Being a WOMAN......

Today is Gloria Steinen's 82nd birthday. I want to publicly thank her. She said alot of things that made sense. She taught me to be proud of who I am as a human being, and as a woman. Women are strong. We can take and we have taken alot of CRAP!

Let me show you a timeline that I researched. :

1920- women were finally allowed to vote. Thanks to Susan B Anthony

1921 Margaret Sanger founded the American Birth Control League. Now please understand, just because she founded it, did not mean things went smoothly. Birth control was hard to come by and abortions were out of the question.

1936- the government no longer classified birth control as obscene.   (gee thanks!)

1955 First lesbian organization is founded. They just wanted basic acceptance.

1960- The food and drug association approves of birth control pills. BUT...now you have to persuade your doctor to prescribe them for you. and if you were married, you had to have your husband's permission. Also in this same year, a man cannot commit his wife to a mental institution without just cause.

1963- Congress passed the equal opportunity act. Unfortunately this did not stop employers from reclassifying women's roles and giving them different titles so they got less pay. This still happens today.

1965- Finally.....even if you are married you MAY take birth control without your husband's permission. Isn't that nice of them?

1971- Gloria Steinem founded MS magazine. This magazine gave women alot of information and many men didn't like it. She forged on. and told women to band together and create a sisterhood.

1973- A woman gained the right to choose weather or not to have her child. Unfortunately many states still do not recognize this law.

1976- it is now illegal for a husband to force his wife into sexual relations

1978- a married woman can have her own bank account without her husbands consent.

I stopped here because I'm exhausted....and I was just trying to make a point. Point being: many women come into my vintage shop and say....I miss the 1950s!   I wish we were still back in the 1920s! NO NO NO!   Enjoy the fashions ladies....fashion just goes round and round....you can still wear the things from way back when. But who really wants to go back there? Look at all we had to fight for. And it was harder for Ethnic and African American women as well. This is not a 'put down' for men. This is an "appreciation" of how far women have come.  We are not second class citizens. Men cannot procreate without us and we cannot without them. We need each other. Men and women. We need to respect and value our gifts to humanity.

And so on Gloria Steinem's birthday, I would like to publicly claim my support to my sisters. ALL my sisters. All races, ethnicities, cultures and walks of life. We must support each other and hold each other together. Because at the end of the day, we hold the world together.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/25/ways-gloria-steinem-taught-us-to-be-better-women_n_5022031.html?

Rose Ellen A Moore

RCMoore for the Unique Millinery and Vintage Shop

1729 W Tilghman Street

Allentown, PA 18104

610-740-3820

www.rcmooreunique.com

Lets talk about something close to my heart....MY BRA!

Ladies, ladies, ladies,

I cannot stress the importance of a good fitting bra.   My daughter recently purchased our granddaughter GinaRose  her first bra. Now of course, being a 10 year old she is not in need of a cup fitting....she can basically put on a stretchy wide rubber band and be fine. BUT, it is important for young girls to know how important and basic to their wardrobe a good bra can be.

Working here in my shop, I adore all the beautiful darts that come with a 1940's, and 1950's dress. The workmanship is fabulous. The dress is so form fitted it can practically walk off the hanger itself. Long line bras and bullet bras were the rage at that time. I am amazed at the amount of women that come in the shop and their breasts are not in the right place. When a vintage garment is worn, the dress itself will tell you where to place your breasts. If your breasts are not there, you are either using them as a belt or stepping on them!

Back in the day, a woman would go to a lingerie shop or a corset shop and was fitted properly for an undergarment. Now we have places like Victoria's Secret, that focuses more on pretty lace and push up bras for cleavage and no emphasis is placed on a large breasted woman with a back problem, or the woman who has one breast a little larger than the other. I am amazed at how our society has taken a basic, useful garment and made it into an 'accessory' rather than a vital part of the wardrobe. It's always wonderful to wear a pretty bra, but that pretty bra must do a pretty darn good job of doing what it's supposed to do, or else it is useless!

So in short, I would like to express as strongly as I can to every woman out there......GET A GOOD BRA! One that puts your breasts in the right place. Your garments will fit completely different and much better. Also, your posture will be better and you will be thankful for that when you are in your 80's. And if you are in the market to try on clothing at a boutique, come with your very good bra on, and fitted properly and you will find more dresses, or tops that compliment your figure.

Now...put on your bra...and GO RULE THE WORLD!

www.rcmooreunique.com

Rose Ellen Moore

RCMoore for the Unique Millinery and Vintage

1729 W Tilghman Street

Allentown PA 18104

610-740-3820

Sunday nite Oscars and LEAP DAY!

So......Sunday nite,.....

 I had the extreme pleasure of going to the LGBT Pride in the Valley Oscar Party. The proceeds benefit the LGBT community center in Allentown PA. Why do I love this event? Why is it when they come to tell me, "what would you like to donate to the party?" I tell them,...take what you want. Seriously...that's how strongly I want to support this center. Why? My son is a gay male....and I watched him struggle through his teens with no one to talk to and feeling so utterly alone. Nothing hurts a parent more than to watch their child hurting mentally or physically. I wish we had a center where he could have gone to talk to other teens like himself. To feel comfortable. To feel accepted. No matter how many times Clayton and I told him we loved him...he couldn't love himself. He felt 'wrong'. So kudos to Stephen Libby for putting this event together. It's so nice to feel so much love in one room. If anyone missed it, please put it on your calendar for next year.

And the Oscars.....well......I'm sure that every fashionista is out their saying their opinions and of course you all know mine. Wear what you want to wear...be who you want to be. There were so many classy and beautiful gowns....and the tuxes this year were outstanding. But what I loved most of all, was that Chris Rock did an excellent job addressing the racism in Hollywood. Lady Gaga did an excellent job of representing victims of sexual abuse. Although I love fashion and colorful clothes...I love people that will take the bull by the horns and speak out about uncomfortable things. Only with dialogue can things start to move in a different direction.

and now here we are on Leap Day. It's more like Drag-my-butt day. I'm not used to staying out late and getting up at 3:30AM. Not anymore. Those days are done for me. But here I am. I won't even post a photo. When I took my husband to work this morning and I dropped him off, he ran like hell to the bus. He didn't even look back. Because he was afraid he would turn into a pillar of salt!  I have to speak to him about getting the windows darkened on the truck. I'm sure the people standing in line for tickets wanted to wash their eyes out with bleach. And even with hair up and alittle make up on, I still look like an old drag queen. Well, that's ok...............I guess I'm ready for next years' Oscar party!!!!!!!

Rose Ellen Moore

www.rcmooreunique.com

1729 W Tilghman Street

Allentown PA 18104

610-740-3820

Sadness

Everyone always sees me with a happy face. I always try to be positive and uplifting especially when there is always so much hate and sadness in the world.  But everyone has a bad day. Yesterday was mine. 

I won't go into all the horrifics, it's really not necessary. Just a brief rundown of the day started with a phone call from my mother, a torn contact lens in my eye, a friendship gone sour, a pulled shoulder muscle, a lost shipment of feathers, an 'encounter' with the heater man in my shop, among a few other things that unnerved me yesterday.  I felt like I was walking in the ocean and wave after wave kept knocking me down. As soon as there was a lull in the day, another problem came and it was beyond my control to fix it. 

And that is what we have to remember. Some things just cannot be controlled. They come and we must take them.  I used meditation, prayer and the support of my wonderful husband  and a great friend to get through the day.  It's now a memory that won't be forgotten, but the pain is lessened. A bad day is like a woman going through childbirth. We have to go through the pain. We take them, as bad as they are, and then at the end, we have this beautiful child. In a bad day, we take all the lashes, and on the next day, it's only a memory and everything starts to heal. 

So when you look at me with this big smile, remember, some days that smile is not there. And some days I cry my eyelashes off and some days it's just SHIT! But as long as the sun comes up in the morning, we can start over. I start my diet again. (HAHA!) I call my mom again.....I just start again. And everything turns out exactly the way it's supposed to. 

Rose Ellen Moore

www.rcmooreunique.com

RCMoore for the Unique Individual Millinery and Vintage Shop

1729 W Tilghman Street

Allentown PA 18104

610-740-3820

I want pretty fingernails........................

When I share something in my blogs, it's only because I want other women to know that they are not alone in their struggle. The struggle to shave your legs with 3 kids bangin on the door...the struggle to color your hair without making a mess of the bathroom or have it run down your bathrobe. The struggle to put on a spanx/girdle of any kind. The struggle of finding the right pair of panty hose. I read and read so many blogs about fashion...what looks good on what figure etc etc. But I want women to know that I am you....I AM THE WOMAN that is REAL. I don't get out of bed and look fresh as a daisy. Honey, my daisy wilted  years ago. I have weathered heart valve issues, thyroid issues (still going through that) which made my hair-fall-out issues,I have glued my eyes shut trying to figure out how to put on eyelashes, I have gained weight, lost weight and gained weight again. I have 6 children doing all kinds of things and some talk to me and some not at one time or another. I have 2 granddaughters that are beautiful, and a boutique where I work constantly.

This morning, I would like to talk about fingernails. Can we just talk about how much I want my hands to look nice? I really do. But I have found after 6 years of being a milliner, my hands have suffered extreme trauma. On my right hand I have a nodule on my thumb which I believe is a ganglion cyst. It is sore and it is lessening as time goes on, but it is bothersome. I have a lump on my pinky on my right hand because I jammed this finger stretching buckram so tight around a pizza pan. Yes...don't ask me my methods of doing things..they are very avant garde. I also caught my thumb under the sewing machine, thus sticking the needle in it. This is just on my right hand. On my left hand, I had a catastrophe with a screwdriver the other day trying to pry an old watch open. So the ball of my hand is very swollen. I looked at my hands yesterday and thought that even though I am 53 years old, my hands look so old and ugly. So, on my journey to the grocery I bought KISS press on nails. For 5.00 you can have the hands that every man would want to touch! YES, LADIES! For 5.00!!!!!  These nails are already painted, and ready to go...all you do, is glue, press and GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I bought the flaming red ones. Because I'm a flaming red kind of gal. I measured each one to my finger. They gave me a choice of super glue, or gel tabs. I wanted the easiest, I chose the gel tabs. So..without further adieu, I started gel tabbing and sticking the nails one by one. I didn't read the fine print that said I had to wait for 30 min for the gel tabs to set. So I went about my business of going to work. I stopped at \Produce Junction for veggies. ( a little fruit and veggie outlet in Allentown PA) After paying for my stuff, I picked up my bag only to have my index finger pop off and hit the poor man in the forehead. He picked my nail off the counter and handed it to me. No exchange of words. What could he say?  I looked down at my hands and saw that I had lost 3 nails. Where were the other 2?  I started to panic? I hope no one finds them in the vegetables!  When I got in the car, I looked in the rear view to put on my lipstick. Only to find my other 2 nails dangling from my bangs! I came to work and patiently put all three back on. I'm persistent. I want my hands to look pretty today, DAMMIT!  It's 10:35AM......my goal today is keeping all 10 of my nails on until 6PM...at which time I am ripping all of them off!!!!!


Tomorrow I'm wearing gloves.....................

www.rcmooreunique.com

Rose Ellen A Moore

RCMoore for the Unique Millinery and Vintage

1729 W Tilghman Street

Allentown PA 18104

610-740-3820

it's you I like..............

You know...Clayton and I are blessed. We say it every day. We are amazed at how many wonderful and kind people we have met since we opened our business. We have had some jerks too...but they are few and far between.

We have been blessed with a store that has drawn many different types of people together. People that would not normally know each other. I won't even begin to label all the different people. Because I hate labels so much. But I will say that every single one of them is different, beautiful and fabulous in their own way.

As I was scrolling through my YouTube List of favorites the other day, I came across this song by Mr. Rogers. He was a big part of my growing up. In a home full of loud people and an often chaotic atmosphere, he was a calming voice. And I was convinced he never said an unkind word about or to anyone. He sang this song many years ago....something I always remembered and it applies to every one of my customers. Look...he's not a rap guy....he's not anywhere near Justin Timberlake....but these words.......these words are so true.....so remember our dear friends......it's you we like............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai9-r1Op8TE

It's you I like,
It's not the things you wear,
It's not the way you do your hair
But it's you I like
The way you are right now,
The way down deep inside you
Not the things that hide you,
Not your toys
They're just beside you.

But it's you I like
Every part of you.
Your skin, your eyes, your feelings
Whether old or new.
I hope that you'll remember
Even when you're feeling blue
That it's you I like,
It's you yourself
It's you.
It's you I like.

My life with my husband

I miss my husband working in our shop with me. He had to go back to NYC because we needed health insurance. (I have some issues)  I am grateful that he is making the sacrifice for me. Today is our anniversary. When people ask us how long we have been together, I feel like telling them, forever. I feel as though this man was created just for me.

I went through a bitter divorce. I will say nothing of X number 1....only to say that we were children when we got married. And when we grew up neither of us liked the other. I quickly married another man because I felt my children needed a 'father'. Well I married someone that I will only say was a 'mistake'. and it didn't last long. I was resigned to living my life alone with my 4 children. I was sad and I was lonely. People tried to fix me up with dates...and one by one I discarded all of them after 1 date. I thought....is this what is left in the world for me? how sad. I thought, I have my own house, 3 cars, I can provide for my children...so I'll just stay by myself. I did...but I wasn't happy about it.

I enjoyed playing 'Trivia Chat' on America Online. I love jeopardy...I love trivial pursuit..and I would put my children to bed at night, sit at the computer with a glass of wine and play Trivia. Because  Clayton couldn't spell Mississippi, I won the game. And he was upset. I told him he was stupid....and  so started the relationship of RCMoore. We talked on the phone for 6 months. I was afraid. REALLY afraid. Little did I know...so was he. But after months of talking on the phone, I felt I knew this man better than I knew myself. I fell in love with him on a Thursday.....at 4PM. He said something...I don't remember what...and the words tumbled out of my mouth. "I really love you...as a person"...and I felt stupid, but it was true. Even if nothing came of this, I felt he was a beautiful person...and I had to tell him so.  He said he was coming to see me...and I was petrified...but when he came, he never left. It was if he came home. He fit in.....

Has it always been perfect? OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!   we have had some serious fights, we had children problems and ex mate problems....all kinds of stupidness. But at the end of the day...I got his back and he has mine. We have been poor, and we have had money, we have been so sad, and we have rejoiced together. The most important thing is that we were always FOR each other. Always backed each other up......that's the key. And so on this anniversary I would like to say to my dear husband and mate and friend...Clayton..I would do it all again. I would suffer all the problems we did again, just to have all the beautiful joys again....because our good times totally outweighed our bad times. And if anyone reads this, and you are married.....hang on to each other. This world is tough. Learn to laugh and to weather the storm. It's soooooooo worth it!  

The sad task of choosing vintage clothing....................

I know all of you are wondering about this title. The SAD task of choosing vintage clothing? Why would it be sad? Well.....let me tell you about last week...

My husband Clayton and I were called to a home about 4 hours away...we got there very late and very tired. (it was after work) The gentleman that called was in his 90's and his wife had just passed away 1 month previous. He invited us to his home to look at her things, hopefully make a few dollars as he had incurred many expenses to keep her at home in her last years.

When we walked in, I noticed that the home was very sparse. He told me he had been selling off his antique furniture and wall hangings to pay medical bills. As he took me to the room that had a large cedar closet I was reminded of going through my great aunts things after she had passed. Going through my grandmother's things when she had passed...going through my father's things.....and remembering all the wonderful memories and all the happiness and all the pain.

He sat in a chair and Clayton was standing there ready to receive the things that I chose. I looked at the man, (I'll call him T)....and I asked him, where did she wear this funky skirt? and his eyes lit up..and he told a story. And we laughed.  And so began the ritual. I asked the question and he told the story. All of a sudden the pain was gone and laughter made it go away. This went on for about an hour and a half. We became bonded. Bound by the stories of his wife who was talented, smart and funny. She died simply of old age. He was talking to her and she was belly laughing and then all of a sudden she died. What a great way to go! But we are NEVER ready to lose our spouses, or anyone that we love. When we left there, I hugged him really hard. I told him to keep in touch. Call me, or write a letter ( I love to write letters) But I don't think that will happen. As I said, he is in his 90's, bad eyesight, poor walking ability, doesn't drive. He gave me one of her knick knacks.

On the way home, I looked at my husband and I said...'if you got sick, I want to be the one to take care of you, because I love you so, and no one will take care of you like me.'   He said the same...and we held hands and drove home in silence. At the end of our life, what is left? A few pieces of clothing and some knick knacks. Everything you own doesn't mean anything, only the love remains. Clayton and I are blessed that we have the task of reviving antique clothing...we also revive the stories that are passed with them. Because in passing the story that T told us, his wife remains alive in memory. So, whoever buys that funky skirt, will be told the story of a woman in 1960 who wore it to a house party and pigged out on the fondue pot and got horribly sick.  Now someone else can go to a party in that cool skirt....and have fun, just like T's wife.... and now SHE will create a new memory. And life goes on.....................................

Rose Ellen Moore

www.rcmooreunique.com

1729 W Tilghman Street

Allentown PA 18104

610-740-3820

First day at the gym........................

Ok...so everybody knows that I gained about 60 pounds since I purchased my brick and mortar business in 2013. I'm chained to the machine or I'm always at my worktable pressing hats, decorating hats, sewing.....I haven't been taking care of myself.   Of course it doesn't help that I eat ice cream all the time, and I eat pasta and carbs....so today...today was the day. September 28, 2015.  I decided today was the day, so help me God. So...down the street from my house is Planet Fitness. It is 5.00 to join and  10.00 per month. GREAT!   I signed up and they gave me a free T shirt and a tour and I decided today was THE day!

So I dropped my hubby off at the bus at 4:10 and went right to Planet Fitness. Four people were using the facilities. Not bad. Not intimidating.  So I jumped on the treadmill and I thought...well...I'll just start with a 30 min  cardio and then do some machines for 30 min. Well...my 20 year old mind thought that, but my 53 year old body wasn't agreeing.  So I jumped on the treadmill with gusto ...headphones in place to listen to all the great music that I prepared to motivate me. Eye of the Tiger, , some old rap stuff and of course, Earth Wind and Fire. Midway through Eye of the Tiger, my eyes were popping OUT!. I was on the stupid machine for all of 2 minutes and I thought I was going to die! I persevered.....I was determined to stay on for 30 minutes, dammit!!!!  I was walking at 3.5 very brisk at an incline of 4.0 and I burned 414 calories. It took me 39 minutes to walk 2 miles. I feel very bad about it, but very good at the same time. It's really not about the losing weight part...it's about the feeling better part. I do feel better. After it was over, I thought...I can't wait until tomorrow! Tomorrow I will do better! and the day after that! with my new T shirt! YAY! The first cut is the deepest, right? and the first day at the gym is the hardest. Looking at myself in the mirror with my workout clothes on, hanging on to the handles of the treadmill for dear life......I said, "screw the machines, I'm going home."....but tomorrow...yes......tomorrow......as Scarlett O'Hara says, "Tomorrow is another day!" 

Fashion Week? more like EGO week

  As a creative person, I would like to express my sadness to see a wonderful tradition like Fashion Week lose it's luster.  It seems that everyone is entitled to have a 'fashion line' and everyone with enough money can be a designer. You know that I have written about this before...but it's becoming more evident as years go on, ( and I am in my mid 50's, so I have seen a few years) that the respect and class for the art is gone.

There are good and bad things about fashion week. One of them is, we don't always see emaciated models like we did in previous years. We are now celebrating the curves of a woman's body and because of that, 'real' women are now fashionable and accepted. Also, there is more diversity in culture and that's wonderful as well.

But it seems that anyone who has some bucks, can put their name on something and call it their fashion line. A musician, a tennis player, a basketball player, an actress and just this morning, Wendy Williams is announcing that she is dipping her toe into the fashion world. It pains me, because I see many many very wonderful designers, who pin, sew, cut and cry over many creations. Yet they can't seem to catch a break because their wallets are light. But anyone who is famous , can now put their name on something that they haven't even had a hand in making. They chose a design...that's nice. They chose a zipper and button. Congratulations. Do you know what it's like to be so tired that you sew something to your own pants? Do you know what it's like to have a deadline and yet you can't get that dart quite right?

I have a couple tailors that help me here in the shop. Their opinion, artistic view and concept matter just as much as mine.  And I won't be ashamed to say, that many of them who are academically trained, sew much better than me. I am self taught. I watched my mother and my grandmothers and I am determined, which makes my life a living hell sometimes. If I can't do it, I keep at it until I can.


This blog is dedicated to every person who created something from scratch. Whether it turned out or not. For the people who try. For every pin you put into your garment for every stitch that you had to rip out and do over.  We at RCMoore appreciate you...we appreciate your art and your love that you have for it.

Drink a glass of wine for me tonight and toast all of these designers that we will never see..........

Rose Ellen A. Moore

RCMoore for the Unique Millinery and Vintage

1729 W Tilghman Street

Allentown PA 18104

610-740-3820

www.rcmooreunique.com

https://www.facebook.com/rc.moore.7