Sweetheart of the Rodeo

❤ Join Me On Instagram? ❤

2015-06-16T17:35:00.001-04:00

Well, I finally did it... I joined instagram! In typical form, I'm several years behind the times but now that I have a decent smartphone I'm finally catching up! I'm @_merricat and you can also find a widget in my sidebar.

Please feel free to follow, I would love to follow back :)

@_merricat

Expect to see glimpses of antiques and old dresses, my outfits, rural Vermont life (especially dogs, flowers, and calves!) and my travels around historic New England. Hope to see you over there!!

country death songs

2015-06-09T20:42:00.000-04:00

Hi hi! This evening I thought I'd share a few glimpses of the gallery show I had this Spring. It was my senior exhibition for my minor in photography. Art has always been a side project for me, as I would hate the pressure of making it my career, and while my photography was technically for school it was also an important creative outlet so I wouldn't go mad just writing and researching my thesis all day! As you can see, the love for antique dresses, long-empty farmhouses, and rural life I've cultivated on this blog are themes in my photographs as well.

I put up 50 prints, plus some installation elements and a hand-made book with some of my Western photographs. It was such a lot of work to install everything considering my show was only up for one week, but so very satisfying to see my work have a tangible presence.

I had my artist statement on a scrap of paper on the trunk, as well as a copy of Robert Frost poems I'd found in a very special abandoned house open to "Ghost House" (one of my favorite Frost poems).

I'm a little nervous about putting my photographs out on the web, as who knows where they'll end up, but here are a few of the pictures I printed! My pictures are mainly on 35mm black-and-white film which I scanned and printed on a piezography printer. I printed them onto matte museum etching paper, which I just dry mounted onto plain white matboard and nailed to the wall (I painted all the nail heads to match the gallery wall). The scans are not as rich and black as my prints for want of editing, but you get the idea.

Well, that's all for now! I was very excited to start documenting my wardrobe after school ended... but of course, my tripod broke, and after having access to a DSLR camera from my school's photography department I am quite resentful of my own old, bad little digital camera! Ah well, for my countryside summers I tend to dress very minimally, so I perhaps will I start blogging about other aspects of vintage style and creative projects :) I hope your June is off to a beautiful start!

Gossamer Gown Update

2015-06-04T09:48:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! This is just a little shop update post... I have an extremely varied batch of items, fresh from my attic to the shop. Blog readers can take 20% off your order of $20 or more through the month of June with the coupon code "sweetheart6" ❤

There are some truly lovely pieces I'd totally be hanging on to, were it not for my overwhelming need to declutter and bring in some cash ;)

1950s Dreamy Seafoam Bed Jacket

As-Is Cream Lace and Black Chiffon Flapper Gown

Gorgeous 1910s Ocean Blue Silk Tea Dress

And you may also spy a few old favorites from blog outfits of yore, like these cuties:

The Best 1950s Red Gingham Country Day Dress

Sweet 1910s Black Silk Jacket

Charming 1950s Red Paisley Day Dress

As-Is 1950s Pink Silk Polka Dot Wiggle Dress!!

I hope you see something you like! Remember, enter "sweetheart6" at checkout for 20% off.
'Til next time ... ❤

prairie ghost

2015-05-08T20:06:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to post lately; I've been very busy this Spring with finishing my thesis* and having my first gallery show. Perhaps now that I have a spare minute, I can take some time to document my outfits again. Here is a quick outfit post from a little while ago. It was one of the first warm spring days of the year, and I was so excited to be able to lay aside the thick stockings for a change!

* I'm soon to graduate with my degree in Art History and American Studies, for which I wrote my thesis on female education and mourning rituals in Federal-era New England through the lens of schoolgirls' pictorial embroidery :)

Wearing:
1900s Edwardian child's dress
Vintage lace-trimmed slip
Crochet tights I've had for seven years(!!)
Thrifted "We Who See" Oxfords

This little dress is a favorite of mine, a sweet mix of Days of Heaven and Victorian doll. It's just perfect with its short length, demure lace trim, and scores of dainty pintucks! It came without any buttons down the back, so I poked more holes in it to thread a ribbon corset-style down the back. (This little trick also allows me to fit into it, as it's got a mere 30" bust.)

Here's another way I wore the dress from around Christmas:

Wearing it this time with a 1930s blouse, black stockings, and dusty little black boots.

....and a li'l inspiration

1. Empty House and Train, North Dakota. Eugene Richards, from his photo book The Blue Room.

2. 1883 CDV of a girl identified as 10 year old Clara A. Smith, daughter of Lorin and L. Smith of New York. (Source)

3. "Cold, Cold, Cold" by the Handsome Family.

Hope to see you soon ❤

easter

2015-04-06T15:49:00.001-04:00

Hello, and happy Easter Monday! Since beginning my blog four years ago, I've made it a habit to document my Easter outfit each year. It's no secret that Easter is my favorite holiday; in addition to the celebration of all things lambs, chicks, pastels, and candies, it has traditionally been the gateway to Spring at home in New England, although this year Winter is still dragging its heels. Here's this year's look, taking some inspiration from Japanese dolly kei girls and 1920s silent film ingenues!

I wore:

1940s sheer plaid gown

1920s wax blossom wedding headpiece

Vintage millinery blossoms

Antique black silk velvet ribbon as belt

Dr Martens Darcie boots

The past year or two, I have really stopped documenting my wardrobe, but I've actually never been happier with it. I might try to catch a few more outfit snaps in the future, especially as my vintage wardrobe leans mostly towards Victorian and Edwardian pieces these days--pieces which are ephemeral and forever on the verge of decay, and which I really would like to thoroughly document before they are unwearable.

This dress, though "only" about seventy years old is actually in pretty rough shape, with tearing at the shoulders and a few snags throughout the fabric. Because it's large on me, I can still wear it pretty well without stressing the fabric too much. I do retire garments when they get too close to breaking down, then relegate them to wall hangings or cut them up to make new garments or doll clothes. But I never really throw them out, and I am interested in watching the way their forms change. It's so interesting how an old dress still evokes the era it's from, but yet is never quite the way it was originally, be it a white cotton taking on an aged ecru shade or a calico pattern becoming faded and patched from decades of wash and wear. No antique garment is truly pristine and untouched, so I no longer feel guilty if I hurry it to its next form by wearing it to shreds :)

(And of course, most of my clothes are the cast-offs of farmer's wives and country girls...not priceless couture or anything)

♡ Take care, and I hope to see you soon! ♡

All that glitters...

2015-03-22T12:05:00.002-04:00

I'm in the process of adding new stock to my Etsy shop, and just listed a pretty posy of glittering glamorous 1960s treasures, full of metallic fabrics and sequins!

***enter The Gossamer Gown shop here***

I have some big, exciting changes in my near future, so I'm letting go of a lot of beautiful pieces as I attempt to streamline things a bit so I'm not hauling so much stuff with me every time I move. I will have even more things listed in the week to come, including a lot of 1940s sleepwear, colorful 1950s separates, as well as hats, gloves, and vintage dolls. Stay tuned!

born on a train

2015-01-28T20:32:00.000-05:00

Some strange old pictures I just scanned, taken by me when I was 19.

this train is my home by angel olsen

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

thinking about home

2015-01-04T21:56:00.002-05:00

Memories from this past autumn in my wildwood world.

{All photos taken by me ... please don't use without my permission.}

"When a flower grows wild, it can always survive;
Wildflowers don't care where they grow."

We Are What We Are (2013)

2014-10-29T12:20:00.001-04:00

I recently watched We Are What We Are... what a beautiful film! The storyline is like We Have Always Lived in the Castle meets Ric Burns' the Donner Party, equal parts gruesome and gorgeous. But the atmosphere is what got me: it perfectly captures the sublime verdant beauty of late Spring, and the Gothic qualities of of rural America. While it takes place in Upstate New York, it reminded me so very much of Vermont, too, with the otherworldly quality of the green landscape when it's cloaked in rain, and the way the golden hour 1970s trailerpark/ramshackle Victorian buildings are smeared thinly over the weird ancient Colonial world. There are lots of gorgeous shots framed by windows, windshields, and branches, giving viewers a veiled, voyeuristic look into the sisters' insular world. Finally, the soundtrack is magical, featuring old-time country and blues.

Here's a deluge of screenshots I took; you can watch the film on Netflix instant.

★ The Gossamer Gown is now open! ★

2014-06-13T10:56:00.000-04:00

Hello dolls! Just wanna announce that my ETSY SHOP is back in action.

1930s Boardwalk Blue Printed Cotton Day Dress Med.

1910s Antique Irish Lace Gown .. Days of Heaven .. Ethereal... size large

~~1960s Smoky Lavender Day Dress~~ Sold!

1950s Buttercup Sun Dress with Matching Bolero

1950s Pastel Violet Swing Dress ... Peter Pan Collar and Stripes

1920s Lilac Gingham Cotton Dress Large

1950s Blue & Raspberry Midcentury Floral Day Dress

I got boxes of vintage fripperies languishing in my attic, which I really have to get rid of, so there's more on the way, including sophisticated '50s dresses and suits, some luscious velvet maxi dresses, and stunning Gunne Saxes! My store's also got a new name, which hails from Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death", where this little detail of the narrator's sheer garb has always stayed with me:

"The Dews drew quivering and Chill –

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle – "

"Gossamer gowns" seem enchanted, archaic, not quite of this world--qualities shared by the antique and vintage dresses I'm so pleased to share with you.

☆ Take a look! ☆

home alone

2014-06-07T12:12:00.001-04:00

easter dream

2014-04-25T11:13:00.001-04:00

Hi! It's still Easter week, so happy Easter!!!

Easter is my favorite holiday, 'cause it's the cutest, and I get to be a twee-as-fuck pastel-clad princess. For Easter Sunday, I wore a 1950s daffodil-hued chiffon prom gown & a 1950s bonnet in a dusky tulle (with flowers underneath!). My puppy dog even had a spot at the brunch table-- adorable. I luv you, Easter!!!

♥♡♥

I think I'll be feeling the manically kitsch floral//bubblegum vibes alllll into May.

Feast your winter-starved eyes:

{Pictures from my Pinterest.}

♥♡♥

♡

2014-04-19T15:06:00.001-04:00

Fond Greetings!

Easter tomorrow! The dancing lambs, fresh flowers, and sweets make it my favorite time of year ♥

{More under the cut.}

My Easter eve finery: peach silk '40s nightgown, matching ribbon + vintage velvet millinery flowers!!

Signs of Springtime in my nest:

who the hell was baby jane hudson?

2014-03-25T17:27:00.003-04:00

When I found this cool eyelet gown at the antique mall last week for all of $15, I just had to make it mine---it reminds me so very much of the puffed-sleeve, full-skirted Southern belle/debutante gowns so many '30s and '40s boudoir dolls wear!!! My own mean-mugging boudoir dolly Lili Marlene sports a similar gown herself.

This gown has quickly become one of my very favorite dresses. It features a three-dimensional crochet lace trim, a peter pan collar, a darling petal-like peplum, and hook-and-eye clasps all up the back. The amazing attention to detail puts me in mind of Edwardian frocks, but fortunately this guy is probably from the 1940s, so it's sturdier and has great snug tailoring. I can't wait to pair it with my black western boots this summer for a Days of Heaven, prairie ghost look!

For more dollspiration, I of course have a whole Pinterest board for pretty boudoir dolls & the girls who look like them. I am a bit late to the Pin game, having just signed up a few months ago, but it's been a real boon to me & my frantic head full of aesthetic fixations. Feel free to follow me if you wanna keep up with my Springtime inspirations!

Oh, and I am also re-opening my Etsy shop soon; just have to finish measuring & photographing, but I hope to be in business by mid April! I can't wait to show you all the wonderful dresses I'm listing; some it breaks my heart to let go of, but I'm trying so hard not to become a hoarder this early in life.

See you soon! And don't forget---there's a genuine Baby Jane doll waiting for each and every one of ya right out in the foyer!

2014-01-22T15:49:00.000-05:00

Desert daze.

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

2014-01-16T19:25:00.002-05:00

When I was in California recently, I had the amazing fortune of finding not one, but TWO original 1970s Gunne Sax dresses at a thrift shop.

While I have worn my fair share of '70s maxi dresses, these are my first Gunnes, and now I fully understand the hype... they are full of beautiful details, and really flattering: they make me look a foot taller! ;) I think both will be added to my Etsy shop, so stay tuned for the re-opening on Feb. 1st.

low and lonesome low

2014-01-11T18:46:00.001-05:00

My second home is the Salton Sea. ♡

All the encrusted marina vestiges make me feel like a mermaid queen in her salty underwater palace.

Songs of the Sea:

Mer ~ Chelsea Wolfe

Saline the Salt Lake Queen ~ Rasputina

Sinking in the Lonesome Sea ~ the Carter Family

brother our troubles are locked in each other's arms.

2013-12-18T20:47:00.000-05:00

Dollhouse II

2013-12-02T15:00:00.000-05:00

Rainy Day Dolls

2013-11-18T11:31:00.001-05:00

I am wearing a 1970s dress, antique velvet jacket, 1920s millinery blossoms, and a 1960s velvet hat.

my november guest

2013-11-16T17:05:00.002-05:00

My November Guest

My Sorrow, when she's here with me,

Thinks these dark days of autumn rain

Are beautiful as days can be;

She loves the bare, the withered tree;

She walked the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.

She talks and I am fain to list:

She's glad the birds are gone away,

She's glad her simple worsted gray

Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,

The faded earth, the heavy sky,

The beauties she so truly sees,

She thinks I have no eye for these,

And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know

The love of bare November days

Before the coming of the snow,

But it were vain to tell her so,

And they are better for her praise.

Robert Frost

Boo!

2013-11-04T22:43:00.002-05:00

Hope you had a spellbinding All Hallows Eve !

I was Baby Jane Hudson with a dash 'o' haunted doll ✯ ☽ ✯

Witching hour

2013-10-16T15:30:00.000-04:00

Cold was the ground.

2013-10-12T23:30:00.000-04:00

This haunted house

2013-10-07T13:52:00.000-04:00

"I dwell with a strangely aching heart
In that vanished abode there far apart..."
--Robert Frost, "Ghost House"


[Self-portrait in the ruins of my family home, September 2013.]

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”

--Shirley Jackson, the Haunting of Hill House

[Andrew Wyeth, Hussey’s House, 1942, Watercolor on Paper.]

"We learned, from listening, that all the strangers could see from outside, when they looked at all, was a great ruined structure overgrown with vines, barely recognizable as a house. It was the point halfway between the village and the highway, the middle spot on the path, and no one ever saw our eyes looking out through the vines."

--Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle

[Clarence John Laughlin, House of the Past, 1947.]

"One need not be a Chamber -- to be Haunted --
One need not be a House --
The Brain has Corridors -- surpassing
Material Place -- "

--Emily Dickinson

[Will Barnet, the Dream, 1990, oil on canvas.]

Sweetheart of the Rodeo

❤ Join Me On Instagram? ❤

country death songs

Gossamer Gown Update

prairie ghost

~~easter~~

All that glitters...

born on a train

thinking about home

We Are What We Are (2013)

★ The Gossamer Gown is now open! ★

home alone

easter dream

♡

who the hell was baby jane hudson?

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

low and lonesome low

brother our troubles are locked in each other's arms.

Dollhouse II

Rainy Day Dolls

my november guest

Boo!

Witching hour

Cold was the ground.

This haunted house

easter