I'm just a housewife...

Style Sunday! Er...Monday!

Today, dear friends, I'm channeling one of my favorite characters ever, Laura Petrie, played by Mary Tyler Moore. I discussed yesterday how Mary Tyler Moore's fashion choices were bold and ahead of her time. Well, today, I'm taking a page out of her book and wearing an outfit inspired by her.

And that top? Made by me!! I will discuss how I made it tomorrow.

How often does a man get rid of all of his troubles at the same time?

Style Sunday!

Have you ever seen Come September (1961)? It is a delightful movie. I'll go into more detail tomorrow about why you should see it if you haven't but, in the meantime, I'd like to talk about how amazing Gina Lollobrigida's costumes are in that movie.

I mean...

Every...

Single...

Outfit...

Is just...

 Divine...

I even love the wacky t-shirt she wears with the funky-looking fish. I showed my friend this movie and when this outfit came up, she said, "oh, god. That's awful." But I love the boxy cut of the top, the stripes behind the graphic. So cute! Not going to lie... I'm planning to make a top inspired by this one some day...

In the meantime, I have a dress that is actually quite similar to one of the dresses she wears. I'm not wearing a petticoat underneath it to give it the same poof - someday... But I was pretty excited when I realized I already had a ready-made inspired-by dress to wear.

What a picture - tape measure around the neck and pincushion on the hip

I have wanted to learn how to sew for years. In recent months, the ambition has grown. I mean, I love clothes and I love very particular clothes; it makes complete sense for me to learn how to make my own. However, difficulties abound: I don't own a sewing machine and I live with a baby (not mine) which makes having a sewing machine a little impractical anyway. That leaves going to my mom's house to learn to sew but then we have time constraints and I'm sort of imposing on her. Then there's the question of fabric. Sewing my own clothes always seems cheaper when I'm eying those $50+ dresses online. But buying the fabric can get pretty pricey. And I really know nothing about fabric so my mom will need to accompany me. You see? Sewing really involves a great deal of my mom's dedication besides my own.

But all of these are a bunch of excuses. My mom has offered to help me learn to sew. She has given me advice on what to look for in my first project. She's on board. Now, it's just a question of my dedication. This year, I've taken a small step towards finally achieving this goal by adding it to my list of New Year's resolutions. Woohoo! I want to learn to make a skirt and/or dress by the end of the year. It's only February. I have time.

I started perusing the patterns shops online, just for fun (it's really unnecessary to do so as my mom has hundreds of patterns in her closet). I discovered something in my search. Have you looked at vintage pattern covers? The artwork is fantastic! They kept showing photos along with artwork with modern type girls wearing these vintage dresses in what I found to be very unappealing fabrics. Give me the artwork any day. I'm sold! Check out these darling dresses/artwork:


Credits, clockwise from top left: Butterick, Vintage Vogue, Butterick, Vintage Vogue.
Do any of you make your own dresses? Any favorite brand? Any advice to an aspiring dress-maker?

I'd take... the gown. Less upkeep.

I love dresses. I can spend far too many hours just looking at dresses on Modcloth, Shabby Apple, or Shop Ruche. I know I'm not alone in this. I have a hard time buying dresses, though, because a) they're expensive and b) I find them hard to wear. To me, dresses mean dressing up. I've only lately been able to get into the habit of wearing skirts in a casual setting. I actually prefer skirts now. I used to hate skirts. Now, dresses is my new difficulty. How to dress them down? If I come out of my room wearing a dress, my roommates look at me and say, "ooh! Where are you going?" No where. I know it's better to be over dressed than under dressed. But still.

So, I've been trying to get inspiration on how to wear dresses well. I look at lookbooks and blog posts. Kate Gabrielle's series of un, deux, trois is particularly helpful in this regard. She has so many dresses and she wears them all the time! How does she do that? She just wrote a fantastic post on wearing dresses for every day occasions. Check it out. I can't even imagine having a dress to wear for eating ice cream. It's brilliant! I want to be that classy! But, I really hate spending money on dresses when I know I'll only wear them for the occasional and very rare instance when I'll somewhere fancy schmancy.

For instance, I bought this cute dress from Shabby Apple:


I wore it to my cousin's wedding and now I don't know how to wear it. Should I cut off a tier to make it shorter? Should I put a belt on it? Wear a top over it? I originally bought the dress because it seemed so flexible in casual/dressy terms. But now I don't know how to dress it down. Any suggestions?

And then there's this dress that I'm dying to buy from Shop Ruche. I really don't need a dress. And I probably will continue to talk myself out of it until it's no longer available but look how cute!



I know I'd buy it and then it would sit in my closet until my birthday or a wedding or a party. What a waste.

And here's what makes it worse. I try to wear outfits that are vintage-inspired and when I look at the outfits in old movies, practically all the girls wear are dresses! This, of course, makes my fashion inspiration posts very difficult to do because the outfits are one piece: a dress. Done.


There are plenty of dresses in old musicals that are evening gowns and dinner dresses. But these are just every day type dresses: visiting someone, going to work, walking through Rome, picking apple type dresses. I think of the dress Ann Miller wears to the museum in On the Town, the one Marilyn Monroe wears to work in Monkey Business, Nora Charles' outfits in The Thin Man movies. I see photos from blogs like Kate Gabrielle's and think, if I wore that, people would look at me funny. But girls did it all the time back in the day and brave and classy girls do it now! I need to step it up a bit. And I need to learn how to dress down a dress. Any suggestions? Please let me know!

Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls

Have you ever found a dress that looked like one from an old movie... and didn't buy it? I have.

There's one style that pops up often in old films and every time it does, I say, "I love that!" But when I find a dress on Modcloth or ShopRuche that has a similar style, I don't buy it because I don't think I can pull it off. Here's the style:

Sheer fabric over a dress with a sweetheart cut. I love it! Here is one of my absolute, all-time favorite versions of this style:

Lena Horne's dress also has another of my favorite things: a different colored petticoat or slip (I'm not sure of the difference between the two). It makes the dress even more eye-catching! Isn't it gorgeous?! Another example is this little number from White Christmas.

But... as much as I love it on film, when I see dresses like these in shops, I think, "meh. Sheer fabric looks weird" and then I don't buy it. Why is it that in movies, the sheer fabric is sexy and elegant but nowadays, I'm afraid people will think I'm strange for wearing it? And why do I care what people think anyway?

And another thing! Why is it that in old movies, the dresses have capped sleeves or something, but nowadays, they're sleeveless?

It's not the same, somehow. Will I ever live out my dream of wearing Lena's dress?

The dresses pictured above, by the way, can be found here, here, and here.

Do any of you have similar problems with old movie styles?

and I'm not making fun with you.

Today, I'm doing another fashion inspiration post - but with a new spin! As you've probably noticed, I rarely post photos of myself on this blog. While I like getting my photo taken, I get very self-conscious about it, so I tend to do it in moderation.

But, today I picked out an outfit that I was rather proud of. I'd modeled it after the outfit Lise wears in An American in Paris during the "Our Love Is Here to Stay" scene. Her outfit is pretty simple but some of the pieces are hard to track down nowadays. The outfit is a tuxedo shirt with a bowtie, a vest, a skirt, and ballet flats. I did roughly the same outfit, with a tuxedo shirt (sans bowtie), vest, a skirt, and ballet flats. I've found it very difficult to track down a nice fitted vest like the one Leslie Caron wears here. For some reason, they seem to be out of style at the moment. Her skirt is, in all honesty, a dancing skirt, and I don't have one of the same fabric to match the vest. But who's nitpicking?


The middle photo is from Doctor Macro. To see the dance scene go here.

And if you want some dig-dig-dignity

Yay! A new fashion post! This one is kind of an odd one because it's really really easy... but, as this is an outfit I've really liked for a very long time, I think it's worth doing a post about, yes?

Ok. Here's a video clip with the outfit in it:



I've always loved this scene. Not only because it has Gene Kelly and it's a fun song but because the outfits are all so cute! They're so very 1950's and so casual. I love them all! But, my favorite is the one being worn by Jeanne Coyne (Gene's wife! but not at this time). The one on the left:


This is such a classic and easy outfit but I really like the way it's pulled together here. I love the tucked-in shirt, the big belt, the cuffed jeans, the rolled sleeves, and the loafers. I'm not entirely sure I'd go for socks these days... but maybe!

the shirt - this one is from Old Navy. The sleeves are already rolled up so it's ready to go! I also like that it's a neutral color but it's not white. It's kind of pinkish, just like her shirt! Yay!

the jeans - obviously, everyone has a pair of jeans they love. I'm still working on finding a good pair for me. For this outfit, however, I think a pair with a skinnier cut would be best so you could roll them up to better effect. This particular pair is from Old Navy.

the belt - I found surprisingly difficult to find a big brown leather belt with a simple buckle. I don't know why. I finally found this one at Urban Outfitters.

the shoes - these really are what pull this outfit together, in my mind. Well, these and the belt. But the outfit is so very simple that having really cute and unique shoes are what I think will make this outfit look vintage-inspired. This pair is from the one and only Modcloth.


I hope you liked this outfit post! I feel so silly writing about such a simple outfit but there's a lot to be said for simplicity. And a good classic look can go a long way.

That son of a gun in Haiti has got the prettiest hat I own.

So, ahem, two months later, here's the next addition to my fashion inspiration series. It took me a little while to get it together. It's really easy to find super cute outfits in movies and really easy to find vintage-y outfits online, but to find ones that coincide is harder than I'd thought it would be. Plus, I'm trying to avoid having all of my outfits be super casual because super casual outfits all kind of looked a little similar - different, but similar. Anyway, this is an outfit that I absolutely adore. It's actually a whole bunch of outfits. The scene is "I Left My Hat In Haiti" from Royal Wedding. And the outfits in this scene are absolutely phenomenal. Take a look:


In a word: amazing. I love the mismatchiness. But I have to tell you, you would not believe how difficult it was for me to find outfits like this online. Now, I've used this scene as inspiration for myself before. I wear a sort of peasant skirt and a Mexican-esque top with a scarf around my hip and a scarf around my neck and a fedora. That's not quite what the outfit is. While there's no call to be exact because it is just an inspiration (for instance, the hat I've picked out isn't blue-gray, it's straw), I think it's important to get the pieces to be basically the same idea. The individual pieces all put together make the outfits in the scene so fantastic - the flowy floral skirts, the bright tops, the different colored scarves all over, the ballet shoes, and the hats combined with scarves. So, here's what I came up with:



the top - I realize I talked about how much I love the brightly colored tops but I was having trouble finding some that had the island look about them and that would looked good tucked in. Using the girl on the left-hand side of the second picture as my main inspiration, I decided that the outfit would be just as cute with a more neutral top. This one is from Modcloth.

the skirt - my goal in this piece was to find something that came just below the knees, that was made of flowy fabric, and, preferably, floral print. By the description, I think this one fits the bill. I found it at Anthropologie.

the shoes - aren't they adorable? I found them at Modcloth.

the scarves - I found them both at Modcloth: here and here. Honestly, I would choose just one and then dig through your closet to find a couple of handkerchiefs for your neck and head. I have obtained a few over the years but I don't know where you can buy fashionable handkerchiefs. Any suggestions?

finally, the hat - Again, this is not a blue-gray fedora but a straw one. While I do think there is much to be said in attention to detail, I really have to admit that the odds of someone getting where your outfit is from and then being offended that you are not exactly 100% accurate in your replication of it are pretty darn slim. If you're looking for a cute hat, Urban Outfitters always has an abundance of them, like this one.

Somewhere on Memory Island, lost with you

Ok. So, I can't lie. I'm pretty darn excited about this series I'm about to start. Mind, it's a pretty hefty amount of research so I may limit these posts to once a month... but just the same, I think it'll be fun!

Now, before I begin, I'd like to explain how I came by this idea. My sister and my mom suggested that I start dressing in a more vintage style than I currently do (usually I just throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt). I love this idea except for the fact that dressing vintage, as I'm sure all of you know even better than I do, requires having particular pieces involved - pieces that I neither have nor currently have the money for. My mom suggested I make a wishlist of all the pieces that I want so that I can slowly start to acquire them. Anyway, yesterday, I read a blog post by the marvelous Kate Gabrielle that inspired me on my new project. Kate's wishlist reminded me of magazine articles - which then reminded me of those articles that say, "How can you get ___'s look?" and then it would have similar pieces to the outfit pictured so that you could replicate it.

So, I thought I would bring this project to my blog and work on it here. I'm going to find outfits in old movies that I really like and then show where you (and I!) can buy outfits similar! Sound like fun? I'm awfully excited about it. Now, I should warn you that I am not a great shopper. Therefore, my knowledge of where to get the best what is pretty limited. Also, as you can imagine, this will be similar to the outfit pictured, not exactly as it is. I'm going to do my best to find outfits that actually work together (it can be hard picturing it on the computer though) so that, if you absolutely adore it, you could get the outfit all together! Or at least have a good starting point, anyway.

So, here's today's inspiration: the lovely Gloria de Haven. This is an outfit I've showcased before. She wore it in the Memory Island scene in Summer Stock.


Now, for my take on the outfit:

The top - I chose this one because it's collared and has that nice open look, like Gloria's. It's also really light so I think it would be easy to tuck in. You can find it at ModCloth.

The shorts - I wanted the longer shorts that also had the fold at the bottom. You can find these at ModCloth as well.

The coat - I liked the military look of the one in the movie. Plus, it's a nice color to bring to this otherwise neutral color palette. You can find this coat at Shop Ruche.

The scarf - It's hard to see it in the photo but the scarf is tied through her belt loops. I imagine you could just grab any longish thinish scarf to use as a belt. I thought this one was nice because the dots look like a similar color to the shorts and it matches the buttons on the shirt! You can find it at Shop Ruche.

Finally, the shoes - I like that she's wearing white shoes. It's so wacky to wear heels with shorts. I found these cute peep toe pumps at Shop Ruche. The style may not go exactly with the rest of the outfit. I'm really quite a novice at this whole thing. But it's an idea anyway.

What do you think? Do you like this new post idea? What do you think of my choices? I'd love to hear you feedback on this!

There's gold in the moon

I know this is a favorite costume among classic film lovers, but I'm going to post an unoriginal sentiment with this fashion post.

How cute is Ginger's dress in Carefree?


I also love photos of composers so this photo has multiple layers of awesomeness: Ginger, Fred, Irving, dress!



I watched Road to Rio the other night and found a dress with similar sentiment. It's also super cute but in a totally different way. I'm definitely going to try and get this design on a shirt (maybe on a smaller scale though). [dress is shown at 5:17]



Photos found here and here.

Professor, I don't mean maybe

Fashion Friday! Yay! I rewatched My Sister Eileen (1955) the other day and rekindled my love for the dresses in that film. Both Betty Garrett and Janet Leigh sport some super cute outfits, but my favorite is the one that Janet Leigh wears on her night out with her sister and her two suitors:



Unfortunately, you really can't see it very well in the video but it's a pretty vivid pink dress with a sheer layer on top. I love that! I love the cap sleeves, I love the sheer, I love the bright but subdued color. I think I shall have to work on acquiring one like it. Not that I have anywhere to wear it... but still!

Honey, you're the cutest piggy bank in town

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday so I owe you a fashion post.

First, I want to thank everyone who commented with suggestions for seduction scenes. I plan to use every one of your suggestions!

In my search for seduction scenes, my search has slowly crept into a basic sexy scene search. One of the results is this awesome kiss [0:20] from Kiss Me Kate. How does Tommy Rall do that with his cigarette? I'm intrigued, fascinated, and very attracted. I'm pretty sure this kiss will make its way into my vid.

This, actually has nothing to do with my fashion post. I was going to talk about Ann Miller's dress but I think I actually want to talk about something completely different and it's this super cute style... the whole cut-out in front thing. Now, I could have sworn I watched a movie the other day where there was a bow right above the cut out, but I currently cannot for the life of me remember which movie this was. So, I'll use the one I do remember - this dress from The Lady Eve. I actually really like it when It's a complete dress, not a two-piece, but you get the idea.

Let's be outrageous...

It's Fashion Friday!!

I'm going to go a little away from the beaten path and highlight not a classic film but a period film with some killer vintagey pieces.

I've talked about this movie several times - I really like it. I like the actors, the music, the hair, the costumes. sigh... Anyway, here are some of my favorite little numbers that Jessica Biel gets to wear.





I also really like this outfit but it also happens to be my all-time favorite scene in the movie and I've shared it here way to often, but I'll indulge again. Just for fun.




What's your favorite period film wardrobe?

You know, I rather see myself in tweeds for this number.

Spotlight on a costume! So, after all of these lists of 50 gorgeous people that I've been seeing lately, my sister and I were discussing who we thought were particularly beautiful and we thought it odd that Gloria de Haven never seems to be mentioned. In my opinion, she's absolutely stunning. I find myself loving her movies even though she often plays spoiled, bratty little sisters. She's so beautiful, though, she can get away with it.

Anyway, all of this lead up is to say that I decided to use a Gloria de Haven outfit for my spotlight today. I was trying to find something summery and Summer Stock seemed like a good place to look. I'd remembered a certain gingham dress. What caught my eye, however, is this totally cute little number that Gloria wears in the rehearsal scene.


I would love to wear this kind of outfit. How cute is that? The trouble is, mostly, that I don't really own shorts. I don't like shorts. They always seem to be too short or too awkward for me. I love these old-fashioned shorts that are sexy without being short shorts. And I think it helps to have a scarf as a belt. So cute. I love that she's wearing heels with this outfit. It's so wacky but it works! Well, I think it's wacky, probably because I never wear heels. Anyway, what do you think of this outfit?

Sometimes toe-shoes

Spotlight on a costume! (Actually, this is going to be more like a spotlight on several costumes... I just can't resist!) It seems as though all of the actresses in that golden age got to wear really amazing costumes all the time. Cyd Charisse is no exception. I'm sure I could find at least ten of her outfits I absolutely must have in my dream wardrobe. This one here is one of those ten. She wears it in The Band Wagon in the scene where Gabrielle Gerard first meets Tony Hunter. I love this lacy dress with the green undertone - so classy and beautiful! [I also love this scene but that's another matter]




This movie has lots of fantastic outfits for Miss Charisse. I know I've discussed the matter with Emma Wallace (who I had the chance to interview the other day!) and she's quite partial to the dress Cyd Charisse wears at the end of the film (which can be found near the beginning of the trailer). Every time I watch the movie with my mom, she says how much she loves the dress in "Dancing in the Dark." And my sister has mentioned how incredible that see-through dress in "Girl Hunt Ballet" is (go to 5:00 to see the dress). And then, of course, there's the more famous red vixen dress which was, apparently, Cyd Charisse's favorite:



So, which one is your favorite?

Just look around until you've found someone who has a blue-gray fedora

I realize I just discussed Royal Wedding yesterday, but I've been wanting to talk about these costumes, so I figured I might as well bring it up while we're on the subject.

Today's spotlight on a costume is actually a spotlight on several costumes. The number "I Left My Hat In Haiti," is delightful to watch, despite the fact that the performers are decidedly not Haitian. And the girls are outfitted with some fabulous get-ups. I've been wanting to rack up the nerve to try this style out, but I haven't yet found the courage. The combination is relatively simple: ballet flats or tennis shoes, peasant skirt, a brightly colored top, a scarf tied around the waist, a scarf tied around the head, and a fedora on top. What makes it even easier is that the pieces don't have to match - in fact, it seems as if they're not supposed to. The girls in this scene pull the ensemble off so wonderfully! I really want to try this outfit, and I even have all the pieces necessary, but I just can't get up the nerve. ugh. Well, anyway, it's wonderful. Here's the complete scene:




*** So, shortly after I wrote this post, I decided to be daring and try the outfit out. I didn't put together all of the pieces because, frankly, it didn't look or feel right. The scarf around my head kept getting all weird (I really need a better scarf) so I just took it off and used the fedora. I really liked the look a lot. I just wanted to share this bit of news with you so you'd know that I was daring in the end! Hooray!

How do you like my dress?

In honor of Ginger Rogers being TCM's star of the month (which makes me realize that perhaps I should have done female dancers first?), today's fashion spotlight will showcase one of the lovely lady's costumes. Just as I have many favorite Fred and Ginger movies, I also have many favorite Ginger costumes. But, for now, I'll just talk about one of my all-time favorites:

the dress Ginger wears in Swing Time for the "Never Gonna Dance" number. I love this song, this dance, and the dress is simply exquisite. I found a whole bunch of really great photos and I just couldn't narrow it down to two or three so I decided to put them all up here. this way you can see the front, the back, and how the dress falls when she dances (which is really cool!), oh! and there's also a really neat promo shot with the dress, featuring the cape!



The name of that last photo was "Ginger Rogers Majestic." I thought all you Ginger fans out there would enjoy knowing that! I hope these photos have whetted your appetite to see this dress in the film. The photo of the back of the dress makes me want to stop writing and go watch the dance right now! (maybe I will....) Unfortunately, the dance isn't on YouTube but here's the really cute scene where Lucky (Astaire) compliments Penny's (Rogers) dress. And if you haven't already, you really should go watch the movie in its entirety. It's really cute. Unfortunately this post will have just missed TCM's Ginger night, but it's worth renting or getting from the library.

It seems to me

First order of business: poll results! Bob Fosse won the poll for favorite suitor in Kiss Me Kate. It was a pretty sweeping victory. There were 6 votes, of which he got 4. (Tommy Rall and Bobby Van received one each) I think his sexy, jazzy choreography may have had something to do with it... what do you think?

Now, for my post this week, I'm going to do something daring and different: I'm going to combine two segments together!! Okay, so that's not too drastic, especially considering the fact that I've done it in a lesser degree before. But just the same. I want to highlight a dance that I love and also discuss the dress, posting a poll about the dress afterwards.

The dance is the "Dig It" number in Second Chorus (1940), performed by Fred Astaire and Paulette Goddard. I love this song. The tempo is so catchy and it looks like so much fun! This is one of the many, many numbers for which I'd love to learn the choreography.



As for the dress: I love it. I love the contrast. I love the white underneath. I love the way it moves. Which brings me to a topic that I find endlessly interesting. When you watch black and white films, what color do you think the dresses are? For years, I assumed that the dresses were all various shades of white, gray, and black. I realized, years later, that this was rather improbable. Some of the dresses I would prefer as white, gray, or black, but some might look nice with color. For example, Paulette Goddard's dress: white and black? Or perhaps white and navy blue? White and maroon? There are many possibilities and it's the case with any dress in black and white films. So, that's my poll for the week: when you watch black and white films, do you assume the dress is a shade of black, white, or gray? Or do you mentally paint it with the color you think would be best?

And for the discussion's sake, feel free to describe a dress that you love, explaining what color you think it might be. For example, I would love to see this outfit in a palette of browns and tans. How lovely!


P.S. I now have 35 followers! Hooray! I've decided that when I get to 50, I'm going to do a giveaway. Exciting, no?

Come meet the yuletide revelers

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I realize today is a holiday so I'll make this post short. I wanted to post a quick entry about one of my favorite holiday dresses.

Nora's Christmas Eve party cocktail dress in The Thin Man (1934):



It's a lovely dress (if anyone wants to get it for me for Christmas, I'd be ever so happy!)
C.K. Dexter Haven mentioned it in his wonderful write-up of the film. Isn't it a great dress? It's so classy and sexy and festive!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and I hope you get to go to as swinging a party as Nick and Nora's.

P.S. I finally had a chance to watch Christmas in Connecticut (1945) and I loved it! So hilarious!! I was laughing out loud and keeping my fingers crossed for it to end happily. I'm already wanting to rewatch it!

Merry Christmas!

They didn't have be-bop

Okay so for the fashion segment this time, I want to highlight a dress from On The Town (1949). Ann Miller wears it in the "Prehistoric Man" song. I love the sexy, classy style of the dress. It could easily be dressed up and dressed down. I've had my eye on this dress for years and my good friend and fellow blogger Miss Emma showed me this: you can buy it on ebay! I'm glad I got to show this to you because I love this store, so amazing. When I save up enough money, I'm definitely buying this dress.



What do you think? Thoughts? Like the dress or not quite your style? And I realize this is not the song highlighting segment but if I had the chance/guts I would definitely want to do this in a museum, wouldn't you?