Nos vamos pa la feria.  Memories of my past life.

SIMOF 2022

It is here again!( Happy dance)

Flamenca/Feria fashion show in Seville.  

for more information go to SIMOF2022

Fun in drawing and illustrating Feria

Drawing Feria, dancers, friends and Andalusia in general…

Before Covid 19, other family priorities had me move away from the south of Spain, but it has always stayed with me, it is part of who I am.  There is a frase in Cadiz “El gaditano nace donde le da la gana”, and I means that you can be born somewhere else but if you feel you belong in Cadiz, it is your right (more or less, very loose translation). 

So I started drawing just to stay busy during hurricane Irma (2017).  I knew the power lines would fail and the lack of electricity would makes days very slow and I needed a new hobby anyway.  Then I moved again and then came Covid 19, so it was a good thing I kept myself entertained.  Jumping to the present time now I draw many memories from Andalusia.  Slowly I started buying pencils, crayons, watercolors, brushes and now I have a room full of crafty things to express my ideas, my trips and memories.  This is my way of remembering Feria, my friends left behind and a way of thanking them for the good times.  

Everyday is a new challenge to draw, paint and post my drawing on Instagram.  That took a lot of courage.  At the beginning I just would not do it, now, I don’t care, I post for myself, to keep a record of my evolution as an artist (big word). 

One of my first drawings with my feria buddy, Ana.  

We both play the castanets and were inseparable while in the feria. 

Feria fashion, this is inspired by the feria catwalks during the first months of the year.  Beginning in mid January, feria fashion shows are a must.  Here you can see the trends for fabrics, compliments, flowers and hairdos.

Inspired by dancers in Jerez.

Watercolor

Now on top of watercolor I am learning digital painting which is quite difficult but so much fun.  Some of the designs I have uploaded to print on demand site such as Redbubble and Society6, if you’d like to peek.  Thanks for stopping by.  

 We Love Flamenco 2019

You know that spring is fast approaching in the south of Spain when you see an explosion of colors and ruffles.  The first fashion show(s) for feria presented us with designs evoking mother earth and cosmic vibes.  There were many romantic and classic styles too.  New this year, were dresses with geometric patterns, lines, triangles, houndstooth, and of course dots, huge dots!

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A post shared by Rosa Pedroche (@rosa_pedroche) on Feb 4, 2019 at 7:12am PST

Dresses by designer Mónica Méndez showed us big bold dots over jewel tones.  These were some of my favorites.  They were classic with a modern twist, most had v necklines, but a few caught my attention with high necks covered with lots of chockers.  Just beautiful.

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A post shared by Monica Mendez (@monicamendez_modaflamenca) on Jan 23, 2019 at 6:27am PST

Other shows presented us with very simple dresses and skirts with just a single ruffle swirling up the dress.  Very elegant and refreshing.  Ladies, this year there are lots of skirts, which is great news if you are worried about your outfit on your instagram feed, change the blouse and you have a new look. Problem solved. 

Spotted many floral dresses, very romantic, like a Botticelli painting. I even think some had empress waistlines.  

For the graphic dresses, designers used flowers and polka dots, to balance the lines on them.

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A post shared by Úrsula Sánchez (@ursulasanchezdesignandcouture) on Jan 31, 2019 at 6:18am PST

There were monochromatic dresses, white on white dots, and black on black dots.  Everything but boring.  Skirt lengths were pretty much the same as other years, above the shoe and ruffles came in many shapes and sizes.  However, the skirts seemed looser (still tight, but less) allowing for easier movement and more comfort. 

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A post shared by We Love Flamenco (@pasarela_weloveflamenco) on Jan 19, 2019 at 3:00pm PST

Shawls were present in some shows, but they weren't the main accessory.  The show stoppers were the extra large ones, saved for special occasions and weddings.  Accessories are big, layered, evoking summer, corals, like a Sicilian vacation or an Italian summer.  Others fantasized with yesterday's Cuba and its people, some dresses brought memories of  "Celia Cruz", the uber salsa queen.  One in particular design, a model all in white from head to toe, transported me to the city of Miami, where many times I have seen these Cuban ladies, head wraps and long dresses in white, by the beach, with offerings to the water Gods.

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A post shared by Rocio Olmedo Ramos (@rocioolmedoramos) on Jan 19, 2019 at 11:14pm PST

I leave you here with Pol Nuñdz fashion show at We Love Flamenco 2019 in Seville.

Happy New Year!!

SIMOF FASHION Show, Seville
photo credit: Janelle Burton

Here are the first fashion shows of 2019:

We Love Flamenco (WLF) fashion show. 
When: January 16 - 20 
Where: Salón Real of Hotel Alfonso XIII, Sevilla

Buy Tickets

Viva by WLF
When: January 23 - 26
Where: Casino de la Exposición, Seville

Buy Tickets

SIMOF
When: Feb 7 - 10
Where: FIBES convention center in Seville

by the way, if you are from Rota, you will be delighted that the 2 top dancers in your town will be performing in SIMOF.  Laura Pirri (Feb 7) and Ofelia Marquez (Feb 9)

Buy SIMOF Tickets

Pasarela Flamenca of Jerez
When: Feb 14 - 17
Where: Bodegas González Byass in Jerez

Buy Jerez Tickets

SIMOF 2018 SCHEDULE

SIMOF SCHEDULE AND LIST OF DESIGNERS 

For every taste and size, 1500 dresses and styles on the catwalk until February 4th. To buy tickets here.

Thursday 1 Feb
11:30 Emprende Lunares (2017 finalists)

16:30 Lina

17:30 Aurora Gaviño

18:30 Alejandro Santizo & Luis Fernández

19:30 Pilar Vera

20:30 Ángeles Copete & Álex de la Huerta

21: 30 Patricia Bazarot & Pedro Béjar

Friday Feb 2
11:30 New designers contest

16:30 José Galvañ & Alonso Cózar

17:30 Consolación Ayala & Carmen Raimundo

18:30 María José Blay & Ana Morón

19:30 Verónica de la Vega & José Raposo

20:30 Antonio Gutiérrez

21:30 Rosapeula & Javier García

Saturday Feb 3

11:30 Sonibel Curvi with Adelina Infante (plus size)

12:30 Andrew Pocrid

13:30 Yolanda Rivas & MM Garrido Accessories

16:00 Sara de Benítez

17:00 Mof & Art

18:00 Carmen Vega

19:00 Loli Vera

20:00 Sonibel & Chocolate accessories

21:00 Molina Moda

22:00 Pilar Rubio

Sunday Feb 4

11:30 Yolanda Moda Flamenca

12:30 Atelier Rima

13:30 Teresa Ninu Atelier & De Lunares & Volantes

14:30 Calandria & Mayka Santos

16:30 Miriam Galvín & Ernesto Sillero

17:30 Hermanas Serrano

18:30 Hita & Arcos & Inés de la Fuente

19:30 Leticia Lorenzo & Francisco Tamaral

20.30 Ballet Flamenco of Andalusia

First Show of the Year 2018

Happy New year y'all. This week in Andalusia, ruffles and flowers.  Spring came early in Seville... 48 collections over a 1000 dresses! That is a lot of ruffles! 

We Love Flamenco 2018 the first Flamenca fashion Show of the Year! here is the schedule:

Wednesday 10

19:30 – Rocío Peralta

20:30 – Foronda

21:30 – Mof & Art

Thrursday 11

17:30 – Daniel Robles

18:30 – Ángeles Fernández

19:30 – Santana Diseños

20:30 – Flamenca Pol Núñez

Friday 12

13:00 – Fundación Sandra Ibarra

16:30 – Rafa Valverde

17:30 – Lola Azahares

18:30 – Marco Zapata

19:30 – Fabiola

20:30 – Rocío Olmedo

21:30 – Pablo Retamero & Juanjo Bernal

Saturday 13

11:00 – Aranega

12:00 – Pepe Fernández Sevillanía

13:00 – Ángeles Verano

14:00 – Ángela y Adela

15:30 – José Luis Zambonino

16:30 – Carmen Acedo

17:30 – El Ajolí

18:30 – Pitusa Gasul

19:30 – Pepa Garrido

20:30 – Luisa Pérez

21:30 – José Hidalgo

Sunday 14

12:00 – Mercedes Dobenal

13:00 – Viviana Iorio & Nieves San Gregorio

14:00 – Ventura

16:30 – Juan Boleco

17:30 – Mónica Méndez

18:30 – Belulah

19:30 – Javier Mojarro

20:30 – Rosa Pedroche

Lets get intimate, for Feria's sake

If you've worn a feria dress, you know how hard it is to zip up your dress right?  Are you wearing last year's dress? Maybe now it is a little tighter and you have to suck your stomach and pray that your dress will stay zipped all night?  How about that little darn string that tightens the neckline and shoulders, you have to knot it all the way in the back, and then tuck it, behind the zipper?  Don't forget your mantoncillo, you have to pin your shawl at the back so it falls pretty over your shoulders, right? Not to mention that beautiful loose hair bun embellished with those strategically palaced flowers and comb.

Have you ever had to get ready for feria all alone? Yep, no help to zip up or tie the knot?  How about that mantoncillo? Just hold it in your hand until you get to feria or (God forbid) tie it around your hips and just leave it there.  I never really realized how much help I needed until I had to do it alone. 

So now you find home alone, don't stress here are some tips on what to do so you can make it to feria on time...  Relax your feria godmother is here to help:  

• Lay out your feria gear, place it on your bed or hanger and start by parts, that is the strategy. 
• What are you taking to feria? What goes in your dress pockets, and/or purse?  Have that ready, and stuffed in the dress pocket.
• Put on your feria underwear now, minus the girdle, you don't want to faint so soon. NO sports bras, please!!!
• Work on your hair. Yes, you are still in your underwear.  If you've followed my posts I recommended practicing hair dos way in February. So you should be a pro, by now.  If not, do this and you will look like you spent top Euros on your head. Don't put your flowers on yet.

Super easy updo.  You will use ir for every special occasion. Guaranteed.

• Time to put on your face.  Highly recommend, besides the usual moisturizer with spf lotion, to use a primer (I like Lancome La Base) to help hold your makeup until the wee hours of the night.  Did you practice your cat eyes? No, don't worry, but no bare faces allowed. Use a liner, eye shadow, blush and mascara.   Lipstick is a must, but it must complement your skin and dress.  
• Don't forget to take makeup for touch ups, there will be lots of pictures and selfie opportunities.
• Now it is time to put your flowers and comb.  You should have practiced this too, for speed.  If not, just put the comb vertically in the back and a large rose or two nestled in between the comb and your head.  Crisscross the pins at the base of the comb and flowers to secure them well. If you must, combs are optional but flowers are a must.

• Put on accessories, earrings and necklace.
• Put your control top intimates, hose, girdle, shorts (highly recommended to avoid chafing), a smoothing bodysuit, or all of the above. Smoothing short undies are highly recommended, not only to avoid chafing, but it actually helps your dress slide up or down when using the porta potties.  
• You are almost done, at this point I like to put on my shoes because they have buckles (I wear flamenco shoes) so if I get dressed then I cannot bend down to close the straps. 
• Slip into your gorgeous dress and ... you cannot zip it up?! Well zip it until where ever your arms allow it, and cover the rest with the shawl.  Call your neighbor or girlfriend and ask her to meet you at feria entrance, so she can finish the job before everyone else sees you.  Hey, I ask complete strangers to help me.  And in return I pass along the favor at the bathroom lines, where other women need to be unzipped and zipped again.  It is all good feria karma.

#flamenca #flamencas #flamencastendencias #tendenciasflamencas #trajedeflamenca #trajedegitana #modaflamenca #gitana #feria #feria2017

A post shared by Flamencas Tendencias (@flamencas_tendencias) on Apr 25, 2017 at 2:49pm PDT

Feriantes, Happy 2017!

Feriantes, this year starts strong.  It hasn't been three weeks into the year and we already started strong with Feria/Flamenca fashion shows, most of them will be this January with a few in February, then you better get busy with dance classes and choosing what you like of the new tendencies and styles for your dress, hair and accessories.  For now, lets just warm up with your hair.  I know, like every year I advice you practice early so when feria season comes around, you can be out the door is less than 6 hours!  Between the dress, makeup and hair, you will feel the pinch and like any other mayor event, you need to do a dress rehearsal. Remember, Andalusians have a lifetime experience, for them it is easy, but we need practice.  So here is my first tip of the year:

Tip: If you have short hair... Don't cut your hair again.  Well, not until after feria, which should be sometime around the end of May early June. You need every little bit of hair for that micro bun you will wear during feria, and, this is important, and to attach that giant flower to your head, otherwise you will have to glue it on and I don't recommended it :-) 

Here is a video showing us how to create a simple bun for medium short hair. Remember, if your hair is clean it is harder to pin up and if it is too straight, the same problem.  Try to curl your hair and "dirty it" by spraying it with hair spray after curling it, so it has more texture to stay up when pinned, and don't forget to spray it after wards before you leave the house. 

Here is another video with several ideas and looks for feria, this one requires long hair.  I bet you could have used some of these ideas for the holidays, but think, you can still use them for a romantic date, February is around the corner...

Stay tuned for more tips. Until then happy dancing.

DIY Pompon hair net for Feria

DIY pompon hair bun cover

Lets make a hair net with "madroños' or pompons, like the ones we saw in this years 2016 We Love Flamenco Fashion show.  Designer Pol Nuñez, had her models with very colorful dresses and on their heads these beautiful accessories full of pompons.  Everything old is new again. Pompons have always been present in Spain.  

Madroño, tree with edible pompon like fruit
photo credit: Wikipedia

The women of the courts of Castile wore nets with pompons with their gala outfits.  The Goya style outfits worn in Ronda, for example, also have pompons, not only on their heads, but are also used to adorn their dress, such as shoulder pads.

Traditional dress for a lady of Madrid
Illustration, Christoph Weiditz, for the Trachtenbuch
photo credit: Wikipedia

Color all over even on her hair. Pol Nuñez design.

credit: Flamenco.moda

You can buy a hair net, or
 make one yourself.
Use bright colors of string or yarn

You can use a net like the ones you use to cover your head when using hair rollers, with big and loose weaving.  This is the one I used and trimmed it to my liking, or you can probably use a loose knitted doily large enough to cover your bun, or make your own hair net in the color of your choice.  And if you are desperate, you can cut a fishnet pantyhose and attach the pompons.

Pasarela Flamenca Jerez 2016
Photo Credit: SIC Fotografos

What you need: 

• Yarn in different colors, 
• craft pompons, 
• a glue gun or fabric glue, 
• thick elastic string,
• needle and thread matching the net,
• scissors 
• and an apple or orange (this will be your bun measurement and model)

Buy pom pons in many colors

Make it fun.

Like I mentioned before, I don't knit, but a chain stitch in crochet is very easy to do and the internet is full of instructions for hair bun covers.   If crochet is still to difficult, or you just don'r feel like it, you can make your net with simple knots like the ones in your "mantoncillo" (shawl).  This link has similar instructions to making a larger net, but the technique is still the same.

Another thing you should keep in mind, is the size of your bun, if you have lots of hair, your bun cover should be larger than someone else, with shorter or less hair.  My bun measured approximately 20 cm over (the dome) so if making a round cover it should be larger than 20 cm in diameter.

two examples of hair nets
Rectangular and a round net 

Here I glued the pompons and then
threaded the elastic string to shape the net

Now it is time to try the bun cover, after the picture,
 I decided that it needed more pompons
 so I went back to glue some more.

 Model No 2, rectangular knotted net:

Glue pompons

Sew comb on back side (the side without pompons)

glue more pompons at the end to cover comb

I like the comb, it makes attaching the net to the bun very easy.
You should probably glue more pompons
if you want to hide the comb,
or pin a flower to hide the comb

Model No 3: Crochet bun cover

I don't know how to crochet, but went to the internet and got a crash course. Good enough for a bun, just weave an elastic at the edge of the circle and tie it, maybe use a dab of glue so it won't come undone.

I already tied the elastic around the net.
I used an apple for size, plus the glue does not stick to the apple, 
or at least it is easy to peel off.

Glue the pompons, be careful not to burn yourself!

An apple full of pompons! You get the idea...

Love the result! Im ready for feria.

So I'm really happy with the results.  Hopefully you will find the pompons in the colors you need, and create great accessories with them. Let me know how it turns out.  




Other ideas you can do with pompons are, to add them to a barrette and glue flowers, or you can enhance a purse with a bunch of pompons, them wear it to feria. Very stylish!

You can add them
to any accessory, shoes, earrings, necklaces. 
Got wild! 

 If you still want to buy the hair net, you can visit accessory houses that supply hair ornaments in Spain like this one.  Or visit the designer herself in Seville.