La Traviata At Folkoperan - Finally!!!

Last year I told you I would be part of the opera La Traviata at Folkoperan (The People's Opera) here in Stockholm. We rehearsed for about a month. But since Folkoperan got severely water damaged and had to spend all of last fall drying up, we had to wait a whole year to actually be able to put it all on stage. Now the time has finally come though, and last week we started rehearsals again! I'm one of the nude models in act one - but clad in a transparent black dress in act two. This will be a crazy, wonderful, powerful mix of nakedness, drag queens, fabulous singers, sex, death and emotions. I can assure you La Traviata has never been done like this before... I'm really proud to be able to work with all the amazing people working so hard together to create this opera. The director, Mellika Melouani Melani's ideas are incredible, and I don't think I have ever laughed so much during the creation of anything on stage before! Like for example when Mellika told a few of us nude models to sit down on a bench, and then burst out the idea presently in her brain: "Imagine a fuck-tree. Now we're going to try to create a fuck-tree!" Haha!

As your faithful reporter I decided to sneak around the opera and take some pics to show you a bit what it looks like backstage. The bottom pic is taken by someone else though, and shows part of the second act. Last year a little trailer was also shot while we rehearsed. This one was removed from nudity-shaming Facebook though, but I've put it at the end of this post so you can see it here! The opera premieres September 16, and 17 (yes, there are TWO premieres). To read more about it, see what days it runs, and get tickets, please go here!

The stage looks really good with it's simple, yet very stylish scenery. This is the mechanical horse used in act one. Riding it naked makes me feel like Lady Godiva!

This is the hair and makeup room. We models and the drag queens do our makeup ourselves, but we get help with our hair and wigs. The pink wigs in the pick are used by the drags in the second act.

In the costume atelier you find many treasures... Here are the drag queens' shoes, and a detail of one of their costumes for act one - the white act.

After last year's water damage, the dressing rooms got a new look. The second mirror to the right is my place!

And here is a pic from the second act! The fabulous drag queens don't just entertain the audience, but also the rest of us on stage. I love this moment in the opera! And then we have the - according to Facebook - very provocative trailer... I think it's beautiful though! Enjoy...

New Outfit (And How To Eat Cookies Like A Lady)...

Every girl needs a good ninja outfit. This us mine! It's slim and really easy to move in, which makes it perfect for kicking ass! Haha!

Since I got both pieces in black, it looks like a pantsuit, but it's actually capri pants and a top - both from Pinup Girl Clothing's line Deadly Dames. They both exist in several different colors, so you can really mix and match with these two pieces.

After an enjoyable visit at my chiropractor for some bone cracking and acupuncture I headed over to Lenore Caine's place. As both me and Lenore work as alternative models, we've become really good at posing in front of the camera - as can be seen above. I think any cookie company would be proud to have us as their brand ambassadors! Then we played Wii and cuddled with the cat.

This is Myysan. As she's super cuddly and kept moving around, being cute, it wasn't easy to get a good picture of her paws. What I wanted to show you is that she has thumbs! This probably facilitates handling an iPhone, which she obviously does since she has her own Instagram account - @theofficialmyysan. It was a good day...

Fabergé Friday

And today's Fabergé object is - a scent bottle! Made by workmaster Mikhail Perkhin, sometime before 1896.

The bottle is shaped like a lyre, and made out of engraved smoky quartz. It has mounts of red gold set with rose-cut diamonds, and the lid is covered in translucent pink, finished off with a pearl finial. The bottle is 2.5'' x 0.9'' x 0.7'' (6.3 x 2.4 x 1.7 cm), and since 1953 it has been part of the Royal Collection.

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Midsummer's Eve Dress

About a year or so I walked in a fashion show, wearing one of O.L.D - Obviously Linda Design's vintage dresses from the 50s. I fell in love with the dress, but Linda didn't want to sell it. But guess what! She changed her mind, and now the dress is mine! MINE!!! Mohahaaaaa!!! When it got time to celebrate Midsummer's Eve I felt it was a good time to premiere it!

It's made of a transparent orangy-red fabric, with a white pattern. It has a deep-cut back, and the tag on the inside says it comes from The Linzi Line. It also has a matching wrap and it's original, matching belt! Many times that matching belt vintage dresses so often had from the beginning has disappeared, so I'm always glad to find dresses that still has it intact!

The bodice goes down a bit over the hips, from which the gathered skirt falls. There's also a little bow at the center of the neckline, and the dress is fully lined, with an attached half slip.

As I have a thing for bats, I also wore my bat-bracelet from alkemie, and my bat-ring from I can't remember... Haha! The Midsummer's Eve party took place at a good friend's of mine, where we ate, drank, ate some more, and drank some more, while discussing perverse and nerdy things - which in my opinion are the two most important components in a good conversation - until the wee hours of the next day.

This also happened. I seriously have no idea where that thing came from! Hehe...

New Dress, Dinosaurs And Dead Animals...

It's starting to feel like summer in Sweden! Yay! So finally it's possible to wear summer dresses again! At the last Burleskloppis (Burlesque Flea Market) I bought a lovely vintage 50s dress from Miss Rita Regrets. Here it is!

It's made in light-weight cotton decorated with yellow roses and champagne-colored ribbons. The fabric is very gathered over the bust-area, which is a great thing if you wish to make your boobs look bigger. Haha!

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So, what do you do on a hot, sunny summer day? You go sit down in a dark movie theater of course! Hehe... Me and a friend went to see Jurassic World, and I really liked it! Even though the story is pretty much the same as in the other Jurassic movies - park with dinosaurs, big scary dino escapes, lots of blood, end fight - I still like these movies.

After that we went to the 1-year anniversary party of Kalabalika Taxidermi at Porky Royale Tattoo. Amelie, who is the owner of Kalabalika has SO many extraordinary things for sale! Like these old prosthetic legs for example. But of course also a lot of taxidermy, skulls, skeletons, and jewelry she has made of bugs and other animal parts.

Right now she also has this beautiful white peacock for sale. WANT!!! The price for it is 20.000 SEK though, so I think maybe not - but maybe one day...

Corsets And Whisky

Last week I went to the re-opening party of the studio of corset maker Viola Lahger and seamstress O.L.D - Obviously Linda Design, who has moved in together in the same shop. Mrs Murphy also joined us to hold her popular lecture Mrs Murphy to the Rescue.

Here we are! From the left: me, Linda of O.L.D, Mrs Murphy, Karin of Viola Lahger, and Agent Star. As both me and Agent Star work for Mrs M as two of her five Special Agents of Fabulousness, we both wore our work uniforms - red Monica dresses from Pinup Girl Clothing. Over the dresses we're wearing corsets by Viola Lahger, who is Sweden's only high class corset maker. She has studied corsets through times thoroughly, and since I have tried on quite a few corsets over the years, I can tell you these are extremely well made, and very comfortable! If you want a personally made corset that will fit your body perfectly, this is the place to go!

Here's another one of Karin's beautiful corsets!

Linda of O.L.D designs and sews clothes after each customers preferences. She has worked for quite a few celebrities, but anyone can hire her to get that one of a kind piece of clothing you've always wanted. Above you see one of her vintage-inspired bikinis. Linda is also known as the "Vintage Doctor", which means she also mends and re-sew vintage clothes that might be broken or too big for you, which often is the case with old clothes...

Here is me and Mrs Murphy in the middle of the very feminine shop! I love just walking into this place. Makes me feel like home. Haha!

The event was sponsored by Jura Whisky and Tomtebageriet, so the guests were offered coffee with a bit of whiskey in it and a choice of seven different, old fashioned little cookies.

It was a very cozy evening, and I ended up buying a pair of tiki skull-earrings from O.L.D!

If you're interested in having a corset made by Viola Lahger, you can contact her here! And the contact information for Linda at O.L.D you find here!

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!

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

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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Steven Khalil Couture

Steven Khalil is recognized as one of Australia's leading designers specializing in red carpet and bridal gowns. In his beautiful designs he combines classical elements from past eras with contemporary styles. At just 22 years old he was appointed Head Designer, and in 2003 he started his own fashion house in Sydney. Here are a few of his lovely couture creations.

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