BURLESQUE NEW YEAR EXTRAVAGANZA

Happy New Year!
For the third time on this blog actually.
Two Years ago the evening was spent in Amsterdam, last year it was dinner in a red dress among friends and this year Tinkerbell, Lola M & I from the Itty Bitty Tease Cabaret as well as my beloved E. are on our way to Tampere to do a show tonight among other burlesque belles such as mimi de Frou Frou, Marie la Mint and Sugar Kane. New Year Burlesque Extravaganza!





Photos by Frej Linna

See you there and if not, have a great night!

A NEW PAIR OF PARIKKA'S

I think one should always be happy about and appreciate every single gift and present one gets, but when your boyfriend gives you a pair of Parikka's for Christmas it's OK to be a little bit more happy about that than all the rest.

I originally got a pair of red booties but they were a bit too big and the smaller ones out of stock so I changed to these soft pink ones. And that's just as good.

ALLMODERN AALTO GIVEAWAY

Well hello everyone - I hope you all had a nice Christmas with friends and family, a lot to eat and lot's of presents to unwrap. I did. But you know what, about the presents. In most cases - in my case at least - it is more fun to give than to get. So why not top Christmas off with a nice give away? From Allmodern.com! AllModern is a online store carrying furniture and home decor from design brands like Vitra and Alessi for example, as well as some classic Finnish design like Iittala and Artek. Prices vary from afforbable to exclusive.

I am now very happy to announce that one lucky reader will win a Iittala Aalto vase! If you could ever have only one vase it should definitely be this one, as the Aalto vase is such a classic design piece. I think every home should have one - I had one too, a special edition one actually, which I got from my parents for my graduation. My cats broke it within two weeks. A sad story yes, but- back to the good news again: the vase you can win is a classic large clear one, and all you have to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post!

There is one little but however - I'm afraid this contenst is only open for those of my readers living in the US or in Canada. I'm very sorry for that. But I will arrange something small here really soon for everyone everywhere to particiapte in!

The give away will be open until Wednesday Janyuary 6th! And don't forget to leave me your email if you don't have a blog. Good luck!

(Ps. Check out the Klaus Haapaniemi for Iittala Taika series too! Some items are on a discount and very worth getting, I love them myself...)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Last week many posts remained unwritten as I did a lot of running around preparing for the Holidays, doing shows as well as working in a freezing and snow filled harbour. The following days from now on will be the opposite as I'm heading away fro the city and plan to just eat and relax.

The picture is taken by my father in the seventies, it's from our summerhouse. In winter though, obviously. It's the most Christmassy photo I know and I've posted it on my blog a couple of Christmases ago, if you thought it looked familiar.

So you all go on and have a Merry Christmas, and if you don't celebrate it, well, just have a real nice and calm weekend then!

THE ANATOMY OF DRESSING WHEN IT'S REALLY REALLY COLD

It has happened. Real winter. It's really cold here. Minus a lot. Like it should be this time of year.
Only it hasn't been like that for years. But so far so good, we still haven't reached the part when it actually hurts to breathe. (But after a few hours work outside by the sea it hurts by now already I tell you, but I've done worse during past years. Not complaining though. Now that we're getting a white christmas and all).

I'm watching teenage girls and selfaware chicks freeze their behinds off in short jackets and skinny jeans. The sadistic asshole part of me secretly laughs at their vanity (or stupidity, however you want it) and makes me feel so relieved that I don't give a damn anymore in that sense - my first priority is to stay warm. (I saw a girl last weekend, visiting a Christmas outdoor fare, wearing satin peeptoes in the snowstorm. Not even I would go that far even though I may push it with wearing open heels as long as possible). I go for what Underbara Clara calls "The Finnish Winter War Chic". Something that she of course says with a pinch of salt and a whole lot of humor, referring to how Finland pre- WWII resisted the Soviet army with the help of an extremely hard and cold winter. And well with a whole lot o f military strategy too. (Those who know their history might find that slightly ironic since those who have tried to invade Russia or The Soviet failed, conquered by the cold. But this time it was the other way around. Sort of.)

But OK enough on war strategy now, the thing I'm after here is the dressing warm to survive the cold, making it nice with layers of knitted socks and sweaters, scarfs and thick jackets. And keeping warm is of course a strategy of it's own.

So here whe go:
The Anatomy of Dressing Warm When Really Really Cold Outside (& still trying to look good).

Fig.1The thing with layering, not the layering thrifty fashionistas do when they pair dresses tops and cadris, but the one that will keep you from freezing, is to have a lot of them - the layers- keeping tight but not being stuffed or unable to move. That will make you colder actually. You might want to add another pair of socks or leg warmers, and perhaps a long sleeved blouse under that cardi too, depends. (Oh damn it takes so long to get dressed in the morning!)


Fig.2But we're quite not done yet:

Fig.3They say the cold will last for two months still. If that's the case this is what I'll look like everyday for two months then. Versatility, yey!
...Unless I get myself a new winter jacket... (hehe).

CHRISTMAS FLOWERS

I'm wearing birght red and gold Christmas flowers in my hair that I got from Rascal. Aren't they just perfect for the season?


The 'do is a variation and slightly more difficult version of the basic chignon I do with a roll; rolling my hair in pin-curls, fastening them standing, not flat. I normally lay them a little more sideways so that the swirl will show, but this time they are pretty much just rolled straight upwards and fastened. You can make the hair do the other way around too, rolling the curls downwards. That's a fun making-long-hair-short look. But more on that some other time :)

BURLESQUE UPDATES

I'm so busy nowadays I almost forget how to breathe from time to time. But it's a good thing also (not the un-breathing, the busyness) resulting in more than plenty great events and shows coming up:


First of all, we are going to throw a great night at Storyville on Friday! Sotryville is ranked as one of the best jazz clubs in Europe and we will present some new numbers there!

The last Wanted of the year is on Saturday 19th. Sally Vanilla will be our guest star and I will perform a duo with Lola.


On New Years Eve I will load my last ship with my hair pin curled (that's the thing with work like that, it happens every day no matter whan celebration or holiday it is...) and then do my make up in the car while heading from Helsinki to Tampere for the New Year Burlesque Extravaganza. E and I intend to do a lot of swing dancing after the show; Sweet Jeena and her Lazy lions are playing. We've performed with Jeena's rockabilly ensemble some times before, but she also does great swing. A very talented lady indeed.
Get the tickets and dinner cards from Vaudeville Boutique.

And more: Club Wanted will celebrate it's first birthday on January 2nd at a new location, Bar Loose downtown!


Tinkerbell and I will perform in between to great bands on January 5th at Lepakkomies. Look out for the surprise guest!

Together with Sally Vanilla we'll throw in some burlesque-a-go-go to the tunes of the Patsy Walkers on their gig at Loose, January 16th. Plus an not-yet-confirmed but-will-be-great happening in the end of january...

I'm going to try and throw in some celebrating Christmas and a small trip to Oslo in between too. And remember how to breathe.

BRING IT ON

I have bought myself a pair of winter boots.


They feel quite robust compared to what I normally wear so I wasn't sure at first but then again they are winter boots , they are supposed to be a bit heavy. And they're still rather slim on the foot plus have a nice firm heel. Makes me think of old school skiing boots!

I also got myself a pair of warm tweed pants. (Pants! Me! Again! What's going on here? I guess I go both ways now, dresses skirts and pants...).

This makes me pretty well prepared for whatever winter has up it's sleeve this year. So bring it on I say, bring it on.

BLUE & WHITE

I have been asked to do a review on a party outfit by Very.co.uk; theHolly Willoughby contrast dress with cummerbund detail, the Love Label Lavish frill suede platform shoes and the French Connection fabric quilted bag. Well who would say no to that?

Arriving just in time and colour-wise, white and blue, the outfit is perfect for the independence day of Finland, today, December 6th! (Although the color combination actually is white-blue-black, which really makes me dressed up in the colors of Estonia but let's not get picky here. Plus I'm a quarter estonian anyway so...)


The Holly dress is far more fancy than on the pic in the online store! It's a dress for fine occasions. The material feels good. The fit is alright, but I am, as always, between sizes - what fits my behind and does not stretch over the shoulders is once again too big in the waist. I might reach for my sewing machine on this one, but so far it was easily adjusted by taking the waist in with a large sequined safety pin in the back; just folding the belt and fastening. Otherwise I have to admit I think this dress would gain on having the belt removed, or the cummerbund could rather be in horizontal pleats like the tuxedo cummerbund, smoother, more plain. Sometimes less is more, and the waist would appear smaller if it wasn't for the belt.

But sometimes more is more and just right! The shoes are over the top - in a good, delicious way. Very burlesque. I love the blue color! I chose blue since I thought red might be too, hmm, obvious somehow. (And like my boyfriend said, a bit 'too sexy' perhaps.) Plus everybody needs a pair of blue suede shoes, right? These shoes also come in grey which I think would be the most perfect for this dress - and otherwise too - but there are only big sizes left. So if you have bigger feet, go for it! I normally prefer shoes with a slightly thicker heel for the sense of comfort and everyday usage, but these are still alright to wear due to the platform. These will be swell for burlesque nights and shows!

The bag is the exact same color as the shoes! I think most shoulder bags get a fancier look when worn as a clutch so for this outfit I have put the chain strap in the bag.

Now what? The Finnish independence day is quite a serious celebration and no carnival. So fancy dinner and then the president's independence ball on TV.

PS. there is a discount over at Very which lasts tomorrow still; 3 items for the price of 2!

NOVEMBER ROSES

(I'm may be getting bit arty and poetic here now, but - )





it's time to take out the November roses,

and put up the December star.

( I may be one week after schedule but hey, better late than never :)

OFELIA

This weekend it's time for the third Ofelia Market! Like last year I will be modeling in the vintage & hand made items fashion show, this year with the rest of the Itty Bitty Tease Cabaret for Vaudeville Boutique as well as do a light version of our parasol number for Tyra/Punavuoren Putiikki, but on Saturday only. On Sunday I will spend some quality time with E out in the countryside.

IT'S SNEAKING UP ON US...

I was going to write a bunch of stuff about Christmas colours and bla bla bla but I'll skip that, keep it clean and simple : this is what I was wearing today. Very inspired by the season, perfect for drinking glögg. Dry enough, but too cold for the shoes though, as I got to notice later. (I went to my hairdresser today and she commented that I'm obviously not heading to work afterwards :)


The dress is my fourth and last in the series of dresses to easily dress up and down. (Notice how good I am at linking myself here today :P) It's also from Barbara Brown, the only one which did not fit perfectly without some slight altering:

I had to open and take in the seam in the waist a bit since it got strangely puffy there.It was a bit to loose around the shoulders so I added a satin ribbon in the back, tying it into a bow to avoid the dress slipping off. You know I like fixing my dresses with ribbons.

LISA's HAIR ORCHID TUTORIAL

Lisa Freemont Street did a video tutorial of the hair orchid I did for my sister some time ago, but for shorter hair. (And she also gave me a sweet nice puff :)

The orchid turned out beautiful. I'm always happy to see readers try out the styles I've presented!


You can check out more of Lisa's vintage style tutorials on her youtube channel, they are very good.

EDIT : if you're afraid it won't look good with dark hair, add two ribbons to the ponytail, so that you put the elastic around the hair and the ribbons as well,the ribbons folded in half so that the middle of those are where the elastic is; you'll get four pieces of ribbon hanging along your hair. Grab one of these for each upper roll, making sure it shows in the curl. Let the last two ribbons join the lower bigger roll. That way you'll get some contrast to your dark curls. This should be a nice add to light and red hair to, of course!

NEW SHOES

Oh the thrill of opening up that fresh box of shoes that's just arrived.
You know I love it, as seen before!


Exciting...

Ta-taa!


Ehh... what?
Hehe. I just had to. I can't be too serious here all the time now can I.
And these really are new shoes of mine you know. Workwear boots for the harbour.

You can't really beat workwear boots when it comes to keeping warm and having you feet feel, well, stable. Sometimes if the weather's real shitty I put my heels in my bag and let my boots take me home from work.

DRESS IT UP, DRESS IT DOWN

I started something of a project this fall as I noticed that I own many summer dresses, party dresses, fancy dresses...All in all: I own a lot of dresses. But I also realized I actually have quite few day dresses for colder seasons; the project being to rationalize my wardrobe. (well slightly at least, you can't be too rational when it comes to dresses).

First of all - get rid of things I never use (hence my other blog - a very slow project), second - collect a set of practical, pretty and versatile dresses, suitable for everyday wear; dresses that's easy to dress up as well as dress down. Basically you of course could dress any gown down but it is also a question of weather one want's to wear (as in wear out) that silk dress on a basic Tuesday or not.

Now I know for some ladies such a thing as a day dress does not exist as any dress will feel and appear fancy enough, if one is not used to wearing them, but for me (as well as most of you know I guess) that's not the case.

So far only half of my project has been successful as it seems to take a some time to reduce my wardrobe (it's moving forward though, I will put up some more things for auctioning soon), but I have managed (surprise surprise) to collect some dresses that will go for almost whenever, wherever; the cherry dress being one of them for example, the brown one another.

And here's a third!

Easily dressed up by wearing thinner stockings, matching the shoes, adding only a few but fancy accessories, making a nice do.


The outfit dressed down - thicker stockings, basic cardigan, less fancy accessories, less fancy hair.

(The dress is ModCloth and it's the smallest Large I've ever worn. Must have been designed by real tiny people.)

FRIDAY RAINBOW IN THE HARBOR

It has been raining here so mcuch lately that it apparently has to rain even when the sun is shining. But at least you get pretty rainbows that way. (And apparently the divers who are fixing the dock from underneath should've found a big bunch of gold.)

JUST BECAUSE IT'S RAINING IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T WEAR FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR

An easy way to make a 'do is to pull your curled hair back in some sections and use decorated combs to make it all stay in place. My cherry combs are made by darling Rascal.

PRETTY THINGS

Even though I am trying to reduce the amount of stuff I consume and gather upon me around my home and even though I in the end acatually wear quite few accessories - apart from scarves and hair such - I do love those pretty things one can decorate oneself with. If not always to wear, just to look at and admire.

Last year I wrote about soft packages. This year Santa can bring me some small and slightly harder ones.


A few of the pretty thigs to be found online from some talented readers of mine:
-Lovely knitted headbands and pom pom shoe clips from Frollein von Sofa
-Delicious rose shaped ring from Morado on Etsy
-Feathered and bowed cluthces from LouLou Bontemps.
The bicycle necklace is from ModCloth.

IT'S GETTING DARKER BUT AT LEAST IT'S NOT THAT COLD.

Well hello global warming! I'm wearng my September jacket in November.

I've stumbled across warm weather in blogs lately as it seems to be especially warm for the season everywhere. But where bloggers in the norther part of the US blog about sunshine in something that almost resembles a very late indian summer and middle European girls enjoy nice warm autumn days at + 15 C, a mild November over here means +7 and rain. Sunshine or not, it gets dark a bit over 15 o'clock here already. And it will get darker for one moth still. Yey.

Everything I'm wearing is vintage except for the shoes (which btw are much comfier by now :)

SUNDAY EVENING SOFTNESS AND SUCH

CHERRY DRESS

Today I crawled out of bed to go to my father's birthday lunch and now I'm making myself ready to go and perform at Club Wanted, as well as to check out the bands and our guest star for the night; Mimi de Frou Frou.

I'm being smart and bit lazy in the same time and will wear the same dress for both occasions, only change to darker lips, lighter stockings and red heels and let the locks out for the evening. I had my hair pin curled under the beret the wole day so I'm about to open up some huge locks now. (I figured a beret works better to wear to a restaurant than the scarf I normally roll around my head to keep my curls in place. I wear a beret that's big and loose enough to fit standing pin curls on the top of the head, although they do get a bit flat of course :)

My cherry dress is as comfy as it's lovely and it's from Big Beautiful Barbara Brown.

SWEET TEETH

The mail man dropped something very nice through the mail drop this morning; my Milk Toof book I had ordered not that long ago but almost forgot about already! Which of course made me very happy since I've been in love with these small theeth a long time.
Oh ♥









If some of you are not familiar with My Milk Toof yet, I suggest you take your time and browse trough the whole site. You'll love it! It's the sweetest blog I know. The book is sold out by now though, but I'm happy I was there in time to get myself a copy.

SOUP

I'm sick at home with a flu and alone so today there's no dressing up. Instead I'm making soup - a broccoli and lentil soup that I once tried out from scratch and turned out surprisingly good and has worked well ever since.

You'll need green lentils, broccoli, cooking cream and spices of your own preference. I've started to freak out over natrium glutamate so I'm not adding any stock cubes for taste, rather some garlic and bits of chopped onion, gourmet salt, pepper and a hint of chili. I prefer to use ecological vegetable cooking cream since it's additive free. I'm trying to be more concious about these things (and every now and then I actually succeed to be).

First, rinse about half a coffee cup of lentils and place them in cold water with the onions (or stock cube) and heat up.



Add the rinsed and slightly chopped broccoli when the lentils have gone soft. I actually use quite little water; it heats up faster and rather steams the broccoli than cooks it, that saves more vitamins. And no need to pour the boiling water away either. Cook under a lid until the broccoli is soft.



Add about one cup of cooking cream. Heat up and use a mixer/blender to mash it into a smooth puree.



Sprinkle on some pepper and whatever else you feel like, chopped herbs or such, and serve!

Since I'm slightly obsessed with not having a too monotonic colour sheme on my plate I have my green soup with a tomato sandwhich (on roasted rye bread with tahini) and some pineapple juice (which I normally only have for breakfast but hey, I'm ill). And mango sorbet for dessert. (Not so bad being sick in some aspects no :)

And believe it or not, my little carnivore Lulu enjoyed what was let of the soup. Who would've thought!

THE HAIR ORCHID

Hairdo #5:


Some weekends ago my youngest sister V popped by my harbor salon to get her hair and make up done for a student ball (in other words, I took a break from the loadig and turned my office in to a temporary studio ).

My sister is not in to vintage but her long gown had a 30's cut and vibe to it so I made her something timeless but still slightly inspired from that era; a orchid shaped bun on one side of the head and the hair in front laid into and S-shaped curl resembling a marcel wave.

You can do this in six rather easy steps:

1) Part your hair on the side of your head. If your hair is damp start in good time by separating the front section of hair and comb the rest into a ponytail or such at the side of your head. Add some gel or serum, depending on what you prefer, to the front and pin it into a S-shaped wave along the side of your head. Wait for it to dry. If you start off with dry hair you'll just make the curl with an iron and pin it when the rest is done.

2) Add some mousse and curl the edges of you hair.

3) Comb your hair to the side and fasten it into a ponytail just behind your ear. If you had your front section pinned wet carefully loosen the lower pins to make the ponytail sleek to the other side.

4) Part the ponytail in three sections; two smaller ones on top and one big at the bottom. Roll them around two fingers, the upper ones upwards and the lower one downwards, fasten them with a couple of pins inside the rolls. Try to hide the pins as well as you can but be careful not to make the roll loose or frizzy while you do so. Spray.

5) Secure the curl in front; if you started out with damp hair it should stay in shape pretty well; you can remove the pins but keep/add one to the bottom of the curl to secure it. If you curled it with an iron, re-shape it a bit against your head and pin it in place. In both cases, press the curl gently towards your head and spray.

6) Add an orchid (or some other flower or decoration, a feathered pin perhaps?) in the middle of the bun to cover up the snood of the ponytail possibly showing in between. I used a synthetic flower without any hairpin attached to it, that I just stuck in the bun. I secured it with one pin I tucked in from the inside of one of the rolls.

Then just on with your heels and (fake-)fur boa and head for the ball!