December 23, 2024
Chicago 12, Melborne City, USA
Fashion & Beauty

The Place to Be for A Very Vintage Halloween

This post is both a cry for help and an event alert.

Halloween is approaching at a disturbingly fast rate of knots. On Friday I wrote about 10 things to do for a vintage Halloween and number 3 was to book tickets for Don’t Dali with the Devil at The Fox, 28 Paul Street, Shoreditch.

I have made the decision to head down to London for Halloween based on 2 things. One is the disturbing shortage of interesting Halloween events for adults in my area this year (sorely tempted to organise one myself next year!) and the other is the fabulous evening of entertainment being laid on which includes Halloween games, live music from the Flying Aces, dirty poetry readings, and, more importantly, free absinth between 8:30-9:30pm.

Yes, you heard me, FREE ABSINTH. And subsidised cocktails all night. If you happen to be free on Halloween please do come and join me, I’d really love to see you there! Tickets are Ā£10 in advance here and on the off chance they’re not sold out they can be purchased on the door for Ā£12, but I’d recommend you reserve early!

If you see me come and up say hello so I can get all over excited and squealy like a big girl.

Anyway, onto the cry for help.

WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO WEAR?

Yes I do need to shout actually. The theme is surrealist (hence “Dali” in the name) and the dress code reads:

“Anything goes, as long as it’s peculiar and old-fashioned! Victorian Steampunks, WWI soldiers and aviators,
Cabaret Voltaire performers, Dadaists, surreal artists & their muses, elegant & otherworldly creatures.
Vintage outfits from the 1920s to the 1960s are all welcome.”


Artists may have their muses, but my fancy dress muse has sadly abandoned me. I could be a vampire, a witch, an evil nurse or any of the old fall backs. But I fancy something more imaginative.

So people, I am appealing to your wonderous imaginations. Give me your surreal and wonderous vintage fancy dress ideas. Link me up to pictures and provide me with inspiration. Preferably something I can fling together for under Ā£30 in a fortnight. Much as I’d like to wear a fabulous slinky 1930s gown, I don’t have one. *sob*

My wardrobe is in your hands!

16 Comments

  • Fiona - Notorious Kitsch October 18, 2010

    my powers of imagination have temporarily escaped me, sorry if I think of something I’ll let you know.

    Sadly I won’t be there, I’m not driving on my birthday this is unheard of ;o) Instead I shall be partaking of cocktails with friend and hubby, and a nice meal!

    • Retro Chick October 18, 2010

      Is your birthday the 30th or the 31st? Are you a witch? šŸ˜‰

  • Fashion Limbo October 18, 2010

    ok, seriously brainstorming here and see what comes up … as it’s surrealist I’m thinking Dali, and also Magritte…the absurdity of some paintings, use of animals as people…how about, you dress like a cat, cat make up, cat ears, but then wear one of your lovely dresses, a cat dressed like a lady in a vintage dress, or if you have a suit, a cat dressed in a suit, very business like… I don’t know something about twisting and reversing roles…what do you think?

    I wish I had a halloween party to go to, but no friends in this country I live and the people I know are too boring to do anything fun. I may carve some pumpkins just for fun, make some nice pumpkin soup to lift my spirits šŸ˜‰

    • Retro Chick October 19, 2010

      I like this, it’s a good idea, I’ll put some thought into how I could do it justice. Hmm…..

      P.S. Pumpkin soup, yum!

  • Emma Cossey October 18, 2010

    Possibly completely the wrong direction here, but how about Mary Poppins (carpet bag and a beehive) or Samantha from Bewiched (nipped in dress and a wiggle of the nose)? They’re both witchy, but stylish too.

    • Retro Chick October 19, 2010

      I quite fancy Mary Poppins actually!

      Again I’ll have to look at wher I can get a good costume from, I’m dead fussy :o)

  • LandGirl1980 October 18, 2010

    I am not that clued up on Dali – apart from the melting clocks. What about a dress covered in time pieces? Stiched or real?

    Or – thinking along the lines of WW1 a VAD nurse? Think Vera Brittain? http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VwPzfj0aeIg/S65UPCL3jcI/AAAAAAAABBY/frdRAuTLKhA/s1600/Vera+Brittain.jpg

    No -reading them back I can see their both pants. Scrap them. This is why I’m not going – no imagination.

    I like the cat idea from Fashion Limbo. Go with that šŸ™‚

    • Retro Chick October 19, 2010

      The WWI nurse is brilliant. I could go as Edith Cavell, she’s local to me, and she was shot as a spy.

      I could go complete with gunshot wounds….

      • LandGirl1980 October 20, 2010

        Indeed shen was and you could!! Most excellent šŸ™‚ I cannot wait to see what you decide on and to see the pics in general!

  • Ang October 18, 2010

    I am certain you could find inspiration in the work of Madame Yevonde’s Goddess portraits! Perfect for the event and possibly fairly easy to re-create….

    http://www.westward.iofm.net/image2.htm

    Have fun!

    • Retro Chick October 19, 2010

      These are brilliant!

      Fantastic inspiration!

  • Ang October 18, 2010

    maybe your bots hate links? trying again, I guess you’ll have to google her…..I wanted to give you the suggestion to dig through the photos of madame yevonde….her surrealist portraits “the Goddesses” are fodder for some serious inspiration!

  • Mim October 19, 2010

    Elizabeth 1 was painted with dresses covered in eyes and ears – perhaps you could take a tip from that and have a dress with eyes on instead of polkadots, or perhaps wear a plastic lobster instead of a hat/fascinator? (I have a vague recollection of Isabella Blow doing something similar to that, or it may be my memory playing tricks)

    • Retro Chick October 19, 2010

      I did think about the Lobster hat actually, you recall correctly!

  • Minna October 19, 2010

    I did think about going as Wilma from the flintstones, complete with nipped in leopard print dress and big fifties style rolled hair.

    Minn x

    • Retro Chick October 19, 2010

      You would look absolutely FAB like that!

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