This spring’s Pantone Palette for women is half brights, half pastels. Pantone claims this is emblemmatic of designers’ and consumers’ interest in establishing “equilibrium,” whatever that means. There are three blues, four if you count “Paloma,” a light blue-gray.
Women’s Spring 2014 Color Report – Pantone Fashion Color Report – from Pantone.com.
The “Freesia” yellow would make a pretty halter dress. “Dazzling Blue” screams accessories to me. And minty, pastel greens are always pretty, so “Hemlock” would work for just about anything.
Not very original, but a feature that gets the point across. When it comes to makeup, there are certain products I rely on. While I’m in no way a professional, I feel like I should share the stuff that thrills me so others can benefit from my happy – and sometimes not-so-happy – experiences.
Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in “Beso.”
My current favorite is Stila’s Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick, a vibrant, heavily pigmented opaque lipstick that applies like a gloss. It’s got an almost gel-like consistency when it goes on, yet it dries quickly. Once dry, there’s very little transference and NO feathering, which is something your traditional oil/wax lipsticks do when they hit warm lip.
Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in “Beso.” Alternatively, Kali Looking Weird.
The colors are beautiful, especially for the vintage red lipstick fiends out there. Their flagship color is a true red shade called “Beso.” It’s similar to Besame Red and MAC’s Ruby Woo, but without the runny consistency of the Besame lipsticks or the drying effect of the MAC matte lipsticks.
I got mine in a limited edition Stila set presented by Sephora. The set is no longer available, but the single tubes are available at places like Sephora and Ulta for around $22 each.
Yeah, that would be me. In the last two weeks I got two more (yes, these make three) vintage Heywood Wakefield M308G “step” side tables in the “Champagne” finish and the M320 “kneehole” desk in “Wheat.”
Heywood Wakefield side/end tables.
I seriously love this side table model. If I could be a piece of furniture, this is what I’d be. steppy second level and the sweepy legs are quirky, yet graceful. The inward-upward taper created by the legs and the smaller upper step take a page straight out of classical Greek architecture. This is the freaking Parthenon of end tables.
While this particular style was only in production for about six years (1948-1953) and they don’t come cheap, there are enough M308Gs out there to populate your own modest-sized mid century furniture planet if you really wanted to. I got these from a knowledgeable collector who had a nice HeyWake buffet project in the hopper and didn’t have time or space to deal with them now.
Now for the desk and chair. I picked them up from a nice couple who needed to make room for their baby’s crib. The wife’s grandfather had purchased the set new, which made me a little sad to think that such a nifty piece was leaving its original family. That said, I will give it a very nice, loving home, so no one has to worry.
Heywood Wakefield kneehole desk.
Heywood Wakefield produced this iconic kneehole design from 1950-1965. Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky – the 20th century Russian-American industrial designer known for his streamlined, modernist style – created it. What makes the desk extra-nifty is the very wide upper drawer. And the left-lower double-high bottom drawer, which makes it perfect for storing file folders. And the fully finished desk back. And…well, pretty much everything.
My plans for world domination through mid century birch furniture are becoming reality! Craigslist, I couldn’t do it without you!
Austen Illustrators Henry and Charles Brock – My friend Cinthia Soria’s in-depth article on the artist-brothers who brought Austen’s characters to life at the turn of the last century. Also see Cintha’s Jane Austen Castellano blog for great Austen coverage and analysis in Spanish.
Solitary Elegance – Heather’s Austen site includes scans from Charles Brock’s Emma illustrations from 1909, as well as his art for Austen’s other five major novels.
Now that I’m back from the barfs, it’s time to share some of my Black Friday purchases from Pinup Girl Clothing and Trashy Diva!
My favorite of the lot is the Laura Byrnes Madeline dress in plaid taffeta, a dress I desperately wanted last fall but never got around to ordering. Since the piece didn’t drop until after the holidays, I didn’t have an immediate reason to buy it when it first came out. Another big reason for the delay is the cost. MSRP for this number is $200, and that’s not factoring in the additional $76 for the matching bolero (which is kind of necessary to complete the look). Throw in the fact that several of the gals who first purchased the dress back in January mentioned the odd fit provided by the elasticized side panels on the bodice and I was skeptical.
I promised pretty vintage inspired holiday party dresses, and now you’ll get them!
I recently purchased the beautiful Faye Floral Doll dress from Collectif on a nice sale. It’s a gorgeous black, full-skirted 1950s style with a built-in petticoat. The entire dress has an overlay made of a beautiful sheer mesh fabric, including the illusion-style sweetheart bodice. There are hand-cut, hand-applied lace flowers scattered on the skirt overlay. The same appliques line the bodice’s sweetheart edge.
With Collectif employee Julia’s kind assistance, I selected the size 14 (I’m 42-32/33-48″) and have no regrets!
Now that Thanksgiving is over and nighttime temperatures drops below 40 degrees Farenheit, it might as well be winter. That means it’s time for warm, vintage-style daywear and festive holiday frocks! This post is about the daytime stuff!
I picked up the Margie skirt in red and the Gretta top in coordinating red check, which you can see at left. I got my regular Heartbreaker size, XL (42-32/33-48″). As usual with Heartbreaker, the Gretta top arms run on the lean side and the waist is roomy. The Margie skirt waist is true to the stated size chart measurements.
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. There’s the food, the family, the official start of the Christmas season…and Black Friday sales. I celebrated with some fun vintage-inspired items from Pinup Girl Clothing and Kate Spade, several of which I was able to share on my brand new Instagram account.
