When I was doing my undergraduate degree I used to go to burlesque shows quite often. Recently the company who used to perform in my town is taking a break from performing so I haven't been able to go to a show for ages. All is not lost though - through the magic of Youtube I have discovered 'boylesque', burlesque as performed by male dancers. I really enjoy burlesque as a form of entertainment and although I have never seen any male dancers perform at any of the shows I have been to, it looks like something I could really appreciate! What do you think?




There are also a couple more that I wanted to share but I couldn't get the videos to embed no matter how hard I tried. First there is this one. The sound isn't great on the video but the routine is excellent! And the second is one which I really enjoyed. I'm a huge fan of Steampunk fashion and also of Abney Park so this performance was perfect for me!

One thing I really like about boylesque versus burlesque with female dancers is that the boys seem to have more scope to do comedy or quirky routines. Don't get me wrong - I have seen some great comedy routines done by female dancers and if you like your men in high heels and a corset (goodness me!) then you can find that as well, but a lot of the boylesque routines I found myself enjoying the most were the more cheeky and funny ones rather than the ones that were designed to be sexy without the comedy aspect.

So ladies, does a bit of boylesque tickle your fancy?

Last week, mum and I put together a Christmas tea cosy out of oddments of wool. Mum knitted the tea cosy from this pattern, and I made the decorations using this pattern. It took us a very short amount of time to make - we pretty much finished it together over lunch one afternoon. In our family we are pretty serious tea drinkers so a nice tea cosy is a lovely thing to have. For anyone who is not a serious tea drinker (or a tea drinker at all), making tea in a teapot always makes better tea. Remember to warm the teapot first with some freshly boiled water then re-boil the water to pour straight into the teapot with the teabags. Leave to steep for around 5 minutes and pop on your cute tea cosy to help keep the tea hot.

This weekend I popped over to Melton Mobray for the Christmas Tree Festival and Victorian market with my mum and dad. The stalls on the market aren't necessarily Victorian in an of themselves, but many of the market traders dress up for the occasion. I went last year as well, and this is my parents' third year of visiting. It makes a lovely day out as it's a bit different every year, and I've discovered it makes a nice introduction to the Christmas period as well as a bit of a break from all the uni work I've been bombarded with that's due in during the next couple of weeks. As well as enjoying the market and Christmas trees, we also went to the museum for a little look around and I had enormous fun playing with an old telephone kiosk.

Recently I have been knitting a couple of things in my spare time which I hope to be able to finish and add to my wardrobe in the not-too-distant future. I have made a start on a cardigan for Knit For Victory (at the time of writing I haven't got around to adding any photos to the Flikr group but at least I've done some actual knitting).


I'm using a pattern belonging to my mum which I believe is from the 1980s but which has a classic feel which I think will work well for a 1940s look. So far I've only done some of the back of the cardigan. I'm a slow knitter and I really don't have much time for knitting at the moment what with all my university coursework, but I'm plodding ahead.



 I've been following the instructions for a 34" bust,which should be the right size for me, but it looks like it's going to come out too big. If it is too big though, I'll probably just knit another one in a different colour and a smaller size. I'm very short of knitwear at the moment so it'll be useful either way. I have already knitted a beret in the same colour wool which will make a lovely matching set once I've finished the cardigan.

 I have also been working on knitting the 3 Hour Sweater, which has taken me far longer than 3 hours. It is a relatively simple pattern but I have found it very difficult knitting on such large needles. I've finished everything except the sleeves, which have been put on hold for now until I've finished my Knit for Victory cardigan.

Recently Joanna of Dividing Vintage Moments invited her readers to write about ten items that inspire their vintage journey, as part of a lovely giveaway which you can enter up until December 4th.

I have written a couple of times before about things which inspire me and give me new ideas in all things vintage since unlike a lot of other vintage wearers, I haven't been dressing in vintage clothing for many years. With that in mind, here are ten of the things which inspire my own vintage journey: