Shirley, You Can Not Be Serious!

On Friday morning Jon dropped the eBay parcels at the post office whilst I sorted out the previous day's charity shop finds.

 There was a 1980s leather shoulder bag, some Bandolino scuba ankle boots with snakeskin heels, an Amnol Indian embroidered smock top, a 1980s Canda penguin jumper, a 1980s Jessica midi dress, a West African waxed cotton kaftan and a brand new pair of USA-made Hudson jeans which retailed at £220!

I listed a few more things on eBay and tried on my new swimsuit which had arrived whilst we were at the cinema the previous day. Happy with the fit I got dressed and we walked down to the baths for our Friday morning swim. We managed to swim a mile again this week.

I wore my green Van Allan dress (along with the blue one in my previous post, bought from eBay in 2001) with my Superga organic cotton plimsols (via eBay), my charity-shopped Topshop army jacket and a silk kantha scarf bought in Jodphur in January 2020. Jon wore his navy shorts, a tiger print shirt (he's also got a long-sleeved version in black) and some Vans hi-tops (all charity shopped). 

After lunch Jon did some work on Ebbie (our VW Variant) whilst I cleaned the lounge. We watched Fyre, a documentary about a fraudulent luxury music festival although I didn't feel much sympathy for the rich American kids who'd shelled out up to £75,000 in the hope of hanging out with social media influencers and Z list slebs. What is it they say? A fool and his money are soon parted.

Saturday continued to be blustery only a lot more colder and greyer. I stripped and changed the bed before settling down to a leisurely breakfast of coffee and toast. We took a walk around the block and then drove over to see Liz & Al, she'd been out of action for a week having contracted the dreaded Covid again (thankfully, being triple jabbed it was no more than a sniffle).

When we got home we discovered a parcel awaiting, the Adidas Sneekers Jon had won on eBay over the bank holiday weekend. Launched in April 2020, they're a reissue of the original 1970s Adidas Sneeker at a cost of £75 - Jon won his for £14 - and the condition is almost perfect.

I'm dressed in Anokhi - all old favourites you've seen before. The riding jacket was purchased from the Anokhi flagship store in Jaipur in January 2019 and the vintage skirt & blouse were both lucky eBay finds.

Jane Seymour is wearing the same blouse (with the peplum tucked in) in this early 1970s photoshoot. One day I will find the matching skirt - the yellow set did pop up online a while ago but I couldn't justify spending £350!

 

Jon woke up feeling like he was coming down with a cold and took a lateral flow test just to rule out Covid before we went out visiting which, fortunately, was negative. After we got back from Liz & Al's  he spent the afternoon on the settee with some sci-fi nonsense so I made myself scarse and cleaned the bedroom.

 

And gave one of my dolls houses a Spring clean whilst I was at it.

Later, we watched two films set in Greece. The excellent Beckett (2021) about a American tourist who, after a devastating accident, becomes the target of corrupt cops, a modern day (and more violent) The Fugitive. I'd not seen Shirley Valentine since its cinematic release in 1989 but it obviously made such an impact on me that I was able to recall great chunks of the dialogue - much to Jon's annoyance - and thirty-three years on it's still utterly brilliant.

In thirteen years of blogging I realise that I've never shared my own Shirley Valentine adventure.

 In 1991, I was in a three year relationship which had become so tedious that, like Shirley, I was starting to talk to the wall. A few months earlier I'd holidayed in Malta with a friend and had met, let's call him X, a local man who ran a popular bar. On our last night he'd asked for my address and had bombarded me with letters swearing undying love. Bored out of my brains with his talk of weddings and having children, I broke up with my then-boyfriend, took leave from work and flew to Malta where X was waiting for me outside tiny Luqa airport in his huge American muscle car. Also in the car was his cousin, a twelve year old boy, who, it transpired was the author of the letters as X was illiterate.

 The following day X went to work and told me to stay in his apartment until he got home but, me being me, I didn't. I put the door on the latch and reacquainted myself with the island, riding on the old buses, speaking to strangers, hanging out in a shabby bar in downtown Valetta and got back before X returned but, Malta being a small island & in March, off-tourist season, and me with my waist length blonde hair, black leather mini dress & platform boots, I didn't go unnoticed and word soon got back to X of my escapades.

The following day I was deposited at his mother's, a morbidly obese widow with a penchant for heavily dubbed American action movies. She spoke no English and I spoke no Maltese and we sat together on the settee, day after day, with the curtains drawn & our eyes glued to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Light relief would arrive at lunchtime when the family (including X) would descend, a raucous affair accompanied by several bottles of The Virgin's Tears, the local red wine. Two hours later and it was back to Arnie before I was collected at 6pm where I'd help out behind the bar.

The rest of my time was spent ever thus but, one day, whilst Mama was absorbed in Red Sonja, I snuck out of the door and headed to the seafront. Halfway there I heard the screech of brakes, she'd tipped X off of my escape, and I was uncerimoniously dragged into the car, where he flipped open the glove compartment and showed me the gun he kept there. After that I didn't dare escape again and, after a fortnight, I waved him goodbye, flew back to the UK and tore up the letters that continued to arrive. After a year of single life I met Jon and thirty years on we've still together. We travelled to Malta in 1994 but, fortunately, never bumped into X and the bar had gone.

Me in 1991 shortly before my Malta adventure

On Sunday morning, Lord Jon made himself a bacon sandwich and started to feel human again. We drove down to the clearance charity shop, arriving just as the doors were opening and were delighted to bump into our friend, Dawn.

We bought a VW teeshirt, which won't surprise you to hear that Jon's keeping, a 1980s leather belt, a woven Greek bedspread (already in situ), two Zara midi skirts, a brand new steamer - the answer to my prayers!, more workout gear for me, a pair of 1980s cotton shorts, made in Australia, a fringed cardi (another keeper!), a navy Harrington jacket, a 1980s dress and a 1980s leather waistcoat.

I wore another old favourite, one that hasn't been seen on my blog since 2018, and darling....its Pucci!

Bought for an absolute steal at Stockport's Vintage Village in 2016, I'm wearing my Pucci dress with my Diesel denim jacket, vintage Sheffield Stainless Steel modernist choker and 1970s Greek tourist bag, some vintage Christian Dior sunglasses Jon snaffled for me off eBay and a brand new pair of Superga flatforms with a rope sole.

To be more precise my Pucci dress is Emilio Pucci for Formfit Rogers, Pucci's lingerie line, which he launched in 1957 as he hated how American women's clothing looked with the heavyweight girdles they insisted upon wearing, creating a lightweight version named Viva.

Pucci was promoted to Vice President of Formfit Rogers, where he supervised every part of creation— he draped fabric, worked with the designers, approved samples and created prints specifically for the intimate apparel line, never reusing ready-to-wear designs.The first print that Pucci created for Formfit Rogers was designed in 1966. It was a linear pattern, but he went on to design floral (mine!), geometric, ribbon and diamond patterns. Each print was signed with “EPFR” which stood for “Emilio Pucci for Formfit Rogers.” The partnership between Pucci and Formfit Rogers was a very successful one but ended in 1979 when Formfit Rogers, established in Chicago in 1917, was sold by its parent company to a European conglomerate. Production was moved to Mexico, the company was not managed well, and soon Formfit Rogers went out of business. 

Emilio Pucci for Formfit Rogers advertisement c.1968

In previous blog posts my Pucci dress has been worn to trade at vintage fairs, Spoons' sessions, blogger days out and even shrinking myself to fit inside my dolls house. It might be a nightie but I don't think anyone's noticed.

Jon's on the settee watching Star Trek, I'm off to sit in the sun and read more about life in Iceland.

See you soon!