Mood: Inspired!

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post! The pity-party is now officially over.

attitude is everything!

 Thanks, especially, to my friend Steve the Kaleidoscope Guy who graced me with this outstanding quote:

"If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind"
                                                                                                     ~ Kurt Vonnegut

I think I might need to needlepoint this on a pillow ;-)

I'm Melllllting...

I tell you what, dear readers, I don't know much.

One thing I do know, however, is that one of the principal tenets of Professional Blogging (ha! Say that with a straight face) is that you are not supposed to Blog About Blogging. Sort of a "don't break the fourth wall" sort of a thing, I guess.
Well, I guess I'm not a professional, 'cause here goes:  I'm feeling pretty icky about writing my blog, lately. It doesn't help at all that the Weather Gods appear to be punishing me right now and it's easily 85 degrees in my office... no AC, no laptop that I could take and work in the coolness of the local library :-(

Mostly, though, it's that I can't get over the feeling that I'm just sending random thoughts and pictures out into the void...

Is any one out there???
Is anybody actually reading this???

I have tons and tons of fun (honestly!) ideas for blog posts, but I guess I feel like if no-one is reading them then what's the point?
If anyone's actually reading this, please comment and tell me :-)
It would be massively appreciated.

A Few Brief Thoughts About Marilyn Monroe

Lots of big to-do is being made in the media about the fact that tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of Marilyn's death, and hot on the heels of last year's film "My Week With Marilyn" are several new books about her life.
I find the whole thing so interesting...both the continued fascination we seem to have, culturally, with this long-dead actress, and also how the fascination with her seems to ebb and wane with regularity. Why is this?

I'm *ahem* old enough to remember the last big Marilyn resurgence, in the 80's. The nation's economy was really booming at that time, and on the surface it seems that things couldn't have been more different than they are right now, but I think we were yearning, culturally, for more innocent times. Right now this is also the case...we long for simpler and happier times, as a culture, when our lives feel too complex and fraught with problems of a very un-innocent nature.

The thing that I find so ironic is that Marilyn's life was rarely simple or happy, so obviously was it filled with difficulty and complexity. The image that she crafted and sent out into the world was the epitome of simplicity and innocence, and yet it was such a shallow facade. Although I admire her enormous beauty and talent, I honestly look at images of her and feel mostly sadness. In her face, I see pain flickering under that child-like smile. Such tragedy. Perhaps that's the real root of our fascination: she presents the ultimate irony in the most lovely-to-look-at wrapping...blessed with incomparable beauty, charisma, brains (yes) and talent, she was also cursed with insecurity, a horrible early childhood, a long string of failed relationships, and the drug addiction that ultimately killed her.

If Marilyn had lived, we can only wonder at what her life's trajectory might have been, but it seems a reasonable guess that she may have lived a later life similar to that of her contemporaries. Perhaps she would have ended up in an institution, and then a life of quiet religious contemplation in obscurity, like Bettie Page. What if she had evolved as an actress and continued to do more interesting, deeper films into her older age? We may have been treated to an aged Marilyn, a la Bette Davis on the "Tonight Show", giving us hilarious one-liners in a creaky old cigarette-cured voice. The one sure thing, if she had lived, is that we wouldn't be quite as obsessed with her as a culture as we are now. It's her untimely and sordid death, and her frozen-in-time images that feed the obsession. There is something more than a little creepy and morbid going on here (and I'm a fan of creepy and morbid, usually!) that may not be the healthiest thing...obsessions rarely are.

Perhaps it's time to let poor Marilyn rest in the peace she most assuredly deserved.

Is It Too Hot To Blog?

"I wish I'd spent my money on an air conditioner instead of that ugly painting...I mean, who's ever going to hear of this Jackson Pollock guy, anyway?"

"At least the car is air-conditioned. Oh wait, it isn't...maybe I'll drive to my beach house. Oh wait...I don't have one of those either! Hmmmm..."

"ahh..much cooler here at the beach house. Don't know who's house this is, but maybe if I look cute they won't mind me staying for a while!"

Happy 4th of July! or...Don't Catch the Yard on Fire!

from Normajeanscloset on Etsy

My feelings toward the Fourth of July are a lot like my feelings for New Year's Eve...I feel pressure to be doing something "big" and "fun" and  I always feel like everybody else is out doing fabulous things and I'm not. Yeah, yeah...    *world's smallest violin playing*
In actuality, my hubby and I decided he should work tonight because he gets extra pay for working on the holiday and we are trying to make more money. So it was a choice we made. Sometimes you just have to be a grown-up and do the practical thing! It's actually blissfully quiet right now and I'm rather enjoying getting some stuff done. Next year I'll do it up big!

So that's enough venting...I actually love Fourth of July because it's really the best time to rock the red, white and blue color scheme! On that note, here are some fun red, white and blue goodies I found on Etsy:

From lolanyvintage on Etsy
Aren't these the cutest? They're my size, too, so it's taking mucho willpower to resist buying them!

from vintage50's eyewear

from elliemayhems on Etsy

from MoMoDeluxeVintage

These shorts are up in my Etsy shop right now...aren't they great? I think the print is really cute. I'm a sucker for novelty prints :-)

Happy Fourth Everybody!!

Sneak Peeks

I thought you lovely readers might like to see a sneak peek of some awesome things (if I do say so myself) that will be going into my Etsy shop soon. So here they are:

40's hand-painted blouse

I've got to find a really good & careful dry-cleaners for this gorgeous shirt, and while it's being cleaned I need to do some research. Anyone out there know much about these blouses? I remember seeing a blog post (or something out there in the internets) about these recently, and now that I need it, I can't find it for the life of me.

Catalina playsuit

Look at this swimsuit/playsuit! The bottom has the craziest design...you sort of step into it (like a diaper, for lack of a better description) and then tie it around you. The good thing about the design is that it makes it very adjustable. Another funny thing is that the label (Catalina) actually lists the WEIGHT range they recommend, which is 115 to 130 lbs. instead of the more usual size. Isn't that odd? I'm guessing it didn't go over well...

Plummy 1940's handbag, suede

I love it when I find old things from a previous owner inside purses. Frequently I find handkerchiefs (clean, thankfully!) hairpins, and coins. This purse had two movie ticket stubs from the Selwyn Theatre, August, 1948. Sadly, it didn't say the name of the film or show, but it did say that the price was $1.35.

Summery striped dress, late 50's/early 60's

I love the vertical stripes on the dress. They really are flattering! This dress needs a bit of work...I have to replace the zipper and mend a little hole on the front.

high-waisted shorts with cute Asian-inspired print

I wish these shorts would fit me! Aren't they cute? The print looks like lots of pretty parasols. But alas, the waist is seriously the size of my thigh. Well, pretty close to it anyway ;-)
These beauties will all be going into the shop as soon as they're cleaned & fixed up!

Vintage Fashion Book Reviews

 For your enjoyment may I present three quickie book reviews:

I got all three of these books from my local library. I'm the biggest library nerd! Seriously, where can you find a better deal than the public library? Any book you want (generally) and you can (again, generally) keep it for weeks & weeks, for free! Anyway, these were fun to look over for a while. First up:

The Fashion File:  Advice, Tips, and Inspiration from the Costume Designer of Mad Men
by Janie Bryant

A fun little book that's a little bit about the TV show Mad Men, and more about vintage fashion & style in general. Something I really enjoyed about this book were the lovely & whimsical watercolor illustrations by
Robert Best. This one shows a 50's circle skirt and how it might be incorporated into a modern look.

 Another nice bit was the section about "Icons & Inspirations"

Beautiful Elizabeth Taylor and Brigitte Bardot

You'd think a book from the Mad Men lady would be about Mad Men style, lots of late 50's & early 60's, right? Not so much. Instead there's a lot of generic "10 Pieces Every Woman Should Have" and "Which Body Shape Are You?" kind of stuff that we've all seen a million times.
 In total, it's a lightweight, entry-level, but fun little book. I'm glad I didn't buy a copy at full pop. I really love those watercolor illustrations, though, so if I ever see this at a thrift store (which I may, once the Mad Men craze dies down) I will definitely add it to my personal library!

Next is a book I've actually checked out twice over the years:
Dressing Up Vintage by Tracy Tolkien

 This book covers vintage fashion by the decade, from the 50's through the 80's. Each decade is broken into key designers and styles.
One thing that's really weird about this book is that there are about two pages covering the 40's. As compared to the bajillion pages about the 70's & 80's, it's kind of a snub to my beloved 40's. I wonder why? I guess it's the author's prerogative. Maybe she thought it had already been done enough.
 The coverage of the 70's and 80's is pretty major, and as it comes from an English perspective, it's pretty fun and informative for me as an American reader.

Last but not least we have:
The Art of Vogue, Photographic Covers, Fifty Years of Fashion and Design.

I <3 Jean Patchett

Gorgeous 40's covers

I want this issue!

Twiggy lookin' fab

This book is pure eye-candy! I had a lot of fun going through my stash of vintage Vogues and seeing which ones were featured in the book. I especially love the pic on the cover...the iconic Jean Patchett!
The cover art of Vogue has been held to a beautifully high standard for decades and decades, and it's great fun to see how the cover styles have changed over the years!

Have lovely readers seen or read any good books about vintage fashion lately? I'd love to hear about them!