Taking Care of Business

As part of the big trip to Tennessee and as an Elvis Presley fan, a trip to Gracelands was clearly in order. I've been to Gracelands before and of course, the house stays the same but there is much more to Gracelands than just the estate itself. Around the edge of Gracelands, owned by EP enterprises is a collection of museums (housing his outfits, planes, cars -including the pink Cadillac- and more), a variety of shops and a handful of diners including 'Rockabilly's Cafe'.

We started the day with tour of the mansion itself, walking up those famous steps and through the front door into what is, by today's rock star standards, a modest, comfortable, personal family home with more than touch of extravagant 70s kitsch!

With my plane, obviously.

Vivien of Holloway at Gracelands, Memphis

I have been a huge fan of Vivien of Holloway for some years now. It's the first repro-vintage brand that  I discovered, back when the shop was over a motorcycle shop at the back of Camden market. Since then the brand has gone from strength to strength and it's very easy to see why! Unlike some of the other authentic reproduction brands, Holloway have a relatively quick turnover of new prints and styles so there is always something new for vintage fans to covet (my poor bank account!). 

I've tried a few different styles of Viv dresses over recent years but the style that fills my wardrobe (like many other fans) is the halter neck circle dress. For those who are yet to sample the delights of Vivien of Holloway, you need to know your waist size and order according to that. If you shop in store, I would recommend going at least one size (maybe two depending on the fabric) up from your modern sizing. The circle dresses are cut to finish perfectly with a standard length petticoat, zip at the back and have a boned and shaped bodice for a super flattering fit that you really won't get from a lot of cheaper vintage brands.

Now, many people reserve these dresses for special occasions but I will generally take any opportunity to wear a pretty dress. I've worn my dresses to theme parks, for days out in the country, shopping in the city and of course, for weddings! Back in February, I was lucky enough to win a picture competition on Viv's fan page and I put my winnings to work on a couple of new Viv dresses -a cherry halter dress and (daringly for me!) a leopard wiggle dress. I recently wore the white cherry halter neck circle dress for my mum's wedding in Memphis and I thought I'd take the opportunity to show this gorgeous dress off in a wonderful location!

At the chapel at Gracelands

Gracelands

Outside Gracelands -fan graffiti!

Sun Studios

Sun studios

Arcade Restaurant, Memphis

Like I said in my last blog post, I am a huge Elvis fan and during my last trip to Memphis, I was lucky enough to see a lot of Elvis related sights. Among the lesser known haunts on the tourist trail, is the fabulously retro Arcade Restaurant. In the 50s, as Elvis' career took off, he found it more and more difficult to go out without being harassed by over-zealous fans. The Arcade provided his favourite food, discrete staff and most importantly, a quick getaway route should the place become swamped with petticoats and bobby socks ;)

I ate here twice during my trip, for lunch and breakfast and both times I wasn't disappointed. Vegetarians are clearly not common customers in the South and it can be a little bit tricky to find anything other than a garden burger in most bars and diners. The Arcade are very flexible when it comes to breakfast, offering to replace the meat with a fruit platter for no extra cost and providing a pretty good choice of salads, pizzas and sandwiches.

Of course my favourite thing about the diner is the history and retro decor which doesn't appear to have changed in the last half a century. The faded atomic print on the diner tables, bar stools and advertisements are authentically mid-century and it is without doubt, my favourite diner.

Memphis (wedding) Belles

I was lucky enough to spend 8 fantastic days in Memphis earlier this month, partly as a pilgrimage to the city that has inspired me so much personally as well as musically and partly to celebrate my mother’s wedding.

I’m going to post about some of my favourite aspects of Memphis separately but I thought I’d start with some pictures from the main event, the wedding at Gracelands.

The ladies in charge of arranging the wedding could not have been kinder or more friendly and my mum and her husband, Pete, had a wonderful small service in the tiny little wooden chapel in the grounds of Gracelands.

The wedding was broadcast via a small camera at the back of the chapel, back to our friends and family back home in the UK and in Australia. It was wonderful to see my mum so happy to be marrying someone she really loves and in a life-long dream setting.

My favourite part of the day was the ride in the driven by the wonderful Tad Pierson of ‘American Dream Safari’. He picked us up at the hotel and took us on a mini-tour of rock’n’roll Memphis, including the South Main and Stax area of the city. When we all emerged from the chapel Tad was kind enough to take pictures on my camera and decorated the car with a pair of blue suede shoes and a retro ‘Just Married’ sticker, which prompted a lot of fellow car horn tooting on the way back into town!

Tad can take up to 4 passengers on a urban safari around Memphis and let me tell you, there is nothing this man doesn’t know about rock n roll and his wonderful home city. Get in touch via his FB page if you are visiting in the future and want a real insiders tour! https://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Dream-Safari/174034782626621?fref=ts