Weekend Reading - The Complete Claudine
So, I recently started reading Claudine at School, the first book in The Complete Claudine.
Unfortunately I find every character in the book, and most importantly the main character Claudine, totally unsympathetic. In spite of the fact that I'm not enjoying the read, I will slog through the book because I find 19th Century and Belle Epoque history interesting.
As for Colette herself, I would like to read a well written biography. Can anyone suggest one? Ms. Cavendish perhaps? Forget the lesbian affairs, what I would really like to know is why she seduced her 16 year old step son when she was 40 and continued the affair for 5 years. Yes I know, how very French.
Sharing the LOVE
And what's not to love?
Go over to Fashion's Most Wanted and share the love with Christina for Love Magazine
San Clemente, Modjeska, Dana Point Harbor
Here's another circa 1940 postcard from Tom Pulley; this time showing Coast Highway (Route 101) in San Clemente. Click to enlarge and see glimpses of the Miramar Theater, the Casino San Clemente, (both from 1937,) and the Aquarium Cafe.
The Helena Modjeska Society and Polmar Travel are presenting a play entitled "Modjeska: The Artist's Dream" at the Capistrano Center for the Performing Arts, 31776 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano, 8pm, Aug. 13 & 14. Actress Ewa Boryczko will portray the "famous Polish actress Helena Modjeska, who comes to America in 1876 with the dream of performing on the American stage." Modjeska lived locally in Anaheim, Modjeska Canyon, Tustin, and on Bay Island in Newport Harbor. Tickets are $25 each. See their website for details and tickets. .
Tomorrow (Saturday) is the 39th anniversary of the dedication of Dana Point Harbor. We'd like to believe that our friend Doris Walker built it herself, using her backyard rock collection and a shovel. It is, however, possible that the County of Orange and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were somehow involved as well.
Mid-Summer Musings About Travel
Since it is mid-summer and I have this on my mind
I thought that I would share with you this article from the WSJ
When Mr. James is checking into a hotel, he always makes sure he's nicely dressed. Typically he'll show up in a suit or slacks and a jacket. "If you look the part, you'll tend to get looked after a little bit better," he says.
I tend to agree with this advice as I've found from many years of travelling. Certainly the better I am dressed, the better I am treated. So for me no shorts, t-shirts or flip flops for travel attire.
This summer I can't get my act together for a trip to the south of France but the gorgeous (and talented in a DIY way) Tabitha has posted about her swanky sojourn at the Eden Roc, Hotel du Cap and more.
Check out her Bourbon and Pearls blog.
And as for travel attire, do not miss James Andrew's posts about his recent trip through Italy. I particularly love what he wore to La Sireneuse. He must get incredible service. But I wonder, with all his fabulous clothes, how many suitcases does he travel with. Check out his What is James Wearing blog.
What do you wear when you travel and do you think that it makes any difference at all in how you are treated?
And speaking of Paul Gross --
And speaking of Paul Gross (which I was in my last post where I said my farewells to Canadian character actor Maury Chaykin), the man is back and looking terrific in a Canadian comedy-western called Gunless.
I stand no chance of seeing this movie, because as a low budget Canadian family comedy it won't play the theaters downunder, it won't be on TV here, it won't find its way into the Quickflix (local version of Netflix) catalog, and Amazon refuses to ship an American DVD to an Aussie address. Which is also why I don't have a copy of Buried on Sunday ... but have seen it on VHS a looooong time ago.
I could have a bit of a rant here about the unavailability of "lesser" movies in Aus. Or I could have a bit of a rant about the way American viewers are dissing the movie for not being a Hollywood style blockbuster ... as if a movie can be made on a teensy-weensy Canadian sized budget and come out looking like a Hollywood monster ... wake up, people!!
Or I could just run some pix of Paul Gross looking terrific, and hope to one day be able to see the movie! Um ... all things being equal, I choose the lesser of all those weevils. So, enjoy the pix, folks!
Goodbye, Maury
If your only interest in movies is for hot bods and sexy action, you're probably going to say, "Maury who?" But if you appreciate great performances from rock-solid character actors, you'll more than likely have known Maury Chaykin since Dances With Wolves, and that's a loooong time ago. Or maybe you saw him in several Canadian movies he made with Paul Gross (including, but not limited to the wonderful Buried on Sunday). Or perhaps you saw him as the XXXL outsized Goa'ould on Stargate SG-1, who departed the Earth with a wheelie-suitcase of cupcakes! Or you might recall him in Mystery Alaska, with Russell Crowe. He made a career out of being out-sized and trading on not being physically beautiful!
Yes, you have him now! Wonderful actor who could make you laugh or chill you (for example, in Cold Comfort, also with Paul gross). He's a character actor, and a Canadian, of extraordinary ability...
Maurie Chaykin died in a Toronto hospital last Tuesday. He'd been suffering from kidney problems. He was 61. Here's the full story, if you can somehow endure the stupid, intrusive, aggravating interface at CinemaBlend.com. And here is Maury's IMDB page ... what a list of credits!
Goodbye, Maury. We'll miss you.
Orange, Carey Baughman, and Escape from L.A.
Today's image is a view up N. Glassell St. in Downtown Orange. It comes from a postcard in Tom Pulley's collection that was postmarked 1940..
Carey Baughman, the Education & Programs Coordinator at the Old Courthouse Museum is transferring to Heritage Hill historical park in El Toro starting tomorrow. She'll be the new Historic Resources person down there. It's a step up for her, I think, but it's the Old Courthouse's loss. We wish her all the best.
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This Sunday, Aug. 1, will be the 121st birthday of the County of Orange. What are you doing to celebrate our escape from the clutches of Los Angeles?
LVMH - Why Is This Man Smiling?
I've always thought that we lived in a world with an oversupply of luxury goods and that in the event of a deep recession a strong correction was bound to hit the large luxury goods conglomerates. Apparently I was wrong. But I do wonder, where does all the growth come from? China?
From the WSJ
LVMH First-Half Profit Soars, Showing Luxury's Return
PARIS–French luxury goods behemoth LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Tuesday reported a 53% jump in first half net profit, heralding a strong return of high-end consumption and, in a departure from cautiousness seen in previous quarters, expressed confidence in the rest of the year.
All divisions, from perfume to wine posted double digit sales growth with the highest increase coming from watches and jewelry, up 28%...
not that you asked but
Yes, I'd be smiling too if I were Bernard Arnault
From the WSJ
LVMH First-Half Profit Soars, Showing Luxury's Return
PARIS–French luxury goods behemoth LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Tuesday reported a 53% jump in first half net profit, heralding a strong return of high-end consumption and, in a departure from cautiousness seen in previous quarters, expressed confidence in the rest of the year.
All divisions, from perfume to wine posted double digit sales growth with the highest increase coming from watches and jewelry, up 28%...
not that you asked but
The Christian Dior Group (Paris:CDI) recorded revenue of 9.5 billion euros in the first half of 2010, an increase of 16%. Organic growth (at comparable structure and exchange rates) stood at 14% compared to the same period in 2009. The Group performed particularly well in Asia, the United States and Europe.
Profit from recurring operations in the first half of 2010 increased by 33% to 1,812 million euros.
Group share of net profit increased by 68% to 422 million euros.
Jewelry Biz- Stephen Webster Will Open 1st US Store on Rodeo Drive
Jewellery brand Stephen Webster is opening a flagship US store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
From Retail Jeweller
The retail space design will mirror the London and European mono-brand boutiques, which incorporate Stephen Webster’s signature style of glamour with a rock and roll edge. The space will combine Webster’s love for traditional craftsmanship with his passion for contemporary music, fashion and art to produce a modern, unconventional retail aesthetic for showcasing his collections.
“The store on Rodeo Drive will be our first flagship in the US,” said founder and creative director Stephen Webster. “Over the past 10 years we have built strong ties with the LA community including the world of entertainment based there. The opening of this store is set to be extremely significant in our development.”
He added: “This project is very exciting to me and my team who feel that the Stephen Webster brand is shifting to become an all encompassing lifestyle experience”.
Well, I'm not going to make my usual snarky 'well there goes the neighborhood' comment about this. We welcome all retail jewelers to the neighborhood. The more jewelers on the street, the better for our business.
Besides, I love Stephen Webster's whole glam rock vibe and his crystal haze jewelry. God knows that Loree Rodkin needs some local competition.
Plus...now that we have the new Tom Ford store about to open a couple of doors away, we might as well have Stephen Webster on the block too.
And just think, soon we will all be able to go up and down Rodeo Drive and experience, boutique by boutique, each all encompassing lifestyle experience!
Or, we could skip all the retail 'lifestyle' hype and just buy our jewelry online from Beladora.com.
2011 Fall Winter Fashion Trends
For fall or winter seasons, colours those we put on could being as lively as possibles. Fall fashion trends, Sometimes though gray appears to being next good factor on colours as 2011, on fall or winter we needs to cheer top with few hot color. Fall fashion trends, Get red, orange and yellow or combine those with gray or brown. sweaters those we put on could being on most colorful combination: concept to get little of colour on you. boots those we put on shouldn’t being dull. Yellow and green good as latest trend trends. accessories could being colorfuls as well, or we could being of huge sizes. Though we need to purchase bag, select additional huge length or strange color. For detail visit here
Antique Four Pane Screen
This design was originally an antique four panel screen, but has been beautifully reproduced here.
How to Wear Vintage Animal Brooches
A couple of days ago I wrote a post about blogger Jane Aldridge and her menagerie of vintage animal brooches. It's one thing to wear a discreet little grouping of bee brooches on your lapel, it's another thing entirely to wear an entire zoo on your jacket.
So here is how I like to action (verb totally stolen from FF) a vintage animal brooch.
Wear one quality statement piece, like this gemstone fish, for impact
and leave the menagerie at home.
(Not to mention that I like wearing a tropical fish on my on my summer LBD because it is the closest I've gotten to a beach vacation in ages....and I'm desperate for one.)
So what do you think, would you wear this vintage brooch?
Civil War, using cameras for research, Katella, etc
Another historic point of interest at Irvine Park is the Civil War cannon in front of the Spanish-American War monument on the lake's edge. An adjacent plaque reads:"Cast in 1853 by the Ames Co. Foundry of Chicopee, Mass., this howitzer was brought to California during the Civil War and assigned to the garrison of California Volunteers at Drum Barracks, Wilmington. Secured from the State Armory in Los Angeles, it was installed on June 20, 1908, as Orange County's first courthouse cannon -- 'a symbol of peace.' Replaced in 1925 by a captured World War I field cannon, the old brass 'seven pounder' was brought to Irvine Park to guard this Spanish-American War Memorial which was dedicated November 11, 1926."
In his book, Bears to Briquets: A History of Irvine Park, 1897-1997, historian Jim Sleeper says the gun is "properly a twelve-pound brass howitzer," and tells us that
"...The gun worked its way west through the Indian campaigns, arriving in California sometime during the Civil War. Here it was assigned to ...Wilmington to defend the coast against Confederate privateers. Later, one story holds, the cannon was sold to Cuba, then captured back during our war with Spain."
Do you find yourself shooting digital photos of documents in archives (or other historical collections) while doing research? I'm helping gather information for an article on this growing phenomenon, and any information or anecdotes you can share (in the comments below) would be appreciated. I started shooting photos of documents myself about five or six years ago, and have noticed a lot more people doing the same recently. Thanks in advance for your two cents..
Old house restorers take note: Pasadena Architectural Salvage will hold a sale, Sat., July 31 & Sun., Aug.1, to celebrate their recent move to our new location. Everything will be at least 20% off the marked price.
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Our pal Werner Weiss at Yesterland has posted an article about Katella Ave. and how it got its name.
Twisted Prep or How to Wear Your Hilfiger Duck Boots
Irvine Park, Knott's, Huntington Center, and books
Here's an interior view of the 1914 boathouse at Irvine Park. You can see where the rowboat-shaped slips have been modified to fit the peddle-car-raft-thingies. Most of the structure and concrete seems to be original, as do the rings used to tie down the boats -- one of which is shown below. For exterior before-and-after views of the boathouse, see my related post from 2008.
Some time ago, I posted links to video and photos of the historical tour of Knott's Berry Farm that I helped Phil Brigandi conduct back in April. Another video (this time from Mark Eades at the Register) has just turned up online, in case you missed the others..
Pleasant Family Shopping recently covered the 1966 Montgomery Ward store at Huntington Center. I understand that Costco may be coming to that location soon, so if you want photos of the Wards ruins, go now.
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O.C. has a new used book store: Copper Penny Books is at 649 W. Imperial Highway Suite J., in Brea. They moved here from Diamond Bar. For information, call 714-990-2033. Here's hoping they have a local history section.
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O.C. has a new used book store: Copper Penny Books is at 649 W. Imperial Highway Suite J., in Brea. They moved here from Diamond Bar. For information, call 714-990-2033. Here's hoping they have a local history section.
Christy Turlington by Steven Meisel and Karl Templar - Modern and Classic Indeed
If you haven't already picked up the latest edition of Italian Vogue...go out and spend $18 to buy it right now!
The Christy Turlington cover story photographed by Steven Meisel and styled by Karl Templar is one of the most beautiful fashion editorials that I have ever seen. (and I'm not just saying that because Beladora was asked to provide jewlery for the shoot, which they didn't use but was fine with us because the jewlery was barely noticable) Each of Turlington's looks were wonderful, from the big hair to the fabulous frocks to the gorgeous gloves to the stylish shoes, and she has never looked more beautiful.
Vintage Brooches - When Too Much Actually Is Too Much
Usually when I get dressed up I pile on the jewelry. In fact when it comes to estate jewlery our office motto is "too much is never enough". But sometimes wearing it all at one time is better as an idea than a reality.
My case in point Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes
the society/vintage/her mother has a huge closet/debutante blogger
I've blogged before about how much I love vintage brooches...especially animal brooches
but really, this is out of control.
Now, if you can get beyond the over-brooched photos of Miss Aldridge she links to the incredible website of photographer Douglas Friedman who shoots portraits, interiors,celebrity homes and architecture.
Here's an example of his work
I have no idea where this celebrity home is...but I want to live there
And I'm just loving this pool in the middle of what looks like an olive grove. Very nice.
Check out his website.
My case in point Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes
the society/vintage/her mother has a huge closet/debutante blogger
but really, this is out of control.
Now, if you can get beyond the over-brooched photos of Miss Aldridge she links to the incredible website of photographer Douglas Friedman who shoots portraits, interiors,celebrity homes and architecture.
Here's an example of his work
Check out his website.
Irvine Park, cemetery book, tourist traps & Googie
Here's a postcard from Tom Pulley's collection, depicting Irvine Park (originally called Orange County Park) in the early 1920s. We spent some more time at Irvine Park this weekend and I may be posting more about its history soon..
Patty Boardman had just finished a small book for the Orange County Cemetery District entitled A Walk To Remember: Mini-biographies of Pioneers Buried in the Santa Ana Cemetery. It's available at Santa Ana and Anaheim Cemeteries and during tours at the historic Howe-Waffle House in Santa Ana. Only about 100 copies were printed, so move fast if you're interested. More information is available at www.occd.gov.
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Stuff From The Park just posted some great material on the Palace of Living Art and the Japanese Village & Deer Park in Buena Park.
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Ken at OutsideTheBerm has a great post about the Knott's-inspired Tinker Town in New Mexico. My pal Mike T. tipped me off to this cool roadside attraction years ago, but I've never had the chance to visit. Ken's virtual tour will have to do for now. (I'm particularly fond of the sign there that reads, "Yet there are souless men who would destroy what time and man will never build again.")
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On a marginally-relevant note, I'm happy to see that I've been quoted in the same article with MODCOM's Chris Nichols in a Whittier Daily News article about preserving Googie architecture. Good company indeed.