All the Gypsy Ladies

These loverly ladies have been roaming the land since long before I even existed. Not only are they both fabulous Gypsy Fair artistes, but they both live this crazy life as fierce, independent women (Beyonce would be proud). Madame Feather - whom you may remember from previous posts - is a palm reader, and creator of goddess dresses, the tie-dyed petticoats you can see hanging in her shop here. She is also a sales extraordinaire, and once she gets a grip on you, you can be sure you won't be leaving without a petticoat or two. Jypsy Jude is an amazing artist, who treats her house bus as a canvas and spreads her paint brush love over miscellaneous objets d'art to sell at the gypsy fair. The interior of her bus is up there with some of the best house buses I've ever had the pleasure of venturing inside - it's a magical chiffon draped world where you feel jeannies might really exist. In what awesome alternate world did I get to hang out with these ladies?!

Jen is her Name!

Another bonus of our Australian adventure was the chance to see all the awesome work my friends are up to. This amazing window art is the creation of artist extraordinaire Jenna-Lee Shave. She has taken the Melbourne shop she works at to the next level of cool with her regular window updates - one such work even featured Jem my favourite 80s superstar - just plain eighties fabulous.

Little Gypsies in the Big City

Melbourne was our last stop for a blissful reunion with some best friends from Fashion School days. A whole lot of vintage shopping, some imitation Beyonce dance moves and general hilarity would ensue as we relived the good old days. In a strange twist of fate, I had accidentally copied Helen's haircut. After years of long girlish hair, I was now almost on par with Helen's brand of tomboy cool. Helen is one of the most effortlessly stylish people I know, therefore one of the highlights of knowing her is the opportunity to rob her closet and be styled by her - I'm still missing this black sequinned vest of hers!

Aussie Fabulous

Not content with three nights in a hotel, we decided to celebrate further with a little trip to Australia. We were so excited to get out of the freeze that we walked around in summer clothes the whole time, undeniably marking ourselves as tourists. But I consoled myself with the fact that we weren't just any old tourists - we were Global Gypsies! Although we left our wagon at home, we kept the gypsy spirit alive with a trip to my Uncle's gorgeous beach house north of Sydney. Champagne cocktails with caviar kept us feeling Absolutely Fabulous while our amazing hosts Tim and Joweli kept us highly entertained in a Radio Gaga-esque fashion. As we dined al fresco and slept in an adorable outdoor pavilion I decided I could definitely get used to this global gypsy thing, as long as we only visited tropical havens such as this.