I'm not feeling remotely blue, but the dresses of choice have been just that this weekend.
Left; 1970s Shubette maxi dress - vintage fair
Right; 1960s Sherman of London maxi dress - Ebay
Kimono jacket - charity shopped
Sandals - retail
Yesterday was busy, full of lots of lovely things.
Sheffield city centre skyline.
I was in town checking this out;
a sale in the costume department at the Crucible Theatre.
If you fancied stroking Kenneth Branagh's coat or sniffing Joseph Fiennes' waistcoat, you could do so. Or even buy them, if you had the cash.
(Only Brits of a certain age will remember Sheffield's own Marti Caine.)
I enjoyed browsing. If they had been selling off any of the Victorian street girl costumes from the production of Oliver! I went to see, I would have snatched their hand off, but alas...
three dresses. Much cheaper (£4 each).
She looks delighted, doesn't she?
Next stop; Heeley Festival.
Always a joy (if the weather plays nice); we meet friends, buy sweets from our friend Zander, peruse the produce...
lounge about in the sunshine...
admire the view...
meet the animals at Heeley City Farm...
delight in the fact that knitting can be a Force for Good...
...and enjoy the blue-skied vibe.
And finally; a meal out at Thyme Cafe to celebrate my birthday. A little early, but Claudia is away at a Scout camp next weekend, so it was now or never.
Waiting for the bus.
After a few more glasses of pink fizz, the photos degenerated...
but hey, if you can't pull faces with your kids on your almost-50th birthday night out, when can you?
And that, my friends, is that.
Oh, and thanks for sharing my righteous indignation at Vix being passed over for that award; and for expressing a little outrage on my behalf too. I probably make it sound as though people are rude to me and insult my clothes all the time; they really don't (and it's balanced up with compliments too) but I like to tell you when it happens because it makes me laugh!
Hope your weekends have been full and happy.
xxxx
49 comments:
Hello Curtise,
Well we are happy to know that blue is only the colour of your frocks rather than your mood. Indeed, it looks to us as if a very jolly time was enjoyed by all this weekend.
We should definitely have been in the queue for the costume sale. And, what fabulous purchases you made. The black sequinned number we could kill for!
On our recent visit to Pisa we went to a costume collection which is housed in aVilla which is curated by a friend. It is all so amazing to touch the garments once worn by opera stars.........we imagined the most fantastic of fancy dress parties. Now, that is an idea.....
I'm liking this blue mood of yours, the deep blue dress is especially striking. How interesting to be able to riffle through the Crucible costumes, but 200 quid for Bergerac's breeches...no ta. Three £4 frocks, that's more like it and what a fab neckline on the b&w one. Heeley Festival looks fun and so does your meal out. What is that delicious looking pud? Loving the Owen and Charles Hawtrey shot. Is that Miscanthus Zebrinus I spy on your doorstep?
Must go and paint my toenails now, thanks for reminding me. xxxx
Well your indignation was pretty justified I thought! That royal blue maxi with the angel sleeves is super on you! I'd be all over a costume sale from a theatre but gosh they are pricey. The Heeley festival looks like fun!
I have met the lovely Zander at a friend's house when I was visiting in spring, and she told me about his sweets. I don't know how but I forgot to look it up! Heading over the Zander's Sweet Delights now to stock up on some festival treats... pistachio toffee, or perhaps chocolate and chilli caramels....or some Sheffield Delight!!! Good grief, thank you for the post. I think!
I don't understand theatre's selling their costume stock. One of the reason's you have stock is so you can use it again and save money! Oh, well. I do like that green dress you bought.
Oh Blue Skies. Sunny Days. Your endless supply of gorgeous maxis and fun fairs boggles the mind. Your children are such beautiful flowers. Just like their Mom. XXXXXOOOOO
What a lovely post and a lovely time. I do love a costume sale.When I was at drama college, we used to get stuff for our department that way...nothing as grand as Diana Riggs costume though. I haven't been to one in years and had I been with you, you'd have had to stop me chewing on John Simm's costume!
I loved Marti Caine. I met her in Blackpool when I was a kid and she was lovely. I forgot she did a turn in Funny Girl.
Whilst I can just see in a Victorian street girl costume doing the Oompah,that floral maxi you nabbed is a stunner. Just like you.
xxxxx
Jolly good finds and how exciting to see those costumes!!! Love the grumpy daughter and the blue frocks. You sound like you have lots of fun x
What a wonderful weekend! I love blue on you and that first dress is absolutely gorgeous. Those sleeves!
great weekend!
your kids are so cute and stylish - sequins anyone?
:-)
fab finds at the theater sale. and the costumes once worn by the stars... so special.
pretty blue dresses!
xxxx
Etno, boho and beautiful family day - I like it :)
Happy nearly 50th lovely lady - I'm not far behind you. i'm assuming the school nurse will be popping round with a leaflet any time soon right? xxxxx
Spend a lot of time looking at blue, the colour of my room and my mood..... Sorry your post had me singing! Not a pretty sound. You look amazing as ever. Your dresses are fab. Where do you find such a stream of treasures? Amazing weekend photos. Lovely times and lovely family. The girls are very like you. Happy almost birthday to you (& your painting in the attic). Xxxx
Where to begin? Love your dresses - they are always beautiful and colorful, and I am always amazed at the variety and prices you can find so easily at your shops and festivals! I am yet to discover how the vintage market works here, but it seems it's a very different scene...
The facial expression seems so familiar these days - our daughters only about a year apart (mine will be 12 in January). How do you take it?
The costume sale is amazing! I'd love to see one and who knows even snap a bit of theater history some day. :)
The city skyline... oh that one is capturing! It could be a beginning of a fairy tale... The oldest place I ever lived was founded in 1700s, not that old for European or Asian standards. I can't even imagine how it feels to live in an ancient place where a church can be 1000 years old, and a skyline has such gorgeous towers... Well, yes, I can imagine and even write about it. :)
The family celebration seems so lovely! You are good at making faces. No wonder you were a drama student! :) Kids are growing, I notice especially Nina. She looks a lot like you on one of photos.
Lovely post and beautiful photos - as always, Curtise! xxxxx
Oooo I loved Martin Caine! She had the best hair and frocks ever!
Not a a patch on you though chuck x
Wool Against Weapons - sign me up, I may even learn to knit for that. Happy pre-birthday and thanks for sharing the lovely events with us. I might like to tickle Joseph Fiennes around the waistcoat, thankyouverymuch. xox
What a great weekend you had ... and the weather played nice too ... which is always a bonus.
Love your blue dresses ... Blue is the hue for you ;0)
xx
What a lovely weekend! You look gorgeous in that rich blue.
Looks like you had a lovely day with your family, glad you had great weather! :)
That intense blue suits you well! And those lovely, flattering, comfortable capelette sleeves fit you exactly where they should. (Some of us appear to be wearing Vienna Boys Choir cast offs when we attempt the "angel wing" thing...)
Oh oh oh you look amazing and splendiferous in that bright blue. I love the style of that 70s maxi too, with the fluttery sleeves and empire waist. I think I had a very similar dress when I was a little girl. If I didn't like you so much I would totally knock you on the head and steal that dress. I love the white dress with black flower design too, as I am really into black and white at the moment. I have no idea how that happened.
Your kidlets are so adorable. It looks like it was a great weekend and a very lovely early birthday celebration.
xoxoxo
Boring fact. I met Marti Caine once.
Looks like a fab pre birthday weekend. Always fun to extend the fun over as many days as poss.
What a wonderful weekend you all had ! gorgeous dresses you were wearing love the colour blue on you Curtise !, have a good week xxx.
Such gorgeous photographs as always, I do love the Shubette dress <3
Your children are gorgeous and you've all had such a wonderful weekend.
lovely to see everyone out and about enjoying this stunning weather xx
What pretty dresses! I often find myself wearing the same colours in blocks (makes laundry easier, hehe!). It looks like you had oodles of fun xxx
Oooh, a costume sale. You were very restrained in your spending, and came home with some beautiful items.
From about the age of six, children somehow manage to look perpetually bored in photographs (even when they are clearly not). Glad you were able to elicit some silly faces from them before they become too self-conscious to oblige you.
Your dresses always have the best sleeves and necklines, and these are no exception. AND, whatever you're doing with your hair, keep doing it because NO One (and I mean, NO ONE) looks that good in summer. Like you just stepped out from the pages of a magazine good.
Let the partying commence - its never too early!
looking resplendant in blue. The Shubette and the Sherman fit ya gorgeously.
The costume sale sounds evry exciting and you picked up some right bargains. Can't believe John Nettles pants are worth more than the lovely Joseph Fiennes's!
Is it the townie in me that yells SHEEPS! everytime I see one, travelling with me is a laugh a minute, I tell you.
The night out looks wonderful fun, did you slip some gin in the kids' juices, they'll looking rather merry?
Love you! xxxxxxxx
I've never heard of a costume sale. What fun. Your new dresses look lovely. And so bargainous!
Love the pics of the kids. Did you conciously make them all wear blue too?
xxxx
A costume sale! What fun. Love the floral maxi you picked up.
Looks like a lovely weekend.
A big early birthday hug and wish before the big five oh.
bisous
Suzanne
Wasn't Marti Caine fabulous! I adored that woman! and adore your blue dresses too, obviously! I think I would have passed out with joy at a sale in any costume department and been totally inappropriate and sniffed the clothes too, ha! your bargain-liscious bundle is pretty damn fine though, £4 frocks? hell yeah! excellent weekend of fun, love all the pics of your gorgeous bunch! silly pics with family are always the best! x x x
Those are great collages! And a theater costume sale is something I would have never thought about on my own. But how logical! That must have been so much fun.
Blue is a great color on your by the way. ;)
Oh, and I just bought a vintage kimono pattern on Etsy. I'm going to sew up a million of them! But you know what my problem is? Finding fabrics that I like. The fabric stores here suck and everything in it looks like what you see in the cheap stores. There's hardly anything truly unique.
Oh to go and stroke a costume or two.....
How I love the unimpressed faces your daughter can pull. x x
everything look so fun and sunny and did i say fun???
Brett
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!!!!!!!!!! Hope your celebration was fabulous. Looked like fun!! The children are getting so big!! Littlest is not so little any more. Your blue dresses are gorgeous, and as always you wear them to perfection.
Thank you for posting a bit of your world. It makes me happy to glimpse something beyond my minuscule reality.
I posted something on Taxonomy of My Wardrobe about Vix and the so-called contest. Needless to say, I'm disappointed but not surprised that commercialism reigned yet again. All the more reason to say to hell with it. WE know what the deal is and who's truly authentic.
XXOO
A Shubette, a Sherman, a festival, and kids that manage to stay within the picture frame long enough to push the shutter, no matter what their expressions may be. I love all your costume sale finds. And you look gorgeous in blue. Happy pre-birthday. I raise a glass to you as a warm-up for the real deal.
I want both of these blue beauties in my closet! You look friggin amazing and all on the approach of your birthday! These pictures are filled with the best bits of summer. The costume display is intriguing but the prices not so much. Your family looks amused as always and I do think they would be silly fun to hang with.
Loveyalots
Xxxxooo
Kicking your birthday week off in style! What a lovely way to spend a Saturday, all those goodies and that costume sale! How restrained you were, but love the great dresses you bought. Love those blue dresses too, more angel sleeves!! xxx
That Shubette dress - what an amazing shade of blue! And I love the embroidery detail. Looks like you had a fun weekend.
I love your kids. Real chips off the (not so) old block. Enjoy your celebrations. X
such a fabulous pair of blue dresses, lovely floral details and prints!. I would be enthusiastic for weeks if I could attend a costume sale like that!!, amazing!
Your children look really funny people, and that's Great!
besos & festivals
It's too bad the costumes were not so expensive - I would like to stroke Kenneth Branaugh's jacket ;) The dresses you found look quite pretty.
The Heeley festival looks like fun - how can you not enjoy a festival with food AND farm animals. I think it's so nice that the kids will still pull faces with you and be silly.
I've been trying to get a package to you in the mail for a week now, and there's no way it's going to reach you for your birthday, dammit!
You really know how to live. This post is the perfect example of how you enjoy beauty, your family and the art of outfits. Happy Birthday a bit early and I hope you celebrate for at least a month.
I didn't realise that they had this kind of a sale at the Crucible - I would have loved a good rummage! It was a great weekend for being out and about in Sheffield - I wish the weather would stay hot until the end of October x
It looks like you had the perfect weekend Curtise. Clothes shopping, exploring and eating is definitely my idea of fun.
Well done on finding some super bargains! Have a lovely weekend xxx
Here I am, again, last and least, damn it. I SWEAR I wrote you a note saying how gorgeous you look in blue and that no one wears a maxi like you and that you did a fabulous job for Vix and that she did, indeed, get robbed. And how lovely the kids look, and what a fine time must have been had by all and Happy-Happy-Happy Birthday to you.
Well, there it is again. Better late than never, but better never late. Rats.
Your collection of vintage maxi dresses is most enviable and rivals Vix's! I love the '70s blue number, I have a soft spot for cape sleeves whether they're '70s or '30s. Sounds like you've been having a lot of fun x
Oh yeah, I remember Marti Caine. She was a trooper. Beautiful red hair just like you. I do love that blue dress with the angel sleeves and the embroidery. You look gorgeous in it and it's the perfect choice for a pre-birthday dinner. That costume sale sounds fascinating, if a bit rich for my blood. Pulling faces is a great hobby, i hope it never goes out of fashion. Claudia does disdain better than anyone I know, respect to that girl! Xxxxx
I always love to see your adventures! That festival looks like a lot of fun, and those farm animals, are just too cute. those little lambies are adorable with the pink ears too!
And, so nice to see you out having a wonderful time with your lovely family! The pulled faces are great, love seeing the children enjoying themselves too!
So much fun to see those costumes too. Wow your hands have been where Joseph's bum was, only one degree of separation, huba huba!;)
And, we were just shopping a saw a floral dress that reminded us of you and said hey that's a Curtise dress, sadly it was a bit too big for ya. But, it was like you were there with us.:)
Beautiful blue dresses and that festival looks fun! Love the family pics :)
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