Gin Mayo, Votes for Women, Orchard House, and Miss C's Favourite March

While I was recovering from knee surgery over the Christmas holidays, Mr. C took our three children to Chelsea Market, where he and I had spent a lovely après-Christmas afternoon last year.

They bought me some beautifully wrapped soaps as a gift, and the salesperson threw in the bag two tubes of the curious "Gin Mayo." No-one asked what it was. It looks like a tube of Krazy Glue, or some dangerously strong bonding agent. except for the charmingly alarming graphic. It reminds me of  Cindy Sherman photograph from her Heroines series.

But Gin Mayo is, apparently, exactly what it purports to be: mayonaise infused with gin. It's the brainchild of an Amsterdam-based seafood restaurant, Mossel & Gin.

I don't wish to puncture one of the tubes to taste the concoction inside, so I think I'll bring them to my office and pop them inside my "votes for women" replica teacup.

Coincidentally, I bought this tea cup at Orchard House, home of Louisa May Alcott, when I made a summer scholarly tour of Concord one summer.

That's the summer I suffered from heat exhaustion after having walked to Walden Pond (but allowed to wade in because of high bacteria that afternoon(!) and back to town, and then getting disoriented in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery the next morning trying to locate Authors Ridge.

Those distressing memories aside, I think the Gin Mayo will complement the Votes for Women tea cup, especially since blue and gold were the colours of suffrage in the United States.

P.S. Amy was always my favourite.

Tartan Dressing: The Duchess of Cambridge and Miss C

Is this beautiful tartan dress by Emilia Wickstead what the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing to the Queen's holiday luncheon?

I absolutely love it.

Truth be told, I am joining the duchess in wearing a long tartan gown today, only mine is a new floor-length forest, blue, and red flannel nightgown, purchased for my recovery from knee surgery (yesterday).

And my holiday luncheon today is a very welcome combination of the Great British Baking Show's holiday edition and a Goldendoodle curled up on his end of the sofa. Today is all about eye candy.

Psilly Me: Searching for a Demetrios Psillos Illustration

The pink and aqua colours in this Demetrios Psillos illustration are calling out to be put into a quilt.

Wait--what? I found the above smidge of a post in my draft queue, dated 2016. But I cannot determine which illustration I liked so much.

In fact, today, this plummy Martha Graham illustration by Psillos captures my eye, both for its colour and movement. (This is a "still" from "Lamentations.")

That's the last time I'll draft a post without securing an image.

Psilly me.

Replacing Beloved Clothes: J Crew, Max Mara--and Searching for Those from J Peterman That Got Away

When I find something I love to wear, I wear it again and again, to the point that it often wears out. That used to be the end of the story, but one benefit of the internet is that I can sometimes find that very item online, for sale, some 15–20 years later.

For instance, I bought a tweed overcoat from Max Mara shortly after having my second daughter, seventeen years ago. Last year I bound the wrist cuffs in Liberty of London because of fraying; I am about to do the same to a button hole. And I am awaiting for olive green velvet elbow patches to arrive.

On a whim, I took a quick look at some online resell sites and was surprised and delighted to find my very coat in great shape, my size, for a modest price, but already sold. Then I found it on another site in a smaller size and five times the price. But it gives me hope!

I also bought, a number of years ago, some J Crew boyfriend-style stripey cashmere sweaters, which I love beyond sweaterdom itself. And so I was thrilled to find several on the web--one of which I bought in a different colourway and others I'm keeping an eye on.

But there are also some original purchases that got away, and it may be those that I yearn for the most. I've written about this before, but J Peterman made what I remember being called a Gstaad jacket--asymmetrical zip, shearling collar, smart belt--and I cannot turn up an image of it.

I was luckier when I located the Beacon Hill, 1913, dress pictured at the top. I couldn't recall its name, but "Edith Wharton" was in the description. Even though I cannot find it for sale anywhere, I am temporarily satisfied to have the image.

Do gentle readers yearn to replace a beloved but perhaps worn-out garment? Are there garments you wish you had bought and search for years later?

Burberry "Bustier Boots" and Stella Jean

On rainy or snowy days, when I'm in a pair of good shoes and our poodledoodle* wants to go outside, I'll climb into a pair of Mr. C's footwear, good shoes and all, and clomp down the steps and around the corner to open the garden gate for monsieur.

It reminds me of my childhood, when galoshes were the rage. From kindergarten through at least Grade 2, maybe 3, I'd wear my "good" shoes inside a pair of overboots and go off to school, with heavy, cumbersome feet.

I was taken back to these moments when, perusing the Barneys sale yet again, I happened upon these Burberry boots that reinterpret the above scenarios for me: This time, a boot slips inside a shiny, patent mule.

To my eye, the result is a process: I go from being repulsed (ewww--mules) to being riveted and full of desire.

But why did I coin them "bustier boots" and not some homage to galoshes or husband-shoes? Because on the desirability side, they remind me of one of my favourite fashion looks: a strapless (bustier) dress over a blouse.

Stella Jean has pretty much patented this style, as seen in these images from different collections.

And if she's patented this style, I think that I really must get that patent mule–bustier boot style.















*He's 3/4 poodle and 1/4 golden retriever, so I've renamed him.

Thinking out Loud: Liberty Capel V, Liberty Quilting Cotton, or Kaffe Shot Cotton?

In case yardage of Capel V is truly unavailable, I need a plan B. Possibly Liberty floral quilting weight cotton, possibly a Kaffe shot cotton solid with Capel binding.

Beautiful Winter Ballgowns by Moncler + Pierpaolo Picciolo and Liya Kebede

It's the time of year when certain young women and their families are thinking about debutante balls. These balls entered my consciousness via Whit Stillman's film Metropolitan, in 1990s, and later coverage of Le Bal in Paris.

Growning up on a tiny island in Canada, I couldn't have been further removed from the concept of debutante balls--we were too busy flinging snowballs.

But if I were to attend one, via the process of time travel, I think that these stunning ballgown puffers (a collaboration among Moncler, Pierpaolo Picciolo and Liya Kebede) would not only be appropriate for Canadian winters, but would also bring the requisite level of style.

Highs and Lows of Shoe Shopping at Barneys

It really has been a jolt to learn that Barneys is going out of business. I remember earlier instances of financial difficulty, but Barneys always pulled through. It's easy to romanticize and say that's because the store is an icon, but there are plenty of other examples of fallen (and missed) icons--Henri Bendel, Charivari, for instance.

I wanted both to honor Barneys and freshen up my shoe collection, so I went online mid November to see what the sale was like. As Sapna Maheshwari for the New York Times noted, "it's a very Barneys" kind of sale," with early savings of 5%.

That wasn't going to work out, so I returned on "Cyber Monday" (I really do dislike the normalization of this term) to see whether sales had deepened. Some had progressed to 15%, even 25%, and some truly luxurious brands stayed the same--no deal.

So then I decided I'd explore rather than shop, and filtered the shoes from lowest price to highest, to see what minimum I could spend, and then highest to lowest, to see what I'd like if the sky were the limit.

And not surprisingly, the low price coordinated with a low heel; the high with a relatively high heel.

The green Barneys label flat sandal (reduced to $146) would complement everything I wear in the summer; this green is actually my hot-weather go-to color.

The brown Givenchy (not on sale, s'il vous plait) would be smart with fall dresses or just on its own, over the fireplace, such is its sleek beauty.

And it's these colors above and left I'll keep in mind, rather than the sad reality touted by the red/yellow notification below.

Goddess a Go-Go: Miss C's "A-muse-ing" Selvedge Magazine Story on Goddess Gowns

I've just received PDFs for my latest story for London's lovely Selvedge Magazine. This one's on goddess gowns. Mr. C asked if I wrote the main headline; I did supply the "a-muse-ing designs" part; he knows me well.

My research for this piece took me to Chicago, where I saw a Madeline Vionnet at the Chicago History Museum (along with gowns by Schiaparelli, Chanel, among other others).

This issue will come out mid December, for the Jan/Feb months.

Barneys Rubble

It's not what you think! This is actually an affectionate pun referencing Barney Rubble, and a beautiful bootie by Alaïa that a cave dweller could have worn, were they not always barefoot.

It wouldn't be the first time that Barneys was associated with cartoons. In 2012(!) Mr C and I dropped by during Christmas and Barneys was in the middle of a massive "electric holiday" collaboration with Disney.

(The collaboration was quite unsuccessful, too, as there was an outcry over giving Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck, not to mention Pluto, long, lean fashion-illustration physiques. The related merchandise was unbearably tacky as well.)

But I digress. One touch that DID catch my eye was the tissue paper: it was covered in coloring-book style Disney-esque images of fashion people--Carine Roitfeld, Naomi Campbell, Alber Elbaz, Franca Sozzani, and Pat McGrath, to name a few. I bought something and asked for extra, uncrushed tissue paper. During the rest of the holiday, I colored in the figures and fixed the completed length of tissue paper to my office window, where it still functions as a valence, faded though sections may be.

There was a short cartoon made too, and I share some stills from it here. Imagine these characters outlined in thick black ink, on a white background, just perfect for a set of markers and a few spare hours.

Justine Tabak Takes Miss C Back to Memories of Laura Ashley, c. 1983-84

When I went to Justine Tabak's site to see how she featured the delightful sweaters from yesterday's post, I was taken aback by the image that greeted me. The model in a red dress with gentle leg o' mutton sleeves and slight empire waist could have been, to my eye, a Laura Ashley advert from the 1980s.

I'd heard about Laura Ashley, growing up on Prince Edward Island, but didn't experience her clothes until I'd reached university in Ottawa, and discovered her store on Bank Street. I was immediately obsessed with the romantic vibe of her dresses, which were either made for wafting around a moor or for having a nautical adventure (many of her designs were sailor inspired).

That first year of university, when I should have been studying, I bought clothes. From Laura Ashley I bought a light-blue sailor dress with a drop waist, a knife-pleat skirt in white cotton canvas to complement a white double-breasted boxy sailor jacket with navy trim, and a soft dusky blue corduroy dress with the signature square neck and puff sleeves, with subtly colored pinstripes.

I don't believe I wore any of these to class, but I certainly wore them somewhere.

I got on the catalogue mailing list, and the following summer I memorized the 1984 catalogue. I knew every drape, tuck, and pleat within that catalogue. I even brought it to the salon and had my hair cut and permed(!) to match the cover model.

But then I grew out of those styles (emotionally, that is) and sold them at a consignment shop a few years later.

Justine Tabak's dresses take me back to that happy place, and I wonder whether it's time to update my once-loved 1980s look.

I'd wear these dresses (below) with my chunky platform Chelsea boots (instead of my 1983 Granny boots). I'd have tousled hair or a messy topknot, and dark nail polish (remember Chanel's Vamp?).

In fact, I'm quite taken Tabak.