Le 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 MorePrincess Nyabongo
If you’ve read Parisian Romance you’ve already encountered at least one of these handkerchiefs. They have such an interesting provenance, however, I decided to give them their own mini-blog. Often when I present to audiences, I explain I feel as though I’m on a Search and Rescue Mission to save these small harbingers of history. Needless to say, there are thousands of us Search and Rescue folks around the world, and I recently met two more, a couple from Tennessee from whom I purchased these hankies. When I spied this bold and brilliant admonition “It’s Never Too Late” (what a great...
Read MoreParisian Couture
“If you want to establish an international presence you can’t do so from New York. You need the consecration of Paris.” Oscar de la Renta Indeed, the word consecration does seem fitting, since you feel the urge to almost genuflect when entering a hallowed House of Couture. Centuries of couturiers, lace makers, cobblers, milliners, skilled seamstresses, tailors, button makers, crafters of velvet flowers, and those who bead and embroider onto gossamer and silks, can all be found in the ateliers and workshops of Paris. If you viewed the video in our sewing blog you witnessed the legions of...
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 MoreTV – November Sweeps
Westinghouse, Motorola, Philco, Zenith, General Electric, RCA, Sylvania, Magnavox, Admiral… all were household names during the golden age of television. No invention has ever been more quickly embraced by the American public. Before 1947, only a few thousand homes had TV; by 1955, over half of all U.S. homes had television. (Faster than the growth of telephones, computers or the internet!) By the late 1990’s, 98% of homes had at least one TV, and those sets were turned on an average of more than seven hours a day. No wonder advertisers viewed TV as the most efficient, wide reaching and...
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