old hollywood

Ode to Katharine

I have never gone golfing. I feel like it is something I really need to do. One of my best friends golfed in college (and I’m waiting for her to take me out on the green *hint hint*) , but I have never been invited or had a chance to go golfing. Now I could say it was for the learning experience or my future networking endeavors, but I would be lying. The beginning and end of why I want to go golfing has everything to do with Katharine Hepburn and almost nothing to do with my physical prowess. No one does casual athletic elegance like Katharine Hepburn.

Honestly, I see myself jaunting around in a pair of breezy pants, oxfords, and leather kid gloves, making very witty comments with a knowing grin. Basically, I would probably be terribly obnoxious and think I was a lot smarter than I actually sound. But it would be all so terribly marvelous, and who knows… I could meet the next Howard Hughes.

Spice Up Your Life

After the repeated navys, khakis, and whites of nautical week (and it’s spill over), I thought I’d switch it up with something a bit more bold. Like yesterday’s romper outfit. This ensemble requires little work for the resulting polish. A strapless dress, espadrilles, and a big hat seem old hollywood in a way that will make you look like Grace Kelly even when you’ve just rolled out of bed. I’ll be doing a similar look later this week on the blog, so for now, I’ll just leave it at that. Make sure to turn in tomorrow (ok really almost today… later) for this Wednesday’s woman!

Outfit Details: Hat: vintage | Dress: Anthropologie | Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters | Shoes: Coach | Wallet: Fossil

Getting Jazzed for the Tonys

Get excited theatre lovers! Today is none other than the Tony Awards!! To celebrate the occasion, I had to don something sufficiently zany, but (if I do say so myself) wholeheartedly FABULOUS. Can’t you just see Gloria Swanson walking down a boardwalk adorned as such, tipping her sunglasses and crooking those ominous eyebrows? Or maybe I could belatedly join Anything Goes? I think the closest aesthetic I could fit to anything currently playing would be the King and I, up for a best revival nomination, but it’s quite a stretch (and I’d need to trade in the trousers for a hoop skirt). Ah well, I will have to content myself to watching. For those of you who don’t know, competing for Best Musical are:

An American in Paris: two (coincidentally very good dancers) fall in love in Paris after WW2- think old Gene Kelly
Fun Home- a woman realizes she’s a lesbian at the same time her father struggles with the fact he is gay- based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel)
Something Rotten- two aspiring playwrights try to outdo Shakespeare in the 1590s by writing the first musical- the makers of Avenue Q and Book of Mormon collaborate on this for nothing short of comic hilarity
The Visit- the richest woman in the world returns to her poverty-stricken hometown. What will happen?- based on a Swiss 1956 play of the same name (but in Swiss)

For Best Original score, switch out An American in Paris and add The Last Ship, or Sting’s (you heard me right) new musical currently on Broadway. The musical focuses on a man who returns to the shipyards of his hometown after his father’s death and tries to woo an old flame…

I am very conflicted as to what to vote for. Fun Home is probably the most controversial, and though it addresses issues not covered before of the Great White Way, to me the modern musical scores are kind of hokey. Ring of keys (the song that will be preformed from it tonight) centers around the word “swagger,” which ends up annoying me so much that I can’t listen to it. Telephone Wire is catchier, but uses what seems to me an obvious metaphor that feels stale when it becomes more of a symbol than an object.

I haven’t heard how they’ve redone an American in Paris or anything from The Visit. Something Rotten is very funny but has frequent language (making it, I think, less applicable to universal audiences, even if it is truer to Shakespeare’s usage). Further, as the title promises, a lot of the jokes are “rotten” as in more base toilet humor, which I find boring after a few times, personally. So! I guess I’ll just have to see who wins.

Real talk: Today’s outfit was shamelessly inspired by the wardrobe of the heroine in my new favorite Murder Mysteries Mini-series (scoot over Angela Landsbury). Meet Miss Phryne Fisher of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. There will be more to come on this topic in future posts.

Eccentric Glamour: Nautical Edition

Welcome to the newest installation of the Eccentric Glamour linkup, which basically serves as an excuse to dig out the crazy clothes that you felt too shy to wear to the grocery store. As George Bernard Shaw lamented in his epistolary dedication to Man and Superman, “Civilized society is one huge bourgeoisie: no nobleman dares now shock his greengrocer.” I can’t speak to modern day nobility, but I do like the occasion to try and dress like them. Then again, who am I kidding? Ostrich feathers a la 1970 say new money nearly as fast as an oversized yacht.

Speaking of yachts, with this photoset I’m kicking off a week of nautical posts. I’ll try to span the gambit on different style interpretations and throw in a few facts along the way. I’ve got more on Flagler (if you can stand anymore after this), and I think it’s high time that Wednesdays for Women come back. Additionally, I was thinking a Sunday brunch section where I finally get to gush on the Broadway musical number that is the current flavor of the week (currently obsessed with Melisande from 110 in the Shade– maybe due to the temperature?). Please speak up if that would be unbearable, but otherwise I’m going ahead…

Please add your eccentric glamour link below!! Here are the rules:

If you’d like to regularly contribute, please take a moment to follow my blog (links can be found on the sidebar).
Please confine posts to those which showcase some spectacular article of clothing. It doesn’t have to be crazy, but just a bit in line with our theme of “Eccentric Glamour” (although choosing one half or the other of that mantra will also suffice). However, if you choose to post, please provide a link back to the Eccentric Glamour link-up somewhere in your post.
Try to check out a few other bloggers posts to build inspiration and community!

Thanks everyone!

The Clothesline

Style for people blowing in the wind