Thursday, April 29, 2010

Apple Blossom Time: Petal Pink Perfection

FINALLY, another gloriously warm day! The sunbeams coaxed the beautiful blooms of the crabapple tree in my backyard to open and I swear the grass grew green and tall in a matter of minutes! The yard was too lovely to resist; I decided to take the 1920s dress I've recently listed in the Etsy shop for its one and only brief outing with me. I paired it with a pair of vintage t-straps that are 1950s but very 20s style (These are also going into the shop shortly. They fit size 8 US. Convo me via the Etsy shop if you are interested). How could I resist, when it is the exact colour of the apple blossoms? I tried to take some pictures up in the tree house that was built up in the tree by the previous owners of the house. I have blogged before about my serious desire to transform this little structure into a Krazy Kat Klub style flapper hideaway. Well, I discovered today that it is going to take a massive overhaul before any gin swilling or charleston dancing can occur in it, as it has dry rot and is generally unstable. Still, it was lovely to be up right in the bows of the blooming branches with sparrows singing and bees droning right in my ear.


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Music: "I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time"






Fourteen Future Fashions from the 30s and Some of My Knitwear Ladies

When I am not blogging, updating my shop, sleuthing for vintage, or out exploring local sights, I'm usually lost in one of my 1930s booklets.  Here is a sample of some of the ladies the Baroness likes to gaze longingly at.  Moreso than any other source, I get my fashion and vintage style inspiration from these confident and well-heeled gals. Sorry for the rather sketchy quality of some of them. It appears my scanner does not feel compatible with my newish computer, so am having to photograph images while I try to reconcile the technological issues.


































Wednesday, April 28, 2010

1930s Evening Capelet: Pretty (Ugly Before)?

Okay, I'm almost done with my latest 30s knit fit.  As you can tell from my frequent posts of late, I am procrastinating on some major spring cleaning.  Anyway, I saw this 1930s yarn capelet on Etsy quite a while back and initially thought it was rather odd and even sort of ugly. However, I now think I sort of love it as a REALLY eccentric evening wrap--especially after spying an image of a woman wearing this type of garment in a 30s pattern for sale on Etsy (image pasted below).  What do you think? Apparently it was meant to be knit to look like ostrich feathers.  Does it look marvellous or like one is wearing a mop? Stunning or sea anemone?  Hmmm...I definitely want to wear a light capelet over my evening dress for an event I am attending this July, but will still have to decide whether I could or would rock this particular style.





Music I'm Listening to (and inspiration for post title): "Pretty (Ugly Before)" by Elliott Smith

Knit & Run: Free PDFs

Just for you, crafty kittens longing for some knitting know-how, a link to a FREE pdf copy of a repro of a 1940s booklet showing and telling "HOW TO KNIT"! It even includes a free pattern for a simple project
ENJOY!











I've got several more 30s Stitchcraft magazines which I hope to scan for you once I get my scanner up and running again...even if you don't knit, you may find the images as swoon-worthy as I find them!!





A Stitch in Time Sampler

I noticed Casey, over at Elegant Musings, is also experiencing a knit fit.  The lucky gal snagged a copy of the original edition of the book A Stitch in Time, and is already knitting a beautiful piece!  AWESOME!  I only own the new edition but I think it is a pretty fantastic book as well!  Check out some of the gorgeous images of the vintage patterns turned into real-life creations (courtesy of flickr)....yes, that model in the third image IS Fleur de Guerre doing a glorious job showing one of the gorgeous creations you can make using patterns from this book! Boy oh boy oh boy, I MUST get out yarn shopping SOON!

















For those of you dreaming of (or experiencing) cooler weather














Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Aqua Knit








In The Wasteland, T. S. Eliot wrote, "April is the cruellest month . . . ."  Considering that the weather this week alone has gone from fabulous to freezing in the blink of an eye, I can't help but agree! I was planning to take some photos outside but I decided to stay in, just in case some snowflakes start falling or something--that's how cold the wind feels today!  Sigh.  You can't stop a girl from trying to be optimistic that warm weather WILL soon be here to stay! As preparation, I tried to figure out what to wear with this lovely 30s aqua sweater this spring.  I actually wore it out on Sunday with a navy skirt, but my husband kept telling me it looked purple next to the sweater, so I pulled out the off white skirt from a 30s suit I bought earlier this year from Solanah on Etsy and thought that might clash less (got the idea from the lovely gal from a 30s knitwear pattern, shown below).  I also thought I'd walk around the house for a while in my slightly tight 40s two tone pumps, just to get them less painfully snug, so I can actually wear them for longer durations!  They still seem to pinch, though.  Any suggestions on how to stretch these babies (aside from investing in shoe stretchers)?  Also, any thoughts on what else in terms of colors of skirts or trousers I could wear this lovely aqua with?  Help!?


















Parfums du Printemps

The flowers are blooming in my backyard, so the scents of spring are heavy on the breeze.  Aside from the natural fragrances of these backyard blossoms, around this time of year, I break out my Bobbi Brown brand "Beach" products full time.  I actually love all Bobbi Brown cosmetics and think the black and white packaging is very deco.  I use her bronzer every day--I think it's the only way I can wear colors like yellow without looking sallow.  It adds just a kiss of color to my pale skin, giving it a sort of 30s resort glow.  "Beach" just evokes warm weather, sand, sun, Hawaiian flowers.  Just my favourite.  Speaking of perfume, here are some gorgeous images from gatochy's flickr stream that caught my eye.  What's YOUR signature scent?



Monday, April 26, 2010

Baronial Brushes (and Blushes) with Canadian Royalty

I could not possibly be even faux aristocracy if I didn't sometimes provide ocular evidence of some shoulder brushing and hobnobbing with other royals, so, finally, as promised, here are a couple of pics from the Charity of Hope event I attended on the Friday evening.  The keynote speaker was Justin Trudeau, the son of former Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, so he is sort of Canadian Royalty.  Le Baron and I had excellent seats at the front of the banquet hall, so we were in close proximity to the head table.   As you will see in the second photo below, M. Trudeau graciously posed for a picture with us (he's standing, centre).  I think you can read from the glint in my eye, the furious blush on my cheeks, that I think he is far too rakishly handsome to be a politician.  Of course, I found his speech interesting, as well (he's got a teaching/education background as well, so I found many of his points relating to the subjects of youth, education, the media, etc, to be very much in line with my own views and experiences).  Anywhoo, let's get to the fashion:  I wore one of my most cherished 1930s dresses, my yellow floral dress that I have dubbed my "honeybee" frock.  Being made of silk crepe chiffon and being 80 years old, it is a rather delicate piece, so it is likely only going to survive a small number of such outings. This one seemed worthwhile.  Accessories: my favourite late 30s brown shoes and black crocheted 30s purse.  As the theme for the evening was "Les Masques," everyone was given a little masque. Yes, I chose one that coordinated with the dress. I'm such a geek.

Other highlights of the evening: there was a silent auction and one of the items up for bidding was a Tom Thomson painting. For those who don't really know much about Canadian art history, Thompson was a member of the Group of Seven and has become an important figure in Canadian art, history, and culture. Back in graduate school, I actually worked as a Research Assistant for a scholar who was completing a book on Thomson, so I ended up reading a lot about him and the Group of Seven.  You can then imagine my horror when my husband told me that, as he was returning from the washroom and making another loop around the area where the auction items were displayed, he witnessed a well-dressed older man run his finger down the painting!!!  You have to understand that this was no Christie's or Sotheby's sponsored event; alongside Group of Seven art, were items like a George Foreman Grill and cubic zirconia ring sets. As a result, there wasn't much security around the paintings.  I am proud to say Baron V.  politely but firmly admonished this chap.  Here's a quite recap of what transpired:  Baron V. : "Sir, you really should not touch the painting!!"  Chap:  "I'm just trying to see what it is made of."  Baron V.: "Why, paint, sir. The salt and such from your hands can damage the painting!"  Chap: "Pish tosh. It's fine."  ?!?!?  The funniest part was that during a question and answer period with Justin Trudeau at the end of the evening, this man got up and proceeded to deliver a rather pompous and stodgy little diatribe.  Hub and I giggled to ourselves.  Expensive suit and fancy demeanour be darned: an ignoramus is an ignoramus is an ignoramus















Poirot à la Mode, Partie Deux

After spending the evening sneaking stills from various flickr sites (thanks especially to Elena-lu), here is part two of my Poirot  à la Mode post.  Meet the incredibly well-dressed Miss Felicity Lemon, Poirot's secretary. What I wouldn't give to have an hour rummaging through her closet!






















Sunday, April 25, 2010

Poirot a la Mode

I've been watching a few old episodes of Poirot online and of course the fashions have me re-inspired (and drooling).  One of the best dressed Poirot ladies:  Miss Burgess (played by Lucy Liemann) in Cards on the Table...unsurprisingly, I am ogling her knitwear, especially that green dress at bottom (looks like chenille?).