Cazy Hats

Some people are too talented and they make the rest of us look like losers.
Take Angie who owns Dorothea's Closet.
Such lovely, lovely vintage...oh, and she makes hats too.

Show off.

Both of these crazy awesome hats are available at Sugarlids.

Just a Reminder

"Have you noticed that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff?"
Carlin

Yep, 2% of the spending bill is wasteful earmark shit....except for my stuff.

*Yes, Jon Stewart is awesome.

Colbert and The Rand Illusion

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - Rand Illusion

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Rap Battle
NASA Name Contest

"When millions are losing jobs, losing hope, nothing is more important then putting yourself first."

Carmen

I've had a girl crush on Carmen Dell'Orefice since I was a teenager and I'll admit I had hopes of looking like her as I got older.
Sadly the women in my family are not goddesses with amazing cheekbones so it was not to be.


She is still so lovely at 77 and I guess still working since she lost her life savings to Bernie Madoff.
What a guy, what a story.

Via Jezebel....

Thirteen Yards

13 yards.
That is how big the skirt is at the hem.
Twelve gores.
12!
All those folds and seaming and...wow.
"Princess line dress with waistline seam...short sleeves.
Neckline...deeply scooped and edged with band which stands up and away from neck.
Short, formal length.
Extremely wide twelve-gored skirt has insets of fabric folds in each seam...godets set into skirt edge. "


This would make a wonderful wedding dress, unique.

From Advance Imports, #113, early 1950's, A. Battilocchi-Rome.

A. Battilochi seems to also have been called Biki of Milan. I found a mention of her here and an article here:
"Italian dressmaker (1906-1999). She wore a bright green turban when, in 1996, I saw her for the last time. Elvira Leonardi Bouyeure, known as Biki in the world of fashion, was working in her atelier on the ground floor of her house in via Sant'Andrea in Milan, where she lived and worked. I, the reporter, was almost falling asleep; she, the subject of the interview, and 90 years old, was bursting with energy: "Today I'm starting the Japan Collection. Together with my daughter Roberta, I've finished the children's line and I'm sketching the dresses for my very faithful, special, very rich women, who are allergic to today's bric-a-brac, just like my adored Maria would have been." Maria was Maria Callas. Biki taught her how to dress, she was her Pygmalion of manners and the wardrobe."

No really. Green turban, Maria Callas.
Go read the whole write up.

The pattern is for sale at Sew-Retro Vintage Sewing Patterns.

Really?

The new Republican meme is "OMGZ11!!!!1111!!! how can the President do anything but focus on the economy right now. Stem cells are a distraction. Science bad. Religion good. Fact based science really, really bad. ROBOTS! Where are my robot arms!!!!"

Bush's inability to think and chew gum at the same time created a conservative punditry that is freaked out to realize that Obama is able to deal with 3 or 4 national problems simultaneously.
Get used to it children, it is gonna be a long 8 years for y'all.

My Robot Husband

Via Bob Cesca:

At a Marriage Rally in North Carolina:
David Gibbs III, a lawyer who in 2005 fought to keep brain-damaged Terri Schiavo on life support, told rally participants gay marriage would "open the door to unusual marriage in North Carolina.

"Why not polygamy, or three or four spouses?" Gibbs asked. "Maybe people will want to marry their pets or robots."

ROBOTS!!!!! They want to marry your wymins!

(See it is not just Fundies in Arkansas who are nuts)

How awesome would it be if you could marry a robot?
Or your Dog for that matter.
My husband has yet to meet me at the door when I come home whining and wagging his tail, so glad to see me that he just about jumps though the glass.

As it is I could give a shit who marries who/what. Marry a couch if it pleases you, but once you do you can't throw it in the burn pile after it is worn out or send it too the dump.

and how awesome is it that one can find a picture from the 1930's of a robot wedding? Who knew that in the 30's women were already choosing robots over actual men for spouses. Americans were sooooo decadent in the 20's and early 30's.

Thunder and Lightning

I think David Brooks is an ass.
I now watch News Hour Tivo'd so I can skip over Brooks spewing and just listing to the other dudes.
I really don't like Maureen Dowd much either for oh, so many annoying reasons, but I did enjoy this column she wrote. Besides the fact that we now know she rides around in taxis with Brooks and asks him about Mrs. O's arms we also got this:

"In the taxi, when I asked David Brooks about her amazing arms, he indicated it was time for her to cover up. “She’s made her point,” he said. “Now she should put away Thunder and Lightning.”

I wonder why David is uncomfortable with the biceps?
Is he one of those guys who think since they can't control their upper arm attractions that it is up to us ladies to cover them up?
Maybe he is just an old fuddy duddy who wonders why the First Lady is out with her head uncovered and no gloves.
(and I just might be a fuddy duddy cause I would love if we still wore hats and gloves out in public...more for economic and astetic reasons since I know that gloves and hats are actually a big pain in the ass to have to deal with.)

Talk to me when Michelle starts wearing PJ pants and slippers to the grocery store, then I'll worry about what she is wearing.
(and really 20somethings, what is it with the slippers and PJs at WalMart. Is it that hard to slip on a pair of knit pants and Keds?)

Mrs. O and I are the same age and if my shoulders/arms looked as good as hers I would be sleeveless 24/7, 365 days a year.

At least she wears cardigans now and again.
As it is, even Jackie went sleeveless on occasion.

Goin' Galt

I've been thinking about the whole "Going Galt" movement and wondering how anyone can be so full of themselves. It just seems so selfish to me.

“Why should I continue to work 60-80 hour work weeks so that I can pay more taxes to support the 50% of the population who don’t pay federal taxes and feel they deserve more handouts from the government? I don’t feel that I was lucky or fortunate to be where I am today because I remember the times of working all night and sacrifices to be where I am today… How many employees put in that kind of effort into their job?”

But you were lucky.
Or you were in the right place at the right time, maybe you had family or friends who helped you in ways you will never know.
Sure you worked hard, but there are TONS of folks who worked just as hard as you did who’s business did not take off.
It really is all about fate and luck and karma so stop thinking you did this on your own.

We are all in this together and while individualism is a good thing no one lives on an island.
One way or another you benefited from what someone else or your gov’t did.

I was just looking at pictures of the folks in California living in a tent city. Working people who worked hard, but have lost everything. Maybe the "going Galt" proponents think they just didn’t work hard enough.
It made me think how selfish and un-seemly all of this “going Galt” BS seems.
“I’ve got mine (at least my $249,999) and screw you” is not the way to make a country or Democracy work.

Werewolf Congress

Bob Cesca is right, Colbert is a genius.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Doom Bunker - Jack Jacobs and Stephen Moore

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Rap Battle
Joke of the Day

This might be better then the "Paste Eater" bit on the Daily Show.

The Demise of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace

Here's the deal.
If John McCain is sending out "tweets" then twitter is no longer cool.
If your mom is on Facebook and can "friend" you, Facebook will soon go the way of LiveJournal.
And the only reason your mom is on MySpace is to see what YOU are doing on MySpace, so take down those "sexy" pictures.

If I am doing any of the above, then they are no longer relevant.
I have tried:
LiveJournal (which I did like)
MySpace (which I hate)
Twitter (which I just don't get...I don't care about the minutiae of any ones life, except maybe Neil and Sockington. Even then I don't want to know when either takes a bathroom break.)
and FaceBook (which I have decided is only good for posting pictures of the teenager across the street and tagging it so he can freak out that some hotty will see him as a chubby, but cute kid of 6...or finding a picture my sister posted of my teenage nephew in a big chicken costume and showing it to my teen so he can LOL at said cousin. Which my sister and mom were the whole point of FaceBook for me, I just wanted to see if they would friend me or ignore me. Issues much?)

Really, this gal has decided that all of these Internet networking sites are just a big waste of energy and time. If I want to talk to someone, I'll pick up the phone or email them.
If I want to rant, I do it here, and if I want to get in contact with someone from high school....oh, wait I have no desire to get in contact with anyone from high school.*
That's why I do not go to reunions.

*Except for Theresa Schultz who lives in Phoenix and was my BFF in highschool and for some reason we drifted apart (and it has nothing to do with the fact that I found out that you DID get it on with Frank who I was in love with FOREVER. Seriously, nothing to do with that). I would assume this is natural as our lives took different paths, but it would be cool to say hi. So Theresa Schultz, who lives in Phoenix and works as an architect for some large firm, email me if you ever google your name and this blog pops up...Julie says hi.

Back to Vintage...Ceil and a Wedding

Ceil Chapman:


50's "Sabrina Look" Wedding Dress



I never use live models so it was interesting to see these dresses on a real body. The wedding dress would not go on any of my mannequins, but did fit my friend like a glove.
What was really amazing was how sexy she looked in the Ceil.
She is very thin and, well, not that well endowed, but the dress made her look like she had an hourglass figure.
It is a testament to what a well designed dress can do for you.
Both items are available at Damn Good Vintage and linked above.

Not Enough School House Rock?

Ol'Rush had a big weekend at CPAC being the head of the Republican Party.
He must have gotten tired what with all the lies he was spewing about PRESIDENT Obama and the Democrats and basically praying that our country fails in such a way that we the people beg the Republicans to be our evil overlords till the end of time.

So much stuff to remember that he made this mistake:

We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. Liberty, Freedom. And the pursuit of happiness. Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault.

Sorry Rush, that is the Declaration of Independence.
The Preamble goes like this:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Maybe he should have watched School House Rock to get it right:



I also know how a bill gets made into a law:



If only Rush had watched some Sat morning TV when he was a teen....

Didja' Know

that conservative states have the highest percentage of online porn users.
Here and here.
Yes, that would be Utah at the top.

"Eight of the top 10 pornography consuming states gave their electoral votes to John McCain in last year's presidential election – Florida and Hawaii were the exceptions. While six out of the lowest 10 favoured Barack Obama."

You don't even have to make this shit up.
Conservative hypocrisy, it is like delicious candy to me.

30's Pictoral Pattern

More Jane

Better, but I still need to deal with the room I am taking the pictures in.

Vintage Jane

Jane, my vintage looking manni head came today.
I am so happy with her.
I bought her from Marge Crunkleton, she did a wonderful job.
Off to take better pictures so I can list this cute 30's hat.

Vintage Oscars

Just a few comments on the Oscar fashions.
Penelope Cruz was dressed in a vintage 50's Balmain gown.


Miley Cyrus on the other hand wore a dress that seems like a copy (so much so that when I first saw the dress I thought "that looks like a vintage Dior"....well, except for the ugly belt) of a 1949/50 Dior gown seen here and here....or at least the skirt treatment.

Miley

Dior

My other favorites besides Ms. Cruz and Miley (I really did like the dress, just not the belt) were Kate Winslet, Freida Pinto, Amanda Seyfried (hated her shoes), Marisa Tomei and Phoebe Cates.
Diane Lane looked lovely, Evan Rachel Wood's dress was to die for, but the color did nothing for her and Queen Latifa looked fierce on the red carpet...not so much on stage.
Of course Angelina was stunning.

Republican Crazy

I can't finish out the week without commenting on the Republican crazy that seems to be taking a hold of some folks who just cannot figure out how Obama won and can't imagine 4 or 8 years of Democrats in charge again.

Prime example.
Alan Keyes who said this:

"Obama is a radical communist and I think it is becoming clear. That is what I told people in Illinois and now everybody realizes it is coming true. He is going to destroy this country and we are either going to stop him or the United States of America is going to cease to exist."

and this:

Is he President of the United States? According to the Constitution, in order to be eligible for president, you have to be a natural born citizen. He has refused to provide proof that he is, in fact, a natural born citizen. Ad his Kenyan relations say that he was born in Nairobi at a time when his mother was too young to transmit U. S. citizenship. So I'm not even sure he's President of the United States.

Jesus, this from a man who cut his teenage daughter out of his life and without a dime when he found out she was a lesbian, what a guy.
WWJD Alan?
Here is video in case you want to hear him spewing his crap.


And we have Sen. Shelby of Alabama:

"Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate. You have to be born in America to be president."

All I can say is thank God for Alabama, it allows Arkansas's congress critters to look like geniuses.

Here is another awesome response to CNBC douchebag Rick Santelli from a homeowner who has done everything right who is effected by the economic downturn and how Obama's plan for homeowners will help him.

Taking Chance

Ah, Jesus.
Taking Chance has been on HBO all of 20 min. and I have been crying pretty much non-stop.
I knew this would happen.



Kevin Bacon is hot....

If You Can't Be Hot, at Least Be Interesting

At least that is my motto.
My new vintage glasses are wonderful. I got them
from my friend Tracey who runs Paddywacks Vintage
Clothes in North Little Rock and also sells on eBay.

If you live in Little Rock, AR go to Steve's Specs for Less.
They did a great job putting the lenses in my frames, nice guys and
really friendly service.
The price for the lenses was very affordable.

And the new vintage cateye clipons I got for them off Ebay.



They came with this snappy carrying case and I was pointed to a
matching wallet on Ruby Lane.

I know, I know I'm adorable.

Last night Mr. Goddess took me out to eat and the cute little cashier
just gushed over my glasses.....it makes you feel just a little cooler
when a hipster twentysomething thinks some part of you
might be just a tad bit cool.

What I am Watching

I love this gray marbled swirl lucite vintage purse.
On eBay, auction lasts a few more days, but it has a $75 Buy It Now.

I would buy it if I had the cash, lucite purses are getting harder and harder to find around here. and I would love to have that sitting with my other vintage purses.

30's Good Housekeeping Vintage Pattern

From the pages of the December 1936 Good Housekeeping magazine.
"8089-Evening dress of Belding-Hemingway triple-sheer pure-dye crepe"

Eternal Rest Grant Unto Him

I lurk on a couple of "traditional" Catholic blogs because I like the writers (as in I've read books they have written) and they make me think about my own more, shall we say, non-traditional Catholicism.

I found out today that the husband of Amy Welborn ( Charlotte Was Both), Michael Dubruiel, collapsed and passed away yesterday.
To say I am stunned and saddened is an understatement.
50 is so young....

Spare some good thoughts, or payers if that is how you roll, for this family that is hurting.
If you pass a Catholic church this week, go in and light a candle for him.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Eternal light grant him, O Lord.

Best Answer

How Michael Phelps should answer his critics.
A Letter I'd Like to See

BTW, all you have to do is look at the guy to know he smokes a bit of weed.

Open Tabs/It Must be the Fault of That Jesus Dude

I guess Jesus just decided the Cardinals did not deserve to win the Super Bowl. Snarky diary on Dkos.

I wish Thomas Friedman would just shut the fuck up about how we all will have to sacrifice and tighten our belts. For some reason that kinda talk coming from a dude who lives in this house just makes me want to punch things. Guess what Tom, most of us missed whatever party that has been going on for the last 8 years....lecture me when you are living in double wide.

Nice shout out on Mrs. O about vintage fashion ala our First Lady's style. Good times in the comments concerning the obvious mis-dating of the featured item.

Gonna buy a new mannequin head from Marge Crunkelton, who makes reproductions of vintage mannequin heads, just can't decided which. Gotta love that name. I am stuck between these two:


Pajiba's seriously random list of the best super bowl commercials.
My vote is for Hulu.
Two words....Alrc Baldwin.

Pattern Of The Week

Delish!
Vintage Vogue 1930's Couturier Pattern on eBay.
What a dress:

Vintage Leather by Bonnie Cashin

Video from a 1956 fashion newsreel via Gallenmovies on YouTube.
Designed by Bonne Cashin for Phillip Sills.

Stains the Dramatic Cupcake Dog

This maybe the funniest thing ever.
We watched it the other night on The Soup*:




*BTW, The Soup's evil overlords suck. They have a "channel" on YouTube, but do not allow embedding. So if you want to see the whole clip you need to go here.

So Say We All

LOST

Here be spoilers...



Flaming arrows?
Didn't they shoot "the others" with flaming arrows at some point (FTW, The Boy got it right that the dude in the red shirt would die...he was the "red shirt" guy as in Star Trek where the red shirt person on an away mission is always the one who dies, poor bastards) and what if the whispers they have heard on the island are actually themselves bunny hopping though time?

Lots of flowing man locks last night.
Sawyer without a shirt most of the show.
mmmmmmm

Oh and I think Richard is a pirate from the Black Rock, picture him with Jack Sarrow hair....only clean.
He kinda has that sexy pirate look to him, or at least what I would want a pirate to look like if I ever met a pirate who was thinking about having his way with me instead of the ugly, pox addled smelly dudes they really were.


When will Jack die?
Die Jack die.....

Vintage On The First Lady

First Lady Michelle Obama (I LOVE writing that!) has worn any number of outfits that have a bit of a vintage vibe to them.

She also loves the brooches.
Yesterday the pin she wore at her neckline was not only striking, it was vintage.
Via Mrs. O:

It turns out the piece is a Victorian paste pin, once meant as a sash decoration. It came from Carole Tanenbaum, who offers a premiere collection of vintage costume jewelry. We love that Mrs. O would wear a historical piece on such a historical day!

At Last

Loved the dress, Michell is just a lovely woman.
Beyonce looked smashing.
Our new President did not look too shabby either.

Say AMEN!!!

President Obama *

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord..............

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.....

With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

*The haters who want our new President to fail (and thus America) like Limbaugh and Hannity and Malkin can now just slink away into their rat corners while the rest of us get on with the business of restoring this country and fixing our problems.

Closing Time

"One last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey or beer.
Closing time-don't have to go home but you can't stay here."

OMG! the folks by the MSNBC booth were just singing "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey goodbye." as Bush flew away in the copter.

Bond Villain

Just read on the Pajiba Inauguration Open Thread:

haha, I have to share this - from my friend's facebook status: "scary Cheney haunting the Inaguration in a wheelchair: transition to Bond villain is now complete!"

hahahahaha

Sorry, just one last jab...

Sing it Aretha

Now THAT is a hat!

Inaugural Thoughts and Pancakes

I feel giddy.
Today is special.
Pancakes seem like the proper breakfast this morning.

Looks like the Inauguration has broken Twitter for the time being, the servers are not robust.


Mrs. O looks lovely in gold (Yellow? Lime Green? Hard to tell) brocade (maybe matelasse EDIT: it is "Swiss wool lace, backed with netting for warmth and lined in French silk") by Isabel Toledo. I gotta say I love how she rocks the vintage looking shift dresses. Could the piece at her neckline be vintage? EDIT: IT IS!!!!
I'm very impressed with the color choices for her gloves, shoes and purse. Yummy contrast.


I caught my breath as Obama and Bush came out the door of the White House.

Why don't men wear hats anymore? Even the most blah Congress critter looks more interesting in a hat. Obama would look Denzel hot in a hat.

Do you wonder if Jill asked Lynn Chaney what it was like to sleep with Satan each night as they rode in the limo?

Born Again American

What We Missed

Hmmmm, for some reason HBO choose not to air Bishop Gene Robinson's invocation at the "We Are One" celebration today.
Here is the lovely prayer we missed:

"A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama
By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire

Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN."

This Land is Your Land

Spent the afternoon taking pics and watching the beginning of the end of our national 8 year long nightmare (That would be the "We are One" concert at the Lincoln Memorial today) and I have to say that Pete Seeger made my day.

The moment he began leading the crowd in the "subversive" lyrics that Woody Guthrie penned all those years ago about true patriotism and economic justice I began to bawl.

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

89 years young.

When he was blacklisted and pulled before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) Seeger was asked if he sang for Commies. His response?

Mr. SEEGER: I have sung for Americans of every political persuasion, and I am proud that I never refuse to sing to an audience, no matter what religion or color of their skin, or situation in life. I have sung in hobo jungles, and I have sung for the Rockefellers, and I am proud that I have never refused to sing for anybody. That is the only answer I can give along that line.

and

Mr. SEEGER: I decline to discuss, under compulsion, where I have sung, and who has sung my songs, and who else has sung with me, and the people I have known. I love my country very dearly, and I greatly resent this implication that some of the places that I have sung and some of the people that I have known, and some of my opinions, whether they are religious or philosophical, or I might be a vegetarian, make me any less of an American. I will tell you about my songs, but I am not interested in telling you who wrote them, and I will tell you about my songs, and I am not interested in who listened to them. . . .

You can read more HERE.
Pete Seeger is an American patriot.

Let Freedom Ring!

Seriously, if I got to frisk The Clooney, it would not be with rubber gloves on.

I'm just saying....

Barbie Couture

On Vogue.com, Barbie A Style Icon, in Dior and a number of other designer duds.

That would be the famous Dior "Bar" suit.


From the V&A-The Golden Age of Couture:

'Bar' is one of the most important designs from Dior’s first collection. The tight-fitting jacket has padded hips which emphasise the tiny waist. The long pleated wool skirt, backed with cambric, is exceptionally heavy.

Vintage Arkansas

Recently The Old State House Museum here in Little Rock, AR. received a gift of $1000 to restore the gown worn by Mabel Claire Martineau in 1927 to her husband's inauguration ball when he became Governor.


Oh my, that is one lovely vintage 20's dress.

The website for the museum has a nice timeline of all the dresses of the former First Ladies of Arkansas.

Here are a few others, one from 1933 and the other circa 1953.


The last one is Hillary Clinton's from 1979, which was the fist time Bill was elected Governor.
I mention it because it was made by a local designer, Connie Fails.
Last weekend I was over at a friend's house just going though her closet looking at the great vintage she has collected over the years and she pulled out this exquisite dress that looked like a beaded 20's wedding dress, but was a actually a reproduction made for her by Connie Fails.
Cool, huh?

Pattern of the Week

Vintage Adrian pattern.
Lovely.
"A6101. Early 50s -- likely 1951. This pattern is part of the "Patterns of the Times" series, published by the New York Times, as part of a series about the designers."
For more information, check out the listing at Vintage Fashion Library to read more about this group of Advance patterns from an insert (not for sale) included in these patterns written by Virginia Pope.

Here is my bit of shameless self promotion for Sew-Retro Patterns:


Not an Adrian, but a nice Vogue from the 1940's with an interesting neckline and a tie on peplum that provides pockets.
Clever!

Do You Know Your First Ladies?

NYT has a quiz on the inaugural ball gowns worn by former First Ladies.
I got a 10/15.

Really?

Seriously, I can't believe that no one thought to tell me that Ricky Gervais has a blog.
How much I love that wanker...even if he is raggin' on the fat folks like me (and him).

The obvious lack of irony makes me laugh.

Get That Bitch Off the Stage

After my last post we need an Anderson Cooper and Puppy break.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Road to the Doghouse - Puppedential Debate

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

If you Get a Plantar Wart Removed

Your Doctor might ask if you have had any blood work done.
If your Doctor asks if you "have had any blood work done lately" you might say "no never".
If you say "no never" he might look at you like you are crazy and order blood work.
If he orders blood work you will get a PSA.
If you get a PSA it might be high.
If it is high, you'll need to see a urologist.
If you see a urologist he might give you a prostate biopsy.
If he give you a prostate biopsy you just might find out you have prostate cancer, but only on one side and will consider yourself really fucking lucky that you had to have that plantar wart removed.

We recently found out that The Mr. has prostate cancer.

I guess I am in the acceptance phase right now since I have found that just ignoring the cancer will not make it less of a fact.
The last couple of weeks have been full of anger and sadness. Spending lots of time investigating treatments. Next week we will meet with his Dr. again to discuss what we have learned and get his recommendations.

Make sure your Mr. gets his PSA levels done so they can be compared if they begin to rise.

New Vintage Kitchen Curtain

I was pawing though a friend's loot of vintage tablecloths when I ran across this:



"Cool" said I.
"Take it" says she.
So I did.
Now, what seems like a large cotton kitchen towel, is hanging in front of my kitchen window.