Pastel Perfection

After seeing this photo last week on one of my favorite blogs, Long Hair and Modestly, I've looked at it everyday, just for the sheer wondrous joy of it!  Thanks lovely ladies, whoever you are: you made my week!  I love those big stripey hats and the ombre tie-dye scarves.  I want to know the story behind the picture... was it a birthday party on the water?  Did they buy the outfits all together?  What about the co-ordinated make-up - was this for a photo shoot?  Answer me, internet!

OK, I did my own homework.  It was worth it.  The outfits are by an Indonesian design company, Dian Pelangi, which specializes in Muslim fashion, using traditional techniques including batik, tie-dye and beadwork.  Their website is worth a look - lots of beautiful things in a context that is pretty foreign to me.

Colour Choices

My Arts and Crafts research and my kitchen painting research met at an fun intersection this week: historical paint shade charts.  It's so interesting that different eras had unique palettes.  The ones below are ones that I found that roughly corresponded with Arts and Crafts, and they are absolutely colours that I'm drawn to.  For our kitchen, we picked out a pale yellow for the walls and a sage-y green for the cupboards, but that makes it sound much easier than it was, of course.  Endless paint chips and appealing names to pick from...

So hard to find a good buggy paint these days, isn't it?  Aladdin, where have you gone?

Home Work

So, I've been a lazy blogger.  Well, an uninspired blogger.  Nothing going on in the fashion world is exciting me right now, and there's not enough daylight to take outfit pictures, and I'd just be wasting my time and yours if I tossed a bunch of random pictures up here a couple times a week.  

Then I though, never mind fashion, what do I love looking at?  Arts and Crafts interiors and textiles and design!  So much inspiration here; that's what the internet is good for.  I could never afford all the books and travel I'd have to invest in to see all of these pictures without good old Google Images.

    

The Arts and Crafts movement valued the beauty and integrity of everyday objects, not just what we think of as Fine Art.  That's why you see so many amazing household objects, perfectly integrated into beautiful homes, in harmony with natural landscaping.

The one thing that I have been thinking creatively about lately is my home.  You know how you kind of get blind to the stuff around you that you see everyday?  That's the case with the state of our house.  We've been living here almost five years, and I've gotten used to the scuffed paint and dingy details, but new year, new goals!  Paint the kitchen!  I've been picking out colours and making plans and it's really going to happen.

I'm also trying to replace some of the ugly stuff we have with nicer stuff.  Just cheap little things, like why do we have a junky old plastic cup holding pens and pencils beside the phone?  I'm on the lookout in thrift store for a nice hand-thrown pottery cup - shouldn't be hard to find.  I already found a perfect bigger ceramic canister to replace the plastic container that held our kitchen utensils.  I mean, if I have to look at these things everyday, why not have something pleasing to look at, when it just costs a few dollars to upgrade?

Valentina

Usually there's nothing much of note in perfume ads - pretty, safe, pastel.  This ad for Valentina by Valentino isn't all that different, but what caught my eye was the gorgeous detail of the dress.  I don't know for sure of course, but it looks like the lace detail is appliqued onto the chiffon blouse.  I hope so; that's couture.

Style.com has lots of gorgeous detail shots from the Valentino Spring 2012 Couture collection, like the one below.  I love being able to see some of those intricate touches that I'd otherwise never be able to see, short of an imaginary shopping spree.

Listening to Records

Stevie

The other night I couldn't sleep and Karl was in the living room playing video games, so I came out and wrapped up in a quilt and listened to some records and it occurred to me that none of my favorite singers would make it past the auditions on American Idol.  I miss quirky voices.

Joni

Grace

Janis

Nico

Be still my heart...

New favorite bowties!

 Above, made from vintage silk scarves.

Below, made from vintage embroidered cotton.

If you recognize the wreath, yes, it's recycled from last year!  Last year it was green, this year it's red.  Nature provides!

Kate Moss by Mario Testino for Vogue Spain

Kate Moss just keeps on looking great, doesn't she?  She's not like one of those supermodels who disappears for a while, coming back after five years for a celebrated comeback.  She's consistently working, despite her personal ups and downs, and still makes it look easy.  This editorial is nothing ground-breaking, but it's really well done and beautiful.  I like the styling - it reminds me of Vogue couture shoots back in the days when I used to buy magazines; these would have been tear-outs for sure.

Silliness

Bacon and eggs, baby Jesus: the crazies come out at Christmas!  I guess if you're going to get a custom-made bowtie, you might as well get something that people are going to notice.  I do have some more of these fabrics, so get 'em while they're hot!

Good News

As in, NEW BOW TIES!  Let's just move on to Spring, okay?  We went shopping for fabrics a couple of weeks ago, and it felt much more cheerful to head into a new season, so we stocked up on summer shades, and these new samples will be hitting the road in the new year.  

I did a fun Christmas custom order today though: baby Jesus in the manger fabric, being watched over by Mary and Joseph and an angel.  Truly one of a kind.  Oooh, and I'll have to take a photo of the new one I made for Karl to wear to his work Christmas party.

Holy Motors

Question: What do all these images have in common?

Answer:  Amazingly, they are all from the same movie.  After a recommendation from a trusted friend, I went to see Holy Motors this week.  It was crazy.  It's a totally surreal French movie and everything from the cast to the "plot" is bizarre and puzzling and mesmerizing.  Definitely worth watching, but I walked out feeling like I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.  One of those movies where either I'm way too dense to "get it", or it's not about "getting".  It was an experience, that's for sure, and worth every penny and every minute of confusion.

Josephine van Delden for Gala Germany

I feel like I've lost my blogging mojo lately.  It's been a long, strange week, and it's hard to get inspired by anything when my mind is miles away.  I'm sure that this mood will pass, and it's probably also the change of the seasons.  We had such a brilliant late summer and early fall that it's a real drag to be getting these dark, cold, rainy days, though really, this is Vancouver; it's our normal.  Anyway, maybe I'll get a big burst of holiday cheer next month and that will shake things up. 

And this should be a good weekend - my good friend is visiting for a few days.  Usually when he's here he's just touring with his band, and he comes and goes in less than a day, but this time he'll be here a little longer and we'll have time for more of a visit than usual.  Another thing to look forward to: one of my best friends will be popping out baby number three in the next couple of weeks (I bet before the end of the month) and I can't wait to see him!

Vintage Beauty

Some magical day I will find a dress like this in a thrift store, and I can retire from thrift-shopping.  I spent a bunch of time this weekend purging multiple closets and trying to find better storage options than cardboard boxes over-flowing with clothes I don't wear.  It's hard to get rid of certain pieces and as long as they are stored tidily and out of the way I don't feel too bad about having some sentimental favorites.

Awww...

I'm reluctant to add to the already deafening chatter surrounding the American election tomorrow, especially since it's not my election and I don't think I've ever even mentioned Canadian politics here on my mostly-fashion blog.

That said, how cute is this picture?  I hadn't seen it before I came across it on Rackk and Ruin today, which is worth a visit if you'll be voting tomorrow and are one of those "undecided voters" I keep hearing about, and I couldn't resist posing it.

Summer of Love

Seems like months ago.  It was months ago - where does the time go?  It was a beautiful wedding, and I'm so glad that the photographer got such a good picture of all the ladies.  All my best friends!  We just got back from a weekend of cabin-on-the-beach fun, all seven of us plus a baby and two buns in ovens.  It was fantastic, and although the weather was pretty much the opposite of what you see above, that never seems to dampen spirits; it's just a good reason to stay inside and gossip over plates of cheese and bowls of soup!