Hat-tip to Avedon's Sideshow for the link to this:
The Fascinating History of Flour Sack Dresses. A portrait of a different way of life in the 1930's and 1940's.
Just prior to reading that article I'd read, in stark contrast, that Melania Trump's dress, worn at the opening night of the 2016 Republican Convention in Cleveland, cost $2,190. The dress was designed by Roksanda Ilincic, a Serbian-born designer based in London. Reportedly stocks of dresses of the same design were quickly sold out. Ah well, I guess $2,190 is chump change to some. It's a pretty modest price anyway, compared to that $12,000 for the jacket Hillary Clinton sashayed around in when campaigning, a few weeks ago.
While mentioning Melania Trump - I do not give two hoots whether she plagiarised some of, or all of, a convention speech given by Michelle Obama! What does it matter? Are there not more important things to obsess over? Seems not, at least not for online websites yesterday!
Tsk....back to dressing. Even in the 1930s, though, while some girls were wearing flour sack dresses, there'd have been some pert young things whose rich daddies hadn't been totally cleaned out by the stock market crash, flaunting some very expensive fashions. And, in 2016, though flour sack dresses aren't a possibility, frugal dressers, by choice or by necessity, can shop at Goodwill, thrift stores or at E-bay for pre-owned goodies.
It has always been thus, and will always be...
The Fascinating History of Flour Sack Dresses. A portrait of a different way of life in the 1930's and 1940's.
Just prior to reading that article I'd read, in stark contrast, that Melania Trump's dress, worn at the opening night of the 2016 Republican Convention in Cleveland, cost $2,190. The dress was designed by Roksanda Ilincic, a Serbian-born designer based in London. Reportedly stocks of dresses of the same design were quickly sold out. Ah well, I guess $2,190 is chump change to some. It's a pretty modest price anyway, compared to that $12,000 for the jacket Hillary Clinton sashayed around in when campaigning, a few weeks ago.While mentioning Melania Trump - I do not give two hoots whether she plagiarised some of, or all of, a convention speech given by Michelle Obama! What does it matter? Are there not more important things to obsess over? Seems not, at least not for online websites yesterday!
It has always been thus, and will always be...
Melania (or Malaria, as Jimmy Kimmel calls her) could have worn a flour-sack dress and looked great...LOL...it's all in the tailoring. Your NY Times link fails to mention that the dress is of the modernized, wedding variety, but then a dress is a dress. It may have cost $2190, but either the designer had Melania's dress-form mannequin, or Malaria had it tailored...don't get form-fitting curves off the rack.
ReplyDeleteCopying is the highest flattery, as is said. Melania's introductory speech was apropos, I thought. It matched her husband's "art of the steal". Her dress and speech over-shadowed another Melania-related topic in yesterday's news, that she falsified her college degree. Like no one would ever check and discover that she dropped-out after her first year.
I never watched "The Apprentice", though at times it was on in the background, while I was on the internet and too lazy to change to PBS. I was wary and dulled by Donald and his children with that minimal exposure. Add a couple of extra children and Melania, and it's even more formulaic of a "Housewives of X" reality show, with a RNC backdrop.
Thrift stores ain't what they used to be, Twilight. Thrift-store merchandise used to be cheap, but Goodwill in particular, up-scaled the pricing! I can find far cheaper clothing when some of the better, up-scale retailers have their final-reductions, 75%-plus-take-another-25%-off sales, such as found at Dillards and Macy's. It didn't take long before Salvation Army, et al, doubled and tripled their prices to follow suit. There are still yard sales that one can find the occasional bargain, but even those are often priced sky-high.
mike ~ She probably has her own tailor/tailoress on hand to sculpt her fashions to form-fitting perfection. :-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched even a second of the RNC junket yet. Noted this morning that dear Dennis Kucinich alone had a good word for Melania. Dennis is a sweetie - I've always thought so!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dennis-kucinich-melania-trump-plagiarism_us_578ec92fe4b0f180da639019
Some thrift stores are better than others - those in out-of-the-way small towns are the best, we find. I've found some really nice stuff over the years at Goodwill and other thrift outlets. The quality, if one chooses well, is better than "made in China" stuff that fills stores such as JC Penney, Dillards etc. I have noted Goodwill's price rises recently.
I regularly take a box or bag full of our stuff to Goodwill - too small or too something, or items no longer needed. They do at least provide jobs for a few people - and yes, I know the owner isn't all that's wonderful, but still the organisation is a worthwhile one, in my opinion.
I balance thrift purchases with on-line clothing buys. I use E-bay a lot...and sales, yes! Hardly ever go to shopping malls now - went there for first time in years last week to find shoes for anyjazz. Goodness knows who buys all that stock on display in department stores here - yuuuge amount of stuff, and not many customers, far as I could see.
Re Kucinich supporting Melania's speech - as Buddy Green's comment stated:
ReplyDelete"I don't get it. Her speech was as sterile as could possibly be. There was absolutely no warmth in that speech whatsoever. And, parts of it were plagiarized. And the parts that were plagiarized were about....wait for it....
HARD WORK AND HONESTY!!!!
How is that possibly good?!"
Another comment associated Kucinich's job as political analyst at Fox as a potential neutralizer. I won't hold Kucinich's politeness as pandering, but to overlook the substance of her speech in lieu of "grace, heart, poise and inner beauty" does seem obsequious and inattentive...much as I respect Kucinich.
Melania's natal:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Melania_Trump
Transiting S Node and Neptune are conjunct her N Node at 10* Pisces...this with transiting Saturn squaring. Not a good time for fibs, over-glamorizing, or imagery. Things are not what they seem. Transiting Jupiter is about to conjunct her Pluto, then Uranus, while trining Mercury, Venus, and Mars...public spotlight, paparazzi, and star-qualities abound. Transiting Mars will conjunct her Neptune and oppose her Venus and Mars...something may be revealed to her detriment. The transiting Mars-Saturn conjunction at 9* Sagittarius in late August will square her Nodes (see first sentence) and oppose natal Mars...conflict, perhaps within her marriage or family and a time of personal, inner turmoil for her. With transiting Mercury and Venus now in Leo and Sun soon to follow, squaring her natal Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn, now through the first three weeks of August will be stressful for her...many demands made.
mike (again) ~ I'm just so tired of everyone - on both sides of the political divide - being mean. Dennis Kucinich's remarks felt like balm to me. The whole darn thing is pretty meaningless anyway - it's all a circus, not worth the effort to criticize.
ReplyDeleteThe money these conventions cost could be put to much better use repairing bridges or some dang thing.
As Che sang in Evita (parodied - or plagiarised?) "Oh what a circus, oh what a show [Cleveland] has gone to town over the [plagiarism] of an actress called Melania Trump...We've all gone crazy...."
mike (again) ~ Thanks for her astro detail. I suspect she knows only to well that she's being made vulnerable - extra vulnerable during coming weeks and months. She'll be watched, stalked, criticised, ridiculed at every turn. What a dreadful position to be in! If she had the idea that this was going to be a fun ride and ongoing dress-up party she'll soon learn differently!
ReplyDeletemike ~ Marjorie Orr's take on Melania's chart:
ReplyDeletehttp://star4cast.ca/melania-trump-rooted-and-enduring-a-chalk-cheese-match/
The only Water in her chart is Jupiter in very early Scorpio, only Fire is Neptune in very early Sagittarius, Mars and Uranus are in Air...the other five planets are in Earth. Venus is her final dispositor.
ReplyDeleteI doubt that she cares much what others think. She's very concrete and probably minimally emotional, perhaps more concerned about her own needs and wants (Venus in Taurus as final ruler) enhanced with her stalwart Capricorn Moon. She has an excellent chart for not becoming annoyed by opinions of others, particularly if she obtains what she wants.
Not to down-play Venus in Taurus, but as final dispositor, she would have a strong inclination toward personal comfort among the finer offerings of life, and her role as (trophy) wife to Donald is perfect. I doubt that having to hit the campaign trail working to elect her husband or the notion of First Lady with duties appeals to her sensibility. Taurus can be very stubborn and Saturn in Taurus (rules her Capricorn Moon) doubly so. I suspect she's far more used to Donald indulging her whims.
Don't be surprised if Melania takes an extended vacation soon or is less visible than one would expect of a contender's wife or husband.
Re Marjorie Orr - She says, "She seems quite happy to stay in seclusion so a First Lady role would probably give her a panic attack." I agree!
ReplyDeletemike (again) ~ I noticed Ms Orr's remark yes! Then read your latest comment which is in tune with it - same idea. :-)
ReplyDeleteRe Venus in Taurus - lol - anyjazz has that placement. I see it as his arty side. He loves to paint - and take photographs. Melania has some fashion jewellery design interest I think - whether she designs it herself, though, I don't know - so there's that arty Venus/Taurus link.
I keep forgetting to mention a fascinating and excellent PBS POV that I viewed recently, "Garbage Dreams". Can be viewed on Roku's PBS channel or here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/independentlens/garbage-dreams/film.html
mike (again) ~ Noted, thanks - will look for it. :-)
ReplyDelete