Getting Decked Out in Art Deco

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Crashing Nightingale

First thing first, happy new year!

I’m a little belated on my happy 2014 exclamation. I did have a fun and entertaining New Year’s Eve celebration and kissed 2013 goodbye.

Currently, my husband and I are getting ready for the next big event on our agenda, the Jazz Age Preservation Ball in Richmond, VA. We are SO excited! The Jazz Age Preservation Ball is created and presented by the Art Deco Society of Virginia. I stumbled across the non-profit organization and found they put on this extravagant event. So my husband and I thought, let’s go! This will be their second year and by the looks of the photos from their inaugural event, it’s going to be a grand time.

I am a Jazz Age and Art Deco enthusiast and love to get my hands on anything from this era. My husband and I love this time period so much our wedding was 1920s themed. (See article on this here ☞ Saying ‘I do’ Roaring Twenties Style.) I’ve always had a dormant obsession with the twenties. Unconsciously admiring the structure of finger waves and secretly falling in love with the flapper style. I love many decades between the 1880s to 1960s, but if I had to choose, hands down the 1920s win. This time is just intoxicating for me. The colors, style, architecture, and the way America was after the Great War and before the second one. When we became engaged and I was going over the theme of our wedding with our photographer, she suggested I start a Pinterest board to give me wedding ideas. At the time we had not decided on a 1920s-themed wedding, but knew we wanted a vintage-theme event. I started my search and started to come across couples who had done this. Thus began my (so far) 1, 777 pinned images of the 1920s style. I could literally live my life in this style, no joke.

So we’ve prepared for our trip to Virginia and are ready to attend the Ball. We’re looking forward to meeting other Jazz Age and Art Deco enthusiasts. Keep your eyes peeled for details on this event!

Here’s a sneak of my dress ☞

Now please, let me show you some images of what I’m obsessing about. 🙂

Date Night with Bettie

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

This past Friday, my husband and I attended the Bettie Page Reveals All movie premier at the historic Belcourt Theatre. It was a sight to see all the Bettie fans eagerly await the showing of the film. So many movie goers were dressed up in retro 1950s attire to see Bettie on the big screen.

The hubby and I wore our matching black with white piping 1950s western outfits. The clothes did not come as a set. My husband had originally bought his and I found this dress that seemed to fit it quite well. I channeled my inner Bettie and curled my hair and snipped my bangs to create the infamous “Bettie bangs.” My husband slicked back his hair and threw on his cowboy boots. We were ready for the show!

Everyone looked so excited before the film began. Ladies with their 1950s-inspired clothing and victory rolls in their hair and gentlemen looking super dapper. Just as a sidebar: this historic theater happens to serve alcohol so we sipped on drinks while we enjoyed the show. The lights dimmed and the camera rolled and there was the iconic “sultry siren of the southland” as she was introduced in the opening of the movie.

The film is narrated by Bettie herself during her older years. The movie began with her childhood and chronologically showed her life through pictures as she told us about the moments of her life. It was great to hear about her from her. Not all biographies have the opportunity to have the actual person do this. Towards the end we see how much Bettie influenced culture and art. Bettie has been the muse for many artists; one of my favorites being Olivia De Berardinis.

Bettie is such an iconic women that has bedazzled and inspired so many people. Thankfully, she is still an inspiration today and still hypnotizes anyone that lays their eyes on her famous pictures.

Bringing sexy (lingerie) back

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

Recently I watched an episode of Showtime’s series, Masters of Sex. The show is set in the 1950s. During the episode, one of the characters is getting ready for work and you see her sitting at her vanity in her undergarments. It dawned on me how the undergarments she was wearing, bullet bra, waist cincher, garter belt and stockings, were such the normal thing to wear under daily attire. Of course I’ve known this for a long time and I have these items myself but it just hit me that wearing these daily have gone by the way side. I am certain there are women in the world that do, but it’s certainly not in every women’s wardrobe. So I thought, why don’t we?

Sure, your comfortability-level may get thrown out the window wearing tight, constricting fabric. But just like putting on a pair of heels for the first time, you’ll get use to the feeling eventually. You didn’t do sprints the first time after putting on a pair of six-inch heels. So it’ll take a few times to get use to wearing these items underneath your clothing. It’s all about taking baby steps before taking the big dive. To me, I love the feeling of sophistication these undergarments give. It makes any skirt or dress slip right on when you have the silky material on. I enjoy wearing dresses and skirts more often than jeans or pants so maybe it’s just more of my preference to include putting on a good fitting waist cincher to smooth out the body.

I feel undergarments have gotten a bad rap over the decades because some may associate it with their “grandmother’s girdle.” I’ll admit, growing up I heard my grandmother on many occasions reference her “girdle.” But whatever you want to call it, our grandmothers knew what was up. Like any kind of accessory you pair with your outfit, these classic pieces of underwear should go wherever you go. Whether it’s the office or date night, sophistication is what these pieces bring.

So I declare we bring these beautiful and sexy garments back. (Queue the Justin Timberlake song).

Wear fabulous underwear even if you are the only person that is going to see it.

Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions. – Coco Chanel

Some companies I recommend if you’re looking for yourself or another:
Secrets in Lace
What Katie Did
Dollhouse Bettie
Agent Provocateur

Continue reading →

Celebrating Champagne

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

With two major holidays around the corner, it’s the time of the year that the consumption of champagne definitely increases. This time of the year seems to glow, shimmer and sparkle so it’s fitting everyone pops out the good ‘ole bubbly. Champagne has such a reputation as a celebratory drink. We use it to toast to our health, for love, for happiness, for fortune or whatever else we can think of during the moment of celebration. I will admit though, I’m not champagne’s number one fan. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good party and to celebrate but I’m not popping bottles of champagne like it’s my go-to drink for the night. If I do imbibe on the nose-tickling elixir, it’s more in the form of a mimosa or bellini. And of course, I have my celebratory glass at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Recently I came across some recipes for champagne cocktails that I thought I’d give a try. After all, ’tis the season to celebrate!

If you have a champagne cocktail recipe you’d like to share, do tell! 🙂

Autumn Love

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

photo by: Crashing Nightingale

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. The colors, the change in the atmosphere and everything it invites is intoxicating. It has always been my favorite and I think part of it is because my birthday is in September. It is towards the very end of summer, right before the first day of autumn and I feel it kicks off my love for the season. October is such a beautiful month and Halloween is my favorite holiday. And then November keeps the intoxication going as the last of the colorful leaves fall elegantly to the ground. I recently took a stroll through my neighborhood with my camera to get drunk on the beauty I was witnessing outside. Below are the photos I took. Enjoy 🙂

Feel free to share what your favorite time of the year is and why.