On the Radar -- My Fall Playlist

I'm writing this blog post really as a procrastination tactic -- which is odd, since I usually procrastinate about writing the blog.  I need to be making sock monkeys right now, as I have an art fair this weekend.  But being slightly burnt out in the monkey department, I thought I would be productive in another way, albeit a way that doesn't really accomplish my goals for what needs to get done today.

Anyhoo, I thought I would share my favorite ten songs of the moment -- an important clarification because this list is constantly changing.  I live my life by mix CDs.  But right now, this week, as the first leaves start to change and the air gets a little colder, a little crisper here in central North Carolina, these songs make me feel warmer and just a little more alive.  The other Blackbird will tell you that I'm a softie, and it's true, I am.  And there's just something about fall, my favorite season, that makes me crave love songs, soft songs, and songs that just make you feel...more.   I've scattered some evocative finds from Etsy throughout, as well, just because, well, you need something pretty to look at while you listen to all this great music!

Photographic Print by bomobob on Etsy, here.

1.  David Ramirez, Fires

I found David Ramirez on NoiseTrade, a site that has tons of free music and books from new artists that you can download for free.  Luckily, the version of Fires from that site was the acoustic one.  The original track, from his album American Soil is good, but it doesn't have the intensity of the one below.  Lyrics to die for:  "I could start fires with what I feel for you."  Swoon.

2.  Sam Airey, Stars

His voice is distinctive, and I get so caught up in the sound and words.  From his Station Approach EP, it's amazing to me to hear that he did this version in one take.  Haunting and beautiful.



3.  Damien Rice, I Don't Want to Change You

I'm obsessed with this song and video.  I love Damien Rice, and this song is off his upcoming album, My Favourite Faded Fantasy.  I've been waiting YEARS for a new album (eight, to be exact), so I'm pretty excited about a new one.  He is so amazing at bringing out raw emotion, and the lyrics just stick in your mind.  My fave lyrics: "I've never been with anyone in the way I've been with you".

Photogray by Shashamane Dream Photo on Etsy, here.

4.  Ryan Adams, Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play That Part

From his 2005 album, 29, this song is pretty depressing.  But so very, very beautiful.  Written for a friend who lost a child, this song has a long instrumental part at the end that uplifts the whole thing.  The song is so heartfelt, and it means so much more because of the magic that Ryan Adams can put into any song he creates.  It's all beautiful, but my favorite lines are: "For you I'd do anything / tear myself in two / just to hear you breathe."

5.  A Fine Frenzy, Pinesong

A Fine Frenzy, a.k.a. Alison Sudol, has long been one of my favorite artists.  Her album Pines really works best if you listen to the whole thing together -- she said, "the entire record is a story, and each song is a chapter that leads into the next."  And it's all about nature.  My favorite part: "Rolling hills are / Roaming through my veins / And open arms / And all is full of / Hope."

From Boho Quilts on Etsy, here.

6.   Laura Marling, Breathe

I didn't discover her until last fall, after one of my students mentioned her.  It was love at first listen.  She quickly moved into my top 5 artists ever, which is a very select group.  Her entire Once I Was an Eagle album is ah-ma-zing, but Breathe really stands out to me.  Such great storytelling -- for example: "When you wake you'll know I'm gone / And where I'm going there's no one / So don't follow me."  Watch the whole short film, When Brave Bird Saved, if you have 18 minutes to spare, but if not, just enjoy this -->

7. Dave Matthews, Come Away Death

Here's another from my top 5 artists ever -- Dave can do no wrong.  He released this musical video last year, and I am dying -- dying -- to have a downloadable copy of this song.  The words are Shakespeare's, from Twelfth Night, set to music.  It's just Dave, a piano, and lovely words.  Who needs more?  (I do -- a mp3 of this song!!)

Photography from Raceytay on Etsy, here.

8.  Sarah Jarosz, Gone Too Soon

I was lucky enough to get to see her perform at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, NC a few years ago, and she is the real deal.  She is so very talented, taking bluegrass and making is more accessible, I think, for larger audiences.  Gone Too Soon is another song that tells a story, drawing the listener into her web.  My favorite part: "When you sing / It’s like silver / When you touch me I’m on fire."

9. Bearfoot, Doors and Windows

This song is a major standout to me, and always seems to make its way onto my playlists.  Again, I love a song with a story, and this one is so fairy tale-ish and deep that you can't get it out of your brain for days.  So beautiful just to listen to it -- musically and lyrically. I mean, the first line is: "Both you and I know that this monster is no longer sleeping."  And it just gets better from there...

Photography from Fizz Studio on Etsy, here.

10.  Emily Jane White, Dark Undercoat

From her 2007 album of the same name, this song is another sad story.  (I promise I'm not sad all the time.)  I want to listen to this song, with headphones, in a warm coat on a blustery, gray, fall day, with dry leaves skipping around my feet.  It, as do the others, has lyrics that pull me in.  For example: "Oh, but if I was a deep bathtub would you sink down, / To the bottom of my love?"

On the Radar -- Tartan Take Two

Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren Jacket, Fall/Winter 2013

We've totally talked about plaid already.  But we've talked about wool blankets and 1950s picnic items and our Scottish Christmas window display last year.  You can read about that here, here, and here.  We haven't talked about plaid clothing...

And it's everywhere this fall.  I mean, EVERYWHERE.  And yes, I love plaids and tartans of every color and form, but I also think that instead of just spending tons of money on new plaid, people should also revisit vintage plaid.

So here's a round up of some new plaids I love, with a quick sampling of all the vintage plaid goodies we have in our shop right now.  Enjoy!

Moschino, Fall/Winter 2013

Blumarine cape, Fall/Winter 2013

Mulberry, Fall/Winter 2013

Vintage Wool Plaid coat, $55, in our shop here.

Pendleton Wool Tartan Shell, $55, in our shop here.

1950s bow tie, $15, in our shop here.

1980s Gay Boyer madras belt, $12, in our shop here.

The Skinny -- Winter Coat Fashion of 1935

So, we bought Seventeen magazines from the 1970s, as I shared with you a few weeks ago.  But we also bought a stack of Ladies' Home Journal magazines from the 1930s at the same time.  In the October 1935 issue, I was struck by their fashion spread with winter coats.  

Of course, I was.  We are bleeding hearts when it comes to vintage coats.  We buy them whenever we find them abandoned in a thrift store or at an estate sale.  People have even just given us their vintage coats they don't want anymore; they know we will love them unconditionally.  One of us Blackbirds (who shall remain nameless, ahem...) has a collection of coats.  She specializes in Persian lamb coats, but loves them all in their turns.

I know she will appreciate this post -- and that she will try them all on in her mind.  The text included is by Julia Coburn, and the photographs are by Fowler-Bagby.  I hope you enjoy a trip back to the fall of 1935!

The Question of Color for Your Winter Coat

It's perfectly true that a black winter coat is the most practical thing you can have.  No matching problem on accessories, and a great choice of colors in dresses, if you don't want all black.

Black is distinguished; it is sophisticated and it can be young, like the coat on the left.  A smooth soft fabric, buttoned down the front, with a turn-down collar of Persian lamb, and a soft flare to its skirt.  But would you like to try your hand with color?

Brown is, of course, the first thing you think of in the way of color, the time-honored alternate for black.  Nice with green dresses, gold dresses, rusty reds, as well as matching brown.  Beautiful with beaver or mink collar, for an all-brown coat.  The one at the right on the opposite page (photo below) uses cross fox with all its varied tones, to lend interest to the coat.  Long-haired furs are very fashionable -- the favorite silver fox, cross fox, light foxes, and very light-colored lynx and wolf, giving contrast to deep winter shades. 

In the brown coat note the tiny flecks of color in the brown, like pin dots.  They are made by colored mohair woven into the fabric.  The coat fabrics have interesting weaves this fall.  Note the sleeve fullness, coming from the back; the way the coat wraps way over to the side, held by a belt of the fabric; and the easy flare to the skirt, worn about two inches shorter than last year.  All these are new fashion points to consider when you buy a winter coat, if you want it to look really new.

If you're bored with brown, look at the gorgeous copper shade on the girl who is stepping up.  Nobody could possibly mistake that for last year's coat.  First its color, which blends beautifully with brown accessories and yet in itself is so much more exciting.  Can't you imagine it with deep auburn hair?  Think of a gray dress with it, matching the fox.  Or almost any shade of green.  Or a pinky beige.  Now look at its other points of newness: The slightly bloused back; the collar of fox mounted on fabric, adjustable, and giving a becoming softness.  Belted in the fabric, as the brown coat is, and again with a generous lap to the side.  Fortunate you are if you can find brown suede step-in pumps banded in calf in just the copper color of the coat, like those in the picture.  For shoes this year can have interesting color effects, and still be in the best of taste.  Experiment a little with shoe colors too.  Green, green and brown combined, and wine red are some of the interesting new shoe ideas to be found in the better shops.

To show you on of the wonderful new wine reds for this winter, we have chosen the perfectly stunning suit worn by the lady with the dachshund.  This type of suit is definitely a luxury, and for the woman who maintains a varied wardrobe.  The coat is long enough to wear over a frock.  The blouse and lining of the coat are of a wool shell-knit fabric in a shade of blue that looks shimmery because two different tones are used.  The coat and skirt are made of a rough soft woolen, just formal enough for the mushroom collar of beaver.  Note how the coat buttons from below the collar to well below the waistline.  Before long we may be having coats with as many buttons as shirtwaist dresses.  If you want to see a new and perfectly stunning pair of gloves, look at those she is wearing with this suit.  They are of suede, with palms, binding and lacing of the gauntlet cuffs of calf.  This year there are some happy mediums in gloves between stark simplicity and overfussy trimming.  In the case of gloves, as with so many of the things you will buy this fall, it would be wise to go shopping with an open mind.

There is one more exhibit in the coat-color family -- green.  For sports coats, you will find gay, vivid greens, a color that makes vivid contrast for fall's browns.  For the all-purpose winter coat, you will probably be more likely to choose an olive shade, of which there are darker and lighter versions.  The one worn by the girl in the center on this page has kolinsky collar and -- big fashion news -- fur cuffs.  Put together, they form a very convenient muff.  The definite flare in this coat is very important.  The flared coat, if worn short enough, is very young looking.  And you can get one in which the flare is put in at the side seam in such a way that it's a simple operation to have it taken out, if you should tire of it.

With all the new ideas there are in winter coats this year, you certainly owe it to yourself to get one that looks new.

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We don't have currently have any coats in the shop from the 1930s, but we do have this amazing fox fur collar coat!

Available here.

On the Radar -- Plaid Madness

Country Living, fall 2012

OK, so Country Living strikes again.  We see this picture to the left in one of their fall issues.  We think happy thoughts because we LOVE plaid throws.  Then, over the next few weeks we learn how powerful these magazines can be -- mainly because we sell over half of our stock of blankets in our shop, which for us, is about six.  SIX PLAID BLANKETS in around two weeks.  I would call that a definite trend!

There are many trends that we are fully aware of and we buy for the shop accordingly. And then, there are ones like this.  Trends that just happen and we're already prepared because we buy it anyway. We love plaid anything -- we have our own mini collection of blankets, we're working on a tartan tin collection, and we have a plaid thermos, jug, and cooler collection.  We're both addicted to plaid flannel shirts and wool coats in the fall and winter.  And we sell a lot of Pendleton suits.  So we are, you could say, drinking the plaid Kool-Aid on a regular basis.

Pendleton Blanket, House  Beautiful, Fall 2012

We prefer wool blankets, but we don't pass up pretty acrylic throws.  They are just as stylish, and honestly, are much softer to snuggle up with if you really want to use your blanket.  I mean, cashmere would be ideal, but realistically, who has the money for that?  Certainly not us! 

Brimfield store in Chicago, photo from Velvet and Linen

It's probably no secret that we like multiples, so seeing plaid blankets stacked like this just makes us happy.

Our favorite plaid wool blanket from our collection.

We still have plenty of blankets available in the shop, so take a look!  Here's a sample:

From our shop!