Summery Goodness!

Blush pink, yellow gold and duck egg vintage accessories

1950's dusky pink tulle and lace prom dress

1950's baby blue tulle and lace prom with cap sleeves

1950's apple green prom with white lace and tulle overlay

1950's coral lace and tulle sweetheart prom

1960's baby blue nylon prom over blush lining

Gold, cream and blue vintage accessories

Dirty Fabulous vintage summer dresses

In celebration of the occasional sunny spells I thought I would show you some of our super pretty summery 1950's prom dresses.

These dresses are utterly divine and would be prefect for an upcoming wedding, debs or even as bridesmaid.

Our original vintage prom dresses range in price from approx €180 to €350.

To add one of our delectable dresses to your wardrobe contact us now for your appointment on 016111842 or info@dirtyfabulous.com

Portrait photography - old school!

Portrait photography has been around virtually since cameras themselves were invented.
 I love old photographs, the colour and character are so different from modern photography. Now there are a million and one camera phone apps and easy to use photo editing treatments that can recreate the style of these shots but I still love the original printed photographs, particularly the earlier ones which tend to have beautiful ivory serrated or crimped edges. 

I have selected a few interesting studio portraits where the sitter is in formal costume of some kind, If you have ever been anywhere where they are doing these shoots I recommend you try it out for a bit of fun!  I am including a couple I have done over the years too!

First up! This is Oscar Wilde in traditional Greek costume in 1877

This group of 4 girls, taken in 1875, has some odd props! The first time I saw it I thought they were dressed as witches but if you look again there are no actual pointed hats it just seems that there are! Also the broom and taxidermy all add to the intrigue! If you consider the fact that this photo was taken 138 years ago I think the girls look extremely modern!

This one was also taken in the 1800s, it's a very striking look and I'm sure she would have chosen the very finest outfit she owned for the portrait. (I'm not sure how practical  her hat would be now!)

(via www.myvintagevogue.com)

This is myself and my husband Peter taken in the Josef Seidl photographic studio in Český Krumlov during our honeymoon last year.

This is myself and Kathy in Miss Moon's vintage portrait parlour, taken at Electric Picnic a number of years ago....

And this is myself and the menfolk of my family decked out for the wild west! This was taken at the Ulster American folk park outside Omagh if I remember correctly circa 1983 ish.

 I love the ridiculousness of these photographs! It's good to poke fun at yourself and not take life too seriously all the time.

x Caroline x 

Behind The Candelabra Dirty Fabulous Stylee!

We had a Liberace themed night on Monday in preparation of seeing Behind The Candelabra.

If you've missed the hype about this film then be prepared for an awesome rhinestone and feather spectacle.

The film delves in to the relationship between the infamous Liberace and his boy toy Scott, played to perfection by Matt Damon.

It's hard to believe at times that you are watching Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, in fact the whole film is brilliantly cast.

Liberace was an insanely eccentric, extremely wealthy performer and his relationships were less than conventional.

I won't say any more on the film but I'd definitely recommend it and our whole group loved it!

Rob Lowe's character was hilarious!

"Can you see me now?"

To make the most of the evening we dressed up in every rhinestone sparkle we could put our hands to!

I provided some camp and retro nibbles for the evening and plied my guests with not one but three boozy cocktails (mocktails for me only!) which included 

Cucumber and Mint Lemonade Cocktails

A Badly Behaved Shirley Temple

and 

Pink Sugar rimmed Pomegranate Champagne Cocktails

After all this I took the easy way out for dessert and built a fabulously retro tower of Ferrero Rocher and After Eight Mints!!!

SUMMER HOLIDAYS!!!!

Helloooooo, well Summer is here with a bang! Loving this weather, loving it! 

So, we had a really lovely mini break in West Cork last weekend and I thought I would share a few photos.

We rented a lovely farmhouse outside Skibbereen, myself & Kathy, our husbands and Kathy's little boy Ruben. It was very idyllic, lovely wild gardens, with lots of random little swings among the trees and bluebells.

We had brought our laptops with us to work while we were there but unfortunately there was no Internet and virtually no phone coverage! If you were looking for somewhere to totally unwind, you would be hard pushed to find a nicer spot!

Ruben was very keen to do the driving!

Here are a few shots of in and around the house, it would be a great place for a big family get together. 

We are already planning our next visit!

 Kathy having quiet time while Ruben snoozes!

I want a trampoline!

The Innishannon Vintage Steam Rally Wuhoooooo!

We went here on our way home on bank holiday Monday, it was brilliant!! It was all in aid of the Irish Cancer Society. Now I am a big fan of vintage cars and vintage industrial paraphernalia in general but even if you aren't it's a brilliant day out! There are a number of these rally's all around the country over the summer months so if you see one I would highly recommend you check it out.

And now some awesome steam powered tractors!

   

I had to restrain myself from buying this antique sewing machine

(I have 4 already and really, really don't need another one!)

 I don't know what this was but I really wanted it!

Some vintage cars? Well yes please, I'll have that one, oh and that one, oh and I really want that one.....

Ruben's head nearly exploded with tractor excitement. 

This tractor was by Porsche!! It was very swish!

 So that was our Bank Holiday holiday! It made us all want to have a house in the country with a vintage tractor in the field and a classic car for trips to the village to eat fresh seafood! I think that's the point of holidays, they should be both aspirational and inspirational!

x Caroline x