I could give you any number of reasons why, without warning, I stopped posting on my blog

• My hands fell off and I’ve been busy learning to type with my toes
• My cat ate my laptop
• I was abducted by aliens
• I won the lotto (finally) and I’ve been far to busy shopping at Dior and Vuitton.. pbhhtt

Ok, I’ll just be honest, but its not as interesting as the other 4 options. I just ran out out of things to say. Ha, now, I know that the people that know me, are busy clutching their sides and LOLing all over the place. Moi? Out of things to say? Not likely.

What I mean is, with the closing of the shop and the return to my old ( and less glamorous/interesting) profession as restaurant manager, I had less time on my hands. When not surrounded by the beautiful vintage visuals of my shop, I started losing inspiration and that people is where the problems set in.

I was struggling to get the time to post and when I had it, I had SERIOUS bloggers block. Bleugh. I came up empty, I got annoyed, I ignored the problem. Very Mature. Yes it is, yes it is, yes it is. *she shouts, stamping on the ground and pouting.

So here we are 2 months later. I’m attempting to gather myself and my thoughts  (the few I have) and apologize to those (if any) noticed my absence! As it happens, I am feeling a touch more motivated. I even have a post or 2 planned… wonders will never cease. Maybe I just needed a break….

Either way, apologies again! X

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Then you find out you are not actually adopted and that Loretta was in fact your mother, that she had become pregnant very young to a married man and went away on a ‘vacation’ to hide her pregnancy. After giving birth, she dumped you off at an orphanage for about 2 years and then came back to get you, bringing you home and claiming you were her ‘adopted baby’. Yikes.

Then you proceed to the next question,”who is my dad?” Eventually, rumors start to hit your ears (the ears your mother had pinned back in an operation when you were 7, because they were too big) rumors that your dad is probably Clarke Gable. (Suddenly the ears make sense) You confront your mother about it after giving birth to your first child.  She becomes violently ill and says you are “just a walking mortal sin” Um, yikes again.

So it would seem your dear old mom and daddy Clark had an affair while filming the ‘Call of the Wild’. You were the result of that affair and mom being a devout Catholic, felt she had no choice but to keep you, but resented you for reminding her of the sin she had committed. At this stage dad has been dead for 5 years.

Your name is Judy Lewis and this was your life. Imagine.

Judy, the image of her dad

Mom and Dad and the scene of the crime.... almost

Lewis went on to write a book about her experiences called Uncommon Knowledge.  She was also a successful, actress, producer and therapist. She passed away November 25th.

The book she wrote is no longer being printed or at least thats what I would like to assume, seeing as how the only one on amazon is currently priced at 500 bucks. Holy crap.

Either way, that’s what I call a proper Hollywood scandal.  Not like the muck we get these days, fake Kardashian weddings and Courtney Stodden. Bleugh.

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Born in New York city in 1901, Vera became well known in the 1930′s for her fashionable sportswear designs after she gave up ballet dancing and modeling to pursue a career in making comfortable, wearable clothes.

In 1947, she founded her own label called Vera Maxwell originals and by the 1970′s her clothing was sold in over 700 stores. She was best known for her classic separates and suits. She often used  fabrics  from men’s clothes or different countries, rough Indian silks even camel’s hair. She had the ability to turn these heavy fabrics into something sleek and beautiful.

Her practical clothing was especially appreciated during war times and she even designed several work uniforms for female factory workers, the military and other service industry sectors.

Although her popularity had declined by the late 1970s, she continued to trade until closing the business and retiring in 1985, leaving behind a collection of timeless, classic designs. She has been honored in exhibitions in the Smithsonian and the New York city museum and some of her work is still on display in the met. I fell in love with some of the images I found of her work, my favorite being the grey one, 4th one done! Which ones yours? X

Following the precepts of her idol, Coco Chanel, Mrs. Maxwell devoted herself to making timeless clothes that women could move around in. In 1975, she showed what she called a “speed suit,” which was actually a pull-on dress with a stretch top and no zippers, buttons, snaps or ties. A woman could slip it on in seconds.

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The Shows

In reality, I think the 2 that put up the Best shows in terms of entertainment were (as usual) Vuitton and Chanel. Honestly sometimes you’d forget it’s even supposed to be about clothing. All that  gleaming white (almost like a winter wonderland despite it being a S/S show  )Florence Welch popping out of a giant clam to sing at Chanel and Kate Moss on a carousel at Vuitton. Of course the clothing was gorgeous at both shows, but in truth nothing really stood out and made me say WOW.

The Clothes

Jason Wu. I think I may have mentioned in a previous post, that I am a fan of Jason Wu and his work and it just keeps getting better. I love his use of colors here:  grey, black, pink, chartreuse even!  The different patterns and polka dots the peplums ….I love a good peplum.

Oscar de la Renta

Gaa, sorry this collection left me unable to form full words. It was too gorgeous. I easily could have uploaded all 63 images. While the show itself was slated for its lack of focus, you can’t deny each of the pieces were amazing. The day dresses, the gowns, the high waisted pants. I want. Of course, I dont know what I would do with all the gorgeous gowns as I go no where that requires that level of fabulousness, but that’s not really the point, is it?

After those 2, I stopped looking for any other winners. I had a brief look at Balmain (disappointing and rather like Christophe Decarnin never left) Marc by Marc Jacobs, again disappointing as he is a regular fav( not that I didn’t love the swimwear,which was 1950s fabulous,the rest of it was all just a bit…. meh)  Then there was Luca Luca, which I actually quite liked aside from what appeared to be stripy pajama pants,  and lastly Project Runway winner Christian Siriano, another collection I really enjoyed…

 So in conclusion, I’d like a peplum dress, some gorgeous ballgowns, (neither in chartreuse though, not with my skin tone) a new Marc Jacobs swimsuit, some money to buy them, a place to wear them and a giant carousel in my backyard… Kate Moss not a necessity .

X

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Ah. foiled again. I had all these images found and saved upon the ol’laptop for my next post, only to discover that there is next to no information on my model of the week Ms. Sunny Harnett. That will teach me to do things backwards. Oops.

So, I guess I’ll share with you the few (rather uninteresting facts I could find)

1. Born in Brooklyn, New York 1924, real name  Annmarie Margot Harnett
2. She was a big name in the modeling world in the 1950s.
3. She worked as Eileen Fords (of Ford Models)  assistant after retiring
4. She died in a fire 1987

No lie, that’s all I could locate. Riveting stuff. Apologies. No excuse for it really, should have picked another model, but at least you can still appreciate the pretty pictures…. right? 

Say yes so I dont feel guilty.

Harper’s Bazaar 1954, Richard Avedon photo, dress by Madame Gres

Sunny and Dovima

Dress and hat Dior

Now that I’ve bombarded you with ALL of that, Im going to leave you time to process it. Never fear, I have another post coming tomorrow. No really, 2 posts in 1 week. Try not to be too shocked. X

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Born in Sweden in 1911, she relocated to Paris in the 30′s to continue her study of ballet until she was discovered by a model scout and sent to Vogue. (of course) Very quickly she became one of the ‘models of the moment’ and is considered to be the first supermodel. Wait a minute. So were all the others I’ve talked about. I have to say at this stage through the model history series, nearly all of them seem to have been considered the first supermodel, a photographers favorite/muse, the highest paid, the most popular. blah blah, they cant all be the first supermodel and what’s Janice Dickinson on about then? She’s clearly delusional)

I do take all I find out about these women with a pinch of salt. Depending on the site that I gather the info from, they are different heights, sizes, ages… One site, claimed Lisa’s waist to be 23 inches, another just 17. 17? I sincerely doubt that.

What I can confirm for sure, is that she was married twice (2nd marriage Irving Penn) and had a 3 children, one in  the first marriage and 2 in the second. She continued to dance ballet and was also a very talented sculptor, painter and photographer.She passed away in 1992 at the grand old age of 81, leaving behind a stunning legacy of art and photographs. One of my favorites is this first one, took my breath away. On the Eiffel tower 1939. Erwin Blumenfeld.

Gorgeous, no? I mean Yes…..

(If you enjoyed this post, remember its the 4th in my vintage model series, I also featured Dorian Leigh, Suzy Parker, Dovima and Carmen Del’Orefice)

X

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My new tv love. Pan Am. I know it’s been getting mixed reviews since it aired, but I watched the first 5 episodes online yesterday (call it, research, ah hem) and I’m hooked. I love the characters, I love the clothes!

Christina Ricci’s character is my favorite, but I cant wait to see how the other characters develop in the next few episodes, I just really hope they dont cancel it after one season.  This is just the fix I needed, while I patiently wait for Mad Men, True Blood and Game of Thrones to come back. (I know, whatanerd)

Another one I’m excited about, My week with Marilyn, starring Michelle Williams. I dont know how I feel about Williams as Ms. Monroe but I can’t wait to see it regardless. The few stills I found of it look fabulous and Emma Watson  looks adorable. The movie is based on the books written by Colin Clark about the time Marilyn was in Britain, filming the prince and the show girl in 1957.

In case your interested in the books….

Apologies for the picture heavy and very little text content post. I had a busy Halloween weekend and am still recovering! Night 1 saw me dressed as a Zombie chef at work and night 2 I was the Queen of Tarts. Or erm Hearts, which ever you prefer really. My other half went as Awe-som-o , if you like South Park, you’ll appreciate the effort!

spooooooooookyyyyyyyyy

slutttttttttttyyyyyyyyyy haha

Bye for now, Happy 1rst of November all! X

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Her childhood was a rough one (what a surprise) She lived with her mother, who was as she put it ‘dirt poor’.  In and out of foster homes, even while modeling, because her mother was unable to support her. She often showed up to shoots so malnourished, the dresses had to be pinned on to her. Conde Nast actually paid for her to have hormone injections, to bring onher delayed puberty, which was a result of the rheumatic fever she had when she was 9, followed by a strict regime of ballet classes at the academy for the Ballet Russes. (until she broke her toe that is)

Modeling topless for Dali at age 13, posing for Cecil Beaton at 15, along with other greats such as Richard Avedon and Irving Penn,with best friends such as Dorian Leigh and Suzy Parker, I have no doubt she’s had an amazing life, despite the 3 disastrous marriages and even a  fall out with her own daughter. She decided to retire in the early 1960′s (which was the reason behind her 2nd divorce,whatajerk) but decided to return over than 10 years later. While the return was initially met with some reservations by Eileen Ford of Ford agency, she was eventually taken back on and soon walking the catwalk for Dior, Galliano & Westwood.

Currently 80 and still working, she is listed in the Guinness book of world records as the oldest/longest working super models. She is in fact still rather fabulous, and while I suspect some work was done to keep her that way, it isn’t terribly obvious and I’ll be delighted if I look that good at 80….

What I enjoyed about researching Carmen the most, was the energy and attitude that came across in all of her recent interviews. In every one of them she is quick witted, intelligent and positive.

She's still go it.

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Dovima took her name by adding the first 2 initials of her 3 names together. The name was originally created by her, for the invisible friend she created while being ill with rheumatic fever when she was ten and subsequently kept in doors by her over protective mother for 7 years. (eek)

Discovered outside a Manhattan automat, (a what? you say?I know I had to look it up) A woman working for Vogue, spotted her and dragged her up to the Vogue offices, the very next day she was shooting with the famous Irving Penn. (some women have all the luck)

Dovima was already married to her upstairs neighbor at the time she was discovered (of course she was, since she wasnt allowed to leave the house for 7 years) However she divorced him to marry her second husband, Alan Murray. Alan was an angry bitter man, who beat her continuously, sometimes so bad she couldn’t show up to work. When she finally decided to leave him, she took her then 2 year old daughter Alison to live with her in L.A. Alan, claimed she kidnapped her own daughter and she lost custody of her. She never saw Alan or her own daughter again

Sadly at this point in her life the modeling and acting roles had started to dry up and she had neglected to save much money. She moved to Florida to be near her parents and took up a job, working as a hostess in a restaurant.  It was here she met her 3rd husband. They were together for 12 years and married in 1983, sadly he died just 3 years later from cancer. ( I take back the former ‘all the luck’ statement) She herself was diagnosed with cancer a few years later and passed away in 1990. Through it  all the though, she seems to have remained fairly upbeat, I love this quote by her,

“The only ‘has been’ is one who has been. You have to Have Been in order to be a has been”

Indeed.

Happy Wednesday All! x

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Best friends with Coco Chanel and modeling contracts with everyone from Revlon to Simplicity, Suzy’s modeling status soared passed her sisters and I would imagine was the cause of the rivalry that led to their eventual fall out. When Suzy died of renal failure in 2003, Dorian did not attend her funeral.

Suzy was not just a model she also acted in several movies and television shows between 1957 and 1970, the most notable being  ’Kiss them for me’ staring Cary Grant and Jayne Mansfield.  I also found a great little video clip of her on a television show called ‘Whats my line?’ I’ve attached it to the end of the post, well worth a little watch!

I think Suzy Parker was stunning, but, I actually prefer her sisters pictures. What do you think?

Balenciaga

Jacques Fath

Suzy Parker on Whats my line

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