Birthday fun

Well, I went to London for a week in the middle of February to see friends for my 30th birthday celebrations (eek! where have my 20s gone?). There were a few fashion and sewing related things to report here.

I wore *two* dresses I made (not at the same time, silly) - my leopard and green Budapest dress, as featured on these pages previously, and a new green silk/cotton BWOF dress (review coming up).

I had been intending to wear the one I wore on my actual birthday to meet my parents, rather than the leopardy one, but when I put it on, there was something just not right about it. I don't know if maybe it had shrunk in the wash (the fabric had been pre-washed before sewing it) or if all the birthday drinks had gone to my subcutaneous lipid cells, but it really wasn't comfortable any more. I needed to make alterations anyway, so that is going in my reworking pile.

The next day, my lovely husband (get a room!) organised a party for me at a surprise venue, and my glamorous dress turned out to be very appropriate, as we went to the Tassel Club, a burlesque and cabaret club!

It was a tremendous amount of fun, especially as I hadn't seen some the friends that came for many many months. Burlesque has had a lot of press in the last few years and has become quite a fashionable activity to both do and watch - in fact I went to a burlesque dancing lesson last summer as part of a hen party. I'm not entirely convinced by the argument that it's empowering, as it's still defining women by their sexuality, but at least it is a much more democratic sexuality than what is overwhelmingly seen nowadays, in that it celebrates a more natural body (well, discounting the makeup, hairspray and depilation), and a variety of body shapes.

On a shallower note, OH MY GOODNESS THE HAIR! THE MAKEUP! THE CLOTHES! One of the (immaculately coiffed, immaculately made up and immaculately dressed) ladies who worked there complimented me on my dress, and I was enormously pleased to be able to say "I made this!" We were standing next to where all the performers walked through, so I was able to have a good look at their beautiful costumes (and plenty of boobies too). And as for the clientele, well, that it one place I'm never going to feel overdressed...

Oh, and I've got my first commission! No less than a bolero tail jacket for one of my best friends to wear at her wedding - oh my!

PS Apologies for the appalling quality of the photos in this post, I have resolved to take more pictures of the dresses on Wilma, and train my husband in better photo-taking!