Bathing Beauties

So far this summer has been a hot one, and as we all know there's no better way of escaping the sweaty wrath of Mr. Golden Sun than by fleeing to the nearest body of water.  Since we're in the thick of the heat right now, I thought I'd dig up some of my family's old beach photos to see the way previous generations have rocked it out in their summer gear (plus I had an excuse to dive into piles of photo albums in the air conditioning). Have fun perusing through some summer memories and take note of all the awesome bathing suits!

my grandmother Estelle, left, 1950's

Estelle and my Poppop Jack, right, with family 1960's. I particularly  noticed the bathing caps which are 

definitely a thing of the past, and Poppop Jack's awesome Ray Bans

LOVE Estelle's white one-piece on the far left 

Notice how put together her hair and makeup is, even on the beach!

My mum Julie, 1970's at her home in Hertfordshire, England

Amazing pin stripes...

The details on this modest two-piece are so beautiful, plus the original 1970's-style giant sunglasses

Estelle and her best friend Shirley in Florida, early 1960's

Once again with the bathing cap - only this one appears to be way less practical!

A lovely example of the 1960's sun bathing experience... 

Compliments of Bain de Soleil Orange Gelee (they still make this stuff).

Uncle Alan, Uncle Josh, and my dad Neil, respectively, in matching pin-striped swim shorts

Mum sunbathing, 1990... this suit is one of my favorites.

Closer look at the lace detail at the top and the texture of the material. 

My parents honeymooning, 1987... nice short shorts dad! Mum rocking a great 80's style black and gold high cut bikini.

Plastic aviators, headphones, more short shorts... looks like it was a good day at the beach.

And for laughs... me, age 2, on a purple day!

Inspirational Environments

In the tradition of most summers thus far, I have the luxury of being able to escape from the hot and sweaty streets of New York to my parents' house in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Being home truly lets me unwind and enables me work on projects I've been meaning all year to complete, and to enjoy other things I've had to put on the back burner. Not to mention, I actually get a REAL CLOSET (ask any New York girl how important this is)! I only get to be home for a short time this year, it's my first stop before 5 months overseas (which is sure to bring many more excellent posts!) so I think that's why I've been appreciating it so much more this summer. This posting is a celebration of being one of the lucky ones that have a safe and inspiring home base... I hope it inspires you too!

Nuevo Mexico

I had the pleasure of exploring the gorgeous state of New Mexico a couple weeks ago in the form of Santa Fe and Albuquerque. It was my first time visiting and I already want to go back to explore more (I'm driving my friends nuts talking about it)! There I found amazing views, clear air, unique places, and warm-hearted people. On top of all this, there's the 505 green chile. Enough said. In Santa Fe there is endless amounts of art and age-old culture that made me feel like I had somehow slipped out of the United States without knowing. If you've been, you understand, if not, I absolutely suggest going! My photos below are from these adventures in the southwest... enjoy!

the pad in Albuquerque

relaxing between sets during the boys' self-produced music festival (yes, inside the house and the neighbor's)

one of a few houses in Albuquerque designed to look like space ships (so cool!)

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/13337

me, taking a break from the festival

the boys of Post War Germany

http://postwargermany.bandcamp.com/album/water-coils

Lizzy of The Vitamins, aka one badass chick

http://www.myspace.com/vitaminsband

(her again, rocking an amazingly bizarre headband)

Antonio and Sarah... gorgeous AND cool

inside Santa Fe's Eldorado Hotel

one of many mesmerizing sculptures in the Wiford Gallery

http://www.wifordgallery.com/ 

(check out this website, my photo doesn't do it justice, it's magical)

two words: Lavender Lemonade

http://www.teahousesantafe.com/

a bizarre creation within the vessel created by creative group Meow Wolf, 

an installation called The Due Return which included a life size alien pirate ship

complete with scientific experiments, logs, and living quarters. it's as cool as it sounds.

http://www.theduereturn.com/

Shidoni Sculpture Garden

http://www.shidoni.com/html/home.asp

Last but not least... I was lucky enough to land a tour (thanks to Glenn Dickter!) inside the guts of the famous Santa Fe Opera House. The costume shop was mind-blowing, as were the enormous storage closets, jam-packed millinery shops, and the wig shop that accompanied it. Each costume was a work of art, skillfully pieced together to make the larger-than-life characters of the opera a great success!

This is all extremely well done piece work, no screen printing here.

Quick shot of some bizarre yet fantastic pieces. 

Another brilliant example of intricate piece work

Gorgeous robe with tons of velvet and silk layers and bead work. 

We Can Do It!

Before Ms. Beyonce Knowles started empowering all the single ladies, there was little miss Rosie the Riveter bearing her muscles and taking one for the team during World War II. She's strong. She's iconic. She's beautiful. All things that women today still appreciate and many strive to be, but during WWII this came with much more difficulty and many more burdens as it was the women maintaining the economy. Clothes were rationed, tights were no where to be seen, and all those single ladies were stichin' themselves new dresses out of old curtains. So on this note (and seeing as I've racked up all of this information from the term paper I just finished), here comes a long list of reasons why we should keep looking up to Rosie and the other ladies who have earned the right to call themselves the original reccesionistas.
*all photos from this post were found from various other sources

Make Do and Mend: a scheme created by Vogue for the English in response to the Utility Clothing Scheme imposed at the end of 1941, a strategy to control and regulate the amount of available resources and limited income by essentially creating a civilian uniform. This pamphlet taught women how to make anything out of anything!

Great examples of wartime fashion. Plain, boxy, respectful, put together. 

Hats were a popular way to spice up an outfit as their production was not regulated 

since they used so few materials. During this period the hats were pretty wild. 

Since there were no stocking available, women would paint their legs to make it appear as though they were wearing tights! Leg makeup came on the market and eye liner could be used to draw on the seams. 

Women sitting in the entrance to a bomb shelter, wearing protective masks 

for shrapnel and debris... Photograph taken by the famous Lee Miller

Lee Miller herself in Hitler's bathtub on the day his suicide was announced. Such an 

interesting topic, and woman... if interested definitely look into her (see citation below).

Gallagher, Jean. “Vision, Violence, and Vogue: War and Correspondence in Lee Miller’s

Photography.” The World Wars Through the Female Gaze. USA: 1998. Print. 

What a clever way to take advantage of the lack of resources... men. 

Poster from the American version of the rationing/recycling schemes, Sew and Save. 

An advertisement for patterns encouraging women to 

cut up their old clothes in order to create new styles. 

Girl power. 'Nuf said.