eenamaria

The bright primary colors of Sarah Morgan’s eenamaria line of handbags is the perfect antidote to the gray snowy days here in NEPA. As a child Sarah Morgan went to boarding schools in Wales and spent her summers in Canada before settling in New York where she started her business out of her Brooklyn apartment. She believes that no matter how nomadic you are there’s no excuse for not looking good. She’s been nominated twice for the Fashion Group International’s ‘Rising Star Award’, and will be airing her new line on QVC this February.  You can find her (reasonably priced) bags over at eBags.

Aretha Franklin

The $179 hat, customized with Swarovski crystals, came from Mr. Song Millinery in Detroit where Luke Song has been making ladies dress hats for 25 years. (He wholesales his designs at many locations throughout the U.S., including Brasseur, Donna Vinci, Maxi, PJ’s, Hat Library, Jean Nobles and Pam Imports in the L.A. area.)

BurdaStyle :: prudencerabbit

It’s time to vote for your favorite at the “Design and Sew a Suit Variation Contest” over at BurdaStyle.  I think this design by prudencerabbit is particularly cute! Don’t you love the cat?

*Update 1-20-09 — take a peek and see who won the Sew a Suit Variation Contest!

Vintage Betsey : Couch Floral Cotton

I’m thrilled to see that Betsey Johnson is bringing back her original “Betsey girl” style! Right now there are 8 pieces under Vintage for sale on BetseyJohnson.com. My favorite is the Couch Floral Cotton top (above) which reminds me of the top from my favorite Alley Cat patterns from the early 70s, minus the peblum, unfortunately.

Betsey Johnson is looking for anyone who might still be hanging on to vintage Betsey – including Betsey Johnson for Paraphanalia (1965-1970), Betsey Johnson for Alley Cat (1970-1975) or the Betsey Johnson punk label (1978-1990). If you happen to have one of these hanging in your closet, or if you come across one in your favorite thrift shop, email Whitney at vintage@betseyjohnson.com with photos and prices attached.

Unfortunately my own AlleyCat collection met the same fate as my old Frye Boots. Sigh…

Frye Harness Boot

While I was at Borders this morning I flipped through Nina Garcia’s The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own. The book fell open to item #33, The Frye Harness Boot. Weirdly, tonight as I was browsing Amazon, I found the same book, clicked on “Surprise Me” and sure enough, the online book fell open to the very same page. I don’t have the funds right now for a new pair of Frye Boots, but I sure do miss my old Frye Boots. I wore them every day for a couple of years in Boston in the early 80’s. Nina would have loved them. She says “the older and more beat up they are, the better.” What was I thinking when I donated them to Goodwill??

In the ’60s, women began to wear Frye boots in clear and bold defiance of restrictive 1950s femininity. They were a boot that meant strength and power, which women were intent on claiming at the time. High heels took a backseat to these clunky, chunky boots. Every woman seemed to have a pair, and there were such an iconic part of the decade that when the Smithsonian Institution was searching for items to represent 1960’s America, they chose a pair of Fryes. And perhaps it is because women have not let go of our strength and power, we have also never let go of this big, clunky boot. (read more)

The Frye Company was founded in 1863. Frye boots were worn by soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, by the American pioneers, Teddy Roosevelt, General Patton and servicemen in both WWI and WWII.

BurdaStyle :: Suit Design Contest

Here’s the lowdown —

Design and sew a variation of your suit and send a photo to team@burdastyle.com. Once all the pictures are received, they will be put up for you to vote on. The suit with the most votes will be part of our professional photo shoot along with the BurdaStyle creation.

Additionally, the winner of the contest will receive a CD of high resolution photographs from the photo shoot, a look book with prints and cards with the image on it for you to hand out to friends.

Send in your photo of your variation to team@BurdaStyle.com by the 5th 12th of January, along with a brief description on the pattern changes you have done. TIP: Keep it simple. If you are the winner, we will ask you to create the how to explaining the pattern changes as well!!

Designers – start your engines!

The Three Lives of Thomasina - The Funeral

We watched The Three Lives of Thomasina again the other night. The first time I saw it was in 1964 on the Sunday night Walt Disney show. The beautiful scenery of Scotland shown in this clip of the funeral scene (and above), together with the beautiful melody of Loch Lomond, inspired me to take a virtual vacation to Scotland.

Along the way I found Thistle and Broom, Scotland’s source for luxury apparel, home accessories, and fine art, where a percentage of all profits go towards the preservation of Scotland’s heritage. Thistle and Broom’s Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer, Teresa Fritschi, writes about her first visit to Scotland…

The air is scented with fern and moss and so pure you can taste it. For the first time in years I write poetry in the darkness on the way from Eilean Donan to Skye. In the driving rain wrapped in a useless turquoise pashima shawl I walk the deserted streets of Portree, in bliss. The next day on the top of the Quirang I find the place I know I will have my ashes spread. I have come home.

Thistle and Broom :: Fair Isle Gloves

I love these Fair Isle Gloves shown here in Oatmeal and Cerulean (l) and Milk Chocolate and Turquoise (r). The Fair Isle sweaters and gloves at Thistle and Broom are hand-knitted by Agnes Bowie and Jackie Irvine. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the gloves shown above will go towards the Thistle and Broom Scholarship to provide stipends for young Shetland knitters to learn Fair Isle Knitting.

Enough of the virtual vacation… I’m off to Visit Scotland!

• The Gathering

Etsy :: June Stamps - Stash

We all have them… those boxes of stuff leftover from projects never finished, impulse buys, bits from party favors and gift wrappings, buttons from who-knows-where. A quick search under ’supplies’ on Etsy comes up with 45 pages tagged stash.

June Stamps has some of the prettiest stash I’ve seen. She’s been collecting for over 50 years. A crafter and artist, she’s owned two shops and is now selling online at her shop – June’s Forget-Me-Not Creations.

I learned a new word today while I was perusing June’s shop. Junktique. Or Junktiquing. According to the Urban Dictionary, junktique is

…an antique of questionable value. These are often seen for sale at flea markets, yard/garage sales, thrift stores, or in the dumpster. Occasionally one will find real treasure among junktiques.

Just when I had made yet another New Year’s De-Cluttering Resolution…now I have to ask myself if what I was going to toss out is “junktique” or not. Argh!