All Ears

As you may have guessed from my avatar, I am mad for headgear with animal ears.

Today I was delighted that the New York Times printed a photo of some skating hats with ears from the 1950s.

  
This week I am making a promise to myself to find a library that has a collection of Vogue and Elle magazines from the early 1990s, because I have been yearning to find a photo of one of Anna Sui’s cunning animal ear hats (with pompom strings) from that time.
  
For now, a picture of Blythe in full eargear will do:

Jessica Lanza / Suzanne Biel: Seeing Double?

This month's Vogue cover with Jessica Biel reminded me of Suzanne Lanza, a model from the early 90s, who's now an actress.
    
Remember her?







I *do* remember full denim ensenbles from . . . the 1970s, and unless they're worn by someone like Jerry Hall, I think I'd rather forget them.

Canada Goose Flies into Soho Shop

It’s always a surprise to see something so practical from my native land being treated as an expensive hipster purchase, but when I was in Soho’s Blue in Green over the December break, I was cheered and a little amused to find, among the uber-cool jeans from Japan, a significant display of Canada Goose parkas.

I don’t know if one of these expedition quality parkas is really what a New Yorker needs to get around the city on a daily basis—it’s more for residents of Nunavut or the Yukon Territory to my mind—but if you want a warm coat with a touch of Canadian mountie chic (the red!), this is your parka. And you might just feel an irresistible urge to say “eh” while wearing it.

If you aren’t for wearing your Canadian geese, though, then you might want to check out this film:

It’s Fly Away Home, starring a young Anna Paquin, an endearing befuddled Canadian scientist aka Jeff Daniels, a hint of Dana Delany, as well as a talented flock of . . . you know.

And no—not a flock of seagulls. They didn't fly away home; they ran so far away.  But today they’re here:

Anyway, it’s a gaggle of geese. But no 80s band has that name. Eh?

UPDATED:  On the other hand, these coats may not only be for the great outdoors.  According to this NYT article, sometimes the outdoors comes indoors.  And stays.

Cygnet Rings?

My old boarding school just sent me a brochure about signet rings with our school crest on them.

They’re styled in a charmingly retro fashion (my school is the oldest in Canada, so the designers entered the vault), and I’m tempted, but, as gentle readers may recall, I typically wear only two rings—my wedding ring and my engagement ring, and never on the same hand.

So if you were to wear a signet ring, which hand and finger would you choose?

And, indeed: would one be a cygnet in such a ring?  We won't mention the alternative.

(You’ll recognize Miranda above, from Picnic at Hanging Rock, who is compared to a swan throughout that film.)

Snowbird: Julie Christie Forever

I've been watching Sarah Polley's brilliant film Away from Her for the umpteenth time. 

I love the portrait of Ontario in the winter (the cross-country skiing!  the lake cottage! the snow!) but it is, of course, Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent who keep me returning to the screen. 

In an era that endlessly celebrates youth, it's invigorating to see Julie Christie outshine everyone else.  She may be my quintessential "It girl," as her "it-ness" both transcends and celebrates age.

UPDATED to add:  Here's where I wrote about Julie Christie (and this film) a couple of winters ago.  It seems that I write seasonally too . . .

Daniel Hechter, Cintra Wilson, and Me

As I read Cintra Wilson’s Critical Shopper column earlier this week, I was unexpectedly transported to 1985.

For although she was unfamiliar with Daniel Hechter, the designer of the wool jacket that the owner of Lily et Cie grudgingly let her try on, and even more haughtily contextualized for her, I knew exactly who he was.

Now, this is hardly bragging, because the Daniel Hechter I knew in 1985 was not the “French designer from the early 70s” from Wilson’s uncomfortable visit to Lily et Cie, but the man whose name graced his bridge-line shops throughout Canada, shops that sold colorful clothing to a university-student and first-job clientele.
                


He was better known in Canada for his men’s line, which was more formal, but for women, he made clothing that was the more sophisticated French cousin to, say, Esprit.

I remember going to Holt Renfrew’s shopping centre in Ottawa and gazing upon the ceiling-to-floor display of perfectly folded, bright, cheerful stacks of DH sweaters.

In fact, I purchased the quintessential mid-80s ensemble there. It was a heavy jersey knit, marled-charcoal-gray long skirt and v-neck cardigan (with shoulder pads, bien sur). And it was perfect for the time.

From his current collection

I haven’t thought of Daniel Hechter in years, so thanks, Ms. Wilson, for that unexpected rush of nostalgia.

And I encourage LA readers to go to Lily et Cie to try on something. From Ms. Wilson’s article, it sounds like Lily needs a little more Cie.

Dumpster Decorating: It's a Wrap!

Wrapping ordinary—even industrial—objects in pretty materials and patterns may well be the trend of the turn-of-the decade.
Indeed, Jeanne-Claude and the late Christo have wrapped everything from palaces to bridges, with the results looking, to my eye, like a stunning Madame Gres dress.

We've also seen William Morris prints jazz up humble gardening tools.

And a savvy bunch of knitters—calling themselves yarnbombers in Canada and guerrilla knitters in Britain—are covering outdoor objects from bicycles to trees to telephone booths.

Now Finley, an American artist living in Rome has turned her eye to the New York City Dumpster and the results are delightful. (Her work was, however, tagged by graffiti writers not too long after it was completed, which could actually be an act of hospitality—a friendly “welcome to the neighborhood, fellow New Yorker” sort of gesture.)

Wouldn’t taking out the garbage be a slightly more enjoyable task if there were a pretty receptacle in which to toss it?