Sigh! Festival season is drawing to a close for another year! But at least it is going out with a spectacular bang! Bestival is almost upon us and the ‘Fantasy’ theme they have adopted this year is a great finale! Make sure the soundtrack to your summer has a wonderful wardrobe to match! Of course, you know we do showstopping fantasy better than anyone (all those sparkles, all that grunged out glitz!) It may be the end of the summer (sob!), but we still have some fabulous festival goodies for y’all! Pretty petticoats, magical top hats, spiky sunglasses and vintage gowns, all a fantasy costume make! And if it rains, you can still keep in the surrealist spirit! Just grab one of our ultra glam ponchos! Prices start at £3 for the poncho but you can grab any dress-up bits from £5 or less!

www.bestival.net

Bestival takes place on 9th – 12th September 2010 on the Isle of Wight

The ultimate lo-fi fantasy dress up!

Pack your festival fancies in this fantasy retro case!

Oh to have lived in the golden days of the silver screen (sigh). When women were seductive, men were brooding, dance numbers were obligatory and diamonds were a girl’s best friend. This Friday the V&A will be hosting a celebration of 1950s Hollywood glamour and the reign of Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando. Visitors are encouraged to don their finery and channel the decadence of the era in the classic setting of the V&A…you all know how much I love an excuse to dress up!!

The event includes film screenings, performances by dandy comedians Fitzrovia Radio Hour and a specially devised Alfred Hitchcock & Friends quiz. Illustrator Daisy de Villeneuve will be in residence, creating artwork and you can travel back in time to the age of Technicolor with a visit to a pop-up L’Oréal ’salon’, where coiffeurs will recreate glamorous hairstyles for visitors. Guests can also take a turn around the Grace Kelly: Style Icon exhibition and enjoy exhibition-related talks around the Museum as well as late bars and live music.

Further details available here
http://www.vam.ac.uk/activ_events/events/friday_evenings/friday_late/events/friday-late-aug-2010/index.html

Grace Kelly with her Academy Award for Country Girl, 30 March 1955

Fitzrovia Radio Hour will be performing

Whether it’s Miss America, Miss World, Miss Universe or even the innocent Rose of Tralee we love a good beauty pageant here at Beyond Retro…the glamour, backstabbing, tiaras and tears!!! This September the Fabulous Russella invites you to London’s Next Top Tranny, the original and best tranny talent competition.

Contestants will be judged in various rounds on categories to include performance ability, overall look, catwalking ability and cookery skills.  So whether it’s runway ready dresses, sky scrapper heels, creative wigs or vintage aprons we have everything you need to be Top of the Trannies. The first of three heats being held at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club starts on 8th September with the grand finale on 30th September.

To Enter email – toptranny@googlemail.com for details

The only thing holding the Beyond Retro press team back from entering is that there are no boys on the team…although that may give our entrant a slight advantage.

Look out Tyra here comes London's Next Top Tranny

While I love the image of James Dean brooding in his leather jacket in ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ my heart did a little fashion flip when I saw these cute camel coloured leather trousers calling to me from the Beyond Retro aisles. In fact, I even swapped the traditional motorbike for a vintage pink Raleigh Caprice. With everything from leather trousers, high waisted shorts, waistcoats, skirts and jackets there’s no reason why we can’t all sing along to the words of the Cody Chestnut classic “I look good in leather. And I know you, wish that you, could look like me.”

Raleigh Without a Cause