viva italia

Little LF feature in Italian Glamour (Nov/Dec 07). For the rest of the article, click here.

evintage Blog Tag - Spring!

Time for the eVintage Blog Tag ! I was tagged by Figure8 Studio

This Blog Tag theme is Spring . . . la-la-la -

1) WHATS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF SPRING VINTAGE WEAR IN YOUR INVENTORY?
This one stood out as my current favorite and unfortunately it was a bit too tight on the waist for me otherwise I'd make it part of my own Spring wardrobe. It's one of 8 Nelly Don dresses that I got in a load of vintage last week.



2) WHY IS IT YOUR FAVORITE?
I love it because of the print. It has very pretty pastel but bright shades of pink, chartreuse, blue and lavender. Plus it's a nice diagonal weave cotton. Lightweight, pretty and perfect for Spring.

3) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPRING FLOWER?
I love hydrangeas, especially blue-green ones. I am already planning on planting several hydrangeas in the new flower beds at the shore this Spring. The ones that I planted a few years ago bloomed fabulously last year and I can't wait to see them in bloom this year.

4) FAVORITE MEMORY OF SPRING?
My parents bought our house in April of 1982 and every Spring since then, April means that it's time to clean, repair and paint at the shore house. Not that cleaning, repairing and painting is fun, it's just come to mean that Summer is coming soon.

5) WHEN DOES SPRING ARRIVE WHERE YOU LIVE?
Not soon enough! I always know that Spring is coming when the trailers start pulling into the park in Strathmere!

6) MOST EXCITING SPRING FASHION TREND?
Cute 1950s cotton Day Dresses, of course!


Made a polyvore of the pretty dress too -





Follow the tag on over to the Vintage Bulletin

The "W.E.I.O." Challenge

Well folks, expect to see a lot more photographic eye-candy and hopefully more interesting post matter in the near future because I've had an epiphany. While sitting in the bathtub the other day, an idea so grand that I was nearly inclined to look for a light bulb popping on above my noggin struck me. What is said idea, you ask? Allow me to elaborate:

I have a lot of clothes. As often as I go through my plethora of wearables and try to weed out some of the lesser worn articles, I still can't help but remark that I have managed to collect, for lack of a better word, quite a collection. Even worse, I still don't feel like I have enough. Sad, but true.

Worse than that even, is the fact that nine times out of ten, I take forever and a day to get ready to go anywhere. Why, you ask? Because I can't find a thing to wear. Much to my chagrin (and even more so to Dean's), on those days I usually end up putting on the same old tried and true t-shirt and jeans. Bor-ing. (Not to mention I always make a mess of the rejected outfits in the process.) So I have devised a plan to put an end to this endlessly annoying habit. Without further ado:

The "Wear Everything I Own" Challenge (W.E.I.O.)

Yes ladies and gents, I'm going to attempt to wear every article of clothing I own. (Not at the same time sillies.) Never again will I be able to say "Oh, I like that, but I've never worn it/rarely wear it."

Basically, the purpose of the challenge is to:

• force me to incorporate articles of clothing that I never/rarely wear into an outfit I like.
• help me to be a little more creative and bold with my ensembles.
• break me of my indecisiveness when getting dressed.
• motivate me to appreciate and utilize what I already have, instead of constantly wishing I had more.

The rules and guidelines of my challenge:

1. Make a list of all articles of clothing. This includes:
• every pair of pants.
• every top.
• every dress.
• every skirt.
• every pair of shoes.
• every piece of jewelery.
• all miscellaneous accessories (tights, leggings, scarves, hats, etc).

2. Each day, create a new outfit incorporating a new article of clothing, then check off said article of clothing on the list. Basic items, like tights, basic tees, and other accessories can be used more than once, but not excessively. The point of the challenge is to break away from the habit of wearing "favorites" all the time.

3. Most importantly, do not take more than one hour to get dressed and ready to walk out the door. And have a good attitude about it as well. The words "I look like crap" shall not escape my lips!

4. Take a picture of the daily ensemble to post.

Finally, it would be spectacular to have others join me in my quest! If you're interested in joining in on the W.E.I.O. challenge, grab a badge, and repost this if you'd like! I'd love to share your pictures, as well as mine, as we delve excitedly into fun project!





<br/><a href='http://thehappyhippie.blogspot.com/2007/09/weio-challenge.html'><img src='http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1232/1356337798_acf8de3607_o.jpg'/></a><br/>




<br/><a href='http://thehappyhippie.blogspot.com/2007/09/weio-challenge.html'><img src='http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1314/1355445999_d2379ff85b_o.jpg'/></a><br/>

More WTF-ness

I really must be getting a bit of a rep for the 'WTF' fabrics. I've only ever expressed my love for the 'WTF' type fabrics here once and yet some clever people are quick to pick it up.

Kelles who owns Indie Cult Vintage (no, I've not been paid by her to talk her up.... I genuinely like her wares and her attitude if anyone is interested...) has probably checked out the blog a few times at most, yet was smart enough to pick up my 'WTF'-liking vibes and so yesterday, a vibrant bit of floral fell out of a USPS packet. I mean 'vibrant' in the very BIG sense of the word.... all pinks, purples and blues and boldly shaped flowers (again, a colour combo I only very recently explored... gosh... people are ever so observant...).

The loud-as-you-can print on a simply shaped open tunic surprisingly works over a multitude of outfits from my naturally instinctive 'chee sin mui'* ensembles (excuse the English-Canto but it is the perfect phrase that sums up the outfit....) to simpler combinations. Granted the print itself isn't actually all that crazy and it is in a decent heavy matt linen fabric, but somehow the colours jostling and clashing with each other give off a 'loud' effect that only 'chee sin mui's like me love...

*Chee sin mui means 'crazy girl' but the Cantonese sounds better to me as an expression of the above...

Madewell Is Made Well, But Why Bother?

The clothes almost seem to be an afterthought in the Madewell store at Broadway and Broome in Soho (which is apparently also called "Madewell 1937," although the "1937" part is nowhere to be found in the store, as far as I can tell). The store is literally jammed full of stuff that is supposed to evoke a certain lifestyle, I suppose. One of repose and leisure, where people drink lemonade and lie about in hammocks. Or maybe it's meant to evoke the year 1937. But the latter doesn't really make sense because many Americans were still crawling out from under the Great Depression and the New Deal was in full swing. But alas, I digress...

Amongst all these carefully curated props and paraphernalia are, apparently, what J. Crew considers to be clothing for a younger crowd, though if you didn't know any better, you would probably think you had just stepped into some sort of alterna-J.Crew store anyway.

All the usual trappings are there: cropped skinny jeans in Crayola-box colors (yay! boo!); row upon row of "basic" tees and tanks for $24.50 and $16.50, respectively (yawn - how many of these can a person have?); colorful displays (a wall of scarves covered the entire spectrum of visible light, I believe); mannequins grouped together as if they might come alive and play a game of cricket (just look left and see what I mean); a multiplicity of sales associates dressed almost identically and - for the most part - too busy recounting last night's party to ask you if you need anything; oh, and, chic little dressing rooms in the middle of the store with nothing but flimsy cotton curtains separating you and the shopping public. Is it so bad to have doors on dressing rooms anymore? Apparently Gen-Y likes the possibility of the curtain flying open at any moment.

And as you can tell from the picture, the clothes aren't very interesting or different from anything you'd find at J. Crew, Hollister (Abercrombie & Fitch's li'l cousin), and - on the lower end - even American Eagle (which is just a couple blocks north on Broadway). I kept asking myself, Why does this store exist? Who needs these clothes? What's unique about Madewell?

And the answer I came up with was that no one really needs Madewell clothes, just like no one really needs J. Crew. These stores serve as safe places to shop for those who are less adventuresome with their sartorial choices. It's one-stop retail: underwear, outerwear, casual, work (although to a lesser extent at Madewell, which is mostly weekend wear), and even shoes. But the shoes are cute here, and much better made and less expensive than their J. Crew counterparts. My friend nearly purchased the sandals at right, which were all leather and priced at $95. They even look like something Prada did a few seasons back. Why they're in front of a log, though, I'm not sure.

Well, gee, what to do with Madewell. My recommendation: go on a Saturday night. Like all good Soho retailers, they've incorporated music into their store, in the form of a DJ Booth. Yep, a DJ Booth. It's all white and modern looking and choc-a-bloc with vintage vinyl and apparently a DJ spins on Saturday nights only. So even if the clothes don't do anything for you, you'll get to shop to some funky tunes.

I really like that DJ booth. Are the records for sale? They're probably the only thing I'd buy...



Pssst! My review of A.P.C. Surplus and a final recap of NYC is coming on Thursday. Stay tuned!

Goodwill’s fashion blog provides detailed knowledge and insight on vintage and contemporary clothing and accessories that are valuable to fashion shoppers. The facts and opinions shared present readers with entertaining, exciting and value based information on vintage and contemporary fashion and shopping trends.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

I get a lot of email now from people who are new to sewing, and who want (for some reason) my advice. Just last week I got a very kind email from Elizabeth, who wanted me to help her choose between two patterns.

Now, usually, my advice is just to buy both, to avoid regret, but I went and looked at her pattern choices. Her choice B was unremarkable (and a little difficult for a first project) but her choice A ... I fell in love.

If her choice A had been in a romantic comedy, I would have been in the role of matchmaker, and this would have been the perfect guy ... who then asked to be set up with my best friend. Hijinks would ensue.

But, I hear you asking, how lovely WAS choice A? Here, you tell me:


Now, giving advice to newbies is a sacred trust, and even though the dress was up for auction on eBay, I couldn't go and snipe it! That wouldn't be sporting! So I appeal to you all -- does anyone have a copy of this for sale? B36, by preference?

At least I am consoled by the thought that one new sewist is going to have a very happy first dress!

Top 20 Hilarious Child Star Screw Ups

Fame has a funny way of lifting you up and then dropping you on your head. Just ask these former child stars who lived the high life for several years before succumbing to the darker side of life. Whether it be drugs, alcohol, porn, or all of the above, here are some of the more prominent child star mess ups in history.

1. Jodie Sweetin: As a child actress, Jodie Sweetin got her start in hot dog commercials, but she is best known for playing the comedic role of Stephanie Tanner on the popular sitcom Full House in the early 1990s. As the middle child, Sweetin’s character was always finding dramatic ways to get attention. Turns out this insecurity extended to Sweetin’s real life, as well. After completing high school and marrying a L.A. police officer at the age of 20, Sweetin found herself unemployed and bored. To combat her boredom, Sweetin turned to crystal meth and soon wound up addicted and using the drug daily. When the word got out about Sweetin’s troubles, her former cast mates were there in a jiff. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Bob Saget, and John Stamos, among others, banded together to stage an intervention, and Sweetin checked herself into Promises treatment center in Malibu. After six weeks of treatment, Sweetin checked out. She’s been clean since 2006. Now on her second marriage, Sweetin recently gave birth to her first child.


2. Brad Renfro: Brad Renfro grew up as a regular kid in Knoxville, Tennessee, raised by his grandmother, a church secretary. A casting director hired onto the movie The Client, a film adaptation of the John Grisham novel, discovered him while scouting in the south. Though new to acting, Renfro nailed the part opposite Susan Sarandon and Hollywood executives came calling. Renfro nabbed other high-profile roles alongside Brad Pitt, Ian McKellan and Winona Ryder. But his dysfunctional childhood haunted Renfro throughout his life, and his adolescence and young adulthood was riddled with drug and alcohol abuse. In 2005 and 2006, Renfro was arrested for possession of heroin and in 2007 he was sent to a court-ordered rehab center for violating probation. Despite the treatment, Renfro continued to use and in January 2008 he was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment, the result of a drug overdose.


3. Corey Haim: Corey Haim was a big deal in the 1980s, and was considered one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors. He starred in several blockbuster films, like Lucas and The Lost Boys. While riding the highs of fame, Haim drifted toward drugs, a habit that he continued well after his popularity had died down. Haim admitted that he started drinking and smoking pot on the set of The Lost Boys, and said that soon after he was doing cocaine and then moved to crack. To help take the edge off of the strong uppers, Haim took Valium at night and was soon addicted to that pill. He’s quoted as having said, “One led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day - the doctors could not believe I was taking that much. And that was just the valium - I'm not talking about the other pills I went through.” Haim tried rehab several times to no avail, but suffering a stroke finally prompted him to give up drugs. Now, Haim says he’s drug free. In 2007, he and fellow washed-up child star Corey Feldman starred in a fictional-reality TV show together, called The Two Coreys.


4. Danny Bonaduce: As a child, Danny Bonaduce was a big deal. He shot to fame on the legendary show The Partridge Family, on which he portrayed the smart-aleck son in a musical family. He started that role at the age of 10, but by his late teens the show had ended and Bonaduce began a wandering lifestyle, starring in bit roles and delving heavily into drugs and alcohol. Bonaduce struggled with addiction for many years. He was arrested for suspicion of cocaine possession in both 1985 and 1990 and has been to rehab in 2001 and 2005. He wrote an autobiography about his crazy ways and in 2005 signed on to do a VH1 reality show called Breaking Bonaduce, which chronicled his attempts to stay sober. He relapsed during the show, and it’s since been canceled.


5. Mackenzie Phillips: Mackenzie Phillips is the daughter of John Phillips from The Mamas and the Papas. According to reports, Phillips stared doing LSD and smoking pot when she was only 12. Her parents apparently turned a blind eye to the drug use and even encouraged it, allegedly teaching her to shoot up. Phillips had a role in the landmark movie American Graffiti before landing the role that made her a household name as Julie Cooper on One Day at a Time. During that period, Mackenzie get deep into her drug and alcohol addiction and often showed up to work drunk and stoned. In 1980, she was fired from the show for her addiction issues. Though hired back the next year, she was fired again in 1983, again because of her substance abuse. Phillips went to rehab seven times throughout the next ten years before finally sobering up in 1992. Today, she still works as an actress and spreads her message about the importance of sobriety.


6. Lindsay Lohan: Though she started out as a child model, Lindsay Lohan got her big Hollywood break at the age of 11, nabbing the lead role in the remake of The Parent Trap. From there she continued to get wholesome roles in movies like Freaky Friday and Herbie: Fully Loaded. But her private life was not so chaste. Lohan led a highly publicized life of partying for years before the craziness caught up to her. In a short period of time she was almost fired from the set of Georgia Rule for not showing up due to hangovers, caught by the paparazzi passed out mouth-agape in the front seat of a friend’s car, and arrested for a DUI. Lohan checked into rehab in 2007, but went back after a relapse. According to her father, she was treated for an addiction to alcohol and oxycontin. She’s also been known to use cocaine. Now Lohan is still filming movies and trying to work her way back into Hollywood’s top circles after her addictions had almost blacklisted her any possible hires. She is reportedly sober.


7. Leif Garrett: Leif Garrett started working in show business at the ripe age of 5, starring in multiple TV shows, including The Odd Couple, throughout the 1970s. In 1976, Garrett took a stab at music, releasing a hugely popular self-titled album, from which many songs made the Top 100 singles lists. He was a popular teen heartthrob in the 1970s and 1980s, but today his appearance is a telltale sign of years of heavy drug and alcohol abuse. Garrett’s struggles with addiction first came to surface in 1979 when he crashed his car while drunk on alcohol and Quaaludes. The accident paralyzed his best friend Roland Winkler, who was a passenger. The accident also marked the descent of Garrett’s career and his descent into substance use. Garrett became a notorious heroin and cocaine user and has been arrested for possession of the two substances at least five times, also racking up legal problems from other issues. Garrett tried getting clean a number of times, including in 1999 when he invited the media to film one of his hospital detox sessions. It didn’t work and in 2005 Garrett was arrested for possession of cocaine; in 2006, he was arrested again for possession of heroin. He was ordered to treatment, which he did not complete. Despite making token appearances on TV reality shows, Garrett has no real acting career at the moment and it is unclear if he is still using drugs.


8. Dana Plato: Starring as Kimberly Drummond on the hit sitcom Different Strokes from 1978 to 1984, Dana Plato was the picture of the all-American teenager. But after the show, and subsequently her career, ended, Plato turned to drugs and a life of crime. In 1991, Plato went on a drug fueled trip to a Las Vegas video store, where she robbed the clerk. She was arrested and said the incident led her to seek help for her addictions to drugs and alcohol. However, in 1992 she was again arrested for forging a prescription for Valium. While she maintained in public that she had been clean and sober since then, in 1999 Plato was found dead at her fiance’s parents’ house in Oklahoma. The cause of death was an overdose of prescription medications. Plato was 34 and left behind a 14 year old son.


9. Macaulay Culkin: Ranking No. 2 in VH1’s list of “100 Greatest Kid Stars” is Macaulay Culkin, best known for his roles in Home Alone and Richie Rich. But Culkin is also known for having grown up in a dysfunctional family. His parents had a widely publicized custody battle in 1995, and Culkin is estranged from his father who he accuses of mismanaging his income. In 2004, Culkin was arrested in Oklahoma City for possession of marijuana and prescription pills, for which he had no prescription. He pled guilty to the charges, and while he has admitted to trying lots of drugs and smoking pot occasionally, he says that he doesn’t have a problem. Culkin continues to act today in movies. Most recently, he starred in the movie Sex and Breakfast along with Eliza Dushku and Kuno Becker.


10. Todd Bridges: Another alum of the sitcom Different Strokes, Bridges, like his costar Dana Plato, had his fair share of problems after leaving the show. His legal troubles began while he was still acting in 1983 when he was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm. In 1987, he was arrested for threatening a local car dealership with a bomb and then in 1989 he was arrested for armed robbery after an incident where he pulled a gun on his mechanic in an attempt to take his car from the shop without paying the bill. In 1989, though, Bridges was arrested on his most serious charge of attempted murder. He shot an alleged crack dealer eight times following a dispute in an L.A. crackhouse. He was acquitted from those charges, but was soon racking up more legal woes, including a 1993 arrest for drug and weapon possessions and a 1997 arrest for assault and battery. After this last transgression, Bridges turned to Christ and has since been active with the Trinity Broadcast Network. Since 2000, Bridges has made a host of appearances on celebrity reality shows, including The Surreal Life, Celebrity Boxing, Skating with Celebrities, and Fear Factor.


11. Edward Furlong: Fans first got their glimpse of Edward Furlong when he starred in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, as John Connor, at the age of 13. He also had a role in the high profile movie American History X, alongside Edward Norton. But growing up in Hollywood had a negative effect on Furlong, who has admittedly struggled with cocaine and heroin addictions over the years. In 2000, he checked himself into rehab and completed the program, but in 2004 he was arrested in a highly publicized incident when he drunkenly tried to release, or free, lobsters from a tank at a grocery store in Kentucky, and acting bizarre when the cops arrived on the scene. In 2006, though, Furlong married Rachael Bella, with whom he has a son. He says that he’s been sober since 2002.


12. Haley Joel Osment: This forever-boyish looking actor got his big break in the hit M. Night Shamalyn film The Sixth Sense, in which he uttered his famous line, “I see dead people.” He was 11 at the time and the role earned him an Oscar nomination. But in 2006, Osment was charged with a DUI and possession of marijuana after crashing his car into a black pillar after a night of partying. He was 18 at the time, making the charges against him more severe. He received probation and was sentenced to attend alcohol counseling and alcoholic anonymous meetings. He has since kept a low profile in the media, and most of his income these days is generated from doing voiceover work for different video game characters.


13. Tracey Gold: Tracey Gold’s first acting job came at the age of 4 when she was cast in a Pepsi commercial. Appearing in a few different canceled television shows afterward, Gold finally landed the role that put her on the map in 1985. She was cast as Carol Seaver on Growing Pains. Life seemed grand for awhile until Gold’s insecurities got the best of her. In 1988, Gold began ruthlessly dieting, and starving herself. This continued for several years and in 1991 she was cut from the show due to her gaunt appearance. Gold went on to recover from her anorexia, got married and had three children. But in 2004, she was arrested for driving under the influence after a car accident that injured her husband and two of her three children. While one suffered a broken clavicle and head lacerations, Gold’s newborn infant, who was also in the car, escaped unscathed. Gold has since gone on Oprah to talk about the incident.


14. Scott Schwartz: Whether this is a mess-up or a well-calculated financial move is a subjective call. Scott Scwartz is best known for playing the cute, pole-licking kid in the classic 1983 film A Christmas Story. But when his mainstream acting career began to fizzle, Schwartz turned to the sex industry. In the 1990s, Schwartz starred in over 20 X-rated films, and even won an award for one of his better roles. While Schwartz did turn to the sleazier side of the industry, however, he tried to do so with class, accepting mostly “non-sex” roles. In 2000, he left the porn industry to return to legitimate filmmaking.


15. Adam Rich: Adam Rich made his name starring on the hit 1970s TV show Eight is Enough playing the cute role of Nicholas Bradford. As he grew older, however, his cuteness began to fade and Rich turned to hard drugs for comfort, using cocaine, morphine, alcohol and hallucinogenics on a regular basis. He has said that he began smoking marijuana at the age of 12. Rich suffered a severe overdose in 1989 and has been arrested several times in the 1980s and 1990s for possession of drugs. His most publicized arrest occurred in 1991 when Rich smashed the window of a pharmacy in a robbery attempt. Almost as soon as he had made bail for that incident, he was arrested again for shoplifting. His run-ins with the law died down in the 1990s, and his career never picked up. Most recently, though, both arenas had a little action. In 2003, Rich had a role in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. That same year he was arrested for driving under the influence after running into a police car.


16. Britney Spears: We all know the saga that is Britney Spears’ life. Getting her start at an early age on The Mickey Mouse Club, Spears has been going through one of the more public drug-fueled downfalls in entertainment history. Her crazy and erratic behavior has been catalogued by a devoted following of paparazzi and some tattle-tale bodyguards. Spears shaved her own head in a drug-crazed moment in L.A. when she literally walked into someone’s beauty salon, picked up the shears and started clipping away. She ran in her underwear into the ocean, has been spotted sans underwear in a plethora of public appearances, and has been taken from her home in an ambulance after barricading herself in her bathroom with her toddler son. As a result of all this, Spears has lost custody of her children, has been to rehab more than once, and has been committed to a mental ward. Currently, she is still struggling to get better and deal with her mental illness.


17. Drew Barrymore: Drew Barrymore was 11 months old when she appeared in her first commercial. Six years later she landed a role in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster hit E.T. and became an overnight star. Soon after, Barrymore was partying in NYC clubs until all hours of the morning at the age of 10. Her struggles with substance abuse came and went at a very early age. According to her biography, Little Girl Lost, Barrymore had her first drink at age 9, smoked marijuana at age 10, and did cocaine at 12. Though her mother sent her to rehab, Barrymore relapsed, ran away from home, and then slit her wrists at the age of 13. Her mother sent her to rehab again and the second time it stuck. Today, Barrymore is still a major figure on the Hollywood scene. She consistently lands roles in popular movies and is part owner of a production company.


18. Corey Feldman: Just like his buddy Corey Haim, Feldman enjoyed a booming childhood acting career, starring alongside Haim in The Lost Boys and landing roles in films like The Goonies, Stand by Me, Gremlins and License to Drive (though he got his start in a McDonald’s commercial). But in the late 1980s, Feldman, like Haim, struggled with drug addiction to cocaine and heroin. While Feldman’s foray into the world of illicit substances was shorter lived, it was just as public. In 1990, he was arrested for possession of heroin and cocaine. He went into rehab shortly after and has been clean and sober since the early 1990s. Today, Feldman is married with one child and still acting, though more so in B-roles. He most recently appeared in a fictional-reality show with Corey Haim called The Two Coreys on A&E and was previously on The Surreal Life.


19. Mischa Barton: You know her as Marissa Cooper from The O.C., but Mischa Barton actually got her start acting in Off Broadway shows at the age of 9, starring first in a Tony Kushner play. She moved to TV playing a character on All My Children and then landing roles in other TV drama series. After Barton left The O.C., she landed some lucrative modeling contracts, representing Bebe and other A-list brands. But she proved she wasn’t perfect in 2007 when she was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of narcotics and marijuana. She pleaded no contest to the charges.


20. Keisha Knight Pulliam: Best known as Rudy from The Cosby Show, Keisha Knight Pulliam is said to have picked up a nasty cocaine habit while she was a student at Spelman College. She allegedly started the drug to lose weight, but got hooked. While sources say Pulliam did more than dabble with the substance, Pulliam has never gone public about any drug addictions. Today Pulliam still “dabbles” in show business and has modeled for a lingerie spread in Black Men magazine and appeared in a Chingy music video.

Project Runway - Yeah Christian! (It's over, now what?)

Yeah Christian! I'm glad that he won and I hope that we see more of him than we do of previous Project Runway winners. Tonight's final runway was the best of the 4 seasons. Every outfit that came down the runway from each designer was interesting - whether you liked it or not - I wanted a closer look at each item. I had to get out of bed and sit on the floor right in front of the tv to get a closer look as each collection came down the runway. Christian received the most applause, at least 5 of his outfits received applause as they came down the runway and they had guest judge fembot Victoria Posh wiggling in her seat and whispering in Michael Kor's ear. The outfits were just striking and I really like the look of the 3rd outfit above, very dramatic, outrageous, over the top, only wearable by someone like Posh, but fabulous.


Rami's collection was really nice too and for a brief second I thought he had a chance of winning when the judges said they were finally seeing the Rami that they wanted to see. The judges pointed out Rami's trouble with colors and I have to agree, some of the colors were odd. The gowns above were my favorites. The first had a satin basketweave on the side of the bodice that turned into an amazing drape down the side. The gold dress had a nice Old Hollwood look to it. The 3rd dress was made from 1930s lace and it had a gold shimmer as it came down the runway, the bottom had a very striking movement as it came down the runway. I can imagine Rami's gowns being worn on red carpet's in the near future.


Meow, kitty sees you! Doesn't that look like cat eyes on the bust of that first dress? I still really liked Jillian's collection too. I thought Jillian's pieces were more wearable for the semi-average gal. The riding helmets that some of the models wore were distracting, but the clothing was very nice and I see Jillian doing well with her own line too. The judges complaint was that the collection was too mixed, but I thought she was just showing her range.

At the beginning of this season, I kept feeling that something was missing from the show. Looking back at the season now, I think it was one of the best. It was focused more on the fashion than on the personalities, which is a good thing. In the past, the show had alot of focus on fighting, backstabbing and wacko people. If it weren't for Christian & Chris, this would have been a dull lot of designers, they added fun. Elisa had a wacky personality, but it was a sweet, likeable personality and I was interested in her designs. Unlike Vincent who was a true annoying wacko who was drug along in the competition for drama. Christian's early confidence seemed like arrogance, but it grew on you and it wasn't offensive or as biting as Santino was in his early episodes. Christian really grew on me, much earlier than Santino finally did.
I think the challenges were great this year too, faves being the Hershey challenge, the Wrestling babes, the NJ Prom Girls, the Weight Loss gals, the Avant Garde challenge and the Art challenge. During promos at the beginning of the season, Heidi and Tim both said this was the most talented group of designers, and at the end, I have to agree. They really turned out some amazing pieces this year. But now it's all over. I can't wait for the next season!


Some great dishy reading -
Tim gives a great interview about the show and dishes a little about Victorya -
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2008/03/project-runways.html
Wonder why she was so grumpy at the reunion show? She thought the time limits on the challenges were faked for tv and was mad through the duration of her stay on the show because they didn't have more time to work on their clothing. Show accused the producers of giving more money to some of the designers to spend at Mood Fabric, and actually has Tim count out the money in all the envelopes in front of her. Plus I still don't get her attitude about Jack leaving, she thinks it was a set-up.
Victorya responds to Tim's comments over at Blogging Project Runway -
http://bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com/2008/03/victorya-responds.html
She basically disses and dismisses his qualifications to be a mentor for the designers. Can you say Bitter? How about Sore Loser?

LOTS of great stuff from the RunGay Guys - http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/
First check out all of their great photos from the Project Runway finale party and read the great dish. Also watch Jillian's 2 exit interviews, meow! She get's a little catty and questions whether Pos was a fair judge or not. I have to agree. I think someone with a wider range of an opinion/knowledge of fashion should have been a judge. Her comments about a lady in an orange dress and shoes being the judge is funny.
PLUS Jillain won the 'It's Sew Not Over Challenge' on Bravo's website (Yeah! I voted for her) so she gets the 10K prize.

How Not To Respond To Criticism

Has everyone heard about the Butterick 6015/St. Louis Fashion week kerfuffle by now? If not, I will give you a precis.

-- St. Louis recently had a Fashion Week. (They sent me the release and a gazillion large jpgs. I don't really cover fashion shows, so I didn't post about it.)
-- A blogger (who asked me not to use her name) did look at the photos, and noticed right away that one of the dresses was line-for-line a copy of Butterick 6015, aka the Walkaway Dress. See it here?




-- The blogger tries to find out who the designer was that submitted such an iconic dress to a fashion show.
-- She finds the designer, Ashley Dayley, and talks with her. Ms. Dayley doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with just making a dress from a vintage pattern and submitting it to a show.
-- She posts all this on her blog. In her post, she gives Ms. Dayley the benefit of the doubt, calling her "young" and "enthusiastic".

Now here's where the story gets interesting -- the last three comments on that blog, before the post was taken down, were from anonymous "friends" of the "designer", calling the blogger out for posting about this. They were so nasty that the blogger took down the post.

Dumb. Don't those "friends" know (or doesn't the "designer" know) that the best and ONLY thing to do when you've done something dumb is to take your lumps and own up? Why not say "I didn't know?" Why not say "I won't do it again?" Why not say (as hard as it is, through gritted teeth) "Thanks for letting me know?"

Instead they decided to wear their matching "I'm a Bully" t-shirts (which are probably pink, with sequins) and harass the person who had the temerity to call them on their misdeeds. The commenters, if they are the designer's friends, were just making her look MORE clueless. (If they're her enemies, they're doing a stand-up job.)

Now, I'm not saying that fashion doesn't tolerate knockoffs. (Victor Costa, anyone?) But a fashion show, especially one that was put on to feature "independent designers" is not the place for knockoffs; it's the place for original work.

The best part is the commenters saying that the original blogger didn't have the right to post the pictures of the show. So ... let me get this straight: she can't post images that were widely distributed to bloggers just for that purpose, but "designers" can knock off old patterns and that's just fine?

The best way to fix this would be for Ms. Dayley to issue a formal letter of apology to the show's organizers and post it somewhere public online. Then at least the first hit for her might show her doing something thoughtful and grown-up instead of something clueless.

[On a happier note, Marge of Born Too Late Vintage is turning 49, and is offering 50% off shipping on all items in her store to US and international customers from April 18 up to and including April 24th. On everything: patterns, clothes, accessories ... Use the code "49 and holding."]

Indiepublic

There's a very interesting community called Indiepublic.
Denise @ Psychedelicat told me about it.

From the Indiepublic website - Indiepublic is an independent art and design community. If you're an artist, designer, retailer, blogger, or just someone who gets giddy when they buy indie, we've saved a seat for you!
So of course, I had to check it out and set up a profile. http://www.indiepublic.com/profile/DandelionVintage

Day 1 of W.E.I.O.

If it weren't for the fact that I really like this outfit and I'm jonesing to get going on the W.E.I.O. challenge, I wouldn't have even bothered to upload this pic. I waited too long to take it and had to do so indoors, hence the bad lighting.

vintage button-up: thrifted
sweater vest: thrifted
skinny jeans: Target
slip-on argyle sneakers: Payless
vinyl bag: thrifted

I bought the sweater vest (or as Dean calls it, my "swest") a few months ago, but until yesterday it was too hot to wear it. It actually ended up being a tad too toasty indoors for the "swest," but I toughed it out. The weather is supposed to be cooling off quite soon, I couldn't be more thrilled. My fall wardrobe has been itching to come out of hiding. :]

I'm a Beautifully Pastelled Cyborg Part Une

It has to be said that I haven't yet seen 'I'm a Cyborg, But That's Ok' directed by Chan-Wook Park and apologies if you have already seen it as I gather it has been released around the world at various stages. However, surfing over at I'm a Cyborg's cutie cute pop-up book site and reading about the film has me salivating over the visual feast that I'll get when I do see it (hopefully tonight). Thus there will be not one, but two posts dedicate to the pastel visions that Park has dreamed up and created for these two characters to inhabit. Obviously as I haven't seen the film, I can only go by the delightful screenshots but already I can see that the interiors of the psychedlic psychiatric ward are ripe for transplanting onto clothes...

Part Une presents the pastel treats that are out and about on the web right now, and trust me that this was only a small selection of the mass of pastel out there... and Part Deux will explore my own pastel treats POST-film seeing, when my head will surely be immersed into the world of Young Goon, the girl who think she's a Cyborg...

Topshop, Net a Porter (NAP), La Garconne (LG), Soup & Fish, Creatures of Comfort (CC), eLuxury, Luisa Viaroma (LV), Brittique, Nina & Lola