Meet Grandma Marie

Posted by Whitney on Mar 5, 2012 in Inspiration | 1 comment

Excuse the iPhone mixed with bad lighting photos. If you can get past it, I know it’s hard, fix your eyes on this one-of-a-kind dress worn by the beautiful Joanie. It was the perfect dress for the pre-wedding festivities. But get this, the dress is over 30 years old!

Thankfully, the woman behind it was in the room. I’ll never forget Grandma. Marie. A stylish 80-something cross country RV-er and full of life. She was most approachable and full of delightful stories about her life including her outings with her husband, also present. She’d made this dress for a work party she attended with him. We laughed and exchanged jokes about our husbands, the irony of sitting so close to the sweets, and how we both really wanted to stop eating the homemade turtles but couldn’t muster up the self-control.

My life? Stale toast in comparison to hers. Even on the dance floor she and her man out-shined the 20-somethings. I fell in love with her, and hope to leave an impression on others as she has on me. And to believe it all started with a dress…

What will you pass on?

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Boogie Oogie Oogie

Posted by Whitney on Jan 17, 2012 in Inspiration | 5 comments

“You Should Be Dancing” (Bee Gees – 1976)

“Jungle Boogie” (Kool & the Gang – 1973)

Every now and then I watch Soul Train lines from the 70′s to remind myself of what I’ve missed. Yeah I know, it’s not the best therapy. But really, am I the only one drooling while I watch these videos? There’s this nagging feeling like I missed out on one of the most colorful times in history. Where creative expression was the norm. UH!

To add to my sorrows, haha, I put together a little idea board of what I would wear, if I were to be on the show. These dancers embody cool and OH my goodness, I need to get some of that.

Watch, dance, and enjoy.

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Vintage Inspiration | Forstmann 1952

Posted by Whitney on Jan 5, 2012 in Inspiration | 1 comment

Cold weather and color do complement each other very nicely. Do you agree?

(images: skorver1)

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Inspiration | Give a .Gif

Posted by Whitney on Dec 7, 2011 in Artist, Inspiration | 4 comments

Do you remember the old school choppy animated .gifs? I bet you remember and strongly dislike them all in the same thought. Sure enough, software and ingenious minds have once again revived the dead. Jamie Beck & Kevin Burg, a visual graphics artist and photographer, respectively, have created the most beautiful .gif images I’ve ever seen. As a computer science major turned front-end visual and craft nerd, I appreciate these in a special way. You can judge for yourself… Cinemagraphs at their best.

View more at Cinemagraphs.com

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Vintage Inspiration | Sally Victor

Posted by Whitney on Nov 15, 2011 in Inspiration | 0 comments

What if we lived in a time when a lady’s hat was an everyday accessory. When going without is comparable to leaving the house without earrings. Which I must admit I do quite often.  Just yesterday my sister and I helped my grandma purge a closet in her home. Purge is an understatement mind you… (goodness gracious). Either way, after going through her old patterns, she hands me a Vintage 60′s Vogue Pattern designed by Sally Victor. Who is Sally Victor? All I knew was the turban on the front was too cool to pass up.

According to a 1959 Times article, Sally Victor at one point was one of the biggest fashion hatmakers, with a career spanning the 40′s to 70′s.  I found these beautiful creations by Victor at the Metropolitan Museum online archive.

Once I learn how to work with patterns (*wink) I plan to whip up a turban.

Do you have a favorite hat? At the moment I’m still loving my DIY Wool Fedora.

(images: Metropolitan Museum, Etsy)

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Vintage Inspiration | Bring On Your Cool

Posted by Whitney on Oct 18, 2011 in Inspiration | 0 comments

How often do you equate autumn to dark drab colors? You’re not alone. These pages from Ebony Magazine 1968 & 1969 will help us break away from the browns and blacks, and add just a touch of love, a little bit.

Anyone else start rocking to  “Just a Touch of Love” (Slave -1979) while reading this post. It could just be me. It happens.

Just a touch of love, a little bit
Just a touch of loooove
Make me shiiiiine just a little bit, just a little bit…

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