Some lucky, lucky DG readers are going to have luscious lips, thanks to DG's pals at EnvyDerm.
The EnvyDerm Lip Volumizing and Conditioning Plumper is a long lasting, non-stick, high shine gloss coupled with a cool tingling sensation, instantly volumizing and plumping the lips.
To win, drop us a little love note to kate@deepglamour.net , sealed with a kiss. First two emails win.
Stylists often advise against dressing in a head-to-toe vintage look, which is
advice I hate. And in the same breath that people will exclaim how much they
admire vintage glamour, they say they could never do it themselves. Well, why
not? Why should the glamour of a bygone era be unachievable now? I decided long
ago to do vintage looks whenever I please, so long as they “fit” the occasion.
Though I would certainly attempt an ornate, historical era for a special
occasion, the eras I like best are the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s, in particular ca.
1925 to 1945, flapper era through the war years. So I’ve chosen a few
conservative daytime looks from those eras, plucked from my Pinterest boards, that I think
are most accessible.
I would argue that the 1920s were the start of the modern
fashion era and that styles from that era forward are relevant and appropriate
for almost any modern setting. 1920s styles could be sleek and pared down or
ornate and hand-crafted, and day dresses and suits were abundant in the era. So
deciding on what 1920s looks to wear to, say, the office shouldn’t prove
difficult. For example, see this Lucien Lelong suit and
sweater ensemble. While the suit jacket is obscured in the photograph, the
skirt certainly looks simple and professional enough, with the hemline falling
just below the knee. And the sweater features a bold yet tasteful geometric
design. Though I probably would not wear the hat all day indoors, I would not
hesitate to wear this look – including the little clutch handbag and simple
chain necklace – to the office or a business meeting during a cool-weather month
in Washington, D.C., which is where I work.
See also these two mid-1930s day looks. One, a solid, light color, tea-length
skirt with a front kick pleat and self-belt with square-shaped metal buckle.
It’s paired with a solid, dark color blouse with a high color and large, statement
buttons. The shoes are dark pumps in a classic style. The second outfit is a
sailor-inspired day dress in tea length, paired with classic spectator pumps
and a smart hat. Again, I would not hesitate to wear either of these looks for
business purposes, though I would probably skip the hat and gloves unless I
wanted to go “full (vintage) drag.”
The 1940s day looks I might chose include a beige suit with sharp shoulders, three-quarter length sleeves, and a nipped-in waist. The matching skirt is front-pleated, with the hemline just below the knee. The accent color of the hat, ascot, and gloves is a dark green. The hat and gloves are a bit fussy for a modern business look, but I would do the ascot or else a blouse underneath.
The second 1940s show four comparatively casual, daytime
looks that could be worn just about anywhere, hats optional.
Finally, I’ve included a photo of myself, just to show this can be done. I was
headed to an Art Deco Expo in 2008, wearing a 1930s day dress and hat. I’m
careful where I wear original garments, as they tend to be fragile. But the
dress I’m wearing would be fairly simple to re-create in new fabric. The
handbag was a Whiting & Davis
metal mesh in white, a fairly easy style to obtain. The jewelry was modern and
of a simple, classic style. The shoes I wore that day were modern, inexpensive
Mary Jane pumps.
The main difficulty would be in finding these vintage looks. For ornate vintage
styles and looks, there’s rarely a good substitute for the original, except for
sellers who specialize in reproducing bygone eras (such as ReVamp Vintage). For simple styles, it’s
often easier to find modern garments that look period-appropriate than to find
original vintage garments that fit and are in good condition. Personally, I mix
and match reproduction and original and sometimes sew my own. Vintage patterns
of nearly all eras seem abundant on Ebay, Etsy, and many other vendor websites.
I would be delighted to see more people incorporate vintage styles in modern
settings. I would, however, have an important word of caution on attempting
these looks. In my opinion, it’s important to approximate the hairstyles (and,
for that matter, the shoe styles) of the era one is trying to achieve. Or at
least the hair length. They clearly “go” together – which is one reason we
perceive them as so elegant and polished, no? There’s no point in doing a
head-to-toe vintage look only to ruin it with an incongruous hairstyle. Plus, it would
distract me to no end (in a bad way), and I just know (or, let me imagine) you wouldn’t want to do that to me.
Among vintage enthusiasts, Vixen Vintage blogger Solanah Cornell is a first-name-only celebrity and a go-to source for advice on such lost arts as how to set your hair in pin curls and how to buy vintage lingerie. As a model for online vintage shops and a vintage-fashion blogger she's also famous for her ability to strike a vintage pose.
DG: How do you define vintage?
Solanah: Everyone will give you a different answer, but I define it as anything made approximately 20-80 years from now. Antique is anything older than 80 years old, and newer than 20 is second hand.
DG: Who does wearing vintage appeal to?
Solanah: A variety of different people, whether they are interested in alternative fashion or want to outwardly express their interest in nostalgia.
DG: What do you think of mixing vintage and contemporary pieces? Do you ever wear contemporary outfits?
Solanah: I love it, and yes, I do! Though the farther I get into vintage fashion, the more difficult it is for me to mix decades. I admire it on other people, but often find myself feeling a bit “off”. Lately I’ve been trying for a more classic look by mixing vintage and modern garments. And I do wear modern jeans and cozy sweaters pretty regularly. I’ve been loving some classic/modern fashions lately and hope to balance some with my vintage wear.
DG: Beyond the character of any specific garment, is there something glamorous about the idea of “vintage”?
Solanah: There is something glamorous about vintage, and I think it reaches back to the image women used to live up to. It was very glam, very ideal, especially if you’re talking about the mid-century. Even in camping gear women were supposed to be perfectly coiffed and pretty. At that time it was oppressive, but I think women are starting to own glamorization again. They choose it because it makes them feel good, not because they are expected to be glamorous 24/7.
DG: You’ve said that you “love to be authentic” in your style. What makes your style authentic?
Solanah: For me it means “real.” Not so much about having all the items in an outfit perfect, right down to the correct dates, but more of wearing things the way women wore them originally. And wearing what they really wore, not what Hollywood portrayed. I love slacks, and sweaters with the sleeves rolled up, and comfortable shoes like loafers and flat boots. For me, that’s authentic, because I feel more connected to the everyday woman.
DG: Some people treat vintage as an overall fashion look, some as a lifestyle, and some as simply the characteristic of a given piece. What’s your approach?
Solanah: I would say a little of each! For me it can and often does take over my entire outfit, and others it’s and accent, or a nod to yesteryear. As far as lifestyle goes, I have adapted some old fashioned ways of life into the modern world.
DG: What does dressing in vintage mean to different groups of people? To you?
Solanah: It can mean very different and often opposing things to different people. Some people, mostly those in western religious communities, view it as a traditional, and modest form of dress. It re-enforces traditional gender rolls. This situation seems like a minority.
For the most part vintage is a rebellion against the negative aspects of modern society. Not to be confused with completely turning back the clock, but rather bringing forward the attractive, and leaving the negative behind. Lately fashion had quite a few hiccups, when viewed objectively it’s so confusing and really has no collective foundation. I think people crave clarity and originality, and vintage fulfills that. It’s also something that is obtainable for all social classes, it can be found in high end boutiques, or discount thrift stores.
DG: What are some of your favorite vintage garments?
Solanah: Casual wear is my favorite find. Slacks, denim, sweaters, and coat. Though I have a huge and never ending collection of 1940s hats, I just can’t say no to them.
DG: In 20 years, today’s clothes will be vintage, at least by some definitions. Can you imagine yourself wearing any of them in 2033?
Solanah: This is a really tough question, because on one hand we have so much in terms of clothing, it’s difficult to imagine it being treated the same way we treat vintage clothing today. Right now much of our decades of clothing is rare. It was made of natural fibers, which can decay and be recycled, these garments have an expiration date. But clothing today is completely different. The fibers are so synthesized or combined with natural fibers, there really is no organic circle of life for these garments. We’ll have them for much longer than what we’ve been previously accustomed to, and I think they may come back into our wardrobes as necessity more than anything. What else are we going to do with all these garments? They won’t die.
DG: Is wearing vintage more popular among younger people (however you want to define “younger”)? If so, why?
Solanah: I think simply because people don’t want to look like they’re still wearing fashions from their heyday. It can be difficult to pull off, but honestly I think the older you get, the better you can wear vintage! I’ll always remember an elderly woman I saw walking down the street who was dressed to the nines in a 60s suit, pillbox hat, and matching gloves, pumps, and purse. She was the best!
DG: What’s your favorite era? Is that because of the styles, the history, the culture, or some combination?
Solanah: My favorite era can be defined as the years controlled by the second world war. It appeals to me for so many reasons, much of it not being fashion related. Mostly to do with the short taste of liberation women experienced, and the strength they showcased before being forced back into the home. I admire what they did with what little they had, and how they dealt with the hardships and tragedies. This was reflected in the styles adapted, I really love the make do and mend and DIY aspect of the war era, as it’s something I can be creative with.
DG: You’re well known not only for writing about vintage fashion but for modeling it in fashion shoots on your own site and also for the store you used to work for (that’s actually how I first became aware of you). What’s the secret to a good vintage fashion picture? How important are the poses you strike to how you feel about the outfit?
Solanah: In our shoots we tried to emulate a lot of original fashion portraits from magazines and ads. They really showcased the garments well, and I think there’s a certain strength in “striking a pose”, rather than the very casual, candid poses we see a lot of today.
DG: What do people who wear vintage fashion have in common (if anything)?
Solanah: The most obvious is a love for the past, but I have found many vintage enthusiasts are very involved in various forms of fantasy, fiction, and escapism. Or “geeky” interests, if I could put it simply. Fantastical television shows and movies, comic books, anything that diverts away from the confines of the modern world. I think it has to do with how different people deal with the pressures of modern living, there are those who adapt well and embrace it, and those who need to step back and slow down.
DG: Wearing vintage every day seems like a lot of work--just for the hair styling alone. What’s the most challenging part? Time-consuming? Satisfying?
Solanah: It can look as though that’s the case, but compared to a modern woman’s beauty regimen, it probably takes about the same amount of time and effort. Most vintage wearing women do wet sets at night and wake up with curls. Whereas a non-vintage woman might spend most of her morning curling or straightening her hair with a heat device. When I do that it takes me about a minute or two to do my hair in the morning, but looks like it took an hour. It takes the same amount of time to get dressed comparatively, and I keep my makeup simple: tinted moisturizer, eyeliner, powder, lipstick. I do love getting dressed up, in stockings and hats, and heels for lunch with friends or a cocktail party. Feeling that kind of glamorous is nice every now and then, the kind where you really put in effort and it shows.
DG: Who inspires your look?
Solanah: Fellow vintage lovers, WWII women workers, old family photos, really any “real” people. I don’t take much inspiration from the airbrushed publicity shots of movie stars, because that type of style just isn’t a huge part of my lifestyle.
DG: Who do you consider glamorous?
Solanah: The type of women who has a certain something alluring and enchanting. She doesn’t necessarily have to look glamorous, or live a glamorous life, but she does hold her head high and has the confidence of an individual in charge of their own life and loving it.
DG: What’s your most glamorous place?
Solanah: My dressing table is my most glamorous place. It’s where the magic happens.
[Photos courtesy of Solanah at Vixen Vintage.]
Michelle Breskin (left) and Karol Markowicz are unlikely beauty entrepreneurs. Karol is a writer and former public relations consultant, while Michelle is a real-estate agent with a background in finance. But sometimes consumers know more about what's needed in a market than insiders. (If you want to geek out on that topic, check out my old NYT column on "user innovation.") As busy businesswomen and mothers of young children, the two wanted a high-maintenance look at in low-maintenance time. They took the blowouts-only idea made famous by Drybar and combined it with nail services. At Fix Beauty Bar, which opened in September on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, you can get your hair blown out while you have a manicure, pedicure, or both. You're in and out in less than an hour.
When I had an October speaking engagement in New York, I got the works--blowout, pedicure, and a gel manicure--and saw why the place has been an instant hit with both customers and local media. Karol and Michelle now employ seven stylists and five nail technicians and are still growing and hiring. We asked them about what they've learned from their venture in providing everyday glamour.
DG: Neither of you has a background in the beauty industry. What inspired you to start Fix Beauty Bar?
A: We wanted a place where you could get your hair and nails done at the same time, have it be a nice experience and have the prices be reasonable. We waited for someone else to open that kind of place and when no one did we decided to go for it ourselves.
DG: What are the advantages to offering just styling and manicures/pedicures rather than a full range of hair and nail services?
A: We focus on two things and try to do them perfectly. With a full-range salon someone that is good at coloring might still have to cut hair, for example. Our stylists do a range of blowout styles and our nail technicians do manicures and pedicures. And that's it.
DG: What do you look for in an employee?
A: It's a combination of talent and personality. We've interviewed talented people we knew we couldn't work with--it has to be a combination since we'll be spending a lot of time with the person.
DG: Who's your customer?
A: They've run the gamut of NYC women. We have businesswomen on their lunch break, stay-at-home moms with their kids in tow, twenty-somethings heading out on a Friday night. No one has any time and everyone wants to feel good without it being too much of an expense-both monetarily and time-wise.
DG: How did you have to adapt the usual procedures and equipment for your services so that you could offer them simultaneously?
A: We designed the main square bar at Fix Beauty Bar to comfortably accommodate blowouts and nail services. We hated having our nails done and then moving to another seat to dry so we built-in the hand dryers. We do waterless pedicures (we wrap the feet in hot towels instead) because they're more hygienic and they fit better with our space.
DG: What were the challenges in designing the space?
A: Like everywhere else in NYC space is at a premium. We feel like we used every available square foot wisely with the design of our space.
DG: How did you decide on prices?
A: We wanted to make it moderate enough that people will make us part of their regular routine. We felt that $40 for a blowout, $15 for a manicure, and $35 for a pedicure was the right amount to bring people in for weekly or even twice-a-week appointments.
DG: What have been the biggest surprises?
A: This was the first brick-and-mortar business for both of us (we both have been self-employed in consultant roles before) so we learned a lot of things about having a physical business space. Who knew you have to pay for garbage pick-up!
DG: You've been open only about a few months and have gotten a tremendous amount of local publicity. What's your secret?
A: There's no real secret. We've reached out to a lot of press outlets and they've been responsive because they think we have an interesting idea. It's something women always subconsciously wanted and the light goes off when they hear about it. Of course blowouts and simultaneous manicures make so much sense!
DG: What makes someone or something glamorous?
A: Glamour is about putting yourself together. We all know the days we leave the house not feeling particularly glamorous. But a little lipstick, a nice manicure or a coordinated outfit is sometimes all it takes for everyday glamour.
DG: Who or what is your glamorous icon?
A: For Michelle it's Gwenyth Paltrow. For Karol it's the women she sees in the elevator wearing heels and lipstick at 7am. How do they do it?!
DG: Is glamour a luxury or a necessity?
A: Glamour is a necessity. It goes to the heart of making a woman feel beautiful. That's actually exactly what we were thinking when we started Fix Beauty Bar. Having your hair and nails done might not be the end-all-be-all of glamour but they go a long way to making a woman feel pretty and put together.
DG: Most glamorous place?
A: New York City.
DG: Can glamour survive?
A: Of course! Glamour always survives. No matter the time in human history women always want to be beautiful and glamorous.
DG: Is glamour something you're born with?
A: No, glamour is something you develop. Norma Jean wasn't born glamorous but Marilyn Monroe was the epitome of glamour anyway.
We answered the above questions together and agreed on almost everything. And yet when we did the either/or we had almost nothing in common.
Continue reading "DG Q&A: Fix Beauty Bar Founders Karol Markowicz and Michelle Breskin" »
Most women of a certain age, especially those who've had a few kids, face a fashion dilemma: how to look chic and stylish without veering either into youthful indiscretion (Forever 21 doesn't mean you really are) or what the founders of the Electra Lang clothing line call the "Bea Arthur" or "Stevie Nicks" pitfalls. The Los Angeles-based company arose from experience, after Laura Collins (above, middle) discovered that the only way to find clothes that fit and flattered was to design them herself. She teamed up with Electra Lang and Kristi Buckley to turn that inspiration into a line of dresses and tunics with a casual yet polished vibe. Selling primarily online, the first Electra Lang collection launched in May 2011, with an expanded line planned for Spring/Summer 2012, beginning in February. The partners talked with DG about designing clothes "with an actual human body in mind."
Come back on Black Friday for a special giveaway contest from Electra Lang.
DG: Who's your customer?
EL: Our customer wants clothing that she doesn’t need to think about—she can be comfortable and look stylish, but not be a slave to fashion. We thought a lot about what works for most people’s bodies and we came up with Electra Lang’s Manifesto: “The Proper Principles of a Perfect Piece”
Chic
Simple to wear
Versatile
Enough coverage
Comfortable
Lined
Reasonably priced
Easy to buy
Voila…. Electra Lang Clothing was born.
DG: You talk about "dressing with style but with some propriety too." What do you mean?
Too often, we find tops that aren’t long enough, hemlines too short on dresses, lack of much-wanted sleeves, transparent fabrics with no lining, and jersey that clings too much. We designed our clothing to be fun and beautiful, but still cover all the right not-so-beautiful spots.
DG: You use a lot of interesting print fabrics. What do you look for in selecting prints?
One of our favorite parts of the design process is choosing our fabrics. We work with designers who create some of the freshest, most beautiful prints: they need to be sophisticated, yet playful prints. Sometimes a garment is more about distraction and camouflage, and certain prints can provide that, but for us to use them, they have to be glamorous as well.
DG: What's the problem with relying on a body form, or fit mannequin, to develop new designs?
One of the first things we did as designers was to get rid of the mannequin and fit everything on a real human body! Mannequins, unlike humans, look amazing in everything! That’s how we solved the mystery of why so many garments in the marketplace don’t fit well, or seem ill-conceived (a bunch of men in a back room dressing up a giant doll). Our designs are created with an actual human body in mind!
DG: Aside from buying clothes from Electra Lang, how would you advise women to avoid the "Stevie Nicks" and "Bea Arthur" looks?
As women get older, the balance between femininity, fashion, and fit becomes rather tricky. Too many wispy, lacy ruffles become rather theatrical and circuslike—in a bad way. On the other hand, manly pantsuits with long vests or wraps definitely set off the Bea Arthur alarm. Feeling comfortable in your own skin and clothes is what makes you attractive and sexy. If you look good without trying too hard, that says volumes about your style. Electra Lang balances great fashion with comfortable designs.
DG: How do you make your garments adjustable?
We are always working to improve the fit of our pieces. In every piece, whether there is an “adjustable” element or not, we make sure that it has flexibility. Our new silk jersey dress has stretch, but is carefully designed not to cling where it shouldn’t and to flow where it should. Our tunics are designed to camouflage a belly, but are adjustable in the back to create a flattering silhouette.
DG: What have you learned about the garment business in L.A.?
We decided from the beginning to do all of our production here in Los Angeles. This allowed us to control and monitor every aspect of the production, so that our designs were as close to our specs as possible. We also, want to be able to respond quickly to the market and we can’t do that with the long lead times required when manufacturing abroad. Plus, we love our city and want to do our part in keeping jobs here in Los Angeles.
The DG Dozen
1) How do you define glamour? Glamour is confidence, a personal style that looks put together and shows some thought behind it.
2) Who or what is your glamorous icon? Katherine Hepburn—she had a signature style that was sometimes adventurous, but she always embodied ease and confidence.
3) Is glamour a luxury or a necessity? For a woman, glamour is a necessity, it is part and parcel of being a woman. It’s not just about fashion, it’s how you present yourself, how you entertain, how you care for others and, ultimately, reflects how you feel. Even if you weren’t born with it, it is something that you can cultivate.
Continue reading "DG Q&A: Electra Lang Founders on "Sensible Chic" Clothing for Real Bodies" »
Editor's note: New contributor Dorian Electra is a student at Shimer College in Chicago, who is best known for the playful videos she produces and stars in, including her breakout viral hit, a love song to economist Friedrich Hayek.--VP
“He who seeks beauty shall find it” is the personal motto of 82-year old fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. He’s been riding around on his bicycle, photographing fashion on the streets of New York City for roughly half a century. And although his name and reputation are well established in the fashion world, his personal “fashion philosophy” is by no means conventional.
In the movie Bill Cunningham New York, Bill comes off as a mysteriously simple character, a happy man who loves what he does and does what he loves. But there’s more; in fact, there are many complex and profound ideas wrapped up in the way Bill views fashion and culture, all of which inform the pictures he takes.
When photographing runway shows in Paris, he says, “If it isn’t something a woman could wear, I’m not interested.” His down-to-earth, fun-loving attitude makes fashion approachable to all. He praises daring and originality in clothing choices above all. He’s not afraid to call an outfit boring, no matter who’s wearing it. He may ignore a celebrity on the street wearing a multi-thousand dollar gown in favor of a bag-lady digging in the garbage, whose overlapping patterned shawls and head-scarves he thinks are “marvelous.”
Bill Cunningham’s straightforwardness stems from his ethical commitment to honesty and to celebrating individual creativity. He takes a firm stance against fashion magazines’ “In & Out” lists for attempting to dictate from the top-down what’s “in fashion” and what isn’t. Part of his opposition is moral and the other part is practical. He understands that no matter what magazines and designers decree, real fashion—what is actually “in”—can only be determined from the bottom up, by what everyday people actually wear.
To me, it seems that Cunningham’s incredible ability to capture weekly street-style trends is made possible by his understanding of how culture works. Bill’s photographs show us that in the city, fashion is a silent dialogue between people on the streets. Some respond to the latest designs from Paris; others adopt and revise the looks of those around them, incorporating good ideas from anywhere they can be found. People’s clothing choices are also often responding to the conditions of the local climate and Bill traces these complex and spontaneous orders with skill and grace (see “Boiling Point,” documenting the woven, eyelet fabrics of the hot New York week of August 14, 2009).
In de-emphasizing the role of “top-down” dictates from the fashion elite, Bill Cunningham helps us see how we, as everyday people, have the opportunity to participate in the fashion world. “I’m not interested in celebrities with their free dresses,” he says, “I’m interested in clothes!” He calls our attention to the role each of us has as a potential contributor to the silent dialogue of fashion with the choices we make in front of our mirrors each morning.
Click here for a list of when and where the film is showing.
As I was headed to a going-out-of-business sale at the Border’s Bookstore in Santa Fe, I saw something that probably happens millions of times a day around the world. An older sibling was trying hard not to appear connected to a younger. In the photo shown at left, two sisters are distancing themselves from their parents and younger brother behind them. And, sadly, at some point in her teen years, the older sister will protest if told she needs to let her sister tag along.
In Santa Fe I saw a nattily dressed boy of about seventeen purposely walking very fast, forcing his younger sister to periodically have to run or skip to catch up. He was trim, attractive, and had impeccably styled hair. He was wearing a nice sport coat with a well-matched shirt and tie, nice trousers, and well-polished dress shoes. He perhaps looked a bit preppy for the bookstore, but there was no question he looked confident and sharp.
His younger sister was about thirteen or fourteen, and I could see why he was trying to ditch her. She was pudgy, her hair was a mess, and her unattractive pink dress fit horribly. She had put on a long-sleeved t-shirt under the dress for warmth, and this make her outfit look even worse.
While he looked sophisticated, she looked clueless. Once in the bookstore, they separated, and I never saw him go anywhere near her the whole time I was there.
I told this story at a dinner gathering the other night, and many people starting talking about their relationships with their siblings. One woman’s younger brother (by two years) used to like to hang out with her girl friends when they came over, and she was not happy that her friends found him so funny that they liked having him around. Although she had a good relationship with him, she reached her limit when he tried to join them at their lunch table at high school. After all, she laughingly recalled , “I was a senior!”
No matter how close we might usually be to our siblings, there are times when they can interfere with the image we are trying to project, especially in the strange peer-pressure world of junior high and high school.
[Photo "Hey, Alice, I've been thinking: we're old enough to go out on our own now, without Mom and Dad and our younger brother tagging along and slowing us down" by Ed Yourdon. Used under the Flickr Creative Commons license.]
Randall's post below, “If Someone Glamorous Walked By, Would You Notice?” is about the things you miss when you’re on your cell phone. But the title made me wonder what the person walking by might look like.
When I searched Google images for “glamorous woman” and “walking,” I discovered a different connection between cell phones and glamour. The top three results were this stock photo, in which the woman is wearing sunglasses, the most classic glamorous accessory, while talking on a cell phone. (She’s also pushing a baby carriage, which may or may not be glamorous.)
Sunglasses, cigarettes, veils, hats, and fans are all classically glamorous accessories. All simultaneously attract attention and create distance. The audience gets an intriguing glimpse of the glamorous person, not a full view.
On a cell phone, the person is similarly present and distant, engaged with someone the viewer can neither see nor hear. The phone adds an aural dimension to the visual mystery of sunglasses. At the same time, like wearing jewelry or expensive clothes, talking on the phone signals status: Here is a person who is socially connected, who has friends, who is busy or important.
With cigarettes, veils, hats, and fans all more or less out of fashion, has the cell phone joined sunglasses as a glamorous essential?
["Beauty Talks" image courtesy of Piero Paravidino, Flickr user Sensitive2Light, and used with permission.]
--advertisement--
Dominated by narrow-waisted suits, crisp riding boots and structured bags, the collection is described as having been inspired by Vienna's Age of Splendor, and by the Vienna of today. As Vienna has been my home on and off for the past several years, I could not help but ruminate on my own impressions of the city's style, and on the implications of its new status as Fashion Muse.
Over the course of my life in Vienna, I have continuously struggled with how I relate to it. On some level, it has become deeply familiar and even quite mundane, while on another level it has remained a romantic hallucination. In many ways, Vienna is a continental European city like many others – rich in heritage but dynamic in contemporary culture. The streets are full of young trendy people, the museums offer impressive lineups of cutting-edge international artists, the UN Headquarters looms large, and no matter where you are, you can be certain that a Starbucks or an H&M is not terribly far off. And yet, Vienna is not quite of this time. The spirit of the Austro-Hungarian Empire remains present, its rigid, explosive splendor running through the city like a rogue undercurrent.
Experiencing Vienna in this manner is like having persistent double vision, or perhaps even triple vision – whereby reality, history and historical fiction co-exist and struggle for domination over the cultural landscape.
When I ask myself why this is so, one obvious thing that comes to mind is the architecture. Unlike that of other German-speaking cities, Vienna's architecture has largely remained intact after the Second World War. Enormous neoclassical structures erected for the sole purpose of glorifying the Empire continue to surround the city center along the Ringstraße. The towering white marble, the black wrought iron, the vast stretches of cobblestone, and the tall chestnut trees, create a backdrop that insists upon itself and undermines the passage of time. In a sense, it is a romantic backdrop. But the brand of romance is the kind that makes one feel overpowered and somewhat uneasy. The architecture - both in its grandiosity and in the sheer fact of its continuity - sets a mood over the central district that even an army of neon Starbucks and H&M signs cannot overpower.
Granted, architecture can be seen as a passive influence. But there are other areas where Vienna's anachronistic atmosphere is maintained by choice. Take, for instance, the phenomenon of the Viennese Cafe. One can walk into any number of Viennese cafes that look as if they have remained basically unchanged since the 1920s: gilded interiors, plush red upholstery, starched white tablecloths, waiters in tuxedos, sugar cubes in tiny silver bowls, newspapers attached to wooden holders... the head spins from the elegance, and extravagance of it. And the elaborate coffee nomenclature puts other countries' terminologies to shame. (When in doubt, just order a Melange - and stay away from what the Viennese call a Cappuccino unless you want your coffee made with pure cream instead of frothed milk.)
It is not just the look of such a cafe that functions like a time machine, but the atmosphere as well. In a Viennese cafe, you will be called by your title. You will not encounter crammed floor space, even if it means that the cafe is serving only a quarter of the patrons that it could be serving. And you will never be rushed to free up your table, even if you have been nursing the same cup of coffee for hours while a crowd of hopefuls queues outside. And no, such places are not gimmicky tourist traps; they are perfectly normal cafes where the Viennese themselves go to relax.
And then of course, there are the head-turning persons you see in Vienna, the likes of whom I have not encountered elsewhere: from the ladies in floor-length fur coats and sculptural hats who look as if they've walked out of a silent film, to the serious men with heavy, intense gazes and thick streaks of gray in their hair regardless of their age, to the people wearing traditional national costumes as formalwear on a night out. True, the “retro” look has been internationally popular for over a decade, but I feel that in Vienna the look isn't “retro” at all, as it is done entirely without irony. The mixing of the old with the new simply reflects the city's nonlinear sense of time and its playful attitude towards contemporary realities.
An interesting trend I have noted, is how many fashion ateliers in Vienna are simultaneously involved in costume design for the theater. Of all the arts, theater probably occupies the most important position in Vienna, and has enormous cultural influence. Perhaps this explains why even the most contemporary boutiques seem to be at least partly inspired by dramatic turn of the 20th Century style: the designers who make the clothes for the streets are the same ones who create the costumes for the local stage. It would also explain why the past that mingles with Vienna's present seems to be not so much a historically accurate past, as a fantastical one: a romantic notion that the city embraces and projects back onto itself.
Getting back to the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2010 Menswear Collection, I think that in large part it succeeds in portraying all of these things. The clothing is architectural, theatrical, and communicative, and there is a conceptual depth to it that exceeds what I have come to expect from Vuitton. The garments are rigidly tailored while suggesting fluidity, tightly closed while expressing a potential for openness. They evoke Sigmund Freud's writings on hysteria, Egon Schiele's images of tortured lanky youths, Gustaf Klimt's gilded motifs, and Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis while mixing traditional and contemporary materials and employing deconstructive techniques.
The LV collection is rather impressive really. But... Well, quite frankly, it brings to mind what has been available in Vienna for as long as I have lived there. If you want Viennese splendor that embodies all the anachronistic complexity the city has to offer, visit Vienna itself and walk through some of the neighborhoods that are lined with independent boutiques carrying Austrian designers, including the areas around Neubaugasse and Kettenbrückengasse. Viennese style is at its best in its natural habitat.
[LV runway images via Louis Vuitton/ Antoine de Parceval; all other images belong to the author]
--advertisement--
One of my most glamorous memories is of my book editor hopping on her bicycle to go back to the office after a lunch with me in New York. She was wearing a skirt and heels and looked utterly graceful and sophisticated as she rode away.
With their smooth, silent progress, bicycles have great potential for glamour. We use "like riding a bicycle" to mean a physical skill that has become second nature, unforgettable even after years of disuse. We don't say, for instance, "like brushing your teeth," equally second nature but much less impressive. A bicycle can't even stand upright without support, much less move forward.
Yet unlike a car--or, for that matter, a horse--a bicycle depends only on its rider for locomotion. It represents autonomy. In my childhood, getting a bike was the first step toward independence. You could now travel reasonable distances without your parents.
But bicycles aren't on most people's short list of glamorous objects. Competitive cycling, like marathon running, never looks effortless. Kids are burdened with bicycle helmets that make them look dorky and tell them cycling is dangerous. No wonder President Obama skipped the helmet at the beach in Hawaii, after drawing laughs for his helmeted bike ride during the campaign.
As cycling has become more and more an esoteric sport, with complicated gear and lingo, buying a bike has become off-putting to outsiders. When the design firm IDEO worked with component manufacturer Shimano to develop a new bicycle concept, the two firms found were surprised at non-cyclers' attitudes. They loved their memories of biking but were put off by the attitudes and complexity of cycling shops. As Bicycling magazine explained:
"When we asked if Lance Armstrong inspired them, people would say yes, but not to ride a bike," says Shimano's [U.S. marketing manager David] Lawrence. And while all the interview subjects had positive, almost reverential memories of childhood bike rides, Sklar noted that "their feelings about the reality of the biking world are remarkably different." Their dominant image of cycling was one of exercise, speed, uniforms and competition--not of play or fun. "There are a lot of people who feel intimidated and unwelcome in that environment," Sklar says.
To teach cycling enthusiasts what it felt like to be a casual biker in one of their shops, IDEO made them shop for skin products at Sephora. As Daniel Gross recounts in Bicycling:
The Sephora staff, quickly sizing up the bike guys as outsiders and neophytes, treated them with disdain. Says Lawrence: "Everything that happened to noncyclists in a bike shop was happening to our guys in the cosmetics store."
That design collaboration produced a new category called "coasting bikes," designed for casual riders. Another concept, which incorporates more cycling glamour, is the "lovely bicycle," designed for daily, but noncompetitive, use. Here's a description of a lovely bicycle from the blog by that name:
When utility and romance coexist not despite, but because of one another, that is a Lovely Bicycle! A Lovely Bicycle does not only look beautiful in itself, but allows you to look your best while riding it.
Our notions of personal aesthetics vary, and, naturally, so will our bicycles. For the individual whose personal style consists of casual or athletic clothing, a roadbike can be a perfectly appropriate choice. For the individual whose style revolves around formal attire - including suits, skirts and high heels - an upright city bike works far better. The main idea, is that the bicycle should not require the cyclist to change their preferred way of dress or their lifestyle in order to ride it.
Recounting her yearning for a lovely bicycle untainted by the butt-up, head-down, Lycra-legged aesthetics of competitive cycling, blogger Filigree writes:
Only on vintage posters and in old art films did I see the romance that made me long for cycling again. Seeing these fictional lady cyclists of yore, the relaxed chic they exude is alluring and enticing. It makes cycling seem cool and fashionable. But can these associations exist in today's world?
They certainly do on her blog, from which these photos are taken. Although I'm a dedicated walker, she makes me want to get a bike—at least once the rain stops.
[Vintage poster from Swann Galleries and up for auction February 4.]
--advertisement--
In How Buildings Learn
One small appliance in the remodeled kitchen has also reshaped my daily life. The graceful device shown in the photograph is an InstaHot, which, through a small electrical heater located under the counter, delivers filtered, near-boiling water with the touch of a lever. This small convenience has transformed me into a tea drinker.
My wife starts her day with coffee, then moves on to dark teas, and then herbal teas. But coffee bothers my stomach and makes me nervous. So I have never been able to enjoy coffee.
And I had never become a tea drinker. I realize that many people find putting on a pot of water for tea a special pleasure, but to me it always seemed a bother. But now I had access to a beautiful object that magically delivered super-hot water when you pulled it’s red-tipped lever. It cried out to be used, and I began to try various green teas, and then herbal teas. Soon we filled two cabinet drawers with a wide variety of black, green, and herbal teas.
Now each morning, afternoon, and evening I hear the seductive call of the InstaHot, urging me to enjoy the pleasure of some fragrant tea. And, especially as the weather cools, I have learned that sitting in the library with a good book and a cup of hot tea can create a feeling of priceless luxury and relaxation. When the house was being remodeled, neither of us realized just how much we would learn to enjoy this quiet retreat, or that I would learn to love tea.
--advertisement--
But the glamour of the house isn’t just about what happened inside; it emanates from the structure itself. Similarly, countless other glass buildings, from the Crystal Palace to the Burj Dubai (which contains a breathtaking 20 acres of glass) transcend the idea of buildings, becoming surreal settings of fascination and desire. Something about glass captures our imagination and creates glamour like no other architectural material.
Glass’s glamour arises from its physical properties: fragility, luminosity, and transparency. Rigid but delicate, glass is notoriously difficult to work with. It first appeared in architecture in ancient Rome around 100 AD, adorning only the most important buildings and expensive private homes. It remained a luxury through the middle ages, typically found in palaces and churches. Though glass is now ubiquitous, its use at large scale still feels lavish, and it wasn’t until the middle of the last century that technology allowed for the construction of multi-story glass facades such as those on Bunshaft’s Lever House and Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building, and the many other glass skyscrapers that comprise the Manhattan skyline.
Glass’s precarious nature, combined with its scintillating reflective surfaces, give it a jewel-like quality at any scale. Cinderella’s slipper was glass, embodying hope, fantasy, and royalty in one fragile token. The glass structures of the world are like Cinderella’s slipper writ large, containers of dreams that always feel a little bit impossible. I.M. Pei’s pyramid at the Louvre, and the cube above the Fifth Avenue Apple Store that references it, have this gem-like presence. The same can’t be said for structures made with transparent plastics like acrylic or polycarbonate; poor cousins, too optically inert to stir our emotions.
Like all truly glamorous things, glass eludes us. It moves in a perpetual dance between two kinds of ephemerality. Lit from outside, it is luminous and reflective, taking on the character of what surrounds it. Johnson’s Glass House feels alive, an ever-shifting pattern of trees shimmering across its surfaces. Glass skyscrapers literally become pieces of sky, translucent blue by day and inky black at night. In this state, glass is like a mirror, restless and mysterious.
But light a glass structure from within, and it vanishes in another way, revealing its contents to the world. This glass is deceptively sheer. It yields to what’s behind it, inviting us to peer inside. It’s this invitation — to admiration and to voyeurism — that makes glass so special.
Inscribed in any glamorous object is the gaze which makes it so. Pull back from the object. Zoom out, and there is always someone watching and wanting, infusing it with the desire that is glamour’s driving force. Without a viewer through which fantasy can be filtered, there may be elegance or sophistication, but there can be no glamour.
Glass, with its tantalizing non-presence, creates the illusion that inside and outside are one. But not so fast. As anyone who has accidentally walked into a freshly-washed glass door will tell you, it’s a formidable barrier. This impenetrability is also part of its glamour. Glamour is an expression of a paradox: a fantasy so close you can feel yourself inside it, but so distant you must admire from afar. Glass facilitates this illusion better than any other material. Think of shop windows, museum exhibits, and jewelry display cases. Glass says look but don’t touch. It beckons to you to lose yourself in fantasy at the same time as it precludes you from making it a reality.
Playing directly with this paradox, the Standard Hotel has captured the essence of glass’s glamour in its 18-story New York tower. The hotel touts the spectacular views of the Hudson River from the picture windows in each room, but the real story is guests’ exhibitionist behavior, encouraged (and sometimes engaged in) by staff and management. Ostensibly about looking out, the allure is really about looking in. The glamour is in feeling admired and coveted inside the glass box — exposed, yet protected.
Johnson supposedly prized his house for its outward views. A nature-lover, he lit the house with the intention of making the natural surroundings visible rather than calling attention to the architecture, and he slept facing out towards his favorite view. But the house is also undeniably about looking in. Johnson considered the threshold to be outside the house, at the first point when you get a full view of it just past the stone wall that runs alongside the driveway. In the foyer of a typical home, you acclimate to the new environment whilst inside it; in Johnson’s schema, you are welcomed first by standing outside looking in. You must appreciate before you enter.
Glass is not a comfortable material, and Johnson was well aware of this. He never aspired to comfort in his home, but to an aesthetic purity. The Glass House existed not to coddle his senses, but to stimulate them. He has said:
...Comfort is not a function of beauty... purpose is not necessary to make a building beautiful...sooner or later we will fit our buildings so that they can be used...where form comes from I don't know, but it has nothing at all to do with the functional or sociological aspects of our architecture.
Glamour, like glass, is beautiful but rigid. It doesn’t bend to our convenience; rather, it offers a fantasy, and if we desire it, we conform ourselves to its standards. In this way, glass it like countless other tools of glamour — corsets, stilettos, sportscars — enforcing an uncomfortable, even painful transformation. It is not easy to be glamorous, just as it is not easy to live in a glass house. But it is beautiful. And for some, it’s well worth it.
[Images: Glass House images, © Ingrid Fetell. Crystal Palace, Wikimedia Commons. All others via Flickr, used under Creative Commons license: Burj Dubai by Paolo Rosa, Seagram building by gmpicket, Louvre Pyramid by carlos_seo, and Standard Hotel by laurenatclemson.]
--advertisement--
“Would it be too much to ask to put out the cigarette for a moment, for the sake of social responsibility?” she asks.
She’s not the first to make that argument. Her prime target, The Sartorialist, has long drawn criticism for showing so many street-fashion icons with lit cigarettes. (Examples here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.) The topic has become something of a joke among commenters, and this post included a disclaimer declaring that the image isn’t supposed to celebrate smoking.
In truth, these blog photos rarely glamorize smoking. Unlike images like this, this, or this, they don't emphasize the smoking. It is unimportant to the image and the emotions it evokes. Rather, these photos normalize smoking, by depicting cigarettes as no more unusual or problematic than cell phones. You have to care about cigarettes to imbibe any message about them.
Of course, that normalization is something of a change from the treatment of cigarettes in my youth, when smoking was generally viewed as a low-class habit for losers. The unrelenting campaign against it has given smoking new cachet, making it an emblem of “heroic, sexy social outlaws,” as one observer put it in British Vogue.
Still, the main pro-cigarette bias on fashion blogs isn’t overt. It’s a side effect of the photographic medium. The still image removes the smoker from time and, thus, from the long-term consequences of the smoking. In this way, the photos are indeed glamorous, offering escape into a perfect, and illusory, moment beyond entropy, age, decay, or death.
[Celia enjoying a cigarette by Flickr user Malias, St. Tropez smoker by Flickr user FaceMePLS, both used under Creative Commons license.]
---advertisement---
Portman devised a scheme for a modern hotel built around an open atrium as a conscious rebuke to the standardized, boxy modern hotels of the nineteen-fifties and -sixties (including a preliminary design of his own, which he rejected as too conventional), based on the belief that in the troubled urban climate of the mid-nineteen-sixties, a new hotel going up in an urban site had to serve as a magnet to attract cautious suburbanites and out-of-towners. Everything about the Hyatt was geared toward visual excitement: a 220-foot tall central atrium, glass elevators, a round, revolving rooftop lounge, perched atop the building like a flying saucer.
Portman’s design did indeed represent the future of hotels. Its atrium lobby in particular became a much-imitated feature, helping to establish Hyatt as a national brand and Portman as a sought-after architect, especially in the hospitality industry. His iconic hotels include the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, shown to the right, the Westin Bonaventure in downtown L.A. (famous from In the Line of Fire, where Portman's glass elevators were important to the plot), the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, and Embarcadero Center (and its Hyatt) in San Francisco.
Ric Garrido of the Loyalty Traveler blog fondly remembers his teenage awe at the San Francisco Hyatt's atrium and the large metal sculpture that dominates it. (Photo below.)
Back in the 70s sitting in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency at Embarcadero Center provided a respite from the streets of San Francisco, same as today. Here was a large hotel space I could sit and rest my feet, use a free toilet, and drink some water while watching people move vertically through the hotel in the glass elevators and take each other’s photos in front of the sculpture.
Ironically the criticism of John Portman’s hotel atrium designs is that the focus of these large buildings is interior rather than exterior. The buildings are considered exclusionary to the people outside on the city streets. My memories of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco as a place where I could enjoy the beauty and comfort of a grand hotel as a person seeking shelter from the streets defies that criticism. The Hyatt Regency San Francisco is a hotel I have visited for over 30 years, yet I was a registered hotel guest for the first time in 2008.
Portman in effect reinvented the American hotel lobby as it had been experienced in the 19th century, a trend that has intensified over the past decade or so, even as Portman's once-radical designs have come to seem somewhat old-fashioned.
On October 17, an exhibit devoted to Portman's work opens at the High Museum in Atlanta. The following description of the Atlanta Hyatt Regency is drawn, with permission, from the catalog, John Portman: Art and Architecture
The hotel, John Portman’s first, revolutionized an entire industry by introducing the atrium concept to contemporary hotel design. The hotel was conceived as a totally new guest experience: the antithesis of the traditional, tightly confined double-corridor hotel. The design goal was to open the interior space to create a dynamic, uplifting environment, one that would bring the energy and life of the city indoors, while providing restaurants, cafés, and bars that would attract visitors, not just guests.The 22-story concrete structure was figuratively “exploded” to create the huge, sky-lit atrium. With natural light, sculpture, trees, and water, the interior resembles a large outdoor piazza bordered by a sidewalk café. (Originally, the lobby featured a three-story aviary, home to colorful Macaws and other tropical birds.) The glass elevator cabs were exposed, turning the elevators into kinetic sculptures, creating a sense of movement and drama. Passengers on the glass elevators could view the Atlanta skyline as the elevator continued through the atrium roof to the blue-domed revolving restaurant above.
Many professionals saw the atrium design as a liability—an enormous waste of space. During the hotel’s construction, legendary hotel operator Conrad Hilton was quoted as observing, “That concrete monster will never fly.” When the hotel did open, it was visited by thousands of tourists a day, forming lines around the block. The great success of the original project, which comprised 800 guestrooms, quickly prompted the expansion of two adjacent towers, creating an additional 200 and 350 guestrooms, respectively.
Hyatt’s owners, the Pritzker family of Chicago, were richly rewarded for taking a chance on Portman's unconventional designs. In fact, writes Goldberger in his catalog introduction, the hotel “tied the reputation of the Pritzkers to architecture to such an extent that a dozen years later the family established the Pritzker Prize, which has become the most famous architectural prize in the world.”
[Hyatt Regency Atlanta, 1967, view of the atrium, photo by Michael Portman and Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel, 1985, view of the atrium, photo by Jaime Ardiles-Arce, both courtesy of the High Museum of Art. Grand Hyatt Lobby, San Francisco, by Flickr user amnesia_x under Creative Commons license. "Atlanta Lights" by Flickr user Old Shoe Woman, used with permission.]
---advertisement---
A month or so ago, I started to write a post on sorority glamour. At first, it seemed easy enough, especially since I spent several years donning “pin attire” (something dressier than a sweatshirt and jeans) for Monday night meetings and shopping for formal dresses that could stand up to beer stains. Sororities aren’t just about the clothes (and the parties those clothes are for) but some of the glamour to be found in those institutions is definitely related to dressing up. In that respect, sororities bridge the gap between the high school prom and the board rooms and charity galas that loom after graduation.
But glamour is more than just trappings – otherwise there’d be no blog called Deep Glamour. In an effort to figure out what lies beneath the formal dresses and little gold sorority pins, I dug out a few books on the subject to see what they had to say. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a whole lot. In Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities
Then I moved on to Google and Flickr, searching for “sorority and glamour,” and similar variations on that theme. Most of what I found was designed either to mock ditzy sorority girls or to capitalize on their image as, shall we say, morally casual. Or, as in the case of the movie Sorority Row, which opens tomorrow, to do both, while a serial killer chases the girls around campus. But no serious discussion could be found.
So finally, I went straight to the source, asking the opinions of a bunch of women I know who were in sororities during college. Finally, I got some real answers about the role of glamour in Greek life.
According to my friends – and my own experiences back this up – it’s all about the mystery. There’s something fascinating and exciting about a group that’s got secrets and rituals at its core, and a hundred-plus years of history to back them up. On top of that, the exclusivity factor, though it draws ire from the anti-Greek crowd, keeps the organization’s secrets just that – secret.
Secret rituals and codes built on long-standing, somewhat mysterious traditions - these are the things that sell us on books like The Da Vinci Code
All that said, we can’t forget the clothes. Formal dresses and pin attire might be simply the superficial manifestation of sorority life, but when we start learning about glamour and deciding what it means to us, personally, we have to start someplace – and usually, we start with the outifts. Once we're dressed, then we can worry about secrets and codes.
["Sorority Row" poster from Summit Entertainment. I wish I had a picture of my own sorority house, but all of my pictures of the house also include a bunch of squealing girls - squealing girls who are now doctors and lawyers and scientists, and who definitely don't want their college pictures posted all over the internet.]
--advertisement--
A young corporate lawyer that I know was thrilled that he found a $4,000 Paul Smith suit in his size on sale for $800. He snatched it up and took it to his tailor to be fine tuned in fit. (The photo at right shows one of Smith’s suits.)
A friend of mine whose work never requires that he dress up could not understand why anyone would pay thousands of dollars for a suit. This friend likes to cook, and, while looking around a kitchenware store with our wives, I pointed out a Victorinox chef's knife which Cook’s Illustrated had praised as a inexpensive, yet favorite tool in their test kitchen. He then showed me the knife that he wanted, a Shun chef’s knife. It was incredibly beautiful, but given that it was priced at about five times as much, I wondered if it could possibly function five times as well?
I suppose that depends on what “function” means. If you love to cook and love to work with beautiful tools, then owning the Shun knife might be a daily source of pleasure. And if your work involves frequently dealing with clients who wear suits worth thousands of dollars, then wearing a suit in which you feel just as well-dressed could be both valuable to your business and personally pleasurable. Value in both cases depends on just how much the suit or knife means to the self-image of the buyer.
--advertisement--
Hats
by Glenis
Redmond
Sistahs have always been able to style in hats.
You know they got it going on.
Those women can wear hats from dust ‘til dawn.
You’ve got to be bold and have snap to sport a hat.
You’ve got to have it
and know where it is at.
You’ve got to stop and cock it to the side.
Check them out and continue with your stride.
Profile it. Style it.
Then let them wow it.
Tilt it, lean it, or wear it straight in place.
A well worn hat is a symbol of grace.
You have heard people say it. I have too.
“Oh, she can wear a hat.
She sho’ ’nough knows what to do.”
Oh, a hat can get those oohs and aahs.
If it is totally bad, it gets applause.
Some hats are so bad, they are just bad to the bone.
People stop and say, “that girl has got it going on.”
Or say “You just go girl, you just go on, girl,
‘cause with that hat you’re the finest thang in the world.”
HATS
HATS
HATS
Big
ones, tall ones, small ones, fruity ones,
pointy ones, veiled ones, flowered ones
sporty ones,
polka-dot ones,
plain ones,
and kufis too!
Lean it,
cock
it,
style it,
profile
it,
tilt
it,
tip it,
check
it,
sport
it.
HATS
HATS
HATS
Do you dare to wear?
How do you fare?
Do you want to be bad to the bone?
Then, get you a hat and get it going on!
[Copyright 2000 by Glenis Redmond. Used with permission of the author. Photo of Virginia Postrel and Amy Alkon watching slide show of Kirk McKoy's photos of women in church hats by Karol Franks, from her DeepGlamour party set on Flickr.]
--advertisement--
Earlier this week, Randall Shinn wrote about the impact of voice. He writes of patterned language, saying, “Hearing such language performed by a great vocal interpreter remains a magical experience.”
It’s true that some voices and some styles of delivery make words more powerful. It doesn’t stop, though, with the spoken word. Graphic novelists, especially, understand this, creating images and deliberately drawing words to convey a certain mood. Artist Maira Kalman tells stories (most notably in The New York Times) using simple drawings, bright colors and incredibly expressive handwriting that is one part childlike, one part sophisticated and completely distinctive.
The majority of us, though, don’t have the artistic ability to communicate like Kalman, or any graphic novelist. But we do have Microsoft Word, which offers us hundreds of different fonts to choose from, plus the ability to easily manipulate font size, to make our words bold, and to italicize. With just a little effort, we can download a font to convey most every mood or concept (including glamour, which has a “font family” of its own, plus an additional “glamour girl” iteration).
This makes me wonder: just because we can manipulate the look of our words to convey extra emotion, should we? There’s something relaxing about reading books and websites that, out of necessity, rely on a single, simple font with a minimum of fuss, and sometimes it’s nice, as a reader, to do a little interpretation. But, then, are we missing out on something the author might share?
[Photo "Words" by Flickr user Emborg, under the Creative Commons license.]
After careful consideration, and much argle-bargle
"Dogs aren't glamorous!" "Yes, they are!" "No, they're not--slobber is not seductive!"
in which DG's panel of experts fought like, well, you know, Deep Glamour is pleased to announce the winners of the first DG Pet Week contest, canine division. All winners will receive PetHead products.
Most glamorous pose Lola
Most glamorous photo Pumpkin
Most glamorous dog (tie) Sasha
Most glamorous dog (tie) Vida
Cats are just inherently glamorous, and they seem to inspire boudoir shots.
Abby by Barbara Ellis. She reminds me of Greer Garson, in Mrs. Miniver.
Pet Week winners will be announced soon. Stay tuned!
Wonton by Celia.
Sasha by Kelly. A blue-eyed Siberan Husky. Or maybe those are tinted contacts?
Gabriel by Susan C. Another blue-eyed charmer.
Lucy Maybelline by Sheri Squires. She's lounging on a George Nelson pillow.
Pumpkin by Tyler Chesher. She has such a 30s quality--looks like a character right out of Public Enemies.
Incidentally, photographer Deborah Chesher offers her rock and roll photos at a special Christmas in July rate.
Dogs might come in all shapes, sizes and temperments, but when it comes to glamorous pets, small dogs get a lot of the love. Tiny dog owner (and tiny dog clothing designer) Paris Hilton is not alone in her love for all things tiny and canine - if photos on the now defunct Celebrity Dog Blog are to be believed, small is the size of choice among starlets all over LA.
While small dogs might have their pick of designer doggie carriers and dresses that would make a beauty pageant contestant green with envy, big dogs have a brand of glamour all their own.
Thanks, simply, to their size, big dogs often have a regal air. When they're in motion they're full of power and grace, showing off what their size can do. Capably glamorous. But when they're at rest, that's when the real power shines through. The most glamorous big dogs are almost feline in their attitude - the way they survey what's around them lets you know that they're in charge. They're Joan Collins, hair wrapped in a turban, sipping a glass of champagne while someone else (their owner) does their bidding.
So which is more glamorous, the trendy petite pooch ensonced in Louis or the grande dame clad in nothing but a collar and a haughty look?
That, I believe, is a question for the ages.
["What's in my bag? A dog!" by Flickr user creme_brulee. "Great Dane for a Walk" by Flickr user Morning Glory. Both images used under Creative Commons license.]
Mabel and Evie by Sarah Godwin.
Mabel and Evie are both a mix of terrier (probably Cairn) and Chinese Crested (powderpuff) and were adopted from a shelter network. Since their adoption, they have wholeheartedly embraced the princess life.
Sadie by Marjorie Strum. As befits a Bay area cat, she's sweet and tolerant.
Lucy by Amy Alkon.
Incidentally, Alkon, the Advice Goddess, shares her Yorkie's love for luxurious hair care products. In fact, she uses the same shampoo--Buddy Wash.
Vida, a Sheltie by Kevin Knoblock. Look at those come-hither eyes.
The phenomena of fashions in pets (not to be confused with pet fashions, which is a different post) has been recently pointed up by Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog, chosen by the Obamas. Cute, non-shedding, and smart, this breed hadn't been on the radar of the general public, but now, breeders are besieged by frenzied families, and according to the Wall Street Journal, being very picky about who gets a puppy. Previous First Pets hadn't set off quite the same mania, although Checkers, a spaniel owned by Richard Nixon became a household name.
Before Bo, Chihuahuas were popular, thanks to movies like Legally Blond and starlets like Paris Hilton.
And back in the '50s, Lassie set the standard for family companionship, despite a frightening intelligence and a coat that required daily, hourly maintenance. Timmy's mom must have had a live-in groomer.
The Art Production Fund's "Works on Whatever" project offers beach towels with designs by fine artists. The Alex Katz design has the most glamour, but I'm a big fan of Ed Ruscha and love his nerdy take here. (Hat tip: Liquid Treat)
, they suggest, and you'll finally get all that bathroom clutter under control.[Photo: Coffret-nécessaire de toilette, Mathias Walbaum, circa 1595-1600. Musée historique, Bâle © Bâle, musée Historique / photo : HMB M. Babey.]
Anyone whose commute takes them past a high school with liberal dress codes might notice the striking contrast between numerous young ladies dressed to kill and numerous young men dressed to skateboard in t-shirts and dropped-crotch cutoffs. And occasionally you see young couples out on a date in which the clash in clothing styles seems incongruous. (I suspect the style-conscious young Japanese couple in the photo can match styles well when they choose to.)
While I was a professor at Arizona State University a male graduate student entered the program who was tall and handsome enough to quickly attract the admiration of the undergraduate women. He soon started dating the most stylish female graduate student in the school. Within months she had made him over from hair to shoes into as stylish a male student as you could possibly imagine. He had a teaching assistantship, and after that a few of his undergraduate female students were always trailing along asking him questions (except when his girlfriend was present).
I once complimented a stylish engaged young couple on what a handsome pair they made, and he said, “You didn’t see us before she made me over.” She was slightly embarrassed and said, “He always says that.” But given how stylish she was, I had no doubt she had offered him a few suggestions.
I have seen numerous couples out together in which the woman looked considerably more stylish than the man, but seldom the reverse. But when my wife and I talked about this topic at dinner one night, we found it interesting that most of the couples we knew were reasonably well matched in terms of style. I would be curious whether our readers feel that they pair up that way, or whether one of them has mentored the other in matters of style. I had a casual conversation about this with a woman, and she said all her efforts to remake her husband’s wardrobe had been failures. And thinking about it, I realized the two male makeovers I described happened while the couple were dating. Do any of you have tips or stories to share in this regard?
[“Stylish couple”photograph by Javi Motomachi and used under the Flickr Creative Commons license.]
DG: Has your definition of "glamour" changed since you became a mother? How?
MK: Since I’ve become a mom my definition of glamour has changed a bit—I still think of Grace Kelly and Aubrey Hepburn as iconic definitions of the term glamour, but I’m also noting more mother-figures as having that 'je ne se quoi'.
DG: How do you incorporate glamour into life as a busy mom?
MK: As a busy mom of two boys, I try to incorporate glamour into my life through makeup! A new shade of lipstick or a pretty pop of color on your cheek instantly updates your look and helps you stay current. I love makeup because it’s an inexpensive and easy way to update your style-these days we can all appreciate that! Being a mom means we don’t get to spend as much time on ourselves as we’d like so whether it’s a pretty pucker or a smokey eye, makeup is a quick and easy way to feel better about ourselves. It’s all about the little things these days.
DG: Who is the most glamorous mother you know of? What is it about her that makes her glamorous to you?
MK: Salma Hayek. She’s not only beautiful, but smart. Her work with UNICEF helps pregnant women get tetanus vaccines—to me that’s the epitome of glamour.
I suppose that one could choose to be glamorous anywhere. While staying in a B&B in Harlech, Wales, we dressed casually and asked where to find a good local pub. After telling us, our host recalled a Parisian couple that had come down from their rooms on a Saturday night, he wearing a tuxedo, and she an evening gown. When they asked, “Where is the nightlife?” he looked at them and said, “You’re it.” Then he explained the local customs, sent them to a local pub dressed as they were, and they had a great time.
The Kentucky Derby provides an opportunity to wear outrageously extravagant hats and drink during the day. Seeing photographs such as this one, I am reminded of Ovid's line in The Art of Love advising young men “to learn to know the places which the fair ones most do haunt.” Places where “they come to see and, more important still, to be seen.” And he mentions Roman horse races as one possible venue.
In large, reasonably fashionable cities, glamorous events are more of a possibility. Theater events, charitable events, perhaps some country club gatherings, and maybe even some night spots where you might feel comfortable dressed in relatively glamorous clothing. While living in New Orleans I was invited to observe the carnival ball of one of the Mardi Gras Krewes, an event so costumed and formal that a tuxedo was required to sit in the balcony and watch. In smaller cities and towns, dress is usually more casual, though in small fashionable cities like Santa Fe, there are more chances to dress up.
How do readers feel? Is an occasion or venue required in order to wear glamorous outfits? Or can touches of glamour be incorporated into more ordinary clothing? While in Breckenridge recently to ski, I noticed that young Japanese skiers were, on the whole, strikingly fashion conscious, and this was true of both young men and women as they were merely window shopping in town. No wonder Japan has become one of the world leaders in style.
[Photo courtesy of Flickr user Velo Steve under Creative Commons license.]
Twice in my life I have been invited into homes that contained no objects designed to provide visual pleasure. No artwork, no family heirlooms, no knickknacks, plain furniture, and plain food served on the plainest plates imaginable. In both cases the husbands were tenured university professors, so poverty was not the cause. One family was Quaker, but lacked the love of beautifully made, simply-designed furniture that many Quakers have. The other family was Jewish and had escaped Europe during World War II. Despite the husband’s success in America, their outlook on life remained as bleak as their home.
In both cases I went home needing to look at some of the visual “treasures” my wife and I have collected for our home. Their cost, whatever that was, is not what makes them treasures to us--what makes them valuable is the pleasure we have in using and looking at them.
The mug shown in the photo is a contemporary version of one designed by architect Mary Colter (1869-1958) for the Santa Fe railroad as part of her Super Chief china. The quail motif is a stylized version of one found on ancient pottery from the Mimbres culture , long vanished from the American Southwest. Coulter was one of the first women architects, and she designed several important buildings for Fred Harvey and the National Park Service. Her buildings remain stylish even today.
I love having morning tea in this mug. It’s beautifully shaped, sturdy, and feels good both in your hand and on your lips. Like most of the objects any of us collect, this one brings back memories and associations, including where we were when we purchased it.
Unfortunately, with familiarity we often take for granted the beauty and pleasure that our collected objects provide us on a daily basis. Sometimes it’s good to remember, to stop and look at them. In an important sense, they help define who we are. I had taken a seminar with one of the professors mentioned above, and I learned more about him as a person in one quick glance around his living room than I had in a whole semester of discussions.
The ads for Isaac Mizrahi's new line for Liz Claiborne feature women, only one of them a professional model, whose ages range from 19 to 68. What they have in common, reports the NYT's Stephanie Rosenbloom,
is what the company’s executives call “perpetual 35-ness.” In other words, the notion that in most women’s minds (if not their bodies) they are all 35. That is the age, Mr. Mizrahi said, when women are “perfectly ripe”: old enough to feel independent and confident, but not so old that they feel, er, old.
What do you think? Is 35 the perfect age? Was it the perfect age 10 or 20 years ago? Do ideal ages vary in different parts of the country? When we lived in Dallas, we often remarked that women seemed to aspire to look a bit older than they do in L.A.--not old, mind you, and probably not even 35, but older.
When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote Bernice Bobs Her Hair, about the transformation of a lumpen cousin from Eau Claire into a belle with a wicked line of party patter, social success was visible--if there was a line of men waiting to cut in and dance with a girl, she was popular. Now, Facebook friends and Twitter followers and other social media rosters fill the same function. Or do they?
Recently, I'd unwittingly conducted an experiment in measuring my own popularity and name recognition. An zealous underling updated my Facebook profile by sending out friend requests to everyone in my combined address books. I went from some 200 friends to nearly 600--with only 6 people sending me "who the hell are you?" emails. I figure this is probably about half of the recipients of the request, which isn't a bad average. Still, I'm a wallflower compared to Andrew Breitbart who's got 2,300 friends, or Arianna Huffington with nearly 4,958. (Virginia Postrel has some 700, and her own devotee group, but then she's a person of charm and substance. I'm just chatty.)
Facebook has a 5000 limit, and some experts think that hitting the magic number doesn't mean much. The average user has 100 friends, and I did notice, not that this proves anything, that people who had very few friends or were concerned about privacy, were the people who wanted reassurance that I wasn't a spam-bot. I accept everyone's friend requests--being a Facebook pal doesn't mean I'm having you over for birthday cake. Slate's Farhad Manjoo was a little more blunt--get on the bus, Gus--
Nobody avoids meeting people in real life by escaping to the Web.
If anything, the opposite is true for me--the more F'bookers I know, the more places I go. What about you, DG readers? Leave a comment, scoot me an email, or find me on.... Facebook.
Thomas Friedman, in the NYTimes, wants more money for math and science education, which is hard to argue against. But since the big days of Silicon Valley are pretty much over, engineering and hard science seems rather drab. Back in the JFK race for space years, science was a lot sexier.
Take a look at this Space Center team, celebrating one of the Apollo missions.
These guys are peacocks! They're wearing colorful shirts, smoking cigars, applauding each other. I'll bet someone has a flask in his desk, and there's Johnny Walker in those paper cups.
Contrast and compare a contemporary JPL crew.
They're in matching polo shirts, which gives them the look of a fast food outfit or maybe the toner sales force at some team-building seminar. No cigars, everyone is seated--it looks about as exciting as 5th grade, waiting for milk and cookies.
The chicest way to plead poverty--just say you lost everything with Madoff!
Everyone's doing it. Joan Rivers, Eliot Spitzer, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, Nancy Silverton and fils, Mort Zuckerman, screenwriter Eric Roth and host of others.
When no one has any spare millions, it's the same as if everyone has. Even if all you ever invest in is a mocha latte, you can easily join the club of the newly broke.
But don't let the lack of cash keep you from acting lavishly, in small ways. Rush to be the one to tip the valet or barista, spring to pick up the tab for a fast-food lunch. Then, you can sit back and let someone else pull out the plastic for a really big bill. I'll have some more tips for living the high life when you're on your uppers soon.
In a perfect world, David Austin would develop Deep Glamour rose: showy, scented, and purple. Until that day, I can order the 2009 calendar and dream.
Perhaps something like Harlow Carr (left) or The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild.
When I saw Ines Kembel walking down Westwood Blvd., I thought she and the silhouette on her shirt both looked glamorous--and that was before I saw the writing on the shirt. (Click the photo to see.) I asked if I could take a photo for DG, only to discover that I'd left my camera at home. So Ines sent me this one.
Denzel Washington's star power
Why the fascination with shoes?
Obama's Glamour Can't Fix His Charisma Deficit
The Allure of the "Oscar Moment"
Green techno-glamour: High-speed rail and wind turbines
A Power to Persuade: The deeper meaning of glamour
Why Amelia Bombed: Glamour vs. Charisma, plus Pancho Barnes slideshow
George Hurrell's Hollywood photographs
Julius Shulman's architectural photos
To contact the authors, use the email addresses below. (Substitute the @ sign for "-at-".) If you would like to send us something by surface mail, please contact Virginia Postrel at virginia -at- deepglamour.net for a mailing address.
All posts copyright by the authors unless otherwise noted.
Photo of Dorothy Jordan by George Hurrell courtesy of the Pancho Barnes Trust Estate Archive.
Logo and banner design by Julia Ames of Spoolia.
DeepGlamour is an Amazon
We also get money or in-kind compensation from places that have ads on the site, our contest prizes are donated, and Virginia receives review copies of lots of books (most of which never get mentioned on the site and end up donated to the Westwood branch of the L.A. Public Library). But you could probably figure that out on your own.
Our privacy policy
Recent Comments