P&C Briefs
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 9:11PM 
In the interest of fair warning, this is a post about...a lot of different stuff. I have a few things to mention, and none of them are really worthy of a full post, so I'm putting them all together here! Think of it as a sort of "police briefs" column on that random page of the newspaper..."P&C briefs!" How ya' like it?
The Holidays are Here!
Yes they are - I can't even believe it! To help you with some great gift ideas, Poetic & Chic will be joining Chic & Charming, SFGirlbybay and Flutterbyblue in a series of posts devoted to the great products that can be found on Etsy.com. Starting on Thursday and continuing through next week, we'll be bringing you ideas on Stationery, Jewelry, Art, Homegoods and whatever else strikes our fancies from among the fantastic craftspeople on Etsy. Stay tuned!
Also, I WILL be posting Ten Things again. Yes, it's been a few months and I apologize. To be honest, the Ten Things posts are some of the most difficult for me to do - the editing, the links...it's a lot of work. But that being said, I know the posts are popular and I do love how they come together, so I'm going to do my darndest. My next Ten Things will have some additional ideas for holiday goings-on, so they will be a fun ten to check out!
Love that FGB...
Meg at Faking Good Breeding wrote some fantastic posts last week, and they made me think of a few things.
First, this post about the current trend of wearing kaffiyehs was provocative and insightful. I too noticed the kaffiyeh-ish looking scarves on the Balenciaga Fall 07 runway, and thought they were an interesting way to make "designer" more "street." When I lived in Paris in college, a lot of my French friends wore these kaffiyehs, (and they remain a constant "look" among the European student crowd) but they had been purchased at the Clignancourt flea market; they were a stylish-subversive accessory, not so much a political statement. Meg's post was a fascinating explanation of the inherent meaning of kaffiyehs and how their political implications are being exploited by Urban Outfitters and other retailers.
Three Balenciaga "kaffiyeh" looks from Fall 2007:
I like the look myself, political implications aside, and find it to be a surprising little bit of the exotic on an otherwise-ordinary preppy ensemble. The history and language about this accessory is so intriguing to me; I think exploiting their political symbolism is wrong, but should we stop wearing them if the politics doesn't apply to us personally? I don't think so. To extrapolate the point, think about tartan plaids. In the Celtic countries they are still politically-charged, but to most of us they are just a fashion item. Should we stop wearing the Royal Stewart or Black Watch Tartans simply because we aren't in the royal family or British Army? Hmmm. Makes me think of another subculture who wore certain politically-charged textiles as an anti-political statement - they were called "Punks"...
Second, I loved Meg's post about the princess-ification of the modern woman. What is this about? What educated, intelligent, stylish woman seriously wants to be reduced to a fairy tale cliché with a big poofy dress? And why do companies think this is what we want? Aren't we more sophisticated than this? Don't sell us short, please! Someone please explain, because apparently I'm not the only one who's confused about the cult of the "princess"...
Things I'm All About Lately...
The upcoming release of The Golden Compass. Okay, the book freaked me out, but I'm sooooo looking forward to seeing my friend Daniel Craig team up with his Bond-girl Eva Green and Nicole Kidman in this movie. Cannot wait!
Facebook. Yeah, it's pretty much a constant. Glad I'm not the only one! If you're a fan of P&C and on Facebook, check out our group: "I'm Poetic & Chic - are you?" Special shout-out to our new friend Franziska in Germany - thanks for saying hello!
Five songs I've recently added to my shuffle to get my through my morning 5K run: "I Just Wanna Love U" by Jay-Z, "Trampled Under Foot" by Led Zepplin, "LoveStoned" by Justin Timberlake, "Maneater" by Nelly Furtado (that Jane Austen thing made me love it all over again,) and "Stronger" by Kanye West. You know, a little old, a little new...
The Tru02 facial at TruSpa. At this time of year, it's the perfect remedy for dried-out, partied-out, exhausted skin. Just what the doctor ordered! I love TruSpa - the best skincare in San Francisco and at the most reasonable prices...oh, and the people are nice too!
The Bookshelf...
I tend to read two or three books at a time. It has to do with my ever-changing moods, what I'm interested in at the moment, what I can carry on the bus or airplane, and pretty much any caprice I might have. One of the books I'm reading at the moment is Dana Thomas' Deluxe - How Luxury Lost It's Luster - this was suggested to me during the "luxury and accessibility" discussion prompted by Coutorture Salon. When it was recommended, only PPR Group companies were named as participants, so I was happily surprised to find that the first three or four chapters are all about the LVMH empire, it's history, it's dark secrets, it's manufacturing policies... I'm happy to report that yes, when an LVMH product says "Made in France" or "Made in Italy" it's the truth. Bernard Arnault swears it.
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