definatalie.com » Fancy

A life like Strictly Ballroom

Natalie — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:50:06 +0000

I’ve been quiet recently, focusing on little projects and trying to look after myself and the other day I rewatched one of my favourite movies and took a whole buttload of screencaps because I thought I’d do the internet a favour. Strictly Ballroom came out when I was about 12 years old but I don’t think I saw it until I was 14 or thereabouts. It was so influential for me at that impressionable time because I felt like Fran was basically playing out my fantasy life story, transforming from an acned outsider to a confident performer. Not only that, the writing and art direction really spoke to my soul. My sisters and I quoted lines like “Show me your paso doble!” over and over while trying to stomp our feet with authority, mimicking the dance. I dreamed of a life filled with every colour in this movie, Catherine Martin’s overblown yet symbolic art direction became aspirational to me; and even though I knew nothing about ballroom dancing I hadn’t ever seen a movie capture Australian humour and satire quite like this one.

Screencaps from Strictly Ballroom: Shirley Hastings having a breakdown in a purple tiedie outfit, Scott's sister cheering for him in pink and yellow light, Scott's father dancing beside a record player, Scott and Fran dancing on the roof of the dance studio in front of a glittering Coca Cola sign.

Screencaps from Strictly Ballroom: Scott, Fran, Rico and Ya Ya dancing, flashback scene where Doug dances with a line of women, Liz Holt pleading for Scott to dance with him at the Pan Pacifics Grand Prix, Scott on the dancefloor in a gold bolero kneeling in front of Fran who wears a red flamenco dress.

The styling in the movie is dated but it was so obnoxiously of it’s time that it was parodying the huge fringes and eyeshadow up to the brows while we were all still trying to look like that. I remember I used to rub my fringe with the palm of my hand, hoping it’d knot up and get more body before I pulled it up in a fan-like array and doused it in hairspray. After watching the movie again for the first time in years I still would love to live in the Strictly Ballroom world, but without the ridiculous fringe. So here’s a completely overworked and ostentatious collage inspired by Strictly Ballroom, sourced only from retailers of today on the internet. It actually took me hours to weed through all the boring, unfancy fashions to find the good stuff, being a stylist is hard!

A collage of Strictly Ballroom inspired amazingness, including caps from the movie, Fran's nightie/ socks/ heels outfit and a glam purple, gold and green outfit.

Yours Clothing Floral nighty; Evans purple leggings; Evans grey and pink socks; Isola heels from Shoebuy; 80s Purple sunglasses.

Evans Praslin purple tulip hem dress; ASOS open torque tassel necklace; ASOS emerald glass earrings; Cynthia Rowley gold cage heels with gold leaf socks; Illamasqua Body Electrics make up.

Forever fance.

Natalie — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:36:18 +0000

A photo of Mia Amber Davis wearing seven Monif C dresses in various colours and posed in different, amazing ways.

Mia Amber Davis sadly passed away this week and I wanted to take a moment to remember her fabulousness. Mia was a role model, actress, model and activist and loved by so many in the fatshion blogging community.

A photo of a paper strip light fitting in front of a blackboard with chalk writing all over it.

I love paper and I’m always trying to find new ways to use offcuts and scrap print outs. This DIY paper scrap lantern looks so good and I even have a big perspex ball I can cover on hand. Horah!

The poster for Finders Keepers Brisbane Winter/ Autumn 2011, illustrated by Mel Stringer. It has a girl and a deer on a yellow background with leaves bordering the poster.

Mel Stringer, darling illustrator and person, has drawn the poster for Brisbane’s upcoming Finders Keepers market on July 3 at the Old Museum.

A full length photo of a brown skinned fat woman standing on rocks at the beach wearing a black top with one long sleeve under a sheer fuchsia sack dress with black boots.

Ok, catch your breath fatshionistas… Gisela Ramirez is unleashing her gargantuan talent upon us all! Her debut collection of gorgeous gauzy garments (gratuitous alliteration time) is coming soon, with some items available for preorder in the very near future. Watch this space!

A gold and black lace looking stainless steel collar on black ribbon.

I am so in love with collars at the moment, and this Polli collar necklace is giving me all kinds of DIY ideas! If you aren’t so much into DIY, you can buy one from Polli :)

Comfort in beauty and memory.

Natalie — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:09:18 +0000

Hello fabulous necklace and attractive person! Ever since I figured out how to design stuff for acrylic I’ve been really interested in what other people have been making with it and I really like this idea of several plates that fit together. I’d love to have access to the kind of equipment that would let me make curves and bends in the acrylic though… oh the opportunities for making stuff would really open up then! This photo was posted uncredited on Tumblr.

Furniture with quilted padding is very comforting to me, I think it has something to do with the plushiness. Katie Thompson‘s furniture is stuffed full of cozy associations, taking objects like suitcases, crates and tubs and turning them into nice places to sit down. I really want one of these seats!

Sticking to the comforting vibe, this bed is a place I really want to be right now. I’ve always felt like my spiritual home is amongst trees in a rain forest, an escape from the clattering people in the city (even though I think skyscrapers are a bit tree-like.) This lovely photo was taken by Ditte Isager.

It’s quite tempting to say with confidence that people dressed much better a few decades ago, but it’s all a matter of taste and understanding that casual outfits probably weren’t documented so readily. I do love what this man is wearing though; I just wonder if the photographer had asked for his permission before taking the photo or if the questioning look on the man’s face says otherwise… This photo was originally posted on Tumblr by Street Etiquette.

Lately I have been loving old china patterns, particularly blue and white china, so when I found Yee Sookyung’s work I felt instantly connected to it. I am kind of a clumsy person and there have been more than a few occasions in my life when I have smashed something special to me (not necessarily valuable) and I have wondered if gluing it back together would devalue the object in my memory, if it’d just be so ugly that I’d have to dispose of it. I really love these “china trash” objects because it proves that you can make beauty out of broken things that have meaning, so they sort of assume a whole new meaning and memory.

Bonus content

It’s been a bit of a light content week because I’ve been busy but I just wanted to wack this stuff on the end of the post because a new post seems wasteful (why? I don’t know!)

Today is Nick’s birthday and I made him this card. Happy birthday Nick! I love you.

In other news

My second Redrawn post is up at Dangerously Luxe and this week I’ve redrawn two Marc Jacobs looks. They are bright and fun and look pretty fabulous on plus sized bodies!

Attractive people, fancy headwear and blooming boots.

Natalie — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 02:04:51 +0000

I always love coming across this photo, Club Allegro Fortissimo by William Klein. From my years of musical training (cough, makes me sound more knowledgeable than I actually am!) I think that translates to Club Fast and Loud, which is badass. I have been busy/ overwhelmed in the past month and haven’t organised another Aquaporko in Brisbane, but this needs to happen again and soon! Why am I so terrible at organising things, uhhh!

Boots and flowers totally go together, yes?! I am sensing a strange urgency to acquire a pair of stompy black boots and put fake flowers all over them. Reminds me of this post on Outsapop, I’m loving all the foot accessories!

HELLO floral sunnies, get on my face. Janz & Cooper‘s online shop is still under construction, and I have a feeling I wouldn’t be able to afford these anyway, but I looooove them so much.

Camille Roman’s Le Tour De Force label is full of stunning pieces with clever and intricate fabric manipulation, and her latest headpieces are gorgeous. I like this piece because it performs dual functions as a mask and fascinator. Perfect for the Spring Racing season in Melbourne when you drink a bit too much and need some kind of disguise to get you home unrecognised…

The fabulous Marcia, as photographed by Advanced Style, is a perfect style role model. I need swathes of purple and big sunnies and head wraps like stat! That purple is beyond royal, my eyes enjoy it very much. :D

ALSO!
I am doing a regular guest post for Dangerously Luxe each week where I redraw a look.
Go over and check out my Badgley Mishka/ 3.1 Phillip Lim redraw!

Badass fance.

Natalie — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:48:19 +0000

I don’t know who Whistles are but this is a very nice invitation that they sent out and gives me all kinds of ideas. Cut out people were one of my favourite things when I was a kid, and now I wonder why I don’t do more of them. I haven’t done much paper cutting in a while (it hurts my hand a lot!) but I might experiment with some cut out chains. This photo was taken by Susie Bubble.

Men might feel that they miss out on opportunities to fance, so here is a handy dandy pro tip: bow ties. One of my friends called Spencer wears bow ties and shiny shoes and I think he’s the fancest dude out there. I don’t think he’d be into this darker edged bow tie styling, but other masculine dressers might be! It’s by Robot and Brucling.

Amanda Hughen‘s work really moves me. If you are familiar with my style and my fascination with line and form, you might have some idea why. I love the layers of colour, line and form and the movement around the surface. I find her approach really inspiring. I’ve been meaning to buy some different coloured inks for a while and now I’m going to see if I can find some drafting film to experiment with too.

When Linda Boucher posted this photo to her Tumblr and announced that she had Moleskine cahier notebooks for sale in her shop with the most adorable illustrations on the covers I immediately bought the hell out of the top notebook! I don’t want to use it, I just want to frame it.

History can seem a little sanitised to me so when I came across this photograph I was thrilled to see badass women causing trouble in 1928! I love their hairstyles… I have never been able to set my hair in curls properly, yet women back in the day seemed to pull it off perfectly everyday. Or at least in photos… This one is from Twisted Vintage.

Power Puff Girls eating ice blocks in Art Nouveau mansions.

Natalie — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:25:58 +0000

If you think this is awesome, wait until you see the title of Debra Baxter‘s sculptural jewellery: “Crystal Brass Knuckles (I am going to realign your chakras motherf*****)”. I’m pretty sure this epitomises the foul mouthed beauty of “fance” and if I could get my hands on (and around) this knuckle duster I would die a very happy lady.

Susie Bubble is adorable. Even though I don’t care much for straight sized fashion, I do follow her blog because she puts together really incredible outfits that speak more to style than slavish trend following. I really appreciate her approach to mixing up pattern, texture, proportion and colour – particularly in this outfit!

Like so many wonderful images on Tumblr, this has been orphaned. I can’t tell you where this beautiful building is, but I would very much like to claim it as my own club house. The detailing looks distinctly Art Nouveau, a period in art and design I love.

Another orphaned image this time, I can’t wait to have a go at making my own fruit ice blocks! I might go have a hunt on ebay for some freezer moulds. We always used to make ice blocks as kids but never any this fancy or delicious looking. Oh wait – I just had a thought! What if I could find an ice block mould in the shape of the crystal knuckle duster up there? AMAZE.

I am loving all the shoulder accessories I’ve seen in the last few years, but this is the most incredible one I’ve seen so far! Imagine how fabulous this would look with a really super fancy floor length formal gown… I just don’t think people would know what to think if I ever wore such a thing out in Brisbane! This wonderful piece is by gTIE and you can see more photos on OutsaPop.

Minaudières: because it’s a nice looking word.

Natalie — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:01:33 +0000

I’m always in awe of artists who can master pencils the way Marco Mazzoni does. I don’t know much about this artist but I was really affected by this piece when I scrolled down Google Reader and found it posted on Phantasmaphile.

This is a page from the world’s most mysterious document, the “Voynich manuscript“. It’s a completely hand written and illustrated book that has remained largely undecyphered to this day. The illustrations point to it being a book about medicine and herbal remedies but the subject matter seems to cover quite a lot of ground including astronomy.

Olympia Le-Tan is a French artist who hand stitches these wonderful handbags and minaudières. I am shamefully monolingual so I had to look up the definition of a minaudière:

min·au·dière
n. pl. min·au·dières A small ornamental case for a woman’s cosmetics, jewelry, or personal items that is often carried as a handbag.

Please don’t ask me to pronounce this with my broad Australian accent! At any rate, Olympia makes gorgeous things. I particularly love the colour scheme of these bags but Susie Bubble shot a bunch of photos of Olympia’s other wonderful pieces and you should take a look!

Before we got our trusty old colour wheel a bunch of hardworking colour scientists sweated bullets trying to figure out the best way to document colour systems. I am very partial to this infographic (1769 style!) by Jacob Christian Schäffer, yes the fancy frames do have my vote! You can read more about the fascinating history of colour charting and documentation on Imprint.

One of the things I like about flying is seemingly defying the laws of gravity and not crashing. I also like looking down upon farmland and seeing a patchwork of colours laid underneath me. So I think these rugs by Florian Pucher are particularly clever because I can enjoy the aerial views from a height of 175cm and only have to worry about tripping over the corner. You can buy these in colour schemes inspired by Europe, Africa, Netherlands and USA but since the wool is from New Zealand wouldn’t it be fitting if there was an New Zealand or Australian design?

If you want me I’m painting bows on my nails out in the treehouse.

Natalie — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:40:33 +0000

I love Tumblr for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it introduces me to artists I haven’t come across before. This photograph is the work of Annelise Kretschmer, a German portrait photographer. I love it for the fancy neckpiece/ dress and the expression of the subject because most of us smile for a photograph, it’s instinctual. We’ve been conditioned to smile and put on a happy face because smiling people make for nicer memories I guess; our faces aren’t naturally smiley though. I like unsmiling faces, they are much more natural even if they seem less welcoming (I don’t like drawing smiling women for this reason).

No real insightful commentary on this hot nail job by WAH Nails of London but I’m gonna give it a go, that’s for sure.

Another Tumblr find… the embroidery of ¡no confíes en los artístas! on flickr this time. I love embroidery and want to play with it a bit more. The stitches are so small and perfect on this!!!

Adding to my collection of dream gardens is one of my favourite things. This little one room treehouse would sit perfectly in my dream mountain house. Perhaps I could use it as my studio? Oooh good idea Natalie, but chuck a comfy chair in there for reading too. This photo was taken by turnintosomething.

It’s a fancy deer. I have no words. (Ganked from Jessica’s Tumblr.)

B.Ditto, crumpets and other endearing things

Natalie — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 06:00:41 +0000

Beth Ditto, the woman responsible for this morning’s excitement, can not be excluded from the Fance this week. We love you B.Ditto, thank you for designing a collection of clothes that is fun and makes us feel good. I particularly wanted to post this photo because of the fantastic dress – you can probably DIY this with any number of velour dresses that are out at the moment, and a bunch of pins and badges and keys from your local op shop. I know I’m going to be giving it a burl!

I have no idea what to call this spectacular cane thing but I want one. Seeing as I grew up in the ’80s and my parents had furniture from ’70s I saw a lot of this kind of thing in bedheads and tables and chairs so it’s little wonder I have a fondness for the style. This is from a studio reno on Design*Sponge – check out the kitchen, it’s pretty cute.

Ban.do’s Black Label is gorgeous but the photography they’ve done for these ornately special headpieces is something else! I am very envious of this model’s incredible mane of hair, and also because she gets to wear these beautiful fancy things.

Crumpets are the best and I’m sad that as we move into summer I can no longer fully enjoy the warmth and comfort of this delicious carby meal. (But I will still probably try and eat crumpets in summer anyway!) I have never tried to make crumpets from scratch but these look so good with the raspberry curd that I might give it a go one day.

It’s almost a rule that I include a garden type thing in the Fance, and this week you get a tiny little adorable elephant pulling a tiny garden on a trike. Naturally, Elsa Mora is the creator of such an endearing object! See more of these tiny terrariums on her blog.

Flowering plants, fanciful people and a fabulous pig

Natalie — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 03:14:30 +0000

When you saw this pretty piggy did you clasp your hands together and squeal?! That’s what I did. Apparently this is part of a jewellery spread for Vogue Russia featuring Cartier and Chopard. There are some more photos over at fashionologie! (I just hope those earrings are clip-ons…)

I’m pretty sure watermelons have the best colour scheme in all of nature AND they taste awesome. I’ve been flat out for the last few weeks, and I’m still yet to do the September desktop, but as soon as I saw this photo I had to bookmark it as a colour inspiration. Perhaps for next month’s design? Time will tell…!

I might be one of the only people in the world who doesn’t read Boing Boing so if you’ve already seen this gorgeous Kodak 1922 Kodachrome Film Test, I apologise! Totally fancy. To read up on one of the earliest surviving pieces of colour film, wander over to Kodak’s A Thousand Words blog post.

Hel Looks released another batch of street style shots during the week, and when I scrolled down to Jussi’s outfit I was in love. I love people who don’t dress to conform, thumbing their nose at the conventions of flattering and gendered dressing. Horah Jussi and Hel Looks!

This photo exemplifies the whimsical fance photography genre, and even though I tire of it, I really love this image. The colours are great, I would love this to be my bedroom. Unfortunately it’s not my bedroom, it’s Lauren Treece’s! Check out Lauren’s flickr for a bunch of great photographs.