Why

You should just expect posts to be late by now, honestly. ;)

I fully intended to do a Fashion in Film post today, I really did. Pinky swear. But I was doing some thinking last night, and today I'd like to present those thoughts to you in a rambling, formless post.

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Life has been crazy recently, as I'm sure it has been for you as well. The normal cocktail of school, work, activities, and other commitments gets a deadly shot of Christmas stress this time of year. And it's a wonderful and exciting whirlwind. Recently I've had to take a step back and ask myself "Is this thing I'm doing necessary?" I can't tell if it's prioritizing or being an expert procrastinator, but because of some major changes in my life and schedule, I know that I have the time to run this blog and do it well.

So why am I not?

Well, the easy answer is that I'm a lazy, unorganized mess. But lately I've also felt a lack of gusto, passion, zeal for the topic on which I am blogging. I still enjoy fashion, history, and the combination thereof, but getting my excitement in front of your eyes stumps me to no end. That's the one hurdle of art, I guess. Getting what's in your brain down on paper or online or on your piano or on the side of your neighbor's house (not the side of your neighbor's house, that's vandalism, not art).

I've been asking myself the same question over and over recently: Why do I like historical fashion? And the answer that keeps coming up is silly and sentimental, but the best one I can think of: magic. It's incredibly magical to look into the world of the women who lived before us. What we wear says so much about us, and you can learn so much about the history of the world by what women wore. It's one woman's story, the world's story, and our story all rolled up into one beaded, midnight blue chiffon evening gown.

So, it may take a few bumps in the road, several more posts may be late, I may disappear and reappear intermittently, and I may start some whiplash-inducing changes, but I'm going to do my best to continue delivering your daily dose of magic. Or weekly. Haven't figured that one out yet.

If you've been nice enough to stick with me through my incoherent drabble, have a clip of a scene from "The Hollow Crown: Henry V" in which Hal woos Catherine of Valois. Catherine's wearing a gorgeous 15th century gown, and there's the added bonus of Tom Hiddleston. Enjoy.

This Week

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Good morning/afternoon/evening/whenever you read this!

These past few weeks have been busy ones for me. The good kind of busy, but busy nonetheless. I won't go into all the messy details, but suffice to say that blogging has been on the back burner for quite a while. So I'm taking the week off from blogging in hopes of writing several posts in advance. I'd love to bring more quantity AND more quality to Sprigged Muslin, and the best way I can think of to do that is to give myself a head start.

In lieu of Fashion in Film this week, have some link love from around the internet!

Maybe I'm late to the party, but I just found out about Librivox.org yesterday. For those of you (like me) who don't know, volunteers sign up on Librivox to make audio recordings of books, plays, and poems that are in the public domain. Of course, my nerdy, classic literature-loving heart is fascinated.

The other day, I watched this retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth with my family. At first I was hesitant about Macbeth being set in a restaurant (lots of meat butchering ensues), and I really did miss Shakespeare's language, but the themes of the play were so poignantly and perfectly translated to the modern day (especially some expansions made to Lady Macbeth's character that are hinted at in the original text). Definitely worth a watch, especially with the bonus selling points of James McAvoy as Macbeth, Keely Hawes as Lady Macbeth, and Richard Armitage as an understated Macduff.

This website will use Google Maps to drop you at a random place on Earth. I've been using it these past few days to just unwind and explore.

New Blog Series: Fashion in Film!

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After wrapping up Decade Wednesday last week, I've been looking for something new to do. I really like the accountability and order of working on a schedule, so today, I'm starting up a new blog series: Fashion in Film! Each Wednesday, I'll take a look at the wardrobe of a specific character or characters in a period or vintage film. Right now my wishlist includes (but is certainly not limited to):

• Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey
• Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice 1995
• Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind (a little more in-depth than in the 1860's Decade Wednsday post)
• Princess Anne from Roman Holiday
• Paula Alquist from Gaslight
• Amy and Fanny Dorrit from Little Dorrit
• Irene Adler from Sherlock Holmes 2009
• Elinor and Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility 2008
• Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton from Vertigo
• Victoria from The Young Victoria

And of course, I am doing requests, so if you have a favorite character from a period film with fabulous clothes, be sure to let me know!

User Error! (+ links)

You saw nothing just now.

That was not the Decade Wednesday post you were looking for.

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Just a quick explanation for any of you that may have seen this week's Decade Wednesday post a bit early. Chalk it up to my absentmindedness. ;) Hope you enjoyed the preview. If you didn't catch my slip of scheduling, have some links to tide you over until Wednesday.

This fun site has several Regency themed generators such as character names, romance novel plots, and names for estates.

Foyle's War is coming back. I'm a huge fan of the show, but I'm a little apprehensive about this new series (set to air in 2013). After seeing Series 7, I'm rather of the opinion that the show should have ended when the war did. Still, I can't help but be a little excited that we'll get to see Michael Kitchen and Honeysuckle Weeks puttering around in 40's-50's England again.

One of my favorite websites, ImprovEverywhere.com, has two missions involving people impersonating historical figures (specifically Anton Chekov and King Philip IV of Spain) in public places. Hilarity ensues. Just a tip, though, don't click on the witness account of the Anton Chekov Improv, it gets a little rough. ;)

Hapy a lovely week!

New Look

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As you may have noticed, the blog is sporting some new duds! I'm absolutely in love with the clean, new look, and the buttons on the sidebar allow you to search for Decade Wednesday posts by era (I'll be adding new ones all the time).

Enjoy!

Traveling...

From the best source ever

This week, I'm hopping into my barouche and hitting the road. Unfortunately, this means I'll have to postpone the Decade Wednesday post on 1810-1820 until next week. In lieu of Decade Wednesday, here are a few gifts from around the internet:

My new obsession, Sense and Sensibility: The Musical. I love "If I Could," a clever, beautiful duet between Elinor and Edward.

It's not exactly polite or ladylike, but this database of Victorian crimes and criminals never ceases to entertain my macabre, Dickens-loving side.

I love looking through pictures of The Gatsby Summer Afternoon, an annual 1920's themed picnic held by the Art Deco Society of California. I want to go!

I can't stop watching this hilarious Jane Austen parody of the Old Spice Commercial. It's made even better after watching Job Hunters, a web series in which dear Mr. Tilney plays an unexpectedly lovable serial killer.

Hi, I'm Annie. Here are a few things you might need to know.

Fashion history is the name of the game in these parts. I love clothing, costumes, and history, and I want to increase my expertise on the history of fashion. As I research, I'll blog about what I find. If that doesn't already sound fun to you, I'll also serve up heavy doses of personality with a sharp slaw of witticisms on the side. Sound good to you? Then stick around for tons of girly, nerdy fun.

I hope to start something called "Decade Wednesdays" in which I research one decade a week and blog about it on Wednesday. For this first leg of the Decade Wednesday journey, I'll start out in 1790, the beginning of the Regency Era in Britain, and work my way to the 1950's. From there, who knows?

In addition to Decade Wednesday, I'll be blogging about whatever costume/fashion history subject strikes my fancy. Perhaps costume analysis of period pieces will happen. I will definitely reference Jane Austen way, WAY more than is necessary.

This blog is not going to be perfectly 100% historically accurate. I don't pretend to be a scholar, I'm just a nerd with a weird hobby. I can't promise that a bit some a lot of my information won't come from Wikipedia. I do want this blog to be a good learning tool, both for me and for anyone who happens to read it. If you spot any historical inaccuracies, drop me a comment, and I'll make it all better.

I tend to use a lot of images while blogging, and I will be drawing heavily from other articles on the web. I will do my best to credit everything that isn't mine. If you happen to be passing through my blog and see something that's yours and isn't credited, leave me a comment, and I'll fix it. Click on image and article sources at your own risk- I can control what I put on my own blog, not other people's.

Well, now that the business side of things is taken care of, I guess I should actually start working on my good intentions. Buh-bye now!

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