Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
It runs in the family
My Mum recently attended a party which required her to dress as someone or something in a Beatles song. No, not a Beatle (that would be rather limiting) but a fictional Beatles-inspired character. What a damned good theme! Difficult though. Think it might have been better to have allowed people to come as someone or something from any song. But anyway.
My suggestions were:
Polythene Pam (although as Mum pointed out she's so good looking but she looks like a man - and there's something about jack boots and kilt going on too. Not a very flattering look)
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ( we thought everyone would do this though)
Paperback Writer? (You could pick a famous writer, see, and go as them)
Her Majesty? (either Maj herself or some other Queen)
A chauffeur (from Baby you can drive my car?)
Lady Madonna (either by tying children to her feet - ahem- or perhaps a Ciccone stye get up?)
There's a whole cast of people in Penny Lane to be plundered... or some circus freaks from Serjeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Her friends had already picked out Desmond and Molly from a market stall.
Anyway the upshot was she went thus:
Yeah
And she don't care.
My suggestions were:
Polythene Pam (although as Mum pointed out she's so good looking but she looks like a man - and there's something about jack boots and kilt going on too. Not a very flattering look)
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ( we thought everyone would do this though)
Paperback Writer? (You could pick a famous writer, see, and go as them)
Her Majesty? (either Maj herself or some other Queen)
A chauffeur (from Baby you can drive my car?)
Lady Madonna (either by tying children to her feet - ahem- or perhaps a Ciccone stye get up?)
There's a whole cast of people in Penny Lane to be plundered... or some circus freaks from Serjeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Her friends had already picked out Desmond and Molly from a market stall.
Anyway the upshot was she went thus:
Yeah
And she don't care.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Special report from St Ives
Once again, the splendid silliness of St Ives’s New Year festivities brought a tear to this fancy dresser’s eye.
Cornish people being impervious to driving winds, lashing rain and unsatisfactory fireworks in their pursuit of a knees-up, the fancily dressed crowds again fell upon the coastal paths in their droves to parade in a magnificent display of costumery
(Reportedly slightly smaller droves than in years past but it looked pretty busy from where I was standing).
And once again I dreamed of my little fancy dressing emporium only to watch thousands of impressive home made costumes troop past, a testament to unnecessity being the stepmother of invention:
As I mentioned, the Cornish are hardy folk and so able to brave the January nights clad in a tutu and a comedy wig, but attendants from more weakly stock need to focus on costumes that integrate warmth, waterproofing and imaginative theming. Notable success in this field:
(that last one is me)
At New Year in St Ives, people seek out strangers, feed them hot toddies, sling an arm around their shoulders and sing songs.
It’s difficult to know if this unusually sociable crowd is the result of the costumes, the cider or the bonhomie engendered by leaving London. A key moment for the meeting of minds might be, for example – finding your brother/sister-in-costume:
Being especially impressed with an outfit passing by: (look! Its the Invisible man!)
Identifying the costume (these are actually terracotta warriors, a triumph in cardboard knitting if not necessarily in verisimilitude)
Or Zombie attack:
So the advice from me for St Ives is to find yourself a costume with interactive potential as well as warmth and head coverage:
• Santa Claus (although beware the fact that this is a FAMILY event and try not to ruin the dreams of thousands of small people with your drinking/ smoking/ vomiting antics)
• Bobsleigh/ Slalom team
• Queen’s Guard
Cornish people being impervious to driving winds, lashing rain and unsatisfactory fireworks in their pursuit of a knees-up, the fancily dressed crowds again fell upon the coastal paths in their droves to parade in a magnificent display of costumery
(Reportedly slightly smaller droves than in years past but it looked pretty busy from where I was standing).
And once again I dreamed of my little fancy dressing emporium only to watch thousands of impressive home made costumes troop past, a testament to unnecessity being the stepmother of invention:
As I mentioned, the Cornish are hardy folk and so able to brave the January nights clad in a tutu and a comedy wig, but attendants from more weakly stock need to focus on costumes that integrate warmth, waterproofing and imaginative theming. Notable success in this field:
(that last one is me)
At New Year in St Ives, people seek out strangers, feed them hot toddies, sling an arm around their shoulders and sing songs.
It’s difficult to know if this unusually sociable crowd is the result of the costumes, the cider or the bonhomie engendered by leaving London. A key moment for the meeting of minds might be, for example – finding your brother/sister-in-costume:
Being especially impressed with an outfit passing by: (look! Its the Invisible man!)
Identifying the costume (these are actually terracotta warriors, a triumph in cardboard knitting if not necessarily in verisimilitude)
Or Zombie attack:
So the advice from me for St Ives is to find yourself a costume with interactive potential as well as warmth and head coverage:• Santa Claus (although beware the fact that this is a FAMILY event and try not to ruin the dreams of thousands of small people with your drinking/ smoking/ vomiting antics)
• Bobsleigh/ Slalom team
• Queen’s Guard
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