'An Education' Loveliness ft. Rosamund Pike

Have you guys seen 'An Education'? Oh, be still my heart with all the loveliness. The music. The clothes. Even the unexpected gorgeousness of Emma Thompson's matronly schoolmistress.

I took some screenshots while watching the movie on my iPhone on the way home from Belgium one night some months back, so apologies if they're a little blurry. Anyway ...

Look, I know Rosamund Pike is just stunning anyway - but come on! Ivory cost & elbow length gloves?

With this hot little number beneath? I wonder whether Tasia's recent post about fabric-scrimping for the Lonsdale might result in straps looking a little like this ... definitely worth a try! :)

And then the lovely Jackie O homage.

Same outfit, sans sunglasses. Lacks a bit of punch, no?

And look ... she shared her outfit fabulousness with her young protege. 'I'll wear the gorgeous coat ... you can wear the goofy looking hat, darling'.

Oooooh! Lookie lookie!!

When I arrived home from Belgium on Wednesday night, there were several parcels waiting for me on the kitchen counter. As I'm sure you'll agree, there are few things as exciting as having unopened parcels (not normal, boring mail) enticing you to rip them open and unearth the untold treasures they may contain ... yarrr, me mateys! There's real gold in them caves, not fool's gold, but real gold!!

Ahem. In my case, I had to delay parcel-opening gratification until today - almost a whole week later! - as Himself & I went away for the weekend with our lovely friends and were, quite tragically, too ill-prepared for this trip to allow even the 5 minutes I needed to explore the goodies I had ordered! So. Look at what arrived in the post 'today':

1) The Clover Double Tracing Wheel, which I may have first read about here on Gretchen's blog ... but it's bothering me that I'm sure somebody else posted about how great these are for Burda patterns and I can't remember who it was! Anyhoo. I've been yearning for one of these puppies for months now and finally took the leap after my 'ugh' moment tracing the Burda 107.

2) How to Design Your Own Dress Patterns by Adele P. Margolis, which Gretchen blogged about ages ago, tempting fate. I had to have this book.  Plus, while I was searching for an image of the dust jacket to show you here, I spotted images of Gretchen & Carolyn & Sunni ... So clearly a well-referenced book, and IMHO, the best which Mills & Boon ever published!

So, after opening the post, I watched Julie & Julia this afternoon (and goodness me, isn't it wonderful?!) and then breezed through a couple of sections in Mrs Margolis' lovely book. Not only do I suddenly now understand slashing & spreading darts (whoda thunk it?) but I also want to hug the lovely lady who wrote a table entitled 'The Eight Bulges', and this lovely dedication:

"I want to thank particularly:

Nathan Margolis, my husband, for his encouragement and understanding (usual, I suspect, for husbands of career wives) and for all the finished art work of my drawing (unusual, above and beyond the call of duty for any husband). This book, literally, could not have been done without him."

So, on a 'Julie & Julia'-meets-Adele Margolis note, here's to the boys whom we all love so much. xxx

[original posting]