Come Dancing

Will you catch me now? I'm falling.

An Old-Fashioned Summer

Although these gowns are vintage 1970 and 1980 (I have canned goods older), they remind one of a bygone era - a place where one would expect to meet Thornton Wilder's ambiguous Theophilus North at a Newport ball.

"Wall" Flower Power

Address the dress - forget sticky shorts and clingy tops this summer - once you go summer dress - you won't go back.

Calm

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world."

~ Ada Louise Huxtable

On the Brightside

It's not how tall or small, it's not how wide or slim, look

On the Brightside.

Our 4'11" model proves "you're only as tall as your heart will let you be and you're only as small as the world will make you seem" ~ Never Shout Never

Squiggly

"But, luckily, he kept his wits and his purple crayon."
~ from Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955)

Mood Swing

A mood swing is much safer than a mood monkey bar.

Lazy days of summer

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." ~ John Lubbock

The Ritual

One of the most anticipated nights - The closing of one chapter, the opening of another... Test the rules, push the envelope.

Congratulations!

Dappled

You know, today it dappled. I opened the shades – and the couch, the rug, even my napping dog – Dappled. A glance out the window and I was greeted by tender chartreuse leaves reflecting the early morning sunlight off their newborn foliage. A lullaby of a breeze softly tickled newly formed blossoms, scattering a fountain of white petals on to the carpet of green grass.

Makes one believe in magic.

Am I Blue?

One of my all-time favorite artists is the incomparable Billie Holiday. I've been listening to her for years, so as I was posting this blog - the words to Am I Blue? kept popping into my head.

Am I blue, am I blue
Ain't these tears in my eyes telling you
Am I blue, you'd be too
If each plan with your man done fell through...

Pleats-a-Plenty

You can have your cake and eat it too! First make sure to hand-paint your terra cotta planter and scoop your ice-cream into miniature flower pots...

But really, you do realize that unassuming, yellow enameled cup contains a bit 'o mama's Tanqueray and tonic.

Oh, and try not to grip Sally's hand so hard.

Oops - a - Daisy

Daisy (ies)! Always fresh (as a daisy). Did you know that the word daisy derives from "day"? The flower closes at night and opens to the new day - "day's-eye".

Many an author has chosen the humble, tenacious daisy as their subject of choice: One of my favorites is by Helen Jackson Hunt from The Sign of the Daisy:

All summer she scattered the daisy leaves;
They only mocked her as they fell.
She said: "The daisy but deceives;
'He loves me not,' 'he loves me will,'
One story no two daisies tell."
Ah foolish heart, which waits and grieves
Under the daisy's mocking spell.

So, my dears, go forth under the spell of the "...daisy-stars , whose firmament is green" - Thomas Hood from Song.

Uncle Frank and the Ladies

Uncle Frank was always a looker - or so said Betty and Ida. Easy breezy summer dresses often accompanied this threesome to the shores of Lake Ontario.

The hose and lace up boots, however, would continue to be a bone of contention for many years.

Shirley

We recently discovered this beautiful portrait of Shirley wearing a gorgeous pink satin gown. If you look closely you'll see that the hips are encircled in a riot of feathers. According to local legend, she was the maid of honor at her Aunt Edna's nuptials.

The gloves add that certain je ne sais quoi to the gown - something I think we should make an effort to bring back, don't you think?

What is so striking is the fact that she looks as though she could walk the red carpet today - proving once again that classic fashion stands the test of time.