It is my pleasure to wander around in the open, wearing what to most people would consider the most unusual attire. Naturally, discretion is necessary. I go to little used parts of the forest, where I can count on being unobserved for the most part; but nevertheless I am sure to be seen from time to time. It gives me great satisfaction to be seen like this. I am being myself, as I wish to be: no-one has the right to deny me the harmless pleasure of strolling about in a beautiful dress, and to date, while people whom I have passed sometimes appear somewhat bemused, others are kind enough to comment kindly. I smile sweetly and hold my head high. I feel truly alive when I am wandering freely, beautifully dressed, out in the glorious contryside!

A period costume complete with poke bonnet.

Now here is my favourite dress for wandering out and about. I have worn it in many places and often been seen - but as no-one knows what to make of me, I have never heard any adverse comments. These pictures are taken in the garden.

The video was taken in the forest nearby.

It was pretty exciting to be dressed like this out in the open!

New Zealand


Recently I spent some time in New Zealand. Here I enjoyed lengthy wanderings out in the open.
We used to live there, years ago, and it is where Marcia was born. I feel an enormous affinity with the country and always feel completely at home there. What a joy it was, to roam the beaches and hills, freely and unrestrained!



Lake Tutira, on the east coast, is a beautiful place where I spent hours roaming by the shore.
You may wonder about the way I am dressed. Well, I admit it is rather a "hippy" look, though I am no hippy. This dress, in tie dyed cotton with lace trimmed floating panels and petticoats, is simply what I like to wear - it's just "me". But I was never one to conform to convention!

East Cape



One day I ventured out to East Cape. As you can see, the weather was not very kind, the skies grey, rain threatening. But I felt so joyful as I wandered along this lonely beach.






Hawkes Bay




On the hills above Hawkes Bay, with magnificent views.




Memorial Garden











It has taken me a year to screw up my courage to use this beautiful setting for wearing one of my finest taffeta gowns. A city garden. The logistics were difficult to say the least! I could hardly walk around a public park in the heart of the city dressed like this. So I changed from my skirt and blouse into costume, close to the garden, as discreetly as possible. In the event, only a very few spectators were treated to the unusual sight I presented during the time I wandered around there. I was able to be quite relaxed and to enjoy the perfection of the surroundings to the full, while my camera whirred away to record the occasion.











Flinders Ranges



    I am seldom tempted to buy new dresses, but when I first saw this one, (which some of you may recognise as a ‘per una’ number from M&S), I was immediately struck by the colours and the design, so reminiscent of the red ochre tones of the Outback, and I thought how wonderful it would be to wear it out there (could I have been thinking of the film, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, perhaps?)
    A ridiculous fantasy, of course. But as you see, one of my principal delights is to wear some fabulous dress in surroundings of great natural beauty, and I just couldn’t get the idea out of my head. Finally I decided to buy it - by which time, of course, it was no longer to be found, but at one store I finally tracked it down.
    The next step, of course, was to create an opportunity to wear it in the setting I had visualised. I’d never actually been to the outback, and a visit was long overdue, so I planned a camping trip to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. This was a thoroughly worthwhile experience in its own right, but while I was there I pursued my special agenda, and one evening, with the setting sun bathing the rugged rocky hills with a ruddy glow, I realised my dream and spent a while sauntering around on a hilltop, my contentment complete.


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