Let's Get Looped: 1968 Advice on How to Wear a Scarf

At a library book sale I chanced upon a slim volume titled I Haven't a Thing to Wear: or getting down to basics in fashion and beauty by Judith Keith with Sandy Sprung. Published in 1968 the author was "dubbed the Fashionable Fraud." Keith was a popular lecturer, with a background in advertising, acting, editor, publishing and PR. The book is richly illustrated with amazing line drawings.

Today I am sharing advice from her 17 pages on how to wear a scarf.

I had a collection of scarfs back in 1968. They were very popular for many years, which is why every thrift shop has loads in stock. Wait until you see what can be done with them!

Keith begins with a tip for keeping scarfs in place: she sews a loop into her clothing! She used a self-belt loop or made a loop with fabric from a deep hem; one she suggests also using ribbon, leather, or felt.

She sewed the loop inside the neckline facing, brought the loop up and over the neck, then pinned the loop to the outside of the garment. When you didn't want to wear a scarf the loop was tucked back behind the garment.

She used one loop for a jewel neckline, two for scoop and bateau, and one at the bottom of the V neckline. One could also loop jewelry through the loops, or a bow.

The loop technique can also be used on sleeves and hems to add edgings of ruffles, fringe, lace, and bows.

• Bateau Flounce: Lift a 24" or 30" square scarf in the center. Pull through one's bra strap and out over the neckline. Tuck end under flounce. "Plunge a pin through the flounce to secure."
• Flower Flounce: follow same directions as for basic flounce; bring end of scarf out over the flounce. Widen the end into a well and secure in place with a small pin for a flower effect.

The Basic Scarf Fold: lay flat; fold ends into center and overlap. Double again for narrower effect. Scarf will lay neat and flat on neck. Variation: make a square knot and wear as a simple tie.

Bra-Cross: Using a 24" or 30" scarf in the basic fold, drape around neck, cross ends in front, secure around bra straps. "Looks smashing" under a cowl, ring, or stand-u collars.

Pussycat Bow: A 24" scarf makes a smaller, tighter bow; a 36" scarf a softer one. Make basic fold. Pull scarf part way through loop. Widen bow to create fullness. Accent with pin. Use silk crepe or twills for firmer bows and chiffon for wispier ones.

Blithe Spirit: Using two scarfs, tie ends together into full, fussy tie. Secure to the front of the dress and toss panels over the shoulder. Use two matching or complementary scarfs. Or pull a single chiffon or silk crepe oblong through loop and fling backwards.

• Pleated Flounce: Use 36" squares. Hold scarf taut in both hands. Accordion pleat by folding back and forth. Drape around neck, pull through loop and separate folds for a soft fall.
• Ring Flounce: Make a pleated flounce, then pull scarf up at shoulders.
• Jabot Flounce: make a pleated flounce; shorten one end, pulling it over the longer end. Anchor with pin.

Smoke Rings are circle scarfs, cut and sewn on the bias which permits stretching. They slip over the heat and can be used as a headband, hat band, or around the neck held by pins.

• Side Sweep: drop over head, pull through loop.
• Dropped Bow: Pull through loop without dropping over head.
• Jabot: Pull through loop, bringing shorter end over longer end. Pin.
• Shoulder Flounce: Pull Smoke Ring through a bra strap.
• The Elizabethan: The dramatic Elizabethan look is created b draping smoke rings over turtlenecks. Fold smoke ring in half lengthwise. Drape inner fold inside neckline and the outer fold over turtleneck. 
• Smoke Ring Epaulet: Attach a pin to the shoulder of dress and pull a smoke ring through.

Knotted Ascot: Lift a 24" or 30" square directly in center and knot. Flip scarf over so the knot is inside. The knot should be centered. Pull any two ends taut. Tie ends in back of neck. Tuck under collar. If there is no collar, pin ends in back to keep neat. Tuck lower end into bra and secure.

The Vaquero: Fold scarf into triangle, point forward. Bring ends to front and tie as in Sketch 15.

V-Necklines are perfect for round faces, short necks, heavy bosoms or jowls. 

• Criss-Cross: Oblong or 36" square with basic fold, bring around neck and criss cross under bosom. Pin to bra.
• V-Loop: Pull scarf through loop sewn into bottom of "v". Drape ends out and over."A lady at EXPO '67 told Keith she had sewn loops into her bra!)
• V-Bows: Pull scarf through loop and tie into flowing bow.

The 1970s were noted for women using scarfs and handkerchiefs for blouses. Tiny women, I am sure. Keith showed how to create the Scarf Blouse, which was "perfect for traveling and when you are tired of the blouses you have." Fold 36" square into a triangle. (For larger women use a square of wide fabric.) Sew snaps into the top of the triangle. Snap and drop over head. Tie the other two ends around the waist. Add a jacket. 

"...the scarf is cool, comfortable, and no one knows the difference unless you take the jacket off!"

Use two 36" chiffon squares for another look.

The Scarf Dickey could be used under a jacket or without. Use a 48" oblong scarf. Criss-cross, overlapping ends and stitch to a ribbon or belt to circle the waist. Gather in soft folds and stitch. Keith note one could try dickies in felt, brocade, velvet; appliqué, embroider, trim and "fringe at will". 

In another post I will share Judith Keith's advice on accessories.

Read newspaper article about Keith on Goggle newspapers:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19810426&id=yakyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8-cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6737,5418476&hl=en

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=19610211&id=yc0wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=59wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2466,3809341&hl=en

Sandy Sprung wrote for Married With Children and other television shows:

http://marriedwithchildren.wikia.com/wiki/Sandy_Sprung

Symphonic Politics and Egos: Shoot the Conductor by Anshel Brusilow

My Love of  Classical Music

My husband used to quip that after seminary we moved to Philadelphia because it was the home of his favorite orchestra. We both had an interest in symphonic music. My knowledge was based on a set of LP records Mom bought from the A&P and my piano books which included themes by the great composers. My husband was a music major.

It was the Philadelphia Orchestra that gave me my real education in classical music. Our first concerts at the Academy of Music were in the 'nosebleed gallery'. We'd arrive early and wait in line with other students and young people. The seats were near the ceiling, they were hard, the view was not so great, and the stairs were steep, but the sound was wonderful. Later on we had season tickets--in more comfortable seats.

We went to the free outdoor concerts at the Robin Hood Dell a few times before it closed, and then often went to the Mann Music Center and sat on the lawn. Like hundreds of other people, we brought a blanket, a hamper with cheese and wine, and under the darkening sky listened to the lush sound of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Our last concert at the Academy of Music was in 1987. Now we are enjoying being near an orchestra again and have heard the Detroit Symphony every few months since our move.

When I saw NetGalley offer a book about a Philly boy who studied at Curtis and was concertmaster under Ormandy I requested it right away.

Shoot the Conductor: Too Close to Monteux, Szell and Ormandy 

by Anshel Brusilow and Robin Underdahl

What a title! Right off you know that this person has a sense of humor and isn't afraid to use it.

I was quite riveted by this book. It is full of humorous antidotes, personal stories and juicy back stage insights. Brusilow drops the names of dozens of symphonic stars. I laughed out loud while reading. I also learned about the egos of musicians and the political reality that can make or break a career. Even great men have clay feet and ugly sides. Brusilow can appreciate the gifts of those he worked with but does not sugar coat anything.

A talented violinist, Brusilow studied under Efren Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute of Music and Dr. Szanto at the Philadelphia Musical Academy.When he saw Jascha Heifetz in concert he studied his staccato technique and learned to copy it. At sixteen he won a young conductor contest and then studied conducting under Pierre Monteux. He conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in young peoples concerts and played at the Robin Hood Dell.

George Szell of the Cleveland Orchestra hired Brusilow to be his assistant concertmaster. Szell was precise and tyrannical in achieving the perfection he sought. Eugene Ormandy invited him to be concertmaster at  Philadelphia, even holding the position open for a year. Ormandy allowed more personal freedom to the players. Brusilow formed a warm relationship with Ormandy. But Ormandy, like so many other musicians Brusilow describes, he could be vengeful if his wishes were countered.

Brusilow had to chose between violin performance and conducting. Ormandy did not want competition in the city, and he did not tolerate challengers for his position. Brusilow formed the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra,conducting pieces written for smaller orchestras. Ormandy was not amused.

Finally Brusilow had to make a decision between performance and conducting. He sold his violin and turned down Zubin Mehta's offer to be his concertmaster. Then he turned down Seiji Ozawa's offer of assistant conductor and concertmaster.  Finally the Dallas Symphony Orchestra offered him the position of conductor.

Brusilow started what in 1970 was the innovative blend of pop and orchestral music. His debut performance had Itzhak Perlman as soloist. Sadly the local music critic paned the performance. Musical friends told him they refused invitations from Dallas because "there's a music critic there who ruins careers." The Dallasound concerts drew crowds and were well received by the players. But that critic continued to pan the concerts. When the new "rock opera" Jesus Christ Superstar album came out Brusilow was the first to perform it concert style and sold 10,000 tickets.

A death brought changes to the board members. After taking the orchestra on tour in Latin America Brusilow returned to learn his contract had not been renewed.

His later career was in teaching and conducting at the Southern Methodist University and University of North Texas.

While reading the book I fondly recalled when I heard many of the stars he mentions in person or on television or recordings. I found the book accessible and interesting and not needing any more depth of knowledge than what I have. I better appreciate the challenges of a musical career, even for persons of talent and drive. Sharing some of the stories with my husband he thought Brusilow sounded pompous and arrogant, but I thought he came across as light hearted, sometimes clueless and naive, but willing to laugh at himself as well as at others. Becoming a conductor himself he realized that now he was the conductor his players would want to "shoot."

Shoot the Conductor
Anshel Brusilow
University of North Texas Press
ISBN-13:9781574416138
$29.95 hard cover
Publication May 2015

Songs of My Life: The Biography of Margaret Walker, Poet and Author of "Jubilee"

Growing up my mom would leave the books she was reading around the house and I would pick them up. Often I sat and read them through. One of those books was Jubilee, published in 1964.

I had not thought about that book in years and I knew nothing about the author Margaret Walker. When I saw a biography on Margaret Walker on NetGalley I requested it and am so glad I did. The book is short, richly illustrated, and fascinating. It is appropriate for young adult readers.

Margaret's father was a Methodist clergyman who had studied at Tuskegee Institute with classmates Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.  Her mother Marion Dozier taught music.

Margaret was a precocious child. For her ninth birthday she wrote an operetta which was performed by the local children. At ten years she was placed in the seventh grade. Margaret began writing poetry at age twelve. And by fifteen she was attending college. At Northwestern she began writing her Civil War Novel Jubilee.

At the time of her graduation the country was in the Depression. Margaret was hired by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writer's Project. Her office was near that of Poetry magazine and she connected with the editor, other writers, and most importantly novelist Richard Wright. Wright introduced her to modern literature, local writers and writers groups, and critiqued her poetry.

It was a big breakthrough was when she was accepted into the University of Iowa and their new Iowa Writer's Workshop. Stephen Vincent Benet was so impressed with her submission For My People to the Yale Series of Younger Poets he strong-armed the judges panel to give her the award; he said it was perfect.

Let a new earth rise. Let another world be born. Let a
bloody peace be written in the sky. Let a second
generation full of courage issue forth: let a people
loving freedom come to growth. Let a beauty full of
healing and strength of final clenching be the pulsing
in our spirits and our blood. Let the martial songs be
written, let the dirges disappear. Let a race of men now
rise and take control.

At twenty-seven she married Firnist James Alexander, a disabled military veteran with little formal education but who was intelligent and supportive of her career.

Her novel Jubilee had its roots in stories she heard from her grandmother Elvira Ware Dozier. She learned all she could about the Wares, even locating her grandmother's youngest sister. Receiving the Ford Fellowship allowed her to travel for her research on the novel. But from 1955 to 1962 she published nothing, focusing on family and working to support them.

It is humanly impossible for a woman who is a wife and mother to work on a regular job and write. Margaret Walker, "How I Wrote Jubilee"

In 1961 she she returned to Iowa to complete her PhD in English with her novel as her dissertation. It provided a haven from the turmoil in the country. Her Jackson, MS neighbor Medgar Evans was assassinated in front of his home. She was shaken by the assassinations of Rev. King, Malcolm X, and President Kennedy; the Birmingham church bombing; the murders of civil rights workers; the marches and protests. She was inspired to write a series of civil rights poems.

Her dissertation adviser directed her to the songs of slavery, negro spirituals, and other folk songs which would come to inform her novel. By early 1965 she had the first draft finished, and after a few months of serious revising and cutting she obtained her degree--and a contract from Houghton Mifflin. It was the first novel about the Southern African American experience in the 19th c., and the first from a female view point.

The award-winning book was a best seller. Margaret went on to establish the first black studies program in the country. She created the Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival which hosted prominent African American female writers.

In 1976 Alex Haley's Roots: The Saga of an American Family was published and won the Pulitzer and National Book Award, spawned the first mini-series Roots, and made Haley a household name. Two lawsuits were taken against Haley for plagiarism. Margaret saw fifteen scenes, six characters, and 150 verbatim expressions from her novel in Roots. She did not win her case, but Haley did admit to plagiarism of The African by Harold Courlander and settled out of court.

Margaret continued to receive awards. She became active in politics, supporting Jesse Jackson for the presidency. She wrote a biography of Richard Wright.

I am so glad to learn more about Margaret Walker. Why have we 'forgotten' her while Haley is still a household name? I have to put Jubilee on my to-read shelf. Its been fifty years and its time to reread it.

Note:
The book has numerous photographs. I noted many taken by photographer Roland L. Freeman, who wrote the very interesting book A Communion of the Spirits: African American Quilters, Preservers, and their Stories which I have in my library.

Read poems by Margaret Walker at The Poetry Foundation and the Internet Poetry Archive.

Songs of My Life: A Biography of Margaret Walker
by Carolyn Brown
University Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 9781628461473
$20 hardcover
Publication Date November 4, 2014

The Truth According to Us

To children the adult world is a huge mystery. We don't understand why anyone does anything. Growing up is nothing less than learning to understand these mysteries. Sometimes learning the truth is hard.

The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows is told in two voices: a narrative voice and that of Willa, a twelve year old girl who decides to spy on the adults in her life and learn the truth about what is going on around her. The year is 1938 and the setting is a small town in Alabama.

Her family is nothing if not complicated. Her parents are separated and her mother is living with another man. Her father Felix may be a bootlegger although once his father owned a successful shoe factory. His younger brother Emmett is a good guy who wonders why his older brother seems to always come out on top. Aunt Jottie takes care of them all, including her two married twin sisters who visit their husbands only on weekends. The tragic death of Felix's dad's best friend, and Jottie's beau, haunts them all.

The family takes in a boarder from the Federal Writer's Project, Layla, who is to write the town history. Layla is beautiful and was rich--before she refused to marry for money and left home to make it on her own. Layla brings an outsider's view to the town and is quite willing to listen to the 'unofficial' truth behind the acccepted legends. Meanwhile, Felix takes her 'under wing' with a mind to bed her.

The book is sheer delight. Jottie and Willa are real 'characters' with wry senses of humor and I loved them both. Felix is complicated and attractive, keeping everyone guessing about his past and his motives. Layla may be a pampered high society gal but she shows great spunk and handles herself well. You will enjoy this story from the author of the bestseller book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.

I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The Truth According to Us
Annie Barrows
Penguin Random House
Publication June 9, 2015
$28 hard cover
ISBN: 9780385342940

1957 Modern Screen: The Ads

The May 1957 Modern Screen is full of ads that give us a glimpse into the fashions of the time. Max Factor's Roman Pink lipstick ad had a real life 'Barbie doll' gal. Look at those heavily made up eyes in a side long glance, the dark arched brows, the bright lips. She is such a "doll" that it brought back to life an ancient Roman sculpture. His eyes are pretty creepy though.

 

'Modern Screen Beauty' suggests trying a new hair color, like Arlene Dahl's. Every one's doing it after all. "When you've bleached your hair to a completely pale blond shade you can test your secret yearning to be a redhead by using a temporary color."

Then you had to keep that hair clean and in place.

I remember Mom putting her hair up in pin curls.

Solitair "moisture makeup" contained "Vita-Lite" to restore moisture. Use it and look like those co-eds.

 

Those 'detergent hands' were a dead giveaway that you were a working gal. Working in the home that is. 

To be attractive you also had to smell good. 

 

 Hope chests to store up all those things you needed at marriage...

 Movies out included 12 Angry Men with Peter Fonda. A classic.

 

"Summer wardrobe" necessities--slips and girdles and granny pants.

The magazine includes an ad for the novel Raintree County by Ross Lockridge. The only reason for this ad was that the movie based on the book was released in 1957. 

I have read the book. I really liked the book. But I doubt many 1957 housewives would have been able to get through the book. It is over a thousand pages long. It is told in a series of flashbacks. The language is gorgeous in the style of Thomas Wolfe, but more stream-of-consciousness. It draws from mythology and is full of symbolism. 

The movie version of Raintree County starred Elizabeth Taylor.

It isn't just the American myth that Mr. Lockridge sets out to re-create; it's the myth that governs Life itself. Raintree County isn't simply the secret source of American life; it is also the Garden of Eden, and the raintree is the Tree of Knowledge whose golden boughs shed fertilizing blossoms on the land. Raintree County is nothing short of a primer of human Kultur: it refurbishes the Bible legends and the ancient myths, popularizes Freud's Totem and Taboo and Frazer's Golden Bough, delves into literature, history, ethics, psychiatry, religion. Every character, every event, is loaded with a portentous symbolism. 

Read the full 1948 Atlantic Magazine review at: http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/classrev/raintree.htm

http://www.raintreecounty.com

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/classrev/raintree.htm

http://www.collectorsworldonline.com/raintree-county.html

1957 Modern Screen: The Stars

What was happening in Hollywood in May, 1957? Quite a bit...Parties and marriages, babies and deaths.

Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher married in Acapulco, commanding four pages of pictures of partying. There were 22 cases of champaign and 15,000 white gladiolas flown in by Eddie. 

Luella Parson's "in hollywood" covered a big party thrown for Merle Oberon's birthday.

Prince Rainier and Grace Kelley celebrated the birth of Princess Caroline by publishing her first photographs.

Bogie had died that January. "The last words he spoke were to his adored Betty--"Good-by, kid." So wrote Louella Parsons in her story about Humphrey Bogart's last days. She goes on to say, "Let me repeat, no scriptwriter could have conceived for Bogey the role he played in the last thirty days of his life."

 

Deborah Kerr's challenge was "can an actress be a good mother?" The article relates Kerr's considering leaving her career for her daughter's well being. Luckily, her husband had filled her loneliness so "now she's learned to give to the very little ones the same fulfillment that a gentle man had brought her when she showed her a love without fear. And she's teaching her children what she herself had never known--how to be alone, and know that you are not alone."

Kerr's then current movie was Hello, Mr. Allison.

Ingrid Bergman was notorious for having a baby before she was married. The only headline this would merit these days would be "congratulations".

Judy Spreckels shared this drawing she made when she met Elvis. It was for sale at the Elvis Presley Fan Club.

Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller were pregnant. They had married June, 1956.

 "The receptionist was very surprised...Mr. Miller...wasn't grinning. Not that he looked sad, or anything...Marilyn came out. Marilyn was crying. You could see the tears streaming down her cheeks and you could see that her lips were trembling, trembling hard."
"No baby, huh?"
"Sure she'd going to have a baby."
"But she was crying!"

Marilyn had two miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy during her marriage to Arthur.

Dennis Hopper's first "complete story" told of his childhood on a farm outside of Dodge with a pig named Porcupine and Puddles the dog. His family moved to Kansas City and then to San Diego where he discovered art. He was star-struck and at age eighteen was in Giant.

"His family disapproved. All this talk about acting and poetry and painting; these things would never bring in any money. They thought, and they told him, that he was going to turn into a bum."

We really liked bad boys. First they called Hopper a rebel. Now we read about Nick Adams was "wild" before he starred in No Time For Sargents. 

Back in Jersey City Adams was Nicholas Adamshock, hanging around pool rooms, hitch-hiking, chasing girls, throwing snowballs at strangers, sneaking into movies--all with his homies. They knocked off a man's hat, for crying out loud, and that's when he discovered they were juvenile delinquents. He flirted with greater danger until he auditioned for a play. Jack Palance got him the part. In 1952 he hitch-hiked to Hollywood where he was in Mr. Roberts, Picnic, and other films.

In 1968 he died of a drug overdose, but some call his death an unsolved mystery. No one knows how he obtained the drugs. His death certificate was changed three times, from homicide to suicide to undetermined.

  

In 1957 the current Hollywood mystery was "what happened to Jean Peters". One day she just dropped out. The long article relates friends glimpses of her here and there. Her New York Times obituary of 2000 relates she had secretly married Howard Hughes!

Language Arts by Stephanie Kallos

Grief fills the room up of my absent child
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his gracious parts,
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form.
--William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King John (as quoted in Language Arts)

Charles Marlow is a Language Arts teacher and the divorced father of a 21-year-old autistic son, Cody. How Charlie and his wife reacted to their son's condition led to their divorce but also binds them in their roles of perpetual caregivers.

Charles has been drinking through their collection of fine wines as he opens boxes of papers and magazines in a search for their daughter Emmy's box. The process leads him to remember his Fourth Grade year when his proficiency at the Palmer Writing Method earned him his teacher's recognition and his story Flipper Boy won a prize but revealed too much about his home life. A misfit classmate with Fragile X syndrome spoke his first words in idolization of Charlie's loops. Charlie befriended the the boy and tutored him in the Palmer method.

Adult Charles has been asked to mentor a student whose project involves photographing residents of Cody's group home and writing a poem to accompany each photo. The girl reminds Charles of his daughter Emmy. He reluctantly agrees to co-mentor along with the school art teacher.

Stephanie Kallos writes with great humanity and sympathy about the human condition. We learn about Charles through flashbacks and his interactions with students and family, coming to understand his complex past and crisis of finding a future. She deals with some of the most harrowing issues a family can face, experiences that divides parents and ends marriages, and explores Charles' dysfunctional home life full of spousal anger and accusations. Kallos' portrayals feel true to life and wrenching.

I was so moved by this novel that on page 307 I cried, heartbroken for Charles. He was so alone.

Rays of light comes into Charles' life. His student's art project allows Cody a voice no one knew he had and unearths a part of Charles past to life. We come to understand Charles past and present and are given a glimpse into a possible future. His Language Arts experience comes full circle to a satisfying resolution.

I had read Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos and enjoyed it so I was excited to receive her third novel Language Arts through NetGalley. I usually read the NetGalley books in order of soonest to be published, but I skipped over to this book and am glad I did.

I received a free ebook in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Language Arts
by Stephanie Kallos
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication June 9, 2015
ISBN: 9780547939742
$27.00 hard cover

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