The Handkerchief as Alter Ego
Are you Adventuresome? Creative? Colorful? Fun Loving? Exciting? Or are you Demure and Shy? Serious and Studious? Classic and Refined? A Person of Mystery and Intrigue? In case you think I’m exaggerating the influence of the handkerchief on fashion,(see history) take a gander at this full page ad in the June 28, 1947 issue of The New Yorker. A full page was no small commitment, and it features – not a Mainbocher suit, Christian Dior gown or Lilly Daché hat, but a handkerchief. Yep. A simple square of cotton. And yet….it’s described as mad, witty and sophisticated! The subtext being of...
Read MoreSan Francisco II
“Leaving San Francisco is like saying goodbye to an old sweetheart. You want to linger as long as possible.” Walter Cronkite And linger we shall…with so many marvels to explore, the city requires an extended visit. In San Francisco I we found handkerchiefs that were virtual tourist guides, amassing dozens of highlights on a single canvas. The colorful compilation below has so much to say it has to start listing locations! Note the Fog is featured in its own special corner. Truly the mercurial mists are part and parcel of the city’s character, as so many visitors have declared. “We’ve never...
Read MoreHappy New Year
Oh dear, looks like this hapless chap may require a bit of “hair of the dog” to restore him to his former glory, or at the very least to an ‘upright and locked’ position. Note the wobbly-kneed stance so cleverly depicted by the four-footed stumble of our staggering celebrant. Or is it just our own double vision? If you’ve ever attempted to “party hearty” like this sad creature, your sympathies are with him, I’m sure. Aside: Hair of the Dog dates back to the time of Shakespeare, and is a term we use today to refer to treatment for a hangover. Apparently the Scots believed that a...
Read MoreBirthday Cards
“A good man measures his life not in the number of his years, but in the quality of his friends.” Todd Stocker As we learned in our first birthday blog, a popular custom in years past (and for some of us, still today 🙂 ) has been to tuck a hankie in a card to say Congratulations and Many Happy Returns. A handkerchief card from Millie to her sister Flo in 1935 Other fun gifts to receive were “secret message” handkerchiefs, much like we saw in our Secret Love Valentine handkies. The message is revealed when the handkerchief is folded. Many handkerchiefs were designed to unfold...
Read MoreAntiques
“Collectors are happy people.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe A cursory glance at the September/October issue of Antiques Magazine confirms that fall heralds good hunting for antique lovers. Heirloom treasures abound at the International Show at Park Avenue Armory, Fall Antiques at Rhinebeck, Boston International Fine Art Show, Deerfield Antiques Show, Delaware Antiques Show, Philadelphia Antiques & Art Show, Shenandoah Antique Expo, Natchez Antique Forum, Louisiana Purchase Auction, Houston Antiques & Art & Design, San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, and that’s just the tip of the...
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