More man-made greens.

How about that bit of green paint on the mannequin's chest? She's all decked out in a window at The Red Light Clothing Exchange on SE Hawthorne. Hoards of people shop here for Halloween finery.


Our bit-o-green gal is on the left in the window. There's a green petticoat between her and the other mannequin--Lady Gaga?


The green placard stands on a table at The Kingston on West Burnside. I took this photo from inside the 15 bus, stopped in the traffic, probably waiting for someone to walk across the street--for some unfathomable-to-me reason, there is a crosswalk with no light at the opposite corner of the building from where these two men are seated. For safety's sake, there is a crosswalk at a traffic signal about 100 feet east of the one without a signal.


The green Apartment Finder box stands on the corner of SW 14th and SW Morrison, outside The Tiffany Center, which is Portland's premier historic event center, according to its Web site. Weddings happen at the Tiffany Center. Must be why this shop in the corner of the building.

Satuday's missing dahlia, Vera Seyfang. The name of today's dahlia makes me think of a fashion designer Vera Wang

Here is Saturday's missing dahlia!

Facts from Swan Island Dahlia--Bloom: 12" Orchid Pink, Bush: 3'


So I thought it would be appropriate to feature a fashion boutique today. I did find loads of designers' names at the Web site for the Dragonlily Boutique. I also found out that it is for sale. No joke. Click on the link to read all about it.

The store is at 1740 SE Hawthorne Blvd. I've seen this fashionably colorful mannequin for weeks and weeks, always too late to get off the bus to get a photo until Friday, Sept. 11.


Display windows and front door.


Store sign.

Moschino Cheap and Chic at Nordstrom

Mannequin Feet at Nordstrom

Why aren't there wo-mannequins?



Oh, OK. Here's what Wikipedia has to say: Mannequin comes from the French word mannequin, which had acquired the meaning "an artist's jointed model", which in turn came from the Middle Dutch word mannekijn, meaning little man, figurine.


Come back tomorrow for the rest of the window dressing.

ABC Wednesday – L is for Legs

Mannequin legs, that is, these particular ones that I met June 28, 2007.

Here's how it happened.

I'm pushing back the metal-folding-inner-elevator door, looking down to make sure that the floor of the elevator and the foyer floor are level with each other, a necessity with our dear Otis, circa 1924.

I notice the feet with the red-painted toenails out of the corner of my eye.

"Excuse me," I say as I step into the elevator. "Whoop! What do we have hear!" I exclaim as my eyes travel up the legs, and the elevator goes up to the fourth floor.

By the time it stops, I know I need my camera which I had not taken to the outdoor art show/street fair I'd been at that Thursday night, trying to sell various items I'd crafted. I get my cell phone out and call Mama.

"Could you bring me my camera, please?" I ask. "I'm in the hall at the elevator."

"Are those legs still there?" she responds. "I knew you'd want to take a picture if they were still there when you got home."

"Yes, they are, and you're right. I've got to take a picture of this!" I excitedly reply.

In minutes, Mama comes around the corner, carrying my D50 by the strap. I ask her what she thought when she saw the legs.

"I was about to turn and run," she replies, "because I thought a naked woman was on the elevator!"

Life's a hoot, isn't it, even when someone pulls your leg.

She didn't go anywhere but to pieces!

Remember the H is for Head and Hair mannequin? When I didn't see her any longer as I rode by on the No. 18 bus, I figured she'd left for another display window somewhere; that's what I told y'all in the post.

One day last week as we rode by the store windows, I caught a glimpse of several other mannequins--the kind from the waist up--sitting on the floor in what looked like dressing rooms without their doors. Naturally, I got off the bus to investigate and found a surprise.

There she was, our H girl, in pieces in a dressing room, all by herself.

To the left of her face, you can see her hands with their bright red nails--I guess her arms are tucked out of sight at the ends of her hands--and beside the back of her head, you can see her bare feet at the bottom of her long, blue-jean clad legs. All. To. Pieces. Drat.

P.S. I'm posting mighty early, changing the post time and date a whole lot, because I had an emergency trip to the dentist today--not my usual perky self, but on the mend. I'll be back better than ever which is my hope for the golden-haired mannequin.

ABC Wednesday – H is for Head and Hair

Whether or not some view the inverted, golden ice cream cone shapes on her head as hair remains open to dispute. Not to me, but to some. Shoot, I would willingly wear my hair like that if my head looked as good as hers.

When a boutique in downtown Portland closed business recently, for several days she stood alone, her back to window. Then she was gone.