Orange Romper

Thank you Jeanne Garvey.  Jeanne Garvey is a wonderful collector of interesting bits, which she makes into intriguing shadow boxes or anything else her fertile imagination concocts.  I bought this sweet one of a vanity with an older woman's face in the mirror at ArtHop this year. 

Jeanne recently moved  from Massachusetts, where she had a barn full of stuff, to Brookland, where there are not any barns.  She has been destashing, and I have been the fortunate recipient of her largess.  One of the items I picked up was this remarkable vintage shorts romper. 

I love it.  It reminds me of a wonderfully silly time when James Bond would dress like this:

(from funniest book EVER Museum of Kitschy Stitches)

  And crafty people thought this was a good idea: 

















And yet, tragically, we each need to learn from our own mistakes, and I want to wear this.  How should it be styled?  I presented the challenge to several creative women over drinks at Jackie's, and damn! if the orange romper isn't a gift that keeps on giving!  I got haikus, fanciful drawings, and fashion tips I never would have thought of.  Here are a few of the excellent tips:

"Annie Hall-esque floppy hat"

"Amy Winehouse hair and eyes" 

"nice push-up bra" &

"80's brooch-  mix it up!"

Finally, I was lucky enough to get this drawing from artist extraordinaire, Rose Jaffe :

You know I would buy those shoes if I could find them.   Thank you so much, ladies.  I love your creativity.  We'll end with one of the romper haikus and the Wallace Stevens poem it brings to mind. (And remember for great current poetry go to Lines and Stars !)

Orange Romper

Keep it as it is.
Wear high black boots with zippers
And a long necklace.

Gray Room

Although you sit in a room that is gray,
Except for the silver
Of the straw-paper,
And pick
At your pale white gown;
Or lift one of the green beads
Of your necklace,
To let it fall;
Or gaze at your green fan
Printed with the red branches of a red willow;
Or, with one finger,
Move the leaf in the bowl--
The leaf that has fallen from the branches of the forsythia
Beside you...
What is all this?
I know how furiously your heart is beating.

Beat the Heat!

I have to rave about a particular Etsy shop that features organic cotton clothing-- Grateful Threads. I bought this jumpsuit there:

White Tara Jumpsuit $165

It is probably best for people who can go braless (A/B/C-cups?), but I would be interested in hearing from people with other builds about whether they would wear this style.  I thought it was an ingeniously flattering design in a fabric that's comfy and not so thin as to show every pantyline and lump.  And it comes in loads of nice colors.  I got a teal one.  It was really well made, and has gone through the washer and dryer beautifully.  The first time I wore it, I got two spontaneous compliments on the street.  Thank you,  Grateful Threads.

Why is organic cotton good?  Traditionally-grown cotton uses a huge amount of water, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.  Organically grown cotton addresses the pesticide and fertilizer problems.  For more about this visit the World Wildlife Fund's monograph on organic cotton or Google "organic cotton."

Ah, neckties...

Ah, neckties-- that wonderful playground of men's fashion.  I was told that they were a derivation of the codpiece.  Look down.

This story seemed plausible because the current shape is so phallic, but this was not borne out by research.  While people have tied things around their necks for millennia,

Terracotta Warriors from Tomb of Chinese Emperor Qin Shih-Huang, 221 BC

...the European fascination with brightly colored cloth about the neck stems from the Croatian military uniform of the mid 17th century.  Courtiers of Louis XIV admired the red tie and the cravat was born. 

Because ties are colorful, durable and ubiquitous, they are also a favorite material of upcyclers.  There is, of course, the by now iconic ascot from Ginger Root Design (OK-- iconic among DC indie fashionistas) 

See more by Erin Derge and Kristen Swenson at www.gingerrootdesign.com 

Here are some other uses I've come across:  Johnnie Gins, a wonderful local textile artist sells these woven wall-hangings at Waygoose Redux in Bethesda (http://www.thewaygoose.com/):

She has a really lovely color-sense.

Kristina Bilonick gives new life to ties by silkscreening her own designs on them:



Woman Cyclist, Nails and Magician ties





See more at her Georgia Avenue shop and at http://pleasantplainsworkshop.com/

I came across Yanina Angelina and her many tie creations at Artomatic.  She sells her works on-line at http://untietled.com/  Here's a sample:

I, for some reason, like to burn holes in ties.

And here's an excellent T-shirt from the Performing Arts Training Studio (www.performingartstrainingstudio.com) that I revamped with a tie:

When your life no longer fits, change it.

 That could serve as the upcyclers motto.  Here are a few more from Etsy:

www.etsy.com/shop/glamarita

www.etsy.com/shop/cliodana



www.etsy.com/shop/RogueCityKillers

 Let me know of any more re-uses you've liked. 

Reuse AND Recyle

Just a quick post:  I like REUSEIT.com.  Not only do they have lots of handy products like purse-size shopping bags, reusable lunch sacks and the like, but many of the products are made from recycled plastic.  And the prices are good.  And they have a simple website and speedy service.  S'all good.  I buy a couple of their lunch bags every school year.  These are only $6.97 each now on sale:

It is really much earlier than I want to be thinking about back to school, but I thought you should know about their summer sale.  See coupon code below.



That's all.  Stay cool!

More Seersucker

My friend Bethany is a breath of fresh air.  She's enormously creative, a free spirit, and naturally hospitable.  The Seersucker Social is a perfect day for her to shine, and I'm so grateful she took me along for the ride, so to speak (For more on the event see my previous post or go to http://dandiesandquaintrelles.com/).  Beforehand, we had a great time at Value Village poring over seersucker possibilities.  Bethany got a fetching lime green suit, which she made even better with a petticoat from Polly Sue's Vintage Shop (http://www.pollysues.com/) and her own wonderful accessories and wedding shoes.   Here she is enjoying the gorgeous day among the ample froof that is Hillwood Mansion. 

 And here is Bethany's friend, Jared with his daughter.  

Two things that are sure to make me smile: spiffy men and little girls in sundresses.

The whole day was a lighthearted romp.  It was a hoot to see everyone's take on the theme.  My favorite was the woman who turned a crocheted daisy baby blanket into a strapless belted mini.  I think there was double-sided tape involved.  Once again someone raved about the vintage store, Treasury (http://shoptreasury.com/), so I know a visit is in my future.

The day is a great day for sustainable fashion and for creativity.  It's basically a vintage event, with most people evoking a Jazz Age sensibility.  I  took a different tack so I could sport a Saint Chic organic cotton seersucker suit that I have loved since I saw it at CarbonDC over a year ago.  (www.saintchic.com/products/seersuckers )

The pants fit like a dream, and the cropped jacket I got is reversible.  I wore them with an American Apparel  organic cotton tank top: 

and this excellent harness made from upcycled bike inner tubes. (www.etsy.com/shop/craesnyderindustries )  

The Seer sucker Social is a cycling event after all.

As I did for my Artomatic installation, I made it a personal challenge to be completely sustainably decked out.  The shoes were from Value Village, and the bracelets and clutch second-hand and gifts (thanks Lisa, Laurette and Martha)

Oh! I also wore some white recycled glass earrings from YB Green (http://ybgreen.bigcartel.com/).  

I got mine at the EcoArt&Design pop-up expo (http://www.benevolentmedia.org/ecodepot/), but I think Yasmin Bowers also sells her things at Ginger Root Design on U Street.  (www.gingerrootdesign.com )  Here I am together with my lovely pal, Erin.

She wears a hat well.  I'm not looking very vintage, but I had fun improvising with the theme.   By the way!  Brandon  Bloch's video about last year's Seersucker Social is utterly delightful.  It gives a great sense of what a lighthearted day it is.  So well done!  Check it out at http://vimeo.com/12874042

'hope to see you next year!

Bill Cunningham of Beijing

I'm in Beijing.  I have seen a lot of wonderful clothes.  From the Chinese designers in the Beijing editions of Vogue and Harpers to the stunning silk updates of classic Chinese silhouettes in the 798 art district.  Today I had lunch with two very sophisticated international women who were wearing gorgeous outfits.  Here's Xu Ting in Etro  (http://www.etro.com/ )

and Miao Lu in a lovely crimped silk dress. 

I am particularly taken by the street fashion, however.  Bless the Chinese;  they started the ball rolling by randomly asking my husband to pose for photos with them in front of the Forbidden City.  This let me know that anyone who caught my fancy was fair game as well.  I could thoroughly enjoy a life as the Bill Cunningham of Beijing.  (If you have not seen the documentary about this NYTimes street fashion photographer, I highly recommend it.  http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/billcunninghamnewyork/)  The clothing in this free-wheeling Asian capital is far more whimsical and daring than in DC.  Start with the parasol, for example.  I think it takes some feminine chutzpah to carry a parasol.  And women here carry them ruffled, spangled and otherwise thoroughly embellished.  This modern day Jackie O carried an understated one especially well.

This outfit may have been my favorite, but it's hard to choose.  Please feel free to weigh in.

The orange ruched blouse, fluffy leopard skirt, blue tights and mustard shoes seemed an inspired combo.

As did this one on the right with the pink cropped top over striped dress over jeans shorts with tights and turquoise platforms.  She must get her love of clothing from her Mom.  I'll bet that Mao jacket never quite suited her.

This woman, from one of the southern minorities, was wearing a lovely and modest green dress with a raw silk striped apron. Really one can hardly notice the clothes for her smile.

The young woman in the pink capri suit with the touristy hat was utterly adorable.



and speaking of cute.

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The prize for the best-dressed man goes to this gentleman from a foreign delegation.  I was unable to ask where he was from, as speaking Chinese entirely pushed the French out of my head.  If you can tell from the fabric, please help.


When I was teaching in China in the 80's one of my students, after seeing my slides of DC, asked, "Why are all the buildings white?"  Surely we do not have quite the Chinese love of bold color and pattern mixing.  I must say I have been influenced by the Chinese, though.  Below is the upcycled peacock cheong sam/qi pao I made for an Oscar party:

But I was also influenced by the Icelandic/Macedonian singer/designer team of Bjork and
Marjan Pejoski:

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world no?  Katy Kincade signing off from Beijing.

Seersucker Primer

For those of you who love vintage and dressing up, the Seersucker Social is June 9th.  It's a bike ride.  It's a social scene.  It's a fundraiser.  And it ends at Hillwood Mansion with croquet and cocktails.
For the best intro watch Brandon Bloch's lighthearted video at http://dandiesandquaintrelles.com/

Some of my Takoma Park friends were having an e-mail conversation politely asking, "WTF?" which is a fair question.  One speculated that there were leeches involved, so I wrote this primer, which I am reprinting here:

Seersucker is a lightweight striped cotton that was originally used for men's suits in hot, formal places like the South:

Think of it as a chance to see nattily dressed men, which is a rarity here in the People's Republic of Takoma Park.

Yes,perhaps it can be intimidating, or just fun.  People don't take themselves too seriously, I think.  Here's a pic from 2010

Having fun is really the key.  You can go anywhere (or nowhere) with seersucker.  Isaac Mizrahi is coming out with wedding gowns that incorporate gingham.

And here are other stripey things that would be fine, I think.

As with so much in life, anything goes ladies.