Paper Moon

Looking back on all my childhood favorites, I definitely see a pattern. My favorite films growing up weren't the typical Say Anything/Clueless/10Things I Hate About You, although I did love those movies back then and still do. But, the films that really drew me in and carried me away with them, the ones that will forever top my list are the unlikely father/daughter road-trip movies like True Grit and Paper Moon.

If you've never seen Paper Moon starring real life father-daughter duo, Ryan O'Neal and Tatum O'Neal, then your life is lacking perhaps not all joy, but a fair share that this movie could bring to it. Based on the novel Addie Pray by Joe David Brown, the movie adaptation covers only a small portion of the original story, but it is perhaps the very best of it too. Set in Kansas and Missouri during the Great Depression, Ryan O'Neal's character, Moses Pray a.k.a Moze, is a swindler who sell Bibles to widows claiming their husbands purchased them as a gift before they passed and he has come to deliver the gift and collect on the bill. Tatum's character is named Addie Loggins and her party-girl mother has recently died. Since her mother had so many men in her life, Addie has no idea who her father is. Moze comes to the funeral to pay his respects and sees an opportunity to make a little money before sending Addie to her family in Missouri. What Moze did not foresee is that Addie is not so easily played. Learning of Moze's scheme Addie demands her fair share of his earnings. The two then embark on a road trip to deliver her to her relatives and earn some cash along the way.

Tatum O'Neal's brilliant performance was also her very first time acting. It won her an Academy Award at the age of ten and made her the youngest person to ever do so. Paper Moon is funny and dark, tragic yet delightful, but it has very little to do with its title. In fact, when screen writer Alvin Sargent came up with the title, Orson Welles said something along the lines of, forget the movie, just make the title! And so Sargent masterfully worked in the 1933 song It's Only a Paper Moon by Paul Whiteman and a scene with Addie having her picture taken on a paper moon, which she later gives to Moze to remember her by in order to make the title relevant.

Having said all that, Selkie's summer collection of the same title has nothing to do with the movie and more to do with the song according to their write up on the collection: The record player buzzes, glossy French manicured fingers lift the needle to flip it to the other side. A pause, then Jazz explodes throughout the room, high ceilings reverberate sound that pours out through French doors and onto the back lawn. You rush upstairs, bare feet sticky against the marble staircase, through the art deco closet and onto the cool, beige bathroom tiles. Lipsticks lined up, gold tubes next to the mirror, you leave a kiss on the glass and spritz your wrist with a sweet blossom scent. Lacey lingerie (just for confidence) and a perfectly pink silk dress hanging on the back of the door, now pulled off it's hanger and slipped on over your hips....

The end of summer, like a sunset slipping away behind the hills, magical and fleeting, and needing to be soaked up in its entirety, like a piece of sourdough bread soaking up the last of the gazpacho, we celebrate this magical warm time with another all natural fabric collection. Inspired by the late 40's and 50's, dancing barefoot in an estate on the West Coast, and lighting sparklers on sprawling lawns. A collection to pose for pictures, arms wrapped around garden statues, or to step drunkenly into giant fountains with friends, voices cackling loudly, kissing, laughing, yelping into the rolling quiet of the Pasadena mountains.

It's a lovely image of a bygone era and the prints are of course the same loveliness I've come to love and obsess over from Selkie. In this collection, there were several things that caught my eye like the Hanky/Scotty prints, the Day Dress in For Lamour print, and the Picnic Terrace Gown. I love how each of Selkie's collections feature a few common colors but so many surprises as well.

More and more I find myself drawn to Selkie's cotton gowns. I've had to shorten the cotton Ritz and this Terrace gown, by taking 9.5"/24cm off the ruffle on the Ritz and taking 4"/10cm off this gown the moment I got back from taking photos. Although after trying it on, I probably should have taken off 6"/15cm but it was quite a lot of work and thread so I may just learn to navigate the extra length.

Although this is a very long dress, the fabric is just the perfect weight. If it were any thicker this dress would be unbearably heavy, any lighter and it would be sheer. As it is, it's the perfect weight so that I can move freely.

I purchased both pieces from the Paper Moon collection that I now own from Ivory Sheep because I trust Mackenzie to check my items for quality standards and also because she packages each order to beautifully that it's an extra treat to buy from her.

My Lavender Aria Flats from VIVAIA were a bit of a risk because I didn't know if I had anything in my wardrobe that would pair well with them, but I loved the color so much and the Arias are pretty much my go-to shoe now because they're so comfortable that I took the risk. I am so glad I did because I have found so many things that look well with them like this pretty dress.

Unlogical Poem is a place I would love to shop at but they just don't carry anything close to my size, so I for now I have to content myself with their adorable accessories. I've bought one of these antique doll face rings in nearly every color they carry because I love them so much.

Because I am currently in the middle of a very strict seasonal wardrobe experiment, I will probably fold this dress neatly in some acid-free tissue paper and tuck it into a tub with some silica and lavender sachets until springtime. I think the length and the colors will be much more suited to that time of year.