Miss Celie's Pants

Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it. –Cady, Mean Girls

You know what I discovered when I decided to buy my Halloween costume? Men’s costumes are goofy or scary and  female adult costumes are geared to make you look sexy.

Originally, I thought I would make a costume. I had a zillion ideas but simply no time to crank one out. So, I decided to buy mine.

I checked out local costume shops and the internet and discovered something totally interesting. Only 10 percent of the costumes were for men.

50 percent for grown women and the rest are for kids.

I’d never really looked for a costume as an adult so I was totally surprised.

And, definitely not work appropriate. When I was in my early 20s I wore a friend’s high school cheerleading uniform. That was about the last time I really got dressed up.

Online, outside of costumes shops women’s costumes were on adult themed web sites.

Wanna see my Halloween costume from this year? You know where I got it? The ‘gift shop’ at an adult store near my office. Sounds gross? The same costume was on sale on-line for $20 more than I paid. It was also the one with the longest skirt and I felt comfortable in.

 I went as the Baltimore Grand Prix to a Halloween party on Saturday night. My date work a grey tee-shirt and wrapped himself in chicken wire and went as a Race Wall. Totally clever. But, no photos. Maybe tonight from handing out candy!

See, no judgement on my part for going a little sexy at Halloween. I mean really. I’m so conservative in the way I dress it’s nice to have one night where I can be a little more out there. I don’t think this is any shorter than what my mom wore in the 60s

It was suggested by a few friends that I ‘pad my bra and wear fishnets. I decided to ignore both bits of advice.

Finally, these two posts on blogging have me thinking. The first is by Mimi G. She says a lot of what I think about blogging (and highlights why I’m not posting a photo of myself in my Halloween costume). In annoyance a few weeks ago I drafted a post titled Haterade and Malcontents. But, I’ll let her post speak for me too (hopefully she doesn’t mind).

The other is by Karen of Did You Make That on looking like yourself on your blog. I’ll answer the question now. I generally look in real life how I look on my blog. I take photos before work so that’s how I look on that day. But, the photos on my blog are the very best versions of me. By the time I get to work, my clothes are wrinkled, my skin is shiny and I’m definitely not wearing lipstick

Doh! That’s what they mean by ‘directional prints’

Yeah. I’m making three pairs of kids pyjamas for a friend. She’s surprising her children with a trip to Disney world the day after Halloween.

Two of the three pairs I cut look like this. I’ll need to go out and buy another yard of material. What’s worse, is I’ve already bought four additional yards because what she gave to me wasn’t enough.

Oh, well. Every day is a school day.

So, I know nothing about lace. I just know that when all the lace outfits started appearing on the runway a few years ago I wanted one. But, I couldn’t find the kind of laces I was interested in. Something super textural — nothing  flat like lingerie lace. But, something that looked like my grandmother would have made.

This time at Mood I spent a minute actually looking at the laces I was drawn too. And, I left drooling and kind of wistful.

Wistful, because this is the kind of lace I want to sew with soon.

Drooling, because this stuff was out of control beautiful. And, none of it is on their website.

One last point. I’ve never thought of lace as older or aging. Sometimes it can remind me of the dollies my grandmother crocheted and dipped in starch. But, this lace. Sigh.  This lace makes me want to have tea at lunch and wear fascinators to church.

While I was there, I saw Susan Khalje is teaching a course at Mood on working with lace, probably based on on her 2006 Threads article, Amazing Lace. If I lived closer, I would definitely sign up.

My second museum visit on this jaunt to NYC was a trip to the  Museum of the City of New York (MCNY). I was able to walk through Central Park (how have I never done that before??) and to the museum. Ooh. And after walked a few more blocks into Harlem and had chicken and waffles at Amy Ruth’s with friends (how have I never done that before??). Chicken and waffles. They had a whole menu of *just* waffles.  The baked mac and cheese was the truth. But, I digress…. A few years ago I missed out on the MCNY textile and jewelry exhibit, Notorious and Notable: 20th Century Women of Style. For a history geek it was a fun (and comparatively at $10 admission) inexpensive museum to visit.

While they had no textile exhibits this year, they’ve put a great deal online with their Charles Worth and Mainbocher collection. I’ve become fairly interested in Charles Worth since visiting the Met / Brooklyn Museum of Art exhibit and Philadelphia Museum of Art backstage tour for PR Weekend.

MCNY currently has an online exhibit highlighting both designers.

Worth, 1900s, Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York

Man. This stuff is luxe. It does remind me of the Age of Innocence. In the novel, Wharton writes that you wouldn’t wear your Charles Worth dresses from Paris for at least two seasons. To wear the latest fashion was considered vulgar.

Old Mrs. Baxter Pennilow, who did everything handsomely, used to import twelve a year, two velvet, two satin, two silk, and the other six of poplin and the finest cashmere. It was a standing order, and as she was ill for two years before she died they found forty-eight Worth dresses that had never been taken out of tissue paper; and when the girls left off their mourning they were able to wear the first lot at the Symphony concerts without looking in advance of the fashion.”

– Age of Innocence

I *wish*.

While in New York on Saturday, I made a special trip up to the Museum at FIT to check out two exhibits. The first was the Ivy Style exhibit and the second  are highlights of their permanent collection.

Gah. What a great value the Museum at FIT has in that it’s F-R-E-E.

What did I think? I loved both exhibits for different reasons. The Ivy Style is a little insular in its view.

Ivy Style celebrates one of the most enduring clothing styles of the 20th century. It examines the “Ivy League Look,” which began during the early years of the century on the quads and in the libraries of elite, all-male, American universities, such as Harvard, Yale, and especially Princeton. — from the website

I saw my friend Jon shortly after visiting this exhibit. He went to Princeton and I told him he should check out the exhibit. But, as an early 40s, straight, Jewish male obsessed with the Giants, he said it sounded ‘dumb’. heh.

Yes, Ivy style means WASPY, wealthy, American style that was only worn by the elite for many years. The donations come from names like Muffy, Rockefeller and Forbes. It’s a slice of Americana that as a child of immigrants I’ve only observed from afar and in books. Personally, I would have been curious to see how the Ivy Style was interpreted / trickled down at the Howards and Morehouses and Spellmans or state schools across the country.

The selections from the permanent collection I had to fly through. But, what can I say. I wanted to grab entire dressforms fully clothed and dash out the building.

If you can go, I recommend both.

I’m back in New York for the weekend.  And, because I’ve watched too many late night news programs about people who post on Facebook and Twitter about travelling only to have their homes ransacked while travelling, I’ll add that  I’ve got a male dog sitter,  born and bred in Baltimore who is totally in to P90X staying at my place. He and Linus can *take* you There mom, feel better?

Right o. I took the bus up to New York to have dinner with some of the Mood Sewing Network Bloggers. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who says, ‘Oh. I’m having dinner in the city tonight.’  Heh. Specifically, I met up with  Oonaballoona ,  Ms. Carolyn and Meg from Mood. I’ve met dear Meg and Carolyn more times than I can count, but this my first time on the dance floor with Ms. Balloona. Can I just say, she had me at ‘musical theater’.  How can you not love someone who knows all the word to Miss Celie’s Pants  from the Color Purple on cue.

They picked this gorgeous tapas restaurant in Chelsea. After walking through the restaurant to be seated, it took me a minute to realize I was outside!

I don’t often post photos of food. But, can we talk about the beauty that is dessert? I am so not in to chocolate. It’s just ok. But, you put something creamy, tart and sweet in front of me and I’m about ready to start licking the plate.

I saw something lovely at Mood but will post more on that later.  And, I think I want to go back tomorrow (if I can talk my traveling companion in to it).

Why? Because I left this silk behind

And this brocade

Do you know the challenges of going through three floors of Mood in less than one hour? It’s like a dog at the faucet jut trying to get a drink. And, as discussed, I’m not good when overwhelmed with choice.

I did see Swatch… but he was having none of me

For now, I’m off to bed *yawns*.

Because on Saturday I’m heading to the Museum at FIT. Not only are they showing highlights from their collection, they have a second exhibit on Ivy League (preppy) style. I may enter fashion nirvana.