Let's Bring Back...

Those of you who read The Huffington Post probably know Lesley Blume's column, Let's Bring Back. (It's a new book) Here is the latest slideshow of 30 Things That Need to Be Brought Back - Pronto! You can waste some time (you know you want to) by clicking on your favorites. Most of them are on my list. Lesley's related Icons of Style series includes Suzy Parker. Another is the Marchesa Casati, someone about whom Hazel at The Clever Pup & The Clever Pup's Paris Notebook knows a lot. Here's a 2009 post, The Muse That Blew a Fuse. (I can relate. Ahem.)

I'm trying to pull together posts/drafts on Venice & Strasbourg, but way behind. I'd like to do them justice. Possibly I have spent too much time today looking at cool men in hats, supper clubs, manual cameras, library indexes, pocketbooks, etc. A bit of a Sunday (or Monday - hi Aussies!) distraction. (Suzy via LIFE(dot)com via here)

A Redheaded Woman

Maureen Dowd (a redhead) wrote a terrific column last week about the death of the grown-up romantic comedy. She has an email give & take with Sam Wasson, the 28-year-old author of Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., the best seller about the making of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I agree that the stupid movies probably confuse younger people a lot. Too close an inspection of many cupcake & pink unicorn blogs is worrying. Infantilization--especially when you do it to yourself for cryin' out loud--ain't (grown-up) sexy. Here's a bit of what Sam has to say:

"I am not joking when I say that because there is nothing to see (especially, and tragically, in romantic comedy) my girlfriend and I have had to stay home and in some cases fight. If there were better movies out there, I am sure so many relationship disasters may have been averted. Also, romantic comedies, the good ones, taught me how to love, or at least instructed me on how to try. If I were falling in love now for the first time and going to see this garbage thinking this was real, I would be in deep [expletive]. It was only after I saw ‘Annie Hall’ as a wee Jew that I realized what it was to be a person in love. It has been a touchstone ever since." Really, you need to read the column, here.*

Today I thought good thoughts about all the (many) redheads in my family, friends, former colleagues, actresses, a great singer-song writer (who inspired the song), & a columnist for the NYTimes. If you choose to be a redhead, I salute you & welcome to the club. My hair hasn't been red-red in quite awhile, but most people still think of me as one. Here are a few for some Sunday fun. (Sadly none are of friends or family -- or me -- because I Have Yet To Scan, But I Promise To. Really.) ciao-for-now

*PS: And now, I'll add a redheaded man to the list; as much as he has peeved so many of us, Woody Allen did write & make Annie Hall.

Update - a few people have emailed, what the hell? So here's part of the song:

A red headed woman
It takes a red headed woman
To get a dirty job done -Mr. Springsteen

[photographs via verdoux, myvintagevogue, AMC. There were others I liked but wow, tumblrs that I won't name because they are not sexy, they are gross.Ooof. See? These people don't know the difference.]

Sunday Shopping

Perhaps not so much pretend shopping as actually pondering. I saw this Wallis Camel Statement Collar Coat on Liberty London Girl. It reminds me of coats my mother wore. The coat advertisement is not the same but the camel coat is the theme here--never goes out of style. The second image is Charm magazine's December 1948 cover. It startled me. A few tweaks & it could be a cover this year. (first image via myvintagevogue; second via myvintagevogue/tumblr /JUST COVERS)

Have a good Sunday evening (hello to Aussies & Kiwis...starting out your work week).

xo/svs

Maintaining One's Composure

First, obtain some composure. It's on the to-do list. This photograph of Suzy Parker is by Nina Leen via myvintagevogue. Here's a link to Nina Leen photography. Where I learned that I have misspelled her first name. For over a year. The shame will eat at me while I am out today... no time to correct the attributions. This is seriously compromising any composure that I have had for a few hours. (I am not kidding. It is a sickness.)

S.

Sunday Shopping

Hyperventilating from spending a lot of (necessary) money today. So I'm "pretend" clothes shopping. September magazines are piling up, including Vogue. I'm reading/looking at fluff instead of writing. I need a day off. The poetry & literary landslide has to wait for tonight. Overwhelmed.

Though it's a January (1962) date, I couldn't resist this image from Just Covers, another Jessica aka myvintagevogue project (the tumblr blog is also in the right sidebar--you can see the high-resolution image there). I have three (3!) broken SLRs here so no decent photograph of Julie the Cat. Still putting one in...

Have a good Sunday evening/Monday (depending on where you are)!

Girls in Their Summer Dresses

It's so very hot. Perhaps I'll find one more summer dress (on sale). One that assures me it's a dress that does things for me. Well, why would I turn that down? Speaking of advertising, Leslie at Work-in-Progress (lower right sidebar under writers & readers) brought The Women Behind 'Mad Men' from WSJ.com to my attention. I couldn't read the whole thing because it was verging on spilling the end of Season 2. No cable, no show. The Netflix Fairy brought end-of-Season 2 today. And yes, I'm still reading & swimming & yoga-ing (om) & will post regularly & with more juice than lately. Soon. It's hot out, what can I say?

[vintage advert via myvintagevogue - which is a fabulous website]

Suzy awakens...

This is exactly what I look like when I awake. (Awkard looking head-neck placement, though. Some discussion on myvintagevogue of what-in-the-world? I think it's the cut of the nightdress back bodice.) (you can see the whole ad text by going to the supersize advert here.)

On the phone with Suzy...

No, she didn't say that...she did? Well, that's creatively passive-aggressive of her.. .we'll sort this out tonight, OK? Ciao.

It's so very hot & sunny here. My favorite hat is crumbling. I hate to take her out but I'll fry if I don't, supermondosunscreen nothwithstanding. Julie the cat is passed out in front of a fan, paws over her eyes. I wish I had a dress like Suzy Parker's (from myvintagevogue). Actually, I do have one -- it just doesn't fit me (right now). I have to put in the hilarious photo of this Australian lady & her wacky cat (look into his eyes). It's from the New South Wales library archives that have so held my interest.

Hope you're well wherever you happen to be. Some places, friends are going into winter; others are like here. In yet others, it's just hot year-round, with gradations of hellishness. Oh to be in Santorini...mimph (that's a sigh-grumble thing). Here's to a better week than the last. Ciao.