Nerdy Girl Licensing Ventures

I was looking at the Clearly Contacts website yesterday when I saw a pair of Tina Fey Glasses. I don't mean dark plastic frames that resemble the frames Liz Lemon sports on 30 Rock. I mean Tina Fey Brand glasses.



Behold the Tina Fey 8002s.

I'm a little torn about this. Content creators are finding it increasingly difficult to get paid for their work, so I generally don't have a problem with licensing deals if they allow a brilliant talent like Fey to line her pockets.

But I think it's a little silly to license an accessory that's not particularly spacial. Unlike, say, America Ferrera's bright red Ugly Betty frames, there are hundreds of frames that look just like Liz Lemon's glasses. It's really easy to find glasses that look like this (the pair that Tina Fey wears on TV are apparently made by Gucci--wouldn't that make the Gucci model the real Tina Fay frame?). If you bought these simply because you wanted to achieve the Tina Fey look and had not figured out how to do this before, you may be, in Tina Fey's words, a dum-dum.

That said, I might be ascribing inaccurate motives to hypothetical shoppers. What if people bought these frames not because they wanted to look like Tina Fey, but because it's freaking amazing that a smart, nerdy woman is marketing a product for other smart, nerdy (looking) women?

These frames are about as distinctive and rare as a pair of GAP jeans, but they have a genuine creative connection to her work. They make sense. It's not like she's selling the "Tina Fey celebrity diet" or the "Tina Fey GoBlonde! highlighting kit" (Amy Poehler could sell hair bleach if she wanted). This product celebrates her nerdy, smart-girl status, and I am totally into that. She may well be the only female celebrity with a glasses line who is actually famous for wearing glasses, and that makes the kind of good sense I definitely associate with Ms. Fey.

Saturday Morning Reading: Woolcrazy Edition

For some reason, I found a lot of good links to wool-related stories this week!

Please imagine that this post is being read to you by 30 Rock's Jenna Maroney, in her official capacity as spokesperson for wool.



1. A recent post on Jesse Thorn's Put This On explains the meaning of numbered wool fabrics (most often seen in men's suiting). This post traces the development of extra-fine wool before ending on some sensible advice for shoppers. The systems-geek in me really enjoyed the analysis of the traditional ways a fiber's "fineness" is measured. And it's a good illustration of the role textile development has played in globalisation!

2. Stephanie Pearl McPhee, better known as the Yarn Harlot, has announced a truly impressive contest: the Fleece to Foot challenge, which will be held on July 31 at the Oregon Convention Centre as part of the Sock Summit.

Two live sheep will be sheared in the convention center in front of audience. Then, the fleeces are divided up and distributed to teams of five spinners and knitters, who will compete in a race to wash the fleece, spin it into yarn, and knit up a pair of socks in the shortest span of time. The socks are a modular design, meaning that instead of being knit in one piece, the pieces are made seperately, then joined at the end so more than once person can knit at a time. All the proceeds go to charity, and McPhee and her business partner are footing the bill.

I'm not all that interested in sock knitting, but I would go to this event in a heartbeat! I love the thought of taking something as slow as hand-knitting a sock and turning it into a Wipeout-esque spectator competition.

3. I've been thinking of ways to knit a lace yoke in a pullover that would mimic the lines of a Western shirt. I hadn't figured out a graceful way to do it. Then I saw Cassie Miller's Morrison cardigan in the latest KnitScene preview:



It looks like the yoke is bound off, and the body is picked up and knit. This creates a unusually defined vertical line, and solves the inevitable gauge problems you would face when switching between lace and stockinette. This cardigan is a nice variation on the lace-inset ready-to-wear sweaters I've been seeing lately. I'm not 100% sold on the overall effect of mixing lace and stripes with such sporty colours, but I am very intrigued by the techniques it uses.

4. Finally, this is a cute free cardigan pattern designed by an adorable college student: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/miette. Perfect for wearing over sundresses, and I love the cheery red colour.

An Important Lesson About Prints

This bikini is displayed in a shop window near my workplace.



I know that ikat prints are hot this summer, but that doesn't make this okay.

This bikini teaches us an important lesson about prints: you need to watch where the elements fall, or else you end up with the gynological equivalent of one of those tuxedo t-shirts.

Illustrated Library Posters

A library technician in Alberta has posted this wonderful collection of 1960s school library posters on her flickr page. I'm really grateful that she posted them, and I'm happy she used a creative commons license, too.

These are just a couple favourites from a great set of images. You should check out the whole thing.

Jessi Arrington on Thrift Store Clothes

Jessi Arrington is a designer based in Brooklyn, NY. She spoke at TED on March 3, 2011, about her love of crazy thrift store clothes (a love that is also documented on her blog luckysoandso.com).

The title of her presentation was "Wearing Nothing New."




Jessi's style is campy, colourful and more than a little outlandish. I'm not entirely sure what to make of her, but her evident joy and general wackiness are pretty charming. Plus she tags her blog posts by colour (and uses four different blues -- electric, royal, navy and cornflower!)

Update: Riot Pants

I spotted this story in today's Vancouver Sun and thought it answered one of the questions I asked after last week's Stanley Cup riots: if you stole clothing while looting a shop, how would you feel when you wore it? I often feel a strong connection to the context of a garment: where I bought it from, who I was with, and how I felt at the time. If I regret buying an article, the memory permeates the fabric, and it languishes in the back of my closet. If I associate a garment with a happy day, I love it all the more. The best memories cling to to clothes bought while traveling, or found at thriftshops. Thrifted clothes remind of me the a sense of possibility I felt while scouring the dusty racks: the thrill of finding something excellent than another person has overloooked and discarded and that can be bought for a song (and if it doesn't fit me, it might fit you).

All that is to say, I was not surprised that to read that a UBC student (who was caught on video looting a store) has returned her stolen pants.



The Vancouver Sun notes the "big smile" she wears while "flitting out of the broken front of Black & Lee Tuxedos." In the tightly cropped freeze-frame, she looks like she's laughing. Without the background of the riot visible, she looks like she's out shopping with friends.

Evidentally the ebulliance didn't last: in an online apology, she writes, "I am not proud of my actions and have made a visit to the Vancouver Police Department, over the weekend to turn myself in. The pants are being returned."

Book Notes: Modern Top-Down Knitting

Modern Top-Down Knitting: Sweaters, Dresses, Skirts and Accessories Inspired by the Techniques of Barbara G. Walker By Kristina McGowan STC Crafts, 2010





This collection of top-down knits is all about clean lines, simple stitch patterns and classic silhouettes. McGowan's use of solid neutral colours and vast swathes of stockinette seems to take more inspiration from women's ready-to-wear than it does from from other knitting designs. It's knitting at it's most wearable and flattering, which robs the book of the instant visual oomph of more playful knitting books (Debbie Stoller's Superstar Knits, Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits).

(See a gallery of all the designs in the book on McGowan's website).

Top-down seamless construction is increasingly popular, but the field is dominated by raglan designs, which are delightfully simple to design and knit but not as universally flattering as the classic set-in sleeve (the default sleeve style for contemporary clothing). A few designers have started offering seamless set-in sleeve designs, but there's definitely room for more. I was excited to see another title dedicated to Barbara Walker's top-down techniques.

Initially, I felt a little underwhelmed by the patterns. The colours were too restrained and the lines were too simple. Garments that probably look wonderful in person failed to leap off the page. A couple dresses caught my attention (Soho, page 29 and Suspension, page 57), but I'm still uncertain of my own ability to knit a dress that won't stretch out of shape, so I skimmed over them despite their charms. I didn't even notice the Promenade dress (p 139), with its short sleeves and cute pin-tuck details. It's is exactly the type of thing I swoon over in a store, but, knit in black and photographed on a bank of shady pavement, it recedes into the matte-finished page so much it's almost invisible.

It wasn't until I took a second look at the book that I saw some of the techniques that make this title really stand apart from other top-down collections. McGowan likes to use elastic cord to create gathers in her fabric (see the green ruffled tank). While gathers have been pretty popular in the last few years, they're a relative rarity in hand-knitting designs. At least six designs in the book use this technique. McGowan uses crochet to make a casing for a rounded elastic cord. Cleverly, the crochet also makes for a nice-looking edge that doesn't roll (an issue when you work with that much stockinette).



Check out the cap sleeves on the lavender-coloured Cecily sweater. This is the detail that caught my eye, and now I'm really intrigued by this technique. In fact, I wrote this post so I wouldn't forget about it.

Another notable trick is McGowan's use of trim to finish her edges. This is an idea taken from handsewing, where a narrow ribbon is used to finish the inside of hem, making the inside of the garment look as nice as possible. McGowan uses velvet ribbon, seam binding, and lace trim on her design to add structure and (again) keep the edges from curling. It's a slightly fussy extra step, but it looks great, and if you've already gone to the trouble of knitting an entire dress, you might as well add this pretty detail.

Final verdict: The photography and muted palette undermine McGowan's appealing designs, but a dedicated reader will find her outside-the-knitting-shop approach rewarding. Particularly recommended for intermediate knitters who crave classic, streamlined designs.

See also: My review of Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits, another book dedicated to top-down seamless designs.

A Startling Realization

I look a little bit like Tina from Bob's Burgers crossed with Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones.



(And also this.)

International Yarn Bombing Day

Last Saturday, I helped some Vancouver yarnbombers cover a statue near the Cambie Street Bridge in honour of International Yarn Bombing day.


That's Mandy (left) and me (right). All these photos are borrowed from the Yarn Bombing blog.

Even though I've been knitting for a few years and crocheting for longer than that, this was my first real yarn bomb. My friend Leanne organized this event and did most of the behind-the-scenes work of organizing knitting nights and sewing knitted panels together.



This is Leanne. She is like my friend Dory in terms of being an Awesome Person Who Does Things.

It was really neat to do a project with a loose group of people, most of whom I'd never met before. I met some really interesting people at our knitting nights (and I brought my mom to one, too!)

Perhaps the best part of all this is that I can see the statue every time I walk over the Cambie Street bridge to work. It makes me feel happy and connected to a great community of people whenever I look out across the water.

This is why we can't have nice things

This is a store near my workplace, on Graville Street. It was looted clean last night by rioters. I can't quite remember what it merchandise it contained the day before, even though I walk past it a few times a week. Luggage, maybe? Shoes?



The Vancouver Sun has many more photos of our looted shopping district here.

I wonder: when people wear the merchandise stolen from the Bay, H&M, and other downtown stores, are they going to look at themselves and remember how they obtained these clothes? Will that be a happy memory or a shameful one? Memories permeate all my favourite clothes. I don't think I could wear something that I knew had been stolen in this way.

What is it that makes people decide to set their own city on fire? How many of the looters were even from Vancouver? Why do we feel that things that happen downtown are fair game, somehow, even though lots of people live and work here? People are alienated from our downtown core. It's not a personal place, and many people don't feel attached to it.

The large bookstore, Chapters, had its windows smashed, but it doesn't look like any books were taken. That is not a joke.