Aug 10, 2012

MPB Day Prep!



Readers, tomorrow is MPB Day, and like so many of you, I have devoted today to prepping for the big event.  I may skip the egg white, avocado, and wheat germ facial but the ultraviolet sunlamp is a must.

As far as hair, I'm thinking Eighties, but I can't make up my mind.  I was flipping through my hairstyle magazines and came up with a few possibilities. 



Be honest: too Morgan Brittany?



This might best be called the Mousse-keteer.



Too something?









Perhaps a more masculine direction...









Do you agree that the Eighties was the last great hair decade?  Do they still make Tenax?  I loved that stuff.

In other news, I think focusing on Lana Turner's mid-Forties beach jacket from The Postman Always Rings Twice helped me to manifest the DVD at the library yesterday.



Friends, I love the film adaptations of James M. Cain's Mildred Pierce and Double Indemnity, but for me this MGM noir was a bit of a bore; in fact, it felt 45 minutes too long, which isn't good when a movie's less than two hours.  I suppose the story is suspenseful in its way, but most of the time I was focused on things other than the plot.  My interior monologue:

Lana Turner would have looked better in softer hairstyles.  

I wonder how that turban is wrapped...

What a gorgeous shirt John Garfield is wearing.  

I love the soft folds on the lapels of that suit jacket.

Great tucks on Lana's blouse...

Et cetera.   I mean, the movie was competently made, and Lana was very good (for Lana), but it is not a first rate film in my opinion.







I wanted to share a few new patterns.  I couldn't resist this bikini pattern when I saw it on Etsy last week, very reasonably priced.  There was this strange period in the mid-Forties when whoever was illustrating Simplicity pattern envelopes drew all the women like Skooter dolls.  Most unappealing.





Readers, I enjoy oatmeal, so when I saw this 1959 pattern, designed by Luis Estevez exclusively for the Quaker Oats Company, I had to have it.  Because nothing says Fifties chic like the contents of a feed bag.







A quick trip to the Salvation Army this morning yielded this broken rhinestone pin, which I'll stitch onto something.  And for the very first time, I saw a Singer treadle table there (complete with pretty crappy looking machine head) -- $100. 



Friends, I think that's it.  I hope those of you who won't be able to make it to MPB Day in NYC will still be marking the occasion with a special hairdo.  Think color, cut, and volume!



Happy Friday, everybody!  (MPB Day details here.)

17 comments:

  1. I've seen that Quaker oats dress sewn up by Liz here: http://zilredloh.com/2012/06/06/my-quaker-oats-polka-dotted-dress/

    I do wonder who thought couture and breakfast cereal made a good match!

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    1. Printed flour sacks were the rage in lean times to be turned into household linens or clothing if needed by budget-minded mothers running households on little money. The cereal offer with patterns was a newer version of the appeal of a daily staple that had some extra usefulness for the 1950s modern woman.
      Submitting a boxtop now is ancient history, and UPC codes likely will go that way too when sending them away for an offer or contest entry.

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  2. Happy MPB Day! I don't sew or live in New York but I enjoy the blog and the posts. I hope you all have a great day!

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  3. oh how I *wish* I could be in NYC with you all tomorrow! Will be stuck in Belgium chuckling to myself about that 80s hair instead...

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  4. Oh, the hair, the hair. So Blair on the Facts of Life. Or as the TV commercial stated, If "the Facts of Life are all about you, you" why weren't YOU in the Facts of Life?

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  5. I wish I could be there.

    How can a hairstyle be "too Morgan Brittany"? That is like being too perfect. You should see my wedding photo.

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  6. I'm sure you're going to have an awesome day! I still have the same haircut I had in the 80s, so I guess I must concur with you :-)

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  7. I LOVED the hairstyles of the 80's. I rocked an asymettric do. So cool.
    Wish I could be there for MPB day. What a blast.

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  8. Can I plan to take time off in mid August next summer? Will MPB day be happening at the same time each year? I want to come too!

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    1. Yes -- August 10, 2013 (the second Saturday in August)!

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  9. Oh. My. That Quaker Oats pattern is amazing....I need it. Fun post by the way.

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  10. How I wish I could be there tomorrow! I sure miss my old work neighborhood - the Garment District. When I die, I hope I go to Rosen & Chadick.

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  11. Oh my that oatmeal dress would look spiffing on Cathy when the dear girl is back to her pre-maternal shape. Judging from Liz's post (thanks for the address Helen) it would be a nice exercise in cutting and precision stitching round the sleeves. Maybe MPB day will be the time when the perfect fabric emerges from karmic warehouse to meet the pattern. I hope the day is wonderful for all who are there to celebrate it. I celebrated it half a world away today by buying some very nice hefty lining fabric at half price!

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  12. 80's hair was an era all to itself. Bring on the mousse and styling gel. But don't forget the fashions. In fact, I still own a knitted square-bottom necktie.

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  13. Oh yes...the concave cut, I had and loved that for a while during those days....turned heads btw..LOL

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  14. This might make your day:

    http://thosemoes.com/stitch/2011/06/07/sewing-patterns-from-quaker-oats/#.UCZlIWOe7x8

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