FEIST FRIDAY FANCYDRESS FILM NIGHTS #FFFDFN
For those who weren’t following my personal Instagram last summer, let me introduce you to a little something that became known as ‘Dress Up Fridays’.
IDEA:
I forced my parents to dress up with me, to match our Friday night movie (x12)
DETAILS:
this was meant to be a simple distraction during the first UK national lockdown, something to look forward to during the week
RULES:
we had to all agree on a film (often on the Friday)
have to prepare our outfits ON THE DAY – no prior prep allowed
no money must be spent on the costume; items must all be found in or made from things in the house
costumes must be worn for the duration of the film (but Lester almost never did)
I had the idea when National Theatre and Andrew Lloyd Webber started streaming live performances during the lockdown, none of us really knowing how long it would go on for. It started with The Shows Must Go On streaming Phantom, a family favourite, and I somehow managed to convince my parents to dress up with me. They’d said they were really busy so couldn’t think about a costume until the last minute (a very Feist thing to do anyway) and so that was that decided. After Phantom, we quickly expanded to other films, though we did mainly do musicals for the duration.
When I was younger, we used to put on these themed New Year’s Eve parties with some family friends, taking it in turn to host, and having fancydress and all the food, entertainment etc all tied in to the theme… I used to LOVE these, and often thought if there was any way to bring these back – now was our time! Even though it was just the three of us this time round, I was so fucking excited! Years of saving random bits of fabric, costumes, makeup – finally a reason!
My poor brother, who very cleverly forgot to join in the excitement, looked on in horror at our costumes when dinner was dished up. Every week nervously awaiting an explanation as to what we were meant to be. And everyone joked that it was just an excuse to take more selfies and put my tits on Instagram… your point?
FRIDAYS:
PHANTOM: The Phantom of the Opera (Stage Version) = the one where Lester looked more like Hugh Hefner
MOULIN ROUGE: (Film) = the one where Pea smashed it as Toulouse-Lautrec
GREEK NIGHT: Mamma Mia (Film) & My Big Fat Greek Wedding = the one where Lester drew on his butt
BALTI TOWERS*: Bride and Prejudice (Bollywood Film) + curry = the one with the karma sutra
DIE HARD: the original film + ‘Yippee Cayenne Mother-Clucker’ burgers = the one where Pea wore Ikea storage
GREASE: the movie = the one you asked us to do
CALAMITY JANE: the Doris Day classic (film) = the one where Peta ran down the street dressed as a horse for a boomerang
AUSTEN TOWERS: Emma (the new film) + anything and everything Jane Austen = the one where I gobbled a kebab in regency wear
SWEENEY TODD: (the film) = the one where I stupidly licked a really sharp knife for the love of TikTok
EUROVISION: on the day the Film premiered, but we dressed as real-life people = the one Lester finally got to wear a ballgown
HAMILTON: (Stage Version) the day it was released on Disney+ (so mum & dad had no idea what it was about) = the one where we all absolutely smashed it
CATS: (2019 Film) = the one where we remembered none of us like Cats…
*if you’re wondering about the ‘Towers’ reference, our house is called Melbourne Tower – some just call it “Towers”… but also it’s an ex-hotel in Torquay – linked forever to the infamous sitcom Fawlty Towers.
HIT PLAY:
HIGHLIGHTS:
Mum as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec – I’m not sure how PC it was, but I’m not sure I maintained a straight face while looking at her the whole night! (a lot of snorting)
Making my own corset from scratch in an afternoon from an Amazon box, some tape & some old fabric
Dad as Conchita Wurst – he’d even made his own trophy & never broke character! (look closely!)
TITS
If you enjoyed reading about this excursion, look out for a future blog about our Friday activities for the second UK national lockdown:
FLIP THE TOWERS the Feist’s answer to Changing Rooms, where we decorated a room or area each weekend (x4).
In the mean time, watch my saved Flip The Towers story highlights on Instagram here
BUT MAKE IT ARTSY
Today is my birthday 🎂 which I’m not overly thrilled about… so tonight as something to look forward to, I am resurrecting the dress-up, but this time with a TWIST. (no, no, that’s not an Oliver clue… no more please)
Ever since my parents first took me to the Royal Academy of Art’s Summer Exhibition in 2007, I’ve tried to go every year and gaze in awe at all the artworks on display. I wasn’t able to attend in 2020, and so I decided to watch a virtual tour tonight with my lovely parents** in costume as either famous artists or artworks!
I have no idea what to dress as yet, I feel I probably wouldn’t do Grayson Perry justice… but my mum might!
**Adam has promised to ‘attend’ as Banksy…