FEUD: Joan & Bette – Fierce Females & A Style Oasis

Last night I watched the finale of FX’s “Feud: Joan & Bette” and it was everything I had possibly hoped it could have been and more. What a fantastic series and I’ll now be mourning the end of its run as it gave me the much needed glamour and 50’s-60’s style escape weekly. The costumes, hair/makeup, and set designs were creatively amazing and gave me a taste of the Mad Men TV era all over again but this time with two powerful leading ladies in the drivers seats. WIN. Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford was unbelievably-believable and amazing at portraying the icon and I couldn’t get enough of her, so much so that I’m almost wanting to talk a bit breathless and wasp-like today, as she did, just because it was so good. SO GOOD.

But the ending…this kept me up all night. It was effective as it kept me up all night tossing into Monday morning thinking about getting older and what my life story will be. I pray I don’t end up like Joan, alone in a room with my paid-for-maid, and my children loathing me with my mind lost. It made me think about my bucket list items, how short our time here is on earth, and how many more things the Mr. and I want to do together as well as individually. Time to dust that paper off and get crackin’! Some of my very top list items are:

1. Sleep under Fireflies

2. Learn to play the banjo

3. Write that book…

4. French Flea Market in France

5. Rescue & Foster Dogs, probably pugs

6. Stay in a super cool tree-house in the PNW region

7. Rent an RV and see every state in the U.S. (The Mr. can’t wait to drive…seriously!)

8. Better Yet, buy and create a literal Pink Winnebago to travel the states in

9. The list is endless but continues on in my mind…

This show triggered a plethora of thoughts with another birthday leering around the corner as getting older ain’t for sissy’s. It’s time to kick things into high gear and get off my ass to make them happen as the days of sitting around in spit up are over. Bi-Focals are now required. Every decade I feel I tackle a bit more off my life checklist but now that time is coming back in my favor, and I can breathe again thanks to not having to chase a toddler full time (not for the weary!), its time to pick up the pace and start knocking things off my to do lists, particularly bucket lists.

The other thing that this show triggered were thoughts about eyebrows. Lots of eyebrows. Remember when this was THE newest thing and thin brows were the biggest rage ever and you ran to the salon to have them done. You’d have to have survived the 90’s to know what I’m talking about. Denim overalls, Doc Martins and eyebrow waxing were all the rage of fashion evolution at that time that I was an entire victim of tenfold. God forbid you had any furry factor above your eyes – wax, peel, pluck, pull to the death! In Crawford’s case, thick and dark brows were iconic glamour and eye defining but in the 90’s would have been considered horrifying. In my case, I’m a victim of the over thinned aftermath of 90’s style and wish I had more of the “Caterpillar” in my brow style. What were we thinking back then?! It’s like wax suddenly had a starring role and we all lost our minds for that hot pot of sticky. Where was Joan to save us from ourselves?!

And that necklace, why not? Which also got me thinking about the set design of this show and the entire purpose of this post. I believe that while we are in the minimalist, all-white wall’d design height we will see a huge comeback of pattern and color. I pray for this day. As you know, and if you know me, I love bold prints and bright color so I’m craving it tenfold currently. All trends repeat and recycle so I know it will back but this show is a source of true design inspo for anyone who is starting to feel tired of the minimalist aesthetic everywhere currently. Case in point:

I couldn’t tell from the show set design if the walls were black or a very dark navy but I absolutely loved this set design with the offset of light yellows. It’s so dramatic and bold, like Crawford was, and I think they nailed this look. It’s making me re-think my living room ideas currently. They drew inspiration from Crawford’s real life home and, I mean, this is just genius in my mind:

She clearly loved blues and in particular that baby blue which was so significant for the era she was in. I also can see the repeat in the white all post above in her later years with the iconic self painting hanging above (mwhat a Diva). I’ve seen so many rooms sporting this look currently, my own included, and to me its proof that everything comes back around. The white wall phase has had it’s own previous style moments before our time,clearly.

Can I also please get a replica of that tufted, fringed pea-green ottoman she’s on below? This is so amazing – what a great way to add a spark of color into our modern day very neutral space. Who wouldn’t want to try that out when they came over? All it would need in my life is me lounging over it draped in my pugs and sweatpants, and I’d be set for life. I wouldn’t look like Crawford here but glamour sometimes has to meet my reality. I may need to find one of these now:

I can’t believe people actually lived and looked like this – I was born in the wrong era! While the show clearly updated the look it did keep true to the style of those days and one thing I was perpetually obsessed with in watching was the headboard in her mock room. The velvet, deep color and tufting with the scrolled edges just screamed love to me. Which brings me to another point, what woman doesn’t secretly want to sleep under the tassels and drapes of a cascading princess like canopy? And that mirror on the wall…my heart!

These curtains – I really think this is quite genius in its own way….as is Mamacita.

As a creative, and in my mind most of us women I think, dream of white furniture and carpet. My reality is that this is never going to happen. NEVER GONNA HAPPEN. With boys, dogs, and dirt daily the idea of white furniture or flooring would equal instant carnage death. Maybe this is why the white color phenomenon has spread to the walls? Definitely a safer way to get the neutral color into your space but mine would still reek the havoc of chocolaty fingers and dirty footprints somehow. There is endless cleaning and scrubbing in my household. SO much so I even have implemented a self-inflicted rule of no carpet of any kind allowed – not even rugs – as one by one they have died painful deaths over the last five years and we’ve hauled each one to the dump to say goodbye as they were beyond repair. I hope someday to have beautiful floor coverings again and not live amongst the carnage.

And lets not forget the stunning Catherine Zeta-Jones who plays Olivia De Havilland in the show and how much style is going on there, as well as more wispy whispers. If only I could be more waspy like these ladies but I came out holding a hammer in one hand and a glue gun in the other. I’d also like to really know were this restaurant is that they dine in repeatedly in the show, if it even exists, and if not why hasn’t someone created one like it? Anywhere with pink velvet booths and matching cocktails is a place I NEED to find. I’m thinking my closest best bet is the Madonna Inn restaurant in SLO.

So if you like old Hollywood, retro glamour, and two feisty divas this program is for you – the decor is worth watching all on its own. As are the wet set hairdos which still give me nightmares of doing after 13 months in beauty school years and years ago. The back-coming, spraying, and bouffant is endless in this TV spectacle! It’s also got me rethinking the white linen curtain panels now for something rich and velvet.