Of Fashion: Art & Drama

FASHION GENIUS

Karl Lagerfeld:  A Line of Beauty

Floral dress for Fendi

The late Karl Lagerfeld was a giant in the world of fashion.  He designed for Chanel, Fendi, and his own studio.  The Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute exhibit, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, showcases his talent and his creativity in an almost endless series of beautiful ball gowns, funky and militaristic dresses and suits, and elaborately detailed wedding gowns.  

My favorite of his black dresses

He was a consummate sketcher, and it’s intriguing to see his freehand sketch of a design next to the finished product. 

For a black gown with a semi-train

 In the early galleries, there are also video interviews with several of his skilled seamstresses talking about what it was like to work from a sketch and how precise he was in what he wanted.  I would have liked to spend more time watching these videos, but I kept moving along.

Gold dress with gold metal

As one would expect, most of the clothes are black with white being the next dominant color; here and there are shades of pink or rose and only occasionally a blast of bold color.  One also sees gold fabric as well as gold accents or items depicted on a gown.

Bold use of objects on gowns
Design from the Pop-Art era

The Chief Penguin was somewhat reluctant to see this exhibit and indicated he would do part of it with me and then split off.  Instead, he too went through the many galleries, one of the sprinkling of males midst women of all ages.  

We didn’t use our preview day tickets so we ended up going another day and joining the virtual queue once inside the building.  I give the museum credit for managing interest this way.  We got text message confirmation of being in line and a notice of when it was our turn to enter the exhibit (essentially no wait then.)  If you are at all interested in high fashion, I recommend this exhibit.  I think it’s one of the best fashion ones I’ve seen here!

HIGH DRAMA—ROYAL STYLE

Queen Charlotte:  A Bridgerton Story (Netflix)

Mature Queen Charlotte in a fancy gown (People)

Although not explicitly about fashion, it’s hard to ignore the elaborate and beautiful gowns worn by the women in the Regency era.  And, if you watched any of the previous seasons of Bridgerton, you’d be familiar with the mature Queen Charlotte.  She was imperious, dictatorial, and not particularly likable.  She was also married to George III, known as “mad King George.”  

This new series gives us Charlotte’s backstory, how she was brought from Germany to marry George and to provide an heir.  

George & Charlotte

Their beginnings are not auspicious, and deviating from history, George is already suffering from mental illness, and his mother the dowager queen tries to control all.  The series is darker than the earlier Bridgertons with more depth as well as poignancy and pain. 

Mother-in-law and young Charlotte (Gold Derby)

In addition to Charlotte & George’s love story, there is romance between two male courtiers, and an exploration of both forced marriage and the loneliness of widowhood.  Lady Violet Bridgerton, mother of the young marrying Bridgertons, and Lady Agatha Danbury, a wise and elegant widow, reappear and one gets to know more about their earlier years and to participate in their growing friendship. 

Young Lady Danbury (Entertainment Weekly)

It’s also a lusty series (I thought about the “for mature audiences” warning from Call the Midwife) with plenty of bedroom scenes and lots of skin.  The Chief Penguin and I watched the entire six episodes over six nights and enjoyed it immensely.  It’s heartrending, touching, and complex.  Kudos to Shonda Rhimes, a very creative writer and producer.  Highly recommended!

Note: Lagerfeld photos by JWFarrington. Header photo was taken in the exhibit.

Tidy Tidbits: Marseille, Memphis & More

This week, I’m featuring a recent TV series, a debut novel set in the South, and a new local restaurant.

RISKING LIFE IN MARSEILLE

Transatlantic (Netflix)

Mary Jayne Gold, Fry, & Thomas Lovegrove (Den of Geek)

When I’ve mentioned to friends that I’m watching Transatlantic, several told me they had just finished it and are interested in discussing the ending.  Then, this morning, I received an e-mail from another friend highly recommending it.  Transatlantic is an 8-part dramatic series set in Marseille, France in 1940, before the United States entered the Second World War.  It focuses on the efforts of Varian Fry, a real person affiliated with the Emergency Rescue Committee (an American organization), and his colleagues to get refugees safely to Spain and beyond.  The players include the local police, the Gestapo, other officials, and bureaucrats.  

Fry is initially a rule follower, and his concern is for artists and intellectuals, people like Hannah Arendt and the Chagalls.  Money and help sometimes come from unexpected quarters like Mary Jayne Gold, a rich young socialite from Chicago, art collector Peggy Guggenheim, and two Black hotel staff.  

The challenges are many and the work is dangerous.  There are always more people to be helped than exit visas and available places.  Using both a hotel and a private villa as safe houses, Fry and friends plot, scheme, and risk everything for the occasional success.  This is a well-cast series and captures an important piece of WWII history.  For the record, I’ve now seen six of the eight episodes. Highly recommended!

STRONG BLACK WOMEN

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

Author Stringfellow (Book Pipeline)

I will have more about Memphis after my book group’s discussion this week.  Suffice it to say, this first novel by an attorney turned novelist is worth your time and attention.

It’s a story of trauma and suffering, but also of hope and joy in the lives of three generations of Black women from 1937 to 2003.  The chapters alternate between Hazel, the matriarch, her daughters Miriam and August, and Miriam’s daughter Joan.  The tragedies and challenges of their lives are sometimes front and center, but at other times are quietly revealed decades later.  Joan, the youngest voice, has a passion for art and harbors ambitions for her future.  Her chapters are the only ones presented in the first person.  This window on Black culture is beautifully wrought; it may offer a different perspective for other white women like me.  

LOCAL MEXICAN FARE

Avocado’s Cocina Mexicana (Bradenton)

Enchilada & accompaniments (JWF)

Owned by the same people as the successful Habanero’s Mexican Grill on Manatee Avenue, Avocado’s on Cortez Road West is a tasty addition to the local dining scene.  The interior space is attractive and the menu of Mexican fare very good.  The Chief Penguin and I sampled their chunky guacamole (very nice, but could have had some heat), the generous sized quesadilla, and a lunch special of one enchilada, rice, and refried beans. 

 I liked that the plate was not piled high nor gloppy.  The chicken in the enchilada was good, the rice nicely spiced, and the beans silky.  I was tempted to add a pork tamale to my selection but wisely didn’t and was just as happy with a little less.  A casual place we will visit again!

Note: Header photo of nightlife in Memphis from Travel Noire.

Tidy Tidbits: Spring Things

EASTER THOUGHTS

Girls in spring dresses

As a child, I grew up going to Sunday School and celebrating Easter in church.  Spring usually meant a new dress, but always a new spring coat.  Spring coats then were pastel colors, pale blue, yellow, or pink.  Made of lightweight wool, you wore it over a pretty dress along with a fancy hat to church on Palm Sunday and Easter.  Of course, our parents also gave us Easter baskets.  Fake straw ones with jellybeans, Peeps chicks, and little foil wrapped chocolate eggs nestled in the grass.  If you were fortunate, a good-sized cream-filled Cadbury’s egg was a bonus.

Trumpet flowers
Gorgeous tulips

Today, I welcome the coming of Easter as a sign of spring—rebirth and renewal—with a lifting of the spirits if the winter has been long and cold.  In Florida, we have some version of spring all year, but there is still something wondrous about warmer temperatures, more late light, and the bursting forth of blossoms.  

RECENT VIEWING

FROTHY CONFECTION

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (Amazon Prime)

Ada has a fitting (NPR)

Based on the novel, Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris, by Paul Gallico and published in 1958, the latest movie version is a delight.  It’s fun and full of fashion without being too silly or overdone.  There are moments of poignancy midst Ada Harris’s dreams of a different life.  

Lesley Manville plays cleaning woman Ada Harris, a hardworking woman who dreams of owning a beautiful gown (preferably one by Dior) and whose husband never returned from the Second World War.  Nor was he declared dead, and so she is ever hopeful.  Ada saves her coins and when she receives an unexpected windfall, she trots herself to Paris and brazenly bursts into Christian Dior’s atelier.  She’s a memorable character, full of spunk, and perhaps her dream will come true. In the 1992 film, Angela Lansbury was Ada Harris.

SPYCRAFT

A Spy among Friends (MGM+)

Philby & Elliott (The Guardian)

The Chief Penguin and I read several very positive reviews of A Spy among Friends about notorious double agent Kim Philby.  Hence, we sprang for the 7-day free trial of MGM+ through Amazon Prime to watch the series.  It’s six parts and we are halfway in.  Based on a nonfiction work by Ben Macintyre, it unwinds slowly going back and forth in time.  Philby is seen primarily through the eyes of friend and fellow spy, Nick Elliott, who is being interrogated about his knowledge of Philby’s activities over their 23-year friendship.  Guy Pearce is Philby and Damian Lewis is superb in the role of Elliott.  Recommended!

Note: Flower photos and header photo from JWFarrington.

Tidy Tidbits: Granddaughters, etc.

A MARVELOUS WEEK

This was a week about as close to perfection as one could request.  Everyone seemed to have a grand time.  Tim and Jen had multiple opportunities for tennis and honing their game.  The girls, 7 and almost 11, spent hours in the pool, swimming, jumping, racing one another, and playing with several visiting girls.  In quieter moments, they could be found re-discovering the joys of a dollhouse and building blocks or curled up in a chair with a book.

Together we played a new card game, Taco vs. Burrito, laughing and scheming to see who would escape the Health Inspector card and have the most points.  Even for adults, this was a fun game! We also celebrated F’s 7th birthday.  Creative Grandpa came through with frosted yellow cupcakes (some with pink icing and some with whipped cream) on a lighted 3-tiered stand.  Quite some pizazz!  

Birthday cupcakes on stand
Close up of cupcake with strawberry

To round out the week, they checked out Coquina Beach, and we all headed to our perennial favorite, Tide Tables, for two dinners. We survived the challenge of parking and the wait (20 minutes, not the projected 30) for a table, with F holding tightly to the buzzer.  Scoops and cones at Tyler’s Ice Cream made for another treat.

Smiling sisters

No trip to Florida is complete without a stop in the bookstore, that’s Bookstore 1 in Sarasota.  Combine that with replenishing the cheese supply at Artisan Cheese Company, and you have a satisfying outing.  Food for brain and body.  

Our house is quiet, the foyer is bereft of shoes, sneakers, and sandals, and the crew is back home in New York.  But what good memories we made!

VIEWING UPDATE—CONTINUING SERIES

Call the Midwife (PBS)

Midwives Trixie, Phyllis, & Nancy (PBS)

It’s hard to believe that Call the Midwife is in its 12th season, but it is.  The year is 1968, and the folks in Poplar are still poor and in need of better living conditions and healthcare.  Visiting Sister Veronica brings a blunt manner and new ideas for helping the children.  Nurse Crane faces repercussions due to her age, and Trixie juggles preparing for her wedding to Matthew with caring for their patients.  Familiar faces are back from Dr. Turner and Sheila to Sister Julienne and Sister Monica Joan.  Babies are born, problems are solved, and there is always hope.  I find this series moving and emotional in a good way.  I’ve now watched four of the 8 episodes.

Sanditon (PBS)

Charlotte & Alexander Colbourne (PBS)

Season 3 of Sandition, based on an unfinished novel by Jane Austen, is in its third and final season.  Georgiana is about to celebrate coming of age and into her inheritance.  Charlotte Heywood returns for the party with her farmer fiancé.  Tom Parker continues to tout the greatness of Sandition and petitions a wealthy man for his support for a hotel.  As expected, flirtations and expectations abound as single women angle to catch the eye of just the right gentleman.  

It’s fun, mostly light-hearted, and a welcome change from the dark crime series the Chief Penguin and I have been favoring.  There are six episodes in this finale.

Note: Unattributed photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.) Header photo of kids in pool from Dreamstime.com.