Beautiful and Haunting: "The Red Shoes" for Halloween

Now that I've publicly declared that I will be spending these coming weeks carrying out my mission of restoring Beauty and Order to my home - I'm firmly committed to following through. 

But yesterday was such a godawful day at work, when I got home I stumbled past all the chaos in a daze and headed straight for my computer/TV room with only one goal in mind:  zoning out on instant play Netflix films for the rest of the evening.

It turned out not to be a wasted evening at all...because I discovered my new favorite movie:  the 1948 classic, "The Red Shoes."

(warning: spoiler alert!)



I don't know how I managed to have missed seeing this wonderful film all these years. Have you seen it? It's both amazingly beautiful...and darkly haunting.

"The Red Shoes" is loosely based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of the same name, and features real-life ballerina, Moira Shearer, in the role of the enchanting young dancer Victoria Page.

Vicky is torn between the man she loves, Julian Craster the composer (played by Marius Goring)....

...and the man who has the power to help her realize her dream of becoming a prima ballerina - but can also take that dream away:  the Lermontov Ballet impresario, Boris Lermontov (played by Anton Walbrook).

I'm not going to attempt to write a review of "The Red Shoes." Many others who are far more capable than I have already done that. Take a peek here.

One reviewer described the film as a "feast for the senses." I thought I'd give you a little taste of that "feast" through these photos that I took directly from the film as I was watching it. (For those of you who have never done this before - it's a great way to get to know a film intimately.)

"The Red Shoes" has everything that makes this vintage-loving girl's heart sing!
Gorgeous ballet...

Intriguing characters...

Fabulous fashion from the 1940's...

Lots of wonderful train scenes...

...and handwritten letters.

Plenty of romance and intrigue...

and DRAMA...

Dark, Dark DRAMA...

...that turns to TRAGEDY...

For those of you who have a tradition of watching a haunting film on Halloween night - but are sick of the typical blood-and-gore horror films, "The Red Shoes" might be just what you're looking for.

And...if you had fancied the idea of being a ballerina when you were growing up...and you still look halfway decent in a tutu and tights...why not consider dressing up as Vicky Page for Halloween?

All you need is a dress like this...with a pretty blue bow for your hair...

A pair of red, red lips - and dramatic eyes lined in black and red...

And most important of all - red ballet slippers, preferably handmade by the Shoemaker himself.

But at the end of the night, after you come home from the costume party...

and are ready to go to bed...if you discover that those red shoes simply refuse to budge from your feet...

...don't say I didn't warn you...

.....hehehe, cackle, cackle..................

"I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art." - Madonna Ciccone

Like Madonna (well, sorta) I am in the midst of "my own experiment" - attempting to create a "work of art" out of the chaos that has invaded my home after a long summer of estate sale madness.

courtesy of Illusions Gallery

"The Artist" (1920) by Alfonse Maria Mucha. 

I've learned over time that when my environment is chaotic and disorganized, I'm not nearly as creative or productive as I am when I've found "a place for everything, and everything is in its place."  I can't remember the last time I felt that sense of peace as I walked through my home.  

So that's my goal for this next month.  Beauty and Order.  I'm going to sort through everything I've purchased during these past several months, write it all down, categorize it, take lots of photos (for YOU, of course), and give them a proper home. 

And after I've made my home a Work of Art - then, with a sense of peace, I can start focusing on my own Inner Beauty too.

                         courtesy of Art Prints on Demand

"La Belle Liseuse" (The Beautiful Reader) by Leon Francoise Comerre (1850-1916)

I've written before about how I like to decorate my home with works of art, especially portraits of women. Well, included above and below are a few more favorites...

                     courtesy of Great Masters Gallery

"An Elegant Beauty" by William Clark Wontner (1857-1930)

                                        courtesy of Canvaz Inc

"Pavonia" (1858-59) by Lord Frederick Leighton.

Each of these paintings is highlighted in this fabulous video compilation by Philip Scott Johnson -
"Women in Art: 500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art."

Johnson's Women in Art video was nominated as "Most Creative Video" in the second annual YouTube Awards.  The lovely music, Bach's Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007, is performed by Yo-Yo Ma.

If you haven't seen it yet, you're in for a treat!



If you'd like to see a complete list of the artists and paintings included in this video, I highly recommend that you visit a wonderful guide to Johnson's Women in Art video on Boni's Site for Students (and Friends)

As an aside...
Probably the closest that I've come to being a "work of art" is this caricature drawn at a work convention last year.  The artist was clearly very intuitive when he chose to put a drink in my hand, and thoughts of money and romance (a little heart) floating around my head. 

A work of art, I'm not.  But a work in progress?  I hope that's the case - for years and years to come!

Have a beautiful week,
"Sarsaparilla" Susan

O hushed October...

This morning I found myself in Vogue UK's website, perusing the magazine archives from the 1920's and 1930's, and came across this wonderful Vogue cover from October 1924.

Vogue - October 1924

The poet Robert Frost was a master at capturing the imagery of the four seasons - and the 1924 Vogue cover above reminded me of his wonderful "October" poem included in his 1915 collection of poetry, A Boy's Will.  I had this poem printed on the back of the church program that was handed out to family and friends on my wedding day many Octobers ago - so it's a sentimental favorite of mine.

OCTOBER

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

To-morrow’s wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

To-morrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow,

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know;

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf;

One from our trees, one far away;

Retard the sun with gentle mist;

Enchant the land with amethyst.

Slow, slow!

For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,

Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,

Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—

For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

Robert Frost (1874–1963). A Boy’s Will. 1915. 30. October

I love the colors of autumn, don't you?  Gold, crimson, amethyst, burgundy, wine, auburn, brown, mocha, dove grey, sienna, rust, ochre, plum, pumpkin, goldenrod, copper... 

All those lovely colors can be found in the Fall issues of fashion magazines from the 1920's and 30's.  Here's a collection of scans from the covers of Delineator, Eu Sei Tudo, Harper's Bazaar, Photoplay and Vogue that capture the warmth of autumn and the spirit of the Art Deco era.  Enjoy!

Eu Sei Tudo - November 1924.  Courtesy of Blog da Rue Nova

Vogue - September 1927. Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Photoplay - October 1927.  Courtesy of Allure

Vogue - October 1928.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Delineator - October 1929.  Courtesy of MagazineArt.org

Harper's Bazaar - October 1930.  Courtesy of Hemad Pant's Personal Blog

Delineator - October 1930. Courtesy of C.P. Strand: In His Words

Vogue - August 1932.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Delineator - November 1933.  Courtesy of Cover Browser

Vogue - October 1935.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Vogue - August 1938.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Harper's Bazaar - September 1939. Courtesy of Applejacks

Vogue - November 1939.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Ode to Barbie Dolls, Rubber Rats...and Blogging

You know, I've always thought that I was a pretty typical little girl growing up...

I played Mommy with my baby dolls (oh, how I loved my dolls!) and then it was Mystery Date with Barbies and my brother's one-armed (he had an accident) G.I. Joe.

I was a bookworm and had my nose buried in a book much of the time, but also had a bit of the tomboy and daredevil in me too.

I remember riding my bicycle down the street near my grade school - with hands raised high, and both eyes shut. Yes, I fell. But I was proud to show off my scuffed knees and elbows to my sibs, daring them to give it a try too.

Typical kid stuff.

But this morning I suddenly remembered The Rat.

When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I bought myself a black rubber rat with babysitting money. It had sort of a slick oily look to it, with a long winding tail and beady red eyes. Ugh...gives me the creeps thinking about it. But I slept with that thing! Its name was Oscar.

I'm not sure what I was trying to prove. I suppose I was at an age when I wanted to show that I wasn't a little girl anymore. (Little girls sleep with dolls, not rats.) Plus, growing up as daughter-number-three in a lineup of 7 girls and 2 boys, I think that I was continuously struggling to stand out in some way. I wanted to be unique. The rat made me eccentric, but that was fine too.

I'm not sleeping with rats anymore. (Or at least I try not to very often. :-) But I know that I've got a lot of that doll-loving, book-crazy, risk-taking, attention-craving girl still in me.

I think I can learn a lot from that little girl - and her rat friend.

As adults, it's important for us to look back often at who we were at 5 and 9 and 12 and ask: What did I like to do? What made me happy? What was I good at? And what did I dream of becoming when I grew up?

"Lucy Writes a Novel" - I Love Lucy episode 90, season 3, originally aired 4/5/1954. Photo courtesy of Clown Ministry

For instance, the career at the top of my "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up" dream list back then was Writer.  But somewhere along the way that dream got lost.  I don't think it was a conscious decision.  Life happens, other options presented themselves, and I chose another path.  

But look what I'm doing right now.  Blogging.  Writing!  In a way that I could never have predicted back then, I have become a writer of sorts - and in a very public venue, the internet!  

No wonder I've been having so much fun blogging. My inner child is finally feeling satisfied.

"Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be.
The future's not ours to see. Que sera, sera..."

Doris Day sings Que Sera Sera in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew Too Much.  YouTube video courtesy of Zennmann

Curious - as an adult, do you find yourself doing many of those same things that you enjoyed or were especially good at as a child?  For those of you who have a blog - was writing one of those things?  Or does blogging satisfy another need - a creative outlet, perhaps?

I didn't mention that #2 on my list of "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up" was......
Psychologist.  ;-)

Enjoy your weekend! 

p.s. - In case you were wondering about the old family photo - I'm the little girl behind (and above) the sister in the white communion dress. Just five, but I look so cocky and sure of myself.  I want her back...

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

1928 New Yorker cartoon by Peter Arno; from The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker,

edited by Robert Mankoff, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, NY, 2004, 2006.

Hope this is what you said to yourself as you glanced in the mirror before dashing off to work this morning!  Have a lovely Tuesday...