Image of Imogen Hubber shot by Janie Barrett – for The Age

Built between 1948-1950, the Rose Seidler house was built by Architect Harry Seidler fas a home for his mother.   Harry had had it with the bland monotony of suburbia, the little boxy houses with their small enclosed rooms; and he set out to create something entirely different. Something that celebrated the amazing Australian environment, something that brought the outside in and brought the occupants together. There is much that has been written and said about the Rose Seidler House, but in a nutshell it is the purest example of Mid Century Modernist architecture in Australia and still by some considered ‘stark’ even by todays’ modern standards.

The house is now owned by the Historic Houses Trust and each year, faithful fans of the Fifties gather there to dress up in their classiest threads, do some dancing, some shopping and generally all have a rip roaring time.

This year I was thrilled to be  invited to celebrate the Sweet 16th Fifties Fair at the house, and come and present on Fifties Fashion & Styling as well as judging the coveted Best Dressed Awards.  Of course, being the busy bee I was, I didn’t have a spare moment to even break out my camera, so thankfully there were other who did.

Image by Louise Whelan

It was quite a cold morning, so the cardigan didn’t come off till much later. Louise stopped me in the green room just as the morning light bounced up from the slate floor and created this beautiful soft feature.

Thank you to my kind reader Susan for taking these pics on the day and sending them to me to use here.   The first pic is me talking all about the fun of fifties fashion, flanked by my two lovely girlfriends Kesenya from Alice Jean and Brooke. (Thanks for being such great models ladies!)

This pic is of the amazing watercolour sketch that  Illustrator Sadami Konchi created of me as I spoke – how cool is that!

The Fifties Fair has been running now for 16 years and attracts around 5000 people on this one day to indulge in a bit of retro nostalgia. I’m told that the Fair is evolving into bigger and better things in the next year and can’t wait to see what is in store. It is such a highlight of the year here and a wonderful opportunity for all of us crazy 50′s lovers to get together and live a day in imaginary blissful world.

Check out The Age for a fantastic, colourful slideshow of pics from the Fifties Fair here.

*Super Kawaii Mama dined as a guest of The Malaysian Kitchen program. All reviews are conducted on a fully transparent, non-paid, no obligation basis. *

When I first began this Malaysian Kitchen Ambassador program, I remember saying something about being all inspired to cook more. That hasn’t changed, but then again, neither has my punishing schedule which is why there is still no food in the house.  After a huge weekend away in Sydney for the Fifties Fair, I came home and hit the ground running without a moment to stop for breath let alone a loaf of bread. When Monday night rolled around and the girls looked at me with hungry eyes, I knew it was time to hit up a Malaysian Kitchen to save me from their appetites.

The last adventure at Penang Inn was moderately successful in terms of getting them to eat dinner. But I did recall that when we’d taken them to Singapore earlier in the year, they’d eaten so much of a certain style of fried chicken I thought they’d burst. I had no idea what it was called, but the hunt was on to find it again.

Heading out for dinner on a Monday night isn’t always advisable, as it turns out that there are a lot of places closed. My lack of preparation was entirely apparent as we drove around, list in hand awaiting an open sign. While the children nawed on the head rests, we pulled up to Rasa Malaya, a simple strip-shop front with only one other customer in sight.

During the drive around I had called ahead to book us a table, and now upon entering, saw why this was funny. This is not the kind of joint you book for, more of a friendly drop in for locals who like me, never stock the pantry.  We were quickly shown to a table and given polite, perfunctory service – no frills.  But all of about 2 minutes later, the food appeared! Considering we were nearly falling off our chairs with hunger, this was an impressive feat.

Wanting to create one of the simple Singapore dining experiences we’d recently had on our family holiday, we chose Chicken Rice, Chicken satay (honestly – these kids and their ‘chicken on a stick’!) Ayam Kapitan (that amazing kind of KFC like fried chicken), a lamb curry with naan bread, and for desert a coconut based creation called Chendol.  Of course we all laughed about eating a “Ken Doll” for dessert, ’cause that’s what you do when you’re 4.

But honestly, the food was great. Fast, fresh, delicious, inexpensive and a typical no-frills hawker style experience.  It is the kind of place I’d go back to over and over for a fast and satisfying meal that will keep me out of the dog house.

Restaurant – Rasa Malaya 272 Blackburn Road, Doncaster East

Ambience – Dark, rudimentary hawker style type of set up. Authentic and traditional Malaysian dress worn by the serving staff. If you’re bringing children and plan on enjoying a leisurely dinner, make sure you have your phone stocked with kids games. They’ll eat and finish so fast you have to keep them entertained while the adults linger.

Average Price for Mains-  $13.00

Value for Money – Very good. The value was great, as was the taste. The super fast service is the perfect solution to when you think you need fast food, but want something with far more substance and loads more flavour.

My tummy says – Thumbs up! Don’t eat alone though as this is food made to be shared.

Yeah a headline like that is guaranteed not to get you read.. but anyway, I think it’s important to keep you up to date with all the goings on here, especially as I occasionally disappear for a bit now and then. Right’o, so first up there’s Facebook stuff.

FaceBook – I finally bit the bullet and went ahead and created a Candice DeVille Facebook Fan Page. Because FB caps our friends lists and things were getting out of hand, I’ve decided I’ll be adding all the important updates, secret events and killer new photos to this fan page.  You’ll be able to browse portfolios of all my Vintage Hair & Makeup work, see some of the stunning Bridal looks I’m working on and check out the launch of my new secret project! So if you’d like to know about some very cool things, then come on over and ‘like’ the page.

It’s been all quiet on the blogging front here this week for two reasons. Firstly as I had a sneaky and quiet birthday (!), and I’ve been hiding in a pile of gorgeous things as my Glamorous Assistant (she even wore gold lame capris while we worked!) and I get everything ready for the my first HUGE ONLINE GARAGE SALE!! If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know I have a serious shopping and collecting habit. So much so that if I don’t move much of this on, then I’m going to have to get another house! So stay tuned, get your eBay and Etsy accounts ready, cause this is going to be MASSIVE!

EVENTS – I have more upcoming events and workshops than you can poke a stick at!

First up – Sunday September 4th at 2pm is the Shanghai Tea Event – a very special, not to be missed, vintage style High Tea the likes of which you’ve never seen before.  The bookings for this are EXTREMELY limited, so you’ll need to get a wriggle on if you’d like to book in.

Next - Saturday & Sunday September 10th & 11th – is my killer Hats & Style workshop with Peter Jago just in time for Spring Fashion Week and the Spring Racing Carnival.

YouTube - Yes, it has been ages since I’ve created a new tutorial. I have been filming then running out of time to edit. And looking back on much of what I’ve created, I like the content but the quality just isn’t so crash hot. The good new is… I now have a proper STUDIO to film these in for you! So I’m going to go back to square one and recreate all the tutorials from the beginning as well as tackle that ever growing list of requests you’ve all been sending my way.  While I’m at it, tell me… are vLogs of much interest to you or would you prefer that I just keep my updates written?

Anyway, better get back to this schedule and start writing up this pile of reviews awaiting me, including the most INCREDIBLE stay on lipstick ever!!

xx

There have been a few unseasonable August days of late, with the sun popping out to make us all feel less like living in a cave.  It is simply amazing the difference that tiny bit of sun makes to your overall mood!  I’m feeling almost festive at the moment. So when the invitation for a friends baby shower came along, it was a wonderful opportunity to bring my own sartorial sunshine to the party.

It’s a very simple outfit really. Nothing super expensive and no time consuming hair and makeup either. In fact the whole look was put together for less than $200 and the getting ready part in less than 30 minutes. You have to be happy with that!

Outfit Details

Dress – Trashy Diva

Cardigan – Cheap import store (one of those indiscriminate ones with labels you’ve never heard of).

Shoes – Paragon department store, Bangkok – ‘Kumfie’.

Flower – Made by me

On Eyes - Urban Decay various purple shadows.

On Lips – Maybelline 24hr Stay put - Reliable Raspberry  ( Full review of this product range is scheduled for next week too).

With Spring just around the corner I know we’re all looking for new ways to reinvigorate ourselves for the season; and my new series of workshops aims to do just that! First up on September 4th, I have the honour of presenting a whole new twist on traditional High Tea.

From the Press Release-

“Alison Waters of The Waters Group has developed an exciting opportunity for discerning tea drinkers to join David Zhou at the Melbourne Central Oriental Tea House, and introduces Candice DeVille; Australia’s premiere vintage stylist. Candice will  present a truly memorable and authentic Yum Cha High Tea workshop. In a New World twist on an Old World tradition, Candice DeVille will guide you through the etiquette and elegance of a vintage Yum Cha Tea Ceremony with all the charm, flavours and delights of East meets West.

 Experience the time honoured traditions of the tea ceremony in this afternoon workshop, set in the fragrant ambience of the Oriental Tea House’s vintage Shanghai vibe.  With a banquet selection of Yum Cha morsels and a superior selection of teas, this exclusive offering is a feast for the senses.