Gloria Vanderbilt: An Appreciation

 
Gloria Vanderbilt was a debutante often unfairly labeled a dilettante. She was creating collages, decoupaging and decorating in an inspired American Country Style long before those things were mainstream. Her art was whimsical, folk-inspired yet modern and very, very feminine. I loved what I saw in magazines yet still couldn't decide if she was a genuine talent. She was.

The Coopers surrounded by Gloria's art and design skills

Her 1976 foray into fashion (blue jeans of all things)* was a highly successful venture let alone feminist statement. Yet still I questioned her motives.

Odd publicity shot to say the least...

The years gave her the respect she deserved. She remained active as an artist and a searcher for all of life's gifts. Now that she has died—at age 95—it's time to recognize her as one of the most fascinating and creative of women.

Glamorous shot by Avedon

Gloria Vanderbilt's background and history are well-documented. I hope you investigate how she became the 1920's "poor little rich girl", shocking the world with her marriages—one when she was 20 to world renowned conductor Leopold Stokowski, 42 years her senior—and love affairs (including Frank Sinatra).

With Stokowski in 1950

 
She was almost always in the public eye but accepted the curiosity and notoriety even during personal tragedies (the suicide of her son Carter in 1988). In recent years her status as Anderson Cooper's mother may have been her greatest fame. The CNN reporter and anchor spoke of her often and produced a conversation, "Nothing Left Unsaid", for HBO in 2016 that is candid and loving.

Anderson and Gloria

How does Gloria fit in my universe of all things fashion? Here's where we begin to see how fashion is really a component of style, and style is where the art is. That makes us artists every time we get dressed, and it makes us admirers of those who have the art in their dna. That would be Gloria.

* The company still exists, but Gloria sold her rights and interests in it many years ago.

So Right It's Sarong

 
I love nothing more than a good play on words, but that's not the only reason for this blog. Could the sarong be the next trend?

Sarongs, or variations on the name, are worn by both men and women in Indonesia, Malayasia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Indian subcontinent. Patterns, colors and ways of tying can vary, but the sarong is a single length of fabric that becomes a lower garment. We dare not call it a skirt.

On the road again with Bing and Bob

My earliest encounter with a sarong was the Hollywood version, popularized in films with exotic locales. I'm willing to bet it was one of the Bing Crosby/Bob Hope "Road" movies that often featured Dorothy Lamour wearing a sarong. She became known as "The Sarong Girl" following her 1936 movie debut in "The Jungle Princess", wearing a sarong designed by Edith Head.

The jungle princess

You will note that Dorothy's sarong covered top as well as bottom. I wonder what came first—Edith Head's sarong or the bath towel?

But I am getting off subject. 2019's sarong trend just may be a sarong worn over pants or worn as a skirt with a button down or blouse. Street-style not beach-style. I love the idea...

...and on Bella it looks good.

Survey Says...

 
About a year ago, my friend Durell Godfrey and I had the idea to create a book about fashion for Women of a Certain Age. We're both in our seventies and still interested in expressing our style and looking good. The book never took off for various reasons I've mentioned before:

https://allwaysinfashion.blogspot.com/2019/03/allways-in-fashion-forever.html

To gauge interest in the project, it was suggested we poll a group of women to see how they felt about fashion, and we did just that. 100 women from their early 50s to mid 80s responded to the survey. They live on both coasts and in the middle, up north and down south. Some are still working, some retired, many doing a bit of both. Every one that came back via snail mail or email was fun to read and became part of our quasi-scientific survey.

Because we rarely talk about it, most of us think we are The Only One—the only one who hates her arms or that roll of fat around her mid-section or hates her legs or gets thrown a loop when dressing for a special occasion. Even those women who said they didn't care about fashion admitted they were frustrated with their inability to find things they liked at prices they could afford. Love it or hate it, everyone was interested enough to have an opinion.

It seems such a waste to let those surveys sit at the bottom of a box marked "Always in Fashion Book Proposal", so here are the questions and the results:

T H E   F A S H I O N    S U R V E Y  

1) Is fashion more or less important to you now than when you were in your ‘30s? 

a) more important 
b) less important 
c) the same importance 

About half said fashion had the same importance.

2) Do you wish you could branch out but are nervous to try new looks? 

a) I like to experiment 
b) I prefer what I know works 

Answers were 50/50.

3) Is it hard to clean out your closet and get rid of things you no longer wear? 

a) I try to do that 
b) I hate to give things up 

More than half clean out their closets. 

4) What’s your biggest challenge(s) when shopping for clothing today?  

a) finding clothes that fit 
b) finding styles I like 
c) finding items that fit my price range 

More than half are challenged to find things they liked.



5) Are there things you absolutely-will-not-wear?  

a) cropped pants  
b) full skirts 
c) pencil skirts 
d) sleeveless anything  
e) elastic pants 
f) heels 
g) jeans
h) shorts 
i) bathing suits 
j) sandals 

Full skirts, cropped pants, sleeveless anything and shorts topped the list. 



6) What style of dressing do you feel most comfortable in? 

a) relaxed casual 
b) Bohemian 
c) simple tailored
d) feminine 
e) bold and dramatic 
f) I don’t have one style

Relaxed casual and simple tailored were most chosen. 



7) Would you occasionally splurge on a pricey item?  

a) jewelry 
b) handbag  
c) shoes
d) clothing 
e) I’m not even tempted 

Almost everyone would spurge on something, especially clothing.

8) How often do you make a special effort to get dressed each day? 

a) every day 
b) if I have someplace special to go 

More than half make an effort daily.



9) How often do you shop online?

a) most of the time 
b) about half the time 
c) sometimes
 d) rarely if ever

“Sometimes” and “rarely” were the surprising answers.

10) What do you most like about shopping online? 

a) the convenience 
b) the variety 
c) the prices 
d) the fun of finding something unexpected 

Those that did liked the convenience.
 

11) Do you like to shop with friends or on your own? 

a) with friends 
b) on my own 

Almost everyone preferred to shop alone. Even those who liked “social shopping” preferred to shop alone when on a mission.

12) Which are your favorite stores to shop? Circle all that apply. 

a) mid-range department store like Macy’s or Nordstrom 
b) high end store like Saks or Neiman’s 
c) trendy store like Zara or Anthropologie 
d) specialty store like Talbot’s or Chico’s 
e) classics store like J Crew, GAP or Banana Republic 
f) budget conscious store like Target, TJ Maxx or Marshall’s 
g) consignment or thrift shop 

Answers were pretty evenly divided, with trendy stores and budget conscious stores receiving the most.

13) Do you enjoy dressing for special occasions? 

a) I like dressing up 
b) special occasions throw me in a tizzy 

Almost 90% of respondents like dressing up.

14) Do you have a physical feature you play up? 

"The legs are the last to go" seems to be a truism among respondents. Others are still proud to show off small waists, nice bosoms or slim figures.

15) Do you have a physical feature you play down? 

20% of respondents are unhappy about their stomachs.There does not seem to be a body part someone doesn't like.
  


16) Who are your style icons (movies or celebrities)?  

Audrey Hepburn by far led the pack, followed closely by Diane Keaton and Katherine Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn is a natural choice for the demographic. Diane Keaton dresses unexpectedly and to the beat of her own drum. Perhaps that is part of the admiration. Kate Hepburn, also outspoken, mastered the tailored look many of our respondents strive to adopt for themselves.

How do these compare with your own thoughts? Designers, manufacturers, fashion editors and retailers please take note!

Dressing by the Boards

13 Seven Sisters

When Cleveland's department stores announced their College Boards, they weren't talking about the organization formed in 1899 to expand access to higher education.

The College Boards were a predominantly 1950s-1960s marketing tool to attract college coeds, especially freshmen who were anxious to fit into their schools' particular fashion sense. The Board consisted of a dozen or so supposed authorities on what their particular colleges required in terms of wardrobe. They were hired to work for six weeks, from mid-July until late-August, peak off-to-college shopping time.

It was an honor to be a College Board member, I thought, not that far from being Miss America. Their names, colleges and photos would be printed in the department store ad under a fetching headline such as:

"Introducing our 1958 College Board!"

Members didn't represent just any college, either. They were almost all from the Seven Sisters— Barnard, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, and Radcliffe. There was the odd local student from Oberlin or Ohio State, but who cared what anyone wore in Ohio? It was the Ivy League that mattered, and it was that preppy style we sought to emulate even in high school.

I never met a College Board member. They didn't seem to be "on duty" when I was downtown shopping. Instead I got my fashion advice from August Seventeen magazine and their "Back to School" issue or August Glamour's "10 Best-Dressed College Girls"*.

 
By the time I really was headed to college, to art school, in 1960, I'd put my circle pins away and laid my Peter Pan collars to rest. Instead I was buying opaque black nun's stockings to stand in for the black tights Beatniks wore. No College Board in that department.

I see why it's so hard to get dressed today. We don't have anyone telling us what to wear, how many shirts to buy, what styles are "in" or what will make us look hopelessly out of step. We have no one to please but ourselves. And when was the last time you looked in the mirror without hesitation and said, "Gee, I look good today."

*Yes, Glamour actually called it that from 1957 until 1969, when the honor was changed to "Top 10 College Girls". It took a few more years for them to become Women. 

What the Cool Japanese Girls Wore

Along the beach at Waikiki, between shops

 
We were just in Beautiful Waikiki (pretty hard not to link those two words together). Waikiki is the beachfront resort of Honolulu, Hawaii's capitol, on the island of Oahu. Eight hours from our home in Houston, it's also eight hours from Tokyo. There were a lot more Japanese than visiting Texans, a lot. I would guestimate 80% of Waikiki's tourists are Asian, of that 80% are Japanese. It makes for quite an exotic experience, like visiting a Japan where everyone speaks English.

Shopping is stellar in Waikiki. There are four shopping centers within its four miles. One of them, Ala Moana, has 350 stores and is the largest open-air mall in the world. We're not talking Walmart here. From Harry Winston to the world's most beautiful H&M, Waikiki is a shopper's delight and people-watching heaven.

Japanese especially embrace the consumerism, wearing logos with abandon as well as the latest western trends. They don't waste time lying on the beach or lounging by the pool and are definitely not working on their tans. Covered up, at least during the day, is the dress code.

There was a Cool Japanese Girl Look I haven't seen before: the duster. A duster is a loose, lightweight (usually cotton or linen) summer coat with wide sleeves that ends mid-calf. This was worn not for warmth on Hawaii's 80+ degree days but to cover up and add that outfit-making third piece. I usually saw a duster paired with skinny jeans and a tee shirt or adding more volume to full cropped pants or a long, full skirt.

Important note: these dusters were not kimonos, those once-trendy toppers that have overstayed their welcome. The duster, in soft shades, added drama as the wearer moved down the street. I was also impressed all that volume didn't swamp the petite Japanese. The proportions were just right. 

Those cropped pants were also a trend. They were decidedly full and worn by both men and women. One man, in his navy linen crops and Breton sailor tee was a stunner, but my trigger finger froze when I tried to take a picture.

Snap! Crackle! Pop!

Lady Gaga arriving at the Met Gala

 
Something tells me the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute exhibition, "Camp: Notes on Fashion" will be full of fabulous costumes but may or may not be worth a trip from anywhere.

Sunday's New York Times published an interview with six gay men who might know what exactly is camp— a professor at Columbia, two performance artists, a model, Ru Paul's costume designer, and a photographer. They tried to define "camp" and didn't exactly succeed. I agreed with 86-year-old James Bidgood, who said "I don't know what anyone's talking about!"

I've always felt the world of camp belonged to male homosexuals, and what was camp was up to them. Camp was almost a term of endearment, a so-bad-it's-good kind of thing, a crowning glory of bad taste viewed affectionately. Liberace might have been really awful, but he was camp.

What's the difference, you may ask, between kitsch, camp, pop and irony? I'm going to take a stab at this very murky gene pool. And I will do it with aprons.

KITSCH is a 1950's Betty Crocker-style apron:

  

CAMP is that apron worn by a drag queen:

POP is an apron referencing an Andy Warhol soup can:

IRONY is an apron referencing an Andy Warhol soup can but picturing Donald Trump:

All this can be debated, and that would be the problem. I wonder just how the Met has the chutzpah to take on camp and what they will do with it. While no doubt this will be a fun show, not only may it beg the question "What is camp?", it may ask "What is fashion?"

Will there be answers?

Do You Spot a Trend Here?

TJ Maxx is not known for its visuals, so when my local TJ's received a huge shipment of cross-body bags, how else to display them? This was only a third of the length of wall; you can imagine what an impression those bags made. Like, is this a trend???

I think yes.

Cross-body bags are nothing new, of course. They started as the practical way to tote a  big old messenger bag around and save your shoulders.

What's the message?

Over time cross-body bags got smaller, the size of a normal handbag. This became a neat way to carry a bag while freeing up your hands.

A handy idea

 

I discovered the ease of a cross-body bag a few years ago. It was to be an on-the-go-no-lolling-around-the-pool vacation and required an adjustment to the giant, heavy leather tote I usually hauled around. My cross-body was strictly utilitarian, made of lightweight nylon with zippered compartments and two zippered pockets. This was a revelation. It was amazing how much could fit in such a small space (and how little I really needed).

Glad to be freed-up

The latest crop of cross-body bags are smaller still. What else do we need save a phone, a credit card, a lipstick and some Tic-Tacs?

As seen in Paris...

So while they're not new, this year they seem to be A Thing. I'll bet TJ Maxx hopes so.

Not an Easter Wedding

  
Today is my wedding anniversary. It's also Easter, but it wasn't Easter in 1968. It was just Sunday, April 21. As weddings go, ours was pretty low-key. That is, I wasn't stressed, probably because I let my mother do all the planning. She was very good at those things; I assume hers was a labor of love.

We had forty guests, and it was surely one of the smallest weddings New York City's Plaza Hotel ever held. We served hors d'oeuvres, champagne and wedding cake. For music there was an accordionist to play "Fascination", an homage to one of my favorite films, "Love in the Afternoon".

I'm sure you don't want to hear more details. Like, my husband's office sent a giant bouquet of lilies. Was that supposed to be a joke??? And we stole the sign posted outside our event:

Missing an H, M and A...

The true subject is my dress. My mother made it from a photo I saw in French Elle, the one written in French, that I couldn't read. She sewed it with one broken arm. I can't remember how she broke it. It was healed by my wedding day.

As this was 1968 the dress was barely fingertip length, stopping halfway up my thigh. Today we would call this a tunic. It was made from the most perfect white crepe. The wonderful hood was attached and turned into a collar. I can't believe how my mother covered all those buttons and made those loops. She might have had helpers.

I did feel like Cinderella...

 
My wedding was truly a blur. I wore glasses back then but decided Not on My Wedding Day. So if you were there, I'm sorry I didn't see you. After we shooed our guests off to their own dinners (felt a little guilty but no one seemed to mind), my newly minted husband and I had dinner at L' Etoile, a French restaurant that had once been the Playboy Club. After dinner, a carriage ride through Central Park.
 
Yes, yes, it's a fashion blog. So this is fashion (or was then): Next morning my husband was denied entry to the Plaza restaurant for breakfast. Although he was wearing a sport jacket and a turtleneck sweater, he wasn't wearing a tie. Hard to believe there was a time when a man had to wear a tie to breakfast at the Plaza, but his wife could wear a blouse for a dress.

PS Sadly this story does not have a happy ending. The dress was packed in a cardboard box and landed in the attic of our Victorian-era house in Westchester County. So much ended up in that attic, one weekend many years later we rented a dumpster and had a massive clean-out. I could never find the box again. All in all, I'd rather have the husband than the dress.

  

The Closet Kondo-conundrum

Twiggy in my closet would be a keeper

It's an old story. Come Spring every woman's fancy turns to what to fancy. The stores are full of shiny objects for this magpie to covet. The styles may not be so different from seasons past, but all is tweaked a bit and looks desirable.

I want it all, and I want it now.

The past ten years I've honed my wardrobe to reflect who I think I am. I'm not tempted to follow every fad for fad's sake. I've thrown things out that don't work and really gotten better about buying them in the first place. Semi-retired, I now have a bit of expendable income that doesn't have to go for college tuition or heating oil.  I'm not extravagant. My favorite store still starts with a "T" and ends with a "Maxx." I have more time to bargain hunt and comparison shop and do.

Wait a minute, Marie...

There are many nice things in my closet. While I may still enjoy wearing them, they're old. The bloom is off the rose. The dew is off the morning glory. The thrill is gone. Is that a reason to buy more?

I've got to think the answer is yes. And here's why:

> It's important to be relevant. You don't want to be advertising your expiration date like a carton of yogurt. Some things just scream SUMMER 2015!!! Sporting a (flattering) new trend keeps your style up to date.

> New clothes are a blank slate. Old clothes have a history, and not always a good one. There's nothing wrong with the blue and white striped shirt except I was wearing it during a family argument that shouldn't have happened. We made up, but I still see the day on that shirt.

When considering whether it will come home with me, I think about when I will wear it. The more I can justify it, the more likely I am to buy it. I still believe in being prepared.

> Old clothes have earned their keep. I have a silk blouse I've worn for years. That top was expensive. If nothing else it's earned its keep and doesn't have to be the only blouse I love.

Just because it's old doesn't mean you should give it away. And just because you've had it forever doesn't mean you have to keep it. Remember we're talking about clothes here, folks, not relationships. The older those are, the better.

> Who doesn't like something new? There is joy in snipping off the tags before you wear something for the first time, definitely a little feeling of accomplishment. You looked for it. You found it. You bought it. You are happy to welcome it into your life starting today. Chances are you have never thought about this, but isn't it a little bit true?

The key to the puzzle is knowing when to say goodbye. It's always harder to let go than to welcome something new. This is where Marie Kondo could be on to something. 

What's Up With Project Runaway?

 
That's right; you read correctly: Project Runaway. The last incarnation of Project Runway All Stars (Season 7) just ended on Lifetime. There will be no spoiler alerts because I haven't seen the finale yet.

I've been a fervent watcher of Project Runway since Season 1 and was so moved by the first winner, Jay McCarroll, I cried when his collection came down the runway. I was proud as a peacock when hometown favorite, Chloe Dao, won Season 2. As the seasons went on the talent became less spectacular, the personalities more caricatured, and the sponsorship more obvious, but still I watched.

A young Mr. Christian

 
Project Runway has produced only one notable winner, Christian Siriano. He was an unlikely contestant, young and a bit quirky but full of confidence. He proved he knew what he was doing and has gone on to dress red carpet celebrities as well as design shoes for Payless. He believes in inclusivity and was the only designer not to turn down Leslie Jones 's request to make her gown for the "Ghostbusters" premiere.

Red on the red carpet...

The peripheral players on Project Runway were the real winners. Tim Gunn, a well-loved instructor at Parson's School of Design, became the show's mentor and found himself a whole new career as everyone's fashion guru. Heidi Klum, a former Victoria's Secret model, acted as the host and was also a producer. She acquitted herself as a smart woman and no doubt has contributed much to our understanding that supermodels have brains. Nina Garcia, a tough but fair fashion editor, has written three books and is now the editor-in-chief of Elle magazine.

 
Project Runway All Stars seemed like a strange idea from the beginning—losers from past Project Runway seasons returned to try again, sometimes a past winner among them. Season 7 (probably the last) consisted of all winners all the time. Dmitry Sholokhov was back to try for a third win. Enough already!

Does Dmitry win the triple crown?

What prompted today's New York Times to write about these Runways was the reference on air in All Stars Season 7 that "winning looks will be available immediately after the show on JC Penney's website." A sponsor of the "accessories wall" and recipient of many on-air plugs, JC Penney had a deal with Project Runway when it was owned by the Weinstein Company. That imploded with the Weinstein bankruptcy in 2018. All Stars Season 7, recorded in 2017, had not been shown until now, almost two years later. Instead of adding a disclaimer, shows have run as-is. I'm probably not alone in having checked Penney's website only to find there are no Project Runway fashions for sale.

The latest Project Runway—original format but with Karlie Kloss playing Heidi Klum and Christian Siriano playing Tim Gunn—is back on Bravo. They too offer "some of the winning fashions" for sale, but they are sewn to order by an on-demand manufacturer called Nineteenth Ammendment. Delivery time is 4-6 weeks. By that time those fashions will really be "old hat".

Patience needed for Tessa Clark's winning look