Rosy Lady

Coco Chanel

I saw the beautiful film, Coco before Chanel, this week.  It is based on the life of French fashion designer Coco Chanel.   Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born in 1883 outside Paris. I have always admired the French women for their sense of style and this film made me realize how much Coco Chanel had to do with it.  It is a French film with English subtitles.

 

I am always interested in the stories of successful people and how they discovered the path to their destiny or place in this world.  The designer was called Coco (little pet) following a brief career as cafe singer and the name stuck.  She grew up in an orphanage and did not seek out to become a fashion designer.  She did some sewing which was mainly repairs or hemming garments.  Nothing exciting or creative.  So, her association with sewing was purely a means to an end.   Her dream was to become an actress.

 

She made a suggestion of wearing a smaller, simpler hat to an actress which was an instant hit.  Requests for her hats started to flood in.  At first she was resistant as it was not the path she chose for herself, but as she starts to embrace her destiny, everything starts to fall into place.  Her life was certainly full of challenges and heart aches but, she remained true to herself which served her well.

Some of her famous sayings include:

"Fashion fades, only style remains the same."

"A girl should be two things:  classy and fabulous."

"A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future."

In fashion terms, Coco Chanel replaced the corset with clothing that was comfortable, simple and elegant.  Her style was often inspired by menswear.  Coco Chanel brought us tweed jackets, the little black dress, the quilted bag and the 'blue and white' striped sailors top.

I leave you with a few images of the film:

 

I love how she stood out from the other women and made them look like over the top wedding cakes.  

 

  A fashion trend-setter rather than a follower.

    
What an inspiration she is.  I definitely recommend the film if you have an interest in fashion and a beautiful story about life, love and people.  

 xx

Lazy Sunday

I've had a really good Sunday.  Started with a church attendance, followed by the great British tradition of a Sunday roast in a pub.  

My favourite pub is right by Hockley Woods where I often go for a walk when I want some peace, quiet and time to think (or not).

And, you're always guaranteed to bump into one of these guys:

Tonight, I went on a film-date with Hubby.  We saw District 9 and, although not my usual cup of tea, I really enjoyed it.  It is a South African sci-fi film.  My eyes usually glaze over when I hear sci-fi or alien movie but this one had me on the edge of my seat and it was lovely to hear some South African accents and the odd Afrikaans words (my native language) thrown in. The critics are raving about it and I have to agree, it is great.

Anyway, hope you've had a great weekend.  

xx

 

You spin me right round, baby right round, like a record baby, right round.

I'm up bright and early today, eager to (finally) start my textile design portfolio.  I have done various designs up to now but none specifically in the context of a fabric line and that is what I want to do now.  I am just bursting with ideas that seem to be all I can think about.  I once heard someone say that a woman's thoughts were like a washing machine, always going round-and-round, thinking about different things, like the different items in the washing machine, all at the same time.  When we went to Keukenhof in the Netherlands earlier this year, there was this beautiful statue that symbolizes my thought patterns so well today...

Each little ring representing a different thought on designs, patterns, colours, sewing, big dreams and the excitement about all the people who have been viewing my blog within the last few days.  It is so nice to have you here, I hope that you will keep coming back to share in my journey and feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to meet you all!  

I also have some ideas for a free sewing pattern.  I'm hoping to work on that when I need a break from my computer screen.  So, be sure to pop back for that.

I thought the words from the song by this group as seen in one of my favourite films, was quite appropriate for this post.

Have a good weekend everyone!

xx