a little about "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries"

Hello my little flappers & sheiks!

I wanted to share with you all a wonderful series we discovered awhile back:  Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries,  produced by the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC).   It features Essie Davis as the title character Miss Phryne Fisher -  a well-to-do femme fatale in 1920's Melbourne, Australia.  (first name is pronounced 'Fry-knee,' from the Greek, 4th century BC, after a famous Courtesan.   I think the name was vogue for awhile around the same period as Myrtle or Gertrude)    Miss Fisher is an upper class but down-to-earth woman of the world.  Finding herself with a knack for deduction and reasoning, she often crosses paths (in a meddling sort of way) with Melbourne's Finest:  Detective Jack Robinson, and Constable Collins at his right hand.  In similar 'Murder She Wrote' fashion, Phryne often finds herself tripping over dead bodies when taking a train ride or out visiting friends.  (and don't even get me started on Midsommer, England!)

In true Flapper sense, Phryne is a liberated woman.  She goes against the grain of what society expected from a lady in her day - she chooses not to get married, gets romantically involved with (several) different men of her own choosing, practices 'family planning', lives alone, goes out frequently by herself, and carries a gun even.    (Only occasionally when she is hit on by a guy that seems barely old enough to wear long pants, do we ask ourselves 'how old is she supposed to be again?")  

And then there is the costumes... Oh, the costumes.... they are so lovely. Bravo to Marion Boyce and her design team!   A woman of society in that day was expected to have a different outfit depending on the occasion and time of day, so the design team had their work cut out for them. There is an incredible amount of moving between scenes within the series, sometimes within each episode - from traveling, to home, to nightclubs to afternoon tea, and the wardrobe does a great job of keeping up appearances.

Oh Phryne,  you should know better than to wear white!

Love this outfit!

Unlike many other historical mystery series, where you, the viewer, find yourself a little unraveled by things they present to you in wondering if they are being historically accurate, or whether it fits as part of the story,   Miss Fisher's drags you in to the story.  The supporting cast are wonderful as well, the relationships you find yourself shipping -that of Dot & Constable Collins, the budding feelings between Phryne & Detective Jack.  The writers did a great job of translating the Kerry Greenwood novels to the screen.  

Interesting tidbits - Prohibition in Oz

One of the things I found of particular interest about this show, was that it is supposed to have taken place about the same time period as another of our favorite shows, Boardwalk Empire. Yet there is little mention of prohibition. On the contrary, they seem to have cocktails quite frequently throughout. It seems that catching up with bootleggers is furthest thing from Detective Jack's mind with all the murder going on. The one exception was of the episode that took place in a speak-easy kind of nightclub, which would lead you to think that they were trying to hide something.   My sweetie Chris is from Australia, (Sydney) so we got into a discussion about prohibition between the countries.  It seems that prohibition was more of an American concept. Although Australia did practice it, it was done by territory - The people in the different regions voted on it.   Melbourne did in fact practice prohibition during that time period. (It was repealed throughout Australia in 1928)  However, there are still a few townships near Melbourne that never went back - they remain dry even today

Sadly, Netflix has only made available the first season of Miss Fisher's Murder mysteries, so we must be patient for seasons 2 & 3.    If you get the chance - WATCH THIS SHOW - you won't be disappointed!

Have you seen any other awesome historical mystery shows?  Please share! Would love to hear about them in the comments.

xo Yvonne

Vintage Bathing Beauties

Hi my retro lovin' peeps!

Warm weather is finally here! Gentle breezes, summer dresses, peepers peeping at night-time, beaches, gardening, backyard crafts....  

I recently re-read a couple of my all-time favorites: "Cheaper by the Dozen" and "Belles on their Toes"   For those of you who have not heard or read these books,*  they chronicle the lives of the Gilbreth family - a dozen kids born to Frank & Lillian Gilbreth around the early part of the 1900's. It was written by two of their children.  Frank and Lilly were motion study experts who went into factories and figured out how to speed processes and assembly lines up.  This is kind of like the fore-runner of modern day ergonomics.  Part of what I love about these books is that they reflect the change in our culture but in an everyday sort of way -  the advent of automobiles, women in the work force, fashion changes: bobbed hair, silk stockings, teddies (the undergarments), makeup, bathing suits.   'You are not going out of the house like that'  seems like getting ones parents to accept that you want to wear the latest fashions  is a universal argument whether it is 1930 or 2014!   (* Note- none of the movies made (including the 1950 version with Myrna Loy (who is one of my most favoritest actresses in the world) does the books justice - Read them!)

One part in particular in "Belles.." (circa 1925)  talks about the changes in swimwear and how no one wore old fashioned 2 piece suits anymore.  One of the oldest daughters, Martha, forgets her swimsuit when they take their annual summer vacation to Nantucket.  She wears the under part of the Mother's Victorian era bathing suit to her sisters' horror.
["Martha was wearing what appeared to be a tight-fitting black union suit. If you looked at it closely you could tell it was the under part of Mother's suit, with the legs and sleeves rolled up as far as they would roll. It wasn't any more extreme than bathing suits other girls were wearing, but Anne and Ernestine were shocked almost beyond words."]

When the Mom finally comes to join them, she ends up purchasing new suits for the girls:
[""If it comes below my knees," said Martha, fumbling with the wrappings. "can I take a hem in it?"
"Goodness, it won't come below your knees," Mother laughed. "It's a one-piece suit."
"One piece?" Anne and Ernestine shouted together.
"No girls wear those old-fashioned two-piece suits any more, do they?" Mother asked.
"We do," said Ernestine. "Remember Dad's rules."
"Modesty, " Anne recited flatly. "Skirts at least to the knees. Black stockings. And a minimum of skin showing."
"Times change," Mother told them, "and your father would have changed with them". .....
Martha held up the suit. It was light blue, and had a low-cut neck.        .....[then]...
She handed Anne and Ernestine each a package like Martha's.] 1

This is sort of what I imagine Martha's new suit to have look like. (vintage suit from the 1920's)

Here is a red one from the same time period.

A few months ago I came across this awesome photo slideshow on The Weather Channel of all places.  They actually have some very neat videos in their archive.

The full slideshow is here:  Before the Bikini: Rare Vintage Beach Pictures  by Edecio Martinez. 


 It occurred to me that we in the modern day tend to have a notion that all vintage bathing wear was all black, multi-layered with mob caps and stockings.    While this is true of the very early part of the century (i.e. prior to 1910),   There were suits that by the teens and 1920's that weren't far off style-wise from today's one pieces.

Victorian era -Some of the costumes included a 'wool cape' to
wrap yourself in after a dip so people would not see the clingyness of your suit. 

 I think too, that Europe may have been a little further ahead of the fashion curve, as many of their earlier suits seemed more revealing, or perhaps America was just more modest as a culture.

1929 - Officer in Florida measuring to make sure not too much skin was showing.
Beach censor regulations had been put in place

"In 1907, a scandal erupted when Australian swimmer, Annette Kellerman, the first woman to swim across the English Channel, was arrested in Boston for wearing a more form-fitting, one-piece suit".

This was circa 1912,  you can see that the suits are more form fitting, and the gal on the left is sans stockings!
I absolutely love the polka-dot print of the suit on the right.

I found this on pinterest. It's a navy colored bathing suit circa 1915.  I LOVE this!  it is totally adorable

This next selection of pictures is from the late 1920's.  The suits are all one piece and seem to bear a closer resemblance to what we see today.  Note there are color variations from the plain black or dark material of a generation ago.  Also, check out the strappy shoes & short stockings in 

pictures 1 & 2 - they couldn't have been that comfy in the sand.....    The lady in picture 3 has a pearl necklace and some decolletage going on. Makes you wonder if she was there to swim or 

check out the action!

Another invention that was prevalent in the Victorian Era was the Bathing Machine.      These were basically large wheeled changing booths that were pulled into the low surf, some horse drawn or pulled by attendants.  A person changed inside and exited to swim.  These were mostly prevalent during the 1800's, when men and women were segregated to swim (because it was improper for one to view the opposite sex in their bathing attire at the time).   Apparently some beaches hired a 'dipper' - someone to help bathers into and out of the Bathing Machines.  Some 'dippers' would yank the bathers into the water, supposed to be part of the complete bathing experience!   The bathing machines were used up until the first decade of the 1900's, at which time it was becoming more common for men & women to swim together.

And here are a few Bathing costumes that I especially liked....

  

Bathing Pajamas!  because they are as much fun to say as they are to wear!

maybe I'm just a sucker for a large pom-pom hat....

I love the patterned suit on the left. Check out the recessed gores too!
And again with the strappy shoes at the beach, that's got to be uncomfortable.

While this I believe was a 'professional' photo,  I still love the striped underlay and the large flower motif.

And here is something for those of you who like to incorporate vintage into your home decor:

These are actual vintage bathing suits that have been framed.   (complete article can be found on "Completely Coastal" blog.)

And a slightly more understated approach from Houzz.com

 Have you ever tried wearing vintage swimwear? Decorating with it?  Would love to hear your thoughs in the comments!    So glad you could stop by my blog.

xo Yvonne




Sources:




1:  Belles on Their Toes,  Frank B Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey,  p.52 & p. 68-70

      Thomas Y. Crowell Co.; c. 1950

(note - Belles on Their Toes chronicled the life of the Gilbreth family after their father Frank had passed away from a heart condition).

Vintage Pink Canister set

Hi Friends,

Continuing with my thread from the other day,  another fantastic thing to help cure the winter blues is thrifting!  

I have to share one of my newest vintage acquisitions with you! These were thrifted at one of the local Salvation Army stores near where I live for a little less than $2 each.

It is a canister set, à la Mid-Century.   (The soft pink is a dead giveaway!)   There are a few little chips in the paint, but no rust that I could find.  And don't you just loovvee that cursive font?  Yes, my little darling canisters, I will keep my sugar, flour, coffee and tea in you!

                                              

Now I was never a huge fan of pink in large quantities,  but having found these and fallen in love with them,  I've been inspired.  They call to mind the beautiful, feminine colors of kitchens from the past.   Turquoise, pink, mint, yellow,  nothing like today's industrialistic stainless steel and concrete. 

Barbie, eat your heart out!

dreamy yellow for this fifties kitchen

I have decided that my very own kitchen needs a retro update, and it's going to be pink!

Now, just in case you've decided that I've fallen and hit my head, thus turning me into some kind of nutcase who makes crazy decisions at the drop of the hat, fear not - I have befallen no such accident, dear friend.

Truth is, I have been contemplating some kind of kitchen make-over for awhile now.      I love my house, truly I do. But the builders of this house circa 1987 were truly uninspired.  When we moved in, (16 years ago)  all the walls were flat white paint. The kitchen cabinets were bottom of the line plain brown pressed wood.  Counter-tops are a cream colored vinyl (I think) that have lovely cigarette burn marks from previous owners.   Although during my tenure, I have painted the cabinets, walls and tiled the floor,  the kitchen longs for some creativity to bring it to life.  I believe I have found inspiration through my canister set.

Turquoise was a very popular color

The description said this was from the 1970's....  I absolutely adore this kitchen
 (or anything purple for that matter!)   Second choice if the pink doesn't work out!

Mmmmmm! Can't you just smell the cookies baking?

I have also gotten some wonderful insights and reassurance from Brittany of Va-Voom Vintage  [Vintage Blogger Extraordinaire!]  She has been very helpful with lots of ideas on vintage kitchen makeovers as she has done her own.   I hope to share some of my plans in upcoming posts,  if any of you has some ideas to share, or have done your own retro make-over, I'd love to hear about it!

 

Curing the Winter Doldrums...

Hi there Cats and Kittens,

It's a cold and wet February day... we are experiencing yet more 'blizzard' conditions.  I don't know about you but I feel like staying curled up under the blankets with a cup of tea and furbabies to snuggle with.   My energy level lately has been that of a carrot.    A few things have made these winter doldrums a little more bearable....

Doing some winter crafts....

I have a bunch of sewing projects piling up,  but haven't been able to focus on anything large at present [see carrot reference above]  One of the things I did tackle was a present for my Mom.  I made an apron using Butterick Retro pattern B5435 (from their 1954 collection)

This is the first time I have tried one of the Retro patterns,  a few of the pattern companies have been doing reproductions of their vintage ones.   I plan to do a posting on the project, so check back to see the details of it.





Planting a little bit of Spring....

I think I have made mention previously about my love of nature and attraction to fabrics/home decor/accessories that incorporate natural elements. Of course,  you can't get more natural than plants.  My Dad is from Holland, and has an inborn talent for all things flora. He has always kept a beautiful garden both indoors and out.  His talent lets him grow and get to bloom many variety of plants and flowers that are difficult for the average gardener, such as: Clevias, Amaryllis, Orchids, Lilies, Streptocarpii and others.    

I would love to have even a small amount of the flowering loveliness that my parent's home has in my house.  Unfortunately, I have animals. Indoor plants and indoor animals do not mix very well.   There are several plants that I wouldn't even consider having because they are toxic to the furbabies.  But even the non-toxic types my babies have found a way to destroy.   Most recently I had a small cactus,  I thought I would be safe with a cactus,  I mean it has prickers and all, so who would want to go near it?   Then I came home one day from work and found it's poor cactus body masticated to a pulp under the kitchen table. I went in search of the guilty party -  you would think that there would be some evidence left behind on someone's mouth, but strangely, no such incriminating evidence was ever found...
So, my battle wages on - I have decided that I would need to be more clever if I wanted to keep plants indoors.   One idea I came up with is a terrarium. So one of my next winter projects will be creating one.

Here are the plants I chose for the terrarium. (As you can see, little Ms. Thing 1 and 2 are already investigating their potential prey.)  Once the project is complete, I will post the details!






Coloring...

I have to admit, I'm a kid at heart.  Although I'm not what anyone would call an artist,  I do like to draw.  But what is even more fun is coloring!    One of the things I got for Christmas was a Dover 'adult' type coloring book ~ "Godey's Fashions,"  that depicts ladies' fashions from the 1830's to 1890's as were found in Godey's Ladies book.  (This publication from the 1800's could be considered something akin to today's Vogue Magazine.  It originally featured serials, short stories, poems, book reviews, needlework patterns, but later began including fashion plates for the most trendy styles as found in Paris and Victorian England.  The Editor, Sarah Josepha Hale, seized the opportunity of the magazine's popularity and began to address issues like social injustices and the importance of education for women.

The drawings in this coloring book were done by Ming-Ju Sun,  and are incredibly rendered with beautiful detail.  Coloring has been not only fun, but soothing to take the edge off these arduous winter days.

Hopefully, you, my dear friends, will have found some interesting things to help you pass the long, dark hours of winter.  Please do share, I'd love to hear about them!  
Fear not though, Spring is just around the corner (or so they tell me).  Excuse me as I have another foot of snow to be shoveling.


Stay Warm!
xo
Yvonne

The formidable Jeeves and Wooster...

What Ho, dear friends on the Interwebs!

If you are like me, you go weak-kneed at the thought of the Roaring Twenties....  The dresses, Beautiful Art Deco, Victorian reminiscence,  flappers and sheiks....

I'm not sure how I have been able to live through 3+ decades of entertainment in my life without knowing about the comedy team of Fry & Laurie doing a TV show called "Jeeves & Wooster."  (although it may have something to do with my not being British)

Jeeves and Wooster was a three year series from 1992-1995 (though the seasons were not like what are normally considered TV seasons - only about 5 episodes each).   It is based on PG Wodehouse's characters from several books he wrote starting circa 1917, The Man with Two Left Feet, (although there was an earlier book in 1915 (Extricating Young Gussie) where Wooster & Jeeves make an appearance.)

If you are fan of Boardwalk Empire, you will absolutely adore this series.   Where Boardwalk Empire often shows the dark and shadowy world of the teens and twenties,  Jeeves & Wooster is a gay old time.   It follows the high jinx (if you will) of 'Bertie' (Bertram Wilberforce Wooster) and his 'Gentleman's gentleman'  (valet)  Jeeves.   Bertie is an upper-class English dilettante who spends his time visiting various country homes of friends from school, getting engaged and narrowly escaping matrimony, lunching at the club, and doing the biddings of various Aunties.   Jeeves is the quiet ever-present servant who seems at times to be three steps ahead of the game, having an answer to Bertie's quandaries, plans-of-action for the many debacles that Bertie & his friends often got themselves into.  I was wont to wonder at times whether Jeeves got some slightly sadistic pleasure at being a cat at the mouse games. 

There seems to be some recurrent themes in the shows, that of meddlesome Aunts for instance...
Bertie's Aunt Agatha is pushy and proper, and tries on several occasions to hook him up to a suitable young lady.  Aunt Dahlia,  although seemingly more modern and less pompous than Aunt Agatha, often takes Bertie to task to do something mischievous or illegal on her behalf.   Some of the dialogue is priceless when Wooster speaks about them to Jeeves....

"On the occasions when Aunt is calling Aunt like mastodons bellowing across primeval swamps"

Also of note, are Bertie's renditions of popular hits of the day "Forty-Seven Ginger headed sailors,"
"Nagasaki," and my personal favorite:  "Putting on the Ritz" where Bertie comments on the odd syncopation of the song - " That Irving Berlin fellow has a bit of a cropper here, Jeeves...too many words and not enough notes."  Of course Wooster's character makes perfect use of Hugh Laurie's song and dance talents, as does Jeeves' character showing off Stephen Fry's dizzying intellect. They could not have found more perfect men for these roles.

I happened to enjoy watching the series with my sweetie Chris, who had found it on Hulu, the TV service we subscribe to  (we discontinued using Satellite or Cable last year, as it was getting to be so pricey... so now we have Hulu & Netflix).  I believe many of the episodes are also on Youtube.
Chris managed to do a little research into Wodehouse's youth, and found that his father was a magistrate posted to Hong Kong, so little PG was sent off to boarding school.  His holidays were spent being shuffled from one Aunt's to another, which explains his marked off-putting characterizations of them.
The books I believe were originally compilations, but I have also seen them in single volumes, so the publishing company must have broken them out at some point.  I found this list on Amazon that lists them chronologically.  (I managed to get a few of the series for Chris for Christmas presents)

There was plenty of early twenties stuff to drool over: Art Deco furnishings of his English flat and a NY apartment, a travel cocktail set that makes an appearance in several episodes, beautiful dresses, Bertie's roadster.  Some of the comedy comes when Bertie comes home with the latest fashion (i.e. a straw boater, a white 'evening' jacket) and Jeeves makes an understated remark about how it should be disposed of in short work.    

One small criticism,   although the supporting characters were awesome, they had a variety of actors play the recurring roles throughout the duration of the series.   It was a little difficult following them from one to another as they often looked different.

Sadly, we made short work of the episodes as if they were Christmas pudding...
So 'til next time dear ones!
xo Yvonne

Halloween Parade of Doggies!

So what's a crafty gal to do when her kids get too old to make costumes for?  Make them for her dogs of course!

I have to admit, I always felt bad for animals whose humans do things like this to them:

But costumes needn't be over the top.   My cuddlebugs don't mind wearing sweaters and such in the cold weather, so I figured I would make something based on a similar pattern.

My Mom & Dad came to visit for the weekend.  My Dad is happy raking leaves and working outside this time of year, but my Mom and I love Halloween and sewing, so we set forth to make our doggies costumes.
The local dog park was having a Halloween event:  costume parade and contest, along with refreshments for both doggies and their humans.  We had to go!

Mom decided on a simple cape for her dog, Sparky.  She found a pattern on the internet and got some awesome blue cotton fabric with little stardust swirlies, and a darker blue fabric with little stars for the collar part.  She was thinking he might be a superhero, but ended up making him a wizard from Harry Potter. She put a lightning bolt instead of the star in gold fabric on the back.

Cape pattern

Here at Tea-and-Cat blog, there are plenty kitties to help with the sewing!
 

Mom showing off the near finished Cape

My Mom & Dad's dog, Sparky, is a Pomeranian* (non-standard size, probably what the breed looked like prior to breeders miniaturizing them)   He is six years old and very lovable.  

One of the ancestors of the Pomeranian breed is the Spitz hound.  There are a few different types of "Spitze" :
German, Finnish, Asian, and the Dutch Keeshond. They were bred originally to help hunting, herding, and pulling sleds, and all other type of fun stuff they did up in the Arctic regions back then.   Sparky looks remarkably like a German Spitz/Dutch Keeshond .

Although I'm fairly certain my Dad does not have Sparky herding any of the local squirrels, we had to check every now and then that he wasn't hooked up to a wheelbarrow moving leaves to the giant compost pile in our
backyard  (jk!)

So my original idea was matching cowboy outfits for Calvin & Charlie,  but somehow ended up being closer to Mexican Serapes with little matching hats. I used fabric from my fabric stash,   some chocolate brown corduroy type material, black denim, and lots of rick-rack for trim!

Kitty!  Mama Cass helps with the patterning

Laying out the trim

Sewing it all up

Finished Doggie Serape

Off we went to the Dog Park Halloween Event,  they thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air, which was pretty warm for this time of year.

Sparky at the park (oops, he blinked!)

Sparky in his wizard ensemble

Calvin in his costume

overhead view (the pink scarf is what I use to sling walk him)

Charlie in his costume,  (The hat kept slipping down)

There were a variety of pups in costumes, I have included some pictures below.  They also had a bunch of prizes for different categories - pairs, character from a book, funniest...
I entered my guys in the 'pairs' category, but alas, did not take a prize.

Sparky took second place in the Book Character category.   My mom ended up bringing home a big basket full of fancy doggie stuff, which they generously shared with my guys too.

boxer in a froggie costume (he took first place in the 'funniest' category)

A collie giving saying hello to Calvin. the Collie is sporting a 'Cheshire Cat' costume.

A basset hound in a cowboy costume There were actually a number
of cowboy doggies there, glad I went a little different!

Part of the Halloween parade.  

Little pumpkin dog

Prize table!

Tired Charlie on the way home.

So that was our big Halloween outing this year.  

Do you dress your pets up?  Please comment and share!

xo til next time, Yvonne