Tara Moss's Blog, page 5

Manus Island – An insider’s report

I feel it is appropriate to begin with a brief background and disclaimer:

I have been a crime novelist for over 15 years, and in that time I have had the honour of meeting and researching with international military personnel, FBI agents, homicide investigators, paramedics, undercover officers, survivors of crime, private investigators and more (and have myself earned my Certificate III in Private Investigation). Though I am a civilian, I have during this time often had access to non-civilian...

Vintage Red: Tara’s Lipstick Test

Okay. You asked, so I blogged. About lipstick.

If you are interested in vintage and mid-century makeup styles you can’t have missed that red was the popular lipstick colour of the era for everyone from Hollywood stars to popular pin-ups and WWII munitions factory workers who wore red to show their patriotism. (Read:“Speak Softly and Carry a Lipstick”: Government Influence on Female Sexuality through Cosmetics During WWII.)

For decades I was strictly a ‘nude’ lip girl, but since my vintage turn...

In Defence of High Waists and Low(er) Shoes

It has been just over a year since I got fed up with not fitting into my pre-baby clothesand decided to get a new, moreold schoolwardrobe. (See: Hate the way modern fashions treat your curves? Go retro.)It’s the classic story really – woman has child, woman starts wearing higher pants and lower shoes. Except that I would not have it any other way, and I’d like to share why:

#1 SHOES. Being uncomfortable looks uncomfortable.

I know what you are thinking. There are loads of hot looking photos of...

Q&A, Refugees and Children In Detention

UNICEF National Ambassador for Child Survival Tara Moss pictured with former immigration minister Chris Bowen on the ABC’s Q&A program, November 25, 2013:

On refugee children in Australian detention centres, at 42:09:

‘I have spoken out about this as Mr Bowen might remember when he was Immigration Minister…one thing we need to keep in mind is our Immigration Minister is the guardian of the un-attended minors who come here. I would put forward the idea we should have an advocate whose job it is...

Adventure in Jordan

‘Taxi?’ the boy asks.

He is perhaps twelve years old, dressed in dusty western clothes with a traditional keffiyeh wrapped around his head and neck to protect from the blazing sun. He sits astride a donkey, saddled with brightly coloured woven blankets –his ‘taxi’. Next to him, ancient Roman pillars rise up from the desert sand. The boy and his donkey are framed by clusters of caves carved into the sandstone hills surrounding the dead city of Petra, one of the 7 ‘New’ Wonders of the World.

Welc...

WWII pin-up shoot with Bexterity

Meet Bek Morris, Australia’sBunny Yeager.

Bek is the powerhouse behindBexterityPin-Up Photography. She runs her own photography business and reproduction vintage clothing store, has a talent for creating classic 40s and 50s pin-up looks on all her varied clients from 18 year olds to seniors, and women of all shapes and sizes. Bek personally handles every aspect of her photo shoots.In a quarter of a century of being photographed (Gasp. Has it been that long?) I have never before worked with a p...

Vintage Workshop with Mistress Chrissy

‘There are no age or beauty barriers.’ – Mistress Chrissy.

On Sunday I attended a vintage workshop put on by The Lindy Charm School for Girls. It was, truth be told, the first makeup workshop or hair workshop I have ever attended, despite my many professional years spent in front of cameras. It seemed like a fun opportunity to spend an afternoon with some other vintage lady-geeks and further myvintagerepertoire.

I was not disappointed.

The class began with Mistress Chrissy – straight-backed and...

I’ll be raising a glass to Edith Cowan today. This is why.

On this election day,I am grateful to be a working, voting citizen of Australia, a democratic and lucky country. I owe thanks to the women before me who made this possible.

Among other pioneering women who helped forge a more democratic Australia, I’ll be raising a glass to Edith Cowan today.

Cowan did not have it easy. Shewas only 7 when her mother died in childbirth. Her father remarried and sent Edith to a boarding school in Perth. When she was only 15 her father shot and killed his second w...

Assassin Giveaway

To celebrate the new edition of Assassin, the sixth explosive novel in the Mak Vanderwall series in stores September 1, we are giving away two personally signed copies. All you have to do to enter is to create a Pinterest page dedicated to the series. The interpretation is up to you. For instance, yours could be a mood board of images found on Pinterest or online that remind you of the series, images of actors you think should play the characters, or a board full of images of the books themse...

A fine day for a vintage 50s Fair

We enjoyed our first 50s Fair yesterday, put on by Sydney Living Museums, the Historic Houses Trust. The event has run for the past 18years to showcase the 1950s architecture of Harry Seidler’s iconic masterpiece, Rose Seidler House.

The sun was shining, the 50s frocks were out and things were rocking with swing and rockabilly, DJs and dancing. The event was completelysold-out this year, and the (glamourous) lineup to tiptoe through the house (no shoes are allowed) was a little longer than we...