A salute to girly underthings!

I can already see that this post is going to go from a little blurb to a full scale proclamation of love. I've been enthralled by lingerie since the tender age of 12 and my first viewing of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, a great movie that my mom still has on VHS. Anyhow, from the opening scene and "Twenty fans were Turning" to "Itty-Bitty Pissant Country Place" and finally "Hard Candy Christmas," all of the ladies are decked out in their best (80's) lingerie. Let's not discount the lovely Miss Mona (Dolly Parton) in all of her buxon blonde glory, too! Now, I'm not trying to scare anyone away by discussing bad lingerie, but giving a base to my thoughts. The 80's is a decade I try to pretend didn't happen, most of the time.

On to my actual topic: vintage lingerie! I started dabbling in underthings when I started seeking out slips and nightgowns last year. I have quite a little collection of those, now. Next came my corset. I wrote about my corset around Halloween, but not much after that. It's an authentic overbust, steel-boned corset (for tightlacing, not fashion) that resides in my room at home since I can't find a place for it here at school. Upon finding my peach pegnoir set in November, I was really ready to admit that I was loving the girly things and underthings of my favorite eras. In December, I bought a bunch of 50's stockings from a lovely woman on craigslist. I was super nervous that they would be in horrible condition, but they were beautiful! Since then, I've had them sitting in my drawer just waiting to be worn. What's a girl to do without a suspender belt? I'll tell you: She waits and thinks and waits and waits a little longer. Soon, she goes stir crazy and takes a leap of faith and orders a couple of little underthings to keep up her stockings!

Yes, I hate internet shopping, but I took the plunge and ordered two different styles from the same site I found my corset, Orchard Corset. I was so pleased with their prompt delivery and quality workmanship from my first experience, I was happy to go back. They arrived just 3 days after I ordered and I couldn't have been more pleased, although I'd really like to be able to get the clasps all done up more quickly! Once it gets just a little warmer here, be on the lookout for my legs to finally be ladylike and covered and all that jazz!

From this...

To this!

Get comfortable... it's going to be a long post.

I am such a bad mother to my little blog. After leaving it neglected for nearly a month, I'm wondering if I'll even be able to write a decent post. Well well, many things have happened in my life since that last entry, but I'm not sure where to start.

My birthday was right at the end of January and I went home to see my sweetheart and my family. We all went out to as delicious thai restaurant and had a great time! My favorite aunt (on my dad's side) got to come, which really made the night fun. The cupcakes were... well, you just had to be there. The cake I love more than any other is a version called "Grandma's Chocolate Cake" which is best with penuche frosting. For those who don't know what that is, it is a cooked brown sugar frosting that you must try immediately. I didn't get to blow out any candles due to restaurant policy, but I did get some thoughtful gifts from my family which really deserve to have the spotlight.

My Aunt got me a pretty Brighton necklace composed of a darling little heart on a sturdy chain. My favorite part is the saying on the back of the heart, "Love Always." It's really the perfect heart necklace that I've needed for awhile.

Next, my mother got me a few things, but I will only highlight the best. She found two books for me at Christmas, but decided to hold them over until my birthday. They were well worth they wait, so I'm not unhappy. The first, I've read through a couple of times already, but I haven't had time to curl up with the second yet. Charmed by Audrey is just that: charming. It is basically a photo montage of Audrey on the set of the movie Sabrina. Sabrina is definitely one of my favorite Audrey movies and I love looking at all the prints and quotes from or about Audrey. She really was a wonderful woman, inside and out.

The second book has yet to be delved in to, but it is called Very Vintage and it chronicles styles in the 20th century, I believe. There are some great pictures and lots of reading. I have a feeling that I won't be able to put this one down once I pick it up!

The last present that really needs some limelight is the most perfect collection of movies. My aunt (on mom's side) always finds the best movies for me. I don't know if I ever thanked her fully for finding the collector's edition of Meet me in St. Louis and she really outdid her herself with this one. She got me a collection of 4 major musicals with Howard Keel. This was especially welcome because I wanted to see the original movie version of Kiss Me, Kate (you'll find out why later in this post) and I've also been searching for Showboat since I found out Marge and Gower Champion danced in it.

Now, the next exciting thing I've been doing actually corresponds with my last post. For my Fashion Trend Analysis class, we were working in groups on trend boards. A trend board is part of a trend forecast and just gives a visual feeling of the season or style to come. A girl in my group and I completely connected and planned the entire thing. Our season? Summer 2012. Our trend? Pin Up!

I'm very happy with the board, we ended up with more modern images than I would have chosen, but it's still adorable! I know the picture is blurry, but all I had at that moment was my phone. Our colors were pastels with a strong red and dark denim base. Motifs included card suits (diamonds, hearts), polka dots, and horizontal stripes. We really had fun accenting with gold buttons, leaves, and rope, red ribbon, and little knit doilies one of the girls found at the fabric store.

All of this Pin Up energy has just renewed my love for the style in daily life and I've really been working on keeping with my vintage look more. I've not been focusing on it lately because it's been very cold here. Now that it's warming up a little, I'm at it full force again. In honor of this, and just to have fun, I took some current photos for my sweetheart with some of my new finds. Here's a little taste:

Yes, this is what I do when I'm procrastinating. I change clothes all the time when I'm trying to focus on homework. My sweetheart let me borrow his amazing camera, so I finally got to take quality pictures. This outfit is completely thrift-store stuff. Shirt: Arc Resale in Philomath (I found this the other day!), Skirt: Salvation Army in Grants Pass, Belt: St. Vincent De Paul in Grants Pass, Shoes: Arc Resale in Philomath, and Bag: Buckingham Palace in Corvallis (Also a recent find!). I finally got the buttons sewed on to a suede and shearling coat I rescued this summer and wore it to the first rehearsal for Kiss Me, Kate on Monday night.

There's another thing that needs to get some time in the limelight of this blog. I got involved with Corvallis Community Theater (CCT) last year when I got to assist the costume mistress for the musical, Guys and Dolls. It was a lot of fun, and I was actually asked to play a part since I had some stage and singing experience. The show went off wonderfully and the group of people I met really made my day (week, month, months, however long we worked on that show..). This year, I was e-mailed by the director to inform me that he would be directing another musical this spring, entitled Kiss Me, Kate. I asked him if I could do the same job that I was originally asked to do in the last show and he said he'd be happy to forward my request to the costume mistress. We talked, I researched, we met, picked fabrics, watched auditions, and finally got to measure our cast at the first rehearsal. I don't know all of the cast, but as far as I've seen they're all wonderful people.The second rehearsal, the director approached me and asked me to be in the play. I have dance experience and can pick up whatever I don't have experience in pretty quickly. I also sang throughout high school and don't have too bad of a voice, if I do say so myself. This is how I became a cast member in the show! I still hope to be able to spend some time around the costume department, but I know my replacement will serve the costume mistress well. Let's hope there's some intricate, interesting dancing I get to do for this show!

There's something I'm leaving out that also deserves a little bit of time in this post too. I will not delve into this subject, because it is more personal, but I've really been working to change my eating and exercising habits. I come from a very healthy family and college has kind of ruined my healthy eating, so it's about time for me to seriously get back on trace. This isn't about someone telling me I'm fat, but more about feeling comfortable in my own skin. I haven't felt truly comfortable for most of my life and I feel that it's about time. In short, I've begun to change my habits by getting more sleep, exercising 6 days a week, and eating more balanced meals. 

I know you'd like to read a couple more pages of me rambling on, but I do believe it's about time I start steaming the gorgeous red wool pencil skirt I got today! Cheerio!

Living in the... future?

As you all know, simply from reading this blog, I like to live in the past. I'll do most anything to reject the current time we live in and conditions we live under. Was the past a romantic time? No. It has been idealized so, but it was harder to live in the past than it is to live in the current society, I'm sure. The number one thing I love about the 1940s and 50s is the sense of community that you can feel when listening to the music and radio broadcasts, and see when you look at pictures and posters. These were people who would stand up for their neighbor because they had the means. I commonly wonder how different it would be had I been living in this same exact dorm when it was first built. Would I know the people across the hall better? I believe I would. In a time where individualism is at a high point, we've completely disregarded the very important factor of community in our everyday lives.

I find myself asking these questions because of a class I've been in for a little over a week no. No, I'm not taking psychology or sociology. The class is actually Fashion Forecasting. In the class, we are asked to live in the future by forecasting trends for the upcoming seasons. I have a hard time doing this because of my desire to not be an active player in the current times. Economic instability, rules and regulations on just about everything, and the forgotten phrase of "Love thy neighbor" have made it a harsh world to live in. We think we're so modern, so evolved, that we reign supreme over all. But I ask you this: What would happen if our phones, iphones, kindles, ipods, ipads, laptops, flat screens, blu-rays, wiis, ps3s, super fast wireless internet, and all other devices and systems that offer the instant gratifications our 24/7 culture desires, disappeared? We have become so used to the "one click" way of receiving everything. Our culture is insatiable when it comes to getting the newest, fastest, and shiniest gizmo.

Now, I have another class, and it might seem a little unconventional for me to be getting such an opposite impression from such a class, but just trust me here. I'm in a beginner's swing dancing class. I bring this up because no matter how awkward it can be while trying to dance with someone I've never met before, there is some part of me that loves how no one has their phones out. I love that everyone is focused on their partner (or the instructor) and trying to make the most of that highly unused organ filling their cranium. Even when I've been dancing with the worst partner for the last few minutes, I can put it aside, laugh, and say, "We almost got it! Thank you for the dance." when partners change. To get a sincere smile and, "Thank you" back is a much better feeling than a confirmation e-mail thanking me for my interest/order/feedback, etc.

So in this day and age, when we talk to automated voices more than real ones and search a computer database online rather than asking a librarian, is there any hope for my utmost wish to return to real interpersonal communication? Even I would have to get used to it and learn to appreciate it, but it would add such a value to interactions that is no longer seen in the technologically stuffed world.

Encounters of a stylish kind

Now, I did try to summarize my break in the last post, but I thought that this little experience deserved a post of its own. It's not very frequently that I see anyone dressed in a similar fashion, but this is exactly what happened on December 30th. Let's cut me just a teensy weensy bit of slack when I post the link to my picture and focus on the amazing experience.

I was in Fred Meyer's, back in my hometown. Why, you ask? Well, I obtained the most gorgeous cut glass punchbowl for Christmas and just had to make a punch for New Year's Eve. Since I was trying to waste some time after finding my ginger ale, I perused the after-Christmas CD sale (and scored some Perry Como I had been looking for) and meticulously picked out gum. While roaming through small appliances, I bumped into a woman who was dressed! No, my town does not have a large nudist society, I simply mean that in front of me was a woman who had taken the time to look clean, crisp, presentable, and ladylike.

After a quick "So sorry" we parted ways - until she flagged me down between furniture and area rugs. She introduced herself as Danielle and even gave me her card (ladylike and professional!) while explaining she was a clothing designer and blogger. After sharing our oddly similar childhoods, both of us having lived on South Pacific military bases when we were young, she asked to take my picture for her blog. I was flattered, but secretly wished I hadn't put myself together in 20 minutes before going to town. Anyhow, true to her word, Danielle posted my picture on her blog, http://danielleceleste.tumblr.com/, and you're all welcome to check it out. She also has a twitter and sells her designs on etsy, which I believe her blog can link you to.

Overall, this quick exchange really reinforced my belief that I'm not completely insane in hoping that the concept of dressing will see a recurrence in the near future!

My Wintery Break

I can't describe in the detail I would like to just how wonderful little winter hiatus I have taken from blogging has been. Since being up at school this year, I haven't gotten to spend much time with my family. My Halloween weekend flew by and Thanksgiving weekend also seemed to end before it began. Winter break, however, has been just magical.

As I type this, it's the first morning of 2011, and the property is a winter wonderland complete with chirping birds, scampering squirrels, and even some blue sky. The fire is crackling the woodstove, and I have only completed taking down 50% of the Christmas decorations I lovingly finished putting up only two weeks ago.

Christmas morning was a whirl of paper and ribbons and mountains of boxes which ended up daunting the tree. My little corner of presents (in the bottom right of the picture) was wrapped in white paper with different wired ribbons tied in bows. They were sure different, but not too out of place in the group. Family aplenty gathered together along with an abundance of savory food and drink. Even though the youngest in our group is 18, all of our eyes grew as wide as that of a 5-year-old when we saw just how many presents there were.

New Year's Eve was just as merry if not more so. Our numbers balooned up to 19 for the big night as friends joined in the celebration. I was overjoyed at the prospect of using my new cut glass punchbowl and glasses, personally. Wine, beer, and numerous other spirits flowed freely while we all enjoyed New York strip steak with baked potatoes and salad. Once the snow started falling, everyone under 25 began acting like 8-year-olds again. Fireworks, champange, and cries (and texts) of "Happy 2011!" capped off the night.

I feel so lucky to have such a happy, rowdy, and somewhat vulgar family! The love that surrounds this house and family, especially during the holidays, is astonishing. We have no family grudges or rivalries, and none of those funny uncles or annoying cousins you have to try to avoid. Our grandparents don't pinch cheeks and tell you how much you've grown, but we do get the occasional story of how things used to be when they were young. Even if you're not part of the family, we'll make you one of our own before the blink of an eye.

I'll be driving back to school tomorrow to start winter term and hope that everyone who is traveling or has yet to travel will be safe and patient. The highway sure is going to test my patience tomorrow!