Kids These Days

A lot of my job involves research. Often, it can be cut-and-dry technical and historical research. But then there's the messy social history part, about customs, culture, socioeconomic status, and all the parts that shape a person's world view and thusly their style. It's easy to be weirded out by the fads of the past, thinking that we're all so beyond crushing bugs to make cosmetics or processing hair with lye. But then. But then. The word vajazzle shows up in Savage Love and you Google it. And what you find is just as weird as whitening your face with lead paint.

Flying Car Fashion.

I'm relieved and disappointed at the same time.

Sad News for the Fashion World.

Alexander McQueen was so freakin' talented.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

It's true what they say about Chicago winter, it's bone-chilling cold. But it's also a big city, and this city girl has places to be and people to impress. I've finally found the secret. I got myself a pair of Timberland boots, ultra-cute black suede ones with a rugged sole that are waterproof and super toasty. I've been grabbing all kinds of big men's wool sweaters at thrift stores (I just found a fantastic Brooks Brothers argyle cashmere for $3) and wearing them over skinny jeans. Big wool sweaters. It's like being wrapped in a blanket all day. Warning: accessorize well so it doesn't look like you're wearing your boyfriend's clothes. Otherwise, cute boys will refrain from hitting on you and everyone else will roll their eyes with that "so that's where you were last night" look. Unless, of course, that is where you were last night.

An open letter to the hat-wearing folks of NYC:

I spent the traditional New Year's weekend with friends in New York, and it was lovely. And I love New York, especially because it has some of the best people watching ever. I applaud the bold style choices of the New Yorker, and find it refreshing that so many hats are sported for style as well as function. To the man with the olive fedora on the uptown 4 this morning, bravo! You clearly care for your beautifully made hat, and know just the right curve for the brim. To the blonde hipster chick at St. Ann's Warehouse at yesterday's matinee, you know how to perfectly perch a porkpie. However, I'd like to lobby against the masses of Urban Outfitters, etc. -style fascinator headbands. Sorry, ladies, they look a bit cheap. For a few bucks more, you can get yourself a beautiful handmade number that no one else has. Hats are the best place to go vintage or handmade, because it really shows. And everyone remembers the girl in the hat. For real.

Silk Stockings in My Wingtips

I've been thinking a lot about the balance of masculine/feminine style in fashion. I often wear a variety of men's clothes and accessories; neckties and high heels have become a classic combination for me. My genderbending style quirk was called out by a group of high school students I'm working with, who were somewhere between unsettled and totally weirded out by the chick in the men's dress jacket and shoes. A week later, a friend and I were out shopping when she declared that she found the term "boyfriend jeans" heteronormative. I keep seeing ladies in men's clothing on The Sartorialist and can't help but to find them attractive. Hmm... wearing genderqueer clothes. Weird? Political? Sexy? Maybe all three. It's something that doesn't happen onstage too often (in a non-Twelfth Night or Rocky Horror Picture Show way), which leaves the only canvas for experimentation to be my own personal wardrobe. Having an undeniably feminine figure, I'm always going to be the chick in the men's dress jacket and shoes. (I did discover a men's large Brooks Brothers wool sweater in my closet that doubles as an adorable, cozy dress when paired with leggings. Yay!) Please experiment, and send pictures. 

In my wanderings, I came across this fabulous website documenting the beauty in androgyny and genderqueer identities. The above photo is borrowed from it. 

Smart Chaps

I love this. 

A Fabulous Whitney

Someone sent me this... apparently, Whitney Blake, a film actor in the 1960s (I guess they still said actress then) is credited for popularizing and feminizing the otherwise stuffy Englishmen name of Whitney. Ain't she cute? I love the sweetheart neckline on her swim suit and the great Mod print on her beach chair. 

Shameless.

I did it. I Googled myself. Well, my quasi-business name, whitneythings. And this badass chick was the first hit. If it can't be me, I'm sure glad it's the fabulous Ms. Whitney and her unbelievable style. 

The Classics.

I, as a friend once put it, seriously have the "vintage jonesin'" and it's manifested here, and pretty much in every corner of my apartment. I usually go for the cutesy, kitschy vintage with a healthy dose of the more sartorial, clean-cut vintage (I have more ties than my guy friends). I'd also like to extol the classics. A baby blue pork pie hat is vintage, a brown fedora is classic. Vintage is a funky oddity, a lost treasure from the past carefully reintegrated into a contemporary aesthetic. Classic never got lost, has simply held up (and maybe adapted a bit) to changing taste. An example? Converse All-Stars (I know you have a pair) and Levi's jeans (I have at least four). Vintage you show off, classic you wear everyday. 

Sigh...

More fashion porn from the fabulous Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Enjoy.

Urban Inspiration

Every time I visit a city, new or old, near or far, I perceive it as if I might live there some day (I mean, why not?). I think it's because of this that the first places I seek out are farmer's markets, used bookstores, coffee shops that pull their own shots, and all the other things that make me the artsy urban cliche I am. I try to see where I would and could fit in, how much my purple coat sticks out in the crowd.

I have an upcoming project with the fabulous Theatre Mir that deals with urban environments and development. Thus, I am presenting the question; in what ways does a city's architecture (literal and figurative) create its own unique style? There's the obvious elemental concerns (everyone in Chicago owns a parka and rain boots). Then there's the... edginess of New York? preppy-ness of Boston? showiness of Nashville? I don't have an answer, but I've been searching for throughlines of fashion and architecture. The photo above is a fence on the Upper East Side that would translate beautifully to a textile pattern. I'm going to start collecting more of these images...

Full disclosure: I'm wearing a vest and blogging at a coffeeshop in Cambridge, Mass. I need to stop now. 

A Toast to St. Catherine!

I'll be there celebrating, will you?

(St. Catherine is the patron saint of milliners!)

Almost here...

It's true, a lot of costume folk roll their eyes at Halloween, I do too. It's hard explaining to your friends why you can't magically produce four adult-size bar-friendly Ninja Turtle costumes in an hour for $5. And JoAnn Fabrics? Forget it. 

However, working with children more and more has helped my Halloween-Scrooge attitude. In fact, making costumes for kids is now one of my favorite things ever. Here are the rough sketches for a couple of current projects. 

Plaid-on-Plaid Moment #2

And now I've apparently taken up posting pictures of my crotch online.

Estate Auction Find of My Life

I've been out of town again, helping out my parents with an auction (and their garden!). Needless to say, this box lot of seventeen 1950s and early 1960s glasses is perhaps the coolest thing ever. They are all manufactured by Art Craft and in great shape. The rhinestone arrangements and aluminum frames are stunning. I was showing them off to a fellow bespectacled style nerd who said, "Yeah, there's like LensCrafters cat-eye, then there's like punch-you-in-the-face cat-eye!" Looks like I'm going to have to get some lenses put into these babies so I can start punching people in the face (metaphorically, of course). Best part? I got the whole lot for $5. 

The Bee's Knees

I'm a total sucker for vintage cotton prints. They remind me of guestroom bedsheets at Grandma's house and sweet little aprons, it's something comforting and homey. One of my favorite little history facts is feedsack dresses. Flour, animal feed, and other grains used to come packaged in a patterned cotton sack, which women would then use to clothe their families. Cool, huh? And people think I'm weird for reusing Ziploc bags. 

One can find vintage fabrics at garage sales, flea markets, thrift stores and of course online. For those less inclined for the hunt, Repro Depot has great reprints of vintage fabrics.

I have a bad habit of buying a yard of fabric just because I like it, with no particular project in mind. Of course, I now have tubs of fabric waiting to be turned into... anything. I was sorting through some supplies this weekend, and I found all of these cute cotton prints I'd forgotten about. This is definitely going to be another kitchen addition; napkins? aprons? dishcloths? Maybe all three!

Speaking of Badass Brides...

So I have a grudge against wedding gowns. They're over the top, they feed into this whole storybook princess crap, you spend lots of money on something you wear once and are supposed to treasure forever. Kind of weird. And don't even get me started on the whole blushing bride shrouded in white idea. Okay, okay, my feminism is showing, but really. 

Back in the day, you just got married in your fanciest dress. Or you bought/made a new fanciest dress, which you'd wear over and over (and, it could be you favorite color!)

Now, check this out... THAT is how people should think of wedding gowns, as a fabulous party dress to have fun in. 

Yellow Flower Found!

I finished the little fascinator for my friend's wedding and it's so sweet. She's only seen parts of it so far, but I think it's totally her style. I love that she's putting these personal little touches into her wedding just to make her happy; like yellow shoes and a sassy little veil. I think that with big events and traditions, people too often get caught up in what they are "supposed" to do, and not what the want to do. So cheers for yellow shoes and a funky fascinator, and all the best to my dear friend rockin' down the aisle. 

Fashion Porn

Oh. My. God. Check out the duds in Leslie Hindman Auctioneers' upcoming Vintage Couture and Accessories sale. Every girl needs a take-me-out dress, but these might knock out your date altogether. 

I also visited the Isabel Toledo (the fabulous designer who did Michelle Obama's inauguration outfit) exhibit at the Museum at FIT in New York. Talk about inspiring, I keep dreaming of making myself a copy of her apron dress, which is SUCH a Whitney dress anyway. So many projects. I technically have all this time now (I left my day job!) but somehow time and creativity are inversely proportional. Sigh.