Fabergé Friday

This Friday I have a very pretty Fabergé pendant locket for you. It was made by Anders Nevalainen, sometime between the years 1896 and 1908!

The locket is covered in pink enamel over a guilloché ground. It is decorated with a foliate wreath motif set with rose-cut diamonds, with a large marquise-cut diamond in the center. The width of the locket is 1.3'' (3.2 cm). I found it at Christie's.

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What Katie Did Swimwear

Summer is coming!!! And with warmer, sunnier days also comes the need for things to wear while cooling off in water. Once in a while I come back to retro lingerie brand What Katie Did here on my blog. That's because I really love what they do, and I have tried out several items from them myself. Their products are well made and very durable for everyday wear, so when I saw their new swimwear line I was not disappointed. It consists of one bathing suit and one bikini, inspired by 50s Hawaiian sarong style swimwear. Both come in the color black and have very flattering designs for every body type.

 

The halter swimsuit has a little skirt that skims over your hips, that can be adjusted slightly with the tie at the waist.

The bikini has the same halter-and-skirt design as the swimsuit, but with the bare midriff. The bikini is fully lined, has molded bra cups, and the halter straps are detachable - which comes in handy if you feel like getting a bit of a tan, but don't want those annoying white lines straps like these leaves behind. And most important of all - DON'T FORGET TO WEAR SUNSCREEN!!! Aside from keeping you from turning into red raisins, and possibly getting really ill, sunscreen will also help your tattoos from fading in the sunlight!

PILL Jewelry

When I first saw the beautiful jewelry made by Jo I was transported to an old, mystical place... She calls her brand PILL Jewelry - made from sweet fairytales and dark dreams, and her - all handmade - pieces combines an nice mixture of old strange photos, bugs and other obscure things. Here are a few of the pieces you find in her web shop, but she also makes custom made things if you crave something special!

The Green Beetle Brooch

The Death Head Moth Necklace

Lily Of The Valley Earrings

Peony Collar Brooch

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Secret Love Locket Necklace

Ribs Earring

Dark Antlers and Moonstone Necklace

The Full Moon Bangle

The Wicca Moon Three Piece Ring

I met Jo at Burleskloppis (The Burlesque Flea Market) a few weeks ago, and there I bought this Big X-Ray Bat Necklace from her. I love bats so wearing an actual x-ray of this fantastic creature around my neck feels great! There are many, many more wonderful pieces in Jo's web shop, so go ahead and visit her place of wonder - you find it here!

Fabergé Friday

For me, one thing that says summer has come to Sweden is when the swallows have arrived. This haven't happened yet. But while we're waiting, here is a swallow from Fabergé! It was commissioned by King Edward VII in 1907, as part of the Sandringham Commission.

This very life-like little bird is carved from obsidian and white quartzite. It has eyes of rose-cut diamonds, and feet made of gold. The size of the swallow is 1'' x 2.5'' x 0.6'' (2.5 x 6.4 x 1.6 cm), and it is part of the Royal Collection.

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Plaid Dress

Ok, I'm back from my one week off blogging! And I'm back with an outfit post. This is a dress I got for Christmas, and it's finally spring-like enough in this cold country to bring it out of my closet!

The dress is vintage, from the 40s, and made from a very light plaid cotton fabric. It has a nice "collar" application at the front, and big pockets. I found the dress at Dalena Vintage on Etsy, and I love it. Very soft and comfortable to wear.

I'm also wearing my Thomas Sabo charm bracelet. So far I have a skull, a gothic cross, and a guitar hanging from it, but there are so many charms to choose from, so I will be adding to it. Perfect things to wish for around birthdays and such!

Nordic Light Burlesque Festival

This weekend - 15-16 May - I'm coming to Östersund to perform in the first annual Nordic Light Burlesque Festival! This is a festival that showcases some of the best burlesque performers from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, and it will take place at the magnificent old theater (Gamla Teatern) in Östersund. The festival is produced by Cherri von Leigh (the founder of NLBF), Lady Francescca and Kenta, and a few of the performers taking the stage (except for me...) are:

 LouLou D'vil!

Duchess Dubois!

Miss Rita Regrets!

Mr Gunner!

...And many more... 

For more info, visit the festival's web site here! With this said I'm taking a week off from blogging! I've had so much to do lately that I feel completely worn out, and my to-do list is still being added to. I need a vacation... Haha! Really looking forward to performing during NLBF though, and I'll see you all here again in a week! Ciao!

(PS. After writing this post I learned that this burlesque festival had been cancelled...)

Fabergé Friday

Today's Fabergé-object - a pair of cuff links! They were made by workmaster August Hollming, sometime between 1898 and 1904.

The cuff links are made of varicolored gold and shaped as Imperial double-headed eagles, decorated with diamonds, and set with cabochon rubies in the center. The bars are decorated with diamond-set ties. The links come in a fitted wood box. I found them at Sotheby's.

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30s Picnic Shoot

In my last post I promised to show you the result of the 30s photo shoot I wrote about then. And here it is! My co-models are Lenore Caine and Emma Green. Standing behind the camera is photographer Miss Kryseis!

Photo: Miss Kryseis

30s Shoot And Tipsy Models...

Usually when I do shoots I'm the only model on set, but a couple of weeks ago we were three in front of the camera! My co-models were Lenore Caine and Emma Green, and our photographer was Miss Kryseis. 

The theme of the shoot was "picnic in the 1930s", so I put on my 30s-inspired dress from Stop Staring.

Then we headed out to our location - the romantic Eco Temple in the Royal Haga Park. It was a lovely, sunny day, with spring warmth in the air.

Photo: Miss Kryseis

Miss Kryseis' idea of a picnic in the 30s was girls sitting on a blanket playing cards while smoking and drinking, so she had brought the best photo prop ever - Marquis de Sade Champagne! Lenore opened the bottle like a boss, without hitting anyone with the cork!

Photo: Lenore Caine

I have never gotten tipsy during a shoot before, but this is how happy we were after finishing both the shoot and the bottle. This is how being a model should always be! Haha!

Here is a behind the scenes pic, when we were fooling around. This is what happens when you give the models champagne... On Wednesday I'll show you how the proper photos turned out!

Fabergé Friday

One thing I really think should come back into fashion is the hand fan! They're beautiful, practical, and romantic... Here is one from Fabergé. Made by workmaster Henrik Wigström.

The beautifully painted fan has a leaf of plain weave silk, backed with silk gauze. The 8.5'' (21.6 cm) front guardstick is made of mother-of-pearl, covered in white and blue enamel over a guilloché ground, and decorated with two-colored gold and two Burmese cabochon rubies. The back guard and the rest of the sticks are also of mother-of-pearl.

The fan still has it's original birchwood box, and it was purchased by Queen Alexandra in 1912 as a Christmas present for her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary. Now it has it's place in the Royal Collection.

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