The Bee's Knees

As long as I can remember I have had a fascination with the 1920s. This decade was quite an extraordinary period of history. A war had just been won and our country was celebrating, high on easy credit and moonshine. Freud was rediscovering our sexual natures as human beings. Women's fashion was also extraordinary at this time. Skirt hems became so short that they not only exposed the ankle but occasionally even the bare knee. Women tossed aside their corsets and embraced the sensual androgyny of drop-waist gowns and cut their long locks in favor of bobbed hairstyles. They were no less womanly for setting aside these feminine conventions, instead they felt free to embrace their vital sexuality in a way never before seen.

While I was perusing Life According To Celia (the highly enjoyable blog of my former wedding gown client) I came across some images that capture the themes of this era so strongly and beautifully from the book Jazz Age Beauties: The Lost Collection of Ziegfeld Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston. This work is definitely one I will be adding to my collection.

It is especially fitting now as the last of the Ziegfeld Follies girls, Doris Eaton Travis, passed away just a week ago on May 12, 2010 at the age of 106. She had this to say of being one of Ziegfeld's Girls:

“It was beauty, elegance, loveliness,” Mrs. Travis recalled in an interview with The New York Times in 2005, “beauty and elegance like a French painting of a woman’s body.”

...

If any prospective clients happen to read this, I want to let you know that for the time being I am not able to accept any projects. We are in a frenzy of house-hunting and hope very soon to be moving in to a home. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted about when I get my new "shop" set up! I do have a couple amazing people I can refer interested parties to, so don't hesitate to continue to contact me if you are looking for custom sewing services!

What I love on Etsy right now: Spring sale!

A friend of mine who used to work at the LA Opera with me now lives in Italy, designing and creating her own accessory masterpieces and selling them on etsy. And, as luck would have it, she's currently running a sale! Monjio Creations. You know you want all of these gorgeous pieces:

Spats! I mean, really... who doesn't want a set of SPATS?!

Hands off this awesome bolero made from a pair of trousers... I'm buying it as soon as I have a good excuse to wear it.

Fall bride? Yes, indeed.



Because you know you love love... the perfect bridal headpiece any time of year.

Quoth the Raven: Never before have I looked so good as I do on top of this
fantastic polka dot headpiece.

Current shoe obessesion

In March I went on a little weekend trip to my hometown, Boulder, Colorado. A friend and I were window shopping on Pearl Street Mall when we decided to duck into this awesome little shoe boutique called Two Sole Sisters. The place was chock-full of incredible shoes and I couldn't move more than a couple feet without exclaiming how cute/unique/beautiful this or that pair was. The shop is so chic and comfortable and... now this is the real shocker... the ladies working there were completely friendly and were not pressuring us OR giving us the stink eye because we weren't buying. I love shops like that!

Anyway, I totally fell in love with a pair of shoes and have not been able to get them out of my mind since my visit. I shot an email to the store yesterday and described the shoes. In a matter of hours I received a response telling me who made the shoes, what their style name was, and a tip that I could probably find them for sale online! She also informed me that their store will soon be setting up some e-commerce, so keep checking back with them!

Without further ado, here is my shoe crush: Larue, by Gee WaWa:


Someday, they will be mine (in case my fairy godmother is reading, I think and 8 or 8.5 would do very nicely, in rich brown, please).