Cathy Plays the Palace

Folks, tonight's the night -- the big Broadway premier and Cathy's a VIP guest!  I could not make this up.

I think most of you know the story already but I'll recap: an MPB reader from Australia -- who has yet to identify herself -- phoned into a Sidney radio show, Afternoons with James Valentine, on his Best of the Web segment.  She recommended Male Pattern Boldness (take a look) and specifically my parrot videos.  Listening to the show that afternoon was none other than the Australian scenic designer for Priscilla Queen of the Desert, which is about to open on Broadway.  Lipsynching parrot videos?  Give this boy a screen test!  Frantic emails are exchanged.  And the rest, as they say, is history -- or rather, history happens tonight.

Clearly this did not leave me with a whole lot of lead time yet so much had to happen: Cathy had to be sprung from prison (check), I had to arrange to get the tickets (check), Michael had to press his tuxedo (check), I had to make a new dress for Cathy....

Dear Empathics, on this score I have fallen oh-so short!

You're probably thinking, well, maybe if he didn't spend all that time having lunch with Robin and coffee with Duane, etc. and you'd be right.  The rose-print sateen Comeback Dress is still a work in progress, a gathered skirt hanging forlornly on my ratty dress form.  BUT -- there is another rose-print sateen* dress!

* I now believe both rose-print fabrics are polished cotton.

And this, my friends, is what Cathy will be wearing this evening, with a clutch bag, velvet gloves, better foundation garments, and some something I hope to pick up today at the flea market -- a veiled hat, a fox fur, cubic zirconia briolette earrings-- something -- to dress this up a bit more.  My mantra is WWCD: What would Casey do?  Well, Casey would probably whip something together with pipe cleaners, pigeon feathers, and spit, and come up with a Schiaparelli. 

I lack these skills.  So I am going to do my best and hope that whatever Cathy lacks in the couture department she makes up in charisma.

I know many of you have fashion tips and guidance galore and please feel free to share it, but soon -- I have to make a 6:30 pm curtain.  Believe me when I say that I have combed through Cathy's wardrobe carefully and the big gap is in the event area.  I mean, she has the Eighties jumper, the Twenties flapper, and the Forties working girl frocks.  Even when completed, the Comeback Dress is a little too "Once a Year Day" for a Broadway premier, don't you think?

I will have to address this soon because who knows what other big events Cathy is going to be attending in the future?  Do you think Anne Hathaway has these problems?

In other news...

You know I'm not one of those bloggers who tantalizes his readers with frustrating "I have a surprise for you but you'll just have to wait to find out" posts.  If there's anything I hate it's surprises.  Either tell me or move on.

Well, friends, I'm going to tell you, or rather show you.

I got the saddle shoes (the blue and bone instead of black and white, which I agreed looked too Sis boom bah.)

And I got the sewing machine.

WAIT.  Did I mention the sewing machine?

That, my friends, is a story for another day.

I must away to the theatah and someone badly needs to shave her legs.  Tune in tomorrow for all the gossip!

Happy Sunday, everybody -- and happy Spring!



UPDATE:  The shoes, vintage originals from Bonwit's...two pair for $5.

UPDATE II:  Taking no chances...

Decluttering: Part 2

Readers, I must provide some backstory to yesterday's post.  I used to have a lot of clutter -- no, not clutter exactly.  Stuff.  And I've gotten rid of tons of it, primarily on eBay and Craigslist, but also through donations to thrift stores and just throwing stuff out.

Here's an eensy weensy taste; thank goodness I took pictures!

Vintage TV sets, and the phones, readers, the phones...








 



Danish modern barware.



Funky decor items; I could write a book.


 





Fifties dinnerware.



Miscellaneous.









But there's more, friends, much more.  I have discarded hundreds of record albums.  But I still have quite a few and I don't even have a stereo set up anymore.



So you can see why I need to get rid of some of those sewing machines (I fear my Elna Grasshopper may be first to go.).  And I still have many more items hiding in closets and cupboards I now need for all my sewing paraphernalia.  I still don't know where to store my sleeve board, for example.  Where do you keep yours?

Readers, thank you for allowing me to unburden myself this holiday weekend.  I know it's a lot to handle and probably stirring up difficult memories for many of you.   You probably long for more sewing projects and less catharsis.

Now that we've returned from Michael's parents, I must go to the flea market later and see if I can find more Samsonite luggage to store things in.

And who knows what surprises may lurk there?  It is the holiday season, after all!

Arabia Ruska dinnerware for four, anyone?

The Pajama Game

To go by current men's sewing patterns, you'd think most guys never left the house.  Based simply on the number of patterns out there, men wear bathrobes, pajamas, vests and, on holidays, a cumberbund. 

Where could you go in an outfit like that, besides 7-Eleven?

Frankly, I don't have much use for a cumberbund and the last time I wore a vest was my senior year high school production of Oklahoma!  As for pajamas, with the exception of Michael's septuagenarian father, no one I know wears them, myself included.

OK, that's not entirely true.



I picked up this old pattern (not really vintage -- 1996) to make a nightshirt for Michael a couple of months ago.  It came out kind of cute, imho.



I know I said we didn't wear pajamas, but I've always thought nightshirts adorably retro in a "Little Rascals" kind of way.  It's the closest we'll ever get to lingerie.

Anyway, that same month I made the nightshirt, I made these pajama bottoms, also for Michael:



Fast forward to the present.  You may recall this green seersucker from my last fabric-shopping spree:



Yesterday, taking a much-needed break from knits, I returned to my pajama pattern one more time and made these:





They're really for Michael, and more for lounging than for sleeping.  Thankfully, we don't have 7-Elevens here so they probably won't leave the house.  With a tee shirt or tank top however, you probably could wear them outside, especially at the beach.

I made them with my new Singer 15-91: my absolute favorite sewing machine.  Here I am finishing up some flat-felled seams.



I used my Singer Spartan with the buttonholer attachment to make these lovely buttonholes.



Here are my seams from the inside:




My friends, it's time you made your man some pajamas.  He doesn't have to sleep in them.

Don't have a man?  Then make some for yourself.  The techniques involved, like flat-felled seams (not necessary, but a nice touch that lends durability), are great practice for making dress shirts as well as pants, since you're also dealing with a fly, a waistband, and all those intersecting seams below the crotch.  And the fit is much, much easier.

I recommend visiting Etsy or eBay and buying the cheapest pajama pattern you can find in the correct size.  Pajamas haven't changed in decades and a really old vintage pattern (from the 40s, say) would be great fun to put together.  (If you find one in a mens 36" and you don't want it, send it my way.)

And take my word for it: he'll wear them; you'll wear them.  He really doesn't want a vest.

Now for your entertainment, the best movie EVER about pajamas AND the garment industry hands down (and isn't that Gertie in the polka dot dress in the second number?):





Happy Thursday, everybody!

Movie fashion show for a frigid Sunday

And speaking of frigid...

From "That Touch of Mink," the movie that forever cemented Doris Day's (career-wrecking) image as the original 40-year-old virgin.  Gowns by Jean Louis.

TRIVIA QUIZ: Who's Doris's roommate's famous sister?