An (IN)DECOROUS Christmas

Happy holidays!!!

Clearly, I love sparkly crystal as much as the next person but I'm sort of sick of "elegant" silver trees. The Plaza has a tack-tastic, vomitous pink thing in their lobby (has anyone else seen it?) It had Betsey Johnson pink presents underneath it and I think it involved zebra of some variety.  It was radioactive, and so, I was taken with it for all of three minutes before I realized there were about three ornaments on it and the whole thing is plastic.  But kudos to them for going for in-your-face color. Enough about trees. Mine are always better.

Birthday

On Friday, I celebrated my birthday and so, hosted a little dinner for my nearest and dearest used it as a giant excuse to make a really unabashed tablescape complete with several things that probably should not make it onto a birthday table.  Like skull votive holders.  Honestly I would never subject a friend (unless equipped with a healthily sick sense of humor) to this sort of memento mori dinner ensemble, but...  It's my birthday and I can dress my table as the inanimate embodiment of Morticia Addams if I want to.

I took my cake very seriously!  All cakes should be at least as large as your upper torso. Rule of thumb.

The Gin Habit

I've been using these gin bottles as candle holder — light reflectors.  They do a great job at creating a nice, bizarre blue glow at night, reflecting the candles (however, I hate that they're dripless!) in an old iron electric chandelier from which I removed most of the wirey guts.

Epic Proportions

I love silk scarves. Wear one as a turban: you're a diva, Joan Crawford.  Wear one as a scarf, you've gone the other way: it's bon chic bon genre! Use it to tie up your beaux, you're a luxe-ified Marquis de Sade.  Instant glamour!

The problem is, I am certain that these scarves are reproducing in my closet, slowly choking out the rest of my accessories like WEEDS and planning to stage a revolution.

They demand attention, these weedy wonders.  When I see the massive, heaping, slippery pile of them, it  occurs to me a shame that there aren't enough days in the week to wear them all, unless I change turbans at four hour intervals and that requires more commitment to the cause than even I'm willing to make.

Which brings me to my preferred solution: the enormous silk scarf pillow.  I love their drama.  Like Norma Desmond, these pillows (if you can even call them that) are larger than life. The size makes them a visual production of grand proportions.

So, onto the (IN)DECOROUS drama class:

Select a pillow insert size and cut a square of lining one inch larger around than the pillow. I used a 26" pillow, so my square was 27"x 27".  Round the corners (you can use a cup to trace the rounded edges). I used a simple cotton fabric as lining.  (And, if you're looking for something even larger, it's definitely possible to find 36" square inserts...)

Lie the lining on the scarf and center it.  Pin it in place, and trim the edge.

Then, make the back of the pillow by cutting two rectangles from the lining. You want them to overlap.  So, divide the length of the pillow in half and add around 5 or 6 inches of fabric to that number to get the length of each rectangle. For this 26" pillow, that would mean two rectangles, both measuring 27"x 18.5".  The 18.5" thing isn't an exact science though, so don't sweat it.  Place the lining on the fabric you plan to use for the pillow back, pin it and trim it.  Round the corners so they match up with the front.  Fold the middle piece over and hem it.



If you're using edging (you don't need to), pin it onto the pillow front (good side), facing inward towards the center of the pillow.  Then pin the backs onto the pillow, good sides facing in.  So it's a big pillow sandwich.  When the whole thing is pinned, it should look thoroughly inside out.

Sew it.  By hand...by machine... either way works.  Was that clear?

So next time your scarves start acting up, put them in their place.  Few things make me as happy as dramatic proportions.

Additions

I added a new "Flea" section to the (I)D store, for one-off vintage pieces that I've reworked (painted, embellished, etc), and interesting objects, furnishings and accessories that I run across (because much as I'd like, I can't keep it all.  Although I may try.).  It'll be updated frequently, too.

Because there's only one of everything that's listed, there's no wait time for the shipping.  

Reworked vintage lucite bags, id-taste.com.

Soft Spots

I think that we've all got our soft spots.

By soft-spots, I mean, the opposite of "deal breakers." Deal-breakers are those vile, irksome qualities that send one sprinting, a reason to drop whatever it is that's clearly broken, but soft spots? Soft spots seal the deal, they make whatever it is impossible to resist- drop it in my cart, I'll take it to go, and yes, please, I'll have another 5, despite the fact I already have three that are just like it and so clearly I shouldn't need one more... You know, that frenzied feeling? (This may be applicable to...other situations...as well... no claims there.)

Anyway, a while ago, I met this thick, fatty biker leather, and it swept me off my feet in all its gnarled, pebbled, textured glory.  It's a soft spot for me.  Handbags made in it? YES please! Shoes? Jackets? Shorts? Pillows? AHHH the possibilities are endless... I can get carried away with these things. Luckily (unluckily?), I've been seeing more and more of it lately.  Alexander Wang has been doing a lot of bags in it (I'm sure you've seen them x 12310239), and allegedly, somewhere, they make chaps from it (although chaps are a rather frightening garment, no?), but I've been sort of possessed by this idea of using it as upholstery.  It's all well and dandy that I can wear it, but I want my chairs to wear it too.  See, I told you! It's one of my soft spots.




Finally, I got around to that, and I'm so delighted with the results I'd like to do something larger in it.  Like a sofa (ahhhh, it's a sickness!).  But for now, you might recognize these chairs.  Remember Karl?? Poor Karl, I buried him. Somehow, I don't think he'd mind the transformation.  I kept the hefty, pebbled black leather simple and painted on a metallic bee insignia.  The metallic brings out the lumpiness of the leather; this can only be a positive.  Its counterpart is dressed in a Tony Duquette inspired painted jewel upholstery and my other new endeavor...striped leather.  Stripes are one of those things that I feel like I'm always on the hunt for.  Especially a thick, black and white striped leather.  After coming to the conclusion that it doesn't exist, I made it.  Stripes are another of my soft spots (if you could see my closet, you'd die laughing  and perhaps draw the conclusion that I have a secret life as a referee).

This beaded necklace is so ugly (beautiful), I cannot even wait to wear it.  I think it may have been part of the inspiration for the green jeweled upholstery. I bought it at a thrift shop after an older lady decided against it.  She was clearly torn ("It's just lovely, but its so...GREEN" is what she said.) HA! She might have had green issues, but I do NOT.

As for the bag on the chair... ring lizard.  I'll tell you all about it in a little.  After designing a new handle/chain for it, it's become one of my favorites.  New soft spot?

Vintage jewelry, (I)D Taste hand painted leather upholstery (available here).  

New Things

Added a section for hand painted leather upholstery to the shop, check it out!

The Birds

It wasn't my intent, but I think I could pass for the Bride of Frankenstein.  Or, Frankenstein's Bride after she wandered onto Hitchcock's set for The Birds, ha.  I love this updo so much I wore it all day yesterday, and today... Too bad everyone assumes it's something to do with a Halloween costume, because it wasn't at all! Halloween, stealing my thunder.

Oh, and this is the backdrop from a couple posts back.  It's coming along, still not complete though.

Photography, styling, painting by (I)D.

Identity Crisis

Time in the studio, a zebra commode, tortoise panel, epically scaled grotesques ... just a few things in the works!

Sometimes I just really need to reevaluate the things I'm storing and living with, or else I get this urge to deep ditch everything and sequester myself in a white box (HAHA, can you imagine?? That would be hell.).  I'm not entirely sure why this happens, but for peace of mind, I've begun this massive wardrobe re-evaluation, and in the process I ended up discovering these graphic dresses, along with a whole host of other things I'd forgot I'd owned!  I guess that's why they call it "shopping the closet"? For me, it becomes a question of how I can rework something, what I see in it that I hadn't seen before.

Also, the blog has been having a little identity crisis, in case you haven't noticed.  Right now, it's BACK at it's original home, www.indecoroustaste.com, and the site has moved to http://id-taste.com .  This is how it's going to stay, promise! You can still access the blog at its blogspot address, but the whole thing was just too confusing and I hope this clears things up a lot.   Is your head spinning yet? (I)D is feeling like itself again...

Added one more harness to the collection, too.  It's completely stripped down and basic (is this a trend for me today?), just perfect leather straps and brass hardware, nothing else.  I'm only selling it in pairs ($75) So take a look if you're into that...

Photography, styling, design, painting by (IN)DECOROUS TASTE.

Make an Entrance

Updated to add: The link has been updated! Thanks for letting me know it wasn't working.

Bloglovin' follwers: Please click HERE to update your (IN)DECOROUS TASTE subscriptions! Or, start following.  Chopchop. 

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this image I re-found on my desktop.  The doors were a collaboration with my mom, from... a while back.  Faux bois/ebony... They're beastly to shoot because they're in a narrow foyer.  But they make an impact!

Up and Running...

EDITED: To make things less confusing, I will be moving the blog back to its old address at www.indecoroustaste.com.  (This should happen within the next couple of days.  You can still access it by its blogspot address, though, too.) The website has already been moved to www.id-taste.com. I really hope this makes things easier!

The site and shop are up!

Hope you enjoy...the shop section is set up and ready for orders.  And really, don't hesitate to contact me with questions, at lauren.tennenbaum@gmail.com.

PS I'm going to have more time for blogging now. Expect more posts.

Mannequins

In conjunction with the site relaunch (see my last post), I shot some of the things I've been working on and crazy about (nude feet, boxy lucite bags!!, warm palettes (I'm a little sick of cool?) , gold chains, brass...). The nude body suit (dancer's unitard, actually) is a shocker. I wasn't expecting it to be the most practical garment in the universe, but I want to wear it with everything! Blazers, skirts, giant fur coats, leopard, leather, lace...

Also, I finally got around to making a crystal spine harness.

Painted verdure, styling, table, photography, upholstery, harnesses, etc. by (IN)DECOROUS TASTE. Thanks, Cristin, for the help photographing and styling.

Guess What?

EDITED: Due to a ton of confusion, I'm moving the blog back to www.indecoroustaste.com.  (But you can still get here via indecoroustaste.blogspot.com.) The site is  now located at www.id-taste.com.  I hope this will make things easier!

Updated: Launching on Tuesday.
Hey hey hey! First thing's first: Update your bookmarks: bookmark (IN)DECOROUS TASTE at its blogspot url, indecoroustaste.blogspot.com . WTF WHY!? Well...

In case you've been wondering what project has swallowed me alive for the past month, I've been prepping for the launch of an (IN)DECOROUS TASTE site and shop. The site will be located at indecoroustaste.com, and it'll be a more organized place to keep images of my work, along with a continually updated selection of pieces I'll make available for sale.

Guess what? It's ready, finally, and will be up on Monday Tuesday for orders.

Because it was important to me that everything be perfect, I'm starting small and launching an edited down collection of 6 harnesses. It's been a trip, just sourcing materials to find the best quality hardware and leather imaginable (I practically live in a heap of leather!)... prepping the site, photoshooting, ironing out all of those pesky incidentals. But yeah, you can now rest assured that the leather is gorgeous and the brass hardware is lush, and the straps are long enough to wear them on...anything. Also, the crystals are plexi so that they don't shatter when you wear them. You'd never know by looking at them or even feeling them though, I swear.

Here's a preview: