Tuesday, March 24, 2009

IT'S ALL IN THE LACE

Half of the book shelves are neat and tidy, dusted even. Another bag for the op shop is filling rapidly and I have been ruthless. I mean, for me I've been ruthless. My granddaughters will be here for Easter so the sofa bed will have to stay down for the moment which puts off the culling from the lace cupboard and the moving of another bookcase in the other bedroom.


Nothing from that bookcase is leaving the house. I have 25 years of wedding magazines, a treasury of wedding fashions. I'm not fussed about the naked shoulder look of weddings these days, low slung dresses always make me nervous especially in the presence of booze and groomsmen. This gown is gorgeous but look at the disaster in waiting, the tulle, the train and the straplessness.



The Italian books have the most outrageous and the most beautiful beaded gowns, the American books have the best bridesmaid dresses, the British mags have the most traditional but I have favourites marked in all of them.


It's not just that they're wedding dresses, you all know how I LOVE weddings (upchuck) but the fabrics, the laces, the designs. It's my comfort food for the eyes. They're staying, even if it takes me two weeks to move the lot to their new home, after I make a diagram of how they all fit into the shelves. I'm not taking them out without doing that, I remember the last magazine avalanche.


I did find treasures lurking on the shelves in the study, a history of Paisley shawls, 18th Century fashions in underwear, what there was of it, and how to take care of vintage clothes in case the colours came from potions like arsenic. A 5th Doll Fashion Anthology featuring that much maligned creature "Barbie". The book goes into great detail about how Mattel mirrored real life and television shows with each edition doll.


I never had much time for her but I don't know why she's always held up as a bad role model for girls. I never wanted a figure like hers nor did I want to play with Barbie. It was too much like hard work, all that role playing, undressing and dressing up, keeping her amused with pianos and ponies, talk about 'high maintainence'. But I loved the fashions, I really loved the fashions. I didn't want them on a doll, I wanted them on me. I made a dress for Barbie, once, and once was enough. Fiddly doesn't describe the torture of making that pissy little outfit so I'm always astonished at the high fashion gowns that are designed and made for the plastic princess.

I'm not into collecting ratty old dolls either. I only have four, um six, damn, seven, I forgot the porcelain baby doll which is still in the drawer away from the cats who used to take it in turns to sleep on it. I do have teddies, tiny teddies. One is sitting on the printer holding my glasses. See, I collect useful things.



5 comments:

Jayne said...

Lace? You can't throw out lace!
Men? Yep, chuck and cull as much as possible....but lace???

Ann ODyne said...

I slid a few Vanity Fair mags in with those bridal ones, must have sensed it was a safe zone.
I LOVE weddings - remember that c.1989 Wednesday night TV show of Jane Hall's? It was absolutely rivetting. Everybody loves weddings -
My Big Fat Windex Wedding.
4 Windexes and a Funeral.
My Best Friends Windex.
The Windex Crashers.
Cousin, Cousine, and even the remake 'Cousins'. All successful films financially.
Once in the Acland St newsagent I counted 24 titles of wedding mags, and in the library, the Dewey file is 395 ...

" and on the 3rd day He rolled away the stone" so
wishing you a wonderful Easter of Renewal with the girls.
CHOCOLATE.

JahTeh said...

Jayne, just the tacky bits, the cheap stuff not the very old and 'you can't buy it now' lace. I have to do it now, I know what's coming here from mother's although I've been slowly removing odd bits for the past 6 months because she doesn't notice now.

Annie O, they're replaying Bridezillas very late on channel 9.
I wasn't one but my bridesmaids were. I wish they'd make a show about decorating wedding cakes, I'd watch that over and over.
Vanity Fair has it's own box of safety.
I could always tell if the marriage of soapy stars was meant to last if the dress was gorgeous, if it was horrendous, they were doomed.
I'm safe for Easter, I've never liked the egg chocolate and I'm not paying the price for a Lindt Bunny.

River said...

I don't have bridal magazines, I have house and garden ones. I drool over the pages which have kitchens and bathrooms bigger than my entire unit. I fantasise over the permaculture gardens, the acres of gardening/play/sit and dream space. I'm envious of the bedrooms and living rooms that have so much space there's room for a sofa in the bedroom, or a dining table that seats 18. I'd love to have more space around me. But then I think about the cleaning involved, the lawnmowing, the weeding and watering, and I decide I'm happy enough with what I've got.
Barbie? Pfft!!

JahTeh said...

River, I have a dream book where I put all the cuttings of what I want to do here. A lovely big verandah right round the front would be nice, a touch of wrought iron lace, french doors with frosted glass and a small conservatory across the back for the winter sun. The money for all this would be nice too.