50 Shades of Gray
The eyes have it – in 50 Shades of Gray…and green, and blue, and…. Who could resist these every-so-hip, flirty, fun sunglasses? The tangy lime linen provides a zesty backdrop for frames and lenses of electric turquoise. Randomly scattered, like kids rolling down a hill for pure fun, these frames give a tip of the hat to vintage, while barreling headlong down the highway toward modernism. “Shades” have always carried the cachet of cool. The frames you see here made their foray into fashion in the 1950’s, an era when folks forsook cities for the suburbs,and swapped the subway...
Read MoreThe Big Sizzle
Flowers of all description are far and away the most popular image to be found on handkerchiefs. Thousands still exist, and are used and enjoyed daily. The ones that caught my eye and left me smiling however, were the gigantic flowers that seemed to have bloomed at Findhorn. Who carried these beauties? It had to be someone with the chutzpah of actress Rosalind Russell or the zip of a wise-cracking Eve Arden. These were classic “dames” in every sense of the word, who captured the silverscreen in the 1940s & 50s, and were as bold and colorful as these remarkable hankies.. Rosalind...
Read MoreSnow Bunnies and Moguls
For some skiers, mention the word mogul, and their knees involuntarily creak, as they recall plowing over, under, around, and though “the bumps” (enormous man made mounds of snow) whether they were standing upright, or falling end over end down the mountain. Others envision a different concept of “mogul.” When I lived in Denver in the 1970’s, I remember a reporter in Aspen approaching a group of gorgeous, model-like women “lunching and sunning” on the deck. Their outfits were not only supremely expensive, but pristine, as though they had never taken a fall. The reporter...
Read MoreChildren’s Silk Handkerchiefs
Children + silk = a recipe for disaster, or at the very least, an opportunity for Oxyclean. These tissue-thin gossamer gems, depicting fanciful characters and nursery rhymes, reflect a different time in history, and a different way of life – a Downton Abbey life. A life with an upstairs maid, downstairs maid, ladies maid, butler, footman, driver, cook, scullery maid, laundress, gardener, nanny, governess, and more. TV critics who have tried to analyze why the series took off like a rocket with U.S. audiences say it’s because we all fantasize about living the type of life which is...
Read MoreLady Liberty
When France shipped their gift of the Statue of Liberty to the US in 1886, it needed assembly. Cost for assembly was estimated to be $100,000 – an enormous sum, but not an impossible goal, if the privileged class wished to assist, which apparently, they did not. The statue would have remained crated in a warehouse indefinitely were it not for the initiative of one Hungarian Immigrant, Joe Pulitzer, publisher of a small local paper New York World. Pulitzer asked the people of the city to assist with the installation. Everyone from grocery clerks to shoeshine boys, to street...
Read MoreHandkerchief History
Stories of hope, heartache and happiness hiding in the humble handkerchief – Who could imagine that a simple square of cotton or silk could hold memories of sadness, loss, joy, hope, happiness and love in their evanescent folds? But they do. I know because over the years, I’ve heard countless stories from people about a handkerchief they treasure. Some hankies have been saved for decades. Personally, I have handkerchiefs in my collection dating back to 1893. True collectors have hankies that stretch much farther back in time, for these keepsakes were special to someone, and were thus...
Read MoreWabi Sabi Love
I’ve endured more than one sidelong glance when someone learns I collect old handkerchiefs. It was almost as though I said I collect tin cans. (Hmmm. Come to think of it, I do have a couple of tin cans, but more on that later.) I guess you could say my love of handkerchiefs is Wabi-sabi love. Wabi-sabi is the Japanese aesthetic of finding beauty in things that are imperfect, impermanent or incomplete. The two separate words have related but different meanings. “Wabi” represents the kind of beauty found in imperfection, for example, the asymmetry in a ceramic bowl which reflects the touch...
Read MoreThe Accidental Collector
The reasons for collecting are as varied as the collectors themselves. Some folks are accidental collectors – they inherited Aunt Ruthie’s depression glass or Uncle Bill’s antique pen collection. For others, a hobby becomes a passion. I know an executive with a museum quality collection of toy soldiers. “My collecting” he explained, “was accidental. I was sick as a child, and had to entertain myself while spending months in bed.” He used to keep his soldiers in shoeboxes under his bed. They now occupy an entire wall of custom built glass shelves in his office. He has hundreds of...
Read MoreShare Your Story
Share Your Story I was surprised and delighted to discover that everyone seems to have a hankie story to tell.I’m always curious how people decide upon handkerchief collecting. Did they find the hankies or did the hankies find them? We’d love to hear your story. Read what others have written, and to share yours, scroll to the bottom of this page, and write your story in the comment box.
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