Handkerchief Heroes
Are people so consumed with collecting that they’ll drag blistered feet through antique stalls or hunker over a hot keyboard for hours to scroll through web auctions for watch fobs, pickle dishes, or campaign buttons to find the pièce de résistance to complete their collection? Indeed they will. You’ll know them by the pallor of their skin, and the tiny computer monitors reflected in their pupils. I used to scoff at those silly fools…until I became one. A zombie from The Walking Dead is tame compared to a gimlet-eyed ebay master trolling cyberspace 3:00 a.m. Like most collectors my...
Read MoreStolen Kisses
From Shakespeare to Tennyson, Byron to Keats, Sheridan to Swindberg…all authors of passion have something to say about love. When it comes to matters of the heart and romance, we learned in Pucker Up and Under the Mistletoe , that a lady + a handkerchief create a formidable duo. Every girl needs at least one red hankie. A foolproof flirting foil, the crimson hankie doubles as a nimble wing man, attracting admirers from across the room. Our first handkerchief displays a plethora of romantic aphorisms framing the temptress in the center. It’s the perfect contrivance to initiate a conversation...
Read MoreUnder the Mistletoe
It’s mistletoe season once again, and we find this bashful beau blushing – either from shyness or smug satisfaction at his overwhelming success in the smooching department. My, he has been busy. I’ve been told this is an example of a ‘magic’ disappearing handkerchief. Once laundered, the image purportedly washes away, making the hankie utilitarian for everyday use, but why would you want to wash out all the fun? Now that we’ve entered the season of red & green as well as mistletoe, it appears essential for a girl to always have a lipstick at the ready, as well as a lipstick...
Read MoreThe Handkerchief Flirt
“Flirting is a woman’s trade. One must keep in practice.” Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë Recently, I attended a graduation at Stanford as a guest, and found myself immersed in a throng of families, friends and parents of graduates at a reception. Many were alumni, and related tales of “when I went here…” or bemoaned the changes that inevitably come with time. One remark that caught my attention came from a grandfather with whom I’d been speaking earlier. Apparently he had met his sweetheart at college and later proposed at a landmark on the campus. “Kids today” he sighed, “have lost the art...
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...
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