"Painter Man" - The Strange and Brief Intersection of 1960s Mod Culture & 1970s Disco Culture

The original 1966 picture sleeve single of The Creation's "Painter Man" next to the Atlantic 45 label from Boney M.'s unusually rocking disco 1979 cover of the same song.

I have been a fan of 1960s music group The Creation ever since their song "Makin' Time" was featured prominently in Wes Anderson's 1998 film Rushmore.  They are one of the many "lost" and overlooked bands that emerged during the Beatles-influenced music explosion of the mid-1960s and are most notable for Eddie Phillips playing his guitar with a violin bow (years before Jimmy Page gave it a whirl).  

I have a weakness for 1960s Mod-era British music and an extreme fondness for late 1970s disco-era music.  So when I discovered 1970s European disco group Boney M. while searching for 1970s line dance clips from Soul Train on You Tube, I was seriously intrigued.  This is the first video I watched, an amazing (though lip-synced) performance of "Rasputin."  It must be watched to be believed:

     

 The futuristic space age-meets disco-meets new wave look of Boney M., circa 1979.


From "Rasputin" I quickly went to Spotify to find anything that I could by Boney M. and there I discovered their 1979 album Night Flight to Venus, an insanely fun disco trip into outer space and beyond.  And when I saw that the third track on the album was a cover of The Creation's "Painter Man" and that it's actually a tasteful and surprisingly kick-ass cover....I had it on rotation all day long.





So it is here, in Boney M.'s cover of "Painter Man" that the brief, strange and wonderful intersection of 1960s Mod culture and 1970s disco culture takes place!  Unusual since Boney M. was probably the epitome of manufactured disco groups of the 1970s, and ironic since The Creation was one of the most original and provocative forgotten music groups of the 1960s.

Shorts....with lots of fashion zing!

No, my latest sewing projects haven't been 1970s glam rock era hot pants (although the View 4 leopard print hot pants are very tempting).......but I have been sewing a lot of shorts!

My wardrobe is seriously lacking in this spring and summer wardrobe staple. In fact, I used to hate wearing them. But with a two year old boy who constantly wants to play outside, well, let's just say that dresses and skirts aren't the most appropriate attire for me to wear while accompanying him on his adventures!

I finally purchased this downloadable scalloped shorts pattern from Pattern Runway on Etsy! Only $9.50 and going to a good cause, in my opinion (YAY for independent pattern designers). I hope to start these this weekend and my plan is to make them with a dark blue crinkly linen fabric that I thrifted a while ago.

And I actually finished making View C from Simplicity 3850 from the Wendy Mullin "Built By You" pattern series several days ago (hope to post here very soon). I think it's obvious that this pattern would win the award for the absolute worst pattern envelope illustration ever.....the shirts are covering up the cute waistband, belt carriers and pocket design details! So thank goodness for simple line drawings:

Hopefully these shorts will fulfill a few spots in the "wardrobe basics" section of my closet and I can move on to sewing a couple of fun and frivolous designs next!

The Fashion Fund

Have any of you been watching The Fashion Fund? So far, this 30 minute documentary is 3 episodes in and is streaming for free here at Hulu! It follows the 10 finalists of the 2011 CFDA / Vogue fashion fund through panel interviews, fashion shows and lots more on their quest to win $300,000 towards their business and a mentorship. This program is a change of pace from the sometimes gimmicky weekly challenges of Project Runway (which I still love, by the way). The Fashion Fund is a highly recommended 30 minute weekly fashion fix!

My Latest Etsy Finds & Wants

Here's a peek at some of my favorite Etsy finds & wants!

Just in time for Spring! Sweet scalloped hem shorts PDF sewing pattern from PatternRunway.

Vogue Paris Original 2628: Super chic Alexander McQueen for Givenchy asymmetric double-breasted dress pattern from PatternVault. This one comes with a hefty price tag, but I would love the challenge of making this dress!

Pleated shirt PDF sewing pattern from SalmePatterns. Simple and pretty.

Colorful rainbow striped vintage 1970s wrap skirt from OldAge. One of my absolute favorite vintage clothing stores on Etsy!

Cute nautical knot rope bracelet by junghwa. I don't wear a lot of jewelry, but I think I would wear this quite often this Spring and Summer.

Completed Project: 1970s Betsey Johnson High Waist Pants

When I moved back to North Carolina almost 9 months ago, I unintentionally lost a lot of weight due to stress and other factors. I found that all of the pants and trousers that I'd put so much time into making no longer fit, which left me without a few essential wardrobe basics. So now, along with looking for thrifted vintage pieces, I'm trying to sew and build up my wardrobe again (with a 1970s slant, of course)! I used Butterick #3846 (a "Young Designer" pattern by Betsey Johnson) to make this pair of simple high waist pants:

Do forgive the dark and pixelated photos! I am well in need of a new camera (and some natural sunlight)!

I omitted quite a few details from the original design and opted to keep these pants extremely basic. I thought the extreme high waist fit and wide legs made enough of a statement. The original pattern design included huge patch pockets over the hips, round applique patches at the knees and a detachable bib.

I wore these out to lunch today and received a few nice compliments. The fabric that I used is a lightly slubbed medium weight denim-look cotton that I purchased with a huge lot of patterns at a local sale. I thought this type of fabric would be perfect for the transition from winter to spring - not too heavy or too light. The pants have a front zipper, wider than usual waistband and button closure.

I will definitely be wearing these often and I'm so glad to have a basic pair of high waist pants in my wardrobe again!

TOTAL PROJECT COST:

Fabric - approximately $1.00

Zipper - approximately $2.00

Pattern - $6.49 from Granni Gert's Attic @ Etsy

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$9.49

Sewing....How I've Missed You!

I can't believe this, but it's been almost 10 months since I've posted anything here on my sewing blog. Without going into specific details, let's just say that I've been going though a major life change and I'm now a single mom working full-time. It's been extremely difficult and sewing (sadly) hasn't been a major part of my life recently. I feel like I've missed out on so many possible sewing projects and not being able to sew as much as I used to has been like suffering a huge loss....like I've had a creative hole in my life for the past 10 months.

Things are looking up, though! I have a new project in the works and my goal is to start sewing and posting here regularly again. Here's the pattern I'll be using, an amazing Betsey Johnson of Alley Cat pattern, circa 1974:

I'll be making the high waist pants, without the detachable bib, from a nice lightweight dark denim chambray, perfect for the transition from winter to spring. Definitely time to start thinking about a home sewn spring wardrobe!

Completed Project: Waves Print Dress

This was a relatively speedy project for me! The total time spent cutting out and constructing was a little over 2 hours....because I didn't have to construct or hem the skirt!

I used an early 1980s pattern for the bodice, which is made from black ponte knit (the best knit fabric in the whole wide world to work with, by the way!). It has puff petal sleeves and I added a white embroidered floral collar to brighten up the bodice. The skirt is actually an upcycled vintage 1980s rayon skirt that I thrifted a while back. I love the crazy squiggly waves print and the bright primary colors! Altogether, a quite satisfying project for a very time-strapped person like myself!