Dior and I

   It was a convergence of the right time and and right event [or motive and opportunity, if you prefer.]  I am learning to sew and had one fraught-with-errors dress under my belt.  Absolutely every step in its creation came with at least two mental "note to myself" admonishments against its repetition.  I wore it in public once.  Emboldened by failure, I was on the lookout for my next project and found it in Christian Dior.

    "Dior and I" is a fashion documentary about the inaugural show of the new creative director of the House of Dior, Raf Simons. He had a mere eight weeks to research, design and create his first collection instead of the usual eight months.  The film raises its interest factor greatly by also focusing on the seamstresses, pattern makers and the rest of the creative team behind the director. There are even flashbacks to Dior himself to weave the whole story together.
    Luna Leederville cinema is making its opening of the film a real party.  They've decorated the central stairwell with banners, posters, and flower garlands.  Champagne and chocolates will be served to all arriving guests. A local modeling agency will be there to add glamor to the proceedings. And there will be a contest for the best dressed.  THAT'S IT! For my second ever sewing project I will make a Christian Dior outfit that will win me a prize!

   I raced over to the fabric store and spent a few hours pouring over pattern books and scouring the clearance tables for stunning but cheap fabrics. I will have to rely on luxe textiles to compensate for the lack of detail in the garment. Killer fabrics should shine on their own and not be burdened with fussy design elements.  My first great plan which included a stylish 'very easy' Vogue pattern and reversible material would have costed $100 for fabric, pattern and notions.  Aaaaacckk.  On to Plan B. I will use the Kwik Sew skirt pattern (3254)  from last time with some lavender taffeta. Taffeta is probably not the usual fabric for an eight-gore, elasticized waistline skirt but I know how to make it now.  Kwik Sew comes to the rescue again with Pattern K3928--a top with no buttons or zippers but with a rolled collar.  You may have to squint a little but I'll look just like some of those vintage Dior designs. I had so much trouble with the bottom facing of the top.  It flares out in all directions.  I look more like daughter Judy from The Jetsons.   I had a few days and lots of fabric and interfacing scraps remaining, so I made a faux pillbox hat.  I used a free online pattern and a library book to dream it up. Kev says I look like a flight attendant. I ignore him.

Styling at 'Dior and I'

    My sister-in-law Donna is excited to dress up and come with me. The theater is only a few blocks from her home. Good thing, too. It rained that evening.  But that didn't dampen our spirits. Donna was stunning in a little black dress and lots of diamante bling.  She had her hair done in a sophisticated style that took even her family by surprise.  Many people dressed up for the occasion but the most impressive ones wore vintage Dior-esque  dresses.  Society photographers were everywhere shooting pictures of everyone...except Donna and me.  The sillies.  No matter. Donna and I are convinced that the title of the movie should be changed to "Chris and Us."

    Since the lobby contained everything but the champagne, we stayed there looking spectacular and people watching.  We wanted to get our picture taken on the staircase

Dressed up toothpicks

with the floral garland. (**spoiler alert**) This was a rather lame mimic of the wall of flowers seen in the movie. A wall of flowers had been set up at the outdoor screening and enjoyed by the half dozen people willing to sit in the rain to watch the movie. Back inside, we noticed that floral confetti had been thrown on the steps. Even a few of those frizzy topped toothpicks  were there. Then the toothpicks moved! Oh gee whiz, it was really  just a few of the models hired for atmosphere.

    Inside the theater it seemed that everyone was wearing some shade of black or white.  All my purple was startling in contrast. I tried to make everyone feel better by drinking two glasses of champagne.  Neither of us won a  prize but we were quite OK with the judge's decision. Four of the five winners were septuagenarians who refuse to go down without a fight. The fifth looked rather vintage  Dior.  We enjoyed dressing up and going to this event.  The movie is well-made and an eye opener to the inner workings of haute couture. The seamstresses are a gas.

   And I may wear my second sewing project again.

 

$nail Mail and Australia Post

    Australia Post, you are killing me!  A 43% rate hike for domestic letters has been announced.  Not only is the price of a domestic letter rising from 70 cents to $1 but the letter will take two days longer to get delivered unless the customer pays a premium above that. International mail got slapped around several months ago when international postcard rates ($1.70) were abolished with all international mail stamped at the letter rate of $2.75. Delivery is assured in 3-10 days but lately it has been taking two weeks for anything I've sent. The post office still has their prepaid picture postcards-usually with a native animal or big city skyline on it-  I like sending aerograms (those handy sheets of paper that fold into a prepaid envelope shape) and Aus Post used to change its design frequently.  The current design of a purple iris (aerograms are traditionally blue onion skin) has been in place for three years. Boring.

    Australia Post wasn't always boring. They changed stamps monthly it seemed. And people didn't have to be dead to get their face on a stamp, either. Movie stars, captains of industry, notable natives have all been licked by the general public while they were still breathing.  And they don't limit their merchandise to strictly postal products.  Fun, yet still educational, toys and presents can be found in post offices. Calendars, cookbooks, cookie tins, mini personal DVD players, the occasional sewing machine (!), traditional Australian folk character toys like Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie, novelty USBs, art sets and my personal favorite: a build-it-yourself four-stroke engine that runs on batteries. Found only at Christmas time.  In fact, Kev has been known to do his Christmas shopping for the nieces and nephews-especially when they were younger.

    But the extra merchandizing is not enough to battle the loss of revenue from electronic communication the world now engages in.  Post offices everywhere are trying to figure out how to cut unnecessary costs while still providing essential services.  The USPS stopped selling aerograms ten years ago--and won't honor old ones without make up postage to current letter rates. We know this because Mom found a stash of old aerograms when her mother died and the post office required extra postage before mailing. Aus Post may get this nonbrilliant idea also.  For about a year, the USPS also had a surcharge of $9 for all packages being mailed into the U.S. to cover the cost of security checks- regardless of what the postage was. This was almost evil.  The surcharge was rescinded after about a year  but I don't know if that was because of all of the bellyaching customers did or because the USPS lost even more revenue from packages not being sent through their service.

   I like sending letters.  I like nice stationery. I like the feel of paper in my fingers. I like the potential promise every envelope brings into a mailbox. Therefore, I will not stop sending snail mail.  I'll just be a little smarter about it.

   **And we used to howl whenever the USPS announced a rate hike of two cents!**