Tree change; Moving to Alice Springs, Northern Territory

I've officially moved! 

But not to Sydneytown as originally planned, but to Alice Springs in the very heart Central Australia.

Formally living on the East Coast below Brisbane,
now living in the 'Red Centre', Alice Springs

Just 30,000 people call Alice Springs home, which is most certainly a culture-shock for a city lover like myself.  No longer do I have access to cocktail bars or twenty-four hour coffee shops..   'The Alice' boasts a much slower pace & a relaxing lifestyle which, from the surface, might seem a touch boring.
I however, will be seeking out fun nights, well mixed drinks & of course Antiques whilst I'm here.  After all, a town founded in 1872 must have a few dust-covered relics for me to find!

Unfortunately for me, it's not all sunshine and daisy's! Over the past week, I have been bitten by a nasty redback spider, had a much larger spider run across my hand whilst washing dishes, found an infestation of mice in our house and caught a severe virus... Not to mention the other bugs. I'm considering it a form of hazing that the outback likes to inflict on us 'city types' & it's not going to discourage me just yet.

I've also seen some beautiful birds in our yard! Kingfishers, magpie-larks (peewee's), desert finch, green finch, doves, princess parrots and more... They're very cute indeed and work well to rid the garden of bugs & moths.

During my obligatory pre-move research on the town I came across these few pictures. Whilst the town itself is much larger than during the 50's and 60's, there is still a close-knit vibe & of course the scenery remains the same too.




Old Halls Creek Hotel - Cliff Sherry (policeman) - Walter Darcey, Ruby Plains - Ken Cameron, Flora Valley - Gordon Buchanan, grandson of Nat (Bluey) Buchanan - Drover, overlander, explorer - couple of local ringers
1948



Waterloo station.... open camp drafting bullocks for overland droving trip to Queensland
1950




Aerial photo  - Traeger Park in centre - Todd River at bottom.
1962



Alice Springs Trucking Yards Cattle Sale - Rail Wagons in foreground and Road Train Transports in background.
1964

RAAF - Canberra Bomber - Alice Springs Airport
1964

Alice Springs trucking yards - Burning carcases during drought
Late 1960's




Old ghan croosing finke river. approximately 3 miles south of Finke township.
 December 1965



Alice Springs Memorial Club concert, Patrick Thomas conducting.
1967

Will keep you updated :)

x Sianne

Photo inspiration; Marilyn Monroe assisting the Milk Fund

Drinking milk with William Metzler, a beneficiary of the Milk Fund.

x Sianne

First day of summer! Beach queens of yesteryear

Today, the 1st of December, is the first official day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Temperatures are reaching well above 35 degrees (celsius), winds are non-existant and the humidity is reaching 90% upwards.. perfect beach weather!

It's also the perfect time to take a gander at some beach and poolside queens of yesteryear..

Beachside picnic model photoshoot 

Polaroids by the pool

Model in the pool

Model photoshoot with balloons

Marilyn Monroe

Bettie Page circa 1960

'Sea Siren' pinup

Couture Allure advertising campaign

Couture Allure advertising campaign

Couture Allure advertising campaign

x

Photo inspiration; Three pretty ladies..

x Sianne

Polaroids of a young Valentino

Good morning all, hope you're looking forward to the weekend as much as I am! Today I fly out to Alice Springs in the very centre of Australia to visit my boyfriend who is currently working out there. Apparently it's a very beautiful place, I look forward to touring around!

Before I go, here are some polaroids I found of the gorgeous Valentino in the 1960's, what a handsome man!

Valentino Polaroids in the 1960's

Ciao!

x Sianne

Summer pleasures in 1960

Entertaining is perhaps my favourite part of summer, though not everyone might have the time or inclination to dress herself and her lunch table with such elegant ease, in June 1960 bare arms made a larger hat almost an imperative (a small hat made one look ‘like a sightseer’). For their table, Hostesses were advised that pale linen and organdie had returned to favour, as well as uncontrived flowers and simple, classic crystal and china.

It's love.

x Sianne

Lovely ladies in red

Happy Monday! Hope you've had a flying start to the week, unfortunately I slept in and missed the window of opportunity to go for a swim. Unfortunately we're experiencing Springtime rain on the Gold Coast.

Point of the post.. Earlier this year I posted some old photographs with colour themes covering yellow, blue, green and today I give you some glorious red themed vintage fashions. I've got a heck of a lot of this colour in my wardrobe from summer dresses, swimmers and sandals to evening dresses, high heeled shoes, jewellery, belts and scarves. You just can't go wrong with red!

Please enjoy these few I've found - next week I hope to cover shades of purple!

Model by the seaside

Model in red crepe dress by Christian Dior.

American advertisement for female nightgowns. Circa 1954.

Marilyn Monroe in the iconic red dress from the film, Niagra 1953

Photograph of Marilyn on set during the shoot of the film Niagra, 1953

Suzy Parker models red dress by designer Norman Norell

Marilyn Monroe in red negligee reading fan mail

Image from Vogue US,  June 2005 issue

Veruschka wearing striped wool full-length coat over striped chiffon dress by Valentino, 1966

Model near spires in Istanbul wearing red crepe toga-dress with asymmetric hemline by Larry Aldrich.

Barbara Bach straddles tile steps of the Castello San'Nicola outside Palermo, Sicily; wearing a bright red dress  by Teal Traina, with broad brimmed red hat by Halston, 1967

Model at Castello San' Nicola outside Palermo, Italy, wearing a large brimmed red hat with a red chiffon pleated dress with chin high collar by Junior Sophisticates, 1967

Until next time

x Sianne

A trip to the Gallery of Modern Art; Valentino Retrospective

A few weeks ago I, along with a group of treasured girlfriends, took a trip to the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane to see the exclusive exhibition 'Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future’ . For our fair city it is a major exhibition.  It explores the work of the celebrated Italian fashion house Valentino.. reason enough to buy a season pass I should think.

Described by the gallery as "encompassinghaute couture from the first collection designed in 1959 by the house’s founder, Valentino Garavani, through to work from the Autumn/Winter 2009–10 creations by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli", I must say we were not dissappointed! The range of clothing on display was amazing and the major pieces were all in place to drool over (from a safe distance, thank you security squad!).

A few of my favourite pieces were on show and I wanted to share them..

Valentino evening dress (detail) Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2009–10, Look 33.
Collection: Valentino Archives

Valentino evening ensemble Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2007–08, Model 170.
Collection: Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris.
Photograph: Jean Tholance.

Valentino evening gown Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2003, Model 130.
Collection: Valentino Archives.
Photograph: Jean Tholance

Left: Valentino evening gown Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 1992–93, Model 218; Right: Valentino evening gown Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2005–06, Model 126.
Collection: Valentino Archives. Photograph: Jean Tholance

Left: Valentino strapless cocktail dress Haute Couture Spring/Summer 1960, Model 66 ‘Sarabanda’;   Right: Valentino strapless cocktail dress Haute Couture Spring/Summer 1959, Model 79 ‘Fiesta’.
Collection: Valentino Archives. Photograph: Jean Tholance.

If you're in Brisbane anytime before the 14th of November, I would recommend giving this exhibition a visit!

x Sianne