I started out this morning, writing a post about slime molds and other fun critters, but the research needed bogged me down and, well, maybe I'll post it tomorrow.
It's six PM and the Goob and I are still in our jammies, I spent most of the day asleep, and I think we'll just declare the whole day a wash and start fresh tomorrow.
May each of you have an equally peaceful day, soon.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sekhmet, you fucker.
That's an LL Bean raincoat her butt is sticking out from under. I swear this beast has radar for finding goretex. If it's got space-age insulation in it, that cat is on top of it. Or under it. Fucker.
---
Otherwise, nothing going on. Ran out of all my pain medication about a week ago, so things have been pretty crappy. But I saw a new doctor this morning and should be feeling better soon. Cheerful blogging to resume shortly. (I'm sorry, I didn't ask for the medication that leads to crazy blog posts. Maybe next time. Or maybe not. Haha. I think you guys were the only ones who still liked me after that last round.)
---
I did take some photos of the Goober coloring the other day. I love watching her; for four-year-olds, coloring is a contact sport, with rolling around and sound effects and crayons arguing with each other.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The 1920s in fashion.
This is the one everyone's been waiting for, I think. I've saved bunches of photos for all of you, mostly from Vintage Textile, the Kyoto Costume Institute (they are amazing), and the Life photo archives. I tried to label them so you could tell where they came from, and put dates on the ones who had them. You can find that info by putting your cursor over the photo and looking at the 'name' of it. Things unlabeled are most likely from Vintage Textile... I've got archives going back a decade of clothes I like, and at first I was sloppy about labels. Whoops.
As with the 1910s, fashion in the 1920s reflected what was going on, socially. The 1920s, more than anything, were about rebellion. Women chopped their hair (though, looking at the archives, I think a good percentage of women KNEW they looked better with long hair and left it that way; good for them), chopped their dresses, and went out and partied. Ostensibly they were celebrating the end of World War One, but personally, I think it was more an attempt to forget the horror of it (the casualty figures make my hair stand on end, just looking at them). After that, yeah, I'd be having a drink and a dance, too.
In the US, prohibition kicked in, in 1919. The general populace answered that with bootlegged booze and bathtub gin. Outlaws were popular heroes, the mob was thriving on the illegal sale of alcohol, and, well. Sociologists have written book upon book about the 1920s and why they were a hunormous party. To me, as I've studied it, it never seems like it was a party for sheer joy, it was a desperate attempt to ignore reality. It didn't work, and reality kicked their asses when the stock market collapsed in 1929.
But while the party lasted, they wore some amazing clothes.
Day wear was waistless, and mostly fitted like a sack. Yes, the first picture is listed as day wear. I'm a little skeptical myself, but Life says it's day wear. Look at her hair.
This kind of thing is really difficult to wear well, as the Life magazine photos show. Heck, even the mannequins look like they have no figure, and they're supposedly PERFECT. For all that the evening clothes were awesome, it takes someone built like a fourteen year old boy (or a fashion model) to really carry them. At least, the loose ones.
Knits as real clothes (rather than underwear or blue-collar work clothing) started to become popular; some of these dresses are made of jersey (tee shirt material).
Some of these dresses, while having a below-waist gather, are fitted enough that they would suit someone with a figure.
For the most part, though, they're very difficult to wear if you're working around figure flaws (and aren't we all?)
On the other hand, if you stayed up all night doing the Charleston and drinking bad booze, you'd likely be on the thin side.
A fascinating variety of evening gown became popular in the 1920s, and still is. The solid-colored 'slip' with a beaded or lace (or both) overdress. In most cases, the underdress is lost, but the overdress remains. Keep in mind when looking at them, the slip would have usually been in a analogous color and tailored to fit the wearer as closely as possible.
This is a clever way to dress. You can wash the daylights out of the slip, get a new one, whatever, and the beaded overdress is fine. The ancient Egyptians did something like this, with beads and plaiting over plain linen.
Chanel started up in this era (many of these clothes are her work), and she's the one who single-handedly introduced the idea of black as evening wear. Black was probably THE go-to color for the decade, if a woman wanted to look sophisticated. Metallics and beads were also popular, in part because they were available to the masses at affordable prices for the first time. (Just like the lace explosion of the Victorian era, when they first developed machine-made lace and women swathed themselves in it.)
And since I know you guys were psyched about seeing the 1920s clothes, here's the more of what I've got in my archives. There's a lot, because I love these clothes, too. Enjoy.
As with the 1910s, fashion in the 1920s reflected what was going on, socially. The 1920s, more than anything, were about rebellion. Women chopped their hair (though, looking at the archives, I think a good percentage of women KNEW they looked better with long hair and left it that way; good for them), chopped their dresses, and went out and partied. Ostensibly they were celebrating the end of World War One, but personally, I think it was more an attempt to forget the horror of it (the casualty figures make my hair stand on end, just looking at them). After that, yeah, I'd be having a drink and a dance, too.
In the US, prohibition kicked in, in 1919. The general populace answered that with bootlegged booze and bathtub gin. Outlaws were popular heroes, the mob was thriving on the illegal sale of alcohol, and, well. Sociologists have written book upon book about the 1920s and why they were a hunormous party. To me, as I've studied it, it never seems like it was a party for sheer joy, it was a desperate attempt to ignore reality. It didn't work, and reality kicked their asses when the stock market collapsed in 1929.
But while the party lasted, they wore some amazing clothes.
Day wear was waistless, and mostly fitted like a sack. Yes, the first picture is listed as day wear. I'm a little skeptical myself, but Life says it's day wear. Look at her hair.
This kind of thing is really difficult to wear well, as the Life magazine photos show. Heck, even the mannequins look like they have no figure, and they're supposedly PERFECT. For all that the evening clothes were awesome, it takes someone built like a fourteen year old boy (or a fashion model) to really carry them. At least, the loose ones.
Knits as real clothes (rather than underwear or blue-collar work clothing) started to become popular; some of these dresses are made of jersey (tee shirt material).
Some of these dresses, while having a below-waist gather, are fitted enough that they would suit someone with a figure.
For the most part, though, they're very difficult to wear if you're working around figure flaws (and aren't we all?)
On the other hand, if you stayed up all night doing the Charleston and drinking bad booze, you'd likely be on the thin side.
A fascinating variety of evening gown became popular in the 1920s, and still is. The solid-colored 'slip' with a beaded or lace (or both) overdress. In most cases, the underdress is lost, but the overdress remains. Keep in mind when looking at them, the slip would have usually been in a analogous color and tailored to fit the wearer as closely as possible.
This is a clever way to dress. You can wash the daylights out of the slip, get a new one, whatever, and the beaded overdress is fine. The ancient Egyptians did something like this, with beads and plaiting over plain linen.
Chanel started up in this era (many of these clothes are her work), and she's the one who single-handedly introduced the idea of black as evening wear. Black was probably THE go-to color for the decade, if a woman wanted to look sophisticated. Metallics and beads were also popular, in part because they were available to the masses at affordable prices for the first time. (Just like the lace explosion of the Victorian era, when they first developed machine-made lace and women swathed themselves in it.)
And since I know you guys were psyched about seeing the 1920s clothes, here's the more of what I've got in my archives. There's a lot, because I love these clothes, too. Enjoy.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Classic Pittsburgh.
I came home from the library today, and standing in the parking lot, I could hear screaming coming out of the upper floor of our apartment building. I stopped, listening, to try and figure out if it was kids screwing around, or really noisy sex, or a domestic disturbance. My first reaction was 'domestic disturbance', and I'm not normally paranoid - that's really what it sounded like. Turned out it wasn't any of those things.
They were watching the Steelers game.
Giant sports bar. The entire city. Not joking. (They lost to the Bengals. I assume that's what the screaming was about.)
The husbeast informs me that at work today (he's discovering the joy of overtime - not something he got in the Navy) every single radio in the plant had the game on. And as he put it, "it's a big plant!"
They were watching the Steelers game.
Giant sports bar. The entire city. Not joking. (They lost to the Bengals. I assume that's what the screaming was about.)
The husbeast informs me that at work today (he's discovering the joy of overtime - not something he got in the Navy) every single radio in the plant had the game on. And as he put it, "it's a big plant!"
Friday, November 13, 2009
A major event. And, uh, HELP!!!
I have used up a ball of yarn. Oh, sure, that doesn't sound very eventful, but let me specify. It was one of THESE balls of yarn:
From Bendigo Woolen Mills. 200g, 580m per ball. (In Imperial, that's roughly 7oz and 630 yards. So a half pound plus ball of yarn from hell. Well. Australia.)
That ball and another in cream combined to produce a large gauge swatch (about 10x12in or 25x30cm) and this much of a sweater:
The sweater is 52inches/132cm around, and you can see where my fingers hook in, I'm up past the arm pits and steeking the arm holes.
That's one hell of a ball of wool.
So, anyway, the Christmas knitting is coming along. Here's the snag:
HELP HELP HELP!!!
I need some black wool felt to do the neck with. About one yard should do this sweater and the two others I hope to do the same way. See, traditionally there's embroidery done on wool felt, and then sewn into the neck placket:
Image from here. Holy cow, check out what turns up on a tag search for 'embroidery' at Ravelry. Astounding.) I intend to do more of a henley neck line, not a cardigan. But you get the idea.
I know where to get the pewter clasps. I'm 90% sure I'm up to the embroidery and have most of what I need to do that (and know where to get the rest). But the actual fabric? No idea. I need medium-weight black felted wool. If I get desperate I'll knit a big swag of stockinette and felt it, or go with some heavy black cotton twill, but I'd far rather use the traditional material.
HELP!!! (You can e-mail me at SamuraiKnitterATgmailDOTcom, or just leave a comment. Thanks.)
From Bendigo Woolen Mills. 200g, 580m per ball. (In Imperial, that's roughly 7oz and 630 yards. So a half pound plus ball of yarn from hell. Well. Australia.)
That ball and another in cream combined to produce a large gauge swatch (about 10x12in or 25x30cm) and this much of a sweater:
The sweater is 52inches/132cm around, and you can see where my fingers hook in, I'm up past the arm pits and steeking the arm holes.
That's one hell of a ball of wool.
So, anyway, the Christmas knitting is coming along. Here's the snag:
HELP HELP HELP!!!
I need some black wool felt to do the neck with. About one yard should do this sweater and the two others I hope to do the same way. See, traditionally there's embroidery done on wool felt, and then sewn into the neck placket:
Image from here. Holy cow, check out what turns up on a tag search for 'embroidery' at Ravelry. Astounding.) I intend to do more of a henley neck line, not a cardigan. But you get the idea.
I know where to get the pewter clasps. I'm 90% sure I'm up to the embroidery and have most of what I need to do that (and know where to get the rest). But the actual fabric? No idea. I need medium-weight black felted wool. If I get desperate I'll knit a big swag of stockinette and felt it, or go with some heavy black cotton twill, but I'd far rather use the traditional material.
HELP!!! (You can e-mail me at SamuraiKnitterATgmailDOTcom, or just leave a comment. Thanks.)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The hat.
Since we've been discussing hats in the comments, I'll throw out a few thoughts.
I think it was a fashion accessory as much as anything. Grab a purse, clap a hat on your head. As Roxie pointed out, it also gave women a way to deal with hair they only washed every week or so. But even after women bobbed their hair in the twenties and started washing it more, they wore hats. I think it was all about looking good. We ditched hats at about the same time we ditched bras, in the sixties/seventies. I think that movement was all about dumping unneeded clothing; we ditched gloves then, too. I think it's possible we got carried away and ditched some clothing that, while not necessary, was really pretty and nice and flattering.
Remember how I do antique-style ribbon floral stuff? Over at Vintage Textile, they've got a hat from the 1910s (same era as yesterday's post) that is an amazing example of what a creative person can do with some organza, ribbon, pipe cleaners, wire, and a needle and thread. I saved all the available photos of it, for inspiration.
Maybe I'll start wearing a hat...
I think it was a fashion accessory as much as anything. Grab a purse, clap a hat on your head. As Roxie pointed out, it also gave women a way to deal with hair they only washed every week or so. But even after women bobbed their hair in the twenties and started washing it more, they wore hats. I think it was all about looking good. We ditched hats at about the same time we ditched bras, in the sixties/seventies. I think that movement was all about dumping unneeded clothing; we ditched gloves then, too. I think it's possible we got carried away and ditched some clothing that, while not necessary, was really pretty and nice and flattering.
Remember how I do antique-style ribbon floral stuff? Over at Vintage Textile, they've got a hat from the 1910s (same era as yesterday's post) that is an amazing example of what a creative person can do with some organza, ribbon, pipe cleaners, wire, and a needle and thread. I saved all the available photos of it, for inspiration.
Maybe I'll start wearing a hat...
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The 1910s in fashion.
In the nineteen teens, the silhouette of what women wore looked a lot like this:
Fashion historians are always going on about what was happening socially defined what people wore. Sometimes they're full of it, but in this case, they were spot on.
Women were fighting for the right to vote here in the US, and getting more liberated all over the world. Check out these suffragists:
Sure, I'm a fashion geek, but whenever I think "right to vote", I think of these clothes. These were what the stylish, independent, badass woman was wearing in the 1910s. (They were independent, but never thought to take off their hats... I wonder if that was a style concern, or a social one?)
One of the first things these independent, badass women did was ditch the corset. Since women had been wearing corsets for a century, no one was quite sure how to dress. Remember our old buddy Poiret? He was one of the first to jump on the no corset idea, and he did a better job of it than most:
Fortuny also worked in this era, giving the world the Delphos gown and loose jackets and capes:
But really, other than a few skilled designers, the bulk of women's clothing in this era was very obviously in transition, between the ruffles and fluff of the 1900s and the sleek glitz of the 1920s. Everyone seemed paranoid at the idea of someone getting a glimpse of an uncorseted breast or waist, and so they layered like crazy. No one's quite sure, but most historians think the bra didn't get invented until the 1920s, so this era was underlined (haha) but a lack of what we think of as proper undergarments. I guess this is kind of how we still dress, when not wearing a bra and worried about stray jiggles. (Don't we?)
Occasionally, you run across something sleeker and slimmer, but I suspect the sleek evening dresses had stays and boning sewn into the dress itself instead of a corset. Not much of a change, except in terminology. (We still do that. I've sewn stays into evening gowns, myself, when making them. These days we use plastic, but we're still using engineering to strap ourselves in.)
Remember, many of the women wearing these dresses were the same ones who'd been wearing corsets in the 1900s. If they grew up wearing corsets, they would have had small waists even after they took the corsets off.
And since we're enjoying the clothes, here are some coats from the same era:
Fashion historians are always going on about what was happening socially defined what people wore. Sometimes they're full of it, but in this case, they were spot on.
Women were fighting for the right to vote here in the US, and getting more liberated all over the world. Check out these suffragists:
Sure, I'm a fashion geek, but whenever I think "right to vote", I think of these clothes. These were what the stylish, independent, badass woman was wearing in the 1910s. (They were independent, but never thought to take off their hats... I wonder if that was a style concern, or a social one?)
One of the first things these independent, badass women did was ditch the corset. Since women had been wearing corsets for a century, no one was quite sure how to dress. Remember our old buddy Poiret? He was one of the first to jump on the no corset idea, and he did a better job of it than most:
Fortuny also worked in this era, giving the world the Delphos gown and loose jackets and capes:
But really, other than a few skilled designers, the bulk of women's clothing in this era was very obviously in transition, between the ruffles and fluff of the 1900s and the sleek glitz of the 1920s. Everyone seemed paranoid at the idea of someone getting a glimpse of an uncorseted breast or waist, and so they layered like crazy. No one's quite sure, but most historians think the bra didn't get invented until the 1920s, so this era was underlined (haha) but a lack of what we think of as proper undergarments. I guess this is kind of how we still dress, when not wearing a bra and worried about stray jiggles. (Don't we?)
Occasionally, you run across something sleeker and slimmer, but I suspect the sleek evening dresses had stays and boning sewn into the dress itself instead of a corset. Not much of a change, except in terminology. (We still do that. I've sewn stays into evening gowns, myself, when making them. These days we use plastic, but we're still using engineering to strap ourselves in.)
Remember, many of the women wearing these dresses were the same ones who'd been wearing corsets in the 1900s. If they grew up wearing corsets, they would have had small waists even after they took the corsets off.
And since we're enjoying the clothes, here are some coats from the same era:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
