Fur Real and Faux

Shelbee and Nancy are presenting their monthly Good Buy/Goodbye series with the theme Fur next week. They are soliciting outfit photos involving fur items.

I realized I have quite the collection!
I gathered up All Most of the Fur Things.
Put them in a heap, Marie Kondo style.

Mr Lou, my favorite Fur Thing, escaped when the pile got too big.

Assessed my collection!
Do they "spark joy"?
Oh, YES!

Shelbee style, I'm going to show you some "greatest hits" from the past:

2/6/2013

1/26/12

10/23/2013

3/24/2012

11/19/2012

12/9/2011
I gave this one away, it no longer fit.

Here's one particular item of note that I got from my Great Aunt Carol:

A grey cashmere cardigan trimmed with fake fur binding, buttons, and mice.

By some miracle, it has only one tiny moth hole.

It's also too small. Marie would say "take a photo and give it away. I say no.

And a blast from the past from high school:

11/1973
As part of our senior yearbook photo package, we had both informal black and white pictures in a location of our own choosing
and color formal posed "studio" style portraits. Guess who didn't take the studio portion seriously.
Wearing a mink-lined coat that belonged to Cousin Hitch (my paternal grandmother's cousin, I think).
My mom put the coat in fur storage when I moved to CA -- I wonder if it's still there?

Check out the Fur edition of the Good Buy/Goodbye Book.
There will be a new photo of the Big Pink Shawl Rug, as seen in Inglewood.

Linking with
Patti's Visible Monday
Catherine's #shareallLinkup

52 Pick-me-up: Disco Diva

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It's disco week at 52 Pick-me-up.
Here are some divas to inspire you.

And silent disco balls:

Link and boogie!

Flashback Friday and some hats

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I'm in central upstate New York at my mom's. That's our old summer house behind me. It's still closed for the winter. Mom built an all-year house on the same property, closer to the state highway.

I deliberately tried to position myself to mimic this family photo from 1970:

I'm wearing my then favorite button embellished tee and very short suede miniskirt.

"glamor" shot

I've been wearing this outfit a lot lately.

Trying to be a human sundial in Burlington VT. Hard with no sun.
(photo by Persis Worrall)

I found the hat in a Tibetan shop on the Haight in SF a few years ago
Got the #secondhandfirst scarf from Citizen Rosebud's Etsy shop
Got the #secondhandfirst quilted corduroy shirt at Foreign Affair in Providence, RI

Cavorting on the great lawn at the Inn at Shelburne Farms with Annie and Persis

Hats x 3!

Linking up with Style Crone's Hat Attack.
You MUST click over to see her glorious Dior floral chapeau. Puts all those festival floral crowns to shame.
Also linking with Citizen Rosebud's Secondhand First party, since I'm wearing two secondhand items that are first rate!

52 Pick-me-up: Purple Royale

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This week on 52 Pick-me-up, we don Purple, the color of royalty.
Back in 1500 BC [says Wikipedia], purple dye was derived from tiny snails. It took a lot of effort, so only the big-wigs were allowed to wear it. Good thing they got rid of that rule!

You may address me as Queen Anne

I'll admit, I have a purple past.

Here I am back in 1993, my last salaried day at Mattel (I later freelanced), in my purple Leon Max suit, yellow tights, and purple Mary Janes. Hoi and Anita made a mini-me Barbie wearing the same outfit. 

Then, farther back in time, there's the purple maxi (details here):

sorry such a wretched photo
wish I had a larger scan

Have any purple in your closet that you might wear to my party?
Please link up your look!

52 Pick-me-up: 70's Flashback

Are you ready to Shake Your Groove Thing? It's 70s week at 52 Pick-me-up!

My 50's ranch home was remodeled in the 70s. It has lots of "mighty fine" touches, like wood paneling in my office, a weird welcome liquor bar built into what used to be an entry coat closet, and the kitchen -- ALL of the kitchen. Showcasing these areas would require some cleaning -- maybe I'll do it tomorrow... or Sunday...

Meanwhile, I donned my most "awesome" 70s-looking clothing and posed before the banana yellow 70 VW Squareback sculpture. [No, I still haven't put that thing on Craigslist.]

Can any of you ID the LP I'm holding?

Shake it!


ps: Since I'm wearing a hat, I'll be linking up with The Style Crone's new Hat Attack party. The first of the month, every month!

My Personal Punk xPerience

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The reported dilemmas of How to Dress Punk for the Met Costume Ball have elicited some eye rolls and sarcastic snorts over here on planet SpyGirl. So many of the attendees had no clue! They either weren't yet born or ran in a more [cough cough] elevated crowd when Punk reared its ugly head in the 70s.

I never was a punk, just punk-adjacent. Although I lived in Manhattan in 77/78 and went into the city frequently in the early 80s, I never made it to CBGB. I DID sell DIY jewelry on the street as one of my last "jobs" before exiting the city, which is more wannabe-punk. And the fact that I got a street vendor's license negates any possible punk cred.

Surely somewhere there is a chart differentiating New Wave and Punk. I was New Wave. It was happier.

I moved to the greater LA area in the fall of 82. I'd say this this was the Rococo Era on the Punk timeline. The X was friends with one of the Perkins brothers, owners of Perkins Palace in Pasadena. He "helped out" in the concession stand (mostly throwing beers onto the audience) during many a punk show.

Here is my souvenir tee:

"A bill made in hell!
The Cramps with...
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds,
plus Die Schloflosen, Saccharine Trust
Perkins Palace Fri 22 Jun '84"

For your amusement, here are a few NYT links reviewing the Met's exhibition "Punk: Chaos to Couture": 1, 2, 3. [thanks to Ruth!]

Have you seen the show? What do you think?

The Providence Map Sketchbook That Wasn't -- Benefit Street

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I think it was winter of 77, before I moved to NYC, that I stayed with Wendy at her apartment on Benefit Street. I'm fairly sure she lived over Geoff's. In her junior year at RISD, she was heavily into stained glass. I was at loose ends. 

My family, 2/77  MacDuffie School, Springfield, MA

I still have that scarf (I wove it in high school and my mom has a mate to it) and the puffer jacket (studio garb for those rare winter art residencies).

the jacket label

This is the first spread of a sketchbook project that I never got going on. My concept just wasn't doing it for me. The general Sketchbook Project theme was Mysterious Maps [more info]. I intended to draw maps of every place that I lived (or hung out) in Providence, RI with an outfit from the same time frame. It was supposed to be completed and postmarked yesterday. Last Saturday, I got stuck on the third entry -- I couldn't remember what I wore in the late winter of 79 when I lived on Trenton Street. And I was unable to find any photos of me from that particular time.

There is procrastination and having the creative juice to push and get a project finished. Then there are those road blocks that are often indicating the idea is not worth pursuing or that the format isn't quite right yet. I like the idea of mapping where I've lived. But what I'm remembering more strongly is the art I made and the music I listened to. I'll give this idea more time to jell and see what transpires. I'm not giving up, I just haven't figured out the best way to present my memories. Maybe revisit the "Letter to a Place I Lived", which I did for my NYC apartment. That might work -- a scrapbook of letters would be cool, AND FUN TO DO!

We interrupt this post to bring you this bulletin from RoadTrippers:
This Memorial Day weekend, jump into a jalopy and plant your foot on the gas. Wherever you are and whoever you're with. Go somewhere new, go somewhere you love, heck, go where you always go, just experience the freedom of the road, and have fun!
There is nothing to lose on this one, folks. You see, I am really, really terrible with money, and I love road trips so much that I literally want to pay for yours! All you have to do is create your Memorial Day trip on roadtrippers.com and share it on the internets for all to see and marvel at.
So click here and see my virtual Remembering RI Road Trip map.
The more clicks, I might get a prize -- woohoo!

This may be the catalyst to get this project jump started!

Foot Fetish Friday -- Flashback Edition

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Are you ready to go old school? Old school as in high school??
I recently found an old sketchbook, perhaps from sophomore year.
I found these two relics of my shoe past.

Kalsø Earth Shoes

Clarks Treks

Crazy Quilt -- Cotton African Wax Print

Here's another NYC creation. I drafted the sewing pattern from an Afghani tunic that Bina [correction: Wendy] gave me in 1971. Another garment I never felt all that comfortable wearing. Maybe it was too bold.

Haha. "Too bold." I was being a little disingenuous there.

What I DO find interesting is that I have only one patch on the quilt with both the green/yellow/cream motif and the pin dotted brown background. So even while placing patches on the quilt, there was something about the print that made me uncomfortable. File it under "nice to view, not to wear." I have a few textiles that fall into that category.

I got this fabric (along with the qiana in the previous post) at Jerry Brown's, 54 West 57th Street [closed --thank you Aline and Cindy for researching and finding this emporium from our past!]. Not sure if it is authentic African wax print or a stateside interpretation. Here's a link about wax print, a textile with an interesting provenance.

On to the original tunic -- another garment that I wore to shreds.

my senior photo from my 74 yearbook -- no formal portraits for us 70s gals!

I found my "pattern" for it when I was retrieving the quilt.

if you click on these images, you can see/print them bigger

Discoveries like this justify my pack rat tendencies, imho. That and living in a house big enough to hold lots of stuff.

Thus concludes my pages of the Crazy Quilt Dossier, 70's Edition. I'll post a video tomorrow of the entire book along with information about the Art House Sketchbook 2013 tour, which starts in Brooklyn this Friday, 3/1/13, 6-10pm.

I'm a little sad these posts are over, but never fear -- next up is my 79-82 Maps of Providence sketchbook. Maybe SpyGirl with weasel her way into that book too! It's due 5/15. I WILL start working on it SOON. I've had it with my last minute nonsense.

Crazy Quilt - Leopard Print Qiana

CREATED/ PURLOINED/ PURCHASED

Aline discovered the millinery supply places in midtown Manhattan and we both went a little hat crazy. I sold six of these leopard numbers to Fiorucci. They were even displayed in the windows!

WHY didn't I take a photo of that accomplishment? WHY????

I really did swan around the upper east side in retro suits wearing cocktail hats and uncomfortable high heels -- for a few months anyway. Illustrated above is one I swiped from my mom -- a suit from Best & Co that SHE wore when she lived in Manhattan before I was born. I'm sure I wore it when I went to my first designer cattle call with Mauricio, the accessories buyer for Fiorucci. (I remember getting overheated due to my nerves + the wool). I sold him the above mentioned hats and "Reality In a Box" pins (to be discussed at a later date).

Are you too young to know about Fiorucci? Well!
Here's a good overview with some videos.
Then, here's a NY Times article with some history.

HEY!...Hello there!...
Are you back from partying with Klaus?
Are you now proficient at zombie 1978 dance moves?
Are you seriously wishing for a way-back machine?

My Fiorucci tee
I had red sunglasses like this and could be all matchy matchy with my shirt

Finally, here's some intel on Qiana:
 "Qiana is a silky nylon fiber developed in 1962 at the DuPont Experimental Station by Stanley Brooke Speck. The fiber was christened Qiana when introduced by DuPont in 1968" [wikipedia] [oh good grief. NOW I discover I misspelled Qiana in the sketchbook, as you can see up at the top. DOH!]


I am still searching for the slides of me in my hat collection...
I will persevere and find them, I promise.
They are not in the slide box labeled "hats". Most unhelpful.

Crazy Quilt -- Cotton Stripe Percale

This skirt is one of my NYC sewing creations.
It wasn't all that flattering so I didn't hold onto it for too long.

I can clearly "see" myself, standing in my apartment at 108th + Riverside, wearing this. I'm in the doorway of the livingroom/studio. Not sure why this memory is so strong...

The apartment was nice, for Manhattan. One bedroom, ground floor, on the corner with a view of Riverside Park and New Jersey beyond. We had sunlight! And, this is going to make every New Yorker cringe, the rent was $375/mo. Even in 1977, that was cheap.

I wrote a letter to it last year for a Sketchbook Project, the post is here.

Crazy Quilt -- Levi's Cotton Denim

It took me a while to get some Levi's 501s, maybe because "everyone" wore them.
[Once I put them on,] They immediately became my favorite jeans for years.

I wore this combo of a boy's size 14 white crew neck tee with the 501s for my College of Creative Studies (UC Santa Barbara) exhibition announcement. The show was held in my last semester of school -- I quit after Junior Fall quarter to move to NYC with DEF to become a Famous Painter (DEF was going to write the next Great American Novel).

I had a great time posing in different locations around the campus with a CCS folding chair (they had a very specific brown metal folding model with a padded seat). Here follows a little tour of some spots on the UCSB campus with me and my folding chair:

outside CCS art studio

on the side of a building with 5 doors (not CCS bldg)

the outside patio of the cafeteria

by the lagoon

in the Pacific -- love the water skier!

the final show announcement

Crazy Quilt -- Nylon Blend Plaid

I enjoyed sewing dresses even if I had nowhere to wear them.
This one got to shine at my my wedding rehearsal dinner in 79.

I bought the yardage from my Aunt Ricky. In the 70s, she had a home business selling Leiter's Fabrics. Based out of Kansas City, it was kind of like Avon, but for home sewers with a taste for couture fabrics. They had all kinds of fabric -- from basic knit jersey to fancy brocades. I guess they worked out some kind of deal with fabric wholesalers -- one of the fabrics I still haven't cut into is from Fischer and Gentile - not your everyday stock from the local fabric store. (And there was NO local fabric store in Barneveld, NY and the one in Utica is unmemorable).
She got long boxes full of swatch cards organized by fabrication every season and was constantly pulling the cards of yardage that had sold out. I diverted many of them and lots of those swatches went onto the quilt.

I have a worse-for-wear paperback book, Secrets of Creative Tailoring and Finishing, by Leadell Hall with illustrations by Michaele Vollbracht that was published by Leiter's in 1971.
It's still available on Amazon! The internet is a wonderful thing!
Here are some scans from it:

Aren't the illustrations great?
I love the paper bag on the head!
(I kept these 3 last images higher rez, if you want to click on them and read the text)

Back cover
Look how hep (and young) Michaele looks!

Wow, I forgot how good this book is! Helpful, even. Must re-read!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! The timing of this post was totally accidental -- didn't even realize the date until a few days ago. GAH! Featuring a photo from a marriage that didn't last on VD... Oh well, I'll go lounge on the fainting couch and wear my paper bag chapeau and call it a day. Sev's off on the east coast playing gigs. Where are the bon bons?