11/19/10

The Fabulous Bette Davis

I had never known much about Bette Davis (1908-1989) until I began researching 1940's starlets for the costumes in my show. I stumbled upon so many fantastic pictures of her that I finally realized what all of the commotion was about. She was an unconventional beauty, one who took risks in all aspects of her life, especially when it came to fashion. That is what I like most about her of course - that she was ahead of her time, a trendsetter, but mainly was such an individual and so diverse. She was the first actress to win an Oscar for Warner Brothers, and by 1942 was the highest paid woman in America. In 1977 Davis was also the first woman to ever win the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. Another aspect of her person that I find admirable is that she also suffered from breast cancer, an illness that so many women fight with daily. (http://www.bettedavis.com/about/bio.htm) She is a role model not only for actors but for women everywhere, so I would like to dedicate this post to her memory and to spread a little bit of her fabulous-ness around!
*all photos from this post were found on Google images



I love how informal this photo is, and yet she is still so glamorous.






The fur sleeves... who else could pull those off! 
And the enormous standing collar, love!


I've already posted this picture before, but it says so much.


After winning her 1939 Academy Award for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" 
for the film Jezebel. Now those feathers... incredible. See what I'm talking about!


A screen shot of the 1941 film The Bride Came C.O.D. with co-star James Cagney.



Some of her best known films to add to your Netflix list are:

Dangerous (1935) directed by Alfred E. Green - this film brought Davis her first Academy Award

Jezebel (1938) directed by William Wyler, also starring Henry Fonda and George Brent - second Academy Award!

The Little Foxes (1941) directed by William Wyler - Academy Award nomination

All About Eve (1950) directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz - Academy Award nomination

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) directed by Robert Aldrich, also starring Joan Crawford and Victor Buono - Academy Award nomination

11/7/10

NYC thrifting

Today is Sunday, which marks a week and a half until the show opens that I'm costuming (Sam Shepard's Geography of a Horse Dreamer... crazy little piece). So yesterday I was hopping from flea market to thrift store, shopping like crazy for it and in the middle of my route around the city I realized how awesome all of these little places are that are nestled in the Big Apple. And then! I really realized that this is exactly why I started my blog! To let people know about stuff like this, and to kind of organize my progress through my life and career. So I organized a list of a few great places I've been to so far... enjoy!



The Garage
112 W 25th St. (between 6th & 7th aves) - only weekends 7am-5pm
This place is a huge, two story, indoor flea market with vendors ranging from vintage clothing and shoes to jewelry, to decorations, to random chotchkies that you never knew you wanted.



The Family Jewels
130 W 23rd St. (between 6th & 7th)
A very charming store in Chelsea that actually delivers authentic vintage clothing and jewlery in great condition. The prices are on the higher side, but you really get what you pay for. This is one of my favorites I think.

Rags A Gogo
218 W 14th St. (between 7th & 8th)
This is more of a second hand store that carries a lot of stock from the '70s, '80s, and '90s and is extremely well organized. The owner is a really nice, interesting woman who is very helpful so going here is always enjoyable. They literally have dozens and dozens of cowboy boots, Member's Only jackets (and others comparable to them), tshirts, flannels... lots of streetwear.






Starstruck Vintage
47 Greenwich Ave (between Perry & Charles St)
This is a tiny place in the West Village that is filled floor to ceiling with great finds. There is so much here to look through and so much of it is very unique, a good place to go if you love browing through vintage clothing.



City Opera Thrift Shop
222 E 23rd St. (between 2nd & 3rd aves)
You walk into this place and it's everything you want a thrift store to be and more. It's organized, the staff are friendly, and there are are so many beautiful pieces. As obvious in the title, it is owned by the New York City Opera and all proceeds go towards the costumes on their future productions.





Pippin Vintage Jewelry
112 W 17th (between 6th & 7th)
GORGEOUS! This store is a girl's dream!! There is such a great selection here and a lot of it is actually very affordable (Many earrings are about $15-22 even though they are 50 or 60 years old!). My favorite part about it is that almost every piece in the store is labeled with the year or decade that it was made in and where it is from, which is so helpful considering many people aren't familiar with vintage jewelry. Truly a gem, no pun intended.


Artists & Fleas 
129 N 6th St. Williamsburg, Brooklyn (between Bedford and Berry) - open weekends only 12pm - 8pm
Awesome flea market/ craft fair in Williamsburg that houses permanent vendors in all types of areas. One man makes jewelry out of old type writer keys and utensils, one woman creates a women's clothing line with her daughter out of deconstructed menswear and dye processes, and another table makes journals and notebooks out of old board games, to name a few. Just go, trust me.

11/6/10

the beginning

here we go, jumping on the blog bandwagon...

to initiate the existence of my blog, i've decided to begin at the beginning! where i've come from, who has influenced me, and most importantly who and what i love. so, here it goes :)

my mum (circa 1980's in Trafalgar square, London)

my dad (circa 1970's at Camp Ramblewood, MD)

my sister (c. 2010 at the Philadelphia Folk Festival)

my best friend (c. 2005)

my boyfriend (c. 2010 on East Carson St. Pittsburgh, PA)

my home (Chester Springs, PA)

my current place of residence

personalities (here, Bette Davis)

fashion history (c. 1911, design by Paul Poiret)

fashion through art and other mediums (James Tissot's La Mondaine, 1883)

modern cultures (advertisement for The Fillmore, 1966)



for now, that's all. can't wait until i get good at this!