Cracks (2009)

Yesterday while doing a Google image search for velvet dresses (my newest wish list item for my closet-- I'll post some inspiration pics later), I came across a picture of Eva Green in this new film.

Has anyone seen Cracks?  Apparently it came out in the UK last year, but I can't find if it has been released here.  It seems I am a sucker for movies set in the 1930's-- I imagine I would like anything set in that time period solely because of the glorious costumes, but throw in Ms. Green (whose face is just about perfect), an English countryside, and a bunch of schoolgirls, and I am completely sold.


Eva plays a school teacher at an English boarding school.  She's charismatic, enigmatic, and popular, but when a new student arrives, it seems to throw everyone into a tizzy.  The film trailer shows brooding girls traipsing through moors and floating in boats a la the Lady of Shalott.  I kept thinking of that other dark boarding school film, Picnic at Hanging Rock (which, by the way, I LOVED and highly recommend).


Well, if yesterday's post was dedicated to styles of the 1920's, then today's is dedicated to the 1930's.  Here are some screen shots to whet your appetite for the film.  If anyone has any info of when it will be playing here in the States, will you please let me know?

XOXO,

Roaring Twenties

Did you know that after I graduated from design school, I turned my back on all things sewing and design related? It's true. I had spent my entire college career slaving away over garments until the wee hours of the morning. Each garment would start with a series of sketches and inspiration boards, and from there we would flat pattern or drape the garment, create a pattern, fit it in muslin, and finally sew it in the fashion fabric. It was an enlightening process, but, oh, what labor of love (with the emphasis on labor)!

I moved to New York City seven months after I graduated college, and while I took a job in fashion, it had little to do with fashion design. Instead, I decided to play the part of muse, pursuing modeling rather than designing.

Well, seven years after putting down that needle (with a few exceptions here and there), my passion for sewing seems to have returned with a vengeance. These days it seems that all I think about are patterns. I am not drafting my own so much (I don't have a personalized fitting shell, nor a dress form in my proportions), but am working with store bought patterns.

A screen capture from Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

I have bought a few modern patterns, but mostly my interest runs to patterns from earlier eras, namely the twenties to the fifties. I have spoken of my love of the styles of the 1920s before, but not unlike the protagonist of Thoroughly Modern Millie, my shape just doesn't accomodate the silhouette of the twenties. Nevertheless, I was practically salivating over this pattern book from spring 1923 that is on Ebay right now. The going price is still quite low, but I'm sure it's going to shoot up, and alas, I have no room in my budget these days for such items. Below are the seller's images from the book. They're lovely!

If you happen to be the lucky winner of this magnificent book, won't you please share the images with us?


XOXO,

Please Vote For Me-- Madmen Casting Call

My sixteen-year-old niece, Morgan, is something of a triple threat. She's spunky, beautiful, and incredibly talented. A few years ago she got her hands on a camera, and within no time, was producing incredible photographs.


I've long said that I wanted her to shoot me, and yesterday we finally collaborated. I wanted something fifties-inspired, and she was able to indulge me. I provided the dress (a gold lamé dress that I picked up at Goodwill last year for a few bucks), did my hair, makeup and nails, and she did the photography and photo editing.


I LOVE the results. Just take a look and see:

Morgan hand-selected these photos herself, then used the online editing software, Picnik, to adjust the colors so that the pictures look like they're from another era.

This one (above) reminds me of a photobooth picture. The one on the left could be from the late fifties or early sixties, whereas the one on the right reminds me of a headshot of an actress from the silver screen. We had an inspired moment when I lay down on the ground and flipped the lace of the skirt behind my head. It adds such a nice texture to the photo.

This one has that same 1950's feel. I LOVE it!


So, I really need your help. I'm entering the Madmen casting contest for a chance to win a walk-on role on AMC's Madmen. PLEASE VOTE FOR ME HERE BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK.


Below is the picture I chose to use for the contest. I like some of the above pictures better, but this one has the most sixties feel, I think. The current season of the show is set in 1964, so I thought some of the black and white photos looked too old.

XOXO,

Wedded Bliss

Whilst celebrating my birthday on Sunday, little did I know that the wedding of the decade was going on.  No, I'm not referring to Chelsea Clinton (who got married on Saturday night), but to a certain Lisa Simpson who celebrated her nuptials at 1pm in the afternoon.

The episode originally aired in 1995 and was entitled, "Lisa's Wedding."

Lisa, I hope that you and Hugh St. John Alastair Parkfield have a beautiful life together.


XOXO,

The Big 3-1

On Sunday my sister and I celebrated our 31st birthdays. It is hard to believe that I am firmly entrenched in my thirties; I don't feel that old, and yet, when I'm 80, I don't think I'll feel that old either.

To celebrate, my mom threw my sister and me a mini-party.  We ate delicious homemade vanilla ice cream with toppings like strawberries and mint.

I wore my shirt that I bought at the Delheim Winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa.  It was so nice to be able to spend the day with my family.  Last year, Erin and I were apart on our birthday.

As I grow older, I am encouraged by these lines of my favorite poet:

No spring, nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face;
Young beauties force our love, and that's a rape;
This doth but counsel, yet you cannot scape. 

~John Donne, Elegy IX

XOXO,


Scalloped edge tutorial and tape images courtesy of the lovely Katrina Tan.