Saddle up with Chanel

I recently received an envelope full of newspaper and magazine clippings from my Aunt Mary Ellen in New Orleans. We fondly call these "Hank mail" after her father who was famous for sending correspondence filled with odds and ends to recipients around the world. Once you were on Hank's mailing list and he knew your interests, you received missives from him for life.

In ME's envelope was the above clipping, which gave me a laugh. Even for those of us who worship at the altar of fashion, what we consider good taste is often pushed beyond the limit. The above bag was shown at Chanel's once-a-year Metiers d'Art (also known as Pre-Fall 2014) which took place in Dallas last December. Karl Lagerfeld chose a Texas theme to honor Dallas and Neiman Marcus, the first place to enthusiastically accept Coco Chanel's comeback designs in 1957.

For context, it's good to know a little history here. In 1939 Chanel closed her salon when France declared war on Germany. Following the war, Chanel observed Dior's success with the "New Look" and felt the tiny waists and full skirts were not modern at all. She reopened her salon, but her designs were not a critical success. She soon developed the Chanel suit that we know of today: tweed fabric, braid trim, short boxy jacket and narrow skirt. America, especially the Dallas-based Neiman Marcus, accepted her modern suit with great enthusiasm. For Pre-Fall 2014, Lagerfeld went a little Texas-happy applying western motifs to everything.

ME and I chatted about this the other day and she had more to add: "It's not Chanel anymore. I'm old school. I'm glad he's kept Chanel going but I wish she was here. I'd love to hear what she would say. The bag looks like Texas and not Chanel.  I don't think you'll see it on the Rue St. Honore or Boulevard St. Germain.  A touch pricey I think, but maybe a horse comes with it. Quelle disappointment."

I stopped by the San Francisco Chanel boutique last week to see the handbag in person. There were about five or six variations of the "saddle" bag with lots of fringe and trim, beaded jewelry items with a Native American theme and a red, white and blue silk scarf with a large "Dallas" printed on it. The items didn't feel San Francisco at all, but the shoppers are tourists from other places in the world, where a western theme is probably considered exotic. But for locals, the Texas style is too close to home to take seriously.

For the Texas show, he directed a 24-minute video about this time in Chanel's life. Called The Return, it is great glamorous fun to watch. Lagerfeld has a million ideas and I'm hoping the next collection gives me the ol' Chanel coup de coeur.

September issues: more than a bunch of bananas, but less than a chicken

Weighing in at over three pounds, my 2012 selection of September issues. According to the American Family Scale, it's more than a bunch of bananas, but less than a chicken.

It's that time...the September issue Olympics. As a magazine and fashion lover, this is both exciting and daunting. It's no longer the September issue, it's issues. At one time, Vogue was the only September issue that was fat with ads, fashion photos and editorial. I could leisurely flip through the pages and when I eventually reached the last page, I was confident that I knew what I needed to know about what was new for fall. Now all the fashion and style mags across multiple categories are on to the extra ad revenue and cache. For style and culture hunters, there's now at least fifteen magazines to study.

Two years ago, my BFFF (best fashion friend forever) Karen and I decided to tackle the project together. We began at about 10 am on a Saturday and it took us until early evening to dissect our collection of September issues. We read, sticky-noted, ripped out pages, highlighted, discussed what worked and what didn't until we couldn't see straight.

It's a job and we're just the girls for the job. We started with breakfast treats, moved on to lunch, then afternoon coffee and finished the day with a martini made by hubby Matt. And of course, we stayed hydrated throughout with lots of water. It was a marathon after all.


We missed our session last year so Karen and I have already set our date for our September 2014 issu-athon. I've already received my September Vanity Fair and Harper's Bazaar (with the lovely granddaughter of Audrey Hepburn photographed by the grandson of Richard Avedon). I've done my due diligence in scouring them both and placing sticky notes on various pages for discussion with Karen. Vogue has yet to kerplunk it's big bad self in my mailbox. But I just experimented with a new experience. I got an email from Vogue saying the iPad version was available. I downloaded it and flicked through the first third. It was fun in a novel sort of way, but I felt like I was cheating! I'm saving the rest for the real deal. But the iPad does illuminate all the rich fall colors in the photos beautifully. I did make note that long skinny scarves are in. I like that a lot.

I do have a perusal process. As I flip through the mags I ask myself: What's really new? What catches my eye? What elements of an outfit do I already have? Which ones do I want to add? Are the proportions new (wider pants? shorter tops?)? Most of the outfits are in the multi-thousand dollar range, so chances are slim that I'll buy that exact Prada item. But how can I translate what I like into something I can afford (and still give the appearance of expensive elegance)?

As a pre-game warmup, I just watched The September Issue film again. It's enlightening to hear the creative discussions and see the passion, angst (especially Grace Coddington!) and focus (especially Anna Wintour!) to put Vogue together. I so appreciate all the work, thought and creative mastery that it takes to create a world of beauty, exoticness and elegance all in one package and have it delivered to my doorstep and my iPad.

I'll report back on our findings from our upcoming session. And I'd love to hear your thoughts on your favorite September issue this year, whatever magazine that may be.