Feeding my Inner Diva!

Friday 22 August

Sunny morning inspired me to get the linen washed and set out on the balcony to dry. Louis and I also took advantage of the weather to search out another contender for best croissant in the CBD and decide to try Daily Bread (equal first place with Amano was the judgement)

Louis was still not feeling his best - very tired and drugs playing havoc with his digestive system - so we had a chill morning, popped in to see Jean (where he fixed her laptop in minutes - hero!) then just hung out (like the washing!)

After lunch I met Laura (another old work colleague) at the Museum for the V&A DIVA exhibition, and of course 8 months of catch up chat!

The DIVA exhibit was fascinating - from 19th century operatic stars, through the queens of the silent movie era, the glamour of the talkies sirens to jazz singers and pop stars of the 20th and 21st century. Fascinated by the obsession with tiny wasp waists even 150 years ago - and the fact that the Beverly Hills street plan was designed to look like a curvaceous female form. In stark contract to this objectivism of women, was the likes of Marie Lloyd - "You can't stop a girl from thinking!"

The queens of the silver screen evolved into cultural icons - Mae West with her acerbic lines, Greta Garbo who really did want to be alone, Marlene Dietrich with her sexual ambivalence decades before it became more socially accepted, Bette Davis with those eyes, Elizabeth Taylor, as famous for her many tempestuous marriages as her movie roles... and of course, the ultimate blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe - star of my favourite movie, "Some Like it Hot".

The narrative of claiming their place, of burgeoning feminism through their star power was really interesting - and by the time Elton John hit the headlines, the term had opened up to encompass all genders & identities. The first outfit below was for Elton's iconic 50th birthday party in 1991 - the wig was so high and the voluminous feather cape so full that he had to be transported to Hammersmith Palais for the night in a furniture removals van!!! Rihanna became a darling of the Met Gala before she hit 20 and had several stunning outfits on display. Besides these modern divas the exhibition also celebrated Dolly Parton and her official doll, Prince's tiny Cinderella size boots, Tina Turner's fiery demon wings, Janelle Monae's vulva dress, Bob Machie designs for Pink on tour, Bjork's fabulous golden gown and of course an assortment of glorious kitsch outfits created for Cher.

In turn worshipful, pejorative & celebratory - the term DIVA encompasses many emotions 🌟

Back home to the apartment on the green bus then Russ joined us for dinner (from the Commercial Bay food court) and a video call with Nickie who’ll be back from UK on Sunday. Yay! 🎉