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.

But firstly….. Thank you for all the input on the last post. I have a HUGE follow up coming for you in a few days when I’ve finished putting it all together. You’ll love it!

Extra … Extra… Read all about it!

Vintage Pinup Photography just got better!

I can hardly contain my excitement when I tell you this…. I’ve just joined forces with the amazing Helen McLean – Pinup Photographer, in our quest to give you the fanciest pinup photos you could wish for!

Remember when I spent the day with Helen and she shot these of me?

You may already be aware that I’m a specialist vintage stylist, tackling weddings, workshops, and private clientele; but teaming up with a talent like Helen means so much more! Now, when you want to capture your very best pinup self, be it classic or cheesecake; you’ll have me as your very own personalist stylist for the session. It’s all very exciting really!

My wonderful friend, the internationally renowned burlesque performer, Foxtrot India went under my brushes last week as she posed for these glamorous shots… what a beauty!

Read all about our dream team and all the dates and rates for booking your own pinup photography heaven.

You just know there’s going to be some amazing blog shots coming out of all this work!

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Todays post has been quite a while in the making. Something extra special indeed.

I was recently honoured to have my work included on the calendar of events for the National Trust’s Mannequin Exhibition at Como House & Gardens. The exhibition focused on the work of Australia’s top models from the 1950′s and 60′s, showcasing their commercial images, behind the scenes stories and snaps, wonderful garments and presentations by some of the women themselves.

Bringing the feel of a 1950′s fashion salon show to life in all its elegance and glamour, my wonderful team of models were simply divine as they floated through the grand ballroom. And yes, this time you get to share in a piece of the magic… So please, pour yourself a glass of champagne and sit back and enjoy the ambience of the 1950′s Vintage Salon Show at Como House & Gardens 2011.

( I recommend clicking the little arrows to expand this and watch in full screen if you can)

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Many thanks to my wonderful models; Miss Marianne, Miss Geeves, Miss Kesenya, Dolores Daiqueri, Miss Sharon, Foxtrot India and Bonnie Rose.

As well as my right hand ladies backstage; Catherine Phillips and Heather Walters

All of the garments and accessories featured are from the private collections of Candice DeVille, Bonnie Rose Vintage and Madam Virtue & Co.

All images and video footage was splendidly shot by Finessence photography. (Please note – all images are copyright to Finessence and Candice DeVille P/L and may not be used without prior permission)

And a big thank you to the wonderful staff at Como House & Gardens for all their assistance.

As you saw yesterday, the Love Vintage Fair made it’s Melbourne debut the weekend just past. As a loyal attendee of the Sydney fairs, it was wonderful to have the chance to be a part of the fair in my own home town. And this time I had something extra special up my sleeve.
After many weeks of secret project work, it came time to put it out there on my very own stand. Keep in mind that this is a bit of a peek at the project and the ‘soft’ launch, but I’ll be bringing it to you in its entirety with all the bells and whistles shortly. Together with Finessence Photography, we have created an opportunity for those who want to capture their most glamorous vintage self with our vintage vogue portraiture!
With the help of my beautiful models Marianne, Hannah, Dolores Daiquiri and Vicki,  Circa Vintage Clothing providing the gowns for the shoot,  and Fleurage creating an exclusive range of vintage bridal perfumes, the finished product was altogether divine.

One of my lovely models Hannah comes to visit at the fair.

Left to Right – Emma from Fleurage who has created a stunning range of vintage bridal perfumes that we featured together at the fair. Me in the middle and Karen from Finessence on the right.

A sneak peak at the final images…. all will be revealed shortly!

Thanks to Emma and her exquisite high class, soliflore perfumes, we made an intoxicating impression!

The beautiful Miss Chrissy from The Lindy Charm School for Girls.

With everything on my plate that weekend I didn’t have time to take any outfit pics, but thanks to visiting friends and fans I’ve managed to collect a few to show you what I wore each day.

Thank you Tina for this great shot of the two of us on Sunday.

Saturday’s outfit photo thanks to Rina at Take 2 Markets.

Want to see more? Well we’re just putting the finishing touches to our gallery and can show you the whole beautiful creation shortly!

It has been the most full on couple of weeks and shows no sign of letting up yet as I prep up to head off to Wintersun next week too!  That will be a whole ten days of Fifties frolicking, parties, fashion, cars, shopping and workshops – if you haven’t booked your tickets yet, you can check out all the events, including my styling workshops, here.

What a treat last weekend was! Everyone came out in well dressed droves to attend the very first Melbourne leg of the Love Vintage Fair. On Friday night I played hostess to one of my favourite moments, as I had the privileged of comparing the Best Dressed in Vintage parade and awards. Thanks to my wonderful photographer Karen at Finessence, I’m able to share the highlights of the show. This is a massive photo heavy post so it may take a while to load for you, but I so wanted to share it all!

*Please note – all images are copyright to Finessence photography and are used here with permission.*

The gorgeous contestants await their moment on stage; what a gaggle of vintage goodness!

The chaps were very impressive this year, breaking out quite a variety of looks from the Mad Men inspired 60′s looks…

Something a bit ‘flash”!

..to Victorian brocade frock coats and monocles..

..and the Teddy Boy in burgundy velvet with his mini tie and amazing hair!

Not to be out done, the ladies brought out their best and shone in an array of colours and eras.

1st Runner up for Best Dressed was the incredible Alison Waters and her Fontana Sisters 1950′s dress from Rome.

The Winner in her beautifully crafted and coordinated 1920′s ensemble.

I’d like to believe that this is just a small window into what heaven looks like, and that was only the start of the fair!  I have much, much more to show you and a secret to reveal next time!