From Extraordinary to Extra-Extraordinary

Let's face it. At the Academy Awards we expect the extraordinary -- that's why so many of us tune in and watch it. So to be extra-extraordinary you have to re-define and rethink your approach to the evening. We have all come to expect that everyone will be beautiful.

But I believe that there was one woman who fit the occasion better and was more beautiful, more extra-extraordinary than anyone else.

Penelope Cruz showed up in a 60-year old vintage couture gown by Parisian designer Pierre Baumain. This was a dress that she had seen eight years ago and dreamed that she would one day have the opportunity to wear it. When she was nominated, she tracked down the dress, was delighted to find that it was still available and she bought it. I mean, this is a story of consummated love!. It's extraordinary -- and the fact that she found it, loved it, wore it beautifully to one of the most important events in her life; and then, be-decked in Chopard jewels, she WINS best-supporting actress and becomes the first Spanish actress ever to win an Oscar. Not only that, but the whole theme for the Oscars last night was that 1940's/50's Old Hollywood Glam and she couldn't have been more perfectly coifed.

That, my friends, is extra-extraordinary!! She loved that dress and that dress loved her and she glowed because of it. And her acceptance speech was my favorite of the evening -- she was absolutely RADIANT.


And she probably wins my Extra-Extraordinary Award because there was someone else there last night to compare her too.

Someone else tried to carry off the same look.

Now don't get me wrong, I like Sarah Jessica Parker...

But for some reason when I saw her, I couldn't help but think that her look had been done before...


When she walked out on stage I thought she looked just like Glinda, minus the wings...I think it was the hair?


OK. So I give best all-around dress, dress performance and Extra-Extraordinary Award to Penelope Cruz...

Here are the nominees for best FABRIC on a dress...

1st is Anne Hathaway for all those billions of beautiful, catch-the-light paillettes...wow!

2nd is Kate Winslet for her hand embroidered and beaded black lace that draped from her shoulder to her waist and down the back of her dress...stunning....

and 3rd is Penelope again for her vintage gown with all of its ruching and ornate detailing...

But I've got to give it to Kate Winslet who was just breathtaking, and she won an Oscar for Best Actress too! It's so nice when my favorite dresses are also the winners of the awards!


And I LOVED that five of the prior winners of the Best Actor/Actress awards came up to introduce the nominees and announce the winner. It was a beautiful way to welcome the new winner into the sorority of best actresses.

Of course, I was very curious about Ms. Cruz' dress so I found some pictures courtesy of e.coleman p.r. of backstage shots of a couture show of Pierre Balmain's in 1954. Aren't they grand?


Pierre was known for his ornate detailing and he dressed Hollywood starlets such as


Marlene Dietrich, Ava Gardner, Brigitte Bardo and Kathryn Hepburn...

We just don't do detail like they used to...sigh...

Oh, and forgive me but I have to show you one more from the woman who I think is one of the most beautiful on the face of this earth...

Halle Berry. *sigh.

Bead Journal Project -- January 2009

Radiance...


January is my birthday month and last month I turned 44.

Frankly, I think that 44 is a lucky number...double 4s, a "hard 8" for those of you like to gamble. I've always won money when I played a hard 8 so I look at all of that as very positive. After all, 44 is still really young!

But this birthday, when I looked in the mirror, I realized I was one of those women whose friends should write to a makeover show and say "Please, take her...". I say that only because I've gotten a bit stuck...a bit "behind the times"...and it surprised me a little bit.


My hair has no special cut and I'm forever putting it into a ponytail before it even dries. I spend less than 10 minutes getting ready in the morning. Since I stopped working a few years ago, I've found myself spending most of my days in my workout clothes -- dress to walk or run and then just stay in those clothes all day long. I've also been plagued with adult acne in my forties which is a big pain since it covers not just my face but my arms, chest and back. So sleeveless tops or anything which reveals any skin makes me self-conscious. Even though it's a bother, I'd much rather have acne now than when I was a teenager. Don't worry, I'm really not a "Woe is Me" character and I tell you all this as background for my January Bead Journal piece.

All that being said, this birthday I felt, for the first time ever, like my days of looking Heidi Klum-esque were numbered. Now, don't get me wrong, I've never been one to like it when women be-moan their birthdays and complain about getting older. I have always viewed aging as a badge of honor to be embraced and worn proudly.

But, back in my head somewhere, I always felt like I had time... I had time to lose those extra pounds, to find the right shades of makup and buy JUST THE RIGHT DRESS...and I could still be a knockout. I mean, it's possible that I could still pull it off. I hadn't yet crossed it off my beautiful long list of possiblities...I mean, I would have LOVED to be Halle Berry the night she won the Oscar and she wore that beautiful dress so beautifully and looked so beautiful in it. Wow. It's just a fabulous site to behold when it all comes together like that.


I've always loved fashion and the red carpet and clothes but I've rarely indulged in them myself. It's not that I didn't want to...I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. But now I'm thinking that, even though I may still get a chance to wear that Red-Carpet dress, my days of having it look like a stunner are severely limited, if not gone. I've passed into the "She looks good for her age." or "She doesn't look so good for her age." And given my past love affair with the sun and no sunscreen, you can guess my fate...

I really am very happy in this place but I think it's fair to mourn a dream for yourself that you know won't come true. So, there you have it. My January BJP is an homage to the dream of the beautiful dress that every woman would love to wear and very few get to.


The irony is that back in the day when I really could have worn a beautiful dress...I wouldn't have chosen to wear one if my life depended on it. I was a tom boy; I was athletic; and, I thought dresses and skirts were impractical.

Now that I'm older, I find that I am smitten with the elegance, the beauty and the grace of The Dress. Movies with great dresses have a new allure; Project Runway is my favorite show and I'll watch re-run after re-run. And, it's true, I'm ashamed to admit it but People Magazine's Best and Worst Dressed issue is one I actually pay money for now...

What happened? Why now?

I can't answer that for you but I can tell you this. I'm not throwing in the towel. This year, I will give myself my own makeover. I will cut my hair in a modern style and I will find a dress that looks beautiful on me and I will wear it down the stairs of my home and my husband will turn to look over his shoulder, get a glimpse of me, and think I'm stunning.


See, I'm blessed to have married a man who already sees me in the dress. And I know that it's not the fabric and the style that he sees when he looks at me -- and I am so very grateful for that.

I know that what makes someone irresistible as they age is not how they look but how they act. Life coach Martha Beck says that, in all the small choices you make every day, choose the ones that make you feel warmer and more alive.


If I choose love, kindness and generosity... If I smile and meet my fellow man with true joy...If I give of myself without reservation...If I choose light over dark...then I know, I will be radiant. I will be dressed to the nines and it won't matter a lick what I'm wearing. Can you imagine the reporter: "And who are you wearing this evening, Susan?" And I would reply, "I'm wearing Radiance." And the the whole world would want to wear it too and the world would be a better place...

OK, sorry, I'm awake now. And, here you have it...


Radiance will be my new birthday dress and I will do my best to wear it well.

The...Dress

I am working on my January Bead Journal Project and I've turned to this book as one of my sources for inspiration. Even though I spent most of January working on denim, I was really beading my January project in my head.

My mind was definitely living among silk, tulle, velvet and beads. This is one of those projects where my fingers just can't move fast enough to make my vision come true.

There are a number of images and thoughts within this book that are giving me ideas. This one quote is very pertinent to my piece for January:

One of the signatures of a formal dress is embellished fabric...the idea dates to late Medieval and Renaissance times when the very rich wore material woven with real gold or silver and stitched precious jewels onto their finest clothes to signify their wealth.

And so is this dress...


And this one...


And this image via {Oh Joy!}


and this dress that Heidi Klum wore this year for the Golden Globe awards...


And I'll never forget the moment or the dress of Halle Berry when she was the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress in 2002...


And so, all of this, in some way relates to my January BJP. I can't wait to show you what I'm up to!!!

America's Inaugural Dress

"So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled...Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

-- Barack Obama in his Inaugural Address, January 20, 2009

America was dressed splendidly and appropriately for one of the biggest historical moments of my lifetime. Even the capitol was dressed gloriously!

I live in Maryland and I felt the energy everywhere I went. Children were staying home from school, friends were volunteering at the Inauguration, flags were waving and everyone was glued to their TV set. I was proud, I cried and I was lifted up on a wave of hope and optimism...

And, I'll be honest, I was fascinated by what everyone chose to wear. OK, OK. Call me shallow but I'm really not...that's why I began this post the way I did. I just love the idea of clothes, needle and thread, which fabrics people choose for very special occasions and the designers who make them.

Mind you. I searched hundreds of photos online this morning looking for a close-up of Michelle Obama's FABRICS.

color "lemongrass", Swiss wool lace, layers of pashmina tulle, french silk lining, green sash closes the coat, matching Jimmy Choo shoes and J. Crew gloves, rhinestone collar necklace --

I couldn't figure out what made this fabric sparkle -- I guess I'll have to wait for the magazines...


The Evening Gown

soft and flowing, Jason Wu (a Tai-Pei-born designer in his 20s), one-shoulder gown

silk chiffon, organza embellishment, swarovski crystals, silver thread embroidery
Yes, that's right, embroidery
made by Jason Wu himself
Yes, BY HIMSELF!

Oh, still my beating heart. There's hope for all you beautiful seamstresses out there!

And check out this post from ART TEA LIFE on Inaugural Gowns Revisited.

And, romantic that I am...here is my favorite shot of the couple.

But, by far, for me, 7 year-old Sasha's pink coat with orange sash, scarf and gloves was my fave for the day, designed by J. Crew especially for the occasion. Not available for sale on the J. Crew website, I checked.

I thought the whole family looked splendid. I only wish Michelle had chosen to wear a hat. But hey, I respect her individual style and statement -- I guess hat's just aren't "her".

That's OK because Aretha Franklin wore a great hat! And sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" with heart and soul. AMEN.


Her hat reminded me of a photography book titled Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats. It's a wonderful book with striking images.

It was a day chock-full of creative expression. John Williams, known to millions of movie-goers as the man behind the score for the Star Wars films, wrote a special composition for the inauguration, which was performed by the violinist Itzhak Perlman and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Wow. Based on Shaker tune by Sydney Carter Lord of the Dance.

The most striking image for me yesterday was this one. And it reminds me the words of poet Elizabeth Alexander from her inaugural poem, Praise Song for the Day:

"On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light."

A Thumb's Up day for America...

all around.

Happy Dress Day!

I have dresses on the brain this morning. Last Friday, Allie commented about Audrey's little black dress and Barbara C commented that it reminded her of paper dolls. Later that day, I stumbled upon this finished quilt.

It was the result of an internet collaborative where each woman took a simple design and dressed it up. You can read all about it and see each individual dress close-up on HollyDolly blog.

And Debra Spincic has been re-fashioning some of her old clothes into everyday dresses. Now, the thought of wearing an "every day" dress intrigues me...I have to find one of those...and I wonder what my husband would say....

For years, I've been collecting images of dresses. Here are some in my file though I can't source them, sorry!

And this is one that is inspiring me to create a purse...by new designer Lindsay Mason. I love all the different fabrics and styles that Lindsay puts together in her fresh and fun designs.


I'm also lucky enough to own two dress sculptures by fabulous glass artist, Kathleen Holmes. Kathleen uses vintage needlework pieces in her glass sculptures to create beautiful art. This one is my current fave called Garden Infanta


And this one is the one I'm lucky enough to have in my living room....


And Karla Nathan sells dresses made out of vintage wallpaper and trims in her etsy shop...


And I can't leave a discussion of dresses without showing you this Dress Lamp Tree by UK photographer Tim Walker. Stunning.

I have just a few stitches left on my October Bead Journal Project. Yesterday, I spent the day biking 60 miles to Annapolis and back.


Thankfully, this nice young mid-shipman named Casey was kind enough to pose in the photograph so you would know we were actually there in the home of the U.S. Naval Academy. If only he had been in "dress" uniform, then it would really fit this post!

Today, my needlework guild is having a HUGE Swap and Flea Market so I have to go!! Hope you have a dress-up type of day!