I was in a department store today and a woman walked by wearing Chanel No. 5; it’s what my mother used to wear, and the scent brought me right back to childhood. It made me think about my memories of scent as a child, some good and some bad.

Wonderful smells from childhood:

• carambola fruit from the neighbor’s tree (aka star fruit)
• the wonderful scent of gardenias in a neighbor’s yard on the way to school.
• cookies baking in the oven at Christmas time
• Tabu, a perfume one of the sophisticated older girls wore in high school
• Shalimar, a perfume grandmother wore
• chicken being fried for dinner
• the smell of the ocean and the beach
• the pages of a new Scholastic paperback
• the smell of freshly mimeographed worksheets with purple ink in school (yes, I’m THAT old!)
• turkey roasting in the oven
• pipe tobacco in my grandparents’ living room
• ripe mangos from our tree
• my dad’s photography developing chemicals

Not-so-nice smells:

• melaleuca trees in bloom (I can’t belive people use parts of this stinky tree in cosmetics under the pseudonym tea tree oil.)
• rotting citrus fruits in the neighborhood
• cloyingly sweet pink Avon rose perfume creme
• mothballs (I still feel sick when I smell this vile stuff.)
• my grandparents musty basement
• phisoHex soap
• mercurochrome

What were the memorable smells of your childhood?

Roland Schoor / Time & Life Pictures / Getty

Ralph Lauren

This is my favorite outfit – the trousers are very flattering. I can imagine wearing this on a Grand Tour of Europe. But not my real life taking the Metro and sitting on grungy park benches.

Céline

I think this is an interesting combination of sheer white, cream, and not-so-sheer white.

Valentino

Elegant and pretty.

J.Mendel

Great tailoring and design; I like the black accent along the front.

Chloe

Interesting, though not my style.

More Ralph Lauren

Wouldn’t this be great for a cocktail party on my villa in Lake Como?

One thing I’ve never understood is the adage not to wear white until Memorial Day or after Labor Day. Really, if it’s warm enough out, why not? For some history, see Laura Fitzpatrick’s article in Time about that (silly) tradition.

Images from Style.com and Elle.fr

I like the shape and heel on these handmade shoes. Riccardo Broglia Rizieri is an Italian designer who makes bespoke shoes from used and other “green” materials. They have fuschia leather soles – who says Mr. Blahnik is the only one with colorful soles?

London designer Charlotte Olympia Dellal created this interesting shoe. I really like the gold, airy heel on this.

I love the retro look of these Prada heels. The fins and little red light are so charming, and I like the green leather.

To me, the elegant curve of the heels on these Roger Vivier shoes feel more like a sculpture than something to walk around on.

Balenciaga surprised me with these futuristic looking heels. I like the pebbled inserts, and the design in general.

Next up, whites! It’s not summer yet but a woman can dream.

I love this definition of romance. My favorite Valentine’s Days were those as a child, when everyone got a stack of Valentines in school, and later, those spent with my sweetie. But why limit ourselves to only one kind of romance? There’s so much more.

Lucky me, I have so many wonderful people in my life, ranging from family and friends I’ve known many years, to my wonderful friend (CG), dining buddy (AL), and dear cousins (JS and EB) who have come into my life more recently, to my many librarian and blogger friends.

Here’s wishing the many wonderful people in my life a smile and romance (of any sort) in their lives today.

Today my sweetie and I went to a book sale in our neighborhood. I was very restrained and only came home with one book, Méthode Boscher ou La journée des tout petits. It’s a French elementary school book that takes a child through the steps of learning letters and their sounds, and then syllables, and finally words. The illustrations are wonderful, with animals, fruits, and everyday objects scattered across the page. I’m sure this little treasure will help me in my neverending quest to actually learn French.

Continuing my fascination with all things French, I used a birthday gift to buy Jean Leymarie’s Chanel, the 2011 edition. It’s a biography of Mademoiselle Chanel, but so much more. The author explores the historical context of the fashion industry in Chanel’s time, and includes photographs and illustrations of not only her work, but relevant art and design. I’m enjoying reading about fashion history as much as the biography of this iconic designer.

My last new book is Penelope Rowland’s A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life In Fashion, Art, and Letters, also a birthday gift. Carmel Snow was the editor of Harper’s Bazaar from 1934 through 1958 and was influential in the careers of Lauren Bacall and Diana Vreeland, among many others. I know very little about Ms. Snow, so I’m looking forward to reading more.

And coming up this week – fashions for Spring 2012. Art shoes, white clothes, and fancy dresses.

Our first stop was Crest Lawn Memorial Park (formerly Crestview Cemetery). It’s fairly ordinary but this is where my great grandparents are buried. After a bit of time searching in the appropriate section in the cemetery, we found their gravestone. It listed only their surname but had no dates or names on it. I guess no one had the money or inclination to engrave it after they died. A few feet away is the grave marker of their son, my great uncle, Frank. It was interesting to visit the graves of family I’d never known. My grandfather was extremely secretive about his family, so we don’t know much about them.

©2012 Todd Mecklem

©2012 Todd Mecklem

The second cemetery, Oakland, was far more interesting from both a historic and an aesthetic point of view. It was designed to be a garden cemetery, and has interesting pathways and lots of green space. Famous people buried here include Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones, and Maynard Jackson. Many Confederate soldiers were laid to rest here – the row after row of same sized gravestones is eerie and sad.

My family connection is that my great-great-great aunt and uncle McAllister are buried here. The other photos are of things I found interesting. I wish we’d had more time to wander.

©2012 Sue Mecklem

©2012 Sue Mecklem

©2012 Sue Mecklem

©2012 Sue Mecklem

©2012 Sue Mecklem

The first selection is a pot metal dress clip and pair of screw-back earrings with light aqua celluloid flowers. They look like they’re from the 1930s. These were challenging to photograph because of the uneven color of the metal, and the shape of the earrings. They aren’t flat, so I had to prop them up a little bit. The worn metal makes it hard to capture the delicacy of the design but I think this turned out pretty well.

My second selection was an ornate rhinestone shoe clip that has clear rhinestones, rhodium metal, and lots of dimension to it. It was a struggle to get the right amount of light – too little, and the rhinestones look dull, but too much, and the reflection is distracting. I first tried to photograph it flat but the results were terrible. I then put the clip on a shoe, as it’d actually be worn. The challenge was to get the whole clip in the photo but I realized a side view gives a slightly better idea of what it looks like. My challenge is try again with the shoe clip and maybe use a filter over the light source to make it less sparkly. I’d like to show the pair but that really didn’t work so well – I just couldn’t get them both in focus at the same time. Back to the drawing board!

Diane Vreeland's Shoes ©1981 Deborah Turbeville

I recently had a Saturday with no agenda and decided to spend some time in the Pearl District. My first stop was Powell’s Books because one of my goals this year is to read more books, rather than just skimming articles or surfing the web. I browsed in my usual spots- the cookbook section, the French language section, and the fashion and design section. I’ve always wanted to learn more about the history of fashion because I’ve relied on little snippets in Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar for way too long. Powell’s had some great coffee table books about clothing and shoes, but since my goal is to actually read more, not just look at pretty photos, I bought a copy of Diana Vreeland’s autobiography, D.V, published in 1985 edition. I can tell I’m going to enjoy reading about her life. She loved shoes, particulary decorated shoes and shoe clips, and she wasn’t fond of silly stilettos one can’t walk in. She also loved Paris – my kind of woman!

My next stop was at a charming little department store, moulé, which is a four store, family-owned chain based in Canada. I tried on a grey flannel pair of trousers, and a faux fur cape/poncho. My first inclination was to buy the trousers but a little voice said that Ms. Vreeland would have bought the fur. It’s fun, unusual, and elegant. I’m not blaming Ms. V for my choice but I’m proud of myself for not going for the boring, usual choice.

Part of what I love about fashion and style is its fantasy element. Yes, I’m a librarian but wearing my cape, I can imagine myself in another world. A Parisian salon in the twenties, perhaps, but something less banal than real life. But in real life, it’ll keep me warm, and add a bit of fun to my day.

Resources:
Diana Vreeland website
Harper’s Bazaar article

May you have a wonderful year!

Buddha in Hong Kong temple ©2007 Sue Mecklem

More Buddhas ©2007 Sue Mecklem

Wind Instrument Musician ©2007 Sue Mecklem

Golden Rat in Hong Kong ©2007 Sue Mecklem

Detail, Guksadang shamanist shrine, Seoul, Korea ©2008 Todd Mecklem

Detail of painted door, Bongwansa shamanist temple, Seoul ©2008 Todd Mecklem

Bananas & fish for sale, canal-side village near Zhongshan, China ©2007 Todd Mecklem

Ribbons in “wishing tree” near Zhongshan, China ©2007 Todd Mecklem

Incense coils in Hong Kung Temple, Macau ©2007 Todd Mecklem

For more information, this Wikipedia article is pretty robust.