Only a brooch
Spring Fashion
Written by cjhammon in Books | Music | Art | Culture, Life in Yesterday's Clothes, Style
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Skirt: J. Jill
Turtleneck: Chico’s
Boots: Easy Street (Pleather!) Jim calls them my go-go boots!
Brooch: vintage
Today’s vintage piece is only a poinsettia brooch. Why do I say “only” when it was just what I needed to jazz up this pretty skirt and a plain turtleneck for a holiday dinner with old friends this evening? On our way home, I noticed all the flags flying half-staff. You know why. Our nation has been mightily touched by this tragedy.
No time for a meaty post today, so this is another mish-mash post. I can’t bring myself to the habit of only sharing clothes, so here are my little discoveries.
Music and mistakes
I heard Barbra Streisand say that she likes the little imperfections in some of her early recordings, which are part of a new album, Release Me. (Listen to this interview and you can hear her singing when she was only 13. It also includes a song she mixed with her mother’s voice.) Streisand is a well-known perfectionist, so her statement says something about the mellowing effect of maturity.
I’m looking forward to the day when I can embrace my own mistakes without having my heart skip a beat. As of today, that’s still a work in progress. I nearly had a meltdown this morning when an important e-mail I know that I sent disappeared in cyberspace. How do you manage when things don’t go well? When it’s too late to fix, I’m trying to learn to do three things:
1) Completely own it
2) Learn from it
3) Take a deep breath and let it go
Mistakes should never make us believe that we don’t deserve to work or live again. Let’s change the subject, shall we?
Look at these organizations devoted to vintage culture. I didn’t know they existed until this past weekend!
Jane Austen Society of North America
It has a following of people with an above-average affinity for All Things Jane. Locally, they have six or so events each year, covering fashion, sex, love, money and power—oh, and tea, of course. Next October is the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice and they are planning a big shindig to celebrate here in Indy.
Victorian Society in America, a non-profit organization devoted to the era.
Circle City Aerodrome, a local Steampunk society for fans of Steampunk art and culture. There’s one of these in practically every city!
Sherlock Holmes Club, locally known as the Illustrious Clients.
Anyone out there belong to one of these vintage societies—or want to? We’d love to hear more about them.
Life is short. Wear the good stuff.
7 comments
December 18, 2012 at 10:33 pm
Two things.
First, your advice on how to deal with mistakes is so much better than how some choose to react when a mistake is made. You know…
1) Blame anyone and everyone else.
2) Refuse to learn from it.
3) Moan, cry, and secretly beat yourself up for it for the next 49 years or so.
Second, I love the brooch! Such a simple way to totally dress up the outfit! Just for kicks I took a black marker and held the end of it over the brooch in the picture. After a few seconds, I moved the marker so the brooch showed again. What a difference! As always, you look fabulous!
December 19, 2012 at 7:39 am
Renee, you’re so funny! Yes, I feel like I don’t have 49 years to get over things any more. Only problem with brooches: I hate the way they make holes in my clothes! Didn’t get to talk with you on Sunday because I was dashing out so quickly. Thanks for your kindness, as always!
December 19, 2012 at 3:24 pm
I agree, you and the brooch look great!
December 19, 2012 at 8:45 pm
You’re a dear! I’ve been thinking about your fur question. I like the muff idea and collars and cuffs. The fur on Etsy is just a hair (pardon the pun) bigger than a fitted coat for me. It might fit, but you probably wouldn’t have a lot of room for a jacket or sweater underneath. How was Chicago????!
December 19, 2012 at 10:26 pm
The brooch is a beauty! And I love what you had to say about mistakes. Wish I had that one down.
December 20, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Oh, thank you so much, Judith. It’s one of my favorites because it belonged to a dear friend’s mother.
December 21, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Hello you beautiful woman! Thanks for saying hullo on twitter.
And for wearing that lovely poinsetta pin!