Recent content by Bobbi B.

Brett Spiner played the fellow who ran Consolidated; his distinctive voice and recognizable nose gave him away to me, but only barely. And I still think Blanchett did an adequate job of Hepburn -- a C for the voice (but give her credit for trying, it's not an easy one) but an A for...

Splendid movie -- and chilling at the same time. DiCaprio's face is wider than Hughes'. In profile, he utterly is Howard Hughes. In other shots, he's "merely" stunningly close. Costuming, sets (the Coconut Grove!) and casting (Hepburn indeed) are far above the usual Hollywood...

For many parts of my work, a skirt would be immodest; I am more likely to be dressed like Rosie the Riveter on any given day! Tailored slacks, a nice blouse or (more often) sweater and low, practical shoes, most days; when there's something especially toilsome to be done, a flannel top...

A nice version of "Sleighride" (the traditional clip-clopping one, not the Raymond Scott tune) showed up on DirecTV's "Big Bands and Swing" audio channel this evening. It's from "The Most Fab. Christmas Album Ever," credited to Freddy Martin and Merv Griffin! If the rest of it is as good, it...

There ought to be albums of Chrustmas Swing to be found. Most of the singers who made the step (down, if you ask me!) from the Big Bands into more recent "good music" and/or jazz certainly made such albums, as did many of the bands. When I worked in radio (some stations were still spinning...

Of course, you're right, Kamikat, and the end result would be just what I was after. I haven't done any serious sewing in years, just mending and a little decorative embroidery. I am looking just a little quizzically at the teeny narrow hems on the store-bought versions -- it really has been...

PS to Lauren Henline, thinking of -- more chaste but no less fetching! -- glamorous photographs: A gentleman giving his name as "Mr. DeMille" telephoned and left a message for you, something about your new avatar photo and then he said the oddest thing, "She really is ready for her close-up."...

The colder months having come our way, I went searching for one of the season's humbler necessities, a fresh supply of nice hankies and found -- nothing! Oh, huge, coarse things intended for gentlemen are still around, but nothing for us. No monograms, floral embroidery, lace trim, or...

I already own an MGB, my second one! Very fun to drive, but I must say that I didn't know very much about cars before buying that first one. It looked cool and the price was right, sooo.... After having owned it for six months, I knew quite a lot about how MGBs worked. It was...

Pish and tosh, UP196. If I did not work outside the home and around men, I would be shocked. Shocked! MK, I would certainly not accuse you of, er, unusual hobbies. No, I was merely implying that, as is generally typical of the male of the species, you might have just the slightest...

...Ooooo. Cary Grant, mostly. (It depends upon which films I've seen recently, I'm so fickle!) I always wanted to be Lauren Bacall when I grew up. Then I never grew up, so I just had to be me instead. Matt Deckard, do you know how Emma Peel (another of my heroines) was named...

So true! I think two things started the trend: minis and jeans; once pantyhose (ugh!) were established as the norm, everything else followed, and we ended up with generally plainer, more form-fitting styles, the wilder of which are only suitable for very young physical-culture enthusiasts or...

...I'm just not sure any man can look as devastatingly handsome as Hughes did when he was young. There have been some really fine-looking actors but Howard Hughes was the real deal. Some of the photos from his Congrssional testimony about the Spuce Goose look more like stills from a film than...

Kamikat, MK's example seems a bit fancy but it is similar to items I've seen in Sears & Roebuck catalogs (a great source, when you can find them) of the time. Someone has probably assembled a stylebook from them in the manner of similar offerings for the 30s and 20s. There are a jillion...

Coat has arrived, looks wonderful and the fabric feels right, a very dark charcoal shade. The material is fairly lightweight but it's fully lined, has an internal button at the lap, it's a for-real, wearable daily coat. ...And the sizing is pure 1940s, which means I'm a 2X/14 instead of...