2 posts tagged “silhouette”

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Short Box

Jun 30, 2009
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There's a phrase in pilates called "short box" that demonstrates the way you put a wooden box padded in foam and covered in naugahyde gets placed on the pilates reformer. Lately, I've been feeling like my spine is going through life as a short box.

Recently, I was teaching pilates in San Luis Obispo and crashing at a friend's place. Here's the weird room she had me staying in. My first thought was, did I wander into a hotel?

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To make things feel more homey, I started working on projects I'd brought. Foolish me. She's VERY allergic to animal hair and what did I leave ALL OVER the room but my red mohair afghan I was finishing.

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Here it is crumpled up on the part of the bed I was using.

And last, but not in the least, the view from my window there.

SLO

I lost so much weight while I was there. Then I got home at 2 in the morning, started work the next day early, and have been busy, busy, busy since then. So go figure, I've gained the weight back and then some. Sucks. Still, a dancer I know suffered last year from herniated discs in her back and she couldn't dance for about 7 months. Now she's back, thinner than ever, her silhouette the perfect triangle (inverted) that I always wished I could be. There but for the grace of the gods of the genetics go I.... Nevertheless, she's dancing better than before and inspires me to keep trying.

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Feminine Fashions

Sep 8, 2008
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NY Fashion Week continues. People see different things and look for different things in fashion. Tastes are never uniform, of course. What I see is that Ruffian's Spring Ready-To-Wear Collection 2009 reflects the standards of Southern California casual chic for those into indie labels of any kind. This year's collection doesn't feel old; it also feels more like an exposition of good Stylists at work rather than the dynamic display of good tailoring such as I see in Preen and Staerk collections.

I found the hairstyles in the Tuleh show beautiful and feminine. Very inspiring. Tracy Reese put together a truly lovely show: a celebration of feminine softness and gliding movements. Particularly, a delicate lime green batiste dress with small pintucks at the chest and gentle ruffles line the armholes in place of sleeves. Even with the mixture of heavy brocade fabrics and light wisps of chiffons, the use of bright and floral patterns alleviates the thickness of the brocade garments and keeps the look fresh and feminine.

Preen had an interesting white satin fabric sewn on the bias into a shirt-dress. It looked like a very pliable Battenburg lace and drawn-thread work. To do this by hand, the fabric is usually a stiff broadcloth. The seamstresses at Preen used fluid fabrics with a strong drape. While I didn't care for the garment's cut and silhouette, I felt inspired by the unusual extrapolation of a heritage technique. I have always admired the skill in drawn thread work and Battenburg lace, but because both are crisp and a bit stiff, I would never want to wear anything made of them.