I kid, I kid. At some point I will look at the pictures and opine, but really, in the Universe According to Erin, Christina Hendricks shows up in this Suzy Perette number, and everyone else goes home.
Christina, if you need this, check out the eBay auction. There's still time to bid!
Robin sent a link to these Bonnie Cashin dresses, up for auction at Augusta Auction. The dark one on the right is actually two pieces: a bodice and skirt.
Neither dress is my size, but lordy, would I like a few (dozen) yards of that dark fruit fabric. (The bright dress has a similar palette to one of my favorite Liberty patterns, Enchanted Garden.)
(There are other pictures at the Augusta link, but for some reason having both the dresses facing left seemed humorous to me. They look like they're lining up to be bought!)
If I were recruiting for a new elite corps of airline hostesses (and who's to say I'm not?) I would definitely make this the uniform. See how cleverly the sergeant's stripes are incorporated into the bodice?
Thanks to Tammy O. for sending the link — the eBay auction ends, like, nowish, so jump if you want it.
Oh, and I think the model in gray is holding a swagger stick, yes?
So I kind of forgot to mention that I'm signing books tonight in Burlingame. It's a lovely bookstore! They are super-nice! And if you show up in a dress I will give you a Dress a Day tape measure, while supplies last!
(The one night only part is kind of a lie, though, because I live in Burlingame, so technically I'm there pretty much every night.)
Hope to see you there!
[There *will* be an East Bay event, but I don't have my travel dates pinned down enough to schedule it yet. I hope to know this week …]
My shirtdress obsession, naturally. Check this one out, from Tina at What-I-Found Patterns:
Check out what a nice big size it is, and the lovely center pleat on the skirt … and the collar!
And don't forget — the first Secret Lives signing is tomorrow! I might be wearing a shirtdress. You'll have to show up to find out!
Not being one of NYC's glamorous people, I didn't know that Elaine (yes, that Elaine) was a big dress-wearer. She sounds awesome, in every sense of the word:
“Measuring and creating clothing for Elaine was like painting a mural in motion.”
Read the rest of the story (in the New Yorker) here.
Some purists sniff, if not sneer, at the trend. Madeline Meyerowitz, owner of the vintage clothing Web site enokiworld.com, which sells labels like Courrèges and Claire McCardell, likened designers of reproduction clothing to singers at a karaoke bar. “I don’t want to hear you sing it, I want to hear the original artist sing it,” she said. [This Old Thing? Actually, It's New]
I got a bunch of links to the above-quoted article at the NYT about repro vintage clothing … and the quote above really stood out (even more than "Men treat me differently when I wear vintage or something that looks vintage").
To me the karaoke metaphor, far from being a big slam, really highlights one of the things I love about the repro fashion movement … audience participation! I love vintage, but as we get farther away from the time periods whose clothing we love, the laws of supply and demand kick in: too many people chasing too few original objects means higher prices. (Great for Enokiworld, not so good for buyers.) Repro vintage means that more people can enjoy the same things we love: full skirts, kicky collars, and pockets!
Repro (especially DIY repro!) is inclusive, and builds community. I don't see a community forming around owning a Celine leather tunic (maybe I'm just hanging out in the wrong places? And in the wrong clothes?) but people are still congregating around the Butterick Walk-Away Dress – and even the reissue pattern is four years old!
I see repro as supporting lots of things I love: independent fashion, vintage aesthetics, and a deeper, more thoughtful relationship with the clothes we wear. And traditional vintage should only be helped, not hurt, by the repro movement: once you make a Claire McCardell pattern, your taste will definitely be whetted for the real thing. (Trust me, I speak from experience.)
What's your take? Are you vintage-only, DIY-only, repro-only, or a mix?
A candy heart roundup, in time for Valentine's day:
Candy hearts enamel necklace from Zedana Designs. She'll do custom wording, too, just email …
Resin heart necklace from Micah Jones Studios.
Another resin style, from Bit of Sugar.
Teeny heart earrings, from InedibleJewelry.
Slightly more abstract heart pendant, from JJHCreations.
Silver earrings with vintage charms, from HeartfeltCreativity.
Candy heart valentines from JojoLarue.
And if you aren't into Valentine's Day, there's always this card:
From Unlucky Girl.
A Dress A Day 