Style o' Giles

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the one in the short skirts and low-cut tops kicking vamp butt, but I prefer Giles' fuddy-duddy, old-man English style. Look at him looking all dapper! He wears vests! And worriedly takes off his glasses! He looks like he smells like old books and earl grey tea.

The polka-dotted tie is a personal favorite of mine. Being a little whimsical, Giles? How out of character!

And he totally switched up his look when a spell turned him into his younger self -- Ripper, the punk/criminal/sexy-pants. A white T-shirt is always a fabulous look. Especially when accompanied by a James-Dean attitude.

I must admit, however, that Giles does not always look fab. Sombrero? Not so much. Although, everything is forgiven on Halloween.

Cabiria

Cabiria is my favorite Fellini character. She's sweet but also a spitfire. She's a hooker with a heart of gold and somehow manages not to be a cliche. She smokes too much. She has weird painted on eyebrows. She wears fur with stripes. She is fabulous.

long gloves

Long gloves are fantastic. They're dramatic. They're classic. They're all woman, baby.

Grace Kelly wore long gloves and then she won an Oscar and married a prince.


Audrey Hepburn paired long gloves with a Givenchy dress, tiara and cigarette holder and created an iconic image loved copied by millions of little black dress wearers.



Miss Piggy rocked her purple gloves on a regular basis and proved that long gloves work well on strong, sassy ladies who know what they want (Kermie!).

The final murder mystery

Last spring, I discovered a website dedicated to murder mystery parties and went crazy for it mostly because I love games and themes and dressing up. I daydreamed about it a lot, and when I saw friends, I discussed how I wanted to have a murder mystery party and wouldn't that be fun and they all agreed: yes it would.

But murder mystery parties are small and intimate so one party would not do. So I planned three with three different casts (with some minor overlapping). Tomorrow is the last and final 2010 murder mystery party. It was planned this summer when I had my busy friends Karen (fabulous, abstract-expressionist artist and gallery owner and business what-not doer) and Sarah Paris (rougeneck-blogging, sparkly-eyeshadow-wearing, on-the-go driven diva) over to my house for Thai food (cause I cook now, what what?) and catching up and I opened up the murder mystery website and asked: "Which mystery on what date? Because this *must* happen."

And so plans were made for a Nov. 13 celebration of "The Waskers" a post-Oscar party filled with mystery and MURDER.

I was originally planning to simply host and not play, but some people could not come (Not Sarah P. and Karen of course. They've had it on their calendars since August.) and so I took on the role of "the strange diva," which, quite honestly, I was coveting back when I offered it to someone else.

A year ago, I bought a giant, wide-brimmed black hat and swore I would wear it and then never wore it. I think I will wear it tomorrow. With pearls. Or maybe a thrift store prom dress. We shall see.

And while this is the last 2010 murder mystery party hosted at the Grano-Miller household, it will not be the last murder mystery party ever. Robert and I already have grand plans of writing our own murder mysteries with parts tailored to our friends. The theme possibilities are endless! Thinking about it makes my head explode! With joy! And firecrackers! When will it take place? The 1980s? The Great Depression? The future? Where will it take place? A luxury train? A haunted castle? The bottom of the sea? Who will it star? Divas? Gangsters? Yo mama?

Terribly exciting, I tell you.

ee cummings: I love you much when you write about love

i love you much(most beautiful darling)

more than anyone on the earth and i
like you better than everything in the sky

-sunlight and singing welcome your coming

although winter may be everywhere
with such a silence and such a darkness
noone can quite begin to guess

(except my life)the true time of year-

and if what calls itself a world should have
the luck to hear such singing(or glimpse such
sunlight as will leap higher than high
through gayer than gayest someone's heart at your each

nearness)everyone certainly would(my
most beautiful darling)believe in nothing but love

-- ee cummings

redonkulous sunglasses

I've been told these sunglasses are redonkulous and too much, and I've bought other sunglasses to wear when I don't feel like being a spectacle, but... I still think they're pretty cute in a child of an '80s Ray Ban and a '50s cateye kind of way.

Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish was an odd-duck sort of beauty. My high school history teacher hit on her great-granddaughter. He got turned down. He enjoyed this story. I enjoy Lillian Gish's strange silent movie star beauty.

Miss Adelaide, style icon

I am all about Hollywood musicals and my very favorite Hollywood musical character is poor Miss Adelaide from "Guys and Dolls." She's a sweet, ditsy, burlesque dancer with blond hair who just wants to settle down with notorious Nathan Detroit and have lots of babies. She's tired of getting the fish-eye from the hotel clerk! She's developing psychosomatic symptoms! Something must be done. Poor thing. And she wears fab '50s outfits and barely there get ups. My first introduction to Miss Adelaide was the movie. There's Vivian Blaine playing her above. Frank Sinatra is the charming Nathan Detroit. "So sue me," he tells her. "I love you." And she's like "Your promise me this, you promise me that..." They fight a lot. But they do eventually get hitched.

A couple years ago, Lauren Graham of Gilmore Girls fame starred in a Guys and Dolls revival. I could die, I tell you. I could honestly die. Who is a bigger Lauren Graham/Adelaide fan than I am? How did I not go? How did I not *know*? At least we have photographs. And let me tell you, Lauren Graham's Adelaide is the most fabulous incarnation yet. Let us all stare:

It's a miracle!

My road trip necklace is no longer dead. Robert brought it back to life. Above, Sunshine is reluctantly rocking it. All is well.

What a hoot

Isn't he cute? He's an owl! With glasses! And he reads! He's like me, but an owl! I found him at an antique/ consignment store where I also bought a $3 book that will allegedly turn me into a wine connoisseur/ expert/ snob. He came with cooking utensils I didn't necessarily need but am keeping anyway. My current plan is to fill him up with more utensils and make his home our kitchen counter top. Or maybe he will go in the guest room as a plant holder. Sadly, whenever I put plants in the guest room I forget about them and they die a sad, dehydrated death. I am a bad plant mommy. But, anyway, he will be used. He will be adorable. He is such a hoot. Hardy-har-har. (Hoot jokes will be made every time I buy/ consider buying anything owl-esque.)

thrift store score

Italian leather bright red platforms have banished the cranky black storm cloud that hung over my head for most of the day. I found them in a Humane Society thrift store (which had little doggies roaming around) and fell immediately in love. They make me want to paint my toenails, wear little dresses and say "Ciao!" while zipping around on my Vespa. Seriously: I was cranky then I found these and bought them and now I'm not cranky. Thrift store shopping is magical.

RIP necklace

The necklace I bought on a whim pre road trip (thinking: this will look really cute in road-trip like settings) just broke. Sadness. Do you think it committed suicide? Let us remember it in happier times as seen here:

In Beaufort:


With Angel Oak (which was a very scary, giant tree we started calling "Demon Oak") leaning against its branch (or tentacle depending on how you feel about the tree).

wearing today

Robert has a new hat. It goes with Spanish moss.

Madeline, style icon

The giant yellow hat! The cute peter pan collar! The white socks with black shoes! The mischevious smile! The swingy blue dress! We love her!

ellie looking amahzing

my sister is fabulous

bubble umbrella

I've wanted a bubble umbrella-ella-ella for so long, and now I finally have one! Wheee!


(Evening thunderstorm was my first chance to use it. I ran outside and demanded Robert take pictures. He puts up with a lot.)

cherry shoes

When I'm feeling cranky, I like to put on these turquoise shoes with dangling yarn cherries. They are so cheerful. They even brighten up the cracked sidewalk.

combs, hats and quirky craziness

My dream: To eventually only wear flouncy '50s-style dresses accessorised with amazing shoes and *most importantly* some type of head adornment. SIGH. I am so in love with combs right now. And veiled hats. And embellished headbands. IN LOVE WITH THEM. Actually owning them as of now? No. But the evolution of my style in this direction is absolutely inevitable.







See for yourself here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/whichgoose?ref=seller_info

newsworthy

Newspapers may be a dying breed, but they're looking sharp as a backdrop on Anthropologie's website.

So at least we have that.

Charlotte Foust

I recently saw Charlotte Foust's work at Lark and Key in Charlotte and was both drawn to it and weirded out by it. Oh art, you are such a mystery.

Coveting Karen Banker...

One of these days, I'm going to buy a Karen Banker original piece of abstract expressionism and put it in my house and it's going to be amazing. And small, probably. But amazing and beautiful and then Karen will come over and be like "Look at that!" and I'll be like "I know! Isn't it exciting?" And it will be exciting. Terribly, terribly exciting.

(http://karenbanker.com/news.html, http://www.gallery317.com/)

Bunnicula?

Skitty Cat is not a rabbit. We have found no white vegetables in the house. We have, however, found these garden-fresh tomatoes torn to shreds in the center of the kitchen table. The only suspect? One rotund, black cat.

"'Let's just say the matter is under control,' Chester slyly tells his pals Harold and Howie. But what on earth does he mean? It seems that Bunnicula, the vampire rabbit, is back to his old ways—or so Chester thinks, having found pale vegetables drained of their juices scattered about the Monroe family kitchen. And now, once and for all, Chester is determined to save the world from this threat."

brooches and big hats

When I am an old woman I will wear brooches and big hats.

http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/2010/07/gitte-lee-art-of-personal-style.html