Of Fairies, Tales, and Tails

I’ve always loved a good fairy tale, and now that I have three children, they’re very much a presence in our home. There’s something thrilling about a world where humans fuse with animals, producing such colorful figures as the satyr, for instance, or, of course, the iconic image of Catherine Deneuve as Peau d’ane, that I blogged about in an earlier entry.

I think such creatures have been on my mind because Easter has come and gone, and I had laid out a centerpiece for the dining table: two white raffia rabbits—one standing up with a lovely necklace of pastel eggs and tiny flowers in her ear, the other with paws tucked beneath him as he nestled beside her.

These rabbits—who look so human!—and the fairy world recall some of my favorite fashion images—ones that are a veritable hybrid of beast and human being, others that take the wilderness within the domestic borders. Consider this image of Dita von Teese, from Sunday’s New York Times:

She lives in her jewel-box arts and crafts home with a number of creatures—this stuffed peacock and, below, a pair of equally stuffed swans. Normally these images could promote squeamishness in me; I’d rather enjoy my animals alive, thank you, but there’s a certain lushness to these, almost a fairy tale quality.

A couple of summers ago I went to the Anglomania exhibit at the Met and fell in love with this arresting display of a Galliano dress. No matter how stunning the dress may be, it’s taken to another level entirely with the addition of the raven’s head.

And I first saw this collar/capelet on Susie Bubble’s blog awhile ago, but wanted to post it here because it so reminds me of the Galliano presentation. I could wear it with “my” floor-length Comme des Garcons skirt while teaching anything Victorian—or modern, for that matter!

Finally, who could forget lovely Candice Bergen in her bunny mask at Truman Capote’s black-and-white ball?

I love fantastic dressing like this. It reminds me of my childhood creative play and conjures a beautiful world. I still believe in magic!