Whaddya want?

(The Grapefruit Scene from ‘The Public Enemy’, 1931. Source.)

I posted a shout-out on Facebook, but thought that I would put it on here too. I’m trying to think of more things to write about on here, and wondered what you thought.

-Is there anything you would like to read/see more of, less of, any suggestions of things I could write about?

-Do you want to see anything more specific?

-Would you enjoy reading film reviews and/or more outfit posts, for instance?

All feedback and constructive criticism is welcome; feel free to leave your reply in the comments.

Thanks

Anushka

records

We discovered a groovy little record shop whilst meandering around looking for nothing. It was great because it sells primarily jazz, blues and rock – CDs as well as records – which are my favourite genres. I can’t comment on the record selection because I know absolutely nothing about vinyl, but it was just lovely to find a shop selling all of the artists I know and love so well, and at affordable prices (generally £5-6 per CD).

Most of the CDs were of the ‘Best Of…’ variety, which are great as an introduction to an artist you may not know much about, but ultimately are quite annoying as you often end up owning multiple copies of the same recording(s). In this case, it’s often easier to buy singles, or download songs as MP3s.  They did have a few albums though, and I even found the complete recordings of Bessie Smith – over 8 CDs! Sadly this was definitely out of my price range…

It was lovely to find a place with a shelf featuring Louis Jordan, Elvis and Wanda Jackson so close by each other (see above). Unfortunately I did not take to the proprietor of the shop, whose manner I found condescending (amongst other things) and so will not be back. How I am treated in a shop really affects my experience of it, and my likelihood to purchase or return again. In this instance I walked straight out leaving the CDs I was about to buy behind.

So until I find another independent blues record shop with more welcoming and friendly staff, I will continue to listen to Bessie Smith and Etta James on Spotify!

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com

Crumbs of knowledge

What a busy, difficult and stressful week this has become. I made these amazing and delicious chocolate-chip cookies on Monday , to cheer myself up, which are really rather lethal as I can’t seem to stop eating them. (Even staring at this photo is making me peckish for one.) They are a very simple recipe, to which I added cocoa powder, milk Belgian chocolate chips, vanilla essence and mixed spice. It would be better for my health if I wasn’t so good at baking.

I’m mainly writing to show you my geese bowls – I found two of the same in a charity shop for 20p each! Last November and December were really excellent for charity shop finds; they have been rather sadly empty as of late.

It’s full steam ahead on my final uni projects, and there’s sadly very little time for knitting or reading!

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com

Exploring the 1930s

For my final project at uni I am exploring the cut and construction of womenswear of the 1930s. I will be making a women’s suit and a bias-cut, draped evening dress. This is really exciting, in many ways: developing my ability as a pattern cutter; enhancing my knowledge of specialist tailoring skills with and by incorporating couture sewing techniques; exploring the implications of propaganda, publicity and social context on dress; and of course, coming out with two fabulous outfits at the end of it!

The suit that I am making is the one above, which I found in a 1935 publicity shot of Joan Crawford for her film ‘No More Ladies‘. Unfortunately the DVD appears to be Region 1 only, so I am unable to watch the film to see if the suit features at all. (If any readers in the US happen to have the chance to watch it, I would be incredibly grateful for whatever you could tell me, especially any film stills you can glean!).

Once again I am blogging my progress on the projects over on my tailoring blog, which is one that my tutors use to assess my work. Past content may not have been very thrilling, however I feel that as I’m exploring social context and implications, as well as the fact that the garments I’m making are so connected with this vintage trend thing that is so hot at the moment*, it might be of interest to you to follow it over the coming months. (I will be writing on it regarding my Extended Major Project[s] up until mid-May.) I enjoy writing so many posts are quite wordy but you may like reading it. Additionally, if I write especially interesting or relevant posts regarding fashion history et caetera I may re-work them slightly and post them over here as well. http://anushkatay.blogspot.com 

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com

*Naturally I’ve been interested in period clothing for years, got the cat’s eye frames before they appeared in Vogue and Topshop, did the black eyeliner and red lipstick thing long before all the trendy girls at school/uni did, blah blah blah etc etc etc etc.

Disastrous mornings

Mornings are, quite simply, disastrous. I just cannot cope with them and if you ever have to meet me in the hours after I’ve risen from bed, don’t be offended. If I seem to ignore you, it’s not that I’m not pretending you’re not there. I’m pretending I’m not there, futilely hoping that soon this will be over and I can crawl back into bed.

Somehow this morning I managed to be running early – a feat of amazement! So in order to try and fulfil a request for outfit posts on the blog I decided to make like Annie and spend the extra morning time in taking some pictures.

Disaster! The whole thing was. (How does she manage to be so coherent at such early hours?!) I’ll cut it short and just say that in the end I forgot to put on my eyeliner, and ended up running late after all. But you don’t want to hear any more on my morning mess. Here’s what I wore.

1940s jacket – part of a suit bought from Firefly Vintage on Etsy. Drop-waist jersey dress and Dents red patent leather belt – various charity shops. Beret – stolen from my boy-friend. Silk chiffon scarf – apparently stolen from my mother.

Mornings. Illustrated by strange lighting, messy bedrooms, and incoherent facial expressions.

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com

Bobbles & Bobbles & Bobbles

My latest knitting project from ‘A Stitch in Time Vol. 1′ is the blackberry stitch cardigan, which was originally published in 1947. I decided to make this first because I actually much prefer cardigans to jumpers. I always have done, and endured quite a lot of taunting for it at school, for some reason. There are very few cardigan patterns offered in this book and I went for this one. I’m knitting it using Jamieson & Smith’s 2-ply jumper weight yarn. There are so many colours to choose from in their range that it’s almost impossible to decide on one. Furthermore, their shade cards seem to have been out of stock for at least the past seven months, so it’s pretty difficult to know what the colours will actually turn out to be like! I ended up choosing this russet colour because it was reduced. I’d wanted to knit something brown simply because the colours I tend to migrate towards, especially when it comes to yarns or fabric, are pretty much all the same: pink, purple, grey, teal or navy blue. Time to introduce some change!

I’d originally ordered the Shetland yarn because I was hoping to be able to finish the cardigan for my trip to Edinburgh, at the end of December. I had been petrified at the prospect of the Scottish temperature at that time of year  for months. However I didn’t finish the cardigan, and luckily it was an unusually warm December up north!

It’s taking a very long time to knit. The stitch pattern isn’t difficult (you just have to be sure to knit loosely on the row before the decrease row) but is time consuming. The Shetland yarn is quite rough and I’m hoping that it will soften up with wear. I am most looking forward to experiencing the famous insulating capacities which Shetland wool is renown for.

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com

Enchanting in grey and pink

Forgive the dark lighting, but I really like the atmospheric setting of this photo. This week, I have finally finished sewing up this sweater, which is of course ‘Enchanting in Black and White’ from the brilliant book, A Stitch in Time Vol.I by Jane Waller & Susan Crawford.

I finished knitting the sweater several months ago but naturally it’s been hanging around waiting to be sewn up for ages. For once I kept to the instructions of the patterns and didn’t alter the length, which I am glad of as I find it quite flattering. The longer length means that it doesn’t ride up, and I can wear it with trousers without having to worry about baring my midriff! I had two balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze in similar shads in my stash. As I wasn’t sure if one would be sufficient to complete the yoke I alternated the two balls with a stripy result, which I quite like. I would definitely knit this jumper again in different colours, it will be the perfect thing to wear in the spring and is great with this mild weather we’ve been having over the last few days. Here’s what I wore it with today:

I walked along the beach and it was barely windy.

 

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com

1910s Lounge Suit

Here are photographs of the 1910s lounge suit that I made for the performance of Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale which was performed by AUCB acting students in collaboration with Kokoro, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s ensemble group.

 

The suit was made for the character of the Narrator, who turned out to be a pretty significant part! I made the jacket and trousers, and another girl mare the waistcoat. The jacket itself has five pockets, which were the cause of many sleepless nights and headaches! A bespoke suit, it is completely hand tailored, using traditional English (Savile Row) methods but with theatrical seam allowances to allow for future alterations. I spent the last three months working on it, and the checked fabric was a total nightmare; but  I think that it really paid off because he looked brilliant onstage, and really loved the suit itself. I will post photos of the show as and when I get them. If you area really interested in the project you can read more on it over at my tailoring blog.

All photographs in this post are taken by Jana Rumley, 2011.

I’m now giving menswear a bit of a break, and am looking forward to re-uniting myself with the delights of womenswear (curves & bumps!) over the next five or so months.

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com

New Year’s leopards

Happy New Year!

{Click photos to enlarge, if you really must}

I’m really grateful that the people I saw on New Year’s Eve were distinctly not of the compulsive-photo-taking variety, and as such my NYE has remained very thankfully undocumented. But I was wearing this leopard coat so thought that this photo would be appropriate for the post. It is a fantastic 1950s faux fur leopard coat from Armstrong’s in Edinburgh, that was my boy-friend’s Christmas present to me. Whilst we were in Edinburgh (last week) we also found him this leopard tie, which was not second-hand. I foresee many more leopard-themed his-and-her shots in the future.

Speaking of which, I think that this coming year should be a good one. Lots of bloggers are currently posting 2011 overviews, but I can’t really be bothered to revisit the past. 2012 will involve: lots more nightmarish sewing at uni,but with glorious results; photo shoots; jobs; graduation; friends; gigs (fingers crossed!); travel; and my 21st birthday.

I had a new year’s resolution, but I’ve already forgotten it. So instead I think I will just try to enjoy myself.

For now,

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com

My outfit involves: 1950s leopard coat – Armstrong’s in Edinburgh; Chinese blouse – belonged to my late great-grandmother, made by her niece a professional tailor; Velvet leggings – found in a drawer in my sister’s bedroom, apparently belonged to me but I don’t know when, perhaps when I was about 10?! 

Season’s Greetings

Most of you are probably done with Christmas by now – but how could I let the New Year come in without first finding an opportunity to share one of the many great Christmassy photos that my mum took of my boy-friend and I ?!

We were all staying in a really lovely hotel in the Cotswolds for my step-aunt’s winter wedding. It was my third wedding of the year, and this time I had no official duties since my sister was the sole bridesmaid. This was great as I was able to just enjoy the wedding (maybe a little too much!).

The fantastic 1950s silk taffeta dress is from Armstrong’s in Edinburgh and has really done the rounds of the Christmas parties this year!

2011 has been a really great year for me, filled with people and places. There have been hard times, some of which have been completely  unexpected, but I hope that 2012 will be just as filled with brilliant occasions for you and yours as well.

Happy New Year!

-Anushka

http://byanushka.wordpress.com