Love and Marriage
For some, true love is their heart’s desire, the prize they seek. For others, romance is merely a prelude to the main event – marriage! The ultimate, nonpareil, pinnacle of achievement. Hmmmm. With success rates hovering at 48% for first marriages, 33% for second marriages and a grim 27% for third marriages, one wonders about those convinced they can beat the odds. Perhaps they’re just incurable romantics. These handkerchiefs reflect the era when marriage was considered the zenith, the ultimate victory in the world of love. Yet, the artists are well aware that romance, for some, is akin to...
Read MoreRoad to Romance
So many flirtations, assignations, and secret trysts have commenced with the flutter of a handkerchief, it’s no surprise that hundreds of hankies carry images of amour. Naturally roses and romance go hand in hand, with many a suitor gifting everything from hand embroidered bouquets To dazzling displays of bonbons bursting from a bevy of blossoms. An elaborately draped blackamoor displays a stunning bouquet sent by a suitor with the card “see you tonight.” His boutonniere matches the bouquet, providing a subtle reminder throughout the evening of his adoration. Our...
Read MoreAnimal Magnetism
For the cynic who says love is for the birds – you’re absolutely right! In this hankie everyone from the cuckoo to the dodo, the parrot to the nighthawk have something to squawk about, while an ermine robed Queen Bee holds court center stage. I doubt this hankie will satiate an endlessly inquisitive child, but then, the birds and bees chestnut has always been mostly an escape hatch for flustered parents, leaving kids more baffled and befuddled than before. “Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Let’s do it; let’s fall in love.” Let’s Fall in Love, 1933 by Harold Arlen and...
Read MoreThe Music of Romance
From stolen kisses to secret rendezvous, scenarios are endless when it comes to matters of the heart, yet all seem to share one common denominator – the power of music to express the inexpressible, to enfold the heart and move the soul. Victor Hugo opined “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” Music can transport us to either the apex of joy or nadir of despair like nothing else can. It moves both body and soul, compelling us to literally dance with joy when we’re in love. The 1935 musical “Top Hat” encourages one to “do the Piccolino with...
Read MoreWords of Love
Alex William’s New York Times article The End of Courtship could bring the most optimistic romantic to tears. The accompanying graphic depicts 16 millennials sitting at a bar, all sending and reading texts. Eye contact between patrons is Zero. Zip. Nada. Yet the messages they’re reading include “Join me for breakfast?” “Steamy spa night @ 11 p.m.” and “You in? 2am my place for some hot mac and cheese.” Courtship today consists of “Hey” or “Sup?” (Sounds the Fonz; yet even he knew courting required meeting the girl at her doorstep and escorting her home.) According to Williams, one woman who...
Read MoreWriting
“To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.” Phyllis Theroux With so many venues open for the world to reach us today – email, twitter, texting, fax, phone, newspaper, television, internet, etc., why do we work so intently to screen, delete, expunge, edit, cancel and eliminate 99% of information from reaching us? Because it arrives uninvited and unwanted. Yet, who among us would toss away a handwritten letter unopened? (Savvy direct mail marketers learned this secret over two decades ago and began using handwritten fonts for junk mail, but we soon...
Read MoreFan Fandango
On a par with handkerchief flirting, we present the fluttering fan. It provides a perfect foil from whence the shy can seek shelter and the ardent arouse passion. From coquette to vixen, ingénue to vamp, a huntress skilled at the game of flirting can drop her prey with a flick of the wrist. “The eyes are one of the most powerful tools a wom an can have. With one look, she can relay the most intimate message. After the connection is made, words cease to exist.” Jennifer Salaiz (The lady in gold is from a Russian website and I apologize, but I do not read Russian, so cannot give an...
Read MoreLe Parfum
“Perfume is magic. It’s mystery. We recreate the smell of a flower. Of wood. Of grass. We capture the essence of life. Liquefy it. We store memories. We make dreams. What we do is a wonder, an art, and we have a responsibility to do it well.” M.J. Rose, Seduction Ah yes, fabulous fragrance. In this season of romance, “le parfum” is the ultimate femme fatale accoutrement for flirting. Our olfactory sense is so finely tuned that a mere whiff of jasmine, rose, or lily can evoke memories of a lost love, a magical summer, or pivotal moment in our lives. Perfumers and retailers know this all too...
Read MoreRaymond Peynet – the Eternal Romantic
“Do you know what it’s like to love someone so much that you can’t see yourself without picturing her? Or what it’s like to touch someone, and feel like you’ve come home?” Jodi Picoult, The Pact Raymond Peynet knew, and expressed it exquisitely in his enchanting and often humorous drawings. You’ve seen his work here before in our romantic musings and New Year’s greetings. Delightfully innocent, and utterly charming, Peynet’s images captured the hearts of Parisians and romantics worldwide. (Note: this month we have a very special gift for you, so be sure to read to the...
Read MoreValentine Oh Please
“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” Dr. Seuss Since handkerchiefs have long been a vehicle for flirting, it’s no surprise to find dozens of hankies adorned with images of amour. From richly embroidered roses to images of turtledoves and throbbing hearts, a hankie is the quintessential fashion accessory when it comes to romance. The variety of images is as vast as the legion of lovers of Catherine the Great. Today our tuning forks are trained on a single note – the reluctant ingénue – as we follow...
Read MoreSmoking
“Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.” Mark Twain Along with dieting and exercising , another popular New Year’s Resolution is giving up smoking. In decades past, smoking was considered sexy and sophisticated, and later, cool and hip. The Marlboro Man commanded the prairie with swagger and bravado. Holly Golightly flirted and flattered with her gloves up to here, and her cigarette holder out to there. “Strange as it may seem, there is nothing in which a young and beautiful female appears to more advantage than in the art...
Read MoreValentine’s Day
One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love. Sophocles Searching for just the right Valentine can be like searching for the perfect white shirt, neighborhood that feels like home, or special pet to love. Each offers something special and unique, but only one will speak to your heart. Valentines come in every shape, size and color, with far too many styles to showcase in a single blog. I’ve chosen a small sampling to illustrate the variety of ways hankies can convey “I love you.” Certainly there’s the ubiquitous Key to My Heart message. Sometimes the message is...
Read MoreSecret Love
. These “Secret Valentines” are not only great fun, they’re the perfect images to exemplify Valentine’s Day. Why? Because St.Valentine represents forbidden love. Stories about St. Valentine abound, but the one I favor is the legend about a priest name Valentinus or Valentine who lived during the third century in Rome. The reigning emperor at that time, Claudius II, decided that single men would make better soldiers than those who had wives, thus soldiers were forbidden to marry. The soldiers sought aid from Valentine, who married couples in secret, in violation of the law. When his...
Read MoreAddendum to Roses and Romance
Although Valentine’s Day is still a few weeks away, I’m hopping on cupid’s bandwagon because in today’s culture of texting and tweeting, some guys apparently need a wake-up call when it comes to romance. A recent lead story in the New York Times decried The End of Courtship, and the details were truly disheartening. (We touched on this trend in Flirting.) Apparently Millennial girls are drowning in a tsunami of boys with bad manners. The story opens with a social media manager in Philly, who thought she had a date for Friday night. The guy finally texted her at 10:30 p.m., with this...
Read MoreRoses and Romance
When I spied this luscious bouquet, it stopped me in my tracks. I couldn’t help but wonder if the gentleman who bestowed this on his sweetheart longed to give her live roses, but this hankie was all he could afford. That speculation immediately brought to mind the terrific anecdote about how actress Helen Hayes first met her husband. (Hayes is one of the select few to have attained EGOT status – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony.) Attending a swanky soiree one evening, bored to tears, Hayes was contemplating how to gracefully exit, when she was suddenly approached by the man who would...
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