Misspelling, Misunderstanding & Mad Men

Second blog.

I promise not to keep track forever.

(She says with fingers crossed that the blogging will go beyond the counting of two hands.)

How long for a new habit to take?

Fourteen days, I think.

Okay, just did a quick Google search—that’s my Google ‘hello’ for this posting—and found it’s more like twenty-one to twenty-eight days for new habit formation.

Double, no triple, quadruple that for me.

Best to get the iCal out.

I wanted this second blog to actually be my introductory post, but I had to introduce myself first. Got to get to know me a little. It’s only polite, before the blog blah-blah-blah boastful bragging begins.

That’s right, I’m giving a shout out to my Etsy shop. 

The Thrifting Magpie was ‘hotlinked’. I googled and wikied this term and here’s hoping, I have grasped this technological gobbledygook after consulting with those Internet gods. It could be though, that this ends up being another typical Tracey mix up/stumbling block.

Yes, once upon an article long ago, I spent three hours + attempting to sound out, look up, and even pray that the Spelling Supreme Being would give me divine spelling wisdom.

What word was I trying to spell?

Pa Kip See.

That’s the Tracey spelling.

Poughkeepsie is the ‘technically correct’ spelling.

You may wonder: Why was I writing a story on Poughkeepsie and how could I receive an assignment without the correct spelling of the story’s focus city?

The short answer: I wasn’t writing a story on Poughkeepsie.

The Tracey answer: I chose Poughkeepsie to illustrate how difficult something was in an analogy; an analogy that had nothing to do with cities, states, any kind of geography and most definitely not Poughkeepsie.

I could have chosen another city or even another word. I didn’t. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I’m far too stubborn to do that and too spelling challenged to know how to ‘correctly’ spell Poughkeepsie—or even get it close enough so spell check or an online phonetic dictionary could recognize it.

This Pa Kip See Tracey tangent, is a round about way of saying, I hope I have used the ‘term’ hotlinked’ correctly.

My blogging blocks have fallen over.

I decided to double-check my new tech term and I think using the word ‘hotlink’ is the equivalent of saying you’re driving a ‘hot’ car.

My shop is ‘hot’ but it’s not 'HOT'.

I believe I should say my shop was ‘linked’.

For me, this technology stuff is like trying to read Hungarian in the dark with no light and no knowledge of Hungarian, other than I really love goulash with the oh-so-bad-for-you-but-oh-so-yummy-good dumplings.

This is when the statement ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’ so aptly applies.

Where was my shop linked?

Mad Men’s Fashion File blog on AMC!

(Doesn’t ‘hotlinked’ to Mad Men sound so much better? Or better yet hotlinked to Jon Hamm!)

Anyway, I’m two for two with my tardy Tracey posts. The Mad Men link happened on 25 April 2013 and the date is—we all have calendars, don’t we?—and yes, I’m just in time with this posting, because Mad Men is over for the season.

I discovered the link when I looked at my Etsy shop stats. I saw I had traffic from AMC TV blogs. I didn’t understand. Was this spam? Why would traffic be coming from there to my Etsy shop?

I went to the blog. It directed me to the main site. I didn’t go further down the link hole.

I went on my ignorant technology way. I kept an eye on my stats and surprise, surprise, I kept seeing blogs.amctv.com listed as a source of traffic going straight to my mid century Mad Men dress.

I went to the AMC site again and using my best dress deductive reasoning, cleverly decided to click on the Mad Men blog link. That led me to The Mad Men Fashion File - State of the Union

Here it is for proof:

The Mad Men Fashion File - State of the Union

Are we destined to repeat our mistakes? That's something to think about as we take inventory of our main characters: In this episode, Don continues to cheat, Peggy pushes forward at all costs, and Joan allows men to subvert her authority. To visually highlight these vicious cycles, costume designer Janie Bryant puts each character into a repeat costume while they're falling into an old (and bad) habit. Don's classic shark suit is back in action; Joan revives last season's blue roses motif and last week's purple vest dress; Peggy's got her capable navy ensemble. Peggy even resurrects one of Don's classic lines verbatim: "If you don't like what they're saying, change the conversation."

Meanwhile, both Sylvia and Megan get loaded with black-and-white costumes: Sylvia continues her Sophia Loren vibe in a black coat with white fur trim. Megan wears a black-and-white French Maid uniform during her "scandalous" television scene. But Sylvia is having an affair in real life, while Megan's is only pretend -- so it's fitting that her black-and-white moment comes from a soap opera costume, whereas Sylvia's comes from her own closet. Another black-and-white moment in the episode comes from Harry Crane's checkered blazer, although when he meets with Cooper and Roger, Harry wears a brown and beige jacket with an orange-striped tie. His textures and colors match the office perfectly, adding to the effect that in this scene -- and maybe for the first time ever -- Harry is owning the room. Joan also has a black-and-white moment when meting out Dawn's punishment, and thanks to her lacy collar and sleeves, she looks a bit like a judge.

I love the pops of pink in this episode, too. Katie's bubblegum dress made her look like Sorority Sweetheart Barbie, Megan's coral jacquard dress at dinner was so pretty and fresh, and Dawn's ruffled pink blouse was sweetly out of place sandwiched between her matronly gray blazer and her Peggy Olson-esque plaid skirt. In each case, pink signals a kind of persistent innocence, and with Dawn it's almost as if she's exposing herself as a big softy, even kitted out in her serious office gear.

Now, we could go on about the persistent use of blue and green this season: Pete Campbell's bachelor pad lacquered doors! Harry and Scarlett's matching ensembles when she tells him he has great ideas! Joan's dress! Ginsberg's cardigan! But I still think it's too early in the season to declare a symbolic color story, at least if we want to accurately deduce the symbol. Instead, let's move onto some practical matters: How to get these looks.

If you want Arlene's powerfully sexy diamante dress, you have options but they're not cheap: Here is a modern version by 3.1 Phillip Lim; here is the evening gown version by Lanvin. Megan's incredible metallic dress is vintage, and it even comes with a matching coat. But since you can't rob the Mad Men costume trailer (and please, don't try), here are some ideas for how to re-create the look: Tibi's orange jacquard dress is the same shape as Megan's, and it has a diamond pattern, albeit more subtle. You can wear it as a contemporary dress with heels and loose hair, or you can "Calvet it up" with a bouffant up-do, liquid black eyeliner, and a heap of lucite necklaces. As for Megan's pink-and-red color blocking outfit at home, that's easy! (Really easy, actually, thanks to Kate Spade.)

And, on Etsy there is an actual shopping section of outfits inspired by Joan, including multiple riffs on the blue roses dress. There is also this "wave dress" reproduction, created by a seamstress named Miss Nancie and just waiting to be accessorized with a pen necklace.

I read the posting and saw at the bottom that there was a mention of Etsy and you could find outfits like Joan’s. There were words highlighted in blue….multiple riffs, blue roses dress….

Did I click?

Dear readers (am I being overly ambitious thinking I have ‘readers’ in the plural?), I direct you to the first sentence in the Mad Men blog: ‘‘Are we destined to repeat our mistakes?’

The answer is a categorically, undeniably, fashion foolhardily ‘Yes’.

No click.

But I still had lots of views courtesy of the Mad Men blog.

I was going to figure this out.

I went back to the The Mad Men Fashion File - State of the Union again.

Maybe I had scanned too quickly and missed my shop’s name.

Nope, not there. I looked at those blue highlighted words and decided to click on multiple riffs, the first link.

Guess what popped up?

My blue roses silk wiggle dress.

 Ta Da........

https://www.etsy.com/listing/100421474/wiggle-dress-1960s-milton-lippmann-mad?ref=shop_home_active

Wiggle Dress 1960s/ Milton Lippmann/ Mad Men Joan/ Blue Floral Silk/ Wedding Party/ Faux Wrap Dress/ Ruched/ Cocktail Evening/ Hip Bow

The dress is still waiting for its new owner.

Are you ready to put a wiggle in your walk?

♥Tracey

p.s. Blogger doesn't even know how to spell Poughkeepsie. It highlighted it to tell me it was 'misspelled'. Pa Kip See safely made it through the spell check.