Blast From the Past

So, I'm kind of stalling for ideas of what to post about. I am completely without inspiration. Until I come up with something, I am going to amuse you with a list of obscure pop culture memories from my childhood. Does anybody remember:

Archie Comics
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Fruit Stripe chewing gum
CatDog
Peace Frog tee shirts
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Gel Pens
Goosebumps books
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Captain Underpants

Maddy

Christian Bale:


I thought I'd just remind everybody just how hot he is. You know, in case you have forgotten or something.

Maddy

Un Peu d'Air sur Terre

I rather like the Spring Lacoste ads. The background is a pleasingly clean gray, featuring only the leaping model and the iconic crocodile, with the tagline "Un peu d'air sur Terre" tucked away unobtrusively in the corner.


They're a novel departure from the smokey-eyed goddess staring smolderingly at the camera lens through the embrace of some genetically perfect male model. I don't love the clothes all that much, but these ads are drastically different, and I think quite refreshing. A little air on Earth, indeed.

Grace Kelly, Summertime, and Other Things

I have been put in a wonderful mindset of loosely braided hair and floaty skirts as a result of the terribly lovely weather of late, and I am done with that whole school thing. Luckily, Summertime is five weeks away from where I'm standing, so I don't have that long to wait until I can break out the bikini and Rainbows. In my idle dreams of the blessed season, I have imagined the sort of things I might wear if I were to actually dress myself stylishly for Summer, which I don't. However, if I did, I would dress like Grace Kelly on a Tahitian vacation. As far as color is concerned, there would be lots of taupe, rose, mint, rich browns, and charcoal. The fabrics would be canvas and leather, tempered with lots of soft woven cotton. Accessories would be minimal but well chosen, and they would of course all be gold and mother-of-pearl, interspersed with the occasional semi-precious stone, like coral or onyx.

Here are some personal approximations of my Dream Summer Look:



Now, some shots of the shoes, which as we all know are the real stars:

Here are a few things that I think would make nice additions to my Dream Summer Look if I were to pursue it:

Free People, $38:

The delicate sea shell pink will flatter tanned skin, and its effect is only enhanced with intricate chocolate brown embroidery. Perfect for lounging on the patio in the late afternoon, listening to nearby pulse of the surf and quietly reading a book.

Anthropologie, $158:
The terra cotta print on the ivory fabric will be flattered by the yellow light filtered through the palms. The neckline is cunningly sexy; wide, showing a generous amount of shoulder, but not deep enough to reveal more than a hint of cleavage. You will be admired by all passing gentlemen, but float by unaware as you skirt flutters in the sultry zephyr.

Kenneth Jay Lane, $85:A series of gold disks will swing gently from each earlobe with your every move. They swing forward as you let your hair fall demurely around your face; the disks collide with each other lightly when you throw your head back to laugh; they tinkle quietly as you push your hair behind your ear. Rather an impressive collection of possibilities for one pair of earrings, really.

Too bad I dress like a bum in a bikini throughout the entire summer. Ah, well, I suppose I am just not glamorous enough for this sort of thing. However, if I ever do go on a Tahitian vacation, you can be sure I would wear heels every day.

Maddy

Business Dealings

Last week, I went shopping with my friend Sasha and her big sister Leona on Carry Street (full of great junk shops and skinny-jeans-and-owl-necklace type stores). Leona was looking for her prom dress, and couldn't find a single thing she liked, even after going to the mall. So it was decided that I would make her dress. I'm not sure how wise a move that was for a girl with only two years of sewing experience who needs supervision to put zippers in, but that's what happened.

The pattern:
My progress:

It's a knit crepe, so it's pretty stretchy. It's basically like jersey, but with a little texture. It's the loveliest hue of dusty purple and the color really looks stunning on Leona. I'm nearly done. I've just got to sew the skirt to the bodice and put in the zipper, then Leona will need to come try it on again (she already has twice) so that I can sew down the straps. Then, it will be done! She's paying me somewhere in the $50 - $100 range, so all in all, not a bad commission for a pretty simple dress. Of course, I've probably just jinxed it and I will mangle the fabric when I sew the zipper in. Ah, well, such is the nature of life.

Maddy

Maddy Goes High-Tech

Finally, I have pictures of my most recent finished project. Behold!

The gorgeous fabric:

The dress, all aloney on its owney:

The dress, featuring me! Doesn't it look much happier this way?


Yes, the picture is most definitely sideways. And yes, it is very fuzzy because my mother is awful with a camera. However! Is the effect not magnificent? Or at least decent? Whatever, I'll work out the kinks later, this whole photography thing is really far too high tech for me. I'm thinking I may take the hem up about four inches so it hits my knee (I think that's what it's supposed to do, I am just really quite short). And how do these shoes look with it? Anyhow, on to the next project, or rather the next two.I'll update on those soon, but right now I've got to go do the dishes and my homework and take a shower and well.... ugh.

Maddy

Mermaid Halters and Midriff Bands, Part II

I am in love with this dress.
Luckily, I am making one quite similar, so I won't have to spend $148 at Anthropologie. It is the same basic shape (mermaid halter, fitted bodice, wide-ish skirt), and the fabric I chose is this lovely calico with a pattern of navy and French blue parasols. I have these pretty beige canvas espadrilles with sort of gold thread woven into them that will look really, really perfect with it. A little sweeter than my usual sense of dress, but really perfect for going out to eat and other upcoming summery activities. I am almost done, I just have to line the bodice and then poof! Ready to be worn! And as soon as I can snatch my daddy's digital camera or provide myself with one of my own, I will show it to you. I suppose I could just ask my dad to use his camera, but I don't think he approves of the Internet. And besides, what is the fun in that? My sneaky ninja skills are desperately underused. Oh! And also I am making that drop waist dress with the wide neckline from the pattern that I got off eBay. If you scroll down the picture's probably still there. I got this black and white plaid muslin for dirt cheap, and these big old buttons with anchors on them to stick on there somewhere... well anyhow, gotta go, I am itching to finish my new dress. Bye!

A Tale of Romance, Passion, and a Murder Most Foul

I implore you: go watch Corpse Bride, right now. Not that the movie itself is any great shakes (sadly, Tim Burton's losing his touch), but the animation is perfectly stunning. I had forgotten about that. The sets are ispired, the expressions on the puppets' faces finely tuned, but most of all I love the dress of the corpse bride herself. It is just so very pretty to look at, and I marvel at how graceful her movements are, being animated frame by frame. I'm sure the animators used CGI to orchestrate the flow of her veils and things, but even without this, the effect would be breathtaking. It has inspired me. Imagine it: A blue-gray satin brocade bodice, jaggedly seamed to layer upon layer of pearly tulle of uneven lengths. Or maybe a long, uninterrupted length of steely silk, strapless, with closely spaced silver buttons down the back. Hm, if only I was that proficient at sewing... and if only I had a glamorous sort of funeral to go to.


Stop motion animation is a dying art. Computers are kind of kicking it out. This is horrible and must be stopped, for the sake of all that is aesthetically pleasing.

Maddy

TANGENT WARNING

I am going to have to round up every hypocritical magazine editor in the world if they do not shut their face holes about weight, and then I will burn them all, each at their own individual pyre. (It may be the only way to rid the world of their self righteous 'Letters From the Editor'). I was reading this month's Vogue, allegedly devoted to shape. It kind of pissed me off. Really, how often do you see a plus size model in Vogue? That's right, once a year, in the shape issue. Also, they had Scarlett Johansson on the cover, who is barfably over-publicized. I never want to see her coyly squinty-eyed mug staring up at me from the magazine rack at Target ever again, but that is a rant for another day. Anyhow, it just makes me so annoyed. Everybody needs to quit looking at themselves in the mirror so much. I think if magazines would stop running articles about skinny models, it might make overweight girls feel much less self conscious. Hello, you people, you at the magazines and on the news, you are the ones pointing out the differences in the first place. Sure, girls will notice on their own, but if none of us made such a big deal out of it, maybe the girls wouldn't either. I'm also sick of the new mantra of the masses, "real women have curves". Shut up! Last time I checked, I was a 32 A with no hips to speak of and an annoyingly protuberant sternum, but- gasp! - still a real woman. Why can't every woman be the genuine article even if they don't conform to one set body type? I understand that saying real women have curves is to make curvy women feel good, but should they have to feel superior in order to feel beautiful? It just doesn't make sense, and that's why this whole weight debate is so crazy. If people would stop talking about it so much (not ignore it, just stop discussing it all the time), then perhaps there would not be such a problem anymore. But who am I to say? I know I can't speak for everybody, and I know I'm not really making many points here that haven't been made before. I guess I'm just feeling pissy because I have nothing to do. So if you've actually read this far, maybe you should get a medal for putting up with my histrionics and overuse of italics. Bravo, madam, bravo!

Maddy

p.s.- Also, is anybody else bored of the tag line, "The Skinny on Weight Gain"? Aren't the magazines even creative anymore? Okay I'm done.

Je Suis Retournée

I'm back, and this trip was really was something. There was quite a lot to see, especially in Paris, where I have never been before. I ordered food in French several times, which was fairly mortifying as a result of the waiters' condescension. But alas, such is the cruel and mysterious way of the French. Anyhow, since I am now a cosmopolitan and worldly sort of girl, I shall share with you lowly, lowly plebeians a bit of my newfound European style.

Many British ladies seemed to have a thing for textured stockings. Opaque black is nice, but there is something to be said for a more tactile version of the classic.




There is a nice selection here. In Paris, classic black and white was quite popular, but in the form of patterns, which I quite liked.


Wet Seal


White House Black Market

And absolutely everyone had a nice coat. Nothing like the puffy things worn in America.




French Connection
Urban Outfitters. Finally, some color!

There. Now go forth and be sophisticated, and give the French nothing more to complain about in regards to American style. They do, after all, have a point.

Maddy

God, it feels good to be back.

Bon Voyage and Go to Hell!

I'm going to be gone to Europe for ten days, everybody! Sadly, for the duration of these ten days, all of your lives will be Lovely-free. You'll have to try to manage without me somehow. Until I return, here are a few pretty items to keep your eyeballs from falling out as a result of loveliness deficiency. It happens, look it up.

Some very glitzy French Sole ballet flats, about $150. Would look great with:


Kimichi & Blue white pencil skirt, $68, which would match nicely with this:


Silk screened tee, Circular Accessories at Etsy.com, $25. On your way out the door, grab this:
Unreasonably price but undeniably perfect Mulberry purse, $895.

There! I have just created a nicely monochromatic ensemble for you to wear, complete with accessories. You're welcome! God, whatever will you people do without me for the next ten days?

Maddy

Midriff Bands and Mermaid Halters, Part I

I have just discovered the plethora of vintage sewing patterns available on eBay. Why didn't I know about this veritable treasure trove before now? There are so many and they are so cheap! I just bid on these three. The lot is going for $0.99, no joke.


The drawback of vintage patterns is that they don't come in adjustable sizes. Back then, you could only get one size out of each pattern. The busts on all of these are a couple inches too wide for me, but hopefully I can adjust that. I'll ask my sewing teacher, she's a freaking genius. Well, anyhow, the point I'm trying to make is that nowadays, you really can't get a cute dress pattern for less then $10, at least not at Hancock's. And, lo and behold, here I find three cute dress patterns for a buck. The moral of the story is: I love you, Internet.

Here are some more cute ones and the accompanying links, in case you are interested.


8 patterns from the 60's (only four shown), $4.


4 patterns from the 40's, $10.

15 patterns from the 50's, $15. I am blinded by all of the gorgeous. The cheap, vintage gorgeous.

Maddy

The Tea Partiers' Association

If there is one thing that I have always adored, it is tea parties. I love the girliness, the sense of decorum, and the very tiny sandwiches. It is so much fun to get all dolled up in a wide skirted dress and drink primly out of bone china cups with your equally well-dressed friends. Of course, the sophistication quickly wears off when conversation veers off into the territory of false mustaches and "If you don't stop hitting me, I will kill your dog." But it's still fun.


Etsy has a great collection of very cute tea cups, many of them vintage but most handmade. Don't you love the little vampire on the last one? It would have been perfect for my Halloween tea party.
Anthropologie is stocked with dresses ideal for the teapartier. Look for things with fun patterns, flattering seaming, and scant or nonexistent straps. I like to make my own tea party dresses; if you have the ability to do so, I highly encourage that you do this instead of buying one. It's very rewarding to get compliments on a frock you made, and besides, it'll already be tailored to fit you.
For tea parties, and Springtime in general, I like my nails to be a pinky-nude color. It goes better with the warm weather, and besides, when it chips you don't have to be so pressed to repaint as you would with my usual red or purple. Try OPI Malaysian Mist, it's my favorite.When it comes to footwear for these occasions, pretty much anything goes. I tend to favor either a sky-high wedge like this pair from Delia's, or I just go barefoot, but flats or flip flops can look every bit as lovely with your floaty frock. And you do have a floaty frock, don't you?

Happy partying!

Maddy