Watching......Little Women

It takes a stellar story to withstand three film adaptations, but Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, does just that.
Like a lot of little girls, Little Women was one of those books I read over and over again. Such a sweet, beautiful story of sisterhood, growing up, love, and loss. I love it still. And Jo March! Probably one of my all time favorite heroines. Her tomboy antics, free spirit, fierce family loyalty, and her passion for writing made her my idol. I wanted to BE Jo March. It's funny because my middle name is Jo, and I always hated it because I thought it was a boy's name, until I read Little Women and then I learned to love it!

My favorite film is the 1949 version starring June Allyson, Janet Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, and Margaret O'Brian. I'm not sure this is a completely objective analysis because this was the first version I ever saw and a special film in that my grandmother introduced it to me and I remember us watching it together countless times. I love the costumes, the accuracy of the story line, and as a whole, I prefer this cast to any of the other adaptations. Although I love Katherine Hepburn as Jo in the original 1933 version, ultimately I think June Allyson is the most convincing. And the young Elizabeth Taylor is brilliant as Amy. Even at her most selfish, vain, and ridiculous you just can't help but love her. The clothespin on the nose always used to make me giggle. I even tried it myself once, but, wowzers! It hurts!

I really didn't care at all for the most recent version, starring Winona Ryder. I think Winonoa Ryder is a great actress, but I just don't think she's well suited for historical roles. I loved her in Girl, Interrupted, Reality Bites, and How To Make An American Quilt, but not as Jo March.

In any event, such a special story. It's almost like a rite of passage of girlhood to read Little Women for the first time. My daughter is only one right now, so I guess we're still a ways off, but this is one of those stories I really look forward to sharing with her.

Browsing........Week #2

A few of my favorite links this week from around the world wide web! Have a lovely weekend! Cheers!

#1 Pinafores

Thanks to Necessity is the Mother, an adorable little shop featured on ETSY this week, I am now completely obsessed with pinafores. Oh my goodness, are these not just exquisite? For some reason, they make me think of Samantha, my favorite American Girl Doll when I was a little girl. If I’m not mistaken, Samantha’s birthday outfit featured a white frilly pinafore over a pink striped dress. I remember thinking that was just the prettiest thing ever!

But now, older and wiser, I actually like these simple ones much better than frilly, lacy, over the top ones. The buttons are super sweet and I love that she recycles old fabric from thrift stores, yard sales, etc. Although I would love to order one of these beauties, I’m not sure that’s in the budget right now, so I’m actually toying with the idea of making one myself. Perhaps even matching mother/daughter pinafores for myself and my little one, Katie Mae. Granted, my sewing skills are not stellar, but with lots of handholding from my mom and grandmother, it just might be possible. I’ve been scouring ebay and etsy for vintage pinafore patterns. I’ll let you know how it goes….

#2 Imelda May

One of my favorite websites, Queens of Vintage, featured a podcast with Irish songstress and vintage fashion icon, Imelda May.

I had never heard of her before, so I hopped over to her website and myspace and now I’m a big fan! She has such an amazing voice, and what’s more, her fashion sense is through the roof. Look at that hair! And those outfits! Sort of like a burlesque 50s bad girl. Rizzo meets Mae West meets Billy Holiday? Definitely worth checking out.

Great YouTube video of "Johnny Got A Boom Boom"

#3 Edwardian Couture

While we’ve got Edwardians on the brain, I also enjoyed this collection of Edwardian inspired couture fashion from style.com.

#4 Electric Edwardians

I discovered this amazing film series via Marmeecraft, who in addition to being an incredibly talented artist with the most whimsical, imaginative paintings, also has excellent taste when it comes to books, movies, etc. Electric Edwardians is a collection of extremely rare documentary footage of everyday people going about their lives in the pre-World War I era between 1900 and 1913. Apparently, the negatives were discovered in the basement of a house about to be abolished in Blackburn, England. Can you just imagine finding such a treasure! So far, I’ve only watched the ones available on You Tube, but I added the film itself to my Netflix queue. Fascinating stuff.

#5 Boater Hats

So everyone knows by now that boater hats are all the rage this spring. I wasn't sure at first how I felt about them at first, but I have to admit they are growing on me.

There's something just so jaunty, perky, and devil may care about these slightly askant sassy little hats. I think I actually prefer the more simple straw ones to these glitzy Marc Jacobs numbers. I love this one from the ever lovely Rhiannon and Clever Nettle had an excellent post with lovely photographs and great advice on finding the perfect boater that has been making the rounds lately. There's something almost Huckleberry Finn-esque about these hats that makes you want to play hooky and sail away on a raft!

And of course, my favorite boater of all time: the absolutely perfect in every way, Mary Poppins!