In the Labyrinth

And Other Fantasies -- Dreaming in Lingerie

One of the most successful ad campaigns (which ran for over 20 years!) was created by Maidenform Bras -- which involved surreal dreams of doing all manner of activity half undressed in one's highly constructed brassiere. You can find examples of them all over the internet of course -- and they really are "fantastic." But I have to say, this one is my favorite because it involves masks and masquerades....and there is something really alluring about a scantily clad woman with an animal head mask. (Click on the image to get a larger view)

Steampunk Corsets

What can I say, I want one. Check out this beautiful work.

And you can order one for yourself from Brute Force Studios on Etsy.

Breathing: An Artful Experience

On the left is my Crossfit coach using a breathing-restriction mask designed to make your lungs work that much harder in a workout (and thereby get stronger -- though, as an asthmatic, I am all too familiar with the sensation of restricted breathing to ever voluntarily choose it). The other, is one of Tom Banwell's extraordinary Steampunk masks...astonishingly beautiful and weird. You can see more them of them on If It's Hip, It's Here.

1930's Fashion Designers Predicting Styles For The Eve Of The Year 2000

Here's a hilarious little film from the 1930 produced by "Panthetone Weekly" which ran weekly clips of the strange and unusual. The garments here are not so far off of a Lady Gaga, Devo, and at least one dress in every episode of The Runway Project. The narration is a riot and so is the man-gadget belt that predicted the love affair between a man and his smart phone!

 

(via Open Culture ...one of the coolest websites arround with a host of free resources for educators, including 400 movies available for free, and foreign language instruction downloads for your iphone and .... well you get the idea. Coolness.)

Cactus Skirt...Perfect for a Tucson Monsoon

I am a huge fan of "Made With Love By Hannah" -- a terrific artist, designer, and clothing maker. Her original print skirts are the best -- with their flattering aline shape and gorgeous patterns. And while most of her work trends toward European styles (Polish dotted prints, fairy tale themed prints and Hungarian flower embroidery prints) -- I was really happy to see the cactus shirt, one of her latest offerings. Gettin' it! Once I make up my mind which color I like best! Also check here on her blog for more new patterns...all of them fabulous. If you see one you like -- don't wait too long. They are made in limited editions.

And here are some other skirt patterns mentioned above:

And finally, I recommend her facebook page as it seems to be a meeting place for all kinds of people engaged in original textile design. And for fun, I love this quirky little Etsy video of Hannah -- her amazing house filled with inspirational knickknacks and her studio. Awesome.

 

 

How To Undress a Victorian Lady: Romance Novelists Learn How to Work the Laces

The Wall Street Journal had a funny -- but also quite educational article "How to Undress a Victorian Lady in Your Next Historical Romance" which examines the complexity of Victorian undergarments and the importance of understanding their considerable engineering for Romance writers -- and I suppose those writing Paranomal Romance, Steampunk Fantasies, and any novel set in a period that will require costuming along with lively sex scenes -- though lively here may be the cursing and swearing of an ardent swain using his teeth to undo the laces, hooks, snaps, ties etc of the multilayered outfits! Romance author Deeanne Gist recently offered a workshop in Victorian undergarments at the Romance Writers of America annual convention  -- taking almost an hour to squeeze (with help from an assistant) into the dozen or so layers of Victorian clothing of the 1860's including:

stockings, garters, bloomers, chemise, corset, crinoline or hoop skirt, petticoats, a shirtwaist or blouse, skirt, vest and bolero jacket. By the end, workshop attendees were skeptical that seductions ever occurred, with so many sartorial barriers.

"How did they ever have hanky panky?" asked novelist Annie Solomon.

With great effort, it turns out. Women wore blouses under their corsets—making actual bodice ripping fairly pointless. Corsets fastened in front and laced up the back and couldn't be undone in a single passionate gesture. "You'll see pictures of corsets on bare skin. That's completely historically inaccurate," Ms. Gist told her audience.

The article is a hoot and offers some excellent references for clothing, even patterns for the do-it-yourselfer for technically challenging undergarments of different historical periods. Have a look at a slide show here of Ms. Gist dressing up, and below is a short video of the same process -- the corset kept the body tucked in nice and tight, so it makes sense that such a contraption wasn't going to come flying off at the touch of a manly hand!

Love Affair With Persian Prints Persists

Who could say no to some yardage of this fabric? (well..not me anyway). I posted a while back about vintage Persian themed fabrics, but it turns out such prints are still available. Feeling rather happy about that. In fact you can find quite an assortment of weird and wonderful cotton prints here. Now if I can just find the right pattern...maybe a skirt with some secret pockets...for all the talismans of course.

Los Zebras!

Here's my favorite band t-shirt from Los Zebras, a Milwaukee Norteño duo, which you can buy at CafePress. One can get it in a variety of colors (though note American Apparel can run on the small side) along with other cool items, like the tote bag which is also awesome. You hear a great radio interview with Los Zebras here -- click on the mp3 file.

How To Admire One Another In A Good Year

BibliOdyssey has posted some terrific engravings of Swiss (Basel) dress from the 1630s. I have to say I was captured by this engraving entitled "How To Admire One Another in a Good Year." Still trying to work what the young woman has concealed under her headdress -- that hoof sticking out beneath the veil is a bit alarming. What we won't do for fashion. You can see many more wonderful engravings on the BibliOdyssey post or, the entire book of engravings online here.

Persian Art and American Vintage Fabrics

It's a Persian theme today -- and after the post below, I happened on this freaking fantastic exhibit of Persian Art used to make American vintage fabrics. Gorgeous stuff! Oh what I wouldn't give for any one of these beauties. See the whole collection of fascinating posts over at Vintage Voyager.