

Red Rockabilly dress

Panel of vintage Valentine images

Steps:

1. I cut the panel in half and sewed the edges

The panel cut in half

2. I decided to make the dress into a skirt. Simply, cut along the waist line and sew to tidy up!

The dress made into a skirt

3. Next I pinned the panel to the skirt. You can place the panels anywhere you prefer, on the skirt.

Front of skirt

Back of skirt

4. Next, I sewed the panels onto the skirt

Final product- front of the skirt

Final product- back of skirt

Your other option is to make a 50’s style skirt or dress out of Valentine fabric, but I couldn’t find anything that I really liked so when I found this Valentines panel online I knew that is what I really wanted to use.

Valentines outfit

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day and it was spent with the one you love!

Featured Image:

Vintage Valentines Card

Back soon…..

Ridiculously Retro Xx

Pin it here

Jan8

My brooches were starting to overflow out of there storage boxes and it was getting harder to find the right one everyday. I needed a new option.

I needed a clever idea to make it easier to locate the best brooch to compliment my outfit. Instead, I created some of my own and here they are!

1. Display your brooches on a mannequin torso

This is a great idea to display your collection, for both function and as a decor item. The only issue is it only works for brooches like this….

… where you have a pin going into a safety head. It does not work for pins like this…

with a straight pin and seperate clasp.

2. Display brooches on your favourite cushion

Grab your favourite cushion and pin on your brooches. This allows easy access again! You can leave it on your bedroom chair as a display.

3. Display brooches on a retro foot stool

Attach your brooches onto a retro foot stool and once again it allows easy access and looks great. Of course the foot stool will not be able to be used as it’s intended use anymore! Also, this idea will only work with safety pin brooches!

4. Display your brooches in a vintage suitcase

Line a suitcase with a pillow or fabric and foam. You can attach the pins and it is a great designer piece to display your collection. If your suitcase has a thick lid then do the same to the lid. This allows for double the storage for your collection. Maybe you will need to buy more!!

5. Display your brooches on your pin board.

Get a cute fabric pin board that will allow you to display all your brooches. I will be doing a future blog on how to make a vintage style pin board, so keep your eye out!! This idea will only work with safety pin brooches.

6. Display your brooches on a scarf

You can hang your scarf on a hook or a vintage mannequin head. If you have a large brooch collection then you can use more than one scarf!

7. Display your brooches on a vintage wooden ladder

Image from Pinterest

This particular image displays earrings, but you could easily use it for brooches! They have just attached chicken wire to the back of the ladder. Another idea would be to staple fabric to the back of the ladder and attach your brooches to the front side.

8. Display your brooches in a tackle box

This box is available at any fishing shop! I think this is a great idea to keep my brooches safe in and allows easy access. And you can just keep buying more boxes as your collection grows!

9. Other ideas

  • Buy or make dividers for your drawer
  • Attach them on a lampshade
  • Attach them on an old clothing item and hang it on display
  • Glue strips of ribbon to a pole and hang off the wall & attach brooches
  • Attach brooches on an old soft toy and place it on display

The possibilities are endless……

What ideas do you have? How do you store or display your brooches? I would love to hear about it.

Back soon….

Ridiculously Retro xx

It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Dec19

Christmas time is here again! It’s my favourite time of year – all the parties, carols, church, decorations, spending time with family and friends, eating, holidays, shopping, Christmas shows and the anticipation of opening presents on Christmas morning. While many cultures’ celebrations may differ, for example some people will celebrate on Christmas Eve while others on Christmas Day, essentially Christmas is just the most wonderful time of the year!!


Christmas Morning

I just love to decorate for any occasion, but especially at Christmas time. Every room in my house holds Christmas decorations, along with my verandah, front yard and fence. Although living in a rural area means we don’t get a lot of traffic going by, we still decorate mainly for the pleasure of ourselves, friends and neighbours. It takes days to put up all our Christmas decorations but we love it!

Top – My beautiful tree & huge elf

Middle – Huge reindeer

Bottom – Snowman (not as huge lol)

I have a few vintage items around the house and on my tree, but I am always on the hunt for more! I am currently in search of a vintage angel tree topper and more illuminated plastic moulds for the garden.

Top – Illuminatedgarden lights

Middle – Nativity scene in wood & china

Middle bottom – Santa with china hands & face

Bottom – Plastic Santa wall blow mould

I’ve also collected some modern decorations with a retro feel. There are some really stylish retro style Christmas decorations that you can find in many retail outlets!

Top – Myer Elf and Reindeer

Below – Kmart Large Flamingo 

Every year we try to find new streets that have houses decorated with lights and ornaments. There are more and more people each year decorating their houses which, as a family, we love to visit.

Above: houses with lights

Our family traditions also include attending our local Carols by Candlelight, and attending church on Christmas Eve.

I love to dress up in festive clothing on Christmas Day. I have a few Christmas dresses and skirts that I wear to parties, Carols and any chance suitable during the Christmas season!

Above – Hell Bunny Blitzen dress

Above – Hell Bunny 50s Noelle Snowflake Dress (that I refurbished into a skirt & top)

Above: also wearing my vintage Santa brooch

Featured Image

Do you enjoy the Christmas season? How do you celebrate? I would love to hear.

Have a wonderful Christmas Day!!

Back soon….

Ridiculously Retro Xx