deconstructed

Restoration Hardware's spring catalog just came in the mail, and I couldn't help but notice the new featured line called "Deconstructed".  It's furniture made to look like it's from the 1700s, with parts of the upholstery torn away to expose the old world artistry of its inner workings, complete with faux nail holes in the wood, and bits of worn fabric still clinging to random tacks.  It's an interesting concept, and much more affordable than a real piece from that time period.

I have a few worn chairs of my own.  Maybe I'll go ahead and rip the upholstery off the back and sides.  Sounds fun, but something tells me it won't look quite as chic or Napoleanic.

Click here to see more from Restoration Hardware. 

BVDs

In hot weather, all tight fitting underwear 

is sticky and disagreeable.

--BVD ad, 1906

1906 ad--click to embiggen

I'm not looking forward to summer in the Midwest and having to give up my woolly socks. Last week on a Turner Classic Movies flick, there was mention of BVDs, referring to men's underwear, which sparked a conversation about the origins of the term.

After a trip down Google lane, I found BVD stands for the New York firm, Bradley, Voorhees & Day that initially manufactured underwear for both men and women beginning in 1876. The term "BVDs" has become, over time, a genericized trademark in reference to underwear of any brand.

Wondering about skivvies?  It's 1932, nautical slang, meaning underwear, of unknown origin. An earlier skivvy/skivey was London slang for "female domestic servant", 1902.

When we were raising a family, girls were in the minority at the manor, outnumbered by guys three to two, so men's underwear dominated the laundry. Somewhere along the line, in the late 80s, the boys switched from their G.I. Joe print "whitey tighties" to boxers. The youngest, still in college, has a truck load of boxers, enough to last six to eight weeks, until he comes home for a weekend and the manor is transformed into a Chinese laundry.

vintage corset and my 1950s mod vase

Speaking of tight fitting, BVD was the first to manufacture bustles for women. Dom mentioned yesterday that my mod vase looked like a feminine waistline in a 1950s basque or corset. Lovely?  Yes, but also a bit sticky and disagreeable. Thank goodness girdles and pantyhose are also things of the past. What are your undies of choice? Tighties? Thongs?

eight tubes of lipstick and a buckeye

No woman I know 

could ever be a terrorist. 

Put a bomb in a Gucci bag? 

Oh, no way! 

 Joan Rivers

I'm not the only one who puts on a few extra pounds in the winter.  My handbag does, too.  Several years ago, when the extra gigantic bags were in, the average woman's handbag weighed nearly a back-breaking 7 pounds, 11 ounces.  Thank goodness, everything's a bit smaller now, including the electronics, but by the end of winter, mine's heavy.

This week was time for the annual spring purse purge.  The contents is dumped out and weeded through, like a garden. All kinds of odd junk, quite forgotten at the bottom of the bag, is excavated, including chopsticks, fortune cookie fortunes, eight tubes of lipstick and my lucky Ohio buckeye.

The sorted stuff went into my new waterproof vinyl spring bag, a great find on the TJ Maxx clearance rack for $24.99. It has all kinds of nifty zipper compartments and even came with a matching umbrella, even though I'm not really an umbrella using kinda girl.  It also has my main criteria; an over the shoulder strap, for hands free shopping.

I love my glow-in-the-dark plasticized beetle key chain. It makes finding keys at the bottom of a very large, dark bag a breeze. You can find them here.

I'm thinking balls are to men what purses are to women. 

It's just a little bag, but we feel naked in public without it.  

Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City


What do you feel naked in public without?

north is good

Chignon, Chuck Jones

(shēn-yŏn') 
n.
A roll or knot of hair worn at the back of the head or especially at the nape of the neck. From Old French chaignon, chain, collar, nape of the neck.

Le Chignon, Eva Gonzalès , 1865-70

My hair is finally long enough to wear pulled up into a messy chignon. For one thing, its quick and easy. It's great for keeping pencils handy, and sometimes, I add chopsticks. An added bonus is that my earrings are highlighted. The old danglies have been rescued from the back of the jewelry box.  It's nice to have at least one feature heading north these days, when everything else seems to be shifting south.

The chignon can be traced back to Ancient Greece, where Athenian women commonly kept theirs in place with gold or ivory pins. Athenian men wore the style, as well. It was also popular in Ancient China, where married women wore a low knot. During the Victorian era, chignons were often enormous constructions including false hair or pads. In the 1940s, many women wore the chignon under a headscarf, while working in factories to support the war effort during World War II. The timeless chignon is still popular today because of its elegance, and ease.

Portrait de Dora au Chignon, Pablo Picasso, 1937

It's interesting to note that in the Scottish lowlands, where my paternal ancestors hailed from, a variation of the chignon was once called a "cockernonnie" or "cock-up". That's all I have to say about that.

I think hairstyle is the final tip-off

whether or not a woman really knows herself.

Hubert de Givenchy, Vogue 1985

As you can see from the sidebar, my chapbook, Patina, is available for pre-order.  I have an advance sales period of six weeks, before the pressrun is determined.  If you are interested in purchasing a copy, it would help me tremendously if you would pre-order now.  Click the book image on my sidebar or the link below.  Thanks so much for your invaluable support, my friends. You're the best. 

FINISHING LINE PRESS PRE-ORDER

do what you can

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Theodore Roosevelt

In the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt and our current economy, I gave my dining room a much needed update this week; I only used what I already had, without buying anything new. Okay, I will have to credit my in-house master painter, WT, with a lot of the painting, but we used some leftover black paint from the cellar and a partial bolt of fabric I purchased a few years back, a chair project that was only a pipe dream, to cover the seat cushions.

Here's what the china cabinet looked like before; a tired old ho-hum set, purchased in 1983, full of a hodge-podge-lodge of doily-lady stuff. I removed the top shelf in the center section, added the resident manor rooster and random stacks of vintage red books.

And this is the transformation of the chairs. Amazing what some fabric and a staple gun can do. Welcome, dining room, to the 21st century. What a change, huh? I'm set for some great holiday entertaining. Now I just have to plan the food...

stache or not

Apparently the mustache is back in vogue. My two sons, ages 23 and 30 have recently grown one. Their great-great-great grandfather, Palestine, would approve. I've always thought they were quite attractive on the right man, in a Clark Gable kind of way. The topic of the mustache has been thrown around a lot this summer at the manor, such as which styles to avoid (the Hitler--he does look quite nice without his trademark) and how long to let them grow before trimming. The longest recorded moustache belongs to Bajansinh Juwansinh Gurjar of Ahmedabad, India. It had not been cut for 22 years and was 12 feet, 6 inches long in 2004. Stinky.

Like the clean shaved Hitler, there are those who would not be recognized without their trademark 'staches. Did you know that after his death, the image of Frank Zappa's mushache was copyrighted by the Zappa Family Trust? Funny, Groucho Marz and Charlie Chaplin, both famous for their mustaches, sported artificial ones.

I certainly hope the Frida Kahlo mustache does not become the new look for women. I like to keep my facial hair, not that I have a lot, mind you, completely in check.

The word "mustache" derives from 16th century French moustache, which in turn is derived from the Italian mostaccio (14th century), from Medieval Latin mustacium (8th century), Medieval Greek moustakion (9th century), which ultimately originates as a diminutive of Hellenistic Greek mustax, probably derived from Hellenistic Greek mullon "lip". However, the Hindi word "moochh" for a moustache also bears a close resemblance.



Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century, a recent quirky Blogger "Blog of Note" caught my eye. It's a collection of vintage photos of mustachioed men and delightful commentary accompanying. There has also much much discussion over at Reggie Darling's blog about a certain mug in a beautiful set of French china he recently purchased. Originally, he thought the odd cup, with a semi-circular ledge inside was an invalid cup. Actually, it turned out to be a mustache cup, which were designed in the 1860s by British potter Harvey Adams, to keep the mustache dry, while drinking tea.

My great-great grandfather, Palestine Hanna, who wore a grand mustache, drank from a mustache cup to keep his dry. My grandfather told me of a funny concoction Palestine made, as a cure for headaches.

my great-great grandfather
Palestine Hanna,
sporting a long walrus style mustache

Cure, 1919

Palestine called it

coffee soup, a concoction

made to cure his head.

Grandpa watched him

toast the bread,

rip it up in jagged shreds,

drop them one by one

in a willow bowl,

pour on darkest java-brew

and eat it with a pewter

spoon, since it stopped

the lip of his mustache cup. 

Tess Kincaid, 2010










photos: Hitler, styles and cups from Google images

tar-zhay + liber-tay

Floral is back! And just when I've minimalized the manor, too. Did you know that Liberty of London has teamed up with Target? Yep. You can find fabulous Liberty prints on all kinds of affordable, great quality goodies; kitchen ware, pillows, clothing, umbrellas with cute matching wellies, and even flowery retro style bikes. While I'm not really an ultra floral kind of girl, I do love the occasional lovely vintage print mixed in with my eclectic magpie mix.

Arthur Liberty opened a shop in 1875, in London's Regent Street, selling ornaments, fabric, and objets d'art from Japan and the East. Within 18 months, Arthur Liberty paid back the loan acquired from his father-in-law, and purchased the second half of 218 Regent Street. The store soon became the most fashionable place to shop in London, with it's iconic fabrics used for both clothing and furnishings. Liberty's exotic clientele included famous members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. They are still best known for their prints and their archives hold over 43,000 designs. Oh-kay, gotta go see what's cookin' at Tar-zhay...

pink tools of torture

Last week, when I wrote the poem titled Pink, a long legacy of pink hair curlers came to mind. It all started when I was eight, and my hair had finally grown out of that horrid 50s pixie cut, my mother would twist little sections of my wet hair around her finger and clip them in place with two bobbie pins forming an "x". I'll never foget catching the first glimse of myself in the bathroom mirror, in this state of total pin-headedness, brushing my teeth, thinking I looked like some kind of space alien. Was I the only one who made dancing ladies, by threading four bobby pins onto one, then twirling it for her skirt? Okay. Don't answer that.

After the pin-head stage, I graduated to the pink spooly rollers. Speaking of aliens, they were far more fun to play with than wear, since in the closed position, they looked just like pink flying saucers. I remember how they flew in the air and hit me in the face, if I flipped my head around too much.

Next came the pink sponge curlers. Even though they were like stretching my head on the rack, they were a tad more comfortable to sleep in. But for some reason, the one on my right side would invariably fall out during the night, so I would head off to school in a lopsided state. How did those girls manage the perfect flip all the way around?

The spongies were for little girls, so in junior high school, I graduated to the bed of nails pink stubbies, which were covered in prickly spikes, and pink Dippity Doo gel. (Is there some reason why both the gel and all the curlers were pink? No wonder it's not exactly my favorite color.) Some of them had clips and some were held in place with plastic lobotomy-type picks, and were like sleeping every night in an iron maiden. What a price we girls paid for beauty. But, you know, looking back at those old photos, for all the torture, my hair really didn't look that great. I thank God every day for whoever it was who invented the blowdryer. No doubt it was a woman.

photos borrowed from Google images

hand to mouth

Have you ever wondered who sets the criteria for which foods are acceptable to eat with your hands? Grilled corn, artichokes and an occasional asparagus spear are okay, but why not tomatoes or string beans? We're coming up on the season of summery food, and I'm anxious to fire up the patio grill. I don't know about you, but I happen to be a hands on kind of eater. I love the whole gloriously tactile experience of eating hand to mouth, so to speak. Fries just don't taste the same eaten with a fork. They must be hand dipped in a large puddle of ketchup and slowly brought to the mouth. And if ketchup gets on the fingers, the fries taste all the more delicious. The same goes for all kinds of grilled foods and dips.

I am known, to cut a large sandwich or burger in half, before picking it up with my hands, but I never eat a taco, ribs or fish and chips with a knife and fork. It's too remote. Finger licking, on the other hand, is right out. I don't care if it is fried chicken. By the way, do Europeans always eat everything with a knife and fork, or is this perception just urban legend?

When eating out, I usually take on the conversational eating style of the dining companion. Personally, I am very good at gleefully diving into both food and conversation at once, speaking gracefully out of the side of my mouth, even when it's full. One dear friend, in particular, not only refuses to use her hands for anything, she only speaks after she has chewed each bite 50 times, and will daintily raise up her index finger in front of her mouth, as a signal for me to wait for her food free response. Needless to say, conversation is slow and lunch goes on for hours. She probably thinks I eat like a pig. However, I do savor every bite, especially if I use my hands. And not to worry. I always use a napkin.

It's so beautifully arranged on the plate -

you know someone's fingers have been all over it.

Julia Child

photo from google images

queen of oscars

At the manor, we like to call out the name of a favorite actor,
director, or designer we might happen to see in the opening credits
of a film. The name I end up calling out most often, is Edith Head!
Did you know this powerhouse American costume designer's long
career in Hollywood garnered her more Academy Awards than any
other woman in history? She was nominated a whopping 35 times
and actually won a total of eight Oscars.

I adore that stunning off white cashmere coat she designed for Kim
Novak in Vertigo. And what about that classy wardrobe of Patricia
Neal's in Breakfast at Tiffany's? All those gorgeous dresses for Grace
Kelly in the Hitchcock films were also designed by Head.

She is one of those people I would love to have for dinner. Fascinating
conversation would take place, and there would be a paper table cloth
and lots of pencils near her place setting for sketching, during that
after dinner coffee. It would be fun to hear all the inside scoop on all
the iconic stars of old Hollywood. I would like it almost as much as
stopping in for a chat with Pop Leibel in the Argosy Book Shop.

Here's a list of Ms. Head's fashion commandments, listed in her book
The Dress Doctor, Prescriptions for Style, from A to Z. Amazingly
enough, her rules for dressing are still applicable today, only she
doesn't mention anything about woolly socks.

Don't let your clothes be fitted too tightly.
Even a perfect figure looks better if it doesn't
resemble a sausage. Only bathing suits
should be tight.

Don't wear a date dress when you're arriving
for a day's work at the office. The dressy
dress, the low-necked lacy blouse, the glitter
sweater, all of the glitter category belong to
after dark.

Don't be too different. You don't want to dress
like the heard, but you don't want to look like a
peacock in a yard full of ducks. Being too
much an individualist is not being well dressed.

Don't feel that when you're going to a party
you must look "dressed up" a simple dress is
safer if there’s a question of what to wear, and
you will be much more comfortable simply
dressed than over dressed.

Don't be afraid to wear a becoming costume many, many times. It's
an old fashioned idea that you have to have a new dress for every
occasion or party. Even if you have the money to do so, it isn't
necessary. The modern approach is to change accessories.
.

Life is competitive;
clothes gird us for the competition.

.

Edith Head

.

.

Just a Few Thoughts on Hair

Three Women, Belle Johnson, 1900

..

The days of my thick luxurious hair are gone. Why don't we appreciate

our youthful physical beauty while we have it? I realize that not all big

or long hair, is good hair, but I just wish I had my old hair back. Mine

has thinned with age and thyroid problems. If you really want to feel

like your hair is puny, watch Disney's Pocahontas. Her magnificent,

blowing, swirling mane is all over the screen. Then go look in the

mirror at your little nothing head of hair. It's demoralizing.

Maybe I was born in the wrong time period, because I adore the
romantic Edwardian or Gibson Girl hairstyle, piled high with a flourish.
My daughter happens to have fabulous thick curly hair, which she
inherited from WT. She can just flip it up and pierce it with a stick and
it's to die for. I think this photo of her looks just like a Harrison Fisher
or Howard Chandler Christy illustration.

Here's a shot of Kate Beckinsale from Merchant Ivory's adaptation
of Henry James' The Golden Bowl. Now, I realize that she's most
likely wearing a wig, but the style is exactly right for the time period.
Did you know that women would actually wrap their hair around balls
of padding called "rats" for extra volume? Somehow I don't think that
would work for me. I would look like Prince Valiant with a pincushion.



It was fun to see Kirsten Dunst in all the marvelous wigs in Marie
Antoinette. I wonder if she suffered from a stiff neck or headaches
from all that weight on her head during filming? And do you
remember that funny old movie Fancy Pants with Bob Hope and
Lucille Ball? Bob plays the part of an actor pretending to be a valet
and actually embeds a birdcage in Lucy's hair!

Well, I will have to admit that my little bob style is easy to handle.
And no, I don't get headaches from too much hair. And since I can
blow dry it in just a few minutes, I have more time for serious things
like writing posts about random thoughts on hair.

Hair brings one's self-image into focus;
it is vanity's proving ground. Hair is terribly
personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices.

Shana Alexander