cinematographic: practical magic watch party

floral maxi skirt: forever new / mocha lace bandeau: miss selfridge / ella moss portabella cardigan: shopbop / lovely people dahlia flat: nordstrom / plumeria gardens vintage copper hair barrette: 1928 / sun and moon tiger's eye pendant:etsy shop nadinessra / pressed flower handmade autumn ring: etsy shop hiddengarden11

This year is the perfect opportunity for me to do a collage post for the Practical Magic Blog Party, as, for the first time in quite a while, the beautiful late 90s fashions featured in that movie have come back in style. Well, at least in part. The soft, feminine trends of flowing skirts, florals, crochet wear and lace have surely returned (along with a few of those Buffy-era dark jewel tones I've been missing), but unfortunately anything I've seen that mimics the shapes and patterns of the time has turned out nowhere near as flattering as its predecessors. On the plus side, the makeup this season is going to be so stunningly 90s. I cannot wait to bust out the dark lipsticks.

Wish I could have done a group outfit shoot for this party (I did grow up with a redheaded Gilly and a young Frances, after all), but alas, it's been an incredibly busy couple of weeks.

Fashion aside, Practical Magic is one of those films that really makes a girl want to play pretend. Or at least that's what it did for several of the women in my family. (What can I say, sometimes it's nice to vicariously experience a universe where being female is seen as something special, rather than something to be overcome.) 

It is not what I'd call a particularly blockbuster story, nor one that hinges its whole existence on any overblown sense of drama. This is to the film's credit. For me it's the quiet things that make Practical Magic worth watching over and over again: the family moments, the day-to-day workings of the house, the townie gossip, the characters' solitary struggles, and the wonderfully spare use of magic to illustrate a woman's small-time life.

That's the broken noose swinging in the background, there. Looks great in motion, but makes for terrible screencaps!

I know it's just a shell set, but this? My dream house.

I love how all of the women have such distinctive personal styles. Frances has the best in the whole movie, hands down.

I also love how Sally is allowed to wear normal schlubby clothing, as opposed to so many movies now where everyone, even little kids, looks like they stepped out of a magazine.

Fierce, even in pajamas.

Couldn't get a good shot of these outfits, but I'd kill to have those top styles come back into vogue again.

This inspired us to build a pergola for grapevines in our backyard. Unfortunately, no one but me and Laura wanted to paint it white!

Lovely color scheme in this scene.

Someone needs to build me this kitchen, like now. 

Not my usual type, but Sally, I totally get you.

These glasses, lmao. I may or may not have a similar pair.

This was an excellent, ageless special effect. Looked seamless and creepily subtle.

Gorgeous example of the kind of dress I wish would come back.

Get on over to the Practical Magic Blog Party and check out the other bloggers' posts!

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a last touch of summer

No, that isn't poison ivy behind me. It's Virginia creeper, which now grows all over the woods in our backyard. That's not to say that there isn't plenty of poison ivy around, though. Going into the corners of the yard is dangerous business.

Also, I'm not dead. Just incredibly horribly busy with a few unexpected crises. Hoping to get back into regular posting soon, especially since I totally missed Fashion Week. Lots of catching up to do.

(Oh, who am I kidding. I hate spring fashion shows anyway. Autumn, I am ready for you.)

WARDROBE:

cardigan: Target

skirt: the back of my closet

camisole: Express

shoes: Charlotte Russe

hat: thrifted

CAMERA:

Laura

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always a rainy day, man

At this time of year, I seem to keep coming across slightly bogus magazine and blog features about bulking up on seasonal wear. I only say "bogus" because, to be honest, most of the advice never really seems practical to me. It's like fall clothing is supposed to last through winter, and uh, no. A pair of short snow boots and a light trench is really not gonna cover it where I live, guys.

I think we just have too much weather here, so I can't really buy into that whole "get your winter wardrobe for under $100" thing. For winter alone, I need things for knee-deep snow days, there-is- a-fucking-blizzard-oh-god days, freeze-ass windy days, miserable sleet and slush days, just plain rain, and the regular cold barren days. All of these require different coats and shoes, frankly. (Although I have never been good about that. Sneakers in snow are...okay, but flats in rain? Whoops. )

On another note, I broke my favorite pair of sunglasses the other day and can't find new ones with dark enough lenses for me. Why does it seem like every lens out there is barely tinted?

WARDROBE:

flats/leggings/skirt: Charlotte Russe

shirt: Disney World (lmao no, really)

CAMERA:

Laura

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the fashion retrospectograph: martha with an "r"

Although you couldn't quite call this a retrospective post, as I never met my great-great-aunt Martha, I must have heard her name hundreds of times in my childhood. The dumb kid that I was, however, for the longest time thought it was actually "Ahntimaatha" and not, you know, Auntie Martha. (To this day I am not entirely sure why my family drops the "r" sound for this Martha only.)

This particular photo stood out to me, not because it apparently ended up in the paper, but because Martha is looking pretty damn gorgeous here. I don't have a date for this photo, but based on the styling and her probable age, it's clearly sometime in the 20s. That's one of my dream style eras for a reason, people. This whole look is just so soft and glamorous.

You can see closer details (and probably read the newsprint better) in the larger version.

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one hundred years of style, dance version

Just saw this linked through Beta Boutique, and had to pass it on.
It's interesting how the differences in style look so much smaller when placed in succession like this, until you get to the 80s/90s.

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cinematographic: sarah's ballgown, labyrinth

Sheer Jersey Bandeau Dress: American Apparel / Tiered Tulle Skirt: YesStyle / Beige Knit Bolero: Rakuten / Feather Clutch: Nordstrom / Brass Filigree Leaf Necklace: KesTDesigns / Vintage Reclaimed Bauble Bracelet: FifisFroufrou / Genevieve Flat in Gold: DSW

The ballroom dress in Labyrinth is a thing of beauty, if you were a kid of a certain age when this movie came out (and I was.) There aren't too many places to wear an enormous iridescent ballgown, however, so I tried to do a much more casual version. It was kind of frustrating, to be honest, since I already had an exact picture in my head of the pieces I wanted to find. Alas, most of them do not exist (or at least don't exist in the shimmer knit fabric I wanted), so I had to come up with an alternate interpretation. The only thing that's missing from this collage is the perfect hairpiece, which has eluded me entirely.

In my dream version, I worked the clock motif into the hair jewelry. It...sounded less insane in my head.

Masquerade scenes in any other movie fall completely short of my expectations because of the fantastic masks used here. (And no one is ever having as good a time, either!)

Even as a little girl, I knew I'd never find another man who could pull off this outfit.

Flawless.

Okay, this guy here in the long mask? Totally spotlighted by the camera throughout the whole scene. It's both kind of freaky and awesome how he progressively becomes a focal point as Sarah's discomfort intensifies. Considering some of the creative team were extras in this scene, I'd love to know who played this guy.

Labyrinth: setting up insanely high relationship expectations, one girl at a time.

I always liked to imagine that these were the goblins' real forms, as if they were all, once, babies Jareth had stolen.

Oh, Brian Froud, you can't hide from me.

No seriously, who is this guy?

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