Back to School with Flair: College Review Issue, August 1950

I've always loved magazines. It's with pleasure and anticipation that I turn the pages of my favorites, dipping into another world of color, glamour and possibilities. More than "wish books" the best ones open windows to inspiring lifestyles and spark concrete ideas that I can incorporate into my wardrobe and home and what I want to see, read and do.

One of the best, Flair, was created by Fleur Cowles, and published from February 1950 to January 1951. Cowles was a visionary and created a magazine that was unlike anything at the time or since. Covering fashion, travel, art, interior design and literature. In addition to the fabulous articles featuring contributors such as Jean Cocteau, Katherine Anne Porter, Gypsy Rose Lee, Salvador Dali and Tallulah Bankhead, each issue is a thing of art in itself, with an artful mix of photography, illustration, intricately cut pages.

Once again, it was my BFF (Best Fashion Friend) Karen, who introduced me to this wonderful find and loaned me the original copies that she's collected. And because it's back-to-school season, below are some spreads from the college issue with excerpts from the actual copy. The writing is a bit quaint and fun to read. All the issues are so visually rich, I have plans to feature more in upcoming posts.

Inside front cover. 

Big men on campus. Such as Bob Jennings, president of the Triangle Club, the local high-kicking, song-hitting drama and social group. He majors in English, is polishing up a script to try out on
Hollywood and will round the world on a three-year cruise in a private schooner after graduations.

The mouton-collared greatcoat originated in the stiff cold weather bouts of the upper Midwest, has in the past few years blown into every northern campus town, many a big city. Collegians find these coats recapture the rah rah of flask-era raccoon without as much weight. They also recreate the bygone swell's mink or caracul-collared coat without like expense.

The photo on the left: Commonsense fashions have a way of spreading from East to West, or West to East. This Princeton man looks right, is right, in his Eton cap with backstrap. Today's high fashion news in shirts, the round-point pin collar; a constant favorite, the madder foulard tie.

 On right: A well-thought-out wardrobe relies on color and shape and endless combinations, is best when compact. It is, at first, as basic as freshman courses. Color is the first consideratjion. Which basic color is basic enough to take us through the entire year? Bright red. A good contrast and companion to red 365 days of the year? Black. We need a third color to accent and relieve the intensity of red and black. White. A well-thought-out wardrobe comes close to being, like college, a four-year plan. Work and fun, but worth it.

How to combine red and black and white into, first, eight costumes; and then, by turning all the flaps, another eight costumes. You take it from there...

Gray Matter -- Gray, dark gray, is a matter of moment at the moment and the darker it is, the better it looks.

It is little effort for Marjorie Clarke, Smith, '51 to maintain her position as a BWOC (big woman on campus). Marjorie is good-looking, hard-working and serene, combines her hearty interest in local Smith doings with frequent weekends at Yale and Dartmouth.

Tall, brown-eyed Charlene Weiss, a junior at U.C.L.A., has the energy, good health and independent mind which characterize the California coed.

Cocktail parties in upperclassmen's rooms are a Harvard classic, a pause in the day's occupation between the football game and an informal House dance...Short, bare-topped dresses with jackets are a fashionable hedge for uncommitted evenings...The incoming generation knows the ropes, takes the sacred code of student taboos with a grain of salt, recognizes that the simple habit of being agreeable is the secret of that mystic word, poise.

Art 2 Wear: San Miguel de Allende

I had my first experience photographing a runway show! A group of designers and fashionistas led by India Bastien in San Miguel de Allende organized a weekend-long fashion event called Art 2 Wear. I attended the fashion show held on a large tented stage in the center of town two weeks ago on Saturday, August 17th. Free and open to the public, the event drew a large and all-age diverse crowd. It was a long show, about five hours. I was there for the last half, positioning myself with the other photographers at the end of the runway. It was a thrill!

There was a DJ playing high-energy catwalk music and then it suddenly died. While the poor DJ tried to fix the sound system, one of the resourceful organizers had a group of mariachis from El Jardín, the main plaza, pop up on the stage and play. They were dressed so sharp, they're naturals on the runway.

Designs from Tuna Boutique, this dress modeled by Mittie Roger. 

Beautiful traditional style on the street. 

Opening entertainment with great flair and style for the clothing line Apashanka, by designer Apashanka araña tejedora. 

I fell in love with Apashanka's sexy designs using traditional embroidery but in a bold modern way. This dress worn by Mittie Roger.

The Apashanka dresses were modeled with Cock of the Walk boots. 

The fashion show ended with the tribal, hipster Mexico City designs of Summer Romero. 

It was a fabulous event, full of sensory delights. The range of creativity and talent in San Miguel is a constant source of surprise and inspiration. This year was such a success, there are plans for a bigger Art 2 Wear festival next year and I hope to be there at the end of the runway once again!

Two style tacos with a side of creativity, por favor!

Creativity, art and personal style: these ingredients make an exciting dish that I would love to wrap up in a warm tortilla and enjoy with an ice cold cerveza! Which is what we did two weeks ago at at the Chapel of Jimmy Ray. The gallery is an otherworldly creation by our friends Anado and Richard located in La Cieneguita, about fifteen minutes outside of San Miguel de Allende.

Artist Anado McLauchlin and his partner, teacher Richard Schultz, moved to the area twelve years ago and created a colorful creativity compound with a gallery, boutique and residence with too much fabulousness to document in this post. Take a look at this link and you'll see what I mean. I told Anado their place is like a tuning fork where the color, the art and the people come together in a perfect vibrational pitch. For this show, Anado displayed his large, multi-dimensional mosaic and collage pieces. In addition, photographer Spencer Tunick and artist/musician Joseph Arthur (fresh from his appearance on David Letterman) collaborated on photographs layered with grafitti-like painting.

As you can imagine, with such a buzz of creativity, the people attending the opening showed some  great style.

From left to right, Richard, Anado, Joseph and Spencer.

Spanish actor, Judith Urdiales, sporting beribboned Converse and a touch of Frida. 

Fabulous earring and original Joseph Arthur iconography on her neck brace!

Color swirled and danced everywhere. 

Long, lovely and elegant. 

Las tres Sharons. They're all named Sharon and they all look fab.

Darling guys. I love the urban mix of patterns on the guy on the right. 

Traditional Mexican embroidery has such beauty and richness. 

Palm Springs? Miami Beach? Nope, right in ol' La Cieneguita. 

Great print dress by Mara Hoffman. 

Very cool filmmakers from Mexico City. 

And these ladies are perhaps the most stylish of all. These large dancing puppets are called Mojigangas.  Inside each one is a person, with the top of their head reaching about to the waist of the figure. There's a peep hole in the front of the skirt for visibility. The figures dance hilariously and suggestively, towering about ten feet high. Could this day have been any visually richer? Not one bit.

Ayla Beauty: radiance inside and out

Glowing guest and darling skincare consultant, Nora Decemberle, at the Ayla Beauty store opening party.

This small shop in Pacific Heights was once a carriage house and is next door
to San Francisco's Healing Arts Building.

A couple of months ago, I was at the hairdresser's flipping through C Magazine, and saw this blurb about Ayla Beauty and was intrigued by the description of customized skincare consultation and hard-to-find beauty products without harmful ingredients. On the website, the link for "Get A Kit" immediately caught my eye. For $20, including shipping, I filled out a detailed questionnaire about my concerns and goals for skincare and I was sent six samples handpicked for me. Fun! Even though the experience was online, it felt very personal. A couple of days after I submitted the questionnaire, I received this email:

Hi Lesa, 

I'm excited to be your Ayla guide. Contact me whenever you need product recommendations or advice about skincare in general -- I'd be delighted to help.

Here's a list of the items you'll find inside your package, which shipped today. 

Elave Age Delay Cleanser: An anti-aging, exfoliating cleanser containing glycolic acid that gently rejuvenates dull, clogged, or dehydrated skin

Sentara Plump Effect Bio-Relaxing Serum: A deeply hydrating but completely non-greasy serum that plumps up wrinkles with a combination of seaweed, ginseng, and hyaluronic acid

S5 Restore Cream: A fast-absorbing, cushy cream that’s clinically proven to increase skin’s moisture content, reduce wrinkles, and drive away dullness

VOYA Me Time: A seaweed-infused lotion for Balanced to Dry skin that plumps and firms as it provides antioxidant protection and boosts radiance

Suntegrity BB cream SPF 30: Our favorite BB cream, this one combines moisturizing, anti-aging, priming, and skin perfecting benefits in one product along with some of the best sun protection you can get.

You'll also receive a card with tips for testing new products as well as a suggested AM/PM regimen. Some of our samples are hand-filled (we want to provide the perfect product matches for you, even if we don't have ready-made samples available). Because they're only labeled with the product names, you may want to refer to our website for any additional usage instructions -- you'll find all of that information on each product page I've linked to in this email.

For a dose of extra exfoliation you can leave the age delay cleanser on for 2-3 minutes and gently rub off with a damp muslin or washcloth. I chose two moisturizers for you as I thought you might like to compare. You can alternate between the two of them at night. The BB Cream should give you enough moisture during the day but if you feel a little dry, of course feel free to add a dab of either moisturizer to the cream.  

Finally — I'm a big believer in caring for skin from the inside out as well. Here are some tips that might be helpful for you:

1. Taking omega-3 supplements can help keep your skin balanced and radiant, and it will help with age-related inflammation, too (which can be linked to acne). My favorite brand is Nordic Naturals, which is sold online and at Whole Foods.

2. We love nutritionist Ian Marber's straightforward approach and unique recipes. You might enjoy reading our interview with him on anti-aging nutrition.

3. Dr. Jeannette Graf also did an interesting series of interviews with us on boosting radiance in skin from the inside out. You can read them here and here.

I hope you find something in your kit that you love! Please feel free to contact me anytime with questions. Otherwise, I'll follow up with you in a bit to see how things are going.

Nora 

nora@aylabeauty.com

Then a couple days later my samples arrived, nicely packaged in a drawstring muslin bag.

Oops, I realize this photo has a mix of my original samples, plus a few I got at the opening party.

 But you get the idea!

With this detailed card from Nora:

Then I was emailed an invite for "Champagne, chocolate, raffles and radiance" at the opening party for the Ayla store. Of course I had to go - champagne, chocolate and beauty products!?!!- a few of my favorite things, plus I wanted to meet the owner Dara Kennedy and my beauty buddy Nora. I already felt like I knew them. When I arrived at 1825 Bush Street, I walked past the tiny building tucked in the side of the Healing Arts Building, but once I found it, I entered a hubbub of happy vibrant women.

Kerry Wall was the beautiful representative of The Organic Pharmacy. Started by a homeopathic pharmacist in the UK, the cosmetic line only uses the best carefully chosen pure ingredients. Kerry gave me a little makeover and I course I had to buy a few things. I couldn't resist their makeup line "Organic Glam". It's not an oxymoron in their hands.

Dara is on the far right answering the many questions and making recommendations. 

Dara with happy clients. 

Many products to sample!

The Organic Glam products I purchased that I've been enjoying everyday since. 

Roger Vivier: the shoes and the women who love them.

Books are my weakness, especially beautifully photographed art and fashion books. Luckily I share this addiction with fashion friend Karen, so we loan our expensive books to each other. Admittedly, it's a bit one-sided as Karen has a bigger book collection and loans more to me. She's so generous in fact, that I recently gave her this beautiful book, Roger Vivier, for her birthday and after peeling away the clear plastic that sealed it (proof that I hadn't read it first!) and oohing and ahhing at the photos, she immediately handed it back to me as a loan. I sheepishly accepted, but I want to get this posted asap before guilt sets in.

Vivier collaborated with Christian Dior from 1953 to 1962.

The book is not only stunning to look at, but it is a pleasure to read with heady essays by French writers like Virginie Mouzat and Olivier Saillard and interviews with Vivier fans Cate Blanchett, Catherine Deneuve and brand ambassador Inès de la Fressange.

 

Catherine Deneuve and Inès de la Fressange in 2012.
Both wearing Vivier's buckle shoe,  designed forty-five years ago.

Roger Vivier's career spanned sixty years. And the shoes tell a consistent and cohesive tale of excellent design. I'm not suprised to learn that Vivier studied sculpture at Paris's Ecole des Beaux Arts in 1924. Shoes at their best are small sculptures. From the beginning, he designed shoes for the royal and the famous. Coronation shoes for the Queen Mother and Queen and stars such as Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Marlene Dietrich. 

"Comma" heel. Spring/Summer 2005 collection. Designed by Bruno Frisoni.
Frisoni has been Vivier creative director since 2002.  

Credited with designing the first stiletto heel by using a stainless steel shank, he named his heels like a sculptor names his work: Fuyant (fleeting) 1954, Toupie (spinning top) 1955, Egtrave (bow stem) 1958, Choc 1959, Virgule (comma) 1963.

"Choc" heels, 1959. 

Catherine Deneuve famously wore his black patent leather shoes with large gold buckles in Luis Bunuel's film Belle du Jour, forever associating them with sexy allure. Vivier originally designed them for Yves Saint Laurent's Fall/Winter Mondrian collection 1965-1966. The style still thrives today.

Ecume des Modes shoe, designed by Bruno Frisoni,
Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2009-2010.

French journalist Virginie Mouzat contributes to the book with her essay A Martyr by Consent : "At this phase in the construction of feminine representations, high heels — in France, we call them talons — read almost like undergarments that we wear in plain sight and knowledge of everyone around us. In some ways, wearing them is almost like wearing lingerie for the feet. For those with a weakness for shoes, the same shiver runs down their spine whether they happen upon a closet full of high heels or a drawer filled with women's lingerie. Something on the order of the profane occurs. Fetishism? The word burns the lips. Of course, that does have something to do with it. And the displacement of the libido onto this accessory not only burn the lips, it also burns the credit cards. Wearing talons is like consensual martyrdom, and this consent confers upon the act the pleasure of its ambivalence, whether we want it to or not." J'adore such highbrow philosophizing about heels!

Cate Blanchett wearing Prismick flats, Spring/Summer 2012.

In the book, there is an interview with Cate Blanchett and Bruno Frisoni. When asked if she can tolerate wearing uncomfortable shoes, Blanchett says, "If I'm only walking down the red carpet or if I'm doing a photo shoot, absolutely. But not in everyday life...That's what I love about my Vivier shoes. They are sculptural but they are really wearable. Shoes are, to a certain degree, fetish objects. I think in some designer's hands, they can work with the cruel side of the fetish rather than the exotic, exquisite side of the fetish—the exquisite is what Bruno does at Vivier.

Blanchett sums it up: "There's a kind of glorious eccentricity to them yet they are still so effortlessly chic."

The archive room, maison Roger Vivier, 29 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré. Looks like it could use some straightening and wouldn't I love the job of doing that!