Wipe the slate clean

Welcome to the third and last installment of the Highland photo sessions.

First off a vintage 70s lurex extravaganza labelled Richard Shops that I bought on ebay last year.

The reason to why I decided to bring this frock was because the colour reminds me of slate and Ballachulish is an old slate quarry village. The shore is absolutely covered with the stuff and I just thought it would go well with the dress. I'm actually quite pleased with how these pictures turned out. I love how the surface of the loch is like a softly rippled mirror for the sky, the combination of grey slate and the rust coloured seaweed, it really appeals to me.

It was absolutely freezing cause it had been raining all day and the sun only decided to make an appearance in the early evening. The wind was still strong and I was having real problems with my wig.

 I got so frustrated with having to spit synthetic hair out of my mouth every few seconds so I tore it off in a huff, scaring the pants off an elderly dog walker in the process.

The last frock we shot isn't actually a frock at all but a theatrical skirt and top set.  I bought it a couple of years ago from a freelance costume designer who was clearing out her clutter at a car boot sale. I couldn't believe my luck that day I can tell you, it is absolutely stunning and tremendously well made.

Incidentally this was the ensemble that we tried to shot in the glen, the one that filled up like a tall ship sail.

Mark had warned me but I was adamant to give it a go anyway. I don't like to be beaten but on this occasion the whipping Scottish gale force winds whooped my ass.

 Here I am struggling to keep the skirt down and looking rather miffed ;)

Photo sessions in The Highlands are fun to do but they do present challenges that's for sure. When we did our session last September the weather was very good but then we had  to contend with the midgies and this time we were just a little bit unlucky with the weather...third time lucky?! Who knows? 

That's all folks!

I hope you've enjoyed these posts as much as I enjoyed creating them.

To sing us out the stunning Icelandic band Sigur Ros, enjoy :)

Loads of love,
Jennie
xXx

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

From Ballachulish to The Boogaloo

When we left London a week ago the sun was blazing and there was not a cloud in the sky as far as the eye could see.

I had hoped that the glorious weather would travel with us up to Scotland but alas that was not to be, pants!

The further north the bus took us the darker the skies turned and we quite literally drove into a whole heap of bad weather.

It would have been nice to have a week of sunshine and blue skies but I'm not one to let a bit of dreich weather spoil my fun.

We stopped off in Greenock with my brother-in-law for a night before continuing the journey up to Ballachulish in The Highlands.

When we visited last September, I brought all my shapeshifter ponchos and we staged a little photo session in the glen and I had hoped to do the same thing this time. My suitcase was full of frocks and photo session paraphernalia and every day I was up with the lark monitoring the weather forecast hoping that there would be a wee break in the thick blanket of cloud. We did get a few pictures done but the conditions were not ideal to say the least but I'll blog about that tomorrow.

As per usual I took loads of pics all week and I thought I'd share some of them with you...

It's grim up north! Not really but it was rather dreich it has to be said.

The River Laroch and the Loch Leven shore. 

Swan in Loch Leven & the St Munda burial island.

The River Laroch in Ballachulish, Scottish heather in mums garden and a cool as a cucumber sheep in Glen Nevis.

Glen Nevis and Scots pine tree.

There was still some snow on the hills. Despite it looking like it never stops raining in the Highlands it has in fact been "unseasonably dry" and at the beginning of this month there was even a wildfire outbreak. 

Little chirpy bird in Glen Nevis and big chirpy bird at the Lochan Trail in Glencoe.

I was delighted to catch a bunch of Kyloe cows having their breakfast in Glen Nevis. Later on that day we went to Glen Coe to attempt a photo session, we ended up having bemused tourists taking pictures of us taking pictures, och! In the evening we met up with my father-in-law at The Laroch Bar for a few bevvies :)

On Thursday it was my mother-in-laws 70th birthday :)

It did clear up for a few hours in the early evening so we zipped down to the lochside to take a few more pics. Then mums friends came around for a little 70th birthday get-together at the house. Loads of  cake, wine and laughter :)

The morning after mums birthday we left Ballachulish at eight, stopped in Glasgow for a quick pub brunch before hopping on the bus back down to London.

We arrived in London at half ten in the evening and I had my market the following day.

Thankfully I had prepared everything before we left so it was just a case of packing everything up in the morning. I was a wee bit zombified on Saturday but Mark helped me to The Boogaloo and stayed around until I was all set up. Who would have guessed that sitting on your arse for twelve hours could be so physically & mentally exhausting?! 

Despite being a bit of a hazy-daisy I did have a very good day, chatted to some lovely folk & made some people happy with my vintage threads and that's what it's all about after all ;)

Here are some pics from yesterday's Can't Buy Me Love market....

What I wore:

Indian frock, tulle tutu, shaggy cardi with flower brooch, tights, 80s boots, Frocktasia earrings, Tibetan prayer bangle and my trusty market peddlers bumbag ;)

So there you go that was my "dropping off the blog radar" week.

I'm totally behind in my blog reading but as I have already picked out most my stock for next Saturday's Dandy Lion Market I should have a few hours to spare tomorrow to indulge in a little bit of catching up, looking forward to it, I've missed you's!

I'll leave you with one of my favourite Scottish bands, enjoy :)

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

Back from Caledonia

Hey peeps,

hope you are all doing well?!

I dropped off the radar for a while to visit Scotland again.

It was my mother-in-laws 70th birthday on Thursday, so we decided to go up and spend a week with her.

We just got back last night and today I did the Can't Buy Me Love market at The Boogaloo but I'll blog about Scotland and the market tomorrow.

***

I meant to post this blog before I went to Scotland but never quite managed to get around to it, better late than never ;)

A week and a half ago I had a photo session with an amazing London based singer-songwriter called Faith Taylor. I approached Faith a while back after falling in love with her voice at a gig and asked her if she'd be interested in taking part in a little vintage clothing inspired photo session at my house. We were messaging each other on Facebook prior to the session to establish what sort of theme would best suit her personality and music style. Faith is a self-declared tomboy so we went with an androgynous style.

Look 1

 Vintage 70s blazer, 70s shirt and 70s bow-tie combo

Look 2 

Vintage 50s felt hat and 70s ethnic embroidered waistcoat

Look 3

German military shirt teamed a cowboy style scarf

I really enjoyed doing this little session and I'm planning to do more of them next month.

Faith was a real joy to work with and I'll be sure to keep an eye on her future gig listings.

Before we went to Scotland I met up with Leslie and we went to take in the Lichtenstein -A Retrospective exhibition at the Tate Modern, which was absolutely fab!

Vintage 50s trousers, 70s Liberty print suspenders, 70s lurex blouse, sleeveless knitted jumper, Handmade African necklace, Frocktasia earrings, handmade tote bag made by Leslie, Lowepro camera bag & DMs 

I'll post about Scotland & my market adventures tomorrow but right now I'm going to crash and burn, I'm bushed...cheerio my dear pals ;)

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx

The Cat Got My Tongue

I'm a woman of very few words today, there's a lot going on inside my head but I can't make sense of it!

Hope you are all OK?!

 

Loads of love,

Jennie

xXx