Monday, March 31, 2014
Zuhair Murad Spring 2014 Couture
Imagine a garden party in the beginning of the summer. The lilacs are in full bloom. Nightingales sing in the trees. Peacocks wander around among the champagne fountains placed here and there. A violin quartet plays Vivaldi... We're all there enjoying ourselves, and below are the amazing dresses we're dancing around in. They come from Zuhair Murad's Spring 2014 Couture collection, and I doubt any girl would say "no" to one of them...
Friday, March 28, 2014
Fabergé Friday
One thing most girls keep in their purse is a powder compact. But imagine having a compact made by Fabergé! This one was made by workmaster Anna Ringe sometime between the years 1908 and 1917!
The compact is made of silver, covered in apple-green enamel over a guilloché ground.
It is 1 5/8'' (4.2 cm) in diameter, and it can end up in your purse for the slight sum of 2,750 USD! You find it at Romanov Russia.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Party In Heaven Or In Hell...
During La Belle Époque goth clubs weren't so many. But the ones that existed were very cool! In 1899 the book Bohemian Paris of To-Day came out. It was written by William Chambers Morrow and Édouard Cucuel and includes descriptions of several ghastly hangouts in Paris that the authors visited themselves.
Above is a picture of two of these supernatural clubs, conveniently placed beside each other in Montmartre; Le Cabaret de l'Enfer (The Cabaret of Hell), and Le Cabaret du Ciel (The Cabaret of Heaven).
Going out for a drink at the Cabaret of Hell might actually have made your soul damned forever... Here is an account of the author's visit to this "cosy" nightclub: "Enter and be damned, the Evil One awaits you!" growled a chorus of rough voices as we hesitated before the scene confronting us. Near us was suspended a caldron over a fire, and hopping within it were half a dozen devil musicians, male and female, playing a selection from "Faust" on stringed instruments, while red imps stood by, prodding with red-hot irons those who lagged in their performance. Crevices in the walls of this room ran with streams of molten gold and silver, and here and there were caverns lit up by smouldering fires from which thick smoke issued, and vapors emitting the odors of a volcano. Flames would suddenly burst from clefts in the rocks, and thunder rolled through the caverns. Red imps were everywhere, darting about noiselessly, some carrying beverages for the thirsty lost souls, others stirring the fires or turning somersaults. Everything was in a high state of motion."
If a visit to this haunted hangout made you feel a bit bad, you could always just go get your soul blessed at the Cabaret of Heaven next door! Here the guests were greeted by Dante and Father Time, and angels served the drinks.
There was also a place called Le Cabaret du Néant (The Cabaret of Nothingness), where the tables had been replaces with coffins, and the drinks - named after diseases - were served by monks and funeral attendees.
Above is a picture of two of these supernatural clubs, conveniently placed beside each other in Montmartre; Le Cabaret de l'Enfer (The Cabaret of Hell), and Le Cabaret du Ciel (The Cabaret of Heaven).
Going out for a drink at the Cabaret of Hell might actually have made your soul damned forever... Here is an account of the author's visit to this "cosy" nightclub: "Enter and be damned, the Evil One awaits you!" growled a chorus of rough voices as we hesitated before the scene confronting us. Near us was suspended a caldron over a fire, and hopping within it were half a dozen devil musicians, male and female, playing a selection from "Faust" on stringed instruments, while red imps stood by, prodding with red-hot irons those who lagged in their performance. Crevices in the walls of this room ran with streams of molten gold and silver, and here and there were caverns lit up by smouldering fires from which thick smoke issued, and vapors emitting the odors of a volcano. Flames would suddenly burst from clefts in the rocks, and thunder rolled through the caverns. Red imps were everywhere, darting about noiselessly, some carrying beverages for the thirsty lost souls, others stirring the fires or turning somersaults. Everything was in a high state of motion."
If a visit to this haunted hangout made you feel a bit bad, you could always just go get your soul blessed at the Cabaret of Heaven next door! Here the guests were greeted by Dante and Father Time, and angels served the drinks.
There was also a place called Le Cabaret du Néant (The Cabaret of Nothingness), where the tables had been replaces with coffins, and the drinks - named after diseases - were served by monks and funeral attendees.
After a few drinks at Le Néant you could move on to other rooms, to witness how the hosts turned revelers into skeletons... Morrow's account from this place reads: "Large, heavy, wooden coffins, resting on biers, were ranged about the
room in an order suggesting the recent happening of a frightful
catastrophe. The walls were decorated with skulls and bones, skeletons
in grotesque attitudes, battle-pictures, and guillotines in action.
Death, carnage, assassination were the dominant note, set in black
hangings and illuminated with mottoes on death [...] Bishop said that he
would be pleased with a lowly bock. Mr. Thompkins chose cherries a
l'eau-de-vie, and I, une menthe. "One
microbe of Asiatic cholera from the last corpse, one leg of a lively
cancer, and one sample of our consumption germ!" moaned the creature
toward a black hole at the farther end of the room. Some women among the
visitors tittered, others shuddered, and Mr. Thompkins broke out in a
cold sweat on his brow, while a curious accompaniment of anger shone in
his eyes. Our sleepy pallbearer soon loomed through the darkness with
our deadly microbes, and waked the echoes in the hollow casket upon
which he set the glasses with a thump. "Drink, Macchabees!" he wailed: "drink these noxious potions, which contain the vilest and deadliest poisons!"
Sadly none of these places exist today. I would have made sure to visit them if they were still around though... If you want to read the whole Bohemian Paris of To-Day you can find it uploaded online at Archive.org.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Hollywood Mules
Retro lingerie company What Katie Did has worked together with retro shoe designer Miss L Fire, to create the perfect, elegantly sexy mule. The result is a 50s style shoe that works very well for both sauntering around in your boudoir, and for cocktail parties. The come in peach or black satin, with tulle flowers decorating the front, and I want (read "NEED") a pair in each color. If anyone feels like becoming my personal shoe-sponsor, my size is 36! Hehe...
You'll find the mules at What Katie Did!
Friday, March 21, 2014
Fabergé Friday
The ones of you who have followed my blog for a long time, know that I started these Fabergé Friday posts by going through all the Imperial Easter Eggs Fabergé created for Russias Tsar family. Of the fifty Easter eggs Fabergé created for the Imperial Family, eight of these are sadly lost though... Well, until recently at least. Now only seven remain hidden from the world, as one of these treasures has finally been found! Here it is! It was created by workmaster August Holmström, sometime between 1886 and 1887!
The egg is made of ridged gold, and stands on a tripod pedestal with lion paw feet. The pedestal is decorated with flower swags in colored gold, hanging from cabochon blue sapphires. A big diamond push-piece is also attached to the egg.
All of these Imperial Easter Eggs contained a little surprise, and the surprise in this egg is a lady's watch by Vacheron Constantin. It has a white enamel dial and openwork diamond set gold hands. The watch has a hinged stand inside the egg, permitting it to stand up.
The egg was given by Tzar Alexander III to Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna for Easter 1887. It is 3.2 '' (8.2 cm) high, and it will be on display at Wartski, 14 Grafton Street, London, from 14th to 17th April 2014, between 11am and 5pm. This will be the first time in over 112 years this egg will be seen in public! But how was it found? Here comes the fun part...
An American scrap-dealer from the Midwest found the egg at a shop and bought it for 14,000 USD, thinking he could make a profit by selling the gold and the jewels on it. After finding the clock inside the egg, he googled the name of the clock maker, and so stumbled on the story about the missing Fabergé egg, described as the one he now had in his possession. He then contacted antiques expert and Fabergé specialist Kieran McCarthy, who immediately recognized the egg, and flew from Great Britain to the US to verify the authenticity of the egg. The egg turned out to be the real deal, and McCarthy said this find was like when Indiana Jones discovered the Lost Ark. He also valued the egg to 33 million USD - which of course made the profit for the scrap-dealer a "little" bit bigger than he first had counted on... It was sold to a private buyer through Wartski, the antiques firm specializing in Russian artwork that McCarthy works for.
The egg is made of ridged gold, and stands on a tripod pedestal with lion paw feet. The pedestal is decorated with flower swags in colored gold, hanging from cabochon blue sapphires. A big diamond push-piece is also attached to the egg.
All of these Imperial Easter Eggs contained a little surprise, and the surprise in this egg is a lady's watch by Vacheron Constantin. It has a white enamel dial and openwork diamond set gold hands. The watch has a hinged stand inside the egg, permitting it to stand up.
The egg was given by Tzar Alexander III to Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna for Easter 1887. It is 3.2 '' (8.2 cm) high, and it will be on display at Wartski, 14 Grafton Street, London, from 14th to 17th April 2014, between 11am and 5pm. This will be the first time in over 112 years this egg will be seen in public! But how was it found? Here comes the fun part...
An American scrap-dealer from the Midwest found the egg at a shop and bought it for 14,000 USD, thinking he could make a profit by selling the gold and the jewels on it. After finding the clock inside the egg, he googled the name of the clock maker, and so stumbled on the story about the missing Fabergé egg, described as the one he now had in his possession. He then contacted antiques expert and Fabergé specialist Kieran McCarthy, who immediately recognized the egg, and flew from Great Britain to the US to verify the authenticity of the egg. The egg turned out to be the real deal, and McCarthy said this find was like when Indiana Jones discovered the Lost Ark. He also valued the egg to 33 million USD - which of course made the profit for the scrap-dealer a "little" bit bigger than he first had counted on... It was sold to a private buyer through Wartski, the antiques firm specializing in Russian artwork that McCarthy works for.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Arabian Nights
Last fall, when I performed at Caput Mundi International Burlesque Award in Rome, a camera crew from Fizioni Entertainment was there to film everything in 4K. As a thank you for letting them shoot this project, all performers got a video from their respective acts. They had three cameras, and filmed each act two times - first during the rehearsal, and then during the show - which resulted in videos shot with six cameras from all angles. It's so nice to get professionally shot videos of performances, and as I received mine yesterday, here it is! I did my act Arabian Nights, and I think that was a very appropriate choice, since I use an aladdin lamp filled with glitter in that number, and an aladdin lamp is exactly what Fizioni Entertainment use as their logo! Haha!
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Fabergé Friday
And here comes yet another one of Fabergé's egg pendants! This one was made by workmaster Henrik Wigstrom, around 1905!
This acorn-like miniature egg is made of a gold mounted cabochon moonstone. The upper part is decorated with god leaves and roundels of salmon colored enamel over a guilloché ground. Around the center of the egg sits a band of rose-cut diamonds. The height of the pendant is 7/8'' (2.2 cm), and the price you have to pay to get it is 45.000 USD. You can find it at John Atzbach Antiques.
This acorn-like miniature egg is made of a gold mounted cabochon moonstone. The upper part is decorated with god leaves and roundels of salmon colored enamel over a guilloché ground. Around the center of the egg sits a band of rose-cut diamonds. The height of the pendant is 7/8'' (2.2 cm), and the price you have to pay to get it is 45.000 USD. You can find it at John Atzbach Antiques.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Fräulein Frauke Presents - Wonderland!
Last Saturday I found a rabbit hole in the ground while I was out for a walk. I decided to jump down into it, and when I landed on the other side, I found myself surrounded by all kind of weird people and creatures, and I was told I had come to Wonderland... Or, actually, I had come to Nalen, that had been transformed to Wonderland - which was the theme for Fräulein Frauke Presents this time!
I wore my red tulle ball gown from the 40s. I didn't get a good picture of it, but I wore it for a photo shoot a while ago, so if you want to see the whole dress, go here! The earrings are from Daisy Dapper!
As anything can happen - and does happen - in Wonderland, it felt completely normal when Sugar High & Le French Tiger went up on stage and did a burlesque performance with lamps on their heads!
Then Johnnie Lowlife took the stage. Here accompanied by Alice in an old version of Alice In Wonderland that was showing on one of the walls.
Then we moved into the big ball room, where Evy Maroon did a power-to-women act in celebration of the International Women's Day. Other performers were:
Even the bartenders were decked out in Wonderland attire! Some wore giant playing cards, and here we see the Mad Hatter himself! I'm not sure what he put in his drinks though...
And here is me, with Elegy Ellem and Miss Loulou! I danced until my feet bled - literally! I was wearing new shoes, and forgot to bring band aids... But I couldn't stop myself when I came out on the dance floor, so who cares?! As usual the night was magical, and I can't wait till next time!
For more info about Fräulein Frauke Presents, and to see more photos from the evening, please visit their Facebook page here, and their web site here!
All photos (except the top picture) by John-Paul Bichard.
I wore my red tulle ball gown from the 40s. I didn't get a good picture of it, but I wore it for a photo shoot a while ago, so if you want to see the whole dress, go here! The earrings are from Daisy Dapper!
As anything can happen - and does happen - in Wonderland, it felt completely normal when Sugar High & Le French Tiger went up on stage and did a burlesque performance with lamps on their heads!
Then Johnnie Lowlife took the stage. Here accompanied by Alice in an old version of Alice In Wonderland that was showing on one of the walls.
Then we moved into the big ball room, where Evy Maroon did a power-to-women act in celebration of the International Women's Day. Other performers were:
Gabriella Dal Rooth, Leo Gongora, Nosslo-Grebnellaw Anilaup and Karin Victorin!
Fräulein Frauke - who did the sauciest performance I've ever seen her do! With latex and all! I just had to hump her a bit on the dance floor later that evening. Haha!
Everyone's favorite bunny - Scotty the Blue Bunny - was back in Stockholm to present the show!
Since the theme of the evening was Wonderland, many guests had dressed up as rabbits. Scotty decided to bring them all up on stage for probably the best bunny-shot ever!
Of course the none-bunny guests all looked fabulous too! Here is Ruby Luscious as the Queen of Hearts...
...and her own bunny Albin!
Mr Hultgren had brought the Cheshire Cat on his shoulder. I WANT THAT CAT!!!
Lenore Cain had made a crown out of her own hair. Impressive!
Even the bartenders were decked out in Wonderland attire! Some wore giant playing cards, and here we see the Mad Hatter himself! I'm not sure what he put in his drinks though...
And here is me, with Elegy Ellem and Miss Loulou! I danced until my feet bled - literally! I was wearing new shoes, and forgot to bring band aids... But I couldn't stop myself when I came out on the dance floor, so who cares?! As usual the night was magical, and I can't wait till next time!
For more info about Fräulein Frauke Presents, and to see more photos from the evening, please visit their Facebook page here, and their web site here!
All photos (except the top picture) by John-Paul Bichard.