Peter in Mustard and Audrey in Rome

Damn those paparazzi, always on my tail!

Hey, do you remember these mustard jeans I made last October?

Well if truth be told, I haven't worn them because I never hemmed them -- until today, that is.  Do you ever get 99% finished with a project and leave it sitting because you don't get around to the final 1%?  It doesn't happen to me often but it does happen.

I turn the hem up 1/2" and press, then another 1/2" and topstitch from the outside.

In other news, there's a new pattern in my life, won yesterday on eBay for a whopping 6 cents.  And I wasn't the only bidder!   The bidding started at 1 cent and it seems the other person bidding wasn't willing to pay a nickle more for it.  Thank you, eSnipe!



When I'm not hunting down 1940's evening gown patterns, these days I'm thinking about Japanese silhouettes and patterns/pattern books, and this Issey Miyake pattern from the late Nineties has a pleasingly androgynous look I like a lot.  I know it's been made by Mimi over at Shop the Garment District.  Hers, below, in a wool/cashmere blend, came out gorgeous.



In other news, I just borrowed the recently published book Audrey in Rome from the library.  It's mainly lots of black and white photos of Audrey Hepburn through the decades when she was either filming in Rome, visiting Rome, or living in Rome.  Most are candid, paparazzi-style shots, but Audrey looks effortlessly elegant in all of them.  She just knew what suited her (and having Givenchy as your couturier helps).

 

















This isn't a great book by any means and the quality of the printing is not very high, but if you're an Audrey Hepburn fan, you might enjoy it.  As for me, while I appreciate Audrey Hepburn a great deal, I often find myself frustrated at how often she was cast as Cinderella opposite men much, much older than she, like Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Fred Astaire and, of course, Rex Harrison.  My favorite film of hers is Two For The Road where she gets to play a grown up (albeit one without a job) with some personal agency opposite someone roughly her age (Albert Finney).

Still, there's no doubt that she was a genuine style icon and projected real warmth.  We could use a few Audreys today.

What's your favorite Audrey Hepburn movie?

Have a great day, everybody!