Project Runway Style

Last night on Project Runway, designer Louise Black stated that she found inspiration in vintage fashion. We've seen this before, most notably in designer Kenley Collins. Kenley, as you may remember, was faulted for her continued use of vintage inspiration in terms of cut and construction. Despite her attitude both on and off the show, it's hard not to appreciate someone who can wear fascinators with style and put together color combinations like this:

But enough about Kenley. I'm not ready to commit to Louise yet as my favorite designer of this season. She didn't nail the ball out of the park, so to speak, on her first attempt on the show, but it was a pretty strong entry.

You can see a 1930s influence with the dress and Louise certainly picked the right fabric and color. It certainly is a pretty dress if not an award winner. In fact, if you're interested, you can bid for the dress here.

Lifetime also provides a series of interview with their contestants. Here's Louise talking about her thoughts on the first competition.


I can't say if Louise will be the winner or not, but I am looking forward to seeing how she'll take on the next challenges.

True Blood Costuming

I've made no secret of my love for the HBO series True Blood. As a longtime reader of the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris, I was eager for the show to start last year. In fact, the only reason I have HBO is because of the show. Now that I live close to home, I wait until my mom can come over to see it before watching the next episode. Given this, I don't feel like I can always offer up to the minute fashion reporting on the series. But I'm still here, watching and coveting (the clothes, the clothes, I swear!)

Last season, my post on Sookie's fabulous halter dress has proven to be one of the most searched and visited portions of this blog. In fact, most posts have asked about finding the exact dress which I would love to help with but can't. Despite my love for the show, it's been awhile since I've checked in with everyone about the fashion in it. The costumer for the show is Audrey Fisher and this month True-Blood.net (a fansite for the show) interviewed her about her choices for the show and her sources. The radio show takes awhile to warm up, in fact Audrey's interview doesn't start until 20 minutes in. For those interested in fashion, the wait is worthwhile. Audrey talks about her career path and what it's like to style a show with a wide range of characters, particualry one like True Blood that has present and past time.

Audrey shares her styling secrets for the show. She reveals that for most characters, she buys clothing from Kmart, Kohls, and JcPenny. She wanted to keep the clothing choices appropriate to the financial resources of the characters and their access to stores. As someone who lives in quite a rural area, I appreciate her concern for keeping this relatively accurate. She also states that she bends the rules for Sookie a bit. As those of us who watch the show know, Sookie's clothing has a vintage flair. Audrey reveals she does create a lot of custom pieces for Sookie and shops vintage stores for items that suit her. That's why in most cases we can covet her clothing, but we may not be able to find it in the stores. I expect to keeping using Sookie's outfits for inspiration though: her cute floral sweaters, her adorable sundresses.

With that, I'll leave you with some great True Blood outfits and ask you, my dear readers, if you have any favorite outfits from the show. Link to them if you can!

Bellatrix Lestrange as fashion inspiration?

Bellatrix Lestrange, evil-doer, mayhem maker, Harry Potter harasser, but fashion inspiration? Bellatrix herself would surely say nay, that is before she attacked you just for the fun of it. As many evil doing women, Bellatrix is clothed in all black with leather and lace. A take on the "witch" icon we're so accustomed to, even new-comers to the Harry Potter books or films can easily recognize Bellatrix as a force to be reconed with for our dear hero.

Despite what I believe are somewhat narrowly focused forays into wardobing for evil characters, there is something inherently alluring by the idea of an ideal evil character outfit. Helena Bonham Carter, whom I adore, is frequently cast in madcap sinister female roles. She plays these characters faultlessly and inhabits the essence of who they are. But what if you're an average fashion lover who wants to translate this idea into your wardrobe without looking like you flew through the air to pounce on the unsuspecting good guys?

Today, I bring you something that Bellatrix may wear that you can tone down a notch (or not) for your own daily outfit needs:

1930s crepe and crochet lace dress. Available at Posh Vintage for $525.


1920s black lace evening gown. Available at Woodland Farms Vintage for $245.

1980s lace gloves. Available at The Urban Collection for $16.

1980s leather and studs thigh high boots. Available at The Urban Collection for $122.

Sterling silver ring constructed from an antique Gorham Silver Bridal Flower spoon. Available at Etsy seller spoonsmith for $80.

A little throat clearing

Dear blog readers,
Please excuse my absence. I had not meant to be gone for such a long time. In the last nine months I have:

Moved across the country:

(this is a photo I took somewhere in another state, somewhere along the drive)

Got a new job:

(one that allows me to occasionally wear 1950s frocks)

Bought a new house:

(picture taken before we bought it so the lawn ornamentation is not ours. The house was built from a kit in 1915 and has been in the same family until we purchased it. You'll be seeing more of this in the future)

Planned a wedding:

(wedding to be held September 12th in a field with flowers much like these)

In these past nine months I haven't written any poems or blog posts, haven't slept much, failed to keep in touch with those dearest to me, and neglected to spend enough time with my demanding felines. But dear readers, I'm back having newly implemented a sleep routine where I get at least 7 hours of shut-eye a night. Vintage world, I'm here.

Moving: Day 1

Today, Arizona, New Mexico, and into Texas. All I have to show for it is 759 miles covered and 10 blurry photographs.

Quick update

It's official, in a week I'll be moving across the country and back to New York. On such short notice, the packing has been out of control. I manage to do a lot each day, but it doesn't seem to put a dent in the amount of things I have to sort through. I've packed up fifteen boxes of books, sorted through my clothes and shoes, tagged items to donate, called movers, tried to get my car fixed, and got a haircut in just the last few days. I'm extremely excited by this move, I think it will be good for us to see family more often and to get away from the city. I think we're both happiest wandering around in the woods and lazing around in fields. That will have to wait until the summer, for now we'll have to content ourselves with making snow angels and building snow people. I'm excited for hot chocolate and warm blankets and resurrecting my vintage coat collection.

Given that this move is rather rushed, posting on this blog will be rather sporadic. Hopefully I can get some more in before I start driving back, but looking around at the state of my apartment I can't make any promises. For now, I'll just leave some photos of my new haircut. I'm in the process of growing it out and my fabulous hair stylist and friend cut it so that the layers will grow out more evenly. I absolutely love it, but then I love every style he's given me. Maybe now that I'm not cringing at the state of my hair I'll actually post more outfit photos.

Oh and on an additional note, that's a vintage embroidered shirt from the 1970s.