February 2009: Painting of Georgiana available at auction

I stumbled across this piece when doing on-line searches for Georgiana. The auction site is: here.

It is a beautiful painting of Georgiana, done after her death, but based on the 1787 original from Thomas Gainsborough.

“Ferdinand van Stoopendaal (Swedish, b. 1850), “Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire”, oil on canvas, after the 1787 original by Thomas Gainsborough (English, 1727-1788), 16 in. x 20 in., framed”

A wonderful tribute to Lady Georgiana Spencer, ancestor to Princess Diana. Lady Georgiana Spencer later became the Duchess of Devonshire.

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The movie, “The Duchess”, nominated for Oscars. But…

The movie “The Duchess”, based on the life of Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire, was nominated for some Oscar Awards: art direction and costume design. The story is at Ohio.com.

It was surprising to me, and to at least one other commentator, that Ralph Fiennes was not nominated for an Oscar. Fiennes’ excellent performance as the Duke of Devonshire had earned him a Golden Globe nomination. The story is at the Philipine Daily Inquirer. An interesting story about Oscar surprises and upsets.

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Inauguration Fashion…and Michelle Obama’s dress is…

From my other blog…

For the Inaugural balls, First Lady Michelle Obama wore white. Which is sweet, like a young bride.

And, the AP describes her gown in this way:

“…a white chiffon one-shoulder gown…

“Her full-skirted dress had a strap across her right shoulder, a ruched bodice, fluffy appliques and sparkly beading.”

The gown is by designer Jason Wu.

The Los Angeles Times says Jason Wu is an “American designer and up-and-coming talent. Wu is 26 years old, was born in Taiwan and studied at Parsons in New York.”

–

I wanted to share that one of our Georgiana Circle readers partially predicted what Michelle Obama would wear. We were discussing how Michelle Obama’s choice might be affected by the economic crisis and war, and that she might want to use a vintage dress, or inexpensive off-the-rack, but Betty nailed it:

Betty commented:

Submitted on 2009/01/13 at 4:49pm
[7 days before the big event!]

I hope that Michelle Obama chooses a special gown from a young new designer. This would allow her to have something special to add to the First Ladies Collection (not one that anyone can get off the rack) and, probably, at a more reasonable cost than one from a known designer. OK, it’s not off the rack but if your husband (or YOU!!) were being inaugurated would you really not want to wear something special?

In addition…I had previously written favorably about another woman who wore white for a big political event. From my “Women and Politics and Fashion, etc.” post:

This political season, I also learned another great fashion trick for women politicians. The woman I am supporting for President of the United States is former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. At Ms. McKinney’s big event – the Green Party Presidential Convention – she wore a white pantsuit which stood out in the crowd like a bride’s dress. Combining professionalism, with one of the most common images of a woman at the center of an event, was a great maneuver. When Cynthia McKinney gave the political speech of the season and celebrated on stage after winning the nomination, the whole crowd was with her in a unique and mesmerizing way, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of her.

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Inauguration Style: Aretha Franklin’s Inaugural Hat

I loved Aretha Franklin’s inaugural hat.  And, a news story reported it was one of the most buzzed about and blogged about items from today. My husband said it was a real “going to church hat.”

Here is what I wrote about it on my other blog, where I live-blogged the day:

Aretha Franklin was wonderful. I think by her repeating and intoning, she wanted to give the blessing of and emphasize “protect” and “let freedom ring.”

Ms. Franklin wore a beautiful and unique hat, exactly what should have been worn at an occasion like this, by the Queen of Soul. Her hat was sparkly and had a big bow, but all of it — even the bow — was in gray flannel, for the season and solemnity of the occasion.

[Later in the Democracy Now! coverage, Alice Walker notes that by including Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, in the ceremonies, President Obama has acknowledged and connected with the Divine Mother.]

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Some comments on Inauguration fashion

I will try to do a longer, summary post late tonight or tomorrow about the choices all the characters in this Inauguration Day wore.

Some early impressions:

Many people are noting that while the focus today will be on Barack Obama and his speech, the focus tonight – the socializing part – will be more on Michelle Obama (and her dress.)

For Inauguration Day – which includes a church service – Michelle Obama wore “a sparkling gold sheath dress with matching coat by Cuban-born American designer Isabel Toledo” (from AP story.) People are calling the dress yellow or gold-yellow. And, the color is said to symbolize hope for our country. It had an elegant, long coat. Barack Obama is dressed like any male government official, trying to look plain and authoritative in a black coat. He has on a dark suit, white shirt, and red tie.

I hate to be catty…but…I am not sure it was proper on a day like today for Jill Biden – the wife of the new Vice President – to wear shiny, high boots. Being even more catty, I did the math, and she is pretty young, younger than me. So, maybe this is her assertion of her youth and beauty!

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Greening Michelle Obama’s wardrobe

(More is coming soon, with the series on politics and fashion. For now, seems like everyone has Inaugural Fever. So, had to share this…)

Article with great suggestions and photos of green gowns and fair trade fashion that Michelle Obama (or you) could wear…

At Inhabitat: here

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The Fashion of Politics Series, Part Two: The Curtain Club and Voluntary Simplicity

Betty Wood (r) presents Kimberly with a hand-sewn tote bag

What can one woman do to carry herself, her family, and her country safely through the current economic crisis?

Each day, more and more people are starting to feel the economic crunch. For some people, it is the loss of a job. For others, it is a home in foreclosure. For others, it is a general sense of less money, and more caution related to purchases such as food, gasoline and clothing. This holiday season brought us less shopping and less things, including less new sweaters, hats and mittens for the cold months.

In addition, there is a sense of lack brought on by the wasteful wars our country is engaged in over in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, the sense of grief and compassion for the civilians in those countries, and for the victims of the blockade and war in Gaza.

How can we respond to these events? How can we help to fix these events?

My solution is to make a partly symbolic and partly meaningful shift in the culture with a new fashion trend: applying frugality and voluntary simplicity to women’s fashion.

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New, very detailed review at BlogCritics.Org

The review below of The Duchess DVD has excellent details on the history, the characters, and more. Worth reading:

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/01/14/162242.php

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Fashion and Wardrobe Color: Importance and Trends for politicos

There is a super article in the archives over at The Philadelphia Enquirer about fashion and politics. It includes suggestions of the meaning of certain wardrobe color choices, and what those colors convey to the public. And, the article gives some specific gossip and critique about who wore what where (Was that Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Michigan) looking soooo eighties at the 2007 State of the Union speech?)

(excerpt from) The Philadelphia Enquirer
State of the attire: Powerful prefer pastels
By Elizabeth Wellington, Inquirer Fashion Writer

If it’s true that politicians use every means at their disposal to make a point, the adoption of lighter colors could signify a desire to connect with a disenchanted public, experts say.

“When people wear soft, pastel colors, the message is one of approachability,” said Leatrice Eiseman, author of Color, Messages and Meanings (Handbook Press, $39.99) and spokeswoman for the Seattle-based Pantone Color Institute.

“It’s a completely different message from the red, power tie. . . . They are saying, ‘I’m really one with you.’ The pastel colors are not so much in your face.”

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The Fashion of Politics Series: Introduction (Part One)

What can we learn about a politician from the clothes they wear?

How can we project a political message with the clothes we wear?

These are some questions that I will be exploring in this series, “The Fashion of Politics.” This series is designed for everyone to enjoy. It will cover: men’s political fashion; women’s political fashion; third party and independent candidates; greens and Green Party candidates; political buttons and other political accessories; and fashion-politics current events, such as guessing what Michelle Obama will wear to the Inauguration Balls. Every two or three days, there will be a new post covering topics such as: “When to wear (and when not to wear) a political button”; “What should grassroots candidates wear?”; “Can real greens wear a suit?”. Illustrations will be culled from historical examples, as well as my personal collection of activism and grassroots political experience in the Green Party. I never realized how many pictures I had of greens around the country trying to look friendly and/or professional in order to win over voters.

Citizen Candidates: USA 2002

As a candidate myself, and as a campaign manager for many candidates, I have thought a lot about how candidates should dress. Though, even for non-candidates, fashion can express a lot about who we are and what we believe in. A statement could be as bold and obvious as a t-shirt with a political message. Or, it could be as subtle as wearing hemp jeans, or choosing a tie that is “only blue”, instead of red. I will be sharing strategies and images of people trying to project political message through fashion. I will also present some discussions and controversies I have encountered in my many years navigating the world of fashion, politics and political campaigns.

Fashion of Rulers

My recent focus on fashion and politics is the result of my study of Amanda Foreman’s book (and the movie based on it) “Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.” Georgiana’s life might have turned out to be simply a contest of beauty and aesthetics with her friends of London’s aristocratic social circle, nicknamed “the Ton”. Though, Georgiana managed to blend her love for fashion and her flair for gaining attention with her desire to support the politicians and political ideas that became one of the missions of her life. Georgiana understood the power of art

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