Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

I have always liked laundry lines. I think they evoke a memory of a time when so many things went a bit slower, or times when I lived in Colorado, or traveled in Europe when I was a child with my family. Whenever we were in Italy we saw dozens of laundry lines daily, even in the larger cities they draped their colorful array of clothing across the scenery of buildings and large windows. I have a couple of photos here from my last trip to Italy, when I went with my mother in 2006. Also, in Italy many of the rooms inside, or even the exterior of the buildings have bright colors such as peach, orange or yellow, which added to the array of color on the laundry lines.

I recently hung a dry laundry line inside my apartment. I missed seeing them more often; so I decided why not allow myself some of that joy in an urban environment? Obviously I can’t hang wet clothes on it but I like that I can hang my floral blouses or scarves up there, so I can see them before I iron them.

Every week I have a drying rack out for at least one day, to dry all the clothes I washed in the machine downstairs, but don’t want to put into the dryer. So many of my clothing items aren’t suitable for the dryers and I find most clothing lasts longer without the drying.

There are a couple of my watercolor paintings in this post and I hope to do more paintings of laundry lines soon. It is downright difficult to get the time I want to focus on all these creative aspects. I do the best I can, but there times I feel like I am running a race. I have been working on setting up schedules to focus on the various crafts, or weeks when I can focus more of cooking, etc…. Recently and in the past I took lots of photos of laundry lines and I am hoping to do some more paintings from those photos.

Not only does drying on a laundry lines outdoors save on energy, which is good for the environment, but it helps to brighten white’s fabrics. If you gently shake the clothing before hanging it on the line it can reduce wrinkles that might need to be ironed out. Plus it leaves clothing with a fresh, sun kissed scent. Some people who own their own dryers claim you can later put the clothing in the dryer for five minutes to reduce wrinkles.

I don’t mind things like hand washing laundry, drying racks or the site of laundry lines. I like these things that take a bit longer to finish. So much of modern life is fast paced and hectic. I am thankful for the slower, calmer events and find some beauty in them. I have heard friends complain about ironing for instance. When I used to have a lot of items to iron at once for instance, I would divide them into four items at a time. I ironed them one at a time, in a meditative state of mind, one for the north, south, east and west. That always made the task more enjoyable for me. I think I got that somewhere along the way when reading about American Indian rituals. The Quakers do daily tasks with a meditative state in mind, extending some consciousness into just enjoying the moment at hand.

Well I hope you all had a nice Fourth of July celebration. I went out to see some friends play music, which was fun. One of my friends recently had a heart attack and he was playing. It was nice to see him enjoying himself after going through such an ordeal. Life is so precious. We ought to be thankful for all the small things, as well as the bigger picture.

This poem is from the book The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster, a collection of poems by Richard Brautigan. This is how he presented it:

San Francisco

This poem was found on a paper bag by Richard Brautigan in a laundromat in San Francisco. The author is unknown.

By accident, you put

Your money in my

Machine (#4)

By accident, I put

My money in another

Machine (#6)

On purpose, I put

Your clothes in the

Empty machine full

Of water and no

Clothes

It was lonely.

Photos from Flickr

6 Essential Summer Accessories

July 1, 2015

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I can hardly believe it is July. Time has flown. I meant to get to this post awhile back but I have been super busy. These are just a few of the basic summer accessories, but these are ones that I consider kind of the basic essentials.

A hat: Aside from shielding one’s face from the sun it helps protect your hair. Sunlight can be kind of harsh on hair. I also like to use a leave in conditioner to protect the hair sticking out of the hat. At my age I get brown spots from the sun, so I try to carry my hat with me whenever I can to help prevent getting more!
Scarves: They brighten solid color outfits or blouses when wrapped around the shoulders or neck. There are days when I need to get dressed quickly and don’t have the time for an outfit that takes more time and effort to prepare. On those days (often after spending a lot of time on a post) I will wear a solid skirt or slacks, a solid blouse and a nice scarf. The floral scarf in this post was a gift from my daughter years ago. The blue with sunflowers scarf; I bought at David Owen’s Vintage shop.
A shawl or large wrap scarf: Whether made of cotton, rayon or some other soft fabric. The train and buses are chilly; therefore I have seen countless ladies in NY armed with a wrap scarf. Anything from a rayon pashmina scarf that is so available from street vendors in NY to a nice Bavarian folk scarf, or in this post I wrapped myself with a sarong skirt fabric.
Bracelets: All kinds of bracelets are fun. In the summer I particularly like charm bracelets since one doesn’t have to worry about them catching on thick winter sweaters. I made that charm bracelet of various silver charms. I also made the button bracelet and the tutti fruity one is one I made in the 1980’s. It has cute little lemon drop earrings to match!
Obi belt: Mine was made by Wada Africa. At the moment that designer has moved to Japan and she doesn’t have obi belts in her shop. I inserted a post picture of one from the Etsy shop ThriftyUpenyu. I like obi belts for their array of color, and how one can immediately perk up a solid dress, or outfit by wearing it. So many women have a simple solid color t-shirt dress, or a lovely black solid outfit. I like to wear my obi belt year round as well.
Earrings: Most of the time I still wear little post earrings, since those are my favorite. Summer is a time to break out the dangly and more bold, colorful earrings as well though. The bright lemons for instance, or air planes, are quirky and fun. The fabric covered cloth earrings here are from Awoke Vintage in Willamsburg, Brooklyn, NY.

If you see a caption on the bottom of the photo, of a single item, that means it is from an Etsy shop. If you click on them it should take you to the designer’s shop.

I put some emphasis on African print accessories here because I like them a lot. I think the various colors in the accessories are incredibly cheerful and that fun, playful aspect of summer is captured in the fabrics.

Hats

Scarves

Shawl

Obi belt

ThrfityUpenyu

Earrings

ThrftyUpenyu

Thriftyupenyu

Bracelets

Lovely extras:

Sweater Clips

These are particularly fun if you like vintage, or vintage inspired clothing. I bought mine from FoxgloveFawnlily on Etsy. Next time I’d prefer to buy one that is smaller, however I like that this accessory brightens up my darker clothing, while giving it a more vintage look.

I hope that you are enjoying summer and getting outside for some fun activities!

FoxgloveFawnlily

Cluth bag

ThrfityUpenyu

Headband

ThrfityUpenyu

Summer Lavender Dress & Floral Skirt- Rewinding, Reusing

June 26, 2015

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I haven’t gotten to an outfit post in a while! I have been juggling so many things. I am currently between jobs, and hoping to find temp to permanent work, or direct hire, so hopefully I can get a bit caught up on this blog! I am working on a lot of posts, a little at a time.

This lavender dress is a hand me down J. Jill from my mother. She gave it to me after she retired. It is very comfortable and a soft linen. I have been wearing it for several summers now. I tend to wear it more on the weekends, or when I know I won’t be in chilly, air conditioned rooms. It works great as a simple dress, with a sweater, or as a blouse under a skirt, as I have it here in the next outfit pictures. The skirt I bought new several years ago at Target, however I have kept it and usually end up wearing it several times in the spring and summer. I really like at the bright green in the skirt, as well as the lavender and blue in the flowers. It takes a lot of ironing, with so many folds of cotton fabric stitched down. I am happy to reuse and rewind these items year after year. There is no reason for me to buy a totally new summer wardrobe every year; when I have my favorite floral skirts that I have been wearing for years. Once summer hits, unless I am wearing shorts to go kayaking, or bike riding, I prefer to wear dresses and skirts almost all the time. I find most slacks just too hot in the summer. There is a rare occasion when I will wear slacks, or for instance I found a lovely lavender pair of slacks recently. Yet when the temperatures are soaring, for the most part I find skirts and dresses to be the most comfortable.

The jade necklace in this post was a gift from a lady I used to work for. She had so much lovely jewelry, and passed this piece on to me I so that I could enjoy it. Which I do! The vintage bracelet I found at a great little thrift shop up in Brewster, NY years ago. The ring was a gift; the stone is prehnite and sterling silver, from Sundance. My shoes are John Fluevog’s that I found at St. Luke’s thrift shop in the West Village, NY. Those violet socks are made from dropped yarn; they are from Muji. My hat is made from woven sea grass, it is from Wooden Ships. I bought it several years ago though, so I am not sure they are still making them.

I went to Unique yesterday; it is this very large thrift shop in Brooklyn, NY. I was in search of another classic solid skirt or two but I did not find one. I did find this lovely sweater from Garnet Hill that I photographed with the lavender dress. They go perfectly together. I decided to buy it since in the fall and winter I wear a lot of grey. This sweater will brighten those grey items up in a cheerful way! While I was at Unique I also found two pieces of linens to use for upcycling into aprons, and one I might upcycle into a floral skirt. I think I may have to make my classic skirt or two that I want for work, it tends to be the safest route to go when one’s weight fluctuates. I like elastic waistbands and I can always make a sash to go around the waist. I have one classic skirt I made in paisley years ago and it has served me very well, for many years.

We I hope you enjoyed this post. I have several more in the works and will aim to get them to you soon! I really enjoyed doing the post about Antonio Lopez’s fashion illustrations; so therefore I have decided to make more posts about art in the future. Inspiration is an important element in keeping creativity going, and I have several artists I like that I’d like to share with you.

Antonio Lopez- Remembering a Great Fashion Illustrator

June 17, 2015

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Antonio Lopez was a world famous fashion illustrator during the time of the 1960’s through the 1980’s. His work was so charged with energy and passion that designers have said that he inspired their work. His work was flamboyant, and glamourous. He generally signed his work with simply his first name, “Antonio.” He worked in a variety of mediums, from pencil, pen, watercolor, Polaroid film and charcoal.

When I was a teenager the person who inspired me the most in the fashion world was Antonio Lopez. There were times I would see a drawing of his and my heart would race with excitement. I remember waiting in anticipation for the New York Times to be delivered on Sunday so I could see what new drawings he had done for Bloomingdale’s or Bergdorf Goodman’s for instance. Each month when Vogue or Bazaar magazine came out it was the same anticipation. His work was exhilarating, capturing the essence of the world of fashion at the time. GQ editor Philp Smith wrote in Art Magazine in 1980 “the images function more as social icons than advertisements (1).”

Antonio was born in 1943 in Utado, Puerto Rico. His family moved to Bronx, NY when he was seven. As a small child he began drawing at age 2, inspired by the dresses and fabrics his mother worked with as a seamstress. His father worked making mannequins and Antonio often helped him. His parents encouraged him to work in fashion. He graduated from New York’s High School of Fashion Art and Design. He then went on to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology. There he met Juan Ramos, who became his art director and partner for 25 years. While a student at FIT he was in a work study program with Women’s Wear Daily. In 1962, he went to work full time for WWD and became one of their illustrators. He dropped out of school, and in 1963 he began working for the New York Times and taking on freelance work as well.

Antonio enjoyed the nightlife scene, clubs, and parties and was friends with and models and actresses such as Jerry Hall, whom he discovered at seventeen, Jessica Lange and Grace Jones, whom he drew often. Eventually these portraits were made into a collection referred to as “Antonio’s Girls,” a book that was published in 1982. He was a catalyst in the lives of many of his women friends. He discovered Tina Lutz, an aspiring model, and later introduced her to Michael Chow, a restauranteur, who became her future husband. Paloma Picasso spoke about how he would even draw in the midst of a party. His male friends included Andy Warhol, Yves Saint Laurent, photographer Bill Cunningham, and Karl Lagerfeld, whom owned the apartment he and Ramos loved in while in Paris in the late sixties and early seventies.

His work appeared in such magazines as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, the New York Times Magazine and Interview. He created ads for designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Valentino and Missoni. In 1985 he published Antonio’s Tales From the Thousand and One Nights (2). Many designers have said that they were inspired by Antonio and his illustrations, or photography. To this day he is remembered as a major figure in the fashion industry. In 2012 a book, “Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex and Disco”, was published, about Antonio’s life and career. It was written by Roger Padilha and Mauricio Padilha, and published by Rizzoli.

Antonio Lopez’s life was brief, due to his death from complications caused by the AIDS virus in 1987. He was forty four at the time. His friend, model Susan Baraz, was with him at the time of his death (3). Later that year Baraz and Hossein Farmani, a publisher for Vue Magazine, founded the organization Focus on AIDS, which “raises funds for AIDS research, care, and education through photography auctions (4).”

Antonio Lopez’s legacy unfortunately faded from the spotlight after his death, due partially to the stigma of AIDS at the time, and partially to the lack of internet. In recent years between the book release about his life and recent exhibitions, the hope is that more people will be inspired by his work. In 2013, Mac make- up and accessories released a collection that was presented by Jerry Hall, Pat Cleveland and Marisa Berenson to celebrate and bring awareness to Antonio’s life and work. All three models careers were launched by working with Antonio Lopez (5). He truly was a major inspiration, in the fashion industry to countless lives.