Say Yes to the Dress

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Even if you have no earthly idea what you're going to do with it.

Valerie says: I was out looking for New York City honey to give as a gift to a friend. The tips I got on the internet did not work out, and at times like that there is nothing like finding solace in the local second hand shops. Jean was not with me to exert a guiding influence. My eye always goes to interesting fabrics, and designers often reserve their best fabrics for evening wear, so I always look for it in second hand shops. Even if I don't buy, I'll have fun looking. I have no use for evening wear, but I have several floor length dresses by Donna Karan and Krizia, bought only because I thought no one else could possibly appreciate the fabric as much as me. Okay, I also bought them in case one day I'm nominated for a Grammy or an Oscar. A girl should always be prepared.

Well, this is what I found in the evening wear section this time.

The first photo is with natural light, the second with almost no light. Not sure which will better help you see what I saw. It looked to me like a brick wall made of silver ingots, or like tailored armor for women. On closer inspection, it's made of large plastic rectangular sequins. I found that some of them were bent, and one or two missing but so WHAT?! I guess this is a dress one is not meant to sit down in, but as you know, women must always suffer for their art.









Here's the back. See how it swells at the backside? Really cool! Not like all those boring dresses that went down the red carpet at last month's Oscars. (Yes, I know, there were some really nice ones, too!) The waist looked so wide on the hanger that I decided it might fit me, and took it to the dressing room to try it on. This is definitely a high maintenance dress that you don't put on by yourself (even though it has a zipper). I imagine it's a Marilyn Monroe type affair, where (under ideal circumstances) you get poured into it, and at the end of the evening Madonna's eunuch slaves in pointy velvet brassieres reverently raise it from your body with fingers as light as the flight of a million butterflies. I wished Jean was there. I got panicky thinking I might ruin it, and called over a sales assistant to help me take if off before I'd ever really gotten it on.




I'm calling this a fish tail back, but I'm not sure that's correct. There is a great swath of fabric at the rump, gathered sort of like a bustle, which then flares out to the bottom. So those of us who HAVE a rump don't have to ask "Does this dress..." - you know the rest.


































Some of you might want a better look at the spaghetti straps. They're paved with bugle beads. In this photo, if you look carefully, you can also see the mesh that the bricks are sewn to, which lines the whole dress.













There's no label in the dress, so I don't know who made it or where or what it's made of. I'm guessing the mesh, that goes past the end of the sequins to make its own statement, is polyester. It's a nice touch at the hem. I should say this dress is made for someone substantially taller than I am, but I'll figure out a way around that, even if I have to tie a ribbon to the bottom and wrap it around my wrist, as if it were a train.






















For those of you who sew (that excludes me), a good practical question is: how do you seam it with all those huge sequins? I don't know. Here's a picture of the back seam, where the two sides come together on the bias. It's a marvelous piece of work, but even looking at it I don't know how it was done.

I have lots of rules about what I'm allowed - and not allowed - to buy. For example, I can't buy anything in a size I know doesn't fit me, I can't buy anything in a color I have no expectation of wearing - that sort of thing. But I also have a get out of jail free card. When I break most of my rules, the trump card that justifies the purchase is: the price is so good that if the experiment fails, I won't have to regret the purchase.

I have yet to see if this fits me, but if I only ever treat it as a piece of art on the wall, it's one of the most interesting purchases I've made in a very long time.




(Little cherries on top: the sales assistant told me she'd only put it out an hour earlier. As she took it up to the register for me, a woman seeing it - and me - urged me to "wear the hell out of that dress", her eyes as big as saucers. Funny how things like that alwsys make you feel oddly validated in your choices.)

Glove Makes the World Go Round

Way back in 1966, Deon Jackson sang that "Glove Makes the World Go Round". He was so right. Here we've put our gloves to good use to help prove his point.


















You can wash your pink velvet bustier in your red rubber gloves.


















You can take your daily calcium pill while wearing your beaded elbow-length gloves.

















You can recreate the black and white Japanese monster movies of your youth, updating them with a splash of color.






















You can zip up your black coat in your contrasting black and white polka dot gloves.






















And why shouldn't you look fashionable while checking out your website?

















The reason you always hated dusting is that you were wearing the wrong gloves, and you probably had the wrong color duster for your home, too. Problem solved. No more dust bunnies for you!

















You can do your weight-bearing exercises (good for muscle tone and bone density) wearing gloves that match your weights. Be the envy of all your friends!

















You can quit smoking the chic way (faux cigarette in the bakelite cigarette holder). Or, if you've been invited to a Breakfast at Tiffany's party, you're all set! (Oversized pearl ring by Meredith Katz for Made her Think.)






















Grocery shopping holds more appeal when you're wearing your drawstring gloves.















If you didn't buy the pink tool set that was so popular several years ago, just wear a good glove. A little color goes a long way toward making home plumbing fun.


















Gold embroidered opera gloves are just the thing for rummaging in the chilly fridge for some sake.

































You can work on your hand-eye coordination.

















Don't leave home without it - your black leather fringed gauntlet from Santa Fe, that is.






















On the road again? Flag down a cab with black patent and gray leather Issey Miyake mittens.

















Self portraits with gloves in contrasting stitching.

Run, Don't Walk to Stephen Petronio Co

Get thee to the Joyce Theater ASAP! The Stephen Petronio Company's (SPC's) New York season is in full swing at the Joyce on 8th Avenue and 19th Street! There are two shows on Sunday, March 11th.

On Tuesday evening, March 6th, we attended the opening night gala and the after party at Hotel Americano on West 25th Street in the heart of Chelsea.





















Not to be missed, in particular, is Petronio's version of Intravenous Lecture, in which he dances with an intravenous tube in place (inserted on stage by a doctor as part of the performance). Stephen's commentary as he dances is provocative and riveting, and he does it all while wearing a fabulous horizontal striped suit by CFDA award winning designer John Bartlett, which moved beautifully with him. Before the show, Jean had the opportunity to chat with John (also well known animal rights activist). He and his companion, also named John, were absolutely charming. Here, Stephen chats with Justin Terzi (left) who collaborated on some of Stephen's earliest productions.






















Check out Stephen's shoes!



















Jean-Marc Flack (left), Stephen's husband, and two guests. Jean-Marc flew in from Paris that afternoon to attend the gala.























SPC Co-Executive Director Craig Hensala stopped to compare notes with Jean.























Kirsten Hathorne, Nancy Ng, Valerie and Frank Winter lounge on one of the banquettes in the front room, enjoying the h'ors d'oeuvres, as Valerie shows off the fy'dala bill (as we say it here) that she'd just found on the floor!


















Jean congratulated dancer Barrington Hinds on a wonderful performance.




















Dancers Joshua Green and Julian De Leon ham it up for the camera.






















Dancer Joshua Tuason, one of his friends and Julian De Leon unwind after the performance with Jean.
















Kirsten and the Dumpling Diva, Marja Samsom, channel their inner black swans at the after party.























These ladies were enjoying the music and the crowd at the party.























Shahzad Ismaily is one of the musicians (percussion, synthesizers, bass guitar, acquaphone, banjoy and vocals) who performed the live score at the evening's world premier of "The Architecture of Loss" which featured an original score by Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurdsson and costumes by Gudrun & Gudrun. His friend (whose name I am embarrassed to confess I cannot remember) is adorable - a New Zealander who teaches writing at NYU.
























Mercifully, fellow Icelander Hrafnhildur Arnardottir (left) goes by a hilarious but admittedly memorable alias ("Shoplifter" - the closest many of us can come to her name), to the great relief of the rest of us tongue-tied Americans. Check out her website (www.shoplifter.us). She and Marja pose with costume designers Gudrun Ludvig and Gudrun Rogvadottir who live and work on the Faroe Islands. Their handmade costumes were made of organic untreated, undyed yarn from Faroese wool.
















Dancer Nicholas Sciscione and his friend paused for a photo with Jean.


















Dancer Jaqlin Medlock (left), who only joined the company in September, celebrated a successful show with guest artist Wendy Whelan, principal dancer from the NYC Ballet, who appeared in the wonderful solo "Ethersketch 1" with costume by the ever-fabulous Karen Erickson and music by Nick Cave.






















Dancer Amanda Wells and her husband Jonathan and a friend stopped for a photograph. Amanda's dress had the most incredibly long fringe that swayed gracefully whenever she walked or danced.






















We'd just run into Stephen in Soho the week before, just after our outing at Melissa Shoes!























What we're wearing:

Jean: Ignatius hat, Louis Feraud jacket, Brigitte harem pants,Trippen boots, Kirsten Hawthorne earrings, vintage bakelite necklace and rings, Tignanello bag.

Valerie: vintage black straw recently purchased from Helen Uffner making its theatrical debut; vintage red celluloid earrings; second hand gray wool Searle swing coat; unseen floor length open knit sleeveless gray wool dress by Blayde and held up with giant safety pins (also unseen); red leather and wood pin by Tereza Symon's mom; unlabeled transparent black polyester organza tie front bolero; brand new Melissa shoes designed by Gareth Pugh, also on their maiden voyage, also unseen.

Why Y-3? Shoes, that is!

The heart wants what the heart wants!






















Ever notice how those words tend to preceed really bad life choices? After highjinx and frivolity at Melissa shoes in Soho, detailed in last Sunday's posting, Jean dragged Valerie several doors down on Greene St to Y-3 to see the shoes that she REALLY WANTED! These fabulous high-heeled wonders of engineering! East meets west! Japanese high design meets all-American athleticism. How could one pair of shoes incorporate all of the components that push all her buttons?




















Skeletons and wet suits: The white dog bones really pop against the black neoprene zip-front bootie.

Cantilevered: The sexy angle of the sky-high heel combines with the marble-like engraved, curved sole that resembles a ski out of Dr. Seuss. The bright yellow cookie inserts add a touch of color. (Isn't yellow the international sign of caution?)






















Anticipation of the inevitable pain that comes from actually wearing the contraptions stopped her dead in her tracks. Truth be told, after seeing the price tag, she decided not to even try them on because if they did fit and she could somehow hobble around the store, she might actually be tempted to buy them.























Here is the Y-3 website description of the shoe - which retails for $690.00! "The wickedly chic Y-3 Oriah ankle boot features skeleton details on a stretchy black mesh sock. The sculptural, futuristic heel cushions impact and boosts energy return. Upper: knit mesh with cow nappa leather details. Lining: mesh and pig leather."



















To break the spell of the shoes, we checked out the wonderful men's and women's clothing -- and the staff. One of the sales personnel sported very interesting tattoos, including a chess board pattern on his right arm and a bull's eye on his wrist bone.























His left arm features a design from an obscure album cover, including this pair of scissors.
























How evocative are these tatts? Who could ever forget Robert Mitchum's turn as a serial killer/preacher with "l-o-v-e" and "h-a-t-e" knuckle tattoos in the 1955 thriller, The Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton and also starring Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish? Or the lines from The Clash's "Death and Glory" ("love'n'hate tattooed cross the knuckles of his hands") on its London Calling album which debuted in the U.S. in January 1980? (First Robert Mitchum photo from listos.20minutos.com and the second from greatspirits.com.)




























Ahhhh.

Oh, and not to be forgotten: The everlovin' Pogues.

















(Did Comptoir des Cotonniers have Mitchum in mind when they made these?)