Fashion from History: This Lady Has a Bird on Her Head

As long as we're talking about historical fashion, I would like to point out that this Han Dynasty tomb figurine lady has a bird on her head. Go you, stylin'  tomb figurine lady.

This lady is on display at the Guimet Museum in Paris.

10 Attractive Male Authors Who I Think Would Probably Not Have Sex With Me, And Why

Today I read Bookgasm’s list of 10 Female Authors One of Their Contributors Would Be Willing To Have Sex With. Obviously I thought it was a brilliant idea for a column. But as I set about stealing it, I realized something uncomfortable: I’m pretty sure none of the attractive male authors I was looking at would be willing to have sex with me. Bummer, right?

So instead I’ve collected a list of 10 physically attractive male authors who I am pretty sure would not have sex with me, and why:

Bret Easton Ellis would not have sex with me because I order Prosecco at, like, every meal.

Michael Chabon would not have sex with me because I keep writing “lay” when I should be writing “lie.”

Gary Shteyngart would not have sex with me because I root for Cobra Kai. 

Vladimir Nabokov would not have sex with me because he is dead.

Colum McCann would not have sex with me because he wouldn’t be able to watch the Daily Show because I would keep repeating the funny things Jon Stewart says.  

David Means would not have sex with me because I keep telling people he’s from Williamsburg.

Jonathan Franzen would not have sex with me because I call jean shorts “jorts.”  

Jonathan Safran Foer would not have sex with me because I haven’t cleaned under the couch cushions in like three months.

Junot Díaz would not have sex with me because I would tell him all the Game of Thrones spoilers.

Nathan Englander would not have sex with me because I still tell hanging chad jokes. 


(Photos via Wikimedia)

18th Century Underwear

It's been awhile since I posted anything, but I thought I'd put up some images of my 18th century-ish underwear. I posted about the stays earlier, but here's the full set from the bottom up:

Gan Bian Dou Jiao (Dry-Fried Green Beans)

Dry-fried string beans, Gan bian dou jiao (or gan bian si ji dou), is genuinely in the running for my single favorite dish in the entire world. I'm not ever actually going to commit to having a single favorite dish, but if I had to, this might be it.

Wigs: The Big Pink Pouf

For my latest wig article over on Your Wardrobe Unlockd, I decided to make a big 18th century-inspired pouf. And just for fun, I made it pink.

The exclusive publication rights to the step-by-step case study expire in six months, so I'll post all the info here then. But if you have any specific requests for types of wigs you'd like to see done, let me know in the comments.

2013 Oscar Nominations for Achievement in Costume Design

The Best Costume Design Oscar nominees for 2013 are Jacqueline Durran for Anna Karenina, Paco Delgado for Les Misérables, Joanna Johnston for Lincoln, Eiko Ishioka for Mirror Mirror, and Colleen Atwood for Snow White and the Huntsman.

New 18th Century Stays

I finally got around to making up this pair of 18th century stays. I had some white linen lying around, and that seemed like a good thing to use. Then I learned how often I prick myself while hand-sewing bias binding around tabs, and realized that white was probably a terrible idea because there are errant blood spots in more than a few places. Oh well, it's underwear. Nobody will see it. (Except the Internet, clearly.)