Priscilla Queen of the Glen

The second and last frock that we shoot in the glen was this extraordinarily stunning shimmering bronze taffeta creation labelled Priscilla of Boston.

 I'm guessing that it is from the same sort of fashion era as the QUAD frock I blogged about yesterday.

This frock makes me feel as if I've just sprung from the pages of a Jane Austen novel.

Fabulously bust enhancing empire line cut with delicate cream lace detailing to the neckline, adorable ruffle trimmed puff sleeves and a generously swishy skirt with ruffle trim hemline. The fabric glints and sparkles in the sun, fabulous! 

I bought this spectacular frock from a vintage dealer some years ago and have been hankering to photograph it in an equally spectacular setting ever since.

I was toying with the idea of taking it down to King's Bench Walk and doing a guerilla photo session but there are always so many people milling about in that area. Another nice spot in London for a photo session with a historical flavour would be the Pergola in Hampstead Heath. Neither of these places hold a candle to the stunning backdrop that the glen provides though and even if we did had a little bit of an audience on this occasion it's not as if people were walking in front of the camera as is often the case when trying to snap a few pics in London.

In the next post I'll show you the frocks that we shot by the Loch Leven shore. 

It was tremendously windy that day so only a few pics came out alright.

Thank you ever so much for the fab comments you left on the last post, you peeps ROCK!

I'll leave you with an amazing song by Wyldeck, enjoy ;)

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

Glen of Weeping & winds

As mentioned in the previous post Mark and I headed up to Glen Coe for a wee photo session while we were up in The Highlands.

I had hoped to use the same spectacular backdrop as we did last September but gale force winds howling through the glen made it quite impossible, my skirt filled up like a tall ship sail and my wig was threatening to make like a bat out of hell down the hillside.

So we drove a little further down the glen to the car park at a view point so that I could get changed in the boot of the car without risking going arse over tit in the soggy heather whilst lacing up my granny boots.

Needless to say the people that were there had their eyes out on stalks when I stripped down to my scanties to frock up, not the kind of thing they'd expected to see in a tranquil Scottish glen I bet but rather than driving off in a indignant huff to report me for indecent exposure the cheeky wee sausages started taking photos of us taking photos instead.

The first frock we shoot was a present from my sister Jessica a few years ago. It's labelled QUAD and is from the late 60s or early 70s. I love everything about this frock, its alluring bust enhancing cut, the virginal white lace sleeve trim and the deep blood red velvet. Wearing it makes me feel as if I should be in a classic Hammer Horror movie being seduced by Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing.

The wreath that I'm wearing is one that I made from some magician's rope and a bunch of lace off-cuts that I bagged at a car boot sale a few years ago.

It was a saving grace on the day cause it stopped the wig from flying off.

The evening before we took these pics I somewhat overindulged on my all time favourite ale FRAOCH made with heather and bog myrtle. It is the best tasting ale ever but unfortunately it gives me a rancid hangover, och!

Anyroad it's not about my face, it's all about the frock, behold her splendor ;)

We only managed to shoot another frock in the glen and then we did another little session by the shore of Loch Leven but I've decided to split the sessions into three posts rather than one epic one.

Hope your week has got off to a fabulous start. I'm slowly getting round to catching up with you all and I apologise profusely if I haven't made it round to yours yet. I was a bit scuppered today after having to perform emergency surgery on my cactus that I've had for years, damn you root rot or perhaps more to the point damn me overzealous waterer of plants. Hopefully it will be fine, fingers crossed.

I'll leave you with a hauntingly beautiful Dougie Maclean song covered by Deanta, enjoy :)

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

The Haggis Hunter

I finally managed to bag a new camera just before we headed up north for the weekend.
As someone who takes customer service very seriously I have to say that I was utterly appalled with  Jessops.
Not only did they have me road-running throughout London all of Wednesday afternoon but when I came to pick up my "new" camera from the third shop on Thursday morning, I found that they had in fact stuck a shop display camera back in its box and tried to palm it off as new.
I just shook my head..."-mate, would it be at all possible to get a brand NEW one in a sealed box"...the dude realized that he'd been rumbled and got me another one.
They might have got away with it, had they cleaned the lens cap and replaced the battery pack seal before sticking it back in the box.
Apparently this sort of practice is not uncommon so if you are buying a new camera always make sure you check it out before you leave the store.
I mean don't get me wrong, if I had been offered a reasonable discount on the display camera, I may have considered taking it off their hands but if I'm paying for a new one then I expect a new one.
Anyroad...Jessops may suck rotten eggs but my new camera ROCKS!
It got its first proper outing in the Scottish Highlands over the weekend.
I've been wanting to shoot some of my own designs for ages and Glen Coe creates a magical backdrop.
We headed out in the early morning hours so that we could have the hillside all to ourselves...if you don't count a gazillion midgies that is.
Everyone was saying...
 "You're doing what tomorrow morning...where? You are going to get eaten alive! The midgies will have you for breakfast!".
It wasn't too bad to be honest, thankfully there was a slight breeze blowing through the glen so we managed to shoot for an hour before they started getting to us.
It was very early and a tad nippy to say the least and although I tried my hardest to stop it, my face was all too keen to bear witness to this.
However as per usual we took a mother load of photos and some came out not too shabby.

I brought four kilts but we only managed to shoot one of them. I wanted to get the other stuff done first and by the time we got around to the kilts the midgies were biting and we had to pack up and RUN AWAY!

Vintage kilt, 90s mohair jumper, tights, DMs, Frocktasia 'Dear Darkness' chiffon rose headdress, bangles galore & etno-earrings.  

For me tartan is an autumn/winter style perennial, it just feels right at this time of year.

I tend to team my tartan with stuff that make it a bit more punk than prim...

DMs or a pair of battered lace-up hiking boots, a washed out band Tee or a shaggy mohair jumper.

Tartan inspiration...

Audrey Horne from Twin Peaks looking prim, two pics from a grunge laden 90s Marc Jacobs collection and Liv Tyler wearing a cute mini kilt in the 'Empire Records' movie.

Fan-tartan-tastic!

I'll leave you with a tartan OTT look from the Frocktasia archives...

'THE HAGGIS HUNTER'

Take care y'all!

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx