The Decorous Cat

12/08/2021

Don’t buy a holiday sweater that you’ll only wear once a year. Check out some free darning tutorials to make your own removable designs on a sweater you already own using duplicate stitching.

Want to know how to repurpose an old Christmas sweater? Woolmark’s DIY guide has free templates to upcycle a Christmas jumper, thanks to the original eco-fibre, Merino wool.

12/03/2021

Got some fun mail today.

While I’m trolling the internet for more info on them, I’m trying to decide whether to do the repair on the hem by hand or use the machine. Any opinions?

12/01/2021

Stop and smell the cinnamon Christmas tree.

11/25/2021

Norman Rockwell’s Thanksgiving paintings, produced in wartime America for his longtime employer the Saturday Evening Post.

-Freedom from Want, 1943
-Thanksgiving Day Blues (Chef with Thanksgiving Menu), 1942
-Refugee Thanksgiving, 1943
-Home for Thanksgiving, 1945

It wasn’t until 1941 that the fourth Thursday of November was proclaimed to be Thanksgiving. The original feast between the Wampanoag and settlers we now call Pilgrims was most likely in September or October and probably took place over several days.

11/22/2021

Today’s projects. Two modifications (one personal and one for the shop) and two very unglamorous but necessary sock darns. Sew on, awesome people. Sew on.

11/18/2021

Stay sleek and sophisticated in the chilliest of weather.

Late 70s J.G. Hook wool overcoat. Roughly a small. Shop link in bio.

Max Raab, who founded J.G. Hook in 1974, was named the “dean of the prep look” by the New York Times. He and brother Norman also started clothing line The Villager in 1958, which would define Ivy League prep fashion throughout the 60s. J.G. Hook was an attempt to return to the classic preppy lines of the 50s. Max Raab was also an executive producer on A Clockwork Orange.

11/15/2021

This cat should look familiar. He (I’ve decided it’s a he) acts as our shop logo. “Cat at work with glasses” was painted by Louis Wain (1860-1939).

Wain was an English artist who took to drawing anthropomorphic cats after he and his beloved wife Emily adopted a kitten named Peter during Emily’s battle with terminal breast cancer. His illustrations became wildly popular and greatly contributed to changing the public’s perception of cats. Possibly autistic and/or schizophrenic, Wain’s art became more and more psychedelic as his health deteriorated, although the lack of dating on his drawings makes a linear progression difficult to trace. When an elderly Wain was found to be living in a mental institution which did not allow for his felines, the public took up a collection to move him to Bethlem Hospital where he could keep cats. He was later transferred again in 1930 to Napsbury Hospital, where he continued to draw; even holding exhibitions of his work in London in 1931 and 1937. Wain died on July 4th, 1939.

You can watch the recently release biopic about him on Amazon (played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who actually resembles him imho) or the Bethlem Museum of the Mind has quite a few works left behind by Wain for view on their website. https://museumofthemind.org.uk/collections/gallery/artists/louis-william-wain

11/15/2021

Cute coming and going.

Late 70s/early 80s wool cardigan from Lady Clansman for English Sport Shops. Marked a size medium. Shop link in bio.

There were three branches of The English Sport Shop in Bermuda, with the original store opening back in 1918. They lay claim to the creation of Bermuda shorts and still operate selling school uniforms and classic preppy fashions. Frommers travel guide describes them as “the island’s leading retailers of classic British woolen knitwear”.

11/09/2021

By George, I think I’ve got it. I think I finally did a successful duplicate stitch darn.

It’s the little things.

11/08/2021

After darning a large number of moth nibbles and removing some paint(?) spots, I’m taking these 1952 Australian Army pants out for lunch.

The woolen battle dress of this period was largely based on British designs.

11/08/2021

Finally got around to finishing the darning on this late 90s LLBean wool sweater. Marked a medium. Shop link in bio.

11/02/2021

80s Ms Chaus black velvet dress. Super opaque, super glamorous. Marked size 8. Shop link in bio.

So dark, I used my black kitty for white balance.