Hello, my friends! L and I are committed to being our usual goofy selves for your reading pleasure.
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| "Do the Hustle!" |
[
Fun fact: I learned to do the disco dance "The Hustle" in grade 5 for PE/Physical Education in elementary school, around 1977-78]
We both love to get dressed up, and are dearly missing our usual packed social calendar filled with meet-ups and events. Out dear friends called us during their Zoom session last night, and it was so wonderful to hear their voices.
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| "What? I am not good enough for you?" |
Vizzini's great (especially his yowly voice), but I miss hanging out with our friends and chillin' over some beers and wine and food.
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| "I have a surprise for the Man and the Woman!" |
Our story: On this rainy Saturday, a small tuxedo cat approached a Man who was reviewing the whiskeys on the bar. Of course, it is the 1970s, so the Man is dressed in some stylin' threads.
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| "Hey, Man, I have something to show you! I am a Genie - check out my lamp!" |
[
Fashion aside: The Man is wearing a vintage 70s cuffed shirt, a 70s Christian Dior tie - KLASSY - and some early 00s flared pinstripe trousers. The houndstooth jacket is by Tommy Hilfiger from the late 90s. The shoes are Fluevogs, and the hat is modern]
Well, the Man had never seen a talking cat before, so he was understandably skeptical. Suuuure, this cat is a genie...
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| "I am! And I have a magic lamp for you to look at!" |
And behold, there WAS a magic lamp!
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| "Maybe if I stare at it long enough, he will notice." |
It was a magical Lamp of Lava, filled with purple goop!
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| "Go on...I left a special present by the lamp." |
Hoping that the "special present" wasn't a hairball, the Man approached the Lava Lamp.
Gadzooks! A book!
But what kind of book is it??
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| "I simply cannot tell!" |
The Man could not figure it out on his own, so Vizzini the Genie called for reinforcements.
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| "I roll my eyes - these people are so stupid!" |
But first, he had to fight off the infamous Fuzzy Snake!
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| "Ah! This snake shall feel my wrath!" |
And then he raked his scratching post in frustration.
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| "Woman! Go look at the lamp!" |
The Woman was distracted by this lump of fury, biting at his post.
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| "They...are...so...stupid!" |
Finally, the Woman also spotted the Lava Lamp and the book.
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| "Hmmm...I wonder if this is what that Genie Cat was getting riled up about?" |
She went back to the Genie Cat to ask.
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| "YES! Read the book, Woman!" |
She investigated the Lava Lamp further.
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| "Ooh, it's warm!" |
Vizzini was gobsmacked.
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| "WTF, Woman! Read the book!" |
The Woman - not being quite as stupid as the genie cat thought - discovered the book.
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| "Hey! It's a book!" |
She and the Man examined it.
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| "Let's Disco!" |
Yes! It was indeed a magical lamp, with a vintage "Let's Disco!" book that the Genie Cat had set out for them.
[
Long digression as we look at the book and Lava Lamp]
We found the book years ago at L's mom's place and took it home for our amusement.
However, every page looks like this, and it's impossibly complicated.
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| I do dig the Art Deco font on every page - this one is for "1-Step Hustle" |
Learning to dance from a book...not the
best method...all those footprints!
Check out the grooviness! It's from 1978, published by K-Tel Records.
It originally came with a record (check it out
here, linking 'cause I love!), with Side 1 as all "Instruction", which I'm sure was not at all confusing! The yellow sticker on the corner has been bent over the cover, but we can still enjoy the "recommendations":
"Today's hottest social activity can now be easily and economically learned with the "Let's Disco!" instructional system." - Bill Wardlow, BILLBOARD - recognized in the music industry as the "Father of Disco."
and
"...Best disco instruction package we've seen...complete, easy to follow, and very affordable." - Village People - top international disco recording group.
and
"It works! A great way to learn the basics of disco." - Peter Brown, recording star. Hits include '78 disco smash, "Dance With Me."
Okay, I have actually heard of Bill Wardlow, but I seriously doubt that the Village People really looked at this book for very long! I did enjoy (but did not recognize) "Dance With Me" (YouTube link
here), but Peter Brown got a single on the vinyl record that came with this, so I'm sure his comment was totally legit, ha ha!
By the way, the Lava Lamp is an authentic "Lava Lite" as it notes on the cap - I bought it in Seattle back in the early 90s, when I was on a buying trip with the owners of the year-round Christmas store that I worked at. I recall it was VERY expensive - like $90 US!
Hmmm...they are a lot cheaper now.
[
end of digression]
*ahem*
With the magical Lamp of Lava, and the help of the "Let's Disco!" really-very-easy-did-you-even-read-the-comments?? magical book, the Man and the Woman were transformed into disco experts!
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| "It was very economical!" |
We are lighting up the dance floor!
Classic disco pointing move!
The Woman spins while the Man claps!
Swooshy dresses are the best for spinning!
Where's the Genie Cat, Man?
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| "Over there!" |
I'm digging that awesome vintage 70s disco shirt, gold lion-head necklace, and shiny orange trousers (vintage Versace).
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| "You must also admire my shiny shoes!" |
Those are Fluevogs, of course!
And now, onto my outfits. For my first outfit, I did a classic casual 70s look.
This was based around my vintage 70s shirt. The hair was fluffy and lightly curled, with light make-up (shiny pale pink lipstick!) and classic glasses.
- Shirt - Pant-Man, vintage 70s, thrifted; last worn here in November 2019 with cropped trousers
- Skirt - Danier Leather, vintage 90s; last seen here (4th outfit) in October 2019 for a weekend shopping trip (I miss those!)
- Boots - Vog Together, Fluevog, consignment; last worn here in February with yellow owls
An A-line front buttoned skirt would be more accurate, but I don't have one of those.
Instead, this late 90s skirt and (probably) early 00s boots will have to do - the 90s were the first time we had a 70s renaissance.
I originally had a pair of black tights on, but swapped them out for nylons.
Coloured/black tights were not really a thing in the 70s.
I wore a lot of knee-high socks in the early 70s, though (check 'em out
here, from a retrospective dedicated to my brother Dave).
I really hope knee socks never make a come-back! I'll pass.
The stuff:
The shirt has black, grey and brown in it - I liked how these boots went.
Minimal bling:
The belt is really light - I think it's aluminum.
- Belt - vintage fair
- Earrings - Winnie Tam, Abkhazi Gardens gift shop
And here's my disco outfit!
Of course, I had to wear my authentic vintage 70s disco dress!
- Dress - no label, vintage 70s, thrifted; first worn here (2nd outfit) for the Victoria Film Festival Gala in February 2019
- Shoes - Vivienne Westwood Anglomania + Melissa, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in August 2018 for Justin and Vero's 20th anniversary party
The last time I wore this dress I did all silver accessories, so this time I went with gold.
I adore the ruched top - it has an elastic waist.
Back zip, no pockets.
But look at that handkerchief hem! Perfect for dancing.
The spaghetti straps tie at the neck for an additional halter - I do still have the original skinny tie belt for it too.
Can you believe I paid $11.95 for this dress?
The stuff:
The shoes are solid plastic and smell sweet, like candy. They are pearlized white with the bronzy-metallic heart. They are also impossibly high for me...unless I'm disco dancing!
Gold bling:
Our favourite "Elton John" sunglasses are from the mid-90s. Check out the last time I did a full 70s look with them
here, in October 2013.
- Sunglasses - c. 1996
- Belt - thrifted, Powell River
- Flower clip/brooch - Le Chateau
- Snake bracelet - Whiting and Davis, vintage 80s, vintage fair
- Earrings - vintage fair
I added more sparkle to my make-up. I use all MAC products.
Sorry, my bathroom is pale yellow - I'm really not that yellow in person.
I brushed my hair off to the side, and anchored it with a small gold clip.
Getting dressed up and doing exaggerated fun make-up was a blast.
But Disco is serious business.
While L was waiting for me to arrange things and take pictures (we used the timer on the camera to do all of our dancing pose pics), he read his book.
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| "I'm so proud of both of you stupid people for figuring this all out." |
Vizzini helped by whacking at L's lion pendant.
So...this is how we celebrate our weekends now!
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| "Disco like there's no tomorrow!" |
I hope you enjoyed our disco party!
Stay health and safe, and thank you so much for visiting!
