Cronology: In Which The Style Crone Meets Two Other Crones

And What Happens When Crones Collide

Two Saturdays ago, the Idiosyncratic Fashionistas (or "The IFs" for short) were thrilled to finally meet fellow blogger Judith Boyd, The Style Crone (or "The SC" for short) in the flesh on her recent trip to the Big Apple from Denver. She and her daughter Camille made the journey to New York City to distribute her husband's ashes in Washington Square Park and on the Upper West Side. On the afternoon before the memorial, we made plans to rendezvous on the Upper East Side.





















The plan was to meet at Tender Buttons, Mecca for button lovers. In a space barely larger than the proverbial bread box, every type of button - brand new or vintage, Tibetan, Swiss, Japanese, glass, plastic, horn, shell, bakelite, leather, metal, beaded, velvet, grosgrain, you name it - finds a home. When Valerie arrived looking for The SC, all she needed to do was look for a hat. And what a hat it was! Judith had arrived a little early, and in that little window of time she'd already found buttons in the shape of platform shoes (Ferragamos??), and had bought three, with the idea of converting them into brooches for friends.

From there, we took her to Julie Artisan's Gallery, another "must see" for women who don't want to look like everyone else, and another small, intimate space. There, Judith fell in love with a wonderful black summer straw hat with a huge red blossom designed by one of our friends(!) under the label "Uncaged Bird". Not the kind that just anyone could pull off, but it was a natural on Judith. Wish we had a picture to show you, but artists are sensitive to having one-of-a-kind work copied. You'll just have to take our word for it. We stopped in to a bank to fill our empty wallet and noticed an adorable couple watching us from outside. When we emerged, the young man asked to have his photograph taken with us, so we returned the favor.






















Aren't they terrific?























We loved the young gentleman's studded footwear, but you be the judge. If they made them for women, we'd probably be first in line. Needless to say, The IFs and The SC throughly bonded over our mutual lamentations about the dearth of comfortable yet stylish footwear!






















Our next stop was Chinatown, so we hopped on the train and headed downtown to Canal Street. Valerie took this photo of Jean and Judith to memorialize the trip.























A very thoughtful young man offered to take a picture of The IFs and The SC. It was ironic that all three of us have embraced the pejorative term "crone" and turned it on its head: Judith in her blog title and we in our email address (mono.crone@gmail.com).





















On the Bowery, we stopped for another photo op.























And another.























Obviously, Jean could maintain a sense of decorum for only so long ...























We took Judith to our favorite little hole in the wall, Apotheke, for one of its famous alcoholic concoctions. We timed it so we'd arrive just around opening. We KNOW - that's NOT the hip time to go. But we were able to score some prime real estate and survey the mixologists' extensive menu without shouting at one another.























The SC not only shares The IFs' love of hats but also used to own a hat shop(!), among many other things she managed to do all at the same time. The day we met, she wore a vintage Norma Kamali leopard print toque with matching gauntlets. She was Da Bomb!






















Jean selected a tequila-based drink from the Painkiller category, while Judith also picked a drink based on its ingredients and only learned after the fact that it was an Aphrodisiac. Valerie ordered something from Therapuetic Treatments, and mourned the demise of her favorite, an astonishing drink with niblets of heather. We toasted and treated Judith in honor of her recent birthday (spent in Mexico, no less!).























We went to Soho for dinner, ending up in a Latin Bistro on West Broadway for some wonderful food. Getting a table on a Saturday night without a reservation is a challenge. (We'll just have to try that combination Japanese/Mexican restaurant some other time.) We were so thoroughly enjoying ourselves and having so much fun that time flew by. None of us wanted it to end, so when Judith offered to treat us to coffee, we naturally jumped at the chance. Here we are at our upstairs table at Back Forty West (formerly the savory Savoy), with an interesting menu in a charming old building that must date back over a century. The apple crumb cake and cappuccinos were delish! During our evening, there were too many topics of conversation to remember. We talked about blogging, cameras, how to take your own picture, men, husbands, boyfriends, married life, single life, hats and other lesser clothes, traveling, working, and on and on.

















It was an amazing afternoon and evening. We've now met three fellow bloggers - Anne from New Zealand who writes Stitchmana, Shelley, the Forest City Fashionista, from Ontario, and finally Judith, the Style Crone, from Denver. Each and every one of these has turned out to be a perfectly lovely experience. Blogging has many rewards, but tops has to be the opportunity to meet people whose paths might never otherwise cross ours. Good mothers tell their children not to talk to strangers. Sometimes they forget to add the rest of it: "I mean, until you're an adult, and then I highly encourage you to reach out. It's a great way to make friends."





















Remember your Shakespeare? Here's the opening scene from Macbeth, where the three witches (crones???) ask: When shall we three meet again?



















And here’s a link to a fabulous cartoon in the spirit of things. We can’t show it to you because we don’t have rights to it, but we can lead you to it with the link so you can have a good laugh on your own. Do please give it a click.