Back to WOOORK!! 5/23/11

           Getting back to WOOORK on Monday is tough.  So enjoy this beautiful Cecil Beaton sketch from the opening scene of "My Fair Lady."  All this Cocoon Coat work-ness really cuts the edge, like finely processed cocaine... I mean coffee!  Like a finely processed COFFEE!

Enjoy... and get back to WOOORK!!

Philip - In Brooklyn

Back to WOOORK!! - 4/25/11

So it's Monday yet again... lovely, I know.  The silver lining though is that through my aimless internet wandering I came across the auctions of the costumes from "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever".  This costume sold for over $8,000 to benfit the Barbra Streisand foundation.  I hope these amazing images of this Cecil Beaton design brighten your Monday.  But seriously.. get back to WOOORK!!!

Philip - In Brooklyn

Y'alls Hairs is Cute!

            When I was in college my BFF Prissy and I had criz-zay-zee colored hair.  Every time we visited our local Wal-Mart (don’t judge) this guy who worked on the registers would abandon his post to come and tell us, in a very thick southern accent, “Y’alls hairs is cute!  I like y’alls hair!”  We thought it was hilarious!  HE DID IT EVERY TIME!  Now I love a good compliment, but there is no need to risk your job over it.

            I have to admit I can understand his zeal.  He was excited about something he couldn’t have, or at least thought he couldn’t have.  That’s a similar way I feel when I see ladies with giant hair in period films.  I’m fascinated by the majesty and engineering of the feat.  Here are some examples of hair that makes me sit up and smile.

Demi Moore in "Bobby" hair stylist - Mitchell Stone

Keira Knightley in "The Duchess" hair designer - Jan Archibald

Tilda Swinton in "Orlando" hair designer - Jan Arichibald again

Cecil Beaton loved big hair!

Brabra Streisand in "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" hair stylist -  Harry Glaser

Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady" supervising hair stylist - Jean Burt Reilly

Norma Shearer in "Marie Antoinette" hair stylist not credited

Nightclub dancers in "Sweet Charity" hair stylist - Larry Germain

Philip - In Brooklyn

Taking a Moment, Barbra Streisand

            It’s an lazy overcast Sunday here in the BK, so I think now is a perfect time for me to share with you a special little someone.  Her name is Melinda Winifred Wayne Tentrees, and was portrayed by Barbra Streisand in the Movie-musical “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever”.   The film was made in 1970 and was directed by Vincente Minelli, yeah that’s right, Judy Garland’s husband and father to Liza Minelli... Can it get ANY better?!  It can, and does! 

            One of the most important things to remember about this movie is the period costumes were designed by two-time Academy Award Winner Cecil “My Fair Lady” Beaton!  Barbra dons these 19^th Century duds AND she sings too! SAY WHAAT?!

            My partner in crime Kathleen introduced me to this movie back in 2000 and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.  It’s so lush and amazing!  I would highly recommend that everyone watches this and pay attention to EVERY frame.  It may seem trite and corny at parts, but believe me… it’s perfection.

Philip - in Brooklyn

OBSESSING – The Cocoon Coat

            Obsession is a tough thing to live with, especially when it’s worn by the devastatingly handsome quarterback of your high school football team.  But it’s not the Calvin Klein fragrance I am referring to this time.  It’s that keep you up at night kind of obsession.  It’s the; you should be working but instead your surfing the web looking for answers kind of obsession.  Currently I’m opining about Cocoon Coats…
            When I was a young buck in the stone ages of the 1980s  I would watch endless hours of the Disney Channel, which for some reason played a lot of old school musicals, I ain’t bitchin!  And there in the radioactive glow of the tube I sat stone cold as the opening of “My Fair Lady” began.  The opera let out and a sea of Cecil Beaton clad beauties descended the grand stair case.  Every last one of those high class hoochies was wearing a cocoon coat in every color imaginable, and there began my obsession with that shaped garment. 

Cecil Beaton - Showing how it's done.

            So after years of learning to sew and honing my craft as a designer I’ve decided to put a cocoon coat in my “Cue of Projects”.  I’m planning on using Folkwear’s Poiret Coat #503 as a base and then altering the pattern to get the dramatic shape I want.  Since I’m only in the early stages of brainstorming and planning I’ve been doing some research on the cocoon coat and Paul Poiret, since that seems to be one of his key shapes.  So far Daddy likes what he sees.  Lush fabrics, fancy closures, art deco motifs with a hint of orientalism, what’s not to love?

Folkwear #503

Poiret

A contemporary cocoon by Galliano

J.C. Leyendecker showing how a cocoon should be worn.

            I’ll keep you guys posted.  I just wanted to give you a peek of what’s on deck.

-Philip in  Brooklyn