My Kind of Girl...

Oh Barbie, with your tiny feet and impossible proportions, I don't care that if you were real you would fall over, or that your perma-blonde hair and twinkly blue eyes might not be the best stereotype for young girls to have around (actually, no, that would be Bratz, brrrr), I just know that you're my little plastic friend, and more importantly, I want your clothes! And aside from wanting to wear them all, I want to make them into art projects! Possibly...

Now you see, I've gone and gotten myself distracted by looking for perfect illustrative Barbie pics and instead finding all sorts of other things, like the fact that the original ad for Peaches & Cream Barbie (yes, thats her up there - I hope you're looking after her Anthony!) is on youtube, don't make me post the link as that'll mean going back there, and half the reason I got distracted was the HUGE list of 'related videos' which were all divine 80s Barbie adverts *sigh* However, I will give you this, the first ever advert for Barbie, back when, admittedly, the living doll's career options were limited to...erm...dressing pretty and getting married...

But anywaaaaay, Barbie's come a long way since then; she's been an astronaut, run for president, and my personal favourites (mainly through receiving them as an entirely unexpected Christmas present last year), been transformed into, amongst other DC comic book characters, Batgirl and Black Canary. She's even, and see how this ties neatly into my previous post (I am SO getting the hang of this blog thing!), been Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra.

Oh, I can't possibly fit all I want to say about Barbie into one post, so until the next time (and there will be a next time), go here and try not to spend as much time cooing at the screen as I may well have done in the past...


You know you've made it when you've been moulded in miniature plastic. But you know what children do with Barbie dolls - it's a bit scary, actually.
Cate Blanchett

Cleopatra, coming atcha...

Have you seen Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra? Isn't she/it the most fabulous thing? Ok, so the costumes have less to do with Ancient Egypt and more to do with what was fashionable at the time (and what would show La Taylor's splendid décolletage to its best advantage), the one above, for example, is a beauty.

But who cares? 4 hours and 65 costumes later, I defy you not be sit there in stupefied wonder at the gold! The Sequins! The Glitter! At $194,800 the budget for lovely Liz's wardrobe was the highest ever for a single screen actor, and included one dress actually made from 24 carat gold cloth (I'm hoping it's this one). Nice asp indeed...

I had a friend who wrote her dissertation on the many different versions of the Cinderella story (we never agree about The Slipper and the Rose, I love, she hates)), and I think (were I at college again with vastly sympathetic tutors) I would do the same for the many versions of Cleopatra out there, from the smoky eyes/string of pearls of silent movies to 'Cleopatra 2525', which judging by the imdb plot summary, is something I can't believe I missed. But then, off I went a-googling, and it appears it's already been done. Darn.

In an epoch as somber as ours, one must fight for luxury inch by inch.

Christian Dior (1905 - 1957)

She Who Sews, Wins...

Are you brave enough to attempt making up a John Galliano pattern? Yes? You have great big fashionista steel cojones? Well then, here you go. Ok, ok, so its not the frock in the picture above, more on that later...

I downloaded this pattern a couple of years back and I have to admit I've never had the courage to do more than stare wistfully at it on my screen. But it appears others have not been so cowardly, and there are pictures of their results that make me think, hey, now might just be the time...

Talking of Galliano (as we were), what a beautiful freaky genius that man is. Whether he is inspired by homeless people living alongside the Seine, or an aerial tour of Egypt (that'll be the one above, reviewed better than I ever could here), his designs never fail to take my breath away...and make me trill the same coo-ing noise I tend to reserve for exceptionally beautiful shoes (there will definitely be more on them later...)

Now I was going to cunningly link this into some chat about the costumes worn by Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, but I'm afraid that will just have to wait...to keep you amused during the wait (which may be an hour, or two weeks, depending on how distracted I am by fabric!), why not try this.

Show me the clothes of a country and I can write its history.

Anatole France (1844 - 1924)