11.9.2009 Back to the Fifties, via the Eighties

Vintage dress: Beacon's Closet, cardigan: Modcloth, shoes: Sogo, necklace: self-made

Judging by the label, fabric and elasticized waist, I think that this dress, which I purchased in Brooklyn five years ago (!!!), was made in the 1980s. But I think its circle skirt, v-neck and print all look a bit mid-century.

Ron and I were walking to lunch on Yongkang St. (a really cool neighborhood in Taipei) a couple weeks ago when we decided to take a detour through some alleys because of construction on the main road. We discovered this little corner and even though the sign just says "garage door, please do not park here," I still think it's one of the prettiest no parking signs I've ever seen. The hand-lettering is especially neat and I like the red paint. Somebody put love in that sign! (Or maybe they really don't want people to park there).

I made my necklace a while ago from goldstone, a very glittery manmade stone. I love it -- the little sparkles remind me of stars floating in the universe... and so each bead is a tiny galaxy, kind of like the end of "Men in Black" (or maybe "Monty Python and the Meaning of Life”).

I just watched the season 3 finale of "Mad Men" STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!!! I don't understand why some critics think Betty won't be able to remain relevant to the plot line if she does indeed divorce Don and marry Henry. I think she is an interesting enough character in her own right, even if she less pleasant and easy to empathize with than the other leading characters. If she marries Henry, she's still marrying into a relationship where she might feel like her potential is being unrealized and she is being infantilized (remember Henry's remark about supporting her and her kids completely?). I doubt the writers would let Betty, whose inner life has been at the forefront of season 3, marry a much older man she barely knows and leave it at that. At the same time, the Francis marriage won't have the same kind of baggage as the Draper marriage, so Betty can start reading "The Feminine Mystique" and participating in the feminist movement (which I think the series is priming her to do) without getting waylaid by finding out her husband is actually some guy who was killed in the Korean War.

I hope everyone is having a stellar Monday!