I am showing you this image (from Google's LIFE photo archive) simply because I can. Isn't it wonderful, that I can show you a photograph from a magazine printed more than sixty years ago, basically on a whim? This photo was taken by someone named Nina Leen, and I'm relieved I've never met her, because I felt compelled to say her name under my breath several times just for the sheer joy of it, and that would be awkward upon a first introduction. (Try it yourself: Nina Leen! Nina Leen! neenuhleeeeeeen! Isn't that fun?)
And this is one kickass dress, isn't it? I mean, not that anyone who was involved in either the making or the photographing of it would have probably described it that way, but it is. It is constructed of the most finely woven French kickass available, actually. I love the elegant square neckline and the fern detailing, and that the model is NOT an empty-eyed, twelve-year-old bobblehead. (You know I'm a sucker for models who look as if they had a pretty decent idea of how a dress should be worn in real life, instead of just on the runway. This woman is meeting her lover one last time before he heads to the front, obviously. At the end of their interlude she will cry just one perfect tear, so as not to distress him overmuch.)
This is just more proof that there are beautiful things everywhere, and more and more of them are available to our eyes every day. Go look for them, and when you find them, share them.
Cool, oh and BTW, for your love of things orange, check out Land's End, orange seems to be a focus color for them for spring.
Posted by: Myra | 02/05/2009 at 05:05 PM
Beautiful. I love how the ferns almost seem like shadows in the forest..
Posted by: Pinup Dresses | 02/05/2009 at 05:12 PM
Hear, hear! :)
Posted by: -E | 02/05/2009 at 05:25 PM
Very beautiful!
Posted by: Cindy | 02/05/2009 at 06:15 PM
I just love your imagination! Wish I had it :)
Posted by: Otherwise known as Jen | 02/05/2009 at 06:43 PM
Keep having those whims and sharing them with us!
Posted by: Cel Petro | 02/05/2009 at 07:16 PM
what fun! I foresee a new browsing obsession.Heres a funny nina leen-lovely, but utterly unrealhttp://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=723f06d608f3a09aq=1950s%20source:life%20fashionprev=/images%3Fq%3D1950s%2Bsource:life%2Bfashion%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
Posted by: tampopo | 02/05/2009 at 07:52 PM
but heres an awesome dance image from the 30s, for those of us huddled in cramped winter hibernation mode:http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=604b50437b04b27cq=anita%20john%20source:lifeprev=/images%3Fq%3Danita%2Bjohn%2Bsource:life%26hl%3Den
Posted by: tampopo | 02/05/2009 at 08:14 PM
Wow, kickass is right!! We were born in the wrong era, I'm certain of it. :)
Posted by: Bean | 02/05/2009 at 11:11 PM
This is so beautiful, both the dress and her photography... thanks for sharing this as I had not heard of Nina Leen before, now I will explore her collection some more.
Posted by: Cassi | 02/06/2009 at 01:21 AM
Oh how I want one of my very own!!!! Oh my god that dress is beautiful. Thanks Erin.
Posted by: Kelly | 02/06/2009 at 02:07 AM
I so agree on "You know I'm a sucker for models who look as if they had a pretty decent idea of how a dress should be worn in real life, instead of just on the runway." Well, I didn't know, but I could have guessed it.The dress is lovely and the Google Life feature is even lovelier.
Posted by: Hana | 02/06/2009 at 02:37 AM
The best thing about the Life archive is that you can look at both photos that were and were not published. As great as the picks are that made it onto the pages, I think it is a real treat to also see the ones that didn't.
Posted by: wundermary | 02/06/2009 at 03:23 AM
You're so right about this dress. It's the kind of dress that does wonders for the self esteem. Thanks for reminding us about the Google Life collection, too. I haven't had a chance to browse it yet. Nina Leen will be my first stop. :)
Posted by: caseykoester | 02/06/2009 at 04:02 AM
Breathtaking. Seriously. I gasped.
Posted by: Sal | 02/06/2009 at 06:45 AM
Oh, Erin, that is truly beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I realized that you can't NOT make up stories about dresses. All you have to do is look and you have a story. And then you can develop it. That is an amazing talent.
Posted by: AuntieShel | 02/06/2009 at 07:25 AM
That dress is absolutely divine. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: MissMasala5 | 02/06/2009 at 07:32 AM
there are beautiful things everywhere, and more and more of them are available to our eyes every day. Go look for them, and when you find them, share them.I need to remember this and repeat it like a mantra.
Posted by: Lydia | 02/06/2009 at 07:34 AM
Magnificent!
Posted by: Lisa Simeone | 02/06/2009 at 07:40 AM
Plus you can buy these images! Framed!! Ah, the temptation . . . .
Posted by: Lisa Simeone | 02/06/2009 at 07:44 AM
Wow. That's simply stunning!
Posted by: patternjunkie | 02/06/2009 at 07:46 AM
Erin, That is gorgeous! I am a huge fan of black and white imagery in fashion, this is a wonderful example. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Glamoursurf | 02/06/2009 at 08:20 AM
I have a couple of Nina Leen books - her stunning photos, coupled with great quotes: Women Heroes and a Frog and Love, Sunrise and Elevated Apes, published in 1970 and 1974, respectively. Very cool books... I need to go dig those out of my stacks. Thanks for the reminder!
Posted by: sarajane | 02/06/2009 at 08:33 AM
She's a double agent forcing secrets from grown men...
Posted by: Anonymous | 02/06/2009 at 08:36 AM
The web site says "model" but isn't that Deborah Kerr? (A woman who knew how to wear a dress!, all 400 pounds of them, in King and I)
Posted by: San Antonio Sue | 02/06/2009 at 08:41 AM