Zai Jian!

I will see you all in about 2 weeks or so. Shall miss everyone's blogs, and hope I can do my vacation justice with some new posts when I return

Jetting There with Savoir Faire

Some of you know that I am an Airliner nerd and some of you know now!

As thoughts this week lead to flying this Friday, I am always drawn to what is commonly known as one of the “golden ages” of travel, that of the early 60’s. Jet travel by Boeing airliner or jets from other manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic was capturing the public’s imagination. Images of exotic locations speed and luxury tantalised the travelling public. It was also the heyday of the graphic artist.



However, when it comes to the manufacture and marketing of new jets it seems that the Europeans had a bit more Savoir Faire and imagination when naming their latest products. Whereas the Americans were sticking to a nomenclature based on a numerical system such as Boeing 707 and DC8 the Europeans were firing up the public’s imaginations with names such as Comet, Viscount and Trident.



One incredibly stylish offering from the Europeans was Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle, which entered service with mainly European Airlines in the late 50’s. The name was devised from a highly maneuverable sailing ship called a Caravel developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese. Radical in its design, the Caravelle established the aft-mounted-engine, clean-wing design that which portrayed a futuristic elegance. Also another unique feature was that passengers could also board the aircraft via a set of air stairs that descended from the tail of the aircraft. A futuristic elegance was portrayed with the whole design.



Ok, technicalities aside, Airlines took advantage of this new aircraft and advertised the use of it heavily. Not only did the public have a choice of which airline it would travel with, but also by a choice of aircraft. By no means the fastest or the biggest, it was however one of the most stylish!



Graphic artists of the era did a wonderful job in illustrating this. Stylistic representations of the aircraft both humorous and serious adorned travel agent walls and magazine pages.








Personally I think I would rather fly by Caravelle instead of an A380 which really does not do much for the imagination.

I See Red

I will be seeing red over the next week or so. Enjoy!

Toggled Savoir Faire

I am a traditionalist of sorts. Give me a classic piece of clothing that never dates any day! This is especially true when it comes to outerwear. These are investment pieces that are meant to last, and never go out of style. The Duffle coat is one of these. Usually where the classics are concerned I am a purist and do not like designers or manufacturers to mess too much with the original design. However lately I have been seeing some modern interpretations of this British classic which I am particularly warming to. With the number of designers that are featuring them in their collections I am glad to see that it is here to stay in one form or another.

A duffle coat, or duffel coat, is a coat made from duffle, a coarse, thick, woolen material. The name derives from Duffel, a town in the province of Antwerp in Belgium where the material originates. Duffle bags were originally made from the same material. They have several distinct features that set them apart and are usually characterised as being a hooded coat with distinctive toggle fastenings.

The duffle coat owes its popularity to the British Royal Navy, who issued a camel-coloured variant of it as an item of warm clothing during World War I. The design of the coat was modified slightly and widely issued during World War II. Field Marshal Montgomery was a famous wearer of the coat, as a means of identifying himself with his troops, leading to another nickname, the "Monty coat". Large stocks of post-war military surplus coats available at reasonable prices to the general public meant that these coats became a ubiquitous and popular item of clothing in the 1950s and 1960s. The British firm Gloverall purchased surplus military supplies of the coats after World War II and have continued to still make the Monty ever since and in 1954 started producing their own version of the Duffle coat.

Every Duffle coat you see today in the classic style is a copy of the original made by Gloverall. Now being redesigned with a more fitted silhouette it is a perfect style to adopt if you want something with classic appeal but with a modern edge. New lines, lengths, proportions and hardware are seeing a resurgence of the coat with the fashionably hip.

Colours are no longer restricted to the dark and dreary, and we are seeing bright primary colours with other bold shades, to ensure that one is in no mood to let the winter grays get you down. Rich Tweeds and careful tailoring ensure that you are not wearing the equivalent of a box.

Wooden toggle-fastenings were made to be easily fastened and unfastened while wearing gloves in cold weather at sea. Toggles are now coming in variations of shapes, sizes, designs and materials, to give the coat a more modern updated look.

I know that winter is almost over for some of us and just starting for some so if you still have time embrace this quintessential winter solution.

One Week to Go!

Well, followers it is a week today that Savoir Faire leaves on vacation. Needless to say we cannot wait to be tramping the Great Wall of China and experiencing the countless other delights that China has to offer, chicken feet and all.



Of course, one asks the question what do I pack for a whirlwind 10 days in China? While I have the basics planned, Catherine over at The Fashionable Traveller has at least solved the problem with her post Fake Bags. I have always considered myself a good packer; however Catherine gives some great tips, which I will definitely be using.

Have a wonderful weekend all!

Cultural Thursday!

Tonight Savoir Faire is off to the Ballet! The Mariinsky ballet is here in Toronto this week presenting Swan Lake. With all the hype over “The Black Swan” movie and also the fact that it has been years since I have seen Swan Lake, it is going to be a nice break from the craziness that is hovering over my desk at work.

Of course there have been many interpretations of the work since its original inception by Tchaikovsky including the serious and the comedic.

One production of which I am itching to see is that of British choreographer Matthew Bourne. Bourne seems to push the envelope with his interpretations of classics, creating incredibly stylish, visual productions that challenge our already pre-conceived ideas. See my post on Bourne’s Dorian Gray.

http://david-toms.blogspot.com/2010/11/whos-pretty-boy-then.html

Bourne's Swan Lake radically reinterprets the original myth. The focus of the ballet is turned away from the Ondine character to the man – the Prince. It is the Prince who struggles against repression and hopes for liberty, and who needs love to make him safe. However, as in the Ondine myth, the sin of betrayal cannot be expiated except in death. Bourne’s scenario is an unofficial interpretation as he does not believe in scenarios for his productions and prefers the audience to interpret the story for themselves. Stylistic inspiration also came from the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds.

One of the most noticeable changes Bourne has made has been the replacing of the traditional female corps de ballet with a cast of menacing male dancers. We have a preconceived idea of swans as somewhat fragile creatures and this is exemplified in the traditional staging of the ballet. The original ballet also creates a highly romanticized version of conventional heterosexual love. Placing a male in the lead role puts love between men in centre stage. According to Bourne, "The idea of a male swan makes complete sense to me. The strength, the beauty, the enormous wingspan of these creatures suggests to the musculature of a male dancer more readily than a ballerina in her white tutu."

The good thing is, while there have been several radical changes in Bourne’s interpretation, there are central themes that have not been changed. Both are about doomed, forbidden love, and both feature a Prince who wishes to transcend the boundaries of everyday convention through that love.

Bourne has also commented that "I could see an opportunity to create a human story, with the

potential for great dramatic power and range, indulge my satirical and humorous ideas”

Bourne has created an intense psychological drama. His choice of male swans is exactly what Tchaikovsky’s music requires. These are menacing bare chested dancers (and the black leathered version of The Swan at the party) are the perfect medium for the Prince to discover and celebrate his sexuality.

And although the Prince is unashamedly gay, Swan Lake is universal in its appeal and accessible to all persons who know what it means to be misunderstood, confused about sexuality and love, and long for intimacy and relationship.