And Show It Goes...

Friends, our cabaret show, Noah's Very Unusual Insight, is finally over!  It was fun to do but also a lot of work, and I am WAY glad to be able to move on to other things.  I feel like the new year hasn't really gotten underway yet!

The Ugly Truth

 

Readers, think about it: when's the last time somebody really unattractive became famous?  Newt Gingrich?  He's been around awhile.  John Belushi?  He's been dead for decades.

It may be hard to believe, but in the early Nineteen-Thirties, comic actress Marie Dressler, already over sixty and with the face of an English Bulldog, was THE number one Hollywood box office attraction, which she remained until her death at sixty-five.  Watch an old movie of hers like Min and Bill or Dinner at Eight and you'll immediately understand why.  She was a powerhouse.

Vogue Pattern Winner + Recent Acquisitions!

First, friends, we have our winner of V2787, the glamorous 1948 Vogue repro pattern!

Pattern Stash Confessions, Part 2 + Pass the Pie!

Readers, I was stunned -- stunned -- to discover how many MPB readers are simply nuts about pie!

And speaking of pie, many of you are probably wondering what kind of pie I like.  I'll be brief(ish):  While I enjoy a savory shepherd's pie from time to time (I am fortunate to live near the extraordinary Myers of Keswick grocery store, which offers a vast selection of fresh, savory English pies daily), pie to me remains primarily a sweet dessert.

National Pie Day, our SECOND anniversary + Vogue Pattern GIVEAWAY!

Friends, it gives me great pleasure to announce that today, January 23rd, is National Pie Day -- but that's not all!

Today is also our second anniversary here at MPB.  That's right, folks, on this day just two years ago, Male Pattern Boldness was born.  Today we're walking, talking, and nearly toilet trained!

Pattern Stash Confessions, Part 1

Help.

Readers, as you know, I am always trying to organize myself better.  In the last six months, I have discarded many unnecessary household items.  I dust my Ken dolls regularly.  I even started sorting my wigs!  Today I decided it was time to revisit my pattern stash, starting with my women's patterns.

Clothes Shopping for Men vs. Clothes Shopping for Women

BREAKING NEWS, FEMALE  READERS:  I get it.  

I mean, I really get it.  I now understand why women sew.

Life is a Cabaret!

NOTE TO SELF: Buy new lashes.

Friends, it's finally here:

 

On Friday, January 27 @ 7 pm and Saturday, January 28 @ 9:30 pm, Michael and I will be performing our cabaret show, Noah's Very Unusual Insight, for a return engagement!

Peter's Fashion Forecast for 2012!

Readers, imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the book Fashion Trends: Analysis and Forecasting by Eundeok Kim, Ann Marie Fiore, and Hyejeong Kim at my local library yesterday.  Talk about synchronicity! 

The Demise of Dainty

Friends, whatever happened to dainty?

I am talking about the word dainty, used not to describe a porcelain tea set, but rather to describe women and all things female.

Dress Silhouettes Gone Wrong + POLL!

 

Readers, do you believe in objective truth?  Do some ideas live in the universal mind and transcend both history and geography?  Are some concepts simply not up for discussion? 

More on Color Forecasting, etc.

Friends, I know you're eager to continue yesterday's discussion about Tangerine Tango, not to be confused with Clementine Clog Step,  Satsuma Slide, or Kumquat Gavotte.

The Wacky World of Color Forecasting

Before I get started, why does current fashion illustration make women look like Bratz dolls?  I don't like it one bit.

Moving right along...

Friends, how much do you know about color forecasting?  I don't know much, but you'd have to live on Mars not to have heard that Pantone's official Color of the Year for 2012 is Tangerine Tango, aka orange.  (You can read more about it here.)  I hate to sound grumpy -- I am still recovering from my weekend cold -- but I was "over" that color ten seconds after seeing it; to me it screams Guantanamo Bay prisoner jumpsuits. 

On "Famous Frocks" and sewing books in general

Friends, I'm happy to report that I'm feeling much better and was able to make it to the library yesterday, where I happened upon a copy of the new sewing book Famous Frocks by Sara Alm and Hannah McDevitt.  Are you familiar with it?

Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever?

Friends, I am back from a very intense, thankfully short, bout with something I'm guessing was Influenza.  It came on rapidly Saturday evening and within 3-4 hours I could hardly lift my head off the pillow.  I'm a big believer in letting fever do its thing (unless you have other medical problems or are a small child or elder) and now, roughly 36 hours later, I'm 85% of the way back.  Was this a cold, a flu, something else entirely?  Who knows.  Suffice it to say I'm glad to be vertical once again and not shivering under three blankets, a ski cap, and a heavy fleece.

Random thoughts about aging, etc.

Readers, occasionally I have random thoughts about various topics, none of which warrant a blog post all their own, or which I might flesh out sometime in the future -- or maybe one of you would like to develop one of them on your own blog; feel free.  So here goes:

At the library yesterday, I passed a display of Suzanne Somers' latest diet/health book, Sexy Forever.  And I found myself wondering: sexy....forever?  Is that the new benchmark for health and happiness in the Twenty-First Century?  I'm exhausted and I haven't even read the preface!

Practical Sewing vs. "Fantasy" Sewing

So I was thinking about Debbie's panties last night...

Wait.  Let me explain:

The Ditching Begins (again) + Which Sewing Machine Goes?

Greetings, born-again declutterers!

We are starting the new year right here at MPB, digging through the detritus and dumping, dumping, DUMPING.  As you know, my energy for these kinds of purges isn't always there, so when it is, the best bet is to ride if for all it's worth.

New Rules & Resolutions for 2012

Happy 2012, everybody, and welcome to my first entry of the new year!

I am not a fan of making New Year's resolutions, readers, because, with rapidly accumulating life experience behind me, I now recognize that most of us (all of us?) fail at making ourselves do things we don't like to do.  The trick to changing behavior is truly to want to do it (and not just want to want), and if you already want to do it, you shouldn't have any difficulty doing so.