transretrogurl

I promised a second, fun blogpost to counter the melancholy rant of my vent from, oh, a good twenty minutes ago. So, with that in mind I thought I’d just share some archival pictures; one of the ways to cheer myself up at the moment is to dive into my archive of Sarah photos like Scrooge McDuck diving into a swimming pool full of gold coins. Essentially pointless, wonderfully decadent and surprisingly fun, especially because I barely remember half of the looks I have tried (and it’s a wonderful little internal static shock to see Sarah in various forms.

I’d say it was narcissistic and I’d be right, but what the hey, whatever keeps you happy at the moment can’t be that bad. And there are some fun looks I’ve dug out. So, some light entertainment and hopefully something to make you smile, dear reader…..

I *love* this frock but it’s always a difficult one to wear because it’s a little shapeless. I’ve done a whole frock tale on this one but it always makes me smile when I see it, partly because I still have a nice muscle memory of the feel of the satin underskirt but mostly because it’s deliciously retro. You don’t see modern women wearing something like this, which is a damn shame in my not-so-humble retro-obsessed girlie opinion…

Yeah, there’s natural shots and then there’s ‘way too much information’ shots. Has to be Cosmo when you’re taking a powder-break, or whatever it is women do in toilets….

I did warn you that there would be some fun photos.

This was pretty much the first proper retro dress I bought; back in 2012 or so Hell Bunny did outfits that were a lot more ‘femmy’, if that’s even a word. I do have some old shots of me wearing this dress but they are a little prehistoric, meaning that I was still trying to work out how to pose in a feminine way so most pictures from back then look a little, well, strained. This was one of the last shoots I did with the frock and we went for a more ‘drag’ look; I love that wig colour though.

We did a number of shoots where I asked Cindy at Boys Will be Girls to emulate the style of one of my fashion idols. As per normal Cindy excelled herself and I came out looking a lot like the person, which I hope she would take as a complement. Not going to say explicitly who it is but a little clue; the dress I am wearing is one of hers…..

I’d love to say I have a lot of Viking DNA in my makeup but having had a DNA test I have a surprisingly large amount of German DNA. It’s just a shame I can’t find a Dirndl that fits. Anyway, got to love a bit of Nordic NotSoNoir.

It could have been the excessive amount of beer I was drinking at the time, or the fact I could eat my way through a large Papa John’s pizza by myself, but I did have a phase where I had a little more weight on my frame. It actually made Sarah a little cute, like your girlfriend when she gets obsessed with chocolate. Luckily most of the retro fashions are very flattering to slightly larger girls.

As part of a ‘natural’ shoot I tried a 1970s look; this is exactly the kind of midi-dress my mother and all her friends would wear in the late seventies. A giggle to try it but a little odd sensation when I look at the picture and think I could *easily* fit in with my mother’s group of friends. Down that road lies a lot of therapy….

Proper archive shot. This is from 1991 as far as I could remember; I’d like to say very little has changed in thirty years but the instant I do that my mind gets blown that that was, well, thirty years ago…..

Whilst we are walking down memory lane….. this is from 2012/2013ish, at the wonderful Alison Dale’s studio when I was first rediscovering Sarah. Wasn’t even Sarah back then, I was still toying with settling on a femm name and debating whether I was a Diane or a Debbie. Turns out I was a Sarah.

Another from Sarah’s ‘chocolate’ phase. I love how cute I look; there’s something deliciously normal about the ‘my wife has fallen off her diet again’ rotund style.

I loved this cute little dress from the sadly departed Lindy Bop fashion shop. I really like the ‘natural’ look of this photo; I look like I’m about to pop into Soho for a drink or two. If I wasn’t 6ft4in in heels I reckon I could possibly pull it off. 🙂

And to finish, another of my ‘1980s wet dream’ looks. Ahh, if you couldn’t get the courage to talk to this kind of woman in the 80s it is a lot of fun to become her in the 2020s…..

There, that’s a bit better.

Stay beautiful, stay sane and stay fun.