Dick Van Dyke: Definite legend. Potential Style Icon?

Hey,

Yet another random, slightly unfashiony blog from me: come back Becky, all is forgiven!! See, I love Dick Van Dyke. Diagnosis Murder is my favourite show on TV, and his happy little face always makes my day. Sometimes my sister and I chat about what life would be like if Dick Van Dyke were our uncle and we got to hang out at his house; maybe he'd tapdance for us, or let us help him solve crimes. And when we were in Florida we saw his jacket from Mary Poppins in a memorabillia shop for a mere $66,000. Which just goes to show how popular Dick Van Dyke (DVD) really is. When we asked mum if she would lend us the money to get it she said no. Which is a bit of a shame really; it could've been an investment for the future! After all some things, like DVD himself, can only get better with age! I'd never really thought about the joyous DVD in a fashion context though; until my sister and I saw this jacket in Topshop yesterday and she squealed (actually squealed) oh my God, that jacket would make us look just like Dick Van Dyke! This lead us to wonder about a whole host of DVD themed outfits; straw boaters for Mary Poppins, white jackets for diagnosis murder, the list goes on.

So here is the FabFrocks guide to staying 'on trend' and looking like Dick Van Dyke: all at the same time! (All the clothes are from topshop because it's the only biggish store in Norwich where I could find all the DVD-style stuff. Sorry for the TS overload lately)

1) Mary Poppins DVD

Could I look anymore like DVD? The stripey jacket, the stripey shirt, the white trousers...all I needed was a blue bowtie and a straw boater. Damn you topshop for not having all the appropriate DVD attire! Actually individually each piece would be lovely for the coming summer months (fingers crossed) but alltogether, I hate to admit there's a risk of looking a little costumey.....

2) Diagnosis Murder DVD

This is my personal favourite DVD look; a checked shirt under a simple white jacket teamed with jeans. I could wear this to work (I have a very casual job) or to uni safe in the knowledge that I was paying tribute to a living legend without looking at all costumey (which is a bit of a worry with the Mary Poppins DVD outfit, although i'd love to wear it everyday)

3)Night at the Museum DVD

This is a more utilitarian look (as DVD is actually dressed as a security guard) I opted for simple lines and stuck strictly to navy blue to make this look work. (as well as pulling my best tap dancy moves) It's a less popular DVD theme, and sooo unflattering on me that it's not funny, but I thought i'd throw it in because it's a good movie (obviously, as Dick is in it) and it's his latest role.

So there you have it; 3 simple looks that will have you tapdancing all the way down to your nearest highstreet. And when DVD decides to adopt me as his neice, i'll know just what to wear for the occassion!

Love

Tor xx

Happy Birthday......to me!

Hey hey,

Yesterday was a momentous day. I handed in my 5,000 words on Muriel Spark, and I reached the grand old age of 24- I am officially in my mid-twenties (and very aware that i'm faar too old to still be a student.) To celebrate this momentous occassion my sister came to stay for a few days, and joined a merry crew of party goers and karaoke stars!

My beautiful sister Amie-Dave. Her magic make-up is from Dior and I am infinitely jealous. Her dress was in the Topshop sale for just £5: bargain!

Obviously Miss Wigmore was there for the occassion, and not only did she look stunning, she also baked a cake: a hazelnut filled chocolate-nutella delight, which I am eating for breakfast as I type this very word. Yum! Becky wore the Christopher Kane for Topshop dress she pined over in this previous post but didn't think she could afford; it was reduced to £60 (£56 with student discount) and Becky grabbed at it the way I grab at chocolate cake: quickly and with much greed. Yum again. Teamed with black ballet pumps and Topshop bling (apparently there was a Topshop "thing" going on last night) little Miss Becky looked lovely:

I'm scared that Becky will kill me for not letting her photoshop this before I put it up but I think she looks awesome!

Bucking the Topshop trend, I opted for a Primark floral dress (£14) with a puffball type skirt: there are layers of tulle underneath which give the skirt all the volume. My earrings are topshop, my bracelet is from river island, and (because it was my birthday) I wore killer black wedges.I like to think I look like a curvier, slightly drunker version of a Luella model:

And as well as the drinking (see above) there was singing. Oh boy, was there singing!

We were singing Dolly Parton like we really meant it. Oh yes

With birthdays come fashiony gifts, and I received so many pretty things I just can't wait to show you all. But I'm pretty sure my active high is ebbing out fairly quickly, and I just dont have the energy to change out of my pajamas. I'm going back to bed to sleep and nurse this hangover.....

You know your drunk when you're taking pictures of yourself in the ladies

Lots of love,

Tor xx

Muriel Spark Rules My Life!!!

Ahhh, bank holidays. A time to put on something pretty, hit the shops, and then while away the afternoon relaxing in a beer garden. Or not. In my case apparently you’re supposed to lock yourself like a hermit in the library wearing saggy leggings and a baggy Blondie T-shirt, because anyone spending their bank holiday indoors shouldn’t care what they look like. I’m slowly turning into a pale library troll. Yes, it’s deadline time again, and yet again I’ve left it all to the last minute. 5,000 words on what I think about Muriel Spark’s autobiography here I come! Woe is me, etc etc.

I love the way Spark looks on the cover of this book (sorry I couldn't find a bigger image)

This means that whilst I could tell you everything you didn’t want to know about Muriel Spark, I have been out of the fashion loop for a while (as you can no doubt tell from my shameless recent blogging record). So because I’m tired and this is the only ‘break’ I’m going to take for the next 3 hours, I’m going to go with what I know and write about Muriel Spark; fabulous writer, eccentric super-bitch, and worthy fashion icon.

Tight sweater, necklace with an animal pendant, and sexy tilted specs? What’s not to love??

Muriel Spark was obsessed with fashion (a woman after my own heart) and always dressed flamboyantly. It pleases me more than you can ever know to picture her zipping around Italy aged 80 in her alfa romeo and her fur coat: an image recounted in each of her obituaries, so it obviously pleased more people than just me! One journalist recorded that Spark swept in for an interview (then in her 70s) looking demure and sophisticated in a black and white Chanel suit that she had chosen to team with fluroscent pink ankle socks.

How can such a cruel woman have such a kind face?

Derek Stanford (Muriel's sworn enemy) described Muriels love of vintage jewelry and accessories; "there was generally within her wardrobe some small family property-a brooch, a clasp, a pair of earrings or her silver topped umberella- which had come from her mother or grandmother". He also wrote some lovely things about Muriel and her mothers relationship in his unofficial biography; "Mother and daughter hd a true feminine love of dress, jewelry and adornment....Whenever she visited her mother in Scotland they would do a deal or a swap with each other over some trinket or treasure. And later maybe the swap would be undone, redone"

I love this extract because it reminds me of my own relationship with my mum and especially my nan; I love going through their wardrobes picking out clothes and jewellery they haven't worn for years and trying them on all at once like a toddler. My mum is a very petite (and naturally beautiful) lady, and it breaks my balls that I can't fit into any of her couture ball gowns from the early '80s. (When i'm at home next weekend I will dig out some of the photo's and share them) And it was in part my nan (a lady who still obsesses about fashion despite being in her 70s) who inspired me to start my collection of vintage brooches-I know they aren't 'in vogue' at the moment, and it's a pretty old fashioned thing to collect, but I love them! They're sparkly delicate and garish all at the same time -what more do you need?!

Wearing things that have been worn by people I love makes me happy. My wardrobe had as many of my sisters clothes in it as it does mine; The Spark concept of fashion as a family heritage is something I can get behind.

I'm not saying that 'the Sparklet' was perfect just because she liked dresses (i've done my research!) She abandoned her son before he was a teenager, attacked anyone who crossed her loudly in the press, and was a generally 'difficult' lady (to put it nicely!) But she loved fashion and literature, just like 2 other pretty cool young ladies I know, and that makes her noteworthy at the least, and admirable at the most generous. Phew! And now I feel inspired to go and work some more on that essay......

Hope you all had a great bank holiday!

Tor xxx

TV TV TV: Testing, beta, try-out etc.

Hello blogosphere,

Sorry for the delay in the near-daily blather. Me and Tor have been sick (it's all the kissing with tongues we do) and unable to voice our mealy mouthed opinions about stuff 'n' junk. Tor is overrun with deadlines and schoolwork but I, as ever, have no real life or hobbies to speak of, so you're stuck with the Wigmore solo this week and possibly next. As a kind-of experiment, I just ran up a very shit 2 minute video on my BRAND NEW MAC. Yes, you heard right. I have joined the San-Fran hippie-poseur creative professional elite wankerclub du jour. I'd like to say I use it primarily for my creative work but in truth, I mostly use the neato built-in camera to check my make-up and see how cute I look in sepia, infrared and 'cartoon effect'.

With that in mind, here's my very first video blog, concerning the best charity shop find I've had this year. It cost £7 from Cancer Research. It also stinks of pubs and ladysweat because I've worn it three times and Tor once so I actually had to fish it out of th laundry pile. Y'all should thank your lucky stars that Smell-o-vision didn't make it past the 1950s.

Here it is: slurry voice, ill-advised 'humour', Debbie Reynolds tribute opening and all:



Wow. I just--- wow. Next time I'll write a script. And sort out some lighting. And get a voice coach. And learn my angles. And try not to smell like three separate days of human fluid.

I'm still ill you know. That's my excuse. I've watched 3 straight series of The American Office in bed on my laptop. It is vastly superior to the UK The Office. That is my opinion and it is correct. I am also addicted to Mindy Kaling (Kelly from The Office (US))'s awesome and unusually profane shopping blog.
You should probably go and read her. Apparently being an American comedy writer with a shopping addiction is pretty sweet. If I were her, I'd spend all my time trying to marry Paul Lieberstein. The fact that she does not appear to do this makes me respect her a little less.

Oh, Toby. I would feel your pain and groin.

I recognise he is fictional however so the actor Paul Lieberstein will have to do. This is not so bad, especially as he was also a writer on "Clarissa Explains It All". Clarissa taught a pre-teen Becky that early 90s fashion could one day liberate her from her fat girl baggy t-shity 'n' jeans combo!

Not bad, right? They're selling that Keith Haring t-shirt shizzle at Uniqlo right now!

Both £12.99 here at Uniqlo.co.uk

Lace, Doc Martens and hipster art -shirts? Screw Claudia Kishi - Clarissa Darling's the auger of mid 00's fashion truth!

Wow, for someone who purported not to want to write anything, I sure have blathered. In summary: TV = universally good, Me + TV = something other than universal good. But hey, online media is where the real writing money is, right?

Right?

Love,
Becky.

Super-long Holiday Post

Hello readers/anyone who found us by mistake!

Well i'm back from my jollydays, and feeling self-indulgent. Whilst Becky spent her Easter break in 'Trashford' with her lovely mummy and took care of the blog (like it was a newborn fashion baby) I just spent a fabulous fortnight in Florida frolicking in the sun, meeting Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and spending my hard earned (ie lovingly issued by my parents) cash in the plethora of cheap as chips outlet malls.

In Disney World oversized head gear is all the rage- i'm one trendy chick!

Whenever i'm in America I come home with a Betsey Johnson handbag; I have a weakness for her quirky yet high-quality leather goods and I don' t care who knows it! Despite my hour in the Betsey Johnson store with bags draped all the way up my arms and trying on every single piece of jewellery, headwear and sunglasses (all at the same time) however, I didn't quite have the mullah to buy all of the precious things my heart desired, so on this trip I moved on to cheaper but equally fabulous fashion buys.

In much the same way that Becky has been forced to view/bored by my holiday snaps (oh look! another picture of cinderella's castle! Yawn) I have an overwhelming desire to infiltrate the blogosphere with snaps of all my glorious holiday purchases. And to make it even more exciting, i'll do it in a list; because organisation is fun, y'know!

1. Cream Patchwork leather purse. Fossil.

According to last weeks Grazia magazine (and who know's more about fashion then them, right?) patchwork is set to be this summers big 'thing' for handbags. Now , I thought patchwork was big last summer (and I have the 50 quid brown patchwork bag from Dorothy Perkins to proove it) but no matter: this oversized 100% leather purse with subtle white and cream patches and bronze studs has pockets big enough to carry a munchkins head (or, ya'know, my mobile) And that makes it A-OK with me.

Those Munchkinlanders won't bother the poor witch anymore!

2. Patent leather gladiator sandals. Wardrobe Seven.

There is nothing harder than trying to photograph your own feet!

Wardrobe Seven is an awesome shop in old town Kissamee (for which, sadly, I cannot find a website) It sells a wide range of faux vintage gear ranging from 50s style cats eye sunglasses to Teddyboy leather jackets and jeans. It also stocks pretty prom style and tea dresses and a shoe buffet: the more shoes you buy, the cheaper they are: and what's not to like about cheap shoes! I fell in love with these patent black gladiator sandals at first sight. The gold buckles made them seem glam in a slightly 'footballers wife' way that I loved but the triple ankle strap lent a harder tougher feel. I can't wait for the weather to pick up so I can show them off!!

3. BCBG Maxazara Shirt

Sensible sensible job interview shirt. Or at least, that's what I told myself to justify the 'this seems like a lot of cash for a white shirt' expense. I'm slightly obsessed with ruffles and have decided i wouldn't want a job with any one who didn't hire me in this shirt: they wouldn't have any fashion sense/eyes.

4. Gold Lame Tommy Hilfiger skirt

Me: "Mum, what do you think of my new skirt?"

Mum: "Erm, well you look happy in it."

Ahh, there's nothing better than buying clothes my mum/boyfriend don't like. My boyfriend has a theory that the way to buy me the perfect gift is to go into a shop and pick out the thing he thinks is ugliest. The funny thing is, he always buys the best gifts! Ok so the skirt is a little 'bold' and its probably not the most flattering material on my 'wider than the average' hips. But look how shiny it is! Ahhhhh, shiny........

5. Polka dot floo length dress. TJ Maxx

Underneath my pile of everyday clothes (tea dresses, sensible black tops, too many pairs of jeans) i have what I like to call my "what if" wardrobe. I have"what if i go on a cruise" clothes, and "what if vogue suddenly calls" oufits. Well this dress is my new "what if I decide to go to the grad ball" dress. It's more informal than the dress I wore for my lst grad ball, but I figured I didn't need to be so glam the second time around and this had an understated, almost I dont care cool. Plus I like polka dots and anything that makes me look slimmer than I actually am. Result.

So there you have it. My 5 favourite things that I brought back from my holiday. (6 if you include the tan that my sister says (and I quote) "doesn't make me look quite so dead") Oooh I also want to mention the Dior Couture ball gown I fell in love with: rrp $22,000. Dior outlet store price: $1,800. So cheap yet so far out of my budget. Still, at least I got to fondle it (until I was dragged by my family from the store) Oh, and whilst i'm feeling self indulgent, this is Fabfrocks 100th post. (albeit an incoherent jat lagged rambling one!) Go team us!

Peace, love, and mickey mouse,

Tor

Hero: Isabella Rossellini

Hello blogosphere,

I've been preparing this post for a little while because I wanted to do justice to my subject. Isabella Rossellini is beautiful, no duh. She's a wonderful actress with an eclectic career and she was a successful model with a famous Lancome contract and a bazillion Vogue covers to her name. This is not why I'm featuring her. No, Isabella Rossellini gets a whole post to herself not just because she's super stylish but because she is batshit crazy in the acest possible way.

Not in the diva way, unfortunately. This is an old Dolce and Gabbana campaign.

I am always on the lookout for obscure fashion-related literature so when Francine Prose alerted me to Rosellini's autobiography in her neato how-to book "Reading Like a Writer" (books about writing/reading are my porn), I cyber-schlepped over to Amazon Marketplace, paid a teeny £3 fee and lo! "Some of Me" appeared on my doormat two weeks later.

"Some of Me" as any person of substance will, know, is a play on Katherine Hepburn's autobiography "All of Me." It's so called because the author acknowledges, she ain't telling the truth for no-one:

It's a habit of mine to embellish and colour events until I lose sight of what really happened. Even when I was a child my grandmother had to say: "Verita o fantasia?" ---- "Truth or fantast?" If you want to eliminate my grandmother's kindness and to put it more bluntly, I lie. I always did.

Friends, this is the finest celebrity memoir I have ever encountered. Better then that one Groucho Marx tried to ban because he was old and drunk and bitched and libelled up the ying-yang. This book is chock full of glossy photos, famous ex-boyfriends, philosophy and batshit conversations she has with her dead father.

Even the glossy stuff of Rossellini as super-gorgeous model is undercut by humour and a sense of the macabre.

Caption: The first advert where I did not have to use the wax from the undertakers to fix my broken teeth.

Oh god, oh god, I love the beauty industry. And I love Isabella Rossellini even more. On reading in the New York Times about the pristine condition of Lenin's head as preserved by Doctor Sergei Lubov (the doctor was quoted: "If a pathologist looked at samples of skin from Lenin and a fresh corpse, he could not tell which is which, it is so well preserved."), Rossellini cut out the article and sent it Lancome with a note: "Doctor Debov may be of some use to us." But, she adds, I got no response.

Bitch has 28 Vogue covers to her name. 78% have surprised eyes.

And have we even talked about Martin Scorsese and David Lynch? She married Scorsese and dated Lynch for about 7 years. How would we even deal with that in our celebrity-obsessed culture? If it happened today, we'd be forced to refer to them by some awful amalgamation of their names. Scor-bella or Isnch or some shit.

Scorbella

Isnch

I really really have to do a "David Lynch Women" post - there's an insane amount of fashiony stuff to talk about in his films, his collaboration with Christian Louboutin and his latest adverts for Gucci perfumes. Still, this ain't his post, it's Isabella's and that bastard broke her heart. However, h did give her a couple of kick-ass roles in the meantime.

Dorothy in Blue Velvet - the film with "the severed ear in the heart of suburbia" as my A-Level film studies tutors were fond of saying INCESSANTLY

Perdita Durango in Wild At Heart

In addition to all of this eyebrow work, Lynch also gave Rossellini several pieces of his art. This one is my favourite - it's called "How to Assemble a Chicken"

I mean, don't you instinctively warm to a women who lovingly displays a rotted chicken carcass in her home? THAT'S frickin' style in my book.

However, among the many awesome attributes of "Some of Me,' one of the standout chapters concerns Isabella's obsession with insects' sex lives. Truly, I was edu-tained reading about spider masturbation, earthworm self-impregnation and snails that change gender.

"Don't think it was the frequent divorces, the homosexuality, the extra marital affais with the creation of half-brothers and sisters around the world all taking place within my family that forceme into being disrespectful of tradition and adopting unconventional attitudes. My pets helped a great deal. Once you've lived with dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, pig, you've seen it all.... Pets make you face the darkest, most hidden facts of nature. There have been sex crossings, species crossings, even sex with inanimate objects. Spanky, my pig, humped the living room furniture every night."

Isabella with Spanky and his canine companion.

This obsession this the sex lives of animals has taken a completely ace turn recently as Rossellini has just turned director and produced a number of shorts subtitled 'Green Porno' where she stars as a series of insects looking for love. The entire shorts aren't online but you can see an interview with clips here:

If this doesn't convince you that this woman is worthy of worship, then I don't know what to say to you. She dresses as a giant spider and simulates sex with a paper cut-out. What moe do you want? She's fearless, weird, cinema royalty* and she has a sensible haircut. A total out-and-out style hero.

Bug-out, friends,
Becky.


*if I have to tell you she's Ingrid Bergman's daughter, I'll cry.

Beauty = Pain = FACT

Hello blogosphere,

Well, I'm finally teething. I hopd it wouln't happen but my wisdom teeth are making a painful bid for daylight. Jeepers, when this happened to my friends, I assumed they were just wusses who couldn't handle pain in my manly fashion but it turns out that the whole shebang is a jaw-in-a-vice experience. Thankfully, I learnt something from my in-bed "America's Next Top Model" youtube marathon - modelling is basically making ouchy faces with fierce eyes. I know this because Tyra descended from the Judging Panel and told me so. You can pop on a red unitard and learn Tyra's lessons for yourself in this clip from the Dance Studio o' Ultimate Wisdom.


Ah! Ah! It hurts so good! And it's not just entertaining - it's science. See how easily I'm able to replicate the results from my very own bedroom:

You see? Sexxy incarnate despite raging gums. And everyone gets a glimpse of my Primark pyjama top. This is why Tyra is our queen.
(I made it b&w for extra klass.)

I can't wait until my herpes sores come through. I'm thinking Inez and Vinoodh or maybe Mert and Marcus will shoot the campaign. I want bling, a fisheye lens and a sparkle caravan. T'will be the fiercest thing you ever did see.

Speaking of the fiercest thing you ever did see, check out fellow fabulous blogger Imelda Matt, working it but hard on Australian TV - here - Kudos for mentioning crack pipes on morning TV, sir/ma'am!

Speaking of crack, I've got some "Make Me a Supermodel" to watch and some painkillers to binge. I'll try and be better and more updatey by tomorrow

Your pal,
Becky