Happy New Year's Eve

The end of the decade is about to hit.

Can you remember where you were ten years ago? The ultimate in era-transcending milestones, ten years ago was the turn of the millennium, not just the slightly-pathetic-in-comparison end of a decade.

I was in the town on Goettingen, Germany, living with a strange family for six weeks on what was touted as a "language exchange program." I like to imagine that the vegetarian tofu-sausage and sauerkraut-eating Hoffmann family found me a complete breeze as a houseguest, and that they were the eccentrics. To my credit, when my host-sister Lena had stayed with my family in July of that year, her parents had separated in the six-week period she was in Australia. Understandably this wasn't an ideal situation, and when I arrived in her home I found that the parents were co-habiting during the weekend, but the mum had taken up with her lover from Monday to Friday. (Their adherence to this offbeat schedule still leaves me pondering the Germanic dedication to timetables.)

The conversations around how to spend the turn of the millennium were fraught with both language challenges and teenage angst. Where were my Australian compatriots going? Was that attractive Kangol beret-wearing boy in town for the evening, or visiting friends in Berlin? Was loud music and dancing a prerequisite for having a good time, or the opportunity to attempt conversation with a strange yet mysterious drunken teen? Were we tempted by the undeniably cultural experience of the local rave, or something more intimate at the local youth club?

The loyalties to our hosts were complex: was I morally obliged to follow my host-sister to whatever party she wanted to go to, just because she was unselfishly offering me a bed and excessive amounts of non-alcoholic beer? I even contemplated the ultimate exchange program betrayal: spending the night with only English-speakers at the local Irish Pub.

We ended up at the rave, hosted by the university’s student body. The stroke of midnight found me searching for some fireworks we had hidden in the bushes near the venue, having spent hours wandering between dance halls with an Australian girl called Bronwyn. We didn't find ourselves any local German boys who wanted to practice their English skills to the frenetic beat of the DJ, and the night's anticlimactic ending foreshadowed many a New Year's Eve over the next decade. 

This year I'm in Western Australia for New Year's Eve, and planning a placid BBQ by the Swan River. Miles dragged me out to the supermarket this morning to get all the necessary accoutrements, and we are all set for a grown-up evening of sauvignon blanc, cheese and man-cooked meat. (And did I have you fooled that I was still in my 20s?!)

I am so pleased that I no longer drink alcohol out of white plastic cordial cups, and don’t have to hunt down a man to pash as the clock strikes twelve. Forgive me for sounding senile, but it’s pleasant not to be a teenager anymore. Instead, I’ll probably be freezing my buttocks off and getting eaten alive my mosquitoes.

Cheers, Prost to the Germans, and enjoy tonight, wherever you are, even if you have white plastic cups.

Photo of Perth CBD across the Swan River, 
from Australian Majestic Tours.

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A Merry Christmas Vintage Dress

This is just a super quick post, to say Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone.

I'm heading back to Western Australia for ten days to visit my family, and (shock, horror) am not taking my laptop home with me. I'm hoping my iPhone will offer me the bare minimum connectivity that I require to survive, and if absolutely necessary I can steal into my sister's room and potter around on her lovely MacBook for a while to get a hit.

I'll leave you with a few photos of the dress I wore to my work Christmas Party earlier this week. It was one of the  dresses I purchased from Golden Palomino Vintage's Queen Victoria Night Market stall, but then needed to have the hem taken up.

  

Don't you just love the oversized covered buttons?

Have a safe, happy holiday spending time with those you love.

See you in the New Year!

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Doggy street art in North Melbourne

I spent much of yesterday afternoon in North Melbourne at a friend's pre-Christmas BBQ.

On my way, I spotted this small, unassuming piece of street art:

I couldn't help but think how lovely it was that someone had gone to the effort of engaging passers-bys with such a charismatic illustration. It's located on suburban Melrose Street, which doesn't even attract much foot traffic as far as I can tell.

Have you got any examples of unexpected street graffiti? There are some fabulous examples on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy that I've seen before, and I remember seeing some crazy artistic installations in Berlin when I lived there.

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Weather-related objects of interest

Melbournians love to talk about the weather almost as much as the British. There are enough dramatic changes in the mercury within the space of a day to warrant such discussions, one could argue. I, for one, partake quite willingly - after spending much of my childhood in Perth, where the weather is consistently electrifyingly bright, warm and breezy, Melbourne offers more variety of the meteorological kind that you can poke a stick at.

Yesterday was a brief blip of extreme heat, with today's temperature dropping back down to 22 degrees. As mentioned in a previous post, I recently purchased an Original Boston Umbrella in Snow Leopard print. I couldn't find a picture in the exact colour, but this is the tan version:

Unfortunately, I left it at home today, just when I have blow-dried my hair in preparation for the NuffNang Bloggers Christmas Party this evening.

During the hot weather last month, Miles found this temperature-adjusting mattress on Forbes' Find of the Day. According to their website, they also ship internationally. I can imagine this would be a lifesaver during the stinking hot summer nights when it doesn't drop below 28 degrees.

For those who are as obsessed with the weather as I am, you can track the inexorable rising temperature on a hot day at this super-nifty website, run by Andrew Watkins at the University of Melbourne's School of Earth Sciences. You can even look back over past days and weeks and view the changing temperature over time.

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How my route to work reflects my new life

Previously, when I worked in the Melbourne CBD, I used to walk past all manner of high-end retailers on my way to the Paris-end of Collins Street.

Now I work in Richmond and walk past the following sites every morning. This despondent-looking doorway harks back to the era when the rag trade's warehouses and offices were centred around Richmond.

And this oversized comic strip, located on the corner of Swan St and Wangaratta St, gets updated every month or so with submissions from up-and-coming cartoonists. The project is being managed by Strip Billboards, and you can submit applications here.

Dimmeys, the crumbling "bargain hunters paradise", attracts pensioners from around the city with its "Seniors save on Wednesdays" deal. This is seriously a store that time forgot. I don't know how the wheezing anachronism survives, especially now that the lovely shoe repair guy inside has closed up shop.

I do get a laugh out of their slogan though, "Dimmeys: More than You Bargain For". It conjures up images of unexpected wildlife jumping out of the plastic Christmas tree you purchased.

Although I sometime miss the option of tempting myself in the new Prada store on Collins Street, these buildings and sites represent how much I've gained in my life since leaving my 80 hour weeks and power heels behind, and I wouldn't change that for the world.



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The Sartorialist in Melbourne this Thursday

I just read on Missy Confidential that Scott Schuman, author of the famous fashion photo-blog The Sartorialist, is in Australia this week. He is having a book signing tonight at the Sass & Bide store on Oxford St in Paddington, and has been shooting in Sydney over the past two days.

Coming to Melbourne to shoot on Thursday the 11th of December, his second book signing is from 6 - 9pm at the Sass & Bide store in the GPO on Bourke St. I'm attending an unofficial Christmas Party with some colleagues from my old job at The Firm on Thursday, so I'm not sure I'll be able to go... Can someone tell me what he's like in person? Or if you're free on Thursday during the day, stalk the streets and see if you can get yourself photographed!

I can't wait to see the pictures he posts - they are always lovely, and capture an essence of Australia that you don't often see in the glossies.

Below are a selection of photographs Scott took when he was in Australia in April this year. Melbourne didn't feature nearly as prominently as Sydney - let's hope Scott corrects the balance this time around.

On the Street......Walking Shorts, Sydney

On the Street......The Tailor of Chapel Street, Melbourne

 

On the Street......Missoni Dress, Sydney

 On the Street......Blue & Orange, Sydney 

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Golden Palomino Vintage @ Suzuki Night Market

As mentioned on my Twitter feed, on Wednesday I dropped by the Suzuki Night Market, held at the Queen Victoria Markets. While I often arrange to meet friends at the night market over summer, early in the season I always do a solo trip, without the cumbersome addition of bored boyfriends or straggling girlfriends. "Why?", you ask? Well, I'm a girl on a mission, there to check out what Golden Palomino Vintage has hidden amongst her racks this time around.

Run by the same women who founded the Darling Clementine brand, Golden Palomino (like its sister brand), stands out for the amazing fabrics on offer. Her stall is so popular that it can be a bit of a catfight, but it rewards those who persevere through the six racks, all packed tightly with one-off dresses in a kaleidoscope of vintage fabrics. This year I picked up a beautiful red silk dress with capped sleeves and fitted bodice, and a blue scoop-neck dress with white polka dots. Because I am so short (5'2) I am currently having the hems shortened, but to sate your curiosity I will include some pictures of past purchases. They are all in the same versatile strapless style.

 

To cap off the excursion, Golden Palomino's brand founder, Ashley Tell, has agreed to feature in an interview right here, on Poppy Gets a Life. I can't wait to find out more about Ashley's overseas jet-setting and share it with you.

In the meantime, head down to the Suzuki Night Market this Wednesday, and look for Stall 128. Try a couple of items on (and make use of the clinching belts and sashes that Ash provides to add shape and silhouette) and I guarantee you will find something special.