Weather Forecast: Winter 2011

I've never had a nice coat that fit me. I have this problem with clothing a lot- being 6'2" and having the long limbs that accompany that makes it a little harder to find things that fit well, but I've found a way around that for most things, except a winter coat. The frustrating thing is I've taken construction and tailoring classes and produced 2 different coats from these, but by the time I finished the class I was so frustrated with making deadlines and redoing seams that I wanted nothing to do with them.
A few months ago I served as a judge representing my university's retail merchandising department. As a thank you for volunteering each judge received a yard or 2 of Pendleton Wool. I got a beautiful green and blue plaid print. I haven't touched it yet. I kept saving it for the perfect project and I think I've found it...
One of my all time favorite movies is Swing Time with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In the scene where Lucky (Fred) arrives in New York and asks Penny (Ginger)  for change for his quarter (funny huh?) Penny wears a gorgeous wool cape. I always thought it looked so elegant, and I really wanted one.

Then I found this pattern in one of my mom's sewing magazines. It's Simplicity Easy to Sew 4428. I like the longer blue one. I don't think I'd have any use for the other patterns...but I would love to have a matching hat. 

Where The Black-Eyed Susans Grow

I found this framed sheet music at the Mission Mart in Bloomington. I payed $2 for it. I fell in love with it immediately- it's so elegant and poised but at the same time relaxed and carefree. I'll probably paint the frame black to match the rest of my wall art eventually. I had to look up the song- and it's as pretty as the cover art! I downloaded it to my iPod but I found a link for it on YouTube. It's sung by Beatrice Lillie, who was famous for being in Thoroughly Modern Millie apparently. You can listen to it here.

While I'm ranting about how much I adore this picture and having it on my wall, let me also tell you how much I love the dress in the picture. I would love to find a dress like this.

A Grace Kelly Hangover...

One of my absolute favorite movies is High Society with Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Its a nice music infused tale based off of A Philadelphia Story with Katherine Hepburn. Anyway that movie always comes to mind when I am hungover. After Grace Kelly's charcter has had quite a night at her pre-wedding party she wakes up in the morning and comes down looking stunning and ready to be married. She's pretty hungover but you wouldn't know by the way she looks. I only wish I had the poise and elegance to be like that when I am hungover. But I guess there's a good reason the morning after isn't fun ;)

Goodwill Finds March 31

I seem to have amazing luck finding things at goodwill recently. Dresses in great shape or in need of minor tweaking. These are 2 that I've found recently that I am really excited about.

This first dress is a fun 80s shoulder pad wonder. I however, am biased towards shoulder pads and almost always remove them. Maybe someday I will be able to get past this. But today is not that day. The fabric I am in love with though- knit with floral print on a dark green background. The print reminds me a lot of the canopy in my parents bedroom, which is probably what attracted me to it in the first place. Its difficult for me to describe the bodice because there is just so much going on...it has princess seams but they run into the obnoxios shoulders and the gathers that compliment them. There are four gold and pearl imitation buttons down the front and one on each sleeve. The sleeves are just below the elbow and are gathered a lot at the shoulder. There is a matching belt at the waist and the hem is just above my knees. The tag says "Whirlaway Frocks est. 1942." Isn't that just the most whimsical name? I love it. I couldn't find too much about the company online except for similar dresses being sold on ebay or vintage shops. I love this dress and I hope it gets warmer soon so I can wear it!

This dress was really exciting because it was practically brand new! Apart from being about 50 years old. Let me clarify- when I say brand new I meant it has all it's original tags. It has a circular neckline and sleeves that go about halfway to the elbow. Theres is a zipper in the front of the dress (different, but fun) that is hidden by a flap that snaps on the opposite side. The bodice is fitted by side darts and pleats. This one also has a matching belt (jackpot!) and some pleats in the skirt. The hem comes down to my knees. It is made of 100% nylon jersey and the color is a beautiful sky blue. The print sort of reminds me of brush strokes...kind of a starry night type effect. I like it a lot! The label says "Shelton Stroller." Theres a tag from the original store "This ticket must accompany garment if returned for credit or alteration." Wouldn't it be neat if most department stores still offered alterations? Then the best tag is tied to one of the belt loops. Theres a lot on this one so i'll summarize. The left side of the card stresses the "carefree nylon" and how you can wash it at home, it dries quickly and needs little ironing, and packs easily. The right side has a 50s woman asking "what shall i wear today?" and there is a detachable card to mail into the company so that you can recieve information on all the latest trends.

These will not be altered in the slightest- they fit like a glove and the hems are the perfect length. Except the shoulder pads.

Dear Abyss That Is The Internet Or Whoever Happens To Stumble Upon This...

This is a new place for me to rant. I wont say that this blog will have one specific purpose or theme because I promise you it will not. It is simply a place for me to post whatever I desire and document fun things I come across, make, and do.

One disadvantage I have to work with is lack of a digital camera to be able to display all of these things. For the time being my camera phone will have to do.