Hedy Stuff

Award shows.  The glamour.  The glitz.  The dream.  Escape from reality. 

The Academy Awards show is on tonight, and I can’t wait to watch.  I will imbibe in red wine and red carpet satire.  I will be in awe of the gorgeous and gasp at the poorly attired.  My eyes will be blinded by the borrowed bling.

I’ve always loved the idea of Hollywood, especially Old Hollywood.  Hedy Lamarr was once quoted as saying “Any girl can look glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.”   While I believe any girl can look glamorous, it does not come hand in hand with stupidity or flightiness or shallowness. What was Hedy thinking?  Why can’t we be both glamorous and intelligent?

I could use some inspiration to unleash my inner Gaga.  Maybe the golden Oscar will inspire me.  I’ve been feeling dowdy lately, lackluster.  I have a case of the winter blahs.  (I think I have blogged of this before? I must have a recurrent case of the winter blues.)  I need to get out of my comfort zone.  I feel a spring makeover coming on.  A hair appointment is already scheduled…

But for now, tonight, I will just watch.

I think people feel starved of nice, glamorous entertainment. They want to see costumes and gaiety and a singer; old-fashioned entertainment - it won't die easily. ~ Ronnie Corbett

Va Va Voom

I recently went bra shopping with a friend.  Not the most fun thing in the world; it’s quite distressing, actually.  And we both seemed to have some of the same problems in trying to find one that fit, even though we are on complete opposite ends of the bra anatomy scale:  her cup runneth over, while mine is only half full.

We women are miraculous creatures.  We multitask like no man is able.  We give birth to new life.  Our bodies are interesting and complex.  We have the same anatomy, but no two bodies are ever quite the same. Trying to find a bra that fits that anatomy comfortably and does the job it’s supposed to do (while still being a cute undergarment) is quite an impossible task.  I dare say it’s even harder than finding the perfect pair of jeans.

Damn the bra, and the inventor of such. It shapes.  It molds.  It lifts.  It pinches.  It binds.  There are soft cup, minimizers, push-up, padded, underwire, bandeau, convertible, demi cup, and shelf bras, just to name a few.  You not only have to deal with the band size, there is also the cup size.  What’s a woman to do?  Next time I’m out there shopping for an over-the-shoulder-boulder holder, I think I will return to the boutique where my friend finally found her true size.  The sales women wear measuring tapes around their neck and they seemed to know their bras inside and out.

The bra as a garment has quite a bit of history (check it out on Wikipedia) and its evolution had significant social impacts, including oppression, sexism, and feminism.  And we owe it all to Herminie Cadolle, the inventor of the modern day bra in 1889.  Her boutique still exists in Paris, The Cadolle Company, and it is still family-owned.  The store claims today that Herminie ‘freed women by inventing the first bra.’  Most women these days would deny that a bra was "freeing", but compared to a corset, I can see the truth in it. 

"You know it's a bad day when you put your bra on backwards and it fits better."  -author unknown