My Own Vintage Clothing Fashion Magazine: Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun ,October 2007

Hmmmm....should I be the Pagoda Queen for the Ghouls Just Wanna Have fun party?
Is it a haunted slumber party? Please do come and join us,everyone is invited !...and especially for the event I created an exclusive Halloween costume edition of my MOVCFM ! I mean ,seriously,a slumber party just isn't a slumber party without a good fashion read! I had but to step into my magic closet for endless inspiration!
I paired the vintage Anna Mae Wong mask (found here)with a thrifted short red satin cheongsam and a matching brocade take-out purse.
Just in case its a nippy night out for tricks and treats I added a faux tiger-skinned secret spy trench coat.
Or perhaps I should be a blinged out hippified Penelope Tree.
I found this flower child mask here too. This amazingly groovy maxi dress is from my favorite vintage clothing store Ahab Bowen.
Do you see the little cut out 'neath the bikini line( you may click to enlarge any image)? ....and check out the bling ! I do believe this little number came straight from the designer in a be-dazzled state!I added a Courrege style bag and an enameled/jeweled sunflower for my hair.Ah ,yes and I shall go barefoot like any other respectable haute hippie.
I call this look the Prada Flapper,and took inspiration from the 2007 Vogue fall fashion spectacular. The key to this look is smoldering kohl rimmed eyes and deep cranberry lips.The above dress is Etro and the shoes are Chanel.
Almost every piece you see here has been thrifted for under 5 dollars.The black beaded bag,the rabbit fur shrug,the ecru beaded skull cap,and the cut glass necklace,were all gifts. The shoes,which I call my beautiful/ugly shoes (and quite an amazing match for the Chanels)were purchased last fall for 2 bux at an antique mall. If I had an actual grown-up event to attend on Halloween,THIS is what I would wear.
I call this charming ensem,"the witch next door" look.I love this black and brown and orange and ecru combo.The shoes are black granny boots ,the hat is very vintage and thrifted for 3 bux. The tiny brown velvet purse makes me giggle,imagining the crazy anvil type things ,as a witch ,I could pull out of it.The dress is a Young Edwardian from the Sue Wong era,and an e-bay win for under 15.00 .This is what I will wear to my littlest s Halloween party to serve bat shaped sandwiches in.
Of course I could always don my leopard velvet dress (also from Ahab Bowen).
I need only to add Lee Press on Nails to my black elbow length gloves (they would match the magic heart charm on my collar after all).....
...and carry a kitty mask. Meow.
Oh ...ghouls...if you need more fashion rags to read,I have plenty ,just look to your right. Hmmm... attending a Halloween party and publishing a magazine ....now I call that killing two bats with one stone.

Boo ! I'm Back!

Hi there!!! Has it really been almost 10 days since last we visited? Lets just say.... I've been enjoying the season and my family and the new cooler temperatures in Big D. I do promise to catch up with everyone soon.

...and in the mean time let's play My Fantasy Google Image Fashion Stylist game! Remember, I own none of these goodies ,except of course by laying claim to them in my own google-able fantasies!!! This time I created a Halloween costume. Why not be a mischievous Halloween Fairy?
You begin your costume by finding the perfect orange wings!
A Halloween fairy would be a bit of an imp,so why not add a vintage pixie hat?

The perfect wings call for the perfect dress. Can't I please have this polka dot wonder from Vintageous in real life?
I will add this candy corn necklace from the Etsy shoppe Peachblock as my talisman.
Elbow length black gloves are a given!

What fairy doesn't need a magic wand? I shall use this one from the Etsy store Pammaro.
Stripes AND polka dots? Who could resist at this time of the year?
Yet another gorgeous pair of shoes from Irregular Choice.

...and just in case I need a magic token....

I don't even have to google one up.Look at this beautiful collaged crepe paper Halloween ornament sent to me from Heidi (thank you darling domestic one in pearls and hi heels!)! I would say I am set for trick or treating ,no?

Mysterious and Ookie Collaborations!

This weekend I had a bit of a significant reunion with a group of my best friends. We met while playing water nymphs in a Jean Giraudoux piece called Ondine ,and immediately became constant companions.Perhaps it was bonding over wearing almost no clothes and repeatedly getting in and out of the cold water.Or perhaps ,as it quite often is in the theatre,this group of misfits had found like minded playmates.
Between the 5 of us,we have 6 children,one of us will be opening in a one-woman show in NYC(hopefully at the Lyceum), one of us shoots Oscar and Tony winners,while the other 3 of us still manage to find a bit of relevance and excitement in our own careers.This mysterious and ookie group of friends used to vie for the title of "most normal".As of yet ,there is no clear winner.
Die Cuts and The Beistle Co. of Shippensburg, PA . This mysterious and ookie collaboration lasted up until the early seventies. I adore the whimsical and charming rather than scary illustrations,and next year, I will do my e-bay bidding on them during the off season!
This charming lass is named Clockwork(dontcha' covet her outfit?!?). She lives at Precious Miseries Manor along with...
...Dapper. They are the mysterious and ookie collaboration of Melissa Diaz. Won't you go visit them and the other orphans at the manor?
...and leave it to the adorable Amandaof Pandora's Button Box (shown here in her last years "deadly tea party" story)to defy death itself for her mysterious and ookie collaboration. Bringing back from the dead....
...Mr Alfred Hitchcock himself to host her annual Halloween CD,with this years title being "Music to be murdered By".
The holder itself is art,but its the juicy center that is worth waiting all year for. Last years was an other worldly ethereal dance.Ah ,but it is this one that is the Hepcat/Daddio/Soundtrack to pass out candy and sip martini's to.Who knew Boris Karloff was such a beatnik? Thank you,sweet ,darling ,Amanda and the happiest of Halloweens to you!

...and for my last mysterious and ookie collaboration ,I give you Kate Bush's "Get out of my House" from her critically acclaimed album, The Dreaming,set to the movie,The Shining. It is said she was inspired to write this song after viewing the Stanley Kubrick directed film of Stephen King's novel.
This collaboration is truly chilling.

The Pagodas gettin' ookie!

I have the Halloween lights up!! I did it all by myself too,well the spicy littlest pumpkin in the house helped me...just a little.This is the view in the courtyard before coming in my house. I'm thinkin' I need more real pumpkins of different sizes and colors to scatter about in the landscaping.
Heres the view from the street. We have a wee little fence that I line the pumpkies up with. The pumkie supply at the store was ,not so much the day I shopped for them and I am realizing I need more!
Here is a close up of the little wooden pumpkin guy. Doesn't he look like a vintage German diecut? They were 4.99 each at Ross,and I wish they would have had just one more...gosh I love these little guys!
Heres what it looks like during the day. You can see the top of my little Mexican Palm tree,it is doing soooo well. My hubs planted it this summer. There was once a very old Mimosa Tree there ,but straight line winds took it out 2 years ago. I was quite saddened about this and we tried transplanting the baby Mimosa's that spring up wild,but they just wouldn't take.I think this new beauty was meant to be here though,and we must take good care of her this winter.
I actually don't decorate that much for Halloween. I leave all my overboard tendencies for Christmas !I do however,always try to do something on the mantel. This year I found these wonderful silver skullie candle holders (click to enlarge any image)at the dollar store,thats right the diggity dangnab dollar store!I added little pie pumkies and my collection of movie monster figures.For me the look is perfect ,a little organic,a little modern,and some kitsch!!!Hi,Bela ,hi Boris!
I also do a little somthin' on the dining table. Here I have foregone my Gloomy Gladiola idea from last year in favor of a grouping of Fall gourds and mini pumpks! I traded out my usual candlestick holders for these wonderful seasonal ones.
A Witch ....
...and (read with Translyvanian accent!)Dracoooo-la .I like the sleekness and the modernity of silver Halloween decor. I certainly think cute little dollie counrtry witches and plastic skellies are cute....just not for me. I prefer an uncluttered look...
...as you can tell by whats going on beneath the mantel(tee-hee).
I grabbed a couple of dead stock halloweenie tees from last year at the goodwill....
...and gave them my own sprucing up. A couple of bows and a lace hankie. Very Annie Hall!
I leave you with a pic of my little petal modeling her new shirt ,and rockin' the Bob Fosse moves!

A Thriftin' I Have Been !

Look at this adorable dollie!!! My mother was the actual thrifter victor on this sweet thing,and she gifted it to me this past weekend!
She wears a long vintage lacey,ecru dress,that I myself would love....and she sweeps her long red hair into a ponytail fastened with a vintage rhinestone clip!For extra quirky-ness she chose the orange Maryjane's instead of the more predictable black. A girl after my own heart I tell you!
Ah,but I have been holding back on you in the area of Thriftventures. I have been hitting the thrifts at least once a week. The Sal/Army close to us has half off clothes customer appreciation Wednesdays and believe me I HAVE been indulging!!Your probably wondering whats so special about this top,well to start with it was originally 1.99 original tags on. I don't usually partake of modern clothes from the thrift unless they are overalls....
...but I found this shirt irresistible,with its vintage like print and tiny rick-rack trim. Couple that with one of my fav-o-rite style tenets, a sheer see-thru quality,AND it was soft as buttah!I was a goner for it! I also grabbed the vintage pearl /link necklace for 1.99 !
I know HOW can I be thinking Spring while still in the throes of 90 degree weather and hopefully the promise of cooler days ahead? Well, could YOU have resisted this hard plastic bunny for 59 cents? Or how about the planter ,also for 59 cents? The embroidered card table cloth was.99,and I splurged on the daisy doily for 2.99!
This night gown was just a buck with the half off,could you scream for the print(click to enlarge)?
This is how I will wear it if it ever gets cold enough!
Look at this crazy old lady, haus frau dress,also a buck.
My best college chum and I called both of these looks "Worship of the Ugly",it was a bit of a regular uniform I never grew out of!
This was the cherry atop my thrift fudge sundae !!! A seafoam green floor length Cheongsam for 2.50(orig price tag 4.99)! I haven't even tried it on yet,but I felt it was worth the gamble!

Well I gotta run. This afternoon is phase 2 of my little blossoms dentist visits,but before I go.....
...and just to cleanse the palate of unseasonable fluffy bunnies,I give you the Rankin/Bass' 1967 trailer for Mad Monster Party!

Next up.... ookie Pagoda Halloween decor!

Getting in the mood for Halloween ...and a nomination .

The weather is STILL hot here in Big D,but the local weather peeps promise cooler days ahead. That is enough for me to plunge head first into the holiday decorating pool,because you do know ,Halloween marks a collision course with the December holidays!!! Please don't get me wrong. I am a crazed Christmas junkie,you have but to glance at the number of posts in my December archives,to glean that little morsel about me....but in the here and now ,its all about the Samhain season! So without further adieu.... its time to get OOKIFIED !!!!
In my Youtube travels I found this version of one of my favorite songs,coincidentally done by a couple of my favorite Broadway stars! Why yes,as a matter of fact Carol Burnett was a Broadway star before her iconic television show. ...and Miss Chita Rivera...well she IS the original Spiderwoman after all! As a bonus we even get to see The Sultan of Samhain himself....Boris Karloff !! Heavens to Halloween I love Youtube!!!!


Time for another round of Fantasy Google Image Fashion Stylist!
I do wish to remind everyone I own none of these fabulous items. Even my magic closet cannot contain the wealth of the entire web ,its merely ,all about the google!!! I invite you to play along on your own site!
This time I began with a vintage dress from the 1930's covered in a Jac-O-Lantern print.
Cloaked myself in an amazing fringed shawl.
Added a DEE-lite-ful necklace from the DEE-licious Etsy shop Doll Disaster Design,
...slung a bat wing purse over my shoulder....
...and finished the ensem with these DEE-lectable shoes from the fall collection at Irregular Choice.
I am in the process of ookie-i-fying up The Pagoda,results to follow shortly. I bid on and naturally lost both the above die cut of the saucy little witch...
...and this rather atomic cutie. Dang!!! Those die cuts go for the price of an exotic but wacky vacation!


A Nomination

This week I was nominated for a Leon Rabin Award(the Dallas equivalent of the Tony's) for best supporting actress in a musical,for my work in the tribal rock musical Hair.I was quit DEE-lightfully surprised and quite honored.

My Own Vintage Clothing Fashion Magazine,September ,Fall Inspiration

Okay so I am a day late on my September issue of MOVCFM...but with the temperatures still reaching 90 and above here in Texas,it is quite difficult for me to even think about Fall clothing,but then again FANTASIZING about the weather that will actually PUT me in those clothes,puts me in the mood for some vintage clothing fashion styling!
If you believe in the whole "I'm a spring,summer ,winter et al,lets get dressed around these seasonal colors type of gal",I am CLEARLY an Autumn,with my pale skin and red hair.Which makes Fall dressing especially fun for me!!!
The above ensemble would be typical for me.I have started with my long vintage brown slip from the 60's,and topped it off with an Autumn leaf colored satin jacket from the 70's,bought at one of my fave vintage establishments, Screaming Mimi's in NYC. I then added fabulous thrifted (yes, thrifted!)cowboy boots,probably from the 50's. I accessorized with a long gold and pearl chain,and then layered a gold and silver locket necklace,finishing off with my pagoda purse,all of these last items inherited from my Grandma(you may click to enlarge any image).
...but you see I have also been in this tweedy sort of mood.So I pulled out this herring bone mini suit,given to me from my sister.I added a lace blouse and a bow tie and pearls.
This burning desire to get all tweed-i-fied comes from sitting by the pool this summer and reading vintage, e-bayed, Seventeen Magazines.This look is from the big back to school ,Fall fashion issue of 1978.
I am loving all the tweed and borrowed menswear touches.
It was reminding me of the "Annie Hall" look,so I checked the dates and sure enough the film Annie Hall debuted in 1977.I was pretty sure I had heard that Diane Keaton(a fellow thrift store fan and a personal favorite style icon) wore her own clothes in the film ,and I found this quote from Norma Kamali ,when I googled "Annie Hall look"The look was so successful that everyone wanted to take credit for it. According to Michael Gross' new biography of Ralph Lauren, Genuine Authentic: The Real Life of Ralph Lauren, a Lauren associate called a fashion reporter to claim he deserved credit for all the clothes in the film. This was news to the movie's costume designer, the late Ruth Morley—who contemplated suing Lauren, says her filmmaker daughter, Melissa Hacker. Although Keaton wore at least one Lauren-designed piece in the film (Hacker remembers the tuxedo in the cabaret scene as being his), the overall look was "a collaboration" between Keaton and Morley, who "went to Diane's apartment and looked at the kinds of clothes she had." Director Woody Allen told Gross that the credit belongs to Keaton: "The Annie Hall look was the exact way Keaton dressed in life," he said. Whoever was responsible, the look's influence was undeniable. "It was the first powerful influence of American fashion in a commercial sense in Europe," says Kamali.■:
I decided to put together an "Annie Hall" look,but... Pagoda style.I felt a need to create a little "comfort food" for the body. I began with my favorite pair of overalls.Beneath them ,I added my favorite sheer vintage caramel blouse ,inherited from my Great Aunt Margaret.I clipped on a thrifted little brown bow tie with tiny flowers scattered across the print.I finished the look off with a beaded cardigan from the 50's,and a thrifted little pearl-like junk purse.Though I did not pull any shoes for the outfit ,I am pretty sure I will grab vintage cowboy boots!
It is not often when I set out to find something at the thrift store that I come away empty handed.My search for the perfect tweedy,plaid-ish,circle skirt,has for the moment left me unfulfilled. I have left a few candidates behind,as they were the wrong color,shape ,or size. Ah....,but I persevere!
...and in preparation for that perfect skirt ,I have prepared the perfect topping.
A nubby ,tweedy, 50's, peplummed,yummy-osity of a jacket!Do you see the tassled buttons?I have paired a sheer white vintage blouse(also from my saucy aunts ,inheritance)with a silk tie from the 50's and a thrifted floral brooch in the perfect Autumnal shades.
A little smattering of other Fall inspirations. Oops,left out the ropes and ropes of pearls I will be wearing!
I have to say,I am CRAZY for Diane Keaton's personal style.I am aware that she is often on the worse dressed list,but so what!?! Those individuals who dare to march to the beat of their own personal style aesthetic,are bound to take a misstep now and again. I for one would rather see a point of view,a peek into the artists/human being's pschye ,whatever you would like to call it,rather than an idea,crafted SOLELY from a stylist.The homogenization of personal style is a subject I could truly get on a soap box about(I know ,theres a war going on,and I get my knickers in a knot over fashion!),but I will merely leave it at this....
Et tu Tim Gunn ????
Perfection!! Break it down now....nuuuh nuh nuh na,nuh nuh,nuh nuh...,"Annie Hall" look!
As for me,well...this is what passes for Fall dressing until the temperatures drop!
****Edited for my own fickle whimsy*****...and just to put me in a fall kind of mood,I changed up my background colors to a pumkin-y haze,though I am sure the Pagoda Red will be back for Christmas!