Scary girdles and other new acquisitions

WARNING: CLUTTER ADDICTS PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

As you already know, readers, I live near the Chelsea Flea Market and like to stroll through on weekend mornings.  When I'm searching for something specific I am super-focused; otherwise I just amble and see what finds me.

Last Saturday, I was in amble mode (aside from a necklace for Cathy, which I found, thankfully).   At $2 a pair, I couldn't resist these dead stock foundation garments.  So comfy looking,











I hope none of you are still wearing these except for the occasional bedroom romp.

I'm always on the look out for gloves, and Cathy will rock these red ones some day.



Two new $1 patterns; the Vogue is a keeper.





Still mourning la Liz, I magically stumbled upon this old Harper's Bazaar from 1983 -- spooky!



I was reminded how Eighties the Eighties really were: boxy coats, black paired with bold color, big (BIG) hair!





Meanwhile, thanks to eBay, Ken and Allan have some new clothes!



Cute, no?



Yesterday while walking the dogs, I found this little Taschen fashion book: a condensed version of a larger two-volume edition showcasing highlights from the Kyoto Costume Institute (for sale on Amazon here).



As beautiful as these photos are, I prefer to see clothes modeled on women of the period.  (That's why I'm such a fan of Marsha Hunt's The Way We Wore).  I like context.









Friends, we're out of time, not to mention space!

I hope that whatever new acquisitions you're welcoming into your lives, you're tossing away twice as many.  That's the goal for us here at Male Pattern Boldness and if we don't always live up to it, well...nobody's perfect.

May your foundation garments keep you cool and comfortable on these sunny spring days. 

Happy Wednesday, everybody!

New acquisitions + George W. Trippon

Readers, Sunday posts can tend to be idea dumps here at MPB.  Sometimes there are things I'd like to share but they don't warrant a post all their own -- or I lack the inspiration to create one.  Consider today's post an idea dump.  My mind has been unfocused of late.

As you can see above, the Vinyls have new clothes and, if you can believe it, there's more on the way.  People tend to sell Ken clothes on eBay in lots, and some lots are better than others.  Often they're poorly photographed and/or described by sellers, so you don't always know what you're getting.  I have been fortunate: so far I've gotten great stuff.  Of course, I don't care about a loose snap here (they can be tightened) or a frayed hem there (they can be trimmed).  I'm collecting these solely for our pleasure.

As you can see, the Mod boys (Brad, Grant, Brett, and Ben, though Ben's actually more contemporary) have new vintage outfits and the theme is denim.  Sadly, Ken and Allan will have to wait a bit longer for theirs but one of them is getting ice skates...or is it roller skates? 





 

I'm not a big fan of velvet jumpsuits but Ben looks pretty cute in his, don't you think?  As for Brett, he looks good in everything.



Meanwhile, at the flea market yesterday I picked up some vintage costume jewelry for Cathy.









Combined, I spent $8 and I know she's going to love all of it.  The locket is especially charming and won't it be sweet when she can put a photo of her special someone in it?  Let's visualize love in that girl's future; she has so much to offer the right person!

I know you're wondering how I can reconcile writing about decluttering on Saturday and new acquisitions on Sunday, but I figure that as long as the new things are smaller than the old things, I come out ahead.  And you'll be proud to know I passed over a gorgeous Singer 201 in a lovely Art Deco table being sold for less than I paid for my Featherweight.

Oh, good news!  The formerly-silent seller responded to me yesterday afternoon and assures me my machine should be delivered UPS tomorrow.  Here's hoping!

Finally, MPB reader Sam recently turned me on to sewing celebrity George W. Trippon.  Have you ever heard of him?  He was a professional dancer in the movies and then moved on to costume design and finally ended up with his own sewing show in the Seventies and early Eighties.  He died last December at a ripe old age and you can see video excerpts of some of his shows on You Tube.  He's quite campy but very entertaining and fun and he knows what he's talking about.  I'd watch him today, wouldn't you?







(Parenthetically, I just realized that my blog is much funnier if you read the whole thing in the voice of George W. Trippon.)

In closing, friends, whether you're decluttering or recluttering (let me guess which) I wish you all a happy and restful Sunday.

See you bright and early on the morrow, kids -- what are you sewing these days?

Cathy's Beauty Secrets Revealed!

As we come back to earth after a night of star-studded revelry, I thought I'd share with you some of the details that helped make Cathy a knock-out on Sunday.  First, the outfit:

As I mentioned Sunday morning, Cathy needed some smart, elegant accessories and she needed them fast.  Rather than make a beeline for Bergdorf's, El Cheapo (that's me) ran over to the Chelsea flea market and tried to magnetize whatever was needed.  As if by magic, every item appeared!

The biggest score, imo, were these vintage shoes, which I'd originally bought just because I loved the way they looked; we never expected them to fit.  At two pair for $5, I thought they'd be fun to own if only to display.  What a surprise when later at home we discovered that they fit perfectly!  One of the best parts, aside from their being incredibly well-constructed, is that they're comfortable.  File under, Too Good to be True.





In the same outdoor lot, I found this fur stole, and at first I wasn't sure it would work with black accessories, but it did.  I guess you'd call this faux fox, but honestly, what I know about fur you could squeeze into a thimble.  Maybe it's time to learn.  Not bad for $15.  The best part about it is that it really glows.





Some of you mentioned hair accessories and I did look for some.  I didn't want something I'd have to fuss with (anything with a veil) or that I'd have to take off at the theater.  I found this little velvet geometric number, which I thought was simple and elegant.  It doesn't read in the photos but Cathy wore it to the theater, though not to the party afterward. 





I'd picked up these beaded gloves at Goodwill a few weeks earlier; I'm always on the lookout for good gloves.  They're not vintage but they are Vera Wang.



I think I read about these sweat shields on Already Pretty -- Sally's my go-to source for these kind of things -- and they really kept Cathy feeling confident and comfortable.  Who wants visible sweat stains at an event like this?



While the 1948 McCall's dress I made pre-dates the bouffant style, I wanted the skirt to have a little more fullness, so I quickly gathered some tulle (that I'd bought for that other rose-print dress) and stitched it to an elastic waistband to make a small crinoline.  Worn over a half-slip, it worked perfectly.

Given the importance of the occasion, I treated Cathy to some new cosmetics.  She's a drugstore makeup type of gal, but there's quite a selection in the drugstore these days.

Cathy wore L'Oreal Ravishing Red, a matte lipstick with slightly blue undertones.  A little Maybelline lip pencil (50 Red) helped keep lip edges clean.





I knew Cathy would need a little more coverage than usual for a long night, so I opted for this Maybelline "Instant Age Rewind" concealer/highlighter stick.  I can't vouch for its effectiveness relative to other products, but it kept Cathy glowing well past the bewitching hour.





Of course Cathy swears by Physician's Formula LeVelvet Foundation in Ivory, which she sets with a little loose powder.

Eye makeup is kept to a minimum as it tends to settle into Cathy's deepening laugh lines: just lashes, a bit of liquid eyeliner, and pencil (which she also she uses for her brows; she refuses to pluck).  A little oyster-white eye shadow on her brow bone completes the glamour-girl effect.

And that's it!

Friends, I have Cathy with me today and she is happy to respond to all of your beauty comments and questions, if any.  Like all of us, she's a work in progress and open to improvement.

Have a great day, beautiful ones!

P.S. -- Read Michael's take on the event here.  You can see the Cathy's original rose-print dress photoshoot here.

Yellow Tracing Paper, Bill Cunningham et al.

Friends, the excitement begins tomorrow, and if you're like me,  you're already quivering in anticipation of our Men's Shirt Sew-Along.  Might I suggest a long walk and/or a cold shower?

Today I'd like to share some additional flea market finds to keep your mind on other things.  First, do you know Bill Cunningham, the long-time NY Times photographer who rides through the city on a bicycle documenting fashion trends for his On the Street feature in the the Sunday Styles section?

Well yesterday I found a wonderful vintage copy of a book he published in the Seventies call Facades.  It's made up entirely of photographs documenting more than two hundred years of women's fashion modeled by celebrity photographer and (current) nonagenarian Editta Sherman, also known as the Duchess of Carnegie Hall.  For a period of many years, Bill collected antique and vintage clothing and accessories he found cheaply in second hand stores and the like (those were the days) and then Editta would model them for him in front of a building of similar vintage as the outfits.  It's a wonderful book, not least of of all because Editta is neither young, svelte, nor conventionally beautiful; just charismatic, playful, and gorgeous to look at.











 

Of course, I immediately thought of a more conventional beauty (Didn't you?) who can also be found strolling the streets in the fashions of yesteryear, albeit new interpretations of same.











Sub sole nihil novi est, right?  More pics from Facades here, and you know where to find Cathy (over in the MPB archives, on the right).

Readers, unable to resist the pull back to the Love American Style days, I also bought a few more of those $1 patterns:







A more serious purchase, in anticipation of tomorrow, was yellow tracing paper, a 50 yd. roll of which I picked up at the local art supply store for about $10.  I've used drafting paper to draft a few slopers, but I have never traced a pattern before -- do you believe it?



Well I've learned how.  While it takes a bit of time and focus, it is not hard.  Nearly all the vintage patterns I've used are one size only, so I might trace the pattern either to preserve it or to make adjustments to it.  But if you're starting with a multi-sized pattern (like nearly all contemporary patterns), tracing allows you to copy the pattern in one size while preserving all the others, should you ever want to make it in a different size.

This would have been very handy with my vintage Vogue toggle coat pattern, for example, which is quite rare.  It never occurred to me: I cut the Small and Small it shall ever remain.  I will be tracing my Negroni pattern.

So as you can see, I am already learning new things and the Sew-Along hasn't even started yet.

Which reminds me:  one minor caveat before we begin.

I was checking out our Flickr group yesterday and I detected the distinct aroma of locker room.  Friends, perhaps for the first time in Sew-Along history, a large number of our participants are men and the male-identified.  Therefore I must request that we all observe a few basic rules:

a) Ladies, please do not walk around in a state of undress; b) Gentleman, the same goes for you; c) No smoking and please refrain from wearing heavy perfume; bath splash is acceptable;  d) If you must exchange intimacies unrelated to men's shirts please take your comments to your own blogs and/or Flickr pages;  e) Always leave the toilet seat in the down position.   Signed, the Management.

Please get lots of fresh air and exercise today if possible and of course a good night's sleep is a must: We're going to need all our energy and mental focus in the days ahead.  You might even want to sleep alone for the next few weeks if you catch my drift.

See you all on the morrow, patterns and scissors in hand!