If Wishes Were Horses!

“If wishes were horses then beggars would ride”, this was my beloved Nana’s retort whenever as a small child I would wish for something! That is what I loved about her she was always practical and with the aforementioned saying would goad me into doing something about my “wishes”.

Unfortunately she passed away this weekend. Am I sad? Yes. However I am also extremely proud! She had just celebrated her 102nd birthday last week. She was a source of inspiration and amazement to her 5 children, 19 grand children, 34 great grand children and 3 great great grand children.

All I can really say is “Thank you!”

The Short of It!

Being unbearably hot up here today in Toronto, it is one of those rare occasions when I have decided to wear shorts to work. A nice pair of classic seersucker shorts, just above the knee. I feel deliciously cool, while sitting at my desk.

Growing up in Australia, where it was always hot, we always wore shorts. To school, to work and of course to play! You would think that with such a long association with a pair of pants with the legs cut off that we would have had the short concept down pat many years ago. Alas it was not the case and it is only recently that the Aussies are getting it right.

As a school uniform I had a pair of dark grey serge shorts, which as you guessed it, they were unbearably hot in the 40 degrees temperatures which were the norm. Teemed with a pair of long grey walking socks, and there really wasn’t much to feel cool about.


Then came the iconic stubbie! I know what you are all thinking and no it is not a beer, but a short short which everyone wore. Sometimes, not leaving a lot to be desired. Now if you were a labourer laying bricks or such the stubbie was the way to go.

As a teenager, we all gravitated to the King Gee Khaki, which we nicknamed “Harry Butler’s” it is a long story as to why, however the below picture of Harry Butler might help.

Men regularly wore walk shorts and walk socks to work with leather shoes, as this was more suited to our summer climate. However this passed in the early 80’s when we were far too cool to wear shorts!

After a long hiatus of good design, it seems as the Australian’s are finally getting right (or not!).

Arthur Galan

Calibre

Calibre

Nobody

Subfusco

Protesting With Savoir Faire

With all the protests etc that have been happening here in Toronto over the last week in relation to the G8 and G20 summits, I came across this little gem! Nothing says savoir faire than wearing your favourite French perfume to a protest rally!

Needless to say Ma Griffe is one of my all time favourite perfumes and I wear it habitually. Maybe I am a liberated male!

Behind Every Great Man

One cannot speak of Poiret without mention of his wife Denise. Long before any fashion history novice would proclaim that Chanel (curse her, she gets all the credit) had liberated the modern woman in the early twenties, Denise Poiret was proof that Poiret had done it years before! She was unfashionably (at the time) tall and slender with Poiret saying in 1913, "My wife is the inspiration for all my creations; she is the expression of all my ideals."

Poiret married Denise Boulet in 1905, much to the shock and horror of his circle who considered her rather provincial and lacking any style. As Poiret said of his choice of wife and mother of his children. "All those who have admired her since I made her my wife would certainly not have chosen her in the state in which I found her," Poiret stated in his rather self praising autobiography King of Fashion. "But I had a designer's eye, and I saw her hidden graces…. She was to become one of the queens of Paris."

Up until recently the role his wife played in his success has been underrated. However, here was someone with enough savoir faire to recognize that Poiret was revolutionizing women’s fashion and had the panache to wear his creations with the confidence of somebody who knew exactly what she was doing. She had the audacity to spur Poiret on by being a major force in the display of some his more outrageous costumes and schemes.

For his legendary Thousand and Second Night Ball in 1912, she was dressed as a slave girl in the famous lampshade tunic, harem pants and turban, locked in a gilded cage, waiting for her master’s arrival so that he could set her free! For another fete, dressed as the Queen of Sheba in an ensemble slashed to the hip revealing her leg, she shocked even Parisian haute bonheme.

She wore his creations confidently and nonchalantly. The luxurious fabrics being an accessory to Denise herself.

After their acrimonious divorce in 1928 (Time reported, "M. Poiret charged that his wife's attitude was injurious; Mme Poiret countercharged that her husband was cruel"), she still held her ex-husband’s work in high esteem. She kept her spectacular wardrobe for posterity’s sake and it was passed down to her children and grandchildren. In 2005 most her wardrobe went up for auction, how I wish I was there with unlimited funds!

Lacqured Savoir Faire

Who could pass up these wonderful lacquered panels from that Art Deco lacquer master Jean Dunand? Master artist, decorator and craftsman, responsible for some of the major rooms on the Normandie, I will let these speak for themselves!

Ancient Savoir Faire

The ancients sure knew how to adorn themselves with savoir faire. There is something also to be said for less is more. All these are deceptively simple but boy do they create an impact!

Greek Necklace
Cypriot Necklace

Egyptian Necklace and Earings

Persian Ring

Greek Bracelets

Around the World with Savoir Faire

Remember when around the world trips were practically de rigeur for anyone in the know? Whether by train, plane or ship, one travelled in style without the hustle and bustle and the general blah of travel these days.

Airlines, hotels and shipping companies would take your luggage and paste or attach a brightly coloured label on to it signifying where your luggage was going or where it had been. Nowadays we get a computer generated tag with a bar code which looks just as exciting as a receipt from a supermarket.

Hotel labels remained on a suitcase as a testament to where we had been, much to the envy of our friends. Years later vintage luggage would turn up at a variety of flea Markets and second hand stores plastered with labels and one could only wonder of the travels the original owners had had.

Labels were mini artworks created to convey the exotic and the luxury of travel. One was proud of the assortment and variety of labels on ones luggage. So bring back the label, so that even if we are not somewhere exotic, we can look at our luggage and plan our next trip.