Style and Fashion
Jane's Shortall's Amazing Return to London ... ‘Putting the Luxe in Luxury’
Lucky I had booked a long stay in London in September 2019, given how the world changed in early 2020. One the greatest cities on earth, it has held my heart for almost fifty years ... The flat I rented near the Tower of London, was just around the corner from the Minories, a famous pub that welcomes a diverse group of people. Waiting on the bus to Trafalgar Square, a vision, well over six foot tall and built like a lumberjack, with a head of red curly hair flying in the wind, came marching towards me. A whirl of colour passed me by in a wild apple green frilly dress, white platform boots, a red handbag festooned with silver and gold objects, held in a big hand, and bright blue eyelids, many pairs of eyelashes and scarlet lips like the late comedian, Joan Rivers. Like London itself, I love the Tower. Entering the gate I get a sort of frisson, and this time was no different. On a private visit, in a part of the Tower closed to the public, as dusk fell I saw the Raven Master settling the birds in for the night. more »
The Scout Report: Penn and Slavery Project, Robots Reading Vogue, Open Book Publishers, Black History in Two Minutes & Maps of Home
Founded in 2017, the Penn and Slavery Project researches the University of Pennsylvania's ties to slavery and scientific racism. Robots Reading Vogue explores the digital humanities (DH) possibilities presented using data from Vogue magazine. Vogue creates a DH bonanza, as it has been "continuously published for over a century," and is "completely digitized," resulting in some six terabytes of data and thousands of covers and images. What makes the [Open Book Publishers] literary hub unique is that it not only publishes books in traditional print and ebook formats, but it also publishes "free online editions of every title in PDF, HTML and XML formats that can be read via our website, downloaded, reused or embedded anywhere." Black History in Two Minutes (or so) podcast is a wonderful resource to learn the full scope of U.S. history. The award-winning show explores important people and events from the past and present. more »
A Diane Girard Reprise: Keep Those Paws Off My Pajamas
A Diane Girard Reprise: I am not usually a demanding woman, but there are pajamas I will not wear. I’m sorry if I offend anyone, but I no longer buy the ones with critters on them. I have tried — but the animals disturbed me. I woke up in the middle of the night, wondering if I had crushed the wee things. And their tiny paws left weird marks on my body, which stayed for hours. I don’t need wrinkles in strange places. I have a sufficient number already. Besides that, critters are entirely too cute and don’t suit my somewhat grumpy personality. I do not want to wear pink frilly nightwear either (not that there’s anything wrong with that) because then I feel silly, as if I’m stuck in a time warp at a pajama party. more »
A Collection of The Folly Cove Designers, 1941 - 1969, Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts
Between 1941 and 1955, the Folly Cove Designers participated in 16 museum exhibitions. They also supplied designs to a number of well known wholesalers and retailers including Lord & Taylor, F. Schumacher, Rich's of Atlanta and Skinner Silks. In 1948 the Designers expanded their operations into a barn owned by the Demetrios family in Folly Cove. The barn was open from August 1 through Labor Day for demonstrations and sales. In 1959, the season was extended from early March through December. Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios died in 1968; within one year, the Folly Cove Designers ceased operations. As a group, they agreed to stop selling their designs under the name Folly Cove Designers and in 1970 they donated their sample books, prints and remnants to the Cape Ann Museum. Since that time, the Museum's Folly Cove Collection has continued to grow, becoming the single largest repository of work by this talented group of individuals. more »