During the Christmas holidays the area around Rockefeller Center is even more crowded than usual. Years ago when I worked at Liberty of London as a sales lady, I worked at Rockefeller Center. It is very beautiful at night with the tree and lights. I remember my friend and I used to take our children ice skating at Rockefeller Center on occasion and I tried to teach the kids to skate holding them up with a scarf wrapped around them.
Anyway normally I don’t enjoy going into the busiest areas of New York anymore, particularly at the busiest time of day, right around 5pm. I really wanted to see the windows at Saks Fifth Avenue though and take pictures so that any readers of this blog from out of town could enjoy seeing the windows! New York does have some lovely windows during the holidays. It is always a treat to enjoy them.
Saks really did a wonderful collection of Art Deco windows. I am thrilled to be able to share this with others. I took so many photos I think first I will post the Art Deco ones from Saks. They also had several windows with fairy tale themes geared towards young ones. I will save those to combine with other fairy tale theme windows I see later on. I also saw some lovely windows at smaller stores in Soho or the West Village. Next week I am going to go to the 59th Street area and take photos of the windows at some shops up there. Saks had a wonderful light show going on on the front of the building. After an hour of being amidst the crowds I was eager to go downtown to my favorite stomping ground and relax a bit! I do want to go back and focus on seeing that light show since the few seconds I focused on it I noticed it was quite shimmering and exciting.
I wanted to walk over to Anthropologie and see their windows while I was there as well. I found the jeweler’s shop Louis Martin and took a picture of pearls for the last post before I went to the train. There were numerous decorations all around the area and it was fun to act like a tourist for just a bit. Walking and enjoying the free sights is one of the more economically sound ways to entertain one’s self while living in NY. There are always a zillion sites to see and things to experience so that is one of the best things about New York City.
I hope you enjoy the pictures and I will take more soon and share them as well!
These are just a few pictures of fall and winter florals. Emily, my daughter sent me this photo she took of herself in her pretty floral dress. She bought it at a thrift shop. Her jacket is second hand as well. She really likes hats and often has an interesting one on.
My fall/winter florals are from my fabric allotment when I worked at Liberty of London during the late 1980’s. My friend Josephina, who used to baby sit my daughter made me both the red and black floral jumper dress and the blue floral skirt. At the time she also made Emily little matching dresses. My blue skirt actually used to be a jumper but I altered it into a skirt. Both are fine for days that aren’t super cold. They are full enough that I can layer stockings and another thin layer underneath. I have plenty of contemporary shorter skirts, yet the retro ones like this (especially dirndl skirts) I often prefer to leave midcalf length which is the way we wore them then. I admit I still draw inspiration from the German dirndls I wore as a child when I lived there for five years. The Liberty fabrics have continued to look good since I always hand wash them and use a very gentle laundry soap with no dyes or perfumes. I also never put them in the dryer.
Emily Owen’s photograph
My black cardigan is thrifted, the grey one is from Uniqlo and my blue vintage teal blue sweater is from Junk in Willamsburg. They have some nice vintage clothes if you weed through their selection. I wore a tank top underneath the teal sweater that is lacy on top and is from the 1970’s.
I have always enjoyed florals, particularly after working at Liberty of London and then later on April Cornell. I have treasured the few pieces I acquired while working for both of the businesses.
My boots in the post were both gifts. The black lace ups are Timberline’s and the other boots the designer name escapes me. Those short boots aren’t real leather. I had a problem in that the heel started to fall off. I found out the shoe cobbler can sew your heels onto the sole of the boot if that happens!
The plant holder in this post is made from a recycled front loader washer door. I used to work in a laundromat part time and the owner made it into this plant holder. When he sold the laundromat he gave it and the plant to me. Nice way to upcycle!
Fall seems to have made a rather quick escape. Most of the leaves have already fallen and most days it is really cold. There are a few warmer days here, today for instance. Soon it will be time to bundle up in thick winter sweaters!
The paisley pattern dates as far back as the Sassanid Dynasty (200-650 AD) in Persia. Originally it was referred to as a boteh or buta (1), a Persian tear dropped shaped motif. It became popular again during the Safavid Dynasty (1501-1736) (2). During the time of the Qajar and Pahlavi Dynasty (1785 to 1925) the pattern was used for textile designs in royal and court garments, as well in the wardrobes of commoners (3). Historians believe the design was inspired by the pond frond; therefore it has been believed to be a symbol of fertility and celebration.
It was later, in the West called the Paisley, after a town in Renfrewshire, Scotland; where the textile mills manufactured lots of textiles with the design (4). From the time of 1800 to 1850 there were large quantities of paisley shawls produced there. European mills at the time still could not produce shawls with more than 15 colors, even at 1860. Soldiers who had been to the East often brought back Kashmir shawls which had far more multicolored facets. (5) The designs were first made on hand looms, then later on Jacquard looms (6). It is said that the design was also popular in Scotland on jewelry. During the 1900’s the design was produced on cotton; which began the popular bandana’s we know of today .
Eventually the pattern evolved and became larger with floral bouquets spreading in its design. In 1968 when the Beatles went to India; the paisley became very popular and was associated with psychedelic style and Indian spirituality . Baby carriages and everyday items were covered with the print during this time.
Paisley has gone in and out through the years. If you like classics it is considered a classic. I know in all the years since I made my paisley skirt in 1979, every time I wear it I still get compliments. When I worked at Liberty of London we sold thousands of paisley ties, handkerchiefs and blouses, as well as household items with paisley fabric on them. I have always enjoyed seeing paisley patterns; perhaps since I remember how lovely my mother looked in them when I was a child. The retro pictures in this post are of my mother and my brother and I. They were taken during a trip to Galway, Ireland in 1968. I made the paisley skirt in the picture of me with the hat. The other paisley skirt is from the late eighties when I worked for Liberty of London up in Rockefeller Center, NY. My African print dress I bought at the Boulder, Colorado coop in 1994. I have taken really good care of it and recently when African dresses came back in style several people commented that they thought it was new.
Many years ago, when I attended a Catholic high school, we were required to wear navy and white plaid skirts, white blouses and navy sweaters. We also were required to wear navy or black shoes. If it was very cold or we so desired, we could wear the uniformed navy slacks. By the time I finished high school I had had enough of navy to last me about twenty five years!
It’s only recently that I’ve been wanting more than a handful of darker blue pieces in my wardrobe. I also like the color teal or a softer shade or a deep turquoise blue. Several weeks ago I came upon a vintage large pocket wrap skirt at Stellah’s Vintage Groove in Bedford Stuyvesant. It was handmade so the quality caught my eye. It is that deep turquoise kind of blue, with little yellow apples with black stems. When I saw that hanging on the rack I immediately thought of how those colors could liven up my fall/winter clothing. It was a mere ten dollars and I am not sure when it was made. It has those large pockets like in the late 1940’s. If it was made later the fabric is vintage. I believe it was made about 1948 when those little apples seemed to be a popular pattern. I have enjoyed wearing it with either a white blouse or a deep golden yellow tee shirt . In the cold winter I will wear it with tights and a bulky sweater.
Picture by Angela Delacroix
Several months ago I bought a teal, navy mixed plaid dress with soft green and purple lines in it. It’s a vintage Prince Charmer dress, from the 1950’s. I find it kind of fun that it reminds me of my old Girl Scout dresses when I was very young. It is in good shape, other than a bit of fading from wash and wear. There are times it is difficult to deal with the pressure of trying to dress appropriately for offices and still trying to retain one’s own style. This dress is perfect since it has a lovely office look, yet is vintage and plaid. I always like plaids!
Picture by Angela Delacroix
I also have this lovely pale blue Fifth Avenue Mussallhem Product apron from the 1970’s. It is so pretty that sometimes I am tempted to upcycle it onto a skirt. The scene on the front is so cheerful ! It reminds me of Vesuvio Bakery on Prince Street in Soho, NY even though it is a different scene on the apron.
When I used to live in Colorado, my favorite apartment that I have ever lived in ever had a turquoise antique stove! The building had another just like it across the way, both used to be a 1950”s hotel. Then later it became a residential apartment building. When apartments there were for rent either people came to see them and loved it, or they took a look outside, saw that it looked like an old hotel and split. The people who lived there all loved it. Our neighbors tended to be other artistic and creative people. We had picnic tables between the buildings, and each apartment had a swinging love seat outside. It was such a quaint place to live. I could sit and watch the snow fall in winter from out my kitchen window. Often as I was cooking dinner I saw packs of raccoons or a couple of deer out in our yard between the two buildings. From my neighbor’s apartment on the second floor patio, we could at night and watch the sun setting over the mountains. So that turquoise stove remains fondly in my memory for inviting me to live in such a lovely place for several years.
I cannot think of blue without thinking of my Southwestern silver jewelry. I like to wear silver bracelets and turquoise with new clothes, thrifted outfits and even vintage. I enjoyed the nature and mountains out in the west. I loved seeing animals every day when I lived in Colorado. Often I saw deer, rabbits, raccoons, and even foxes on occasion. It is a beautiful feeling to be walking on a road and come across a family of deer. I remember one family where the mother or father looked me in the eye, as to see what my decision would be about allowing them to pass. I waited for the traffic to pass and crossed the road so they felt safe to continue. I also really thrived on the feeling one gets when digging and growing plants in a large garden plot such as I had in Boulder, Colorado. I rented it from the city for a small fee every spring. It was only three blocks from my apartment. I grew lots of herbs and flowers. I miss those kinds of feelings so much living in the city; so my Southwestern jewelry is a reminder of that spirit. I think the jewelry has become incorporated with who I am. I have carnelian pieces as well, or little red stones, prehnite pieces, yet they all have that Southwestern feel.
Life in the city for me is often brings up conflicting feelings. There are times I feel like I am on a long business trip. I came here hoping for more financial security. The recession has been a rough tumble. Perhaps things will turn around. I am in a state of flux, looking for more steady work right now.
I also wanted to be a part of Bedford Stuyvesant (in Brooklyn), NY, becoming more diverse as a neighborhood. It is a great neighborhood in Brooklyn, at least in my opinion. Years ago it used to be an area with a huge amount of crime and violence. Even twenty years ago I used to walk as far as I could, (one had to think of one’s safety) within the area and look at the old brownstones. I saw such promise there. Now I have actually seen the brownstones being renovated, I became a part of the community as well. I don’t live in that area anymore, but I am within a twenty minute bus ride away. One of the things I love about that neighborhood is that it is religiously and racially diverse area. People are respectful of one another, and very neighborly.
One of the hobbies I have during my time off is taking pictures of old brownstones and old houses. A couple of the houses in this post were built around 1903-1910 in the Ditmas Park area of Brooklyn. For this post I chose houses with lots of blue! This neighborhood is filled with lovely, old Dutch homes. The subway came to the Ditmas Park area around 1903, and during the 1900’s many homes were built. I have a lot of pictures of brownstones that I have taken through the years. I will share some of those in later post. The first few years after I moved back to Brooklyn I lived in two different brownstones. I wanted to live in a brownstone so much, to have that experience. It was great in some ways. Walking around and looking at old brownstones is really fun. I didn’t have a whole apartment living that way though, so eventually I moved further into Brooklyn. Now I have more space and rent stabilization; yet in order to get that I live in a larger building.
I hope you are enjoying fall where ever you are! It is such a lovely time of year. The changing of the season is an experience that I have always enjoyed.
