This photo was taken in 1900 at the famous Easter Parade on NYC's Fifth Avenue - the place to see and been seen by anybody who was anybody!
Amazing, that in such a short time, Easter attire changed so dramatically.
It would seem these young lovelies chose to forgo being Easter Bunnies for being Easter Chicks!
Even Hollywood got in on the actions - here Judy Garland and Fred Astaire sing about the thrills of having a new Easter bonnet with lots frills upon it!
Pier Angeli shows us all how beautiful young starlet opera singers decorate Easter eggs fit for a diva!
Oh, Ann, Ann, Ann. Even without her tap shoes, Ann Miller turns everything into a contest!
As Elizabeth Taylor had just stolen Eddie Fisher away, Debbie Reynolds names her candy rabbit "Liz" and chomps off her ears!
The Scandinavians even have an Easter witch! A shame this tradition never made it to America; I bet Hollywood, tv, and Madison Avenue could have a field day with a beautiful witch for another holiday!
I've never subscribed much to the "too pretty to eat" philosophy. I appreciate gorgeously decorated food and ooh and aah with the best of them. But I'm ALWAYS ready to bite into them! However, these candy treasures might actually be too pretty to eat. But, just in case, it might not be in the best interest of everyone to leave them with me overnight!
I must admit, when it comes to Easter animals, I'm pretty traditional. I like to stick with the chicken, bunnies, ducks and lambs for this time of the year. But sometimes, I'm intrigued when other animals try to get into the act.
Vintage European Easter greetings always seem just more romantic and pretty than the American counterpoints.
And a whole display of these antique treasures at Easter time is so pretty!
Modern American cards might be clever - but they art work just can't compare IMO!
However, today's Easter decorations can still be absolutely gorgeous, as shown in this photo by Sheila Hickey Garvey taken at Rockefeller Center this year (12014) - so fanciful and colorful!
Though today we are warned via advertisements in magazines and PSA's on tv and radio, that rabbits are not 'gifts' nor 'care-free' - but there was a time when children always received an Easter bunny every year.
Well, enough of this frivolity, strengthen up and get in that studio and make something beautiful! Hpe you have a lovely holiday!
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´♥ Tristan ♥
I'm leaving you with images from the Steampunk Easter blog hop at Leslierahyes' blog
Faber-Punk Eggs by Lyneen Jesse
Steampunk Easter Brooch by Barbara Rankin
Steampunk Easter Egg by Leslie Rahye.
Visit the blog hop and see the other contributors offerings and tutorials!
I can't believe that so much time has passed since my last post - which was New Year's Eve! And here it is April! Maybe I've just been lost in an opium daze ...
To be honest, it's been a miserable winter here. The weather has been simply dreadful - and I've had several (three?) serious bouts with the flu - one of which I'm still on the mend. So I haven't had a lot to report or even spend much time cruising around the internet to find interesting tidbits to share!
But, a posting on the blog Messy Nessy Chic got me interested in the French Apache style of life and dressing - and I thought you would like to know a little about it, too! And, it was a good reason to get the blog going for the year!
We're going to take a look at this style phenomenon in the unlikeliest of settings - amidst the Parisian street gangs of the 1900's, les Apaches (pronounced ah-PASHZ, not a-PACH-ee, as in the Native American tribal name.
The Paris of the Bell Epoque saw the emergence of a certain type of street outcasts - a subculture that combined dandy style with the criminal underworld.
They lived in the city outskirts, shunned the idea of honest labor and took their names from the allegedly savage Native American tribes of Apaches. They targeted the bourgois middle class, hunting and stalking their victims before mugging them of their valuables using the special Apaches revolver as a weapon if needed (pictured below).
Abiding by their own code of honor, they woke up late, spoke the obscure slang Jare, and, most of all, paid very close attention to their style - particularly their footwear. It was their unlikely physical appearance that imposed both fear and respect from the Parisians and their police. An apache might have been holding you at gunpoint, but you - perhaps - would not have been unable to resist admiring his shoes or dandy layering.
Typical Apache style layering
Apache could steal, cheat - or kill, if necessary - to get hold of a pair of shoes that would enhance his image in the eyes of his gang or his lovers. The littlest scratch and the pair were thrown to the poor. The height of Apache vanity was a pair of freshly polished yellow boots with golden buttons.
Each gang was dressed slightly differently, often wearing something such as a red scarf that would be both a sign of belonging and a means of identification in other territories.
However, certain elements were the same in all gangs. All wore a certain type of trouser, tight at the knees and flared at the bottom, known as Bénard, which is still used in Parisian slang today to designate a pair of trousers (bénard, ben' or bénouze.)
On top, the men generally wore waistcoats or jackets with sailor shirts and on their heads there was always a hat of some description, generally a flat cap or béret.
See the influence on today's street style in Paris.
Interestingly, there was even an Apache dance.
In the 1920's, many a high society lady was spotted mingling with charismatic Apache groups in local Java dance halls in Bastille and Montmarte, letting her hair down in a famous Dance Apache.
The highly dramatic dance was the 'tango' of the Parisian street culture and was essentially made to look like a physical attack. Immortalized later in Hollywood and Broadway, the dance is said to re-enact a violent "discussion" between a pimp and a prostitute. It includes mock slaps and punches, the man picking up and carrying her while she struggles or feigns unconsciousness. The dance shares many features with the theatrical discipline of stage combat and also with professional wrestling.
In the video below, that will most certainly take you by surprise if you're unfamiliar with the dance moves, you'll see where modern entertainment show wrestling may have pinched its idea from and you will also recognize a few hair-raising moves that figure skating couples often use in their performances...
One of the most famous Hollywoodized - and highly sanitized versions - is the one by Gene Kelly and Cyd Cherise in "Singing in the Rain" - also of interest, the female dancer has become the 'dangerous' partner.
The Apache gangs ceased to exist after the First World War, with many members killed off in the conflict. However, bourgeois newspapers of the period and universal fascination with the underworld, turned the reign of the Apaches into a mix of myth and imagery will forever mark the Paris of the early 20th century.
Thanks for visiting after my long absence. Hope you enjoyed today's post - I will endeavor to keep up with updating my blog regularly again now that Spring and my energy has sprung!
... now go make something beautiful!
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´♥ Tristan ♥
This blog post was inspired and borrowed from the blog
There is no holiday more appropriate for my mantra "sparkle, shimmer,
glimmer, gleam!" than New Year's Eve, with it's remembrances of the
delights of the past year and the hopes and wishes for the new one.
...gather your prettiest papers and wires and fringes and silks and everything sparkly you can lay your hands on...
... with some crepe paper and silk and shiny foil fringe, begin the process
of a New Year's Eve fantasy ...
... twist and braid and weave and dye ...
...then get out your ladder to begin festooning and draping and creating ...
... hang your pinatas by silken cords ...
...and, if one should drop and break, it's only so you have enough nourishment to continue! ...
... have you made enough braid? ... are there enough tassels? ... have you used every last shred of sparkly and shiny scrap? ...
...then it's TIME! Pop the cork and celebrate. A new year - new
adventures - new knowledge - new challenges - new discoveries - new
loves - is about to begin!
Photographs from Confetti Systems and Urban Outfitters
Thank you for spending time with me this year. Thank you for your
encouragement and compliments and jokes and chiding and teasing. I
appreciate new-found friends so much, and I feel that you have
enriched my life in so many ways.
One of my all-time favorite New Year's Eve cocktails ...
Do you plan on playing games at your New Year's Eve party - get the mask in on the glamor!
Silk charmeuse and silver gilded leather make for a most festive game piece!
...think of all the extravagant flowers you could fashion from tissue paper and mylar!...
...have you used every last scrap of tissue paper and braid?...
... make some of your garlands colorful and romantic ...
... and make some sophisticated and chic ...
... do the same with your pinatas, filled with luxe little treasures for the lucky guests! ...
... finish your decorations using all your most beautiful things in the most
unusual ways and places ...
... don't forget that everybody needs a party hat and a gift bag! ...
... then fire up the chandeliers! ...
... be sure each floral arrangement is just perfect ...
... set the table for an evening of fun and splendor and opulent tom-foolery! ...
... then party like it were the end of 2013! ...
Now, go make yourselves a beautiful New Year and 2014! ...
♥´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´♥ Tristan ♥
Parts of this blog post were stolen from ME on my 2009 New Years Eve Post!
Yes! Life does sparkle and shimmer and glimmer and gleam! And I love it! Whether I'm making art, working with fabric, paper, ink and vintage findings - or working on a theatre piece - or sewing like an ecstatic dervish on a new art quilt - I'm always attracted to what shimmers just out of sight...the ghosts of sparkle and the rich dignity of decayed splendor.
Sparkle!
Shimmer!
Glimmer!
Gleam!
Yes! Life does sparkle and shimmer and glimmer and gleam! And I love it! Whether I'm making art, working with fabric, paper, ink and vintage findings - or working on a theatre piece - or sewing like an ecstatic dervish on a new art quilt - I'm always attracted to what shimmers just out of sight...the ghosts of sparkle and the rich dignity of decayed splendor.
Join me on my journey!
