It is said that funerals (memorials, celebrations of life, et al.) are not for the dearly departed. Instead, they are for the living. It may sound bonkers but nothing makes me want to go on living like a funeral - not so much for a fear of death, rather because hearing about the way that a successful life is one lived in a spirit of service and adventure, can be a somber reminder that there is still much living and learning to do.
Last weekend we drove several hours to attend the memorial service of a family friend who left an incredible legacy of beauty, joy, and mischief. While the better part of three decades had passed since I had any direct contact with this friend, attending her memorial service was a wonderful opportunity to have my vaguely-marvelous memories of this unerringly-chic woman substantiated by the fond remembrances of her loved ones.
Susie, 1958
Isn't she breathtaking? I think of Susie every time I make a dress or skirt for Mary;
she was quoted as saying, "A proper skirt should never have less than 5 yards of fabric."
(A higher-resolution image can be see here)
A statuesque octogenarian who referred to herself as 5'12", Susie was adventurer, wife, philanthropist, teacher, mother, model, artist, and chef all rolled into one. When the announcement of her passing came, we were both saddened and intrigued - saddened, of course, by the loss and intrigued by the stunning images her family shared of Susie's incredible life. In one particular photograph, dated 1958, Susie is donning a couture creation (remarkable for its multi-colored, asymmetrical peplum-turned-train) and a dramatic, oversized headdress. My thoughts turned immediately toI Love Lucyand the episode, "Lucy Gets in Pictures" (1955).
When Lucy buckles under the pressure of this towering headdress,
she gets downgraded from cinema star to simple supernumerary.
Built for laughs, Lucy's headdress had nothing on the height, breadth, and splendor of Susie's phenomenal headpiece (and let it be noted that there isn't even the slightest trace of strain on Susie's unblemished brow). Perhaps it is bad form at a memorial to so enthusiastically inquire about the origins of a sixty-year-old photograph but included in a slideshow tribute were a few equally-intriguing images that left us feeling like this was more than an ordinary fashion show. Our piqued interest reached its collective peak when "showgirl" was not mentioned among her may artistic exploits. As it turns out, Susie was a long-time participant with Las Floristas, a Los Angeles-based charity benefitting the health and educational concerns of special-needs children at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center's children's clinic. Since 1938, the Las Floristas Headdress Ball, has been the charity's largest annual fundraiser. Each year, similar fantasies fashioned of feathers and flowers, designed and built by professional florists, seem to grow in complexity and size (as shown in the videos below).
Las Floristas Headdress Ball (1938-1967)
(Susie can be seen at least twice is this video at about 4:50 wearing
the gown and headdress combo above and approximately 5:35)
Las Floristas Headdress Ball (1968-1990)
Have you ever? I have never. I mean, did you see Susie with the scale-model Ice Capades dancer on her head? Did you see the lady doing the Charleston? Not to mention Eve, the functioning ferris wheel, the pirate ship, the mermaid leading her seahorse chariot, the giant opening ball thing, and the LOBSTER!!! Oh, the lobster! As far as I'm concerned, the Rose Parade can go suck an egg.
My newest research project is to see how these pieces are made; even with paper, aluminum, silk flowers, foam, and featherweight plastics, these works of wearable art have got to be heavy (some of the models are concealing cleverly-disguised braces/supports). I saw somewhere that the staff of the Headdress Ball includes an orthopedic surgeon to consult on the maximum height and weight of the headdresses. Of course, the next move would be to wrangle an invitation to the Headdress Ball - even behind the scenes. If you have an in, please let me know; I've got to see this for myself!
So now do you see why I like funerals? People are fascinating and full of personal histories to which we may not always be privy; as heartbreaking as the occasion may be, it is a thrill to learn more about the person and a challenge to be more like him or her. I am grateful to Susie and her family for being a wonderful example of inclusivity, generosity, and kindness. How lucky we were to have our lives touched by such a force of light and love! If a pretty girl is like a melody, then Susie was SYMPHONY!
To find out more about Las Floristas, the Headdress Ball, and to donate, please visit lasfloristas.org.
To find out more about the Las Floristas Children's Clinic at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, please visit rancho.org.
If The Parent Trap (1961) is my very favorite movie, then Lady on a Train (1945) is pulling into the station right behind it. It is another film that I can watch time after time and find myself both comforted by the familiarity and still keenly invested in the story.
Lady on a Train (1945)
"Deanna...on a Man (Oh! Man) Hunt!"
(Source)
At its heart, Lady on a Train is a screwball comedy that also happens to be a musical, murder-mystery, film-noir, fashion-show romance. As with many of my favorite films, Lady on a Train has a little bit of everything and every little bit is done well!
Like all classic pieces of cinema, this film was adapted from
the finest literary sources. Actually, Lady on a Train might
be the exception that proves the rule; it is probably the one
time when the movie is better than the book!
(Source)
The movie stars Deanna Durbin as Nikki Collins, a daffy San Francisco socialite who is obsessed with pulp crime novels. On her way to New York to visit relatives for the holidays, she witnesses a murder outside of her train window. With no victim and little evidence, Nikki enlists the help of the police, an executive from her father's firm, her favorite novelist, and possibly the murderer himself to solve the crime. Certainly, the story practically requires a winch to assist in all of the disbelief that viewers are expected to suspend; the magnetism of one of Hollywood's most underrated stars, however, is enough to carry the audience happily along to the very end. Even if one is not sustained by the plot, the sets, the costumes, the music, and the cavalcade of character actors are more than enough keep any "Silly Cinema" fan entertained.
The only way this movie could've been better was if we were able to see it
in the Streamline Moderne opulence of Broadway's Loew's Criterion theater!
(Source)
From train compartment to elegant hotel suite, from industrial silo to luxury penthouse apartment, the sets in Lady on a Train are all fantastic and fully-realized. They are but the stuff of community theater productions when compared to the brilliant, three-ring setting of the movie's biggest action, the Circus Club.
I'm not sure when things changed (or if there were ever such grand, themed night clubs outside of a Hollywood film), but how badly do I want to go to a circus-themed nightclub where the doorman is a giant, the emcee is a ringmaster, the foyer is a circus train carrying an animal band, the chorus line is Josie and the Pussycats, the waiters are dressed like Pagliacci, and all of the entertainment is performed under the acrobats' safety net?
I believe that Lady on a Train is Durbin's first film in which she appeared as blonde. Growing up recognizing her as my grandfather's favorite chubby-cheeked brunette, it was a little jarring when I first saw Durbin in Lady on a Train. After countless viewings, I'll willingly put her up against any "Hollywood blonde." In fact, blonde is the perfect color for Durbin as idealized, post-War, noir-ish fashion plate. Strangely enough, the film credits no one for the amazing costume designs. It is particularly odd as Lady on a Train features a film-within-a-film moment when the main characters disrupt a theater full of movie-goers watching a film reel about forthcoming fashions (that incidentally features marionettes wearing miniature versions of the couture ensembles - wacky tacky gold).
Again, it is shocking that no credit can be assigned to a costume designer*. Durbin's character has no less than one dozen distinct costume changes (plus a few variations), in a story that is set over the course of only a few days. The costumes range from sight-gag rain slicker with Pippy-Longstocking braids to a bustled formal with peek-a-boo cut out at the back. I call this movie part fashion show because within one scene, Durbin's character undergoes three dramatic costume transformations, all with equally dramatic and significantly-different hairstyles. It is difficult to choose a favorite when the looks include a studded, cowhide jacket, a two-toned, hooded suit trimmed in fringe, an asymmetrical, cropped tweed jacket with one fur lapel, and an unbelievable chiffon-and-midnight-lace evening gown.
It was difficult but I managed to do it; my favorite ensemble in the film (and maybe in movie history) is this simple black suit. The signature 1940s silhouette is achieved by a straight skirt and a jacket with a nipped waist and broad shoulders; the plume-covered hat with matching muff and the double-donut hair transform an otherwise elegant suit into something truly over-the-top and inspiring.
While the film is not a musical per se, there are a few beautifully integrated musical numbers that use Durbin's incredible voice to full advantage. In spite of the fact that Durbin gained fame as the operatic counterpoint to Judy Garland's colloquial singing style, I much prefer when she lends her voice to more popular songs of the day, including a sultry rendition of "Gimme a Little Kiss."
"Gimme a Little Kiss" - Deanna Durbin from Lady on a Train
"Silent Night" - Deanna Durbin from Lady on a Train
"Night and Day" - Deanna Durbin from Lady on a Train
As if Deanna's charms aren't enough, Lady on a Train also boasts a roster that includes Ralph Bellamy, Dan Duryea, and David Bruce. Yes, the stars shine in Lady on a Train butit is the supporting cast that truly brings the film to life. As per usual, my favorite performances are delivered by the character actors.
William Frawley, Elizabeth Patterson, Allen Jenkins, and Edward Everett Horton are but four stand-outs amongst the film's unbelievable cast of supporting players. These four are special because, whether series regular or guest star, each one of these character actors went on to appear on I Love Lucy.
Beyond the sets, the costumes, the music, and the cast, the most interesting part of Lady on a Train may very well be the marketing campaign. The full-color movie poster at the beginning of this post makes it look like Nikki Collins (Durbin) is madcap man-trap who gets her fella by the point of a pistol and a goofy grin. The below poster looks very much like an edge-of-your-seat noir thriller. Much like the film itself, the ads for Lady on a Train are suffering from an altogether-entertaining identity crisis.
"A song on her lips - MURDER on her mind!"
(Source)
What is your favorite movie? Have you ever seen Lady on a Train? Have you watched any of our other "Silly Cinema" recommendations? If you are a fan of film-noir, romance, mystery, drama, comedy, thriller, musicals (that just about covers all the bases), or simply "Silly Cinema," then I suggest booking first class accommodations with Lady on a Train. If Walter Winchell says, "It's big-time," then you know it's good!
From postmistress/switchboard operator (It Happened to Jane), to wisecracking housekeeper (Annette, On Moonlight Bay, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Sanford and Son, I'll See You in My Dreams), to gargoyle with a heart of gold (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Mary Wickes is your favorite actor whose name you probably don't know. Imbuing every one of her roles with the plain-speaking, salt-of-the-earth gumption suggestive of her Midwestern roots, Mary Wickes was the go-to character actress for nearly every no-nonsense nun (Sister Act, Sister Act 2, The Trouble with Angels, Where Angels Go Trouble Follows, Punky Brewster) and nosy neighbor (Dennis the Menace) that Hollywood created during her seven-decade career.
"You don't say."
Featured in practically all of Hollywood's more memorable productions, scanning her extensive IMDb page is to realize that Mary Wickes is at the heart of wacky tacky's most beloved screen classics. At this time of year, the role that immediately springs to mind is Pine Tree, Vermont's most misguided, if well-intentioned, hotel housekeeper.
Columbia Inn's head of housekeeping, Emma Allen (Wickes), counsels
General Waverly (Dean Jagger) in a pivotal scene from White Christmas (1954).
It is an underreported fact that White Christmas' entire love story hinges on Wickes' character; her meddlesome eavesdropping results in filmdom's greatest weather-related, hotel-reviving, sister-act-involved, Crosby-crooning, yuletide misunderstanding. And without her eleventh hour cajoling of the General, there would be no glorious, snowy, Technicolor resolution.
As a child, I couldn't forget her star turns in White Christmas, Dennis the Menace, and Punky Brewster.
To the world, she was unforgettable as ballet mistress, Madame Lamond, on I Love Lucy.
There is little on record in regards to Mary's private life. For that reason alone, she had just the kind of career I would want should I ever become a player in motion pictures. Friendly with the major stars of both the big and small screens, Wickes side-stepped the relatively short career spans of those same friends by avoiding the press and Hollywood's biggest pitfall, vanity. Taking a face perfectly suited for radio and turning it into a lifetime of steady screen work, she will always be an inspiration to those of us blessed with less-than-matinee-idol looks.
"Pick a Little, Talk a Little"
Wickes played one of River City's clucky society matrons, Mrs. Squires,
Some of Wickes' earliest film roles were as uncredited dress extra. Turning a corner, her career gained momentum when she donned a nurse's uniform for two of 1942's greatest films, Now Voyager and The Man Who Came to Dinner, both starring Bette Davis.
"Dora, I suspect you're a treasure."
Always forthright, always funny, always fallible (but never mean-spirited), Mary Wickes brought tremendous charm to every character she played. As a consistent presence in my preferred childhood entertainment, she is unquestionably one of my favorite actresses - character or otherwise. I, too, suspect she is a treasure!
Don't you just love Mary Wickes? Do you have any other favorite character actors? Wherever you live, we hope that Mary Wickes ushers in a White Christmas for you this year!
Mary Wickes is a panelist on Match Game '76
Mary Wickes guest stars on Doris Day's radio show (1952)
As I am like to do, I was recently watching a rerun of I Love Lucy in which Lucy offers Fred a slice of apple pie with a "big ol' hunk of cheese" on it. I was immediately reminded of the saying that has been handed down through generations of my mom's family, "Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze." Very much akin to, "They go together like bacon & eggs," apple pie and cheddar cheese used to be such an ordinary and inseparable flavor profile that it had its own saucy little epigram. Somehow, somewhere along the line, cheese lost out to its oh so à la mode cousin, à la mode (since when did a scoop of ice cream become so fashionable?). How, in such a short time, did what was once so commonplace become completely forgotten to the contemporary palate? Why, I wonder, did this all-American culinary combo fall so far out of f(l)avor?
Immortalized in a 1956 ad for Miss Wisconsin Cheddar
Cheese, the long-lost dynamic duo of desserts
(Source)
The only eatery I've ever visited that offers the apple pie/cheese taste sensation is the world-famous Du-Par's (serving the Los Angeles area for over 75 years). Just out of high school, on our very first visit to The Original Farmers Market location, my friends and I were receiving less-than-stellar service from a crusty, old waitress who had been slinging hash for the better part of her 100 years and wasn't about to waste any charm on a bunch of snotty-nosed bad-tippers (a valid supposition, I guess). After ignoring our table for the entirety of our meal, she came to present the bill and ask in a bitter monotone if we had "saved any room for dessert." One member of our party who had been looking at the dessert offerings bellowed in disgust, "Yech, apple pie with cheese?!?!?!!!" Before the waitress could use the rest of her limited strength to lunge across the table and strangle my dining companion, I jumped in with, "Of course! My mom always said, 'Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze'" (I've always been a bit of a brown-noser). The change in countenance between the wizened, old waitress and the newly-beatific server was staggering as she quickly became my new best friend. Knowing all too well the classic pie pairing, she was thrilled to learn a new saying (one that she could use to boost sales), that she brought us a free piece of pie - with cheese!
Tis the season for all things apple, so Mr. Tiny went apple picking (picking the
best apples from the giant apple mound at the grocery totally counts) with pie in mind.
Using a mix of Fuji and Granny Smith apples, I quickly learned why pie seems like
such a special-occasion treat - peeling and slicing a bushel of apples stinks!
How though, beyond serving the most pedestrian of pies with a single sliver of cheddar cheese, could I recreate the classic American sweet-and-savory dessert dynamo? It didn't take long before I realized that the king of all cheese crackers would be the perfect vehicle for such a long-awaited flavor reunion. Like so many times before, it was Cheez-It to the rescue!
I had heard of a Depression-era, mock-apple pie where Ritz crackers actually served as apple proxy; thinking that a similar technique (resulting in a mouth full of cinnamon-sugar soaked Cheez-Its) might be a bit much, I changed direction and ground the crackers to a fine crumb.
Never having made a proper pie before in my life, I waffled between using cheese cracker crumbs for the pie crust or creating a cheesy crumb topping. Lousy at decision making, I decided to do both - that's right, cheesy apple pie two ways!!!
The evolution of pie
Using a traditional bottom crust and filling, I made a
Dutch Apple Pie with a Cheez-It/pecan crumble topping.
Introduced in 1921, the Cheez-Its imparted a subtle-yet-solid cheese flavor to the Dutch Apple Pie (are you listening Netherlands? I've improved your namesake pie!). While I thought this creation was both tasty and mildly clever, the pie was neither quite as impactful nor as wacky tacky as I knew we could get. C'mon Cheez-Its, don't fail me now!
I made the base of the second pie in the same fashion as a graham-cracker
crust, using instead Cheez-It crumbs and only a scant amount of sugar.
This pie was filled with the same traditional filling as the first and baked, tented in foil so the apples would not dry out. After it cooled, it was piled high with homemade, cinnamon whipped cream. I don't know if it is smart or insanely masochistic to constantly make desserts to which I am highly intolerant (dairy is most assuredly not my friend).
Wanting to get a little fancy and invite a bit of genuine cheese to these pie proceedings,
I made crispy, cheddar cheese/parmesan tuiles to decorate the top of the pie.
With plenty of pie on hand and a favorite cousin visiting from Texas (Yeehaw! Cuzzin Bobbi!!!), the only logical thing to do was throw an impromptu dinner party.
Cuzzin Bobbi, Nick, Cynthia, Lauren, Mr. Tiny, and Mary (taking the photo)
gathered around the old, family table to break bread. But dinner was a mere
formality, dessert was definitely the star of this show.
With a diverse range of palates surrounding the table, the results as to which pie was best were decidedly mixed. Lauren, an inveterate "I don't like my food to touch" purist, favored the Dutch Apple Pie. Cynthia, a world-class extreme eater with adventurous taste buds, gave the prize to the cheese tuiles and Cheez-It crust. I was so interested in finding out what everyone else thought, that I didn't do my own small sampling until everyone was gone and the dishes were washed. I love a good mix of sweet/salty/savory and without sounding too self-satisfied, I think the cheese crust is the definite winner! It's genius inspired everyone at the table to think of other applications for a Cheez-It crust (sweet and savory).
Say "CHEESE!"
The winner, Mr. Tiny and the pie
In any event, after samplings were made of each pie, we collectively came to know the true meaning behind the phrase, "Apple pie without [Cheez-It] is like a kiss without a squeeze [it]!" Great, now I'm thinking of ways to combine cheese crackers with that sugary, wax-bottled beverage of my youth (remember Squeezits - the drinks that only the cool kids had in their lunches, clearly explaining why I never had one in my lunch?).
Surrounded by loved ones and a bounty of cheesy-apple-pie goodness, I realized that, much like Johnny Appleseed, "the Lord is good to me." In turn, I feel like I am good to the Sunshine Biscuit Company for giving them a brand new lease on their delicious "baked snack cracker." In an effort to pay it all forward, I share with you what will undoubtedly become the centerpiece of your holiday festivities. Give your family what they want this holiday season - Jesus, cheeses, and squeezes!!!
"The Lord is Good to Me" - from Walt Disney's Johnny Appleseed
Performed by Dennis Day
Are you a Cheez-It fan? Have you ever had apple pie with cheese? Did your parents/grandparents hand down the "cheese/squeeze" saying in your family? Is the apple pie/cheese combo still going strong where you live? What's the weirdest dessert you've ever concocted (we want to try it)?
When imagining the living rooms of the quintessential American TV families of the mid-20th Century - The Cleavers, The Mitchells, The Stones, The Williams, The Baxters, et al - one would be hard pressed to find in that dreamscape of design a starburst, an amorphous coffee table, a George Nelson timepiece, a Barcelona chair, or anything even remotely resembling an Eames' design.
Speaking of seminal television families, what about the Ricardos?
With its braided rugs, wide-plank floors, and traditional furniture,
Lucy & Ricky's country house was anything but "Mid Mod."
Maybe it was a conscious effort on the part of ultra-conservative television executives to pretend that American domesticity skewed decidedly toward the traditional OR maybe it was art imitating the reality of life. Perhaps, if I may dare to conjecture, the design movement generally referred to as "Early American" was far more prevalent than the atomic shapes, patterns, and colors that abound in contemporary iterations of mid-century design schemes. Speaking only from the experience of a) having two sets of grandparents with houses full of reproduction windsor and ladder-back chairs, turned-wood four poster beds, colonial secretary desks, and classically-styled spinets and b) seeing a glut of similar merchandise in resale establishments, garage/estate sales, and thrift stores far exceeding the availability of their "modern" counterparts, it seems as if "Early American" might have a had a larger audience than our romantic notions of popular culture history might have led us to believe.
Encountering this article in the November 1951 issue of Better Living Magazine, I was reminded
of how strong a movement "Early American" design was. So strong in fact, that the article just
takes the major elements of the room for granted. Not wasting a word on the paneled wall, the
brick hearth with traditional molding and mantlepiece, the camelback sofa, the tilt-top tea table,
the brass candlestick lamp with gilded eagle, the wingback chair, the hobnail glass, the chintz
upholstery, or the classical symmetry of it all, the author focuses exclusively on the color
scheme - red, white, and blue.
A patriotic color palette was indeed a unifying theme among Early American interiors, commonly accented by yellow and gold. Other recurring elements included the use of metal accessories (copper, brass, pewter), mass-marketed reproductions of 18th and early-19th Century furniture, indications of primitive crafting (needlepoint, braided rugs, etc.), and electrified, antique light fixtures.
Pewter mugs hang above the hearth in a colonial blue room lit by a
counterweight desk lamp as the milk pail turned side table is under
the ever-watchful eye of that EAGLE!
(Source)
My grandparents always had an eagle hanging in their house (usually
above the doorway) and it is one of the things that I have kept since
their passing.
I'll admit it, sometimes I get sucked in by the glamour of blonde wood and mobiles and starbursts and boomerangs, but I'm kind of hokey pokey at heart and I love the comfort and nostalgia of 1950's-does-1780's. So much so, that I try to encourage other people to participate in these anachronistic design choices with me.
After visiting Mt. Vernon, I learned that brightly-painted woodwork was actually a
hallmark of Early American design. The mid-tone wooden furniture, the rag rug,
the hardware on the doors, the wall sconces, and the saturated, coral-red paint are
evocative of the early American spirit.
(Source)
But the battle is mostly uphill. It took a lot of convincing to get my sister-in-law on board with the incredible, 1950's, Ethan Allen, sleeper sofa that my brothers and I found at a thrift store for $12.50!!! Its beautiful red-and-blue plaid upholstery, wood trim, high back, and turned-wood spindles, were so contradictory to the streamlined, low-profile silhouettes of its contemporaries that it just seemed downright un-American In actual fact, it screamed "Early American" so loudly, that we thought it was going to start another revolutionary war. She quickly changed her tune when I found an Early American side table with a built in lamp fitted out with hurricane glass and one of those glorious, fluted/ruffled, fabric lamp shades.
My very favorite is when the two worlds, Early American and Mid-Century Modern, collide; in my travels I often see that ubiquitous icon of mid-century decor, the two-tired end table, executed with turned-wood legs and spindles and a scrolled apron. The mash-up of competing styles is pure magic.
The barrel chair with turned wood spindles at the secretary, the red wingback, the paneled walls, the floral upholstery, the exposed ceiling beams, the braided rug, the tea service, and the brass light fixtures all speak to colonial America.
Nevertheless, you couldn't fool anyone into actually believing that this was a colonist's residence; it is early America viewed through the prism of post-War, patriotic nostalgia. I love this room!
Having just defeated the enemy, America was on a post-WWII high, fueled by extreme optimism and unbridled patriotism. That heady combination just might be the reason for the broad embrace of the stylistic elements of colonial America. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! (Are you chanting with me? Hahahahaha!!!)
Sometimes rustic, sometimes refined, the Early American style wasn't just limited solely to sitting rooms; kitchens (don't you love those black strap hinges and Early American Pyrex?), bedrooms, and clothing trends were subject to the influence as well. As a matter of fact, even eateries capitalized on the success of the colonial craze (see our coverage of Colonial Kitchen in San Marino, CA).
The breakfast nook of an Early American style kitchen
(Source)
Mid-century/Early American style
serving tray from my collection.
Better Homes and Gardens - April 1951
So which do you prefer?
Colonial Casual?
(from my copy of Better Homes and Gardens - April 1951)
Or Federal Formal?
(from my copy of Women's Home Companion - April 1952)
Given that much of Early American design is rooted in tradition, it seems counterintuitive to highlight it in a wacky tacky post. However, I think that amongst the current old-timey set it is so positively subversive to be such a fan of "Grandma Style" that it fits well within the realm of wacky tacky, don't you? Sacrifice mirrored shadow boxes and boomerang coffee tables for wingbacks and decorative butter churns??? Oh, the horror!
Well, does the Early American style remind you of mom or grandma? Do you think that there is a reason this style goes unappreciated? Is it best forgotten? I wonder if this style (along with other American exports of the time) became fashionable in other countries. Non-US readers, please feel free to weigh in on the subject!
Mary recently celebrated her birthday and to mark the occasion, I gave her the last thing in the world that she could possibly need - another Mr. Tiny original. Always hankering to create something new and because our latest musical endeavor, Tiny & Mary, has a decidedly western/cowboy bent, I thought I'd make something thematically appropriate. Too lazy to perform any actual research, I found emotional design inspiration in Town Hall Party (filmed in that well-known, country music capitol of the world, Compton, CA).
"Loved and Lost Again" - Patsy Cline on Town Hall Party
I LOVE western wear but it doesn't always have to be all welted smiley pockets, rhinestones, and fringe, right?! Sometimes (maybe most of the time) I just love those kooky, folky, farm-girl dresses that many of the women wore on Town Hall Party.
On the set of Town Hall Party (1955)
I think Mary could sneak right into this photo totally undetected.
(Source)
I try to convince myself that someday I would like to learn proper sewing technique, but who am I kidding? You probably could teach this old dog new tricks but it would take a veritable mountain of food rewards to get me to roll over. Nevertheless, I should mention that the strapless, fully-lined, bodice is boned using the unproven, Mr. Tiny method (read: complete disregard for any and all of the package's instructions). Combined, the prairie-style skirt has about sixteen yards of length; I thought that cleverly reversing the direction of the stripe in the second tier was an inspiration but if I had it to do over again (and an unlimited amount of material), I would probably make the entire dress one-directional.
Jacquard? Brocade? I am not a textile expert but I am coming to terms
with my predilection for yellow. Lucky enough to live near many discount
fabric outlets, I found something for my usual spending cap of $2 per yard
that was reminiscent of that flocked, damask wallpaper (oh, shoot maybe
it's damask?) used on saloon walls. It is probably rude to post the cost of
the material where Mary can see it, but she knows I am frugal...plus she
got a new dress! Gee whiz, Mary, quit complaining!!!
Mary hasn't quite cottoned on to the idea, but how awesome is it for her to
know that in the event of a downed airplane, a Titanic-style disaster, or a trip
to the kiddy pool, she has her own flotation devices attached to her arms?
Seriously, let's address the giant water wings in the room. How do we feel about the detached, puff sleeves? I tried to convince Mary that sleeves like this are a real thing but every internet search returned photos of questionable, Halloween costumes in various themes. In my mind, the reference point is that episode of I Love Lucy when Ricky and Lucy are handcuffed together; Ricky is appearing as a guest star on a television show and Lucy has to act as one of his hands until the handcuffs are removed. It seems to me that the program's Mistress of Ceremonies had a dress with similar sleeves.
Okay, so I just found this.
I can neither confirm nor deny that her sleeves are
indeed independent articles of clothing, but this is
exactly the dress about which I was thinking.
(Source)
Mary decided to inaugurate the dress by wearing it to a show that we played last week in San Diego. Honored to be opening for Canada's finest, Petunia & The Vipers, we were given the opportunity to enact a little bit of my Town Hall Party fantasy.
Dig that fancy marquee!
See how casually, but with such clear intention, she covers my name...mm hmm...
"Cricket Song" - Petunia & The Vipers
These guys are awesome! If they ever play in your neck of the woods, the word is "GO!"
My real heart's desire is to fulfill the notion of creating the most-perfect, old-timey barn dance that ever was or ever will be. BR5-49 came pretty close with a short scene in their video for "Cherokee Boogie."
"Cherokee Boogie" - BR5-49
See 1:11-1:31
And if Town Hall Party was a stylistic nail, then Big Sandy hit it right on top of it's little, square head with "My Sinful Days are Over" - but I wasn't invited to that party.
"My Sinful Days are Over" - Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys
I guess I'll just be building my mid-century, western-themed utopia one dress at a time. If and when that happens, "Y'all come!"
Cheers!
Mr. Tiny
p.s. (it's becoming a habit) If you're so inclined, please feel free to visit our Tiny & Mary Facebook page and "LIKE" us. Thanks!!!
