thread petals

recently, while visiting michigan, i pillaged my mom's storage. this dress belonged to my grandmother, but still had it's original tags on. though i detest pink clothing --pink is charming in nature, saccharine on women -- it always feels amazing to pull something so beautifully made over my head. it is in mint condition, with a matching sash, but i thought my black scarf would pop.

i know people monetize their blogs by selling ad space; but i also heard of a blogger that re-sells her garments. she puts together a cute outfit and then readers can buy the elements. this dress, as lovely as it is, will never be something that i wear into the world. even though it was my grandmother's, i'd rather it be enjoyed. after all, my grandma Lois never even wore it. (it's not really her style... i wonder if it was actually bought for my mother or aunt -- not that i can imagine either of them touching it with a 10ft pole.) women in my fam don't really do femme.

crowthepainter.tumblr.com

pale pink embroidered dress by Miss Elliette, from the 60s. white leather bow booties by Hot in Hollywood

Valentino Spring 2012

this dress immediately called to mind the Valentino spring runway. the proportions and the lace and the palette.

tropic gothz

remember last night when i was all curmudgeon-y about going to that show/party? yeah? well, it was excellent and i'm super-glad i went. everyone dressed up and was real friendly and i took pictures. taking pictures of scene kids makes me feel like a tourist, but it's different if you know their names or have friends in common, and are enthusiastic about the effort being expended. aaaand i live-tweeted my pics, which is obnoxious on a whole 'nother level.


for my play-along-at-home pals:

kalina like a tim burton rag doll and palm tree-long legs

the most beautiful pirate princess. astonishing braids.

heather lynn, island queen

zach and alyssa, both looking killer, as usual

the other heather, on the left

moi, not really dressed up enough. you can't see my wedge sandals tho!

my buddy davitt. impresario extraordinare. king of the island.

the adorable janice and meg. meg always looks wild. sometimes i see her on the pink line.

i found the theme of the fashion -- and the wing-it attitude of my cohorts -- really inspiring. "tropic goth" is sort of a play on the whole seapunk movement, but it's a very good-natured, gentle ribbing. the various bands were more scuzz-punk than anything else. this girls in this gang usually have something kinda avant going on in terms of their art projects and outfits. if i could hang, they could have a positive influence on my outlook, and maybe spark some collaboration. i like that this group is more interactive with their entertainment, as opposed to people who are just consuming it at other venues around the city.

black and white flowers

SHUA

this is a crazy outfit, one i would never wear. it is too gaudy, too glam, too south beach. here are the elements:

• single button cutaway jacket by elizabeth and james
• silk rococo stripe tee is prada
• silk floral trousers by U.S. Polo Assn.
• scallop-edged velvet mules w/ a rhinestone ankle chain, '40s vintage
• mirror-patent clutch from h&m
• silver stud necklace, '80s vintage
• smoothed hair

kind of neat to put it together, this black and white look, but it's not soigne for the truman capote ball.

i'm supposed to go to a party tonight but i'm feeling down. don't really care. i'll go, and maybe it'll make me feel better, but the whole time i might be checking my phone and grateful to leave when the cops bust it up.

monogram

last sunday i went to a wedding with a boy, as his date. the wedding was lovely and the guests were very au courant. every dude at the wedding was a DJ but i am above name-dropping. the important thing to know is that no matter how cool a social set is, they will still dance badly to Thriller at the reception. (seriously, moving like grandmothers post-hip replacement.)

my date wore a suit. since he pretty much always wears jeans, sometimes pairing them with a jean jacket* or sawed-off vest**, it was clearly a special occasion. does it ameliorate the situation that his suit was black linen from APC and it fit him perfectly?

because it is probably the only time i will ever see him in a suit, i designed a custom monogram for him and embroidered it. i don't think he appreciated the gift; fancy isn't really his thing. i handed it over in the cab and he was like "you made this?" and folded the handkerchief into his pocket.

* my god, what kind of sartoracle trainwreck am i hooking up with?


**but he's also so keeeeeeen. seriously, he always looks great. must be the fit.

real girls

90s Jill Stuart suit, beater zip boots, subtle "love" signifying

vintage embroidered silk blouse from Shanghai.
catwoman sunnies are walter van bierendock X linda farrow projects

a week ago, Shua posted this watercolor to his blog, and no one has commented on it. there's no accounting for taste. maybe it's the difference between fashion illustration and personal style. this is how i actually dress -- i went to work in this and felt great all day. maybe it's kind of tame at first glance, but the suit has a nipped waist, a slight peplum, and turned cuffs. the tweed is a great weight and it's perfectly cut.

last year i set out to dress more like the characters is the first half of Vie héroïque, and i feel pretty good about accomplishing that. more suiting, more fitted pieces. that means less bohemianism, fewer pieces of random frippery, but i feel badass when my outfit is tailored. too loose and i feel like going to bedtime. i can't do any kind of creative work without shoes on, except dance.

http://crowthepainter.tumblr.com/

i got brought to a cool-people wedding over the weekend and wore an LBD, but i looked like a bad bitch. success. i'll have to get that number up here.


this blog needs work.

dreams of an era

this antique dress, from the 1920s, was something my mom picked up when she was a girl. it's made of delicate tulle net, banded by satin ribbons. it is disintegrating and has new rips every time i get it out of the garment bag. i think it might have been a wedding dress. i've only worn it out of the house once -- to the closing of the Ice Factory, almost exactly five years ago. that was a magical heartbreaker of a party, and the end of an era.

crow the painter

shua painted this on sueded board. it has a softer feel than a lot of the illustrations we've worked on. the shoes are vintage givenchy, from the 70s.

so various, so beautiful, so new

Dover Beach

Matthew Arnold

The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the A gaean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.