Off to the ball....

It is that enchanted time of year, and after going through my mahogany wardrobe several times, I found this treasure. I picked it up in a London auction house back in June 2010.  I did pay a ROYAL price. Someone said  it was once owned by a certain princess. I think this portrait of my great grandmother must have inspired me...though I think my dress is .... well... it may be.....just a tad more interesting than hers.  I'll be slipping into this after I have had time to freshen up from the train ride from Auburn to Dublin!  I think we will be arriving in just a short time. There is a very special person in the compartment next to me. (And we know where we're going.) Be at the station if you want to get a peek at my oh so daaaaaarhling companion for this year's gala along the banks of the Scioto...under a full moon,,,,where the magic has a glow all its own. 

Miss Willow is weaving another tapestry of music and dance and romance....don't be late, now!

Next Stop: Willow Manor Ball 2011

 Great Grandmother Rebecca Cameron ......I must say she looks ready for any ball!

HOT Couture! Thank You, House of Elliot!

The House of Elliot: Beatrice & Evie

Hotter than an Alabama Summer!

If anyone really wants to know what happened in Episode 4 (some devoted fans swear there is one) of The House of Elliot, here's the scoop: The two Elliot sisters, Evie and Beatrice made their way to to the Southeast and set up an exclusive but small design shop in East Alabama....and we Steel Magnolias are keeping them busy.

After watching all three seasons last summer, I knew these two could create the finest interpretation of Madame X's gown, and here it is!
I posed for a local photographer right there in their offices. With my hair up, my super cyber diet and hours at the spa and the vigorous laps in the swimming pool, I have managed to achieve a most glamorous look, if I do say so myself. The Colonel asked me if I would be wearing this to have some fried catfish at his favorite diner, Jim Bob's....and well... I had to tell him that Coop was waiting outside in his Duesenberg! He smiled and said, "Go have fun....college games on TV tonight. See you when you get back....but I want to take the Duesenberg to Jim Bob's Friday night. OK?"
You got it, Lover!

Here is a layout so you can compare their work--my gorgeous gown

for tonight--to the Singer portrait.


And thank you Gaston Studios for your suggestion that I could leave off the pearl choker!
I don't want anything to inhibit me on the dance floor.

Ball Gown in Black, Please!

Don't ask me why, but I for some reason I had decided that I really should wear black this year. I suppose it could have something to do with the visual effect of taking away the pounds. I like a sleeve most of the time, but the ones on this gown were just so plain......

so.......I finally decided on no sleeves at all! I have taken this image of John Singer Sargent's Madame X (Portrait of Madame Gautreau, 1884 oil on canvas, Tate Gallery, London) to my dress maker ! She is a marvel at forgery when it comes to needle and thread and taffeta! I have been in for several fittings, and I am collecting the dress this evening!
Now, where is my pearl choker???

It's A Duesey

Some women may want to know what they are going to wear to
a fancy ball before they think about how they will get there. I have long been enamoured with elegant automobiles, and today came across these newspaper clippings. Now -- yes, I have been talking to my dressmaker about a certain evening gown I have always admired, but first I had to know how I was going to get to Willow Manor. I called up an old flame --you know 1-800-AFTALIF 0r 1-800-GR8BYON --and asked if he still had his Duesey--said I needed a ride to the most fabulous social event this side of the Mississippi. Actually, I was just going to borrow his car and go alone. He seemed very curious. I added a little extra intrigue and said that I had heard George Sanders was going to be the guest of honor. I whined about how I had to drive my own car last year, because my date was just a sweet little ole country lawyer from Maycomb. He gasped, and asked was this same ball where the likes of Al Pacino, Rudolph Nureyev, and Miss Piggy had been seen on the dance floor and meeting behind the palms ? He began to gush:

" You have an invitation to the Willow Manor Ball? Really? I heard Gregory Peck and some others just raving about that last October. Well, I am pretty sure I can get to your house by mid week if I start out in the morning. I may have to retrieve the Duesenberg from a museum, but I will be by to pick you up, and then we will head north to the ball! It's pretty quiet up Here on the great movie set in the sky. I am ready for something a little more Down to Earth, if you know what I mean!"

So, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the ball? Click above on Willow Manor Ball or the link in my sidebar. As for me, looks as if I have a great ride, my gown is in the making, and my escort is not too bad either...just lucky I guess!

Behind the Scenes at Willow Manor: This Just In!

I just bumped into Miss Piggy in the powder room, and she told me that she had secretly arranged a dance with a long lost flame of hers......a man from Russia she said....and she swooned on the chaise lounge dreamily.......I asked her if that was the same man who had been wandering around alone asking for her earlier...and she flew out of that room and disappeared into the the ballroom faster than I can order bacon & eggs!
What's all this fuss.?....Could it be........Nureyev.......DANCING here at the Manor???
(Click on this post title to see one of the highlights of Willow's Ball!)
Derrick .......your date is absolutely stunning in Swine Lake!

The Light Fantastic

I rolled into Maycomb this evening just in time to catch the spirit of Gregory Peck hovering around the old Monroe County Court House. The American Film Institute has recently voted his portrayal of Atticus Finch as the number one hero of 20th century films.

No wonder he is so fond of this guy!

Not surprisingly, he was reading over To Kill a Mockingbird and remembering his dear friend. He had been expecting me he said. He pointed me down the street just a few blocks from the court house to the front porch where I would find Atticus in his rocking chair. As I walked away, I heard him say softly, "Make sure he has a wonderful time, and give your hostess my best regards!"

The court house is actually a museum...a perfect haunt for the ghostly likes of Mr. Peck.

"Good evening m'am. May I help you find someone?"

"A ball....at Willow Manor? I had a strange dream about that....Gregory Peck said I should get out of Maycomb for just once......branch out......live a little.......have a ball. Hmmm?

Well, let me see if my tux still fits."

I showed him my dress...just to prove I was not too over the top...just a little understated elegance....a little jewelry, my favorite garnet with gold earrings and and matching delicate bangle!

Suede dancing slippers. Hair pulled back in a French braid. Just the faintest hint of Shalimar...

I do love my slippers!

" A little Peck on the cheek for taking me to the ball, and then I'll change"

"Will this do? Not bad for a little ol' lawyer from Alabama?"

"Perfect, just perfect, Atticus!"

And we are off, tripping the light fantastic on the road to Willow's!

We'll be arriving any moment!

On our way to the ball!

Many thanks to the Colonel and fellow car guys for polishing up my 1930 Phantom Rolls-Royce and priming the engine for the grand tour to collect my escort from the small Alabama town where he is quietly living despite his great fame. Yes, after having channeled the spirit of his dear friend and alter ego, the most distinguished Gregory Peck, I have successfully coaxed Mr. Atticus Finch from the town of Maycomb to join me at this year's Willow Manor Ball. Miss Harper Lee has graciously agreed to watch over the children, Jem & Scout, with the help of Boo Radley, who loves the little tykes as we learned from the poignant ending of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. You may recall, that Atticus, a widower, devoted all of is time to practicing law, to justice, and to his children. I just decided it is high time that this man had a night out! The Mocking bird is on the wing, and we are on the road!!!

Looking for that certain dress...

Up early for a dash to New York City and the dress salon at Lord & Taylor. I explained to the sales lady that I was looking for a dress for a very special ball....that I loved the English country house look....
She brought out this one of a kind....now I like old fashioned things.....but this was a little too far back in the Way Back Machine ----even for me! Lady Macbeth I am not. Let's try something a little more up to date.

Now this was certainly ball worthy, but way too modern for me,
and looks more like a wedding gown. Next....

This one was almost as lovely as the model, but certainly not for right me.

Then, of all people at Tavern on the Green (I had to break for lunch) there was Charlotte Moss.... well I could not very well ask for her dress.....but I would love to know how to find her designer.....she has some gorgeous taffeta evening skirts I have seen in some magazines paired with very femine white blouses.

Then I passed a shop specializing in vintage clothes.....and I was getting closer ....this 1930's beauty was so elegant...so Katharine Hepburn......but the color was all wrong for me.



Naturally I wanted to check out jewelry at Tiffany's...surely I could find just the dress to crown with the tiara and matching diamond necklace and earrings!


Then I remembered a dress I had seen in one of Sargent's paintings....a Mrs. Chapman I believe......not time to copy it .....but wait........it reminds of something I had seen in England once upon a time......so across the Pond!

Once in London, I make my way north to the walled city of York. To my great joy and and surprise, I find my dear old friends still in business (I call this Willow Magic)... and there in the window...dresses, dresses, and dresses galore in the style I love.....and yes there is velvet! I am just a velvet kind of girl! I did spend more time than the 15 minutes I had spent there the first time I visited. Once inside, I meet owner and designer Angela Holmes sent by the angels to rescue the total lack of imagination and romance in current fashions. She walks to a collection of velvets...and the rest-- as they say--is history. At last, I have the perfect gown for the ball!

Once back home....I must make plans to call on a very famous and much admired Southern gentleman. Though he has been honored and celebrated, he has never made the Most Eligible Bachelor's List, or has even been on a date as far as I know. I am determined that he will be my escort...I think he may be sort of shy. I will ask a close friend of his...and get a few tips.