Chicago
Oh Chicago, where to begin? Trying to describe the city is akin to eating an elephant in one bite – overwhelming and impossible. Chicago has been called audacious, gritty, tenacious, and rugged, as well as heroic, epic, splendid, and irresistible. Poet Carl Sandburg captured her synergy best in his poem Chicago, when he claimed the ‘City of Big Shoulders’ is “a chant of defiance…defiance of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, London, Paris, Berlin and Rome. The poem sort of says “Maybe we ain’t got culture, but we’re eatin’ regular.” Hmmmm. I take umbrage...
Read MoreTally Ho
Riding to the Hounds In years past, November signaled the start of hunting season when skilled horsemen and trained hounds teamed to hunt a clever and equally skilled fox. In these glorious fall handkerchiefs, a pack of hounds is used to track a wild stag. Perfectly framed, the artist achieves maximum impact with minimal color, foreshadowing the colorless coming of winter. Again, the artist renders the hunt solely via shadow and silhouette. This stag chase may have commenced at chilly daybreak, or equally plausible, the hunt could be shrouded in the evening mists at dusk. The...
Read MoreEaster Bonnet
“Some hats can only be worn if you’re willing to be jaunty, to set them at an angle and to walk beneath them with a spring in your stride as if you’re only a step away from dancing. They demand a lot of you.” Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys And who wears a jaunty beret better than the French? For some reason this confetti toss of chapeaus hearkens back to Mary Richards from the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Whether you’re tossing your hat in the ring or straight up in the air like a graduation mortar bard, the message is clear – “Game On. Count Me In. I’m going for it!” “A...
Read MoreA Stitch in Time
Creation begins with inspiration, with a kernel of an idea, but in order to execute your concept, you need a plan, a blueprint. The same holds true in the world fashion. Even when couturiers claim they work freeform, and simply drape fabric as they’re inspired, (as did Christian Dior) in order for a seamstress to replicate that creation, she’ll need a roadmap. The fresh, crisp image below depicts the trade of the tailor and represents the roadmap. Whenever we examine the underlying structure of a garment, we view with the eye of an architect – studying the master patterns, the foundation...
Read MoreSkiing – from Sun Valley to Snowmass
Slaloming, Shredding, Schussing down the slopes … superb, sublime, splendiferous! This sport of champions didn’t always showcase spandex. Back in the day, the swells wore hand knit sweaters from Austria, wool knickers, and billed caps. At day’s end, zipping back to the lodge for an après ski toddy, one might spy the likes of (L to R) Mrs. Gary Cooper, Jack Hemingway, (Ernest’s eldest son), Ingrid Bergman, Gary Cooper and Clark Gable. When dressing for dinner ladies might sport a remembrance of their day in the form of a handkerchief tucked in a breast pocket or looped over a belt. This...
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