Yes, this marks the 300th post of my little website, and I'm very proud! Just a few months shy of two years since I began... I've slowed down a bit, it's true, but I'm still here doing my thing. I've really enjoyed this project and while it's just a hobby it's given me a lot of fun for my time and effort. I've especially loved my virtual friendships with the many bloggers and fashion opinionators out there - you are all so inspiring and full of fantastic ideas! It's difficult to keep up with you!

Thanks so much to my readers and friends for keeping me encouraged and moving ahead... It's because of you that I'm batting .300!

Much love... Ms. P&C 

 

In high school French class our teacher insisted on giving us “French” names for us to use during our fifty minutes under her care. The names were meant to be the French-ized version of your name, but since “Annie” is pretty distinctly Irish, I was given the name Anouk. I wasn’t very happy about this. It was like my name, but not much. Instead of the happy smile you get automatically from “Annie”, it ended in a weird “ooooh-Ka”. To me it sounded like a punch in the nose.

Years later I learnt about the incredible Anouk Aimée and changed my mind a bit. I saw her first as Marcello Mastroianni’s long-suffering wife in Fellini’s 8 ½, and while I didn’t think much of her at the time, I became completely obsessed with the film and the rest of Fellini’s work. (Fellini is sort of the “gateway drug” of arthouse films, don’t you think? He’s odd yet accessible, funny yet sophisticated, and while his themes are generally dark at the core, you end up feeling sort of light and entertained at the end. At any rate, his pictures started me on all the other auteurs in turn…) As I read up on Fellini and 8 ½, I learnt that Il Maestro purposely made the glamorous Anouk Aimée exceptionally plain for her role in the film – even to the point of forcing her to trim her famously long eyelashes.

Wow. To be known for one’s eyelashes...now that’s seriously chic.

The first time I saw a Claude Lelouch film was about five years ago. My boyfriend at the time insisted we go see it because “it’s supposed to be really romantic…” Huh. Beautiful, yes. But so slow that I felt completely stoned the entire time. Does this a romance make? Let’s just say that my boyfriend and I broke up a few weeks later, but no, I don’t blame Claude Lelouch. Thankfully, I recently learnt that his early films were the true gems.

This weekend I finally saw Un Homme et Une Femme and I’m beginning to understand what the Lelouch fuss is all about. That, and I’m now head over heels for Anouk Aimée – in fact, I might just have to start calling myself Anouk once again. At least Lelouch knew better than to humiliate a beautiful woman by making her ugly: The wide mouth, the dimples, the cheekbones, the thick clownish brows that arch just so, the gigantic brown eyes, the light dusting of freckles, the absolutely perfect hair… I have straight brown hair too, yet I’d have to sell my soul to get the effortless perfection of Anouk Aimée’s messy-but-polished coiff in this movie.

The whole thing is this incredibly simple and beautiful little French love story, as only a French film can create - the kind that sort of sets the sterotype for every romantic French film that's ever been made. If I were to explain it, I'd say that it's in black-and-white - no, it's in color, that there's these two people who meet because of their childrens' school, it's a freezing wet winter, there's a lot of driving and beautiful seascapes and sunrises, sexy jazzy music, a lot of melancholy, two cute kids, and Anouk Aimée in a really fabulous coat.

Sigh. It kills me. Let’s just drive to the beach at Deauville to chase seagulls and watch the old man walk his dog.

“Between art and life, I’d choose life.”

Seriously. Enough already. But no, let’s cue the da-ba-dabada-dabada of the cute samba music, drive back to Paris, smoke cigarettes, and tell each other stories of how we’ve loved and lost.

Anouk Aimée in Un Homme et Une FemmeAimée’s simple chic is quintessentially French and is probably what created the whole French woman's mystique in the first place. Films like this show them to be an entirely different species of style. Her fur-trimmed coat, little Chanel 2-55 bag and kitten heels for Sunday pair perfectly with that insouciant smile hidden behind a shy little hand gesture. Aimée is also the master of the French woman’s shrug. Do I love him or do I not? I don’t know. But it’s so much easier to reflect upon the predicament when I can just sit on a bench in Paris and hide inside my fur collar to think it over.

Personally, love would indeed be simpler for me if I could be this perfectly groomed and well-dressed and untroubled and in Paris while I dealt with all of it. Perhaps I would have stayed with my boyfriend longer? Who is to say? It was a summer romance and according to Lelouch, winter is the key.

The filmmaker said that the winter’s bad weather was meant to be another character in the film. The loneliness of misty Deauville - a summer resort that is deserted in winter, the brisk winds off the North Sea, the white waves, the naked trees, the rains of Paris, the snow of the Alps… The cold was supposed to be so ever-present that you would feel the warmth of the love. Lelouch also said that this story could never have happened to him (although he wrote it,) because he’s “just not that loving…”

Or maybe he is the kind of man that chooses art instead of life?

So I bought this little Diana Camera around December thinking that it would provide the kind of artsy fun that I've been looking for lately... It's now April and I'm just seeing some fruits of my labor! First of all, Diana Cameras run on 120 film which isn't exactly available at Walgreens, and it isn't easily developed either - like, it has to go to a lab for at least two weeks. Photo lab...remember those? With paper? Crazy.

Over the past few weeks I've been getting reacquainted with things like F-stops (but not really, because the Diana is really too simple for all of that,) and light exposures. I suppose the best way to explain this gadget is that it's like a pinhole camera with a big lens - like the "Sunprints" you made as a kid with leaves and housekeys on light reactive paper. This thing couldn't be more manual, in fact, it's battery-free which warms my Luddite heart.

Today I finally got some prints back. I stood at the busstop tearing into the photo envelopes with that fever of excitement that I haven't known since I last had photos actually...developed. That is, without seeing a preview first. Mind, I didn't really know what I was doing (and still don't, which is the whole beauty of the situation,) but I began by taking some pictures around my apartment and office. Let me know what you think!

Today would have been my Grandma's birthday, and this post I wrote about her last year is one of my favorites...!

Visit more P&C Favorites in the "Best of P&C" section in the sidebar at the right.

Enjoy! 

Shopping at Target should really be approached like shopping for vintage: go in with zero expectations, be willing to try everything on, and keep an open mind. But the cardinal rule is if you find something you think you may want – don’t hesitate, just take it – it won’t be there when you come back again.

Unfortunately for me I went too late to score anything from the Jovovich-Hawk Go International collection. I especially wanted the polka-dot blouse for the spring and summer. But, it is a credit to the designers and Target’s increasingly popular concept of limited edition fashion lines that the racks were empty. Nary a single hippie-chick-chic outfit in sight! I thought that since the television advertisements were still running that there’d still be stock, but alas… Mental note: get to Target the first day of the new Go International collections.

It is rumored that Jonathan Saunders will be bringing his sleek ultra-mod sensibility to the Go International lineup once Jovovich-Hawk moves on down the road…I wonder how Middle America will receive it?

I was happily surprised to find two other Target “designer” collections full of delicious treats: Loeffler Randall’s collection of handbags and shoes, as well as Subversive Jewelry’s “Subversive for Target” collection of statement making necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

I spotted the Loeffler-Randall bags as soon as I entered; I was completely arrested by the chic shapes, and girlie but sophisticated details. The woven material, gold linings, subtle labeling and delicate rosettes caught me off guard. I thought: “Since when is Bottega Veneta designing for Target?” Score. I ended up getting one of the satchels and I completely love it. It holds everything I need, it’s lightweight, and it looks A LOT more expensive than what I paid for it. (By the way – this whole collection is on markdown right now, so it’s definitely worth a look-see. I know that some people don’t necessarily agree with me on this point, and the piece is definitely not a Bottega, but it’s still a fun purchase within my budget that I’m thoroughly enjoying.

As for the Loeffler-Randall shoes – very different story. The flats were definitely appealing and could be worn with anything, but they were very tight and I have a thing about having my feet breathe, as it were. I tried a half-size larger and it didn’t seem to help. The soles were insubstantial and once on, I felt like I could feel every bump in the Target linoleum. For the money, I’d rather just go to Nine West and get a pair on sale that I know will last at least a few months.

The latest collection of handbags is from Gryson, which Chic & Charming is not so impressed with (and frankly neither am I,) but things do always look better in person…we’ll see!

Subversive for Target was lots of fun. Very much in tune with the original Subversive collections: layered chains, ribbons, pearls, vintage-inspired, found objects, and little oddities all thrown together. I have some pieces of Subversive that I’d bought on Girlshop.com back in the day, but haven’t bought anything recently. The Target collection may be just the thing. The price point cannot be beat on these pieces, topping out at $59 and looking like they cost at least double that. The only group I didn’t care for was the “Bauhaus Beach House” – too beachy and not enough Bauhaus. It looked really cheap and pre-teen. Conversely, I absolutely adored the “BoHo Victorian” and “Visions of Saturn” groups – lots of great stuff here, especially the pink pearls with ribbon & crystals, and the multi-row cameo in bright blue. Love!

Target is like shopping vintage in other ways too in that one should really mix pieces found their with other pieces of higher quality. Just as one wouldn’t want to look like they stepped out of a period film when they haven’t, one really shouldn’t be head-to-toe Target. For example, mix the Subversive for Target bracelet with one from Jessica Kagan Cushman, or the Loeffler-Randall flats with some Theory trousers. This way you’re well-dressed and on-trend without looking like a victim. I think that the hgih-design and low prices concept is fantastic; it’s really come into its own over the past few months and I certainly hope the designers and merchants continue to roll out collections of affordable style.

"Baseball may be a religion full of magic, cosmic truth, and the fundamental ontological riddles of our time, but it's also a job." - Annie Savoy in Bull Durham

Opening day of the baseball season can't help but being exciting. There's freshness inherent in the whole thing: clean stats, new sawd, new advertisers on the scoreboard, and new guys just up from triple-A. It's the boys of summer, hot dogs (the way they should taste,) old timey sportscasters, calls at the plate, and Americana.

People say that football is the "American game" these days, but I have to disagree. Football is only the American game because the American culture is now centered around a mindlessness of the television, and football is tailor-made for television broadcasting. Think I'm wrong? When was the last time you went to a football game? Those inexplicable stops in the play action are for words from the sponsors, so you too can buy a better bottle of beer. Notice how this never happens at a baseball game because the broadcast has to build around the game - the opposite of football.

Baseball has a pace; it's slow, methodical, and subtle. Then, in an instant of ballet-like coordination and explosive power, a punctuation of action changes everything. There's a reason for all of those quirky obsessive ticks players do before hitting, just like there's a reason for the precision of the box score. It's a love of sporting history and a nod to tradition. It's sepia-tinted photos from now-defunct ballparks, team names embroidered in florid script, pinstripes, and Casey at the Bat.

To bring this into the modern age, I must say that I loved this post from Jezebel.com giving 3 Reasons Why Smart Women Love Baseball...

It's true, the San Francisco Giants don't have such a hopeful outlook this year, but there's a beauty to being the underdog. Also, this season is the team's 50th Anniversary in the city, marking 50 years since the rivalry of the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers came to the west coast to become an even more cantankerous feud.

So, happy opening day! Here's to another season of "BEAT L-A", defensive batting, splash hits, and expensive beer in the stands. This girl cannot wait to get out to the ballpark!

Yup, it's dentist day. Once every six months. Some times it's better than others, but it's mostly good. As I reminded myself of my appointment this morning, I thought of the Sesame Street classic "Me and My Llama." You'll probably remember it if you're of a certain age, but I never could fathom that someone kept a llama as a pet in Manhattan. Is this normal? No, I think not. But at least the llama has excellent oral hygiene!

 

Confession: every once in a while I break down and watch…The Hills. I know it’s really beneath me to actually do this, but it’s one of those guilty pleasures that’s right up there with US Weekly, Facebook status updates, and the Lilian Vernon catalog. What can I say? Like all humans I like a little bit of mindless entertainment that is completely out of touch with reality. And yet it’s called “reality” TV…hmmm.

I loved the Paris season opener, because honestly, how stupid can one girl actually be on camera? Pretty damn stoopid, it turns out.

Girl, you’re in Paris! Don’t even take that call from Audrina about stupid Brody and his new GF! Why would you do that? Can I remind you that you’re in Paris, working for Teen Vogue? Besides, do you really want to date anyone that has even the remotest connection to the Kardashians, much less step-relations? Look at the adorable androgy-French-rocker boy in skinny jeans right next to you! Okay, he looks like he needs a shower, but I’d lay Euros to Krispy Kremes that he’s a fantastic kisser. Witness the little jealousy bit he pulled when you talked to that other guy at the club. Allô? Le mec is waaaaay into you!

But the moment of monumental stupidity had to be the ruining of the Alberta Feretti dress. It wasn’t enough that L.C. “altered” it to go out to a smoky nightclub (and while the whole idea freaked me out, I do have to give the girl props for gumption – the whole thing was a little Diana Vreeland-meets MacGyver…thrilling in a way, n’est ce pas?) but then completely wrecked it with a hot curling iron. Yes, doll – it’s called scorching! MTV was too much here: “I can’t go to the ball without a gown!” I’m sorry, when did this show become Cinderella? This isn’t exactly a rags-to-riches story. To then cap her own monumental stupidity, Lauren nearly ruins ANOTHER Feretti gown by hiking it up to get on the back of a scooter and go sightseeing…at night…in December…in the rain. C'mon. Seriously? And poor Matthias didn’t even get a kiss goodnight. (I am in agreement with Fashion Is Spinach here: the little bow-back swing jacket in this scene is simply fantastique…J’adore.)

If there is one thing MTV is finally getting right it’s that they now give their viewers the song titles to the background music while the show is airing. This allowed me to catch up on some great French Pop which I’ve been really enjoying over the past few weeks. Everyone seems to be all over Yelle – who is featured on MTV with all this Paris nonsense, but I loved hearing from Brazilian Girls (one of my favorites) as well as MC Solaar, who was on constant rotation while I was living in Paris. If there’s anything good about a guilty pleasure its actually getting something out of it that’s of good quality; overall, these little musical gems are just that - and lots of fun to have on the Shuffle during a long run:

“Jique” – Brazilian Girls

“Un jour je serais Lara Croft” – Erika

“Le code de conne conduite” – Manresa

“La belle et le bad boy” – MC Solaar

“A Cause Des Garçons” - Yelle

Now if we could just get Lauren to do something smart for a change…

I've had this post brewing in my head for a little while now, and it seemed like actually writing it would be the best way to get back into action. Especially since it has to do with some of my favorite films and their delicious, inspiring, and ever-exciting style.

The first film that really turned me on this way (and inspired my life-long love of fashion,) was Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. This was the very first film my family rented when we unwrapped our brand new video player way back in the 1980s and it's just as fascinating to me today. This was the first time I really came to notice just how much costume could tell the story; in Rear Window it serves as another character, setting up the main characters' relationship in a film that is sparse on sets and changes.

As I've come to know the rest of the Hitchcock library, I've realized that all his films feature women who are as equally alluring and stylish as Grace Kelly playing Lisa Fremont. They're all strong, unusual, backed into difficult corners, full of flaws, and yet still able to land the overwhelmingly attractive leading man. Hitchcock always made certain his women were on an equal standing with their men, creating complex and tightly controlled characters that are all designed by the same hand, yet remain wholly unique. So, with inspiration from my friend Sophia at Chic & Charming, I've put together a little look at some of the Hitchcock dames with all of their modish victories, wacky neuroses, strengths, fragilities and foibles...

Rebecca

year: 1940
actress: Joan Fontaine
role: The 2nd Mrs. de Winter
leading behaviorism: mousyness
weakness: rich, lonely widowers with suicidal tendencies
sartorial inspiration: whatever's hanging in the gallery
iconic fashion: English country chic - tweed skirts and cardigans
favorite food: scrambled eggs
beauty tip: a new haircut and permanent will be just the thing
accessory: a priceless, but broken figurine, hidden in a drawer
essential prop: big, spooky house on the coast of Cornwall
essential atmospheric film effect: thick, low-lying fog
aversions: Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper
breakthrough moment: "I am Mrs. de Winter now." 

Notorious

year: 1946
actress: Ingrid Bergman
role: Alicia Huberman
leading behaviorism: binge drinking
weakness: American agents
sartorial inspiration: lots of draped jersey
iconic fashion: Euro/Latin - black evening gown with a deep V back, accessorized with a lace fan
favorite food: chicken and champagne with a view of Buenos Aires
beauty tip: a health spa in the Andes Mountains
accessory: key to the wine cellar
essential prop: bottles full of uranium ore
essential atmospheric film effect: the extreme close-up
aversions: mother-in-laws
breakthrough moment: realizing that there's more in the coffee than cream

Dial M for Murder

year: 1954
actress: Grace Kelly
role: Margot Mary Wendice
leading behaviorism: naivete
weakness: American crime writer ex-boyfriends
sartorial inspiration: your ordinary London housewife
iconic fashion: quietly wanton - a red lace cocktail dress
favorite food: just cocktails
beauty tip: going to jail can ravage a girl's looks
accessory: a silk stocking that needs mending
essential prop: missing housekey
essential atmospheric film effect: camera angles from up high and down low
aversions: High Court judges
breakthrough moment: finding the scissors on the desk

 

Rear Window

year: 1954
actress: Grace Kelly
role: Lisa Carol Fremont
leading behaviorism: clotheshorse
weakness: cantankerous invalid photographers
sartorial inspiration: whatever just got off the Paris plane
iconic fashion: Park Avenue perfection - cocktail gown with black bodice and embroidered tulle skirt
favorite food: lobster, french fries and a bottle of Montrachet from The 21 Club
beauty tip: "a woman going anywhere but the hospital would always bring makeup, perfume and jewelry..."
accessory: Mark Cross overnight case
essential prop: binoculars
essential atmospheric film effect: a complete Greenwich Village city block
aversions: knives wrapped in newspaper
breakthrough moment: breaking into the neighbor's apartment

 

To Catch a Thief

year: 1955
actress: Grace Kelly
role: Francie Stevens
leading behaviorism: being a rich, headstrong girl
weakness: retired jewel thieves
sartorial inspiration: Louis XV and a Texas oil well
iconic fashion: something icy-looking but no jewelry: "I don't like cold things touching my skin."
favorite food: picnic of chicken and beer overlooking the Mediterranean
beauty tip: light makeup but always suntan lotion
accessory: silver roadster convertible
essential prop: black cat
essential atmospheric film effect: fireworks
aversions: younger French girls
breakthrough moment: "The Cat has a new kitten."

 

Vertigo

year: 1958
actress: Kim Novak
role: Madeline Elster/Judy Barton
leading behaviorism: trances
weakness: retired detectives
sartorial inspiration: "You're looking for the suit that she wore for me. You want me to be dressed like her..."
iconic fashion: a plain grey suit from Ransohoff's
favorite food: dinner at Ernie's
beauty tip: get a full makeover...twice
accessory: vintage necklace
essential prop: mini bouquet of roses
essential atmospheric film effect: rapid zoom & reverse zoom: the "Vertigo" shot
aversions: California Missions
breakthrough moment: "Don't you see - it wasn't supposed to happen this way..."

 

North by Northwest

year: 1959
actress: Eva Marie Saint
role: Eve Kendall
leading behaviorism: flirtatiousness
weakness: advertising executives on the lam
sartorial inspiration: the quiet side of blonde bombshell
iconic fashion: little black dress and a handgun
favorite food: brook trout in the dining car
beauty tip: just be a big girl in all the right places
accessory: pearl choker
essential prop: Mount Rushmore
essential atmospheric film effect: wide open spaces
aversions: The Cold War
breakthrough moment: "I never discuss love on an empty stomach."

Psycho

year: 1960
actress: Janet Leigh
role: Marion Crane
leading behaviorism: secret sexpot with a desire for "decency"
weakness: divorced hardware store clerks
sartorial inspiration: office girl - button-up shirts and pencil skirts
iconic fashion: torpedo bras and slips
favorite food: one of Norman's sandwiches
beauty tip: long, hot showers
accessory: $40K
essential prop: getaway car
essential atmospheric film effect: a Bernard Hermann score
aversions: taxidermy
breakthrough moment: pulling off the highway to find a motel room

 

 
The Birds

year: 1963
actress: Tippi Hedren
role: Melanie Daniels
leading behaviorism: practical jokes and compulsive lying
weakness: tall, handsome lawyers
sartorial inspiration: the chic suit will take you anywhere
iconic fashion: green tweed sheath and jacket for three days straight
favorite food: martinis on a hilltop over Bodega Bay
beauty tip: toothbrush and granny gown from the general store
accessory: cigarettes
essential prop: caged lovebirds
essential atmospheric film effect: bird's eye view
aversions: crows, gulls, finches, sparrows...
breakthrough moment: Seeing the crows gathered on the jungle gym.

 

Marnie

year: 1964
actress: Tippi Hedren
role: Marnie Rutland
leading behaviorism: compulsive behavior derived from childhood trauma
weakness: horses
sartorial inspiration: unobtrusive, elegant
iconic fashion: what the neurotic wife of a rich man wears: dramatic white evening gown with white fur trim
favorite food: a quiet, family dinner at the country house
beauty tip: lots of hair dye: red, then blonde, then brown, then blonde...
accessory: beauty case
essential prop: a disapproving mother
essential atmospheric film effect: flashes of light and flashbacks
aversions: the color red
breakthrough moment: "You don't love me. I'm just some kind of wild animal you've trapped!"

To catch up on your Hitchcock Dames watch Turner Classic Movies tonight, April 1st, for "Hitchcock in the 60s". The lineup includes The Birds, Marnie, and Psycho...

"When the sweet showers of April have pierced to the root
the dryness of March and bathed every vein in moisture
by which strength are the flowers brought forth;..."

Sorry for putting Chaucer in the colloquial English, but I thought that since I didn't have patience for the Middle English, none of my readers would either...suffice it to say, when I tried to think of something to capture my past few weeks, the prologue to the Canterbury Tales popped right into my head. March has been dry - intellectually and inspirationally. It's typically my "funk month" - when I hunker down and hide for a little while. Happily, April is only a few days away and I'm gearing up once again.

For as much as I love writing Poetic & Chic, it has been nice to take a break and not touch it for a little while. To really see things sometimes you need to back off and stop looking at it. Then, you can come back with a fresh perspective. A new month, new ideas, new inspirations...it's coming soon, just coming slowly!

Happy spring everyone!