Channeling Dorothy Parker

It's just 10:30 a.m. and I've already got martinis on my mind.  My darling sister Mary turns 50 this coming week (sorry M - guess the cat's out of the bag now) and five of the six sisters (and a couple of nieces) are celebrating today with an afternoon of shopping fun - and then a sleepover at a nearby Hampton Inn.

It's during the sleepover part that the martinis will come into play.   And play is exactly what I need after a particularly looong week at the office.  (It's hard to go back to work after a week's vacation!  I'm ready for another one...)

courtesy of Mind Bling

Dorothy Parker and martinis somehow led me to think of Helga von Trollop.  Have any of you had the pleasure of meeting Helga or visiting her delightful blog? 

lovely Helga in 70's frock

Helga is one of the queens of cheeky quips.  Her motto (borrowed from Mae West - or is it the other way around?) is...
 "Better to be looked over than overlooked."

That sounds like something Dorothy Parker would have said.
Are you familiar with Mrs. Parker?

Witty Dorothy Parker (1895 - 1967) was a poet, short story writer, literary and theatre critic - and was the darling of the New York literary scene in the 1920's and 30's.

Parker was the best known female member of the Algonquin Round Table.  Each day at a 44th Street Manhatten hotel a collection of journalists, actors, writers, and other artists gathered around this famed table.

"Algonquin Roundtable" cartoon by Al Hirschfeld

Dorothy Parker is perhaps most famous for her tart sayings and playful turns of phrase - like the drinking quote (...four, I'm under my host) above.   She had a reputation during her lifetime as being one of the wittiest women in America.

"If all the girls who attended the Yale prom
 were laid end to end,
I wouldn't be a bit surprised." - Dorothy Parker 

I was first introduced to "Dottie" through the rather grim (warning!) but still fabulous 1994 film "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle." 

The cast includes some of my favorites: Jennifer Jason Leigh (who won a Golden Globe for her performance), Campbell Scott, Matthew Broderick, Andrew McCarthy, Jennifer Beals, Sam Robards, and Gwyneth Paltrow. 

If you're intrigued with the arts and literary scene of the 1920's and 30's - and adore fashions from that era as much as I do, you'll enjoy this film.  (Tip: the entire film is available in a series of 13 videos on YouTube!)


courtesy of Paikov

Here's more fun from Mrs. Parker...

photo courtesy of frogsmoke

"Brevity is the soul of lingerie."  - D.P.

"Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses." - D. P.

photo courtesy of Heartaches and Handbags

"It serves me right to put all my eggs in one bastard."

                                                             - Dorothy Parker


I would like to have seen Helga and Dorothy Parker sharing a table back in the 1920's.  Better yet, add witty British bloggers Vix and Ivy Black to the mix.  Now that would have been a hoot of a conversation to listen to.

Admittedly, I tend to be a bit on the prim and proper side sometimes.  (My German Catholic upbringing, perhaps?)  And I can always use a little help from martinis and such to loosen up a bit.  So before I head over to meet my sisters today, I'm going to be channeling Dorothy Parker and all my lighthearted blogging friends to lift my spirits. 

Here's to blogging, to friendship - and a drink that warms the soul!

As Dorothy Parker once said: 

"I'd rather have a bottle in front me than a frontal lobotomy."

Yes, this is Greta Garbo...

Cheers!

Have a wonderful weekend -

Susan

O hushed October...

This morning I found myself in Vogue UK's website, perusing the magazine archives from the 1920's and 1930's, and came across this wonderful Vogue cover from October 1924.

Vogue - October 1924

The poet Robert Frost was a master at capturing the imagery of the four seasons - and the 1924 Vogue cover above reminded me of his wonderful "October" poem included in his 1915 collection of poetry, A Boy's Will.  I had this poem printed on the back of the church program that was handed out to family and friends on my wedding day many Octobers ago - so it's a sentimental favorite of mine.

OCTOBER

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

To-morrow’s wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

To-morrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow,

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know;

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf;

One from our trees, one far away;

Retard the sun with gentle mist;

Enchant the land with amethyst.

Slow, slow!

For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,

Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,

Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—

For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

Robert Frost (1874–1963). A Boy’s Will. 1915. 30. October

I love the colors of autumn, don't you?  Gold, crimson, amethyst, burgundy, wine, auburn, brown, mocha, dove grey, sienna, rust, ochre, plum, pumpkin, goldenrod, copper... 

All those lovely colors can be found in the Fall issues of fashion magazines from the 1920's and 30's.  Here's a collection of scans from the covers of Delineator, Eu Sei Tudo, Harper's Bazaar, Photoplay and Vogue that capture the warmth of autumn and the spirit of the Art Deco era.  Enjoy!

Eu Sei Tudo - November 1924.  Courtesy of Blog da Rue Nova

Vogue - September 1927. Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Photoplay - October 1927.  Courtesy of Allure

Vogue - October 1928.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Delineator - October 1929.  Courtesy of MagazineArt.org

Harper's Bazaar - October 1930.  Courtesy of Hemad Pant's Personal Blog

Delineator - October 1930. Courtesy of C.P. Strand: In His Words

Vogue - August 1932.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Delineator - November 1933.  Courtesy of Cover Browser

Vogue - October 1935.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Vogue - August 1938.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Harper's Bazaar - September 1939. Courtesy of Applejacks

Vogue - November 1939.  Courtesy of Vogue.co.UK

Vintage Hats: All-Out Deliciousness

The Love-Knot

Tying her bonnet under her chin,

She tied her raven ringlets in;

But not alone in the silken snare

Did she catch her lovely floating hair,

For, tying her bonnet under her chin,

She tied a young man’s heart within.

-- from "The Love-Knot" (first verse) by Nora Perry (1832-1896)

German fashion plate - "Moden Z. 1829 - Lohse sc(?) - No. 50"

 

Throughout history hats have held an important place in the world of fashion.  Whether the year was 1829 with the pretty - and enormous! - German bonnets (above)...or 1960 with a fresh floral spring hat on the cover of Vogue (below).

 

Vogue, Feb. 15, 1960.  On the cover: "First glimpse of the hat situation - through a little-evening cage of green leaves, white stephanotis, and a rose-coloured rose at brow-level. All-out deliciousness is one of the self-evident truths of the hat situation this spring."

 

Here's what Vogue had to say about hats in its 2/15/60 feature article: The Truth About the Hat Situation:

     The truth about hats is: like diamonds, they're not among the necessities of life, but are among the tonic pleasures, and they add a tremendous charge of dazzle.  In another generation, we heard "you're not dressed if you don't wear a hat," but the obvious truth is that many smart women are now beautifully, though hatlessly, dressed, wearing marvellous hair as a substitute. 

     What we are getting at is this: hats are golden chances for a chic woman to acquire extra chic. This year, designers are coming up with a special surge of hat excitement - spectacular bulky shapes, or tiny toy hats, in featherweight substances of straw, organdie, silk, with results ravishing enough to tempt even the most diehard of the no-hat cult.

     About no-hattism: we have often found this to be simply the fact that, as the lovelorn columns say, the right one hasn't come along (this, a corollary of the principle that you can't marry a millionaire unless you first meet one).  Our advice to the hatlorn is to keep trying; each fresh batch of hats holds fresh chances to look wonderful..."

If you've gone hatless most of your life, but are feeling a little bolder these days and would like to add a "charge of dazzle" to your fashion life - here are some more hats to inspire you...

Taffeta striped beret - a fresh edition of the paperbag beret in brilliant Roman striped silk - purple, orange, beige.  Vogue magazine, 2/15/60.

Fez fare...in felt, with a new head-on approach to flowers - a spray of tulips stemming from box pleats at the front.  Vogue magazine, 2/15/60.

Gilbey's Vodka ad - Life magazine, April 20, 1962

Spring...and a New Hat for Audrey Hepburn.  Life magazine, 4/20/62.

Montgomery Ward Catalog - Spring 1939

   A few more hats from the 1939 Ward's catalog.  I love hats from this era!  I wish they were easier to find...

Pictured below are a few hats that I have added to my collection (and then sold) over the years...

Above is a vintage 1950's turban hat with glam movie star appeal...

....and below is a stunning peacock blue hat with rows of pretty pleats and a tuft of netting and sequins on top!

Pictured below are the newest additions to my (very small) hat collection...

The soft yellow straw hat above is wrapped in a pretty ribbon, and has a Dayton's label inside.  Dayton's department store was a favorite Mpls./St. Paul fashion destination for years.  I'm always happy to find vintage clothing with one of their labels because it brings back good memories of shopping excursions there when I was younger.

 

I love the glamorous vintage look of scarves worn over the head.  Here's a fabulous Oscar de la Renta find with wonderful stripes and bold geometric shapes....

But here's my favorite of all.  Found just yesterday!

Truly a work of art.  Don't you agree?