Teddy Girls

Blazer, jeans, scarf - sounds like my ideal outfit.

February 2015

Throw in some comfortable shoes and a bit of sass and I'm infatuated.

Photos of the Teddy Girls are by Ken Russell - yes, that Ken Russell - circa 1955,
and were sourced from the two websites mentioned below.

Meet the Teddy Girls. I first read about them awhile back on Messy Nessy Chic, and there's more about them on AnOther.

Who or what are Teddy Girls, I hear you ask. Well, they are the grrrl equivalent to Teddy Boys, who were British guys wearing dapper, pseudo-Edwardian clothes back in the 1950s. With a reputation for causing trouble, they instilled fear in the heart of a very young Mr. S when he saw them in his childhood days in London. (I asked him if he'd ever seen Teddy Girls, and he said he didn't really see any girls on the streets in those days. I suppose they weren't allowed out much.)

Source

What a cool style! Dressy but rebellious. Church clothes with an edge. The girls, though, would have been kicked out of Sunday School for wearing jeans. Like they would care.

So I made my own Teddy Girl. Her name is Eleanor, but her friends call her Lee.

The paper in the background is what I used for Lee's body, which is why she has gingham on her face and leg. I like the mix of traditional and new, an English rose nurtured on nihilism in post-War London who kisses her mum goodnight, then sneaks out the window to go running through the rubble with her mates, smoking fags and snogging blokes.

Source

I wonder where these women are today?

Val

Catch-up

Hello there! How have you been? Have you done something different with your hair?

What am I up to? Oh, the usual. Getting to know my new corner of the world, going on outings, walks and bike rides...

Spending time with granddaughters...

standing on Granddad's head

Getting glue on my fingers and playing with dolls.

Annie Hall

'Audrey'

I made this paper doll and her wardrobe for lovely blogging buddy Connie at Snow in the Air.

It's a little Connie with a Dottie Angel dress and jeans and tunics.

Oh, yeah, and I'm binge-watching on Netflix like there's no tomorrow. I feel like I'm a part of the 21st century now  - Netflix, a smartphone, Instagram, and a new laptop!

But I try not to get completely wrapped up in all that technology.

Val

When the World Was Flat

Anybody else remember the Flatsy dolls, circa 1970?

They came up in the comments on a recent post at Bag and a Beret - both Shelley and I mentioned being called Flatsy in our pubescence, a name that was trumpeted on TV commercials at the time thanks to the Flatsy doll and its taunting jingle: Flatsies, flatsies, they're flat and that's that - that's that!

Only a man would give them a name that's sure to torment early adolescent girls. Asshole.

I'm making more of my own flatsies - paper dolls - but I choose to call them Two-Dimensional Divas, avoiding even the shorter '2D' in case that makes anyone think of a bra size, albeit a freakish one.

Here's a Two-Dimensional Diva inspired by one of my fave television characters. Do you recognise her?

It's Elaine Benes from Seinfeld! Her wardrobe is so distinctive and I wanted to have it for myself.

Um, it's not really my size, but at least I can play with it.

This is what I started with - the 'Elaine' template I drew and the possibilities for her signature floral dress.

She really deserves an entire Elaine wardrobe, but I started with the one dress, ankle socks and loafers, blazer with big shoulders, and blue backpack. And of course, her big hair, which I made from lace.

Remember this episode of Seinfeld where Elaine sees a mannequin that looks like her? (This one has Italian subtitles - che strano.)

I hope Elaine wouldn't get upset about my paper doll.

Val

Stress? What stress?

I can't believe how quickly we've settled down in our new home, thousands of miles away from where we lived for ten years. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

We spent months sorting through and clearing out a home we loved, and saying goodbye to family and old friends. Now that I'm sitting here in Wales, fairly relaxed, I look back and wonder how I got through all that stress.

Here's what helped - I gave up wearing make-up and jewellery, quit cutting my hair, and stopped worrying about what I was wearing. That's why you haven't seen any pictures of me here on the blog for quite some time. It was essential, though, partly to save time and partly because I didn't always know where my things were during the move!

Since I'm a freelancer, I still spend days looking like this.

Still also wearing baggy old shorts, weather permitting

I made some paper dolls to stand in for me on social media - they're better dressed than me!

You can see them on the right sidebar as the buttons linking to my Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest pages. 

Guess which one's my favourite?

I call her Velma.

Which one is your fave?

Val

An Extraordinary Collage

I just read Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence, a story that's told in a trilogy of novelty books. The first book was published in 1991, and I was aware of it at that time, but never read it. Now I've just read all three.

If you don't know about the books, Griffin is a postcard designer and Sabine is a stamp designer – a match made in heaven, right? That match is manifested in letters and postcards within interactive books – some of the correspondence is in the form of letters that are tucked into envelopes.

All the pages are illustrated to show us the postcards, writing, envelopes and stamps. The books are works of art, and the cryptic love story is told from alternating points of view and various locations across the three, short books.

There's an inherent intensity to the writing, which you can feel in this quote from Sabine:

Foolish man. You cannot turn me into a phantom because you are frightened. 
You do not dismiss a muse at whim.

So here's me in my collage room, writing furiously away on correspondence that will be stamped, postmarked, flown around the world to a mystery location where it will be handled by strangers and then put into someone's letterbox.

Or will it?

Does that address exist?

Is there someone there to read my missive?

And why do I have a goldfish on my head?

I think the author/illustrator, Nick Bantock, can easily be credited with creating the collage style that dominates paper craft these days (see Altered Pages, Altered Bits, Alpha Stamps, Piddix, Stampington magazines and products, etc., etc.). Those of you in western Canada will be interested to know that he lives on Saltspring Island.

And I can thank Maricel for bringing him to my attention in a comment she left me a few months ago. So I'm linking up with Maricel and Selah for Thoughtful Third Thursday - come check it out!

I've got some blogger meet-ups coming up soon in the "meat" life!

Val

Red, Blue, Pompidou!

In my last post I told you about my first trip to Europe, fifty years ago. Well, twenty-five years ago I went to Europe for the second time. I spent three months studying in Rome, then traveled to Greece with a friend, spent some time with an Italian man in Firenze (that's all I'm sayin'), and eventually went to Paris on my own before flying home.

In Paris I took a really cool picture of the Centre Pompidou and made a necklace with it.

This set my color scheme for a recent outfit.

top - JCP; skirt - Docker's, thrifted; tights - Target; shoes - Dexter

I took more photos in this outfit, but I'm bored with my own backyard and too self-conscious to go out in public to take pictures. Sooooo, I decided to revisit Paris in 1989.

It was the centennial of the Eiffel Tower, so they had lights on it spelling out "100 ans." It was also the bicentennial of the French Revolution.

 The Louvre - so much to see, it would take more than one day and you'd still be overwhelmed.

Luxembourg Gardens - I stayed near here in the Latin Quarter. My little room and lumpy bed were under the eaves, up six flights of stairs, with the toilet and showers down the hall. I loved it!

And then we're back where we started, at the Pompidou Centre.

All these photos were printed on paper - I cut out paper dolls of me and glued them to the printed photos, then photographed them. Thanks again to Melanie for this idea!

It's time to get together for Visible Monday, so don't forget to head on over to Patti's on Sunday evening or Monday. Or Tuesday. And there's a Shoe Shine at Bella's, so here's the money shot for that.

 

A bientot, mes cheries!

Val