Edith Head, Up Close and Personal

 
The National Arts Club will present an online "Afternoon with Edith Head" on June 30 at 3PM Eastern Daylight Time. Registration is free, and you can do it here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-afternoon-with-edith-head-registration-107597107846?aff=odeimcmailchimp&mc_cid=e67d2a0a39&mc_eid=6eea6e15db

The National Arts Club, out of New York City, has had a number of events called, "National Arts Club at Home" during this time of extreme social distancing. There have been a few fashioned-themed lectures such as this, with one on the history of tartans coming up July 14.

The genuine article

Edith Head has a fascinating life story, both the one she created and the actual one. She was the most famous costume designer in Hollywood's golden age, determined in no small part by tireless self promotion.

The National Arts Club will not just be presenting a lecture on Edith Head. She will be there, in the person of Susan Claassen, an actress who inhabits Edith with astonishing reality. That is her at the top of the page.

I've had the pleasure of seeing Susan's performance some years ago at a small venue. I was sitting thisclose to "Edith" and didn't doubt for moment that Edith Head, who died in 1981, had come to Houston for the day.

You don't have to know much about her to enjoy the visit. She will fill you in, trust me. 

Sleeping Beauty and Dr. Fauci

 
Dear Virginia, Jill, Suzy, Linda, Pat, Arnita, Sheila or whoever you are,

Yes, there is still Fashion.

As my mind is spluttering around these days Fashion is less like a letter to the New York Sun than a fractured version of the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty". Fashion is the slumbering princess waiting for a shot in the arm from the handsome prince, Dr. Fauci. She will awaken (refreshed and looking ten years younger) with someplace to go and a reason to get dressed.

Man of my dreams...

With my real life on hold, I feel less like Sleeping Beauty and more like the troll who lives under the bridge. I have to believe that day will come. It breaks my heart to take little joy in what was one of my major life forces, up there with air, food and water.

I can't get excited about a wardrobe of masks to coordinate with my clothing. The only thing sadder than everyone wearing masks is that everyone isn't wearing a mask.
 
Still, I dream about what I might wear when I go...where? I check to see if my appetite perks up on some of my favorite shopping sites (not so much). I'll even try to snag a bargain or try something new.*  I do know getting dressed—not dressed up, just dressed—makes me feel better. There are so few reasons to do it and so little discipline to do it without reason. Please tell me I am not alone.

Day 91. Still healthy. Missing you all.


*I'm sorry to report the drawstring neck from the last blog's caftan is strangling me.