The Littlest (and Last) Bit of London (as well as Oxford and Blenheim Palace)

Ill talk to y'all soon, I swear it.

For now:

A Little Bit of London - The Wallace Collection

It's... Well... Just... I .. ugh just look at the pictures and then multiply all of the beauty and awesomeness by 1000 and you will have some understanding of this adventure.

A Little Bit of London - The Imperial War Musuem

So, London was my first stop on my three week trip to the United Kingdom.  I stayed in a nice, little (...ish) hostel in Swiss Cottage which made for a lovely daily commute on the tube to the center of the city. My first full day there I spent almost entirely at the Imperial War Museum. It was so fantastic, I cannot even explain it so here are some low quality pictures (thanks to my fancy new iphone thinger) to help assist you in understanding. I only took photos of the Children's War, the 1940s House and bits of the WWI and WWII  exhibits, but there is so much more there. If you get a chance you should definitely go, unless anything related to wars or other significant world events doesn't interest you.

Meet Me in the U.kayyyU.kayy

Yes, I was trying to get you to sing "the U.K." like "St. Louis" in a Meet Me in St. Louis -esque way. Congrats to you if you did this with out my helpful hint. 


Anyway, tomorrow I am to ship off for England. I will be in and around London, Oxford and Bath for my first week or so, so if any of you who are in those areas would like to meet up with me and possibly Emily (depending on her school work) please feel free to contact us! I would love to meet other vintage bloggers and get tips from any of you about the location, shopping, museums and all that good stuff. Oh and food, of course. Always food. And maybe drinks, too. We'll see.


In the meantime, I'm still panicking a little bit about my passport, which my mother found TODAY (not however many weeks ago I asked her to) and when I looked at it this morning I saw that it expired last June. Apparently adults get 10 years of use and minors (I was 14 at the time) get half that, but she had did not know this and thought mine would be good another five years. Excellent, right? So, I am going to try to get one tomorrow for a big, stupid fee. I am mad and even more stressed out now. But at least you can see passport photo...

Exciting, isn't it?


I'll let you know if I actually make it across the world, but let us pretend I will.


So long farewell,  auf wiedersehen, good night,
xx Geezer.

A Pajama and Loungewear Obsession: Part Two

This part of the loungewear series centers mostly around robes and fancier boudoir wear.

Le sigh... I want all of these pretties! As impractical as the fluffier and feather-y-er ones are, they just look like so much fun to wear!

Ann Sheridan in a silky boudoir robe.

Claudette Colbert in a lovely patterned silky robe, with an interesting corset-y bodice method for tying it up.

Weekend Update

 The Wedding clothes

rehearsal dinner:
my first (and only) time wearing ALL vintage.

40s Coat from Etsy
30s shoes from Eee

40s peach dress from a shop in Savannah
early 50s bullet bra
50s girdle
50s (I think?) nylon stockings
and amazingly non-vintage hair.

Wedding:

my sister in a beautiful late 40s dress she wouldnt let me take a picture of

stupid 80s dress with alterations

Ill be back with some questions about international travel soon, so be prepared. this will be graded.
oh on that note; schooooooooooool's out for winter! oh yeah, I'm happy.
- gee

Artist Feature: Helen Dryden

Helen Dryden was a successful woman artist of the 1920s and 1930s, doing fashion illustration for Vogue under contract from 1909-1922 and in the later 1920s also doing some industrial design. I just like the bright colors and whimsy of her illustrations - aren't they fun?

Euphonic Earworms: No Strings

On a different note from this post, here's a more positive take on the single life. It's all about attitude!...

...Oh, who am I kidding. I just want to share some more Fred and Ginger.

I can't embed the version from Top Hat that Fred Astaire dances and sings (and you see some gorgeous sleep/lounge wear on Ginger), but if you click on the image (or here) you'll go to it's YouTube page:

And here's a version sung by Ginger - I just love this one!

- Emily

A Pajama and Loungewear Obsession: Part One

If you were to ask anyone who has ever had to live with me, or just knows me really well, about how much I like pajamas (no idea why you would be asking this question, you nosy creeper!), you will unanimously be told - a LOT. Yes, I do love me some pajamas. PJs. Pa-jay-jays (Gracie hates this one). Lounging clothes. Jammies. They're wonderful. As soon as I get home at the end of the day, or even if I get home in the middle of it, I immediately put on my pajamas. It's not that my day clothes are uncomfortable, its that pajamas are just so very comfortable, plus, I can sit however I like in them without fear of wrinkling, eat in them without fear of stains (because unlike much of my dry clean only clothes, I can pop them in the washing machine), and generally just be very comfortable in them. 

Very comfy and even more cute: I want all of these!

My Fickle Eye

Here is a small selection of dreamboats and cutie-pies of yesteryear who do not meet the qualifications for our "Can't Help Loving That Man" series, as none of them are celebrities and thus not allowing for maximum stalking-esque research.

Feel free to ogle like there's no tomorrow, as far as they're concerned, there isn't.

My favorite. Yes. Definitely. Partially because it's just such a good photo.
From the flickr of the Library of Congress of New Zealand . . .maybe...?

In the (Moving) Pictures...

A couple of months ago Gracie and a few other friends were awesome and helped me do this somewhat last-minute project. I needed to have a small film project to submit as part of an application, and seeing as I had never made a film, I needed to make one while I still had some actors (meaning: friends still in town) available, and before I left for England. So we (Gracie helped much) threw everything together essentially a few days before the shoot, and it was all great except: the location, Gracie and my old high school, could only lend us the classroom we needed to use for three hours on a Saturday morning. Three hours! If any of you have ever done a scripted shoot before, you will understand that this is a VERY small amount of time (especially when you get musical numbers involved), even for a four minute clip. So, it didn't really turn out as we had planned - when we would do takes and there were mistakes or we just wanted to re-shoot, it just kind of had to be pushed through since we had so little time! Also, I had no previous experience, so it was a major learning curve, and in retrospect there is a lot I would do differently. But alas, it is what it is! Even though it doesn't match my ideal, I'm still pleased that we did it, and really grateful to all of our friends who helped out! 

Also, Gracie is ridiculously awesome. She put up with my, ahem, quirks of directing, and I think she did a really fabulous job of acting, especially when you realize she's never been in front of the camera before (acting, that is). And of course, she's easy on the eyes (she'll be majorly embarrassed that I am saying this..) and looks great as usual, so... give it a watch here if you'd like! Any comments, (constructive) criticism, what have you - it's all appreciated!  

- Emily

Pin Curl Projects

Really, this is just me playing dress-up with some lovely friends who let me pin-curl their hair, humoring me since I get major kicks out of vintage-ifying folks for a day. These girls are both gorgeous anyways, but I think the pin-curled look especially suits them, don't you agree? 

My favorite part about doing other people's hair is when they are really obviously pleased with the results and they walk around smiling, with a little pep in their step for the rest of the day. Having helped pep-their-step is most satisfying, indeed. 

I did Jeanette's hair on Thursday night. We sat in the dining room, where some of our friends were beginning an all-nighter for their papers, and I cheerfully pin-curled her hair while she watched Star Trek on her iPod and dozed off, jerking awake every so often to quote a line in the movie while it was being said. 

Auld Reekie, a Weekend Excursion.

I shouldn't be writing this right now... but I need to write something non-academic just to remind myself of the sensation of writing for fun!
A couple of weekends ago, a few friends and I took a train to Scotland for the weekend. We stayed in Edinburgh (apparently nicknamed "Auld Reekie"), in a hostel right smack in the middle of the city - New Town, that is. Old Town, the side that Edinburgh Castle is on, was so lovely and old-looking (shocker, I know) and was definitely my favorite part of the trip.

A scenic park/valley separating Old Town (to the right) and New Town (to the left). 

Point is, I really love the aesthetics of old European cities (more than "old" American cities... is that un-patriotic of me?), and am loving how easy and relatively cheap the public transportation system is here. Once Gracie joins me over here our shenanigans will be unstoppable! Granted, they involve rather tame plans like a day-visit to John Keats' house (drool/fangasm/faint - I am really looking forward to this, if you can't tell), perhaps a jaunt to the Emerald Isle, and who knows what else!
Anyway, I won't ramble on about it. Here are some pictures from Scotland, including me in my sartorial attempts to blend my vintage aesthetic with the functionality and practicality necessary for hostel-hopping with only a backpack in tow.

On the approximately 6 hour train ride over there. European trains are super nice. After hearing Gracie's (horror) stories of Amtrak, this was much appreciated. Me, to the left, and my friend/roommate Carolyn to the right. 

Euphonic Earworms: He Says Murder, He Says

Here's some of the ridiculously wonderful Betty Hutton, being infectiously energetic and entertaining as usual! 

I could use some of her pep during my many paper-writing all-nighters that I've had to pull here (and the many more that lay ahead)... I think a dose of Betty ("a vitamin pill with legs!") would do wonders compared to the weak tea I've been throwing back!

- Emily

The End is Nigh!

I'm not talking about the end of the world, by the way.

My semester is almost over.

Eek/ick/crap. I have a month of classes left and sooooo much work to do, so if I go missing, as Emily has, don't be too worried. More likely than not, though,  I will be using the blog as a means of procrastination. Yep, I'm still doing that.

Anyway, because the quarter is coming to a close I am getting antsy about getting my trip to the UK worked out. I'll be there for three weeks and as excited as I am, I am also scared beyond belief. It's not like I'm going to be alone, Emily and I are rejoining to run a muck in a new country (or two!) but still, travel is nerve-racking.

Mostly I'm just worried about not being able to travel lightly enough... I am not know for my ability to simplify my wardrobe. I like options. Leave me alone.

So far my plan is to pack 4 (warm) skirts, two pairs of trousers, several blouses/unders/stockings (because they can be packed very tightly), rain boots, walking shoes (which I do not own...), maybe a dress, and MAYBE a pair of heels (because I desperately want to go to fancy things and I love heels more than the world).

An outfit I will most likely end up packing. Bad idea? The only reason I think it might be is because I could wear this fairly comfortably in Savannah's "fall" (aka warm) weather... Maybe with wool stockings/tights I'll be better suited.
Top & skirt: Goodwill (Atlanta)
Shoes: antique store (Madison)
Clip: Walmart (Charleston)

Euphonic Earworms: Somebody Nobody Loves & I'm the Lonesomest Gal in Town

I love the video for "Somebody Nobody Loves". It's pretty simple, but cute (and telling of her situation).

These songs are my anthems, in essence.
Jam on, lonely girls.


xGracie

Soldier Blues - Five Days of Being Blue

Salutations,

This weekend was magnificent. I went to my moms (Again, I know. I need to stop) and did some baking and sewing and it was all grand. As a part of my weekend I went to my cousins school for a parade they held. He goes to a military college so it's mostly boys which I find sort of amazing and awesome (to a girl who goes to an art school, this is a big deal, at least) and hotdog! did they look good in their uniforms. I mean they look REALLY good. Forgive me, for sounding shallow and petty, but I am very frank about these things. Anyway, so the whole time I was just ogling the band members. I believe my favorite (a trumpet player, no less!) spotted me trying to take sneaky from-the-hip pictures...

Hunky band boys looking sharp in their wool dress coats and pants. Poor boys, it was quite toasty out that day.

I LOVE bagpipes. My cousin is going to be in the pipe band soon enough! I also really love that they wear kilts!

Art Feature: The Queenslander

Unlike like Emily, I do not put in too much effort to find out the artist of the illustrations I like. This is wrong of me, I know, but I'm lazy. That being said, all I know of these illustrated covers of The Queenslander is that many of them were done by either Esther Paterson, Garnet Agnew, Betty Paterson, Mcbain, and Lance Bressow. I found these wonderful images through  the State Library of Queensland, Australia on flickr. Please indulge in their glory.

Lovely Ladies of the Past: Jean Harlow

I honestly really did not like Jean Harlow a whole lot until a few months ago. I think it was because I only knew the sex-symbol she represented and I resent women like that. Then I started watching her films and became sort of smitten. She is a wonderful actress and is SO, so funny! Even when she plays a slutty manipulative hoe (per Red Headed Woman, which was not the ginger-empowering film I had hoped it would be...) I love her. So now I have a huge girl crush on her... Also, not too sound crude, but HER BODY. Oh my god. I had forgotten about that aspect of her intrigue. It's not a sexual thing for me, but an appreciation for fit, yet very curvy actresses. And really she and Alice Faye are the only ones I can think of that are like this (ok, of my top 6 favorites list, they are....) Also she was pretty short, so that always makes me happy. Also, obviously, men loved her and some (of good taste) still do! This makes me infinitely happy (especially when they're... ehem young good looking men). I will never forgive myself for not giving her a chance sooner!

I have now seen a few of her films and am trying to see most all of them, but Netflix is slow here and I am surprisingly busy. One day I will have seen them all, I swear it! 

For now just ogle over some of my favorite images of her. Some are computer colorized (not by me) and some are black and white. There's a good mix of publicity photos and more candid ones. Hopefully you'll see some you haven't seen or even some you have seen and forgot about and how much you love her! And then you'll love her again. And all will be well with the world.

Euphonic Earworms: How About You?

I love this lovely scene, how about you?
I love Judy Garland way too much, how about you?
I love impromptu dancing and singing, even though I can't carry a tune...
I love Burton Lane for composing this song, and reportedly discovering young Miss Garland... How about you?

I just emerged from a week-long stretch of essentially non-stop paper writing. Four papers. One week. My reward to myself was a day trip to Whales with two friends! T'was marvelous, I really, really love it there. We went to Tintern Abbey, which was amazing:

Okay, it didn't look quite like that, because the sky was one big cloud all day, but still, it was gorgeous.

Also, here is a shitty Mac Photobooth shot of where I am typing right now:

I wasn't very successful at leaning out of the shot, but I'm in a cafe and don't want to weird out the other people. Point is, I just love the architecture here. Ancient or just really old buildings are everywhere, and far outnumber the occasional 70's construction (which Atlanta is full of - ugly late 20th century architecture, that is).

I'll be sharing some better pictures soon, I just need to transfer them off of my camera!

'Till next time!
- Emily

Amusing Annuals #3

It's been a while since I shared photos from my paternal grandmother's high school annuals, so as a means of dedication to this blog (and maybe a little bit of procrastination) I am here to show off the Harrisville High School yearbook of 1951, freshmen year for my gran, Ella. I hope you enjoy!

My great uncle, Sam at the top & centered, looking wistful

Happy Days Are Here Again

"The sky above is clear again" and all that jazz.

Today has been such a very good day. It was my friend Jennifer's 20th so this morning my roommate/scad bff, Tara, and I showered her with cat-covered gifts and strolled down to the theater for a meeting.

I gave her these socks, on which I embroidered little cat faces.

and this card, I made:

Yes, I know, I totally copied this concept, bow and all and that is wrong and immoral and so on, but it was way too cute and perfect for Jennifer. Forgive me.

Help Wanted: Altering a Backless Gown to Suit My Style

I am thrilled to be able to tell you I am going to a wedding soon. I have been waiting for a wedding to come my way for years so you can image how very excited I am! I love weddings... I think. I am not sure actually, as the only one I have ever been to was when I was 7. 

But this one ... this one has to be awesome. My cousin, Scott, and his very longterm girlfriend, Josie are such cool & beautiful people I cannot imagine any thing of theirs not living up to their standards of awesome. Plus, both the ceremony and reception are to be held in late 1930s theater! What could be a better venue to re-introduce me into the magic of matrimony (or at least the party bits of it!)? The theater is gorgeous, from what I've seen of it, and I finally get to get dressed up in period-eque attire and get to fit in with the atmosphere! I am sosososooooooo excited. 

I have a huge problem though... I have no authentic 30s or 40s fancy dress. And I'm far too broke to buy any of the ones I like. 

My (hugely conflicting) solution: Altering a 1980s silk hand-me-down gown to look more similar to the style I like. This could be easy if this dress didn't have an open back. I'm not talking open down to the waist, but open all the way to right above my bum. It is distressing. I am trying to figure if I can craftily add some fabric to the lower bit without it looking bad. I have to go through all of my potential alterations for this dress mentally since the dress is with my mom. It is a problem. 

the back, from what I can recall, is very much like this one. Only not as nice looking on me....

The neck on my dress is high and moderately wide. I think I would like it to be more like this though:

the colors are similar to this dress, as well.

Do you think making the front like this (rather than the 3/4 length sleeves and wide-ish neckline it currently has) would go okay with such an open back?

Now, here are some open back designs I could be very content with if I had a choice (which

And Then I Fell in a Manhole...

The past 30 hours have been... rough, to say the least. I had an architecture project that required MUCH more time to do than I imagined. In constructing it I got a T-pin painfully stuck under my nail. I ended up not sleeping more than three hours last night (really this morning) and it was an uneasy rest. My critique for said project was weak. I was unprepared for the class that followed the architecture one. And to make today a little eventful I managed to fall into a manhole.
Yes, a manhole. And let me tell you, doing that is nothing like modern Alice and Wonderland stories would have you believe.

You have no idea how many runs are really in these tights. Especially on the inner leg, but that made for a very awkward picture and the internet and I are not ready for that phase of our relationship (or ever will be).

Really, only my right leg got sucked into what I am sure is secretly a vortex to an alternate universe, but phrasing it the right way makes the whole fiasco sound much more exciting.

Euphonic Earworms: Poor You AND an Outfit Post... You Lucky Dog, You

Howdy ho!

I would like to share with you a song that Emily introduced me to a while ago. From the first listen I was hooked.
I don't really know what in particular about this song and this rendition, specifically, that I love, but I think it may be one of my favorite songs. I simply love it. So, so very much. It is one of those songs that just plays over and over in my mind and I have yet to get sick of it. I love Judy Garland (not nearly as much as Emily, though. She is like the Judy Garland aficionado of the South. Or maybe just in general... I dunno) and I love how her voice sounds in this version. And the mood of it. And the composition. Just everything.

Sorry for that terrible explanation, I just cannot express my feeling well right now.
Probably be cause I'm quite hopped up on honey. "Why?" you ask. This is why:

That Fur

I love fur.

That is all I have to say, other than a quick "hello" and "goodbye", for I am a master of procrastination and need to actually get some homework done tonight....

So, HI!!!!
and here: the fur I love most right now.

A crappy attempt at coloring this photo. You can see the original version on this post.

This coat can also be seen worn by Ana here.

and worn by me...  looking suuuuuper awkward.

Have a nice day,

Gracie

Pin Curls, as Promised

Hey gals, 

Sorry I didn't get to post this sooner, I made a last minute decision to come visit my mom for the weekend so I got distracted.

Here is my attempt to successfully explain how I set my pin curls. I drew a couple of diagrams which I hope will help. 

Keep in mind my hair is VERY thick so I have to separate it a LOT to get workable curls. 

Euphonic Earworms: Midnight, the Stars, and You

This song. This song is perfection, to me. I swear I've listened to it at least two-hundred times, and I never get tired of it. And every time I hear it, it still brings forth surprise, emotions that feel fresh, daydreams that never get old. I don't even know what it is. I just love it.

This version is the most popular, and it's wonderful. I actually have a slightly different version on my iPod - it's just barely more uptempo, and half an octave higher, but it's still Al Bowlly singing. It's weird, I got my version off of YouTube but I can't find it anymore. Anyway, this is nearly identical and I still love it. I hope you do too!

- Emily

Modern Desires: Favorite Colors

What do I want more than anything else when I shop? Colors that I love. Not just my "season" or whatever, but colors I like to surround myself with in all aspects of my life. My absolute favorite hue has pretty much always been blue, though the particular shade/tone/tint has changed with my growth. I also am very fond of most shades of green and purple, certain yellows and pinks, & deep reds. And, of course, I love ivory, black and warm browns. Interestingly enough, other than on my hair, it's very rare that I find orange appealing (flowers don't count, cos all flowers are prettyyyy.)

 So no, "Favorite Colors" is not the name of a designer or retailer, sorry if that was confusing.

Anyway, whilst internet shopping for a dress to wear to a wedding, I got side tracked (as usual) with the desire to buy a coat, despite the fact that it is a cool 78 degrees Fahrenheit (no joke, this is cool weather) right now. After having absolutely no luck on Etsy, I decided (stupidly) to check out Anthropologie's selection. PHRWOAR. I should not have done this to myself. 

Honestly, there are not a whole lot of their clothes that I love, but every so often I manage to find something. I hate them for that.

On that note I would like to state the this coat WILL BE MINE. No matter how much my pocketbook/students loans protest.  I just think, though it is not an entirely vintage style, it is really gorgeous and potentially very nice looking on  little ol' redheaded me. And I know I do not often wear hues other than cools, neutrals and occasionally red/pink, I think this coat would go along quite well with most of my wardrobe. But I don't know... Maybe there is some obvious flaw I'm missing here, due to my infatuation. Other than the price. What do you think I should do? Do I buy it or not?

Ruched Marigold Coat

 I have one pair of oxfords and I LOVE them. I wear them a lot lately since it's awkward wearing super pretty/fancy shoes to walk all over town and get my hands (and clothes and face) dirty in class. And honestly, I do not want any other pair, but I really like the blue toe and edging on these oxfords from Anthropologie. I have a thing for blue shoes (though I only have one pair, which I never wear because the heels are about 5" tall and very uncomfortable) and this is my favorite shade of blue, so I felt obligated to share them. Plus, they're just down right cute.

Moorland Oxfords

Soon to Come...

Boy, I cannot wait until fall, when I can wear my crepe 40s dress and not have to worry about sweating all up in it and I can go outside and not have my hair go from nicely done to "mad 80s-esque" form. I intend to soon do a diagram/picture tutorial on setting ridiculously thick hair. I only want to do this because all of the tutorials I have seen are on people with thin hair or normal hair or hair that is super long or super short or super straight or moderately straight, basically every type of hair but mine. So, if you having been waiting your whoooole life for a tutor like me, you will soon be satisfied. I hope.
Until then, here is an example from one of my few particularly good hair days from this summer. Also, I'm showing off my dress a wee bit because I lurve it so much and miss being able to wear it.

here

xx Gracie

Lovely Ladies of the Past: Audrey Hepburn, and how I owe her BIG TIME.

My love for Audrey Hepburn goes beyond just admiration for her beauty, grace, and wonderful personality. It is also mingled with gratitude. Yes, gratitude.

About That Rain...

So, you know how I said how much I looooooove rain? Okay well maybe I exaggerated... Like a whole lot. Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy a good downpour, however I overlooked one teeny-tiny aspect... MY STUFF IS NOT WATER PROOF. Oh and those "super awesome" galoshes I was bragging about? Yeah, they don't do shit in the type of rain I just encountered. And now my suede 30s heels are soaked. As are all of the clothes I was wearing. Also I forgot how scared of lightening I am... Yeah. So, rain is great and all but from now on I'm going to try to only appreciate it from a dry place unless I happen to be wearing water-safe clothes/swimwear.

So that's my little unnecessary update plus the few pictures I completely forgot to add last time.

I could have benefited from an outfit like this, today....

In other news, today a dead man was found in the river near my building. Cool, huh?

xxGracie