Fresh Tunes: Search for Sound Frequency.

Heavy bass, drums, dramatic cascades of sound... I hear those sounds and can't be still. For many years, music with a thumping good beat was part of daily life. I taught fitness classes and almost every night created exercise programs incorporating salsa, kickboxing, hip hop, and strength training - ending with a cool-down of pilates and yoga. The best part was that most clients were seniors and it was a wonderful surprise to learn that they were open to most forms of music - not just music of their youth.

Try to visualize your grandparents step-aerobicizing to the Gorillaz 19-2000 (" the cool shoeshine"), bouncing a gigantic ball Harlem Globetrotter-style to Led Zeppelin bron-y-aur stomp (bouncing started at approximately 24 seconds), or low-impact kickboxing to Fatboy Slim's remix of Pierre Henry's Psyche Rock. A class favorite was kickboxing to Afrika Bambaataa's Mind Control (the Nebula Funk Danmass instrumental version). To Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself we shook our booty while working on kickboxing punches... and near the song's end counted how many times Billy shouted the word "sweat". 

It was a beautiful sight to see people more than two times my age dancing, exercising, smiling and acting like teenagers.

As long as the music had the appropriate beats per minute, the lyrics were not offensive - and there wasn't too much mosquito-like high-pitched electic guitar - the class was very open to my music selections.

Of course the music for yoga and pilates was more laidback. For yoga, music with a beat similar to that of a resting heart was appropriate for most classes. For Pilates, chill music with a vaguely Latin rhythm was a nice accompaniment to many of the movements.

What makes you dance? 

I'm looking for sound that one cannot listen to sitting still. 

Lately, surf music is something I cannot hear enough of. A lot of it is formulated like a wave - to wash over the listener. It finally became evident that one of my favorite old TV theme songs (from The Munsters) was based on a surf-band sound.

Here's a classical musical mystery:   Do you know of classical music that sounds like a charging brigade on horseback? (Not Rossini's William Tell Overture - which is certainly energetic, but there is a mystery song that produced the charging brigade image in my head - and I never heard the composer announced.)

Coincidentally, Beck's Guero (2005) is the only album I could repeatedly listen to in its entirety - no skipping tracks, no turning down the volume. A curious ear in search of fresh tunes finds a treasure trove of sound frequencies with Beck, who stitches it all together with a fascinating beat.

Music works best for me when it progresses in this manner: First there's a bit of ambient stillness, then a sound is introduced. A distinguishable beat, or variety of beats, interact with the first sound - which develops into a symphony of beautiful, invigorating noise... and then the music begins to peel away - like layers of an onion - until the song is reduced to the simple origin. 

These ears are adventurous listeners, give them almost any genre - but please don't let the sound be too "canned". If the sound is electronically generated, I still require variety - so the evidence of the human touch is detectable in the sound engineering.

Your suggestions will be appreciated. 

Trend Fascinations Produce a Far Out Dinner Party.

These genres, artists, designers, and trends are worth investigation:

• this forever perky and cheerful 70's Mr. Freedom Fashion video
•  sixties space age and mod fashion
• futurists (see Jacque Fresco documentary Future by Design)
• music by Piero Piccioni
• Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook) remix of Jean Jacques Perrey's E.V.A.
• surf music and twang guitar of bands such as The Ventures 
• moog synthesized sound
• thinking forward, with only a small glimpse back
•  early twentieth century Futurists (see this post)

A dinner party featuring these personalitites and sound bites would produce a profusely creative ambience.

Hideously Clever.

Hideously clever, ugly, or really brilliant. I can't decide. Toile La La.

Two posts ago, I mentioned this faux-crochet something-or-other of such indescribable jolie-laide intrigue that I'm beginning to like its essence.  Many would call this cloth whatever-it-is, surrounded by gold cotton fringe, UGLY.  But, you must first consider that it is not really crocheted from cheap acrylic yarn - as it appears to be.  It is only made to LOOK that way - and is instead cotton printed to look like a crocheted blanket of cheap acrylic.

I'm beginning to see the genius of this technique. Imagine trompe l'oeil beading, embroidery, and jewel-embellishments. Lower cost of production and also machine wash-and-dryable.

If you look at the post two dates ago, you will see some textiles with motifs of a possible Russian / European origin which could be adapted with this trompe l'oeil technique. In fact, one of the textiles - the Richloom Lucy in Chocolate - already has an embroidered look. But, this could be taken to another level by actually embroidering a small area of the fabric.

Zoolander Computer Moments. Something Plastic.

A computer whiz I am not. Anytime I reach a peak of technological frustration, a scene from the movie Zoolander comes to mind.

Sometimes, instead of feeling enlightened by technology, I feel it has kicked me a few levels down the evolutionary ladder - and all of a sudden, there I am - a chimp, tapping away at something plastic.

Search "zoolander models at the computer" and watch a YouTube movie clip to see what I mean.

I like my term "something plastic" - because I feel it seems to not only symbolize the computer, but a large chunk of history.

Toile de Jouy Fabric: Story-Telling Cloth.

If faced with a lack of reading material on a long journey, I think it would be nice to have a skirt in toile fabric - but with the print upside-down, so that seated, I could view the scenery right-side-up. As entertainment then, armed with felt markers (and white-out, in place of an eraser), I would bring the scenery to life.

I have yet to create a Toile de Jouy Coloring / Travel Skirt, but in the Autumn of 2011, did create and color a toile trilby hat with embroidery - and you can see it here. In designing the toile trilby, my inspiration was a toile ottoman cover I wanted to repurpose. You will also notice the red brim-trim, which is part of a vintage Pierre Cardin tie.

For its stories and its long history, fabric in the Toile de Jouy style charms me, though I simply refer to it as "toile".

Seeing a humorously-bad rendition of toile fabric prompted this post entry. Shopping with my mother, I discovered a pair of elastic-waist pants - white, with toile-de-jouy style scenery printed in black. Having the appearance of a poorly-traced pastoral print, the scenes featured shepherds carrying amorphous blobs instead of sheep - and shepherdesses petting amorphous blobs instead of sheep.

At its best though, I adore toile because it is fabric that tells a story. Dates of toile origin vary from seventeenth to eighteenth century, but its scenes are based on true stories, historical literature and opera, and mythological legends. Many toile prints feature countryside landscapes and figures. It has been said that the subject matter is a romanticized version of rural life perceived by French aristocracy.

Historically in the U.S., toile fabrics had their heyday in Colonial times. However, it seems toile - with so many thoughts and images to convey - will always find favor.

In researching the history of toile, I found it very interesting to learn that the original Toile de Jouy factory was established near La Bievre river, because its water held mineral-properties conducive to washing and processing of the fabric.

To see a variety of toile fabrics, try searching "images for history of toile de jouy fabric", or simply "images for toile fabric".

For clarification, I should note:  My blog is named Toile La La not because of toile fabric, but because I like to sew, therefore the "toile" of Toile La La refers to a rough-draft garment or "toile", created to test style, fit, and construction-technique.

Toile de Jouy references from Musee de la Toile de Jouy website, Fabrics and Paper website, and "toile" Wikipedia entry.

Sense of Otherness and Fashion Trend Archives.

Posts of the previous week have opened a window into the development of my own fashion archives. Since the archive will be incorporated into a larger project, I have shared only a fraction of its contents. However, the following filing system might be of interest to others - like myself - who notice trends and analyze their origins.

As mentioned in one of the earlier posts, one of my main categories has been: "Sense of Otherness" - a term I give to what is shockingly new or so different as to be considered avant garde. My Sense of Otherness file entries bridge a gap between great and bizarre. With time, I realized that what shocked my senses initially would very often begin to look quotidien. Individuality is often mimicked, so - very predictably - styles that shocked frequently became trends.

Aside from that main category, here are some other file-headings I kept pre-1980 to post-2000:

• vintage
• textiles
• scot-irish
• spanish toreador
• sports
• russian
• old west
• orient
• nautical
• interesting personalities
• haberdashery
• gypsy
• floral / fauna / nature
• fashion history
• fashion articles 
• eye-catching advertisements
• dance/fitness
• breakthroughs/innovations
• africa
• accessories

Of course, that isn't an all-inclusive list, but does give an idea of the archival scope.

Booty-Shaking, Pop and Lock, All-Night Dancing: What to Wear.

Plugging into Electro-Funk 80's music turned me into a dancing machine. One 11-hour night, I tore up the dance floor with my dance partner of two first names - Billy Freddie. For a fund-raising Dance-A-Thon, with only 10-minute breaks on the hour, we unleashed all our uninhibited moves: the bird, the smurf, and a dance all our own that looked like rotating and spanking ourselves... sometimes we moon-walked. Slow-dancing was not our cup of tea. When Billy Freddie and I danced, we meant business and we burned calories. It's only fair though - to admit that my key to success on the dance floor that night must be attributed to the jumpsuit.

From experience, it was evident some dances didn't fit the look of a skirt or dress. Heels were out of the question for this kind of dancing. Big, jumbled piles of heels always grew on the outskirts of the dance floor.

Your realize, if you aren't new to exercise, that perspiration is a part of energetic activity. If you dance fanatically (acquiring a great pore-cleansing sweat), then you cool down very quickly and chill. To burn the midnight oil and showcase all your best moves, you need clothes that move with you, without constricting, and without looking bedraggled after a few hours... and a jumpsuit met all the requirements.

A girl in the dorm loaned the loose-fitting jumpsuit to me. It was made by Esprit I think - of either cotton or a synthetic parachute-type material. The neck was wide and the sleeves and legs narrow, but long - so that I could roll them and they stayed in place. It was sand-washed olive green and buttoned up the front.

With the jumpsuit I wore red pointy-toed flats (also borrowed... and by the way, it's a good idea to have a change of shoes if you plan to dance 11 hours, because your feet will appreciate the switch).

Double-belts were in style at this time and I wore my red one loose and low. Enormous red plastic earrings were probably involved - but I'd like to forget those.

Billy Freddie's dance-steps were familiar to me and he knew mine as well. Frequently one of us would invent a new move - the other would notice and try it out.

By 5 AM only one other couple still danced. We stopped, they danced a few minutes more.  I trotted back to the dorm and slept thirteen hours.






On a quest to pinpoint this type of jumpsuit, I found a 1985 Simplicity Esprit sewing pattern 7007 that seems very similar. Of the same cut are Simplicity 6394 and even a vintage Pierrot costume by Advance.

Simplicity 6394. Ditch the tie-dye, add a loose belt, roll the cuffs, you're ready to dance all night.

Ultimate jumpsuit freedom.

Want a little music to send you into jumpsuit dancing mode? Here are three links:

• Morris Day and The Time - The Bird (with video, so you too can learn some wing-flapping moves).
• The Egyptian Lover - Egypt Egypt.

• These Boots Are Made For Walking - Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra original remixed by BrianPOP 2008.

The first two songs fit into the dance/pop/proto-electro-funk/rap/hip-hop/breakdance category and the third is an amped-up retro remix (with original 1966 film footage featuring as much energy as I had that 11-hour night).