Introducing My Love of the 20's-50's.

Hello there! (:

So, today I thought I'd introduce you to my love of the 20's - 50's. Despite the fact that I wasn't there for any of those 40 years, they hold a rather large place in my heart. In fact, I'm passionately attached to them.

I love anything to with the 20's and up to the early 60's. One of my main obsessions is the films and actors/actresses of those years. This started with my obsession with the lovely Deborah Kerr (1921 - 2007)...



She's most famous for playing opposite Yul Brynner in The King and I:

...and for kissing Burt Lancaster in the surf in the iconic film From Here To Eternity:

However, having seen almost all of her 44 films (some of them are extremely hard to track down and very expensive, unfortunately), I can assure you that almost all of her other films are just as amazing. They're all my favourites really, I couldn't possibly pick just one.

As Deborah's years in film were mainly the 40s and 50s, I began to watch lots and lots of films from those two decades. After a while, as well as watching the films, I began reading film stars autobiographies and biographies. The one that sticks out most is Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud by Shaun Considine. I don't know when I have enjoyed reading a book so much. I honestly couldn't put it down. Maybe it's just because I'm a very nosey person, but I enjoyed it like no one's business! Anyway, if you are a fan of either Bette Davis or Joan Crawford (I would say 'and/or' but I'm not sure anyone likes both of them. I am proud to say I'm on Team Bette!), it's a must read! You can buy it on Amazon for as little as £1.25 - get yourself over there!

I also started moving on to fields that were relatively new to me. I discovered Jean Harlow...

...who tragically died in 1937, aged 26, whilst filming Saratoga with Clark Gable. As the film was nearly finished Jean's body and voice doubles were used for the remaining scenes, and it was released as planned.

I love love love Jean. She was the original platinum blonde (yes, that's right. Marilyn Monroe wasn't the first. Neither did she rock the look as well as the first, in my honest opinion) and a wonderful actress. She was stylish, beautiful and a real character!

I don't really have time (or energy) to type any more today - and I did say 'introduce'!! So, you've had your introduction, but it's definitely not the last you'll hear on the subject. I'll probably continue in this vein tomorrow as I enjoy talking about it...and that's what a blog is for, right?

A presto!

Holly Golightly In My Wardrobe :O

Well hello there! True to my word, today I shall be posting [in part] about some of my more recent clothes buys. I was going to include info about an amazing range of trinkets that I recently found (actually, it was my Mum who found them...*blushes*) but I decided that they merit an entire post of their own. So, look out for that in the days to come.

A few weeks ago I placed quite a large order at New Look online. They were mostly items in the sale, so I snapped them up quickly in case they went out of stock. (Hah, some of them are still being sold now (; ). I didn't keep all (many) of the items I ordered, but the ones I did I am really loving.

Ditsy Lace Tunic

It's a very, very pretty dress. I was actually really surprised by how lovely it is! It doesn't really look anything like the New Look photo, so I may upload one of my own sometime. The only fault I can find with it is that it is quite heavy. Not unbearably so, but I'm not sure it will be the comfiest dress to wear on a hot, summer day (;

Heart Back Jersey Dress

I really love this dress. It comes in 5 different colours (Black, navy, fuchsia, grey and 'prawn cocktail'). I have it in navy, and I love love love it!!! It fits really well, is really comfortable (it's not very cool because it's quite tight). I feel a bit like Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) in Breakfast at Tiffanys when I wear it. In all honesty, it doesn't really look anything like the particular dress I'm thinking of, but it makes me feel stylish...and I like that!

The dress in question is the dress Holly wears when she's going to visit Sally Tomato in Sing Sing. I adore Breakfast at Tiffanys, and this is possibly one of my favourite scenes. She suddenly realises it's almost time to catch her train to Sing Sing, and in a flurry of clothes, shoes, and cigarette lighters, she transforms herself from this:

into this:

Gorgeoous, no? I want that amazing hat!

But, as I said, Holly's dress is much more stylish and wonderful than mine! I think, maybe it's the body of the dress that makes me feel Holly Golightly-ish. Anyway, I really love my dress...Holly-like or not!

This dress is the Border Print Crochet Dress in black. I couldn't find it on their website, so I presume it must have sold out now. It's really floaty and light, and very cool (I wore it on the hottest day, so far, this year...). The lace is really delicate and pretty, and the quite intricate details of the flowers and little butterflies is really lovely!

Cardigan: £8 from Ethel Austin (my Mum bought it, and I'm surprised how nice it is - I never usually shop at EA because their quality is a bit naff for the prices, in my opinion)

Leggings: £8 from New Look

Flats: I can't remember wear I got them...they're old and worn out now (;

Sunglasses: My cousin gave me them, I think she got them free with something! I actually quite like them, but, as I use them a lot, they are very scratched and battered. I have new ones on the way! (:

Crutches: NHS!!

Dog: 99p off Ebay (;

My Rose Print Sweater. It's a lovely top, a bit on the thin side, but it's ideal for summer. I'm wearing it over my Breakfast at Tiffanys dress from above as I was a bit cold. I had to get it a size too big as they didn't have my size but I really wanted it. One of my friends thinks it's very "Bree Van de Kamp" - I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing! (; Oh, and once again, it's sold out - I couldn't find it on the New Look website.

Leggings: £8 New Look

Flats: £10 New Look

Pocket Watch Necklace (which you can't really see): I think it was £1/£2 from Ebay.

I think I'll wrap up this enormously long ramble of a post by posting some cute summery photos that I love.

A presto!!!

Hello!!

Hello there! All zero people reading this blog. I mean, honestly, who do I expect to be reading this on the.first.post. So, I may as well ramble on aimlessly (aren't most rambles aimless? (; ) and get it over with quickly. BUT, I won't. I honestly don't have much to write as it's late and I'm tired. Very tired. Tomorrow I think I might make a post about my recent clothes purchases (I love that word - you can make it sound really funny...), but for today, I'm just introducing myself...and rambling.

As you may or may not know, my name is Sophie. I'm not going to tell you how old I am because you might be a weird old man from some far off country, and if you are, I really don't want to give you any more information that necessary. Go away! If you are the aforementioned man, that is. If not, you can stay, I like you. :D

Anyways, back on topic. So, ja, I'm Sophie. I have a very debilitating illness calle M.E (Myalgive Encephalopathy) which has pretty much ruined my life. I've had this illness since late 2006 and was only mildly to moderately affected until the last 10-12 months when I became moderately to severely affected. Since last November I've been basically housebound, and some of the time bed bound. I can count on my hands the amount of times I've been out of the house for fun reasons this year, other than the various hospital/doctors appts. When I say 'fun' reasons, I don't mean parties, the cinema, restaurants etc. etc. I mean short car rides and even shorter walks (a few yards with my crutches) just to get out of the house and get fresh air. I'm trying to build up the time I go out, and as I now have a wheelchair (hah, my Mum got it for me today! I haven't had a chance to try it out yet and probably won't be able to until late next week, but it's BIG, blue and shiny. (; ) it's going to make it a little bit easier. So, because of M.E, I don't really have a life.

I like to have pretty, old things around me. I like to reminisce, not that I'm really old enough to do that! I LOVE LOVE LOVE old films, and my favourite actress of all time is Deborah Kerr. I still have hundreds of photos of her on my walls from when my obsession with her was at it's highest boiling point (that sounds weird!) and, although I don't go on about her 24/7 like I used to, I still love her as much as ever. Lovely lady, that.

I have a pretty eclectic music taste - if I like a song, it goes on my mp3. I'm a HUGE fan of musicals and I was pretty involved in my local musical theatre before I became ill. I really, really miss singing, acting and dancing and would give anything to be able to do that for just one day. Possibly one of my favourite West End leading ladies is the unsung but HUGE talent, Susannah Fellows. She.is.amazing. Her voice is one of the most colourful, vibrant, beautiful, and adaptable voices I've ever heard. I'll have to make a post all about her one day. One day soon, in fact.

I have two brothers and a dog called Scamp. He's excessively cute, and I love him to pieces.

Well, I'm going to wrap up this long, long first post and say buona notte! Please follow me - I promise I will try to update this blog daily! If I don't, feel free to egg my blog via your computer screen. Ciao!!!