Even though it’s not officially Autumn yet, it’s September, the month when Autumn begins, and Autumn is our favorite season. Not just for us Whimsies, but Miss Chrissy and The Man are in complete agreement as well. We think Mr. Squee probably feels the same way, but we can’t seem to get a straight answer out of him lately. He’s been in a contrary mood because try as he might, he can’t seem to figure out how to make his autofeeder drop kibble simply by knocking his head against the plastic container. It’s a perplexing problem that makes him occasionally ornery.
But enough about Mr. Squee! I’m here to begin our celebration of Autumn! Autumn is a time of many celebrations, containing not only Halloween and Thanksgiving, but also many birthdays here in Whimsieville. At Halloween we’ll disguise ourselves in costumes, but for Thanksgiving and birthdays we might very well have a party! And you know what that means: friends and fun, games and music, and let’s not forget…fashion!
In anticipation of Autumn Parties, we Whimsies have been surfing the internet high and low, looking for pretty party dresses, trying to get ideas for festive outfits we would love to have. And we’ve found a few that really stand out, so we want to share them with you now, to see if you don’t agree.
First, let’s take a look at this adorable pixie in a pretty green party dress. You’ll notice she has bright pink braids, somewhat like our Trixie. But I don’t know if we’ve ever seen Trixie so fashionable decked out in such a lovely shade of green! Trixie would prefer this outfit in pink, of course, but wouldn’t she just look lovely in so much green silk and ribbons? And notice the shoes! They’re sandals, white, but laced up with pretty ribbons. How dainty!
This pretty Green Pixie adds bright pink ribbons to her lively braids, and her cheeks shine as brightly as her smile. Well, who wouldn’t smile in such a pretty dress? It’s long and fluffy, and full of ribbons and tiny ruffles. Any girl, Whimsie or otherwise, would simply adore such a spectacular party dress.
Unless, of course…you wanted to appear a bit more casual, like this carrot-top here, who pairs her simple shift dress with a striped sweater and a gorgeous necklace of HUGE pearls! Carrot Top also wears the white sandals, but the thing you absolutely must notice most about her outfit is all that adornment to her hair.
First of all, hair like that….wow! I’m calling her Carrot Top, and honestly, I don’t know when that name has ever been more appropriate. We might see a Whimsie now and then whose hair is so red it’s orange, but…c’mon now! And there’s so much of that truly orange hair. So much that she needs to use numerous hair ornaments to keep it under control. Each ponytail is restrained by a fluff of orange and white, and there’s an additional fluff on the top of her head. There’s so much going on here! Carrot Top is saying, “Yes, I’m casual…but I’m also a little bit crazy! And I’m ready to party!”
Now here’s another girl who’s ready to party. So much so, that her outfit is not even a dress, it’s described as “playsuit.” The multicolored stripes in this playsuit, offset by a blue bodice eloquently portray the idea of fun, fun, fun! Suzy Stripes looks like she hopes this party will include a spirited game of Twister, and she’s ready to get down on the dots and twist herself in knots! Her shoes are simple, with a single leather strap, so easy to kick off at a moment’s notice.
And don’t you just love her hairstyle? So simple, yet so stylish! This is a hairstyle that says “I’m too busy having fun to take time to mess around with styling my hair!” Suzy Stripes is ready for anything!
I suppose…
But I have to wonder about her eyes being closed. Was she counting off in a game of Hide and Seek when this picture was snapped? Or was she indeed sleeping, so tired from partying too hard? If sleeping, then her dreams must be pleasant, as evidenced by her huge happy grin. This is the kind of girl everyone wants at their party. We just hope we can keep her awake for all the fun!
Now let’s switch gears a bit and get back to some more preposterously pretty party dresses, as you’ll see worn here be another braided beauty. Lollipop is working the flowers like there’s no tomorrow! A delicate trim of lace at the bottom of her full hemline says, “Yes, I’m a lady, and if you don’t’ believe me, check out the little pink ribbons on my braids!” So! Our Trixie is not the only one! Pink ribbons and braids seems to be a recurring fashion theme among high-spirited Whimsies.
But what I really love about Lollipop’s outfit is her simple white socks and black shoes. It’s hard to tell from this picture here, but I’ll just bet these are patent leather shoes. And nothing says “party” more than patent leather shoes! Oh, if I could have only one thing for Christmas, I would ask Santa for a shiny pair of black patent leather shoes! (After Autumn comes Winter, and Christmas comes in Winter, so perhaps I ought to seriously start thinking about that list to Santa!)
There’s one more thing I must say about my friend Lollipop here. You’ll notice I call her Lollipop, due to the large multi-colored lollipop she holds in her hand. When your partygoer arrives looking so lovely in her flowered dress, pink hair ribbons and patent leather shoes, you are so happy to invite her in to the party. But when she brings with her a gift of candy, how can you not help but be overjoyed? This Whimsie looks so friendly, I feel quite sure it’s her intention to share that lollipop with everyone else at the party. In fact, I imagine she’ll pull a tiny hammer out of the back of her left sock, and suggest a game of Smash the Pop. Everyone will take turns, and as colorful pieces of candy go flying, there will be a mad rush to see who can gather up the most pieces.
I want to be at that party.
Now we move on to a Whimsie who is so confident in herself and her ability to choose party clothes, that she has blatantly ignored the first law of Whimsie fashion…and yet she looks fabulous doing it. What is that first law? Why…Never Wear Yellow, of course! But Little Miss Sunshine has decked herself out in yellow, head to foot, and is working the look like it’s nobody’s business!
Starting at the top of her head, Sunshine wears a tiny yellow pillbox hat, so reminiscent of the 1960’s era from which we Whimsies hail. There also seems to be a white ribbon hanging down from the back of her hat.
Sunshine continues her theme of yellow and white with a beautiful necklace of what in the 1960’s was known as “costume jewelry,” as well as a matching bracelet. Her dress is yellow and white, and who can go wrong with a simple white sweater over such an ensemble? So classic! To top it all off, Sunshine finishes with those lacy sandals again, but can you believe it? No, they are not white! They’re yellow! Oh, the bold fashion choices! I’m about to faint! Our little Miss Sunshine must be channeling Jackie Kennedy, First Lady of Camelot. Only a Whimsie with such a large supply of self-confidence could pull off a look like this…and yet, this Whimsie does it with style and aplomb.
Now, we have yet one more Whimsie we’re inviting to our Autumn Party, and in some ways, I’ve saved the best for last. When you look at Brownie here, you’re probably thinking, “How in the world does this qualify as a pretty party dress?” I mean…really…who ever heard of a party dress in the color BROWN? You thought little Miss Sunshine was making a bold fashion choice with all that yellow? Well, that’s nothing compared to this Whimsie, who decks herself out in this most unusual outfit.
The first impression is that our new Whimsie friend is a “Brownie,” which is a very young Girl Scout. She even appears to have merit badges sewn in to her very plain dress. And what is that on her very lacy neckerchief? Could that be yet another badge? At once, you have to look at this Whimsie and wonder, “What an unusual Whimsie! What in the world is she all about?” At a party, when she walks in, all heads will turn, and instantly be topped with a floating question mark. As this friendly Whimsie approaches, even though you have never met her before, you can’t help but ask…”What is the meaning of all these symbols on your dress?” And so, there is a topic of conversation, an “ice-breaker,” as they call it.
After Brownie explains her badges, you would no doubt go on to compliment the yellow and brown ribbons on her unique headpiece. And I’m certain she would tell you all about it in the most pleasant and friendly way possible, and as one thing led to another, you two would surely end up being the best of friends.
You see, Brownie is not a Whimsie who puts on airs. She is a Whimsie who knows who she is, and likes who she is, and has special interests she enjoys and loves to share. Surely her enthusiasm would be contagious, and after only a short time in her company, you yourself may also think about joining the Girl Scouts!
And so, at last, we come to the end of our Fashion Review. We have assembled quite a collection of party-goers here, haven’t we? Unfortunately, Tillie, Trixie and I don’t have any clothes that are anywhere near this elaborate. Unless we were to bring out our Christmas dresses. But that, my friend, is a different type of party, and we will get to that eventually. In the meantime, we admire and support our fellow Whimsies, who have taken the art of Party Dresses to new heights! Maybe someday, as Miss Chrissy continues to visit the Thrift Shop Boutique, we may yet acquire such beautiful dresses, and be able to put them together with just the right accessories so that we too may be worthy of attending any Autumn Party!
When that happens, I’m sure you know that we will be right here to share our good fortune with you with excited words and beautiful pictures!
We were very surprised last night when Miss Chrissy informed us that she and The Man would be staying home with us today. Why? we asked. Are you not feeling well?? Oh, no! Nothing like that. It’s just that today is a holiday called Labor Day. Labor Day?? What kind of a name is that for a holiday? It doesn’t sound like much of a holiday to us! But Miss Chrissy explained that it has something to do with people who have jobs, and Unions, which are organizations who protect people who have jobs, and in general it just celebrates the fact that we live in a wonderful country where most people can in fact have jobs. 
alphabetizes her CD’s by Name of Artist, and alphabetizing is one skill at which I happen to excel! So I got right to work on the task….helping myself to some fun music on the headphones as I worked! 
Of course, our jobs seemed much too tame for the likes of Trixie, our resident adventurer, so when she heard that a light bulb had gone out in the ceiling fan in the office, she was all over it. She climbed right up the ladder and changed out that bulb, lickety-split! (As you can see, though, she wisely had someone to “spot” her, just for safety’s sake.) 
and throw it in the trash. She was all about taking the trash right out to the curb, until Mr. Squee reminded her that an annoying little dog has recently moved into the neighborhood, and though he generally keeps to himself, you never know when he might Get Loose. At that point, Trixie decided to be not quite so much of an adventurer, and left Trash Removal to The Man.
While all this was going on, Tess found herself another job, polishing the living room table! You remember what I said about Football Saturdays being like a movie theater around here? Well, this past Saturday was the first Saturday of College Football Season, and in keeping with the movie-theater theme, Miss Chrissy and The Man enjoyed some popcorn during the game. Now, of course, we Whimsies do not eat, so we have no idea what popcorn tastes like, but I can confirm that it certainly does smell good! However, popcorn is one of those foods that is greatly helped along by a good dollop of melted butter, and some of that melted butter got on the table. No problem! Tessie found the furniture polish and got that table back in tip-top shape!
and after a week or so they decided Yes! This is the way to go with curtains, so they went back to the store and got the last of the needed curtains, and we hung them today. I say “we,” because as you can see here, I helped. I held the drill for Miss Chrissy and handed it up to her when needed, after all the measuring was done. I also handed her the screws. And let me tell you—Trixie can take care of light bulbs on her own! I’m not interested in getting any higher than this top step of the utility ladder!
his Cat Condo was moved away from the window so the curtains could be hung), Mr. Squee also settled down with us, heartily agreeing with the idea of a nap! But then again…doesn’t he always? As a cat, Mr. Squee never needs an excuse for taking a nap, any more that us Whimsies need an excuse for having fun! Even when that fun is…hard work! 
Last time we were here to talk about fashion, I was wearing this comfy, cute little striped hat in pink and white stripes, with a band of neon green around the edge. I’m loving this little hat so much, I don’t want to take it off! In fact, I’ve been so inspired by this hat, I suggested to Tillie and Tessie that we might want to put our noggins together and see if we could use my new hat as a jumping off point for a themed fashion show! Well, of course, we all saw it right away—the theme is stripes! We all love stripes, and we certainly have enough striped items in our extensive wardrobe, so this is what we have put together for your viewing pleasure. (Miss Chrissy helped us a little in putting together our new looks….but Mr. Squee did not help at all. He just lay there on the bed and watched us like we must be crazy to keep changing our fur, when he has perfectly good fur that works for him in all seasons and always looks great.)
First, as you can see, Tessie changed out of her last Summer outfit, and has gone in a totally different direction. Gone is the buzzy little ladybug, and now our Tess is decked out in sharp, classic black and gray stripes. Looking at Tessie in this outfit makes me realize that sometimes the very best outfits are those that are most simple. Because what have we here? Two colors. One pattern. But a look that says, “Look at me! I love fashion!”
And what about Tillie? Well, you’ll notice that in addition to purple and white stripes, Till has chosen to do something most unusual with her hair. She has so much beautiful hair, she really could do so many fun things with it, with ribbons and bows and clips and elastic bands. Here, Till has gathered all her hair on top of her hair in an appropriately colored purple hairband, and fluffed the resulting ponytail out in all kinds of crazy directions. This is a look that says, “Hey, look at me! Even when I look like I couldn’t do a thing with my hair, so I just stuck it on top of my head in a simple ponytail, I still look great!” 
And now, last but not least…me! Here I am in my signature color, pink, working the pink stripes with my pink-striped hat and some plain pink pants. Don’t I look bright and sunny? And you know what? Wearing pink even makes me feel bright and sunny! Funny how that happens…One day soon I’m sure I’ll have to take off my new favorite hat, but while it’s looking so great with my brilliant pink ensemble, why not keep it on just a little bit longer?
Sometimes I surprise even myself.
something I think I’ve been trying to deny for a while: there’s something intrinsically appealing about the villain, Loki.
I’ve only been able to read a few years worth of comics so far—just the tip of the iceberg, in a vast, vast history! And as far as I’ve gotten, Loki still looks like this fellow on the left. With his yellow tights and scaly underpants, he’s not very attractive, is he? And then, when you get a close up of his face….bleah!!!! Even less attractive!
Now let’s look at how Loki is dressed, because, as they say, “Clothes make the man.” Thank goodness the movie Loki has not opted to continue with those ridiculous scaly underpants! I mean…really? How can anyone take seriously a villain who wears his underpants on the outside of his outfit?. (This is a troubling practice among the villains I’m currently meeting in my comics reading, a trend I hope will very soon be turned around.)
actually, especially when he’s 
But I think Loki is actually trying to move past that cutesy qualifier. He is, indeed, trying to do some real damage. Or wait. Maybe not….maybe not exactly. I mean, let’s think about this. What is it that Loki is trying to after all? Sure, he wants to have absolute control in all the universe, but what good super villain doesn’t? That’s just par for the course, he’s complying with the rules of the Super Villains Union. 
of a brother, the Mighty Thor. He just wants to be treated like an equal. What in the world is wrong with that?
Okay. I know none of this justifies all the terrible things Loki does. I sort of wish he wasn’t actually so cute. Why couldn’t he look more like Mole Man from the Fantastic Four comics? Why couldn’t he look more like Thanos, from the end of The Avengers movie? Then it would be a lot easier to hate him.
When Miss Chrissy made her last visit to the Thrift Shop Boutique, the only thing she could find for us was these adorable Summer hats. When she returned from her outing, she told us she thinks the reason it’s becoming more difficult to find us new fashions these days is because we already have just about everything a Whimsie could require or desire in a wardrobe! And yes, it’s true, we do have quite an extensive wardrobe! But if there’s one thing us Whimsies believe with all our hearts, it’s that you can never have too many hats. 
I’ll let Tessie go first, since she has the biggest hat of us all. You’ll notice this beauty of a bucket hat is denim on the outside, and gingham check on the inside. How classic! On both sides! A while back we did a Study in Denim, and this hat would have been perfect for that occasion. We didn’thave it then, but we do have it now, and Tessie has chosen to pair this pretty hat with a summery dress you may have seen before, a little white dress with tiny red polka dots. But the dots are only a backdrop for the main feature, which is a jaunty little ladybug coming out of a flower on the far right. How whimsical is that? 
Now, as for me, you’ll notice my skirt is also short, but that’s okay, because this little skirt boasts its own built-in bloomers! So Summer breezes may blow away, I don’t care! You may remember seeing this skirt once before as well, but here I have chosen it because it so perfectly matches the colors in my darling little stretch cap. What a brilliant combination of pink and green, so bright and festive, and totally Summer! 
new hat, you’ll notice that one side is a delicate cotton eyelet pattern, but the other is completely terrycloth! What an interesting combination! Eyelet is so feminine, and terrycloth is all about the beach. Not being a big fan of the water, I’m perfectly fine with there being no beaches within hundreds of miles of Whimsieville, but for Tillie’s sake, I almost wish there was. Of course we don’t have any bathing suits in our wardrobe, so that is why Tillie chose the simple shirt and shorts for her terrycloth hat. As she explained to me, that was the closest she felt she could come to a beach-type outfit to compliment her terrycloth hat.
