Design Inspiration for My First Home

I accumulated all of these images over the last six months. You see, I knew this is how I wanted to live. I needed to find a place that would allow me to fulfill that dream. I may not have the little bungalow of my childhood dreams, but I could do whatever I wanted within these walls. Goal: Create a bungalow in a two-story condo.

These images incorporate my love of green, my father's basket and bamboo collections, mid-century chairs and general vibe, natural wood tones, eclectic artwork, quirky details, and painted furniture.

Dream Green DIY

hannahbullivant.com

Cupcakes and Cashmere

Desire to Inspire

Domino magazine

My own room photo

Mystery image from the web

midcenturymaurer.com

www.beaninloveblog.com

www.beaninloveblog.com

Let's go!

This May Be The Lavender Dress Of My Dreams

In an earlier post, I wrote how I was having a craving for a lavender or periwinkle blue dress.  Some time after that I saw a video of a Florence + the Machine performance where Florence wore the most beautiful and expertly fitted dress in a very similar color.  The dress had a very strong 1930's feel which made it all the better in my mind.


Florence + the Machine, MTV's Unplugged, December 2011.


I could not find any identifying information for who designed the dress but after some research (perhaps too much time was devoted to this task...) I believe this dress to be a Valentino from the 2011 collections, because 1) Florence has worn Valentino before and had attended the 2011 Pre-fall collection as an invited guest and 2) the style and coloring matches that of items within that same Valentino collection.  I hate the fact that I can't find any confirmation of this.  Almost all of her other performance outfits are sourced somewhere on the Web but not this one.  Arggh.  Why is there no "What Florence Wore" site when there is one for Emma from Glee?

This is the only picture I could find to get an idea of the skirt's sweep.  It reveals a slight train in the back with the fullness flowing down from a form-fitting silhouette at waist and hips.

This picture reveals the many seam lines of the dress.  There are four tucks released right underneath the bust; two to each side, that shape the waist and then meet another seam coming from atop the hip bone that leads down and meet directly in the middle of the body. 

The flutter sleeves, clearly referencing the 1930-40's emphasis on the shoulders, are layered atop one another with the upper tier larger in width and placed nearer the dress center than the lower one.  Both seem to be placed in order to droop down the arm rather than hang level or extend out (see below).

This picture reveals how the sleeves seem to be ruched at the top, perhaps even smocked at the shoulder, resembling epaulets which is reminiscent of the 1940s military-influenced styles.  The bodice is then fashioned with a simple bateau neckline.



Looking through my files and pins of 1930's dresses I found a few images that incorporate similar sleeves:

National Recovery Administration patterns from 1933-35.



I am also aware of two FREE patterns that could be used to create the body portion of the dress.  However, for practicality and more opportunities to wear I would hem this dress just under the knee or at mid-calf length for period authenticity. The Your Style Rocks' Eva pattern would look lovely in a silk stretch jersey, crepe, or charmeuse and so would the Vera Venus Little Bias Dress made up in a silky woven placed on the bias.

Photos By: PictureGroup

Fashion in Film: Laura Petrie - The Dresses!

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966)
Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore
Costume Design: Harald Johnson, Marge Makau

Not to be forgotten, but when you talk about the influence of Laura Petrie's wardrobe on me, you also have to consider the dresses that she wore. Her suits on the other hand were very traditional and somewhat reminiscent of the Queen of England's choices. Seriously. Boxy and not cute.

Except for this one:

Daytime.

Let's start with her day dresses, which she wore to school functions, lunch with Millie, or whenever she ventured out in her neighborhood of New Rochelle

Notice how they both have the same silhouette, jewel neck, sleeveless, an almost bell-shaped skirt and a defined waistline. No embellishments. The second dress is a little more dressy and has a clever overlay skirt lined in a contrasting color and is worn with a three-string pearl necklace.

Cocktail and Evening Wear.

I couldn't find a full-length picture of this dress. I love the mixture of different fabrics, which look to me like a matte satin and brocade for the lower bodice section. I believe you would call that a portrait neckline, although a bit more angular? To me, the dress resembles my mother's wedding dress but I know it's not the dress Laura wore to wed because these were taken in their home, see the paneled door?

Another lovely white (or pale colored) dress. This one seems to be made of a brocade satin that is lightly beaded and has a few hanging strands of beads. The skirt is made of chiffon and again the dress has a very defined waistband.

Now this one, believe it or not, is for cocktail parties though it definitely has a boudoir feeling to it, some of which can be attributed to her pose. The satin hostess gown worn over the metallic brocade pants and shining evening shoes is amazing and automatically makes me think of Auntie Mame. This is not a sweet Laura Petrie, this is Naughty Laura!

This one is definitely for a black/white-tie event. From the intensity of the black, I believe the skirt is velvet and the bodice with three-quarter length sleeves is made of a drapey embossed fabric. There also seems to be some sort of reinforced cummerbund constructed under the bust.

VA-VA-Voom

Another out-on-the-town gown, this time in a patterned silk. This style is very reminiscent of an Alfred Shaheen gown. It is shocking how exposed it is for her character, it is not typical.

Yeah, this is more like it!

Laura in a sweet filmy see-through peignoir for looking adorable when Rob comes to bed.

Yes, except for the last piece, I would love to have every item of clothing in this post!

Wouldn't you?

Images: LauraPetrie675 photobucket jpegs. Thanks!

Fashion In Film: Want To Dress Like Laura Petrie?

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966)
Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore
Costume Design: Harald Johnson, Marge Makau

I mean, have you seen the show lately? Almost everything she wore on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966) could be worn today. Lovely, flattering, classic shapes and styles. I was searching for a picture of her in the capri pants (which turned out to be cigarette pants instead) and I discovered an amazing source of saved jpegs from the show, all saved on photobucket by LauraPetrie675 here.

Yes, a collection of 366 screenshots!!

Laura Petrie is well known for her cigarette pants, which caused a sensation, housewives nationwide were soon wearing them:





I covet her simple tops with their subtle details or optical patterns. She rarely wore shirts with buttons and I believe these were pullovers or fastened in the back.

What do you think about this, doesn't this top look like it could be a Pierre Cardin knock-off?

LauraPetrie675 is also working on another album of general 60s fashion which already includes images of Mad Men, Emma Pillsbury, Ali McGraw and I Dream of Jeanie.

Thank you, oh thank you, LauraPetrie675!

Coming up...the dresses!

Bravo, Royal Wedding Guest!

Oh, mystery lady* invited to the Prussian royal wedding last week? Your style is impeccable. Loving the outfit, especially the rocking lace-covered red dress. Also your fascinator is quite pretty and tasteful. Good job!

*No mystery really, she's Countess Tamara von Nayhauss but I've just never heard of her before.

Fashion In Film: South Riding (2011)

Director: Diarmuid Lawrence
Anna Maxwell Martin, David Morrissey
Costume Design: Stephanie Collie

After the sumptuousness of Upstairs and the practicality of the Downstairs costumes, BBC One and Masterpiece Theater Classics is now sharing with us a wardrobe somewhere in between; that of a school headmistress in fictional South Riding, Yorkshire in 1935. Which just happens to be my favorite period in clothing! I'll not only be watching it for the clothes but also because the drama, based on the novel South Riding by Winifred Holtby, has been adapted by the wonderful Andrew Davies (Sense & Sensibility, Little Dorrit, Bleak House.)

The costumes are by Stephanie Collie and include a lot of lovely details from the 1920-30s.

See this link for a video on the costumes.

I absolutely adore this delicate blouse (also seen later in teal) I love the barely-attached split sleeves and the diagonal tucks taken in the bodice front. I assume the top is closed by buttons in the back but I'll have to wait to see the film to be sure.

Check out the pieced fabric detail with chevron bars at the end of the lapels.

This dress could be in either a textured velvet or a silk faille, again, I'll have to see it in action to determine which. I love what looks like diamante clips at the shoulders.

Here's another view of that lovely blouse!

Here is the same blouse in a teal or aquamarine blue. You can see the details more clearly. I would love to have multiples of this blouse in my wardrobe. The blouse is technically a raglan cap-sleeve shell but the sleeves are not fully sewn and are only stitched halfway down, as split sleeves. The neckline is finished with self bias binding and a small self-faced rectangle is twisted and tacked to the center neck to form a faux-bow.

New York 2766

Amazingly, on the first page of results for Google search "1930s blouse" I found a vintage pattern, New York 2766 that would closely approximate this blouse. How you can find a copy is another thing, but the sketch does help to see what details you are looking for.

The series started May 1 and will run the next two Sundays, the 8th and 15th of May. Enjoy! First episode can be seen here!!

Images: BBC, screen caps from The Butterfly Balcony