Archive for the ‘fashion favorite’ Category
a couple of months back i did a post on the columbia minerva knitting book “fables and fabulous yarns”. i know you wanted to see more, so here for your viewing pleasure, are some more “fables and fabulous yarns”! you might remember the book featured knitting patterns, as well as rhymes and stories to accompany each picture.
four friends of rural estateengaged in uneven debatewith cock to presideand calf to decidethe merits of chicken or steak
get a load of the fisherman chic, eh? the boy looks like he’s the son of michael nesmith from the monkees. the wool hat is hereditary, i hear.
an escaped circus bear grew homesickforhuman companionship. one dayhe met two schoolgirls in the park andto win their confidence and approval performedhis tricks for them/ they were so delightedthat they took him home and started a circusfrom which he longed to escape.moral: to change one’s life one must first change oneself
firstly, that bear’s tongue is obscene, and secondly, he really doesn’t look too miserable, does he?
a giraffe sunning himself among the flowermet two children dressed for ice skating.when they complained of the heat he askedwhy they were wearing warm knits.“our mother has just completed these garmentswhich so please us that we cannot wait until cold weather to wear them”“silly children” replied the giraffe, “today you wish for winter and in winter you will long for summer. put away your fine clothes and enjoy them in their time.”moral: preparing for the future should not be confused with living in the future.
the funniest thing about this picture is that this isn’t the first arranged marriage officiated by a giraffe. also, young man, how long does that beanie really need to be!?
a social climbing lion cultivated the companyof two stylish sisters only to learn that theirclothes were handmade for pittance and their graceful manners those of all loved children.humbled by this lesson he gave up pretentionin favor of good company and the three becamefast friends.moral: what one finds by chance is often superior to what one seeks.
hello tartan ensemble! please be mine? i’ve always wanted a tam o’shanter o’my own. meanwhile i think i’ve had scarves warmer than that icy blue knitted dress on the right. i think it needs another 4 foot of hem to keep out the wintry draught!!
a camel who lived in osageaspired to succeed on the stageshe took positionas traveling musicianaccepting fresh fruit as her wage.
looking at that girl’s mohair cardigan just makes me itchy. no wonder the other two have moved away from her. its like a penny-whistle gang war picnic just broke out..
easter and the equinoxcome hand in hand among the flowerswelcoming their woodland friendsand greeting with april showers
awwww… look! there’s woodland friends! and a boy in a nautical inspired jumper! the little girl looks like she’s off to a birthday party. i recall owning a lot of party outfits like that. there just aren’t enough opportunities to wear jumpers and patent leather shoes anymore. sigh.
birthday bear of yellow hairhow doest thou see the morrow?i cannot say for now’s todayand time is not to borrow.
i feel sorry for the girl on the left.. she looks like she’s borrowed her grandpa’s clothes (beside the skirt!). now, i wasn’t really into pink when i was little, but i’m pretty sure i more wasn’t into beige and brown. i bet her mum made her wear her school shoes with that outfit.
there are still some more outfits not shown from this book, so if you’re very well behaved i’ll post some more again, soon.
i do believe early 70s fashion is my favorite. i do like bits from other eras, but early 70s is just so cute and bold and girlish! aren’t those girls above sweet? i think i would wear every one of those dresses. check out all that ric rac on the left! and all the hair in pigtails or ‘bunches’ if you will. i’m rockin’ some bunches right now, but alas, no cute sandals or big collars. all the images in this post come from a book published by schiffer, called ‘fashionable clothing from the sears catalogs: early 1970s’ by tina skinner. the books (there are also 60′s and 80′s editions in the series) contain a price guide and are just crammed with fab photos. its really amusing seeing how catalog modeling and styling has changed.
oh no! don’t step on the tiny lady between your legs! middle girl probably can’t see past that ENORMOUS collar. i bet being crushed to death by a clog was the leading cause of death in the early 70s. my favourite here is the floral dress on the left. what a perfectly proportioned, crisp, collar. i’m really not sure what the point of the tiny pixie lady…
more clogs and some maxi dresses! i think the girl on the right wants the girl in the middle to join her for a key party… left side girl is just thinking about how virginal she is. she won’t be knocking clogs with anyone anytime soon! she’s heading straight home after this shoot to brush her hair 100 times before sliding into bed in a maxi nightie.
embarrasing! you show up to a shoot and you’re both wearing an autumnal toned ‘waves’ ensembles! what to do!? pose nonchalantly? or plot to destroy your tunic wearing twin? if you answered (b) you’re the model on the left and you’re currently serving out your remaining 50yr jail term in a high security facility. if you answered (a) congratulations! you were the tunic wearer, and you spent a few more years modeling before settling down to start a family, working part time in the school office and furthering your interest in creative writing and embezzeling. oh, sorry i meant bedazzeling.
i think i just died of a frock love attack! please can someone provide me with a time machine so i can go back and get that dress with the daisies and cherries/apples? i promise i will bring back original star wars merch that you can ebay for mega bucks! however if you already have a spare time machine lying around i’m guessing money probably isn’t a worry for you. in conclusion: buy me that dress!
and last but not least: its that uniform you were always promised you’d get to wear in the dystopian future!! all the comfort of dacron, with none of the personality or breathability of those other ridiculous fabrics from the ‘olden days’. the good news is if you catch fire, your suit will just melt down into a handy plastic container you can store leftover soylent green in! i’m pretty sure the mother is just about to tell us how much she loves The Leader. apologies for mixing my futuristic concepts.
a black and white outfit: always crisp and chic! while crisp and chic is good, i can’t say i’m a chic girl.. let alone crisp (let’s just say i’m not entirely sure where our iron is) and i do love my color. so, i saw this as a challenge: put together some dream outfits that are colorful in other ways.
please click on the image if you want to find out where each piece is from. WARNING! puns ahead.
prim & polka dotty: black and white date night
chillin’ in some checks: whimsical weekend wear
never mind the pollock, here’s some flowers: abstract + floral = prim & preppy
houndstooth of the baskervilles: return of the sexy librarian!
its been a while since i’ve done a fashion based post, but i’m just feeling it today, you know? its spring here (though you’d never know: its been freezing) and the horse racing season is coming up so flowers and fashion are all emerging from their grey wintery hibernations. just for fun i’ve put together some polyvore sets inspired by flowers. i hope they either remind you of the southern hemisphere’s imminent good weather, or offer some hope for a spring at the other end of a northern hemisphere winter!
daisies are one of my favorite flowers, in concept: i love the fresh, sweet look of them, but they make my nose itch unfortunately. so i enjoy them from afar. sigh. a daisy makes me think of a tanned, ingenue – or someone like jackie o perhaps. kind and genuine but just a little bit unattainable. she would enjoy sunny picnic days, smocked cotton dresses, broderie anglaise, scalloped edges, suntans. you just know she would own more than one cute lilly pulitzer dress. she is positive and friendly without being insufferable. she’s a miracle! her soundtrack: ‘i found love’ by the free design:
hydrangeas are a bit magic to me. it fascinates me that by adding different chemicals to their soil you can change their color. magical blue flowers! they remind me of watercolors, or when crepe paper gets wet and the ink runs out, i like the washed out petals. a hydrangea girl would definitely be into ink. she’d have some well concealed tattoos and grow her own food and flowers. she’d ride a bike with a wicker basket on the front and be a bit into country style with a twist of scandinavian, whitewashed walls with lots of blue and white china on display. her house is cold, but that doesn’t mean its not inviting. her outfit up there looks dressy, but don’t be fooled, she always carries a back up pair of blue suede boots. soundtrack: “jennifer she said” lloyd cole & the commotions
generally roses are your typical old fashioned flower, but when i saw these i thought of a crash between classic elegance and bright, fun, youthfulness. the girl for these roses lives in the city. fighting against the grind of 9-5 work she needs those sneakers to run about town for lunch-hour breaks for freedom: lunch dates, gallery openings, sneaking out to the fair. the kate spade bag is secretly full of candy to fuel this bright and frenetic lifestyle. soundtrack: “same old drag” by apples in stereo:
i hope you enjoy my characters and a bit of a friday musical distraction. can you compare yourself to any kind of flowers? i’m not really sure what i’d be. maybe someone can suggest one for me… maybe nothing with ‘stink’ or ‘weed’ in the name though, ok?!
1. a little unsure, 2. Tate, 3. Erykah,
4. All spruced up!, 5. Betsy my lovely yarn head blythe bear, 6. Hippy chick…,
7. Blythe DollHouse Kitchen, 8. Mod Marigold Set, 9. retro stock 1
do you know blythe? she’s the girl of a thousand faces, all of them framing those humungous eyes. she causes quite a stir – some people are fanatics and others think she’s a little too strange to find endearing. but i’m sure that doesn’t bother blythe. she’s been down and bounced back. she’s one tough cookie!
she was created in 1972 by allison katzman as a sort of homage to the wide-eyed waifs illustrated by margaret keane. unfortunately, the world wasn’t ready for blythe and the toy company kenner ceased production after just one year. but nearly 30 years later blythe was rediscovered when chronicle books published photographer gina garan’s book ‘this is blythe’. pretty soon blythe was ‘big in japan’ and replicas and new editions of blythe were produced by takara japan and ashton drake galleries USA. blythe had a whole new generation of fans who were old enough to appreciate her and creative enough to take her from being a quirky doll to the star of a fascinating subculture.
i have a blythe (a ‘mrs retro mama‘ unsurprisingly) and although initially my plan was to create something unique and customised, i just like her the way she is. she stands in my studio, rocking out to a music box and being my little plastic muse. i do love seeing what other people do to their blythes, though. some of them are near works of art. pictured up the top are some of my favorites on flickr. groovy babies, dolly birds, and a fabulous yarnhead bear! isn’t the yarhead bear fascinating?
what do you think of blythe? do you have one?
a homage to lovely falsies, and the beauties who wear them! this post is dedicated to my lovely friend andie, who rocks an eyelash like nobodies business!
i tried to dig up some history on false eyelashes, but all i could find is the following, on several different sites:
False eyelashes were invented by the American film director D.W. Griffith while he was making his 1916 epic, “Intolerance”. Griffith wanted actress Seena Owen to have lashes that brushed her cheeks, to make her eyes shine larger than life. A wigmaker wove human hair through fine gauze, which was then gummed to Owen’s eyelids. “Intolerance” was critically acclaimed but flopped financially, leaving Griffith with huge debts that he might have been able to settle easily – had he only thought to patent the eyelashes.
via useless facts
shu uemura has become synonymous with lashes (though the range on the website isn’t nearly as big as what’s in store! where are the holographic and rainbow ones?!)
and here’s a video on applying false lashes
so, do you wear false eyelashes? i must admit, as much as i love them, i’m rubbish at applying them (despite much practice) and tend to look more drag than fab. sigh. why is it the things we love most, are the things that don’t suit us!? (see also shift dresses and wide leg jeans)
not too long ago i discovered this fabulous knitting pattern book on etsy. its the columbia-minerva knit fashions for boys and girls no.775 from 1970 titled ‘fables & fabulous yarns’. not only is it full of fabulous floral backdrops, the knitted outfits are downright charming – though maybe i feel that way because i never had to wear a woolen pinafore myself!
flowers, crazy stuffed animal props, pinafores and knee socks – what more could you want?! how about some poems? well you’ve come to the right pattern book!
the introduction goes:
a long time agoin the kingdom of make believable knitsthe children declared their independenceand moved across the valley to live with the friendly animals.they were happy until autumn when it came to their noticethat the animals coats were growing thicker and warmerwhile their own clothes were getting thinner.
as winter approached, envy grew into hostility,until the animals, alarmed for their lives,sent the tiger in delegation to persuade the childrenfrom persisting in their foolishness.
“children” said the tiger,“your pride threatens the peace of our land.rob us of our coats and you rob yourself of friends,and when our coats wear thin on your backs youwill be lonely and cold too. let us carry you home where youcan enjoy the fruits of the affectionate adults.”
the children heard his words and metin council to deliberate the matter.a few thought it more romantic to sneak homeunder cover of darkness and gather yarns to knit forthemselves. but the majority said this was not a timefor romance. “all we can knit anyway is scarves and whowants to go around all winter wrapped in a scarfwhen we could have cardigans and dresses and caps and slacks.let us return and reconsider independence when weknow better how to care for ourselves.”
secretly relieved at being outvoted,the few joined the many and they all set out at onceastride the larger animals. the adults were likewiserelieved and decided henceforth they wouldtry to give their children a greater sense of freedom.
and so you will notice as youread through our book that while the children andtheir animal friends play happily together,the grownups are not anywhere to be seen.they are behind the scenes knitting.
signed,the fashion director
now on with the fashion parade! please note, the poems are featured above the photos in the book. i didn’t write them. i can only write rude limericks and thats another story for another time!
two maids garbed in knits of high fashion
met an ass who ate yarns with a passion
said they in protection
please try for “delection”
these flowers as alternate ration
how sweet are those knee socks and mary-janes? and i love those hair ties the girls wear. can someone who had some tell me what they’re made of? are they wool? they look like ropes and remind me of sesame street!!
three sisters in dress of a sailor
took their pet to be fit by a tailor.
when faced by a bear
all covered with hair
the merchant turned five degrees paler.
as my mother would say, ‘nautical but nice!’ i wish i’d had some sailor outfits as a child. how did they get the skirts to not stretch all out of shape? can you tell i’m not a knitter?
a toast to warming snacks and sweaters
sköal to saint bernard the bold
it may be june,
but none too soon
to start and knit for winter’s cold.
plaid trousers! i die. how terrible is that stuffed st bernard? it looks like someone won it at a fair! i’d like that hooded cardigan, and those red mugs though, please.
two sisters found a baby ‘roo
playing in the hollyhocks.
they spent the morning at the zoo
and picnicked there on lollypops.
lollypops, knee-socks and hollyhocks! oh my! i love the little girls matching tights and polo neck combination. i had a lot of pinafores as a child and i still love them. i just look like a sack in them now thankyouverymuch puberty!
a career kangaroo
who sold fruit at the zoo
was caught making book on the side.
when asked to foreswear
this shady affair
he said, “by the book i’ll abide.”
these last two outfits i do not envy. and judging by the kid’s expressions, they share my sentiment. the girl looks like she’s saying “a brown pleated skirt?! thanks mum. now i can wear my school shoes on weekends too” and the boy looks to be saying “you think you’ve got it bad? i’m going to be missing more than this one tooth when i wear this around the guys!”
so what do you think, should we petition to get more poetry+knitting crossover books published? i’m thinking haiku+crochet! sonnets+cross stitch!
