New Glasses for Cathy! Yea or Nay?

As anyone who has ever shared a meal with Cathy and wondered why she was eating off their plate soon realized, Cathy's eyesight is not one of her strengths.  Most of the time she's stumbling around in semi-darkness, poor thing.

Can you see my butt crack?

Readers, today I'm going to challenge your sense of decorum and tolerance.  The easily offended might want to come back tomorrow.

Learning to Sew: Peter's TOP TEN TIPS!

Increasingly I am asked how I learned to sew and what advice I would give beginners.  Since I only started a year ago this is easy -- it's all very fresh in my mind!  

So here, in no particular order, is my entirely subjective, highly biased top ten tips list:

May your days be merry and bright...

Kids, it's still 1942 at MPB for better or for worse.  So bring out the popcorn and let's watch "Holiday Inn,"  "For Me and My Gal, "You Were Never Lovelier" and "Casablanca" -- a quadruple feature.  Just stay home from work, OK?

Working on the 1942 Hollywood Dress

So, 1942 -- I remember it well!  Well, not really; my connection to it is mainly through Hollywood movies (actually, that's my connection to most things).   For much of the world there was a war on, and that's how many of us still define the period: The WWII Years.

Oh, Brother (LS-2125), not again!

Don't.  Even.  Say.  It.  I can hear your collective groan of disapproval from here.  I know, I know.  But it's not what you think.

I did not purchase another sewing machine.  Nor was this a gift.  I found it yesterday, friends, in the trash -- the trash!  Here's the story:

kathy girdle fun

Friends, I rarely make reference to the behind-the-scenes world of Male Pattern Boldness or its upkeep.  It seems, I don't know, unseemly, like pointing out that Baryshnikov sweats, and it spoils the illusion of effortlessness.  In Show Business -- and that's what I consider this blog you realize -- one wants to focus on the Show and not the Business.

Is there a Fabric Expert in the house?

So.  Down to business.  What IS this floral print?

Peter's (near) perfect summer shirt!

Thanks for dropping by, Jude.  We'll call you.

So remember how I kvetched on Wednesday about style versus comfort on these balmy summer days?  And remember that I showed you this fabric I bought -- sort of a lawn-weight, eggshell white, loose cotton weave?

Modesty: This Man's Perspective

Have you heard?  It's modesty week on the blogs.  Well OK, here and here; are there others?

I wanted to say a few words on my own virtual real estate about this juicy topic.  Just to reiterate: this is one man's perspective and not an attempt to dictate or to change minds.  So here goes...

Summer Style vs. Summer Comfort

I'll skip the morning niceties today and cut to the chase: in my heart of hearts I long to dress like this -- a Twenties dandy aboard the Ile de France en route to, I don't know, Capri or something.  I'd settle for Genoa.

TOO many -- or just enough?

Friends, today's entry is not about hats.  But it could be.

I wouldn't call myself a pack rat -- you've seen my apartment, well, at least most of my living room.  I'm no Edie Beale but I definitely have the collectors gene.

My Fair Lady Monday + NO GOALS

Whoops, wrong pic.  Sorry, Julie!

Etsy Obsession for a Sunday Morning

Readers, I am an obsessed Etsy pattern hunter.  There, now you know.

Now With Real Beef Taste!

Greetings, dear readers!  I'm back from vacation and delighted to be with you once again.

Are Michael and I the only ones who travel with our own steaks?

Buh-tcha ARE Blanche!

Loyal readers, you're bound to have feelings as you contemplate my very first break from Male Pattern Boldness since bearing this high maintenance child on January 23, 2010.

Upon Winning My First Oscar

You really like me!

I told you that I won that vintage Vogue American Designer Oscar de la Renta on eBay right -- the one that the Selfless Songstress assigned me?  Well I received it yesterday and I must say I love it.  I've always admitted that Elame has impeccable taste.

You win a few.... + GIVEAWAY!

Good morning, kind and compassionate readers!

So the day I bought that multicolored seersucker I also picked up a yard of this bold, sturdy stretch knit, thinking it would be great for Cathy.  Then I changed my mind:  I wanted to make myself another bathing suit and, fresh from my cabana set success, decided I would make a matching racing suit and tank top.

Vintage Men's Patterns: the early-to-mid Sixties

Good morning, Troy Donahue fans and others!  I was genuinely moved at the outpouring of nostalgia yesterday toward our gone-but-not-forgotten Sixties idol, as well as flattered at the many comments acknowledging my eerie resemblance to same.

Troy Donahue Lives!

Squint hard -- don't I look like Troy Donahue?  Harder, harder!

Love is a Seersucker Bathing Suit

Ta da!  A new bathing suit for me, me, ME!

Monarch Monday Madness + GOALS!

Can inspirations from nature ever be too literal?

Find Me a Style Icon - Win Valuable Prizes!

Friends, once again I come to you for help.

After yesterday's post about female style icons I realized that nearly everybody -- Cathy included -- has a style icon except me.  I am among the icon-challenged. 

Jackie and Audrey: Style Icons for the Ages

Dress them up...

Sheers, Gowns, Elaine + POLL

Kids, I'm hooked on sheer fabrics.  I know it sounds crazy -- sheers tend to shift like crazy and fray something awful.  But they're purty.  I like the way they float.

Cathy models the Twenties dress!

The Twenties dress saga is finished at last.

Still a little jet-lagged from her transcontinental flight, Cathy -- a true professional -- gave it her all during our photo shoot yesterday evening.  It's amazing what a cold shower, black coffee, and some nicotine will do to get a model back on her feet!