- 19:48 About to watch my first ever episode of The Wire. I know, I know but it's better late than never. #
- 19:52 PS Celeb spot while on my way to a meeting at Kings Cross today: Mathew Horne from from Gavin & Stacey. #
- 21:01 @rhino75 That's what someone at work said to me today. First episode was a little slow I thought but I imagine there is a lot of set up. #
- 21:02 @davidquinn OK, I won't. #
- 21:07 Clip of David Tenant as Hamlet from the film to be released in Dec. I know it won't be as good as seeing it live... bit.ly/4dYGLA #
- 07:34 Off to see Muse tonight. Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. Got to go to Ebbsfleet for work on the new high speed train first though. #
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In case you haven't noticed, men's fashion is taking a turn toward the dapper. Don't believe me? Well, you could just take a look around the next time you're walking down the street. Or, you could read these excerpts from the NY Times style-section article This Just in From the 1890s. Personally, I love the look!
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Drawing the line between polish and pretension is trickier, especially when last year’s costume can be this year’s classic, and next year’s yawn. Just consider the steady infiltration of 19th-century haberdashery into the 21st-century wardrobe. Garment after garment has arrived on the scene that one might think more Gilbert and Sullivan than Bergdorf and Goodman, only to be taken up by the young beards.
Not long ago, big brass-buttoned military coats looked a bit extreme. So did high-button, high-lapel vests and slim tweed trousers. And so did guys who tucked said trousers into high, old-fashioned hunting boots. Now these clothes (along with those ever-present beards and mustaches) look like downtown defaults compared with fall runway looks like cardinal-red tailcoats at Ralph Lauren, capes and bowlers at Alexander McQueen and knee breeches at Robert Geller.
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The antiquarian aesthetic is far-reaching, with tendrils in the worlds of art (as in the work of the fashionable painter Walton Ford, opening Thursday night at the Paul Kasmin Gallery in Chelsea) and film (as in “There Will Be Blood,” “The Prestige” and, next month, “Sherlock Holmes”). But it has made its deepest inroads in interior design and men’s fashion. Just as in the late 1990s, when mid-century Modernism seemingly infiltrated every apartment, men’s wear shop and restaurant, this messier, cozier and more idiosyncratic Victorian dandyism is now reaching into all sorts of fashionable spots.
It decks the dark wood-paneled walls of the trendy Jane Hotel and the Bowery Hotel and A-list-y restaurants like the Spotted Pig and the Breslin. Somehow the look seems even more sincere in Brooklyn eateries like Vinegar Hill House and Marlow & Sons and in antique shops like Obscura Antiques & Oddities in the East Village and Luddite in Williamsburg.
Similarly, the look’s most popular components — tweedy vests, woolen trousers, henley undershirts, dark wool ties, scratchy cotton shirts — appear to have an added dose of authenticity when unearthed in tucked-away shops like Amoskeag XX and Against Nature on the Lower East Side, or Hollander & Lexer in Brooklyn. Often they are made in New York by small labels like Engineered Garments and Freemans Sporting Club, Mr. Somer’s line.
...
Part of the appeal, in fact, is in how the clothes relate not to the runways or the estates of Europe, but to America’s heartland in ways that few fashions do. Country and city men alike have rediscovered old-school American brands like Filson, Orvis, L. L. Bean and Duluth Pack. Obsolete hobbies like wet-plate photography are finding new enthusiasts; long-outmoded farming practices are being revived. Even deer hunting with old-fashioned muzzleloaded rifles, which have to be loaded with gunpowder, a musket ball and a ramrod, has come back in force in some states.
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This flamboyance is part of a curious new movement called Tweed Rides, informal gatherings of spiffily dressed ladies and gents cycling leisurely through town and disdaining finish lines. Tweed Rides began in London earlier this year and have spread this fall to Boston, San Francisco and Chicago. As the directions for this weekend’s Tweed Ride in Washington, D.C., put it: “Leave the fleece, Lycra and outer shell at home. This ride is for the dandy.”
Eric Brewer, a gallery owner who founded Dandies and Quaintrelles, the group that is organizing the Washington ride, said that the idea was not to come out in costume. “There are all kinds of societies that are about dressing up in period costume and then going back to your oversize jeans the next day,” he said. “This is about style as a way of being.” (You can’t help imagining a kind of upside-down remake of “The Wild Ones,” in which a gang of elegant men in knee breeches riding old Raleigh three-speeds descend on an unsuspecting town and freak everyone out with their impeccable manners.)
...
As always, the look works only if you don’t go too far. In “Sherlock Holmes,” set in 1880s London, the detective, played by Robert Downey Jr., has a penchant for over-the-top disguise. But Guy Ritchie, the film’s director, so admired the more dignified three-piece tweed suits created for Holmes’s sober sidekick, Watson (played by a mustachioed Jude Law), that he asked the costume designer Jenny Beavan for some of the fabric so he could have his own made.
It is worth noting, too, how well 19th-century elements fit into the modern wardrobe, especially since many of them — peacoats, vests, fedoras — had a revival or two in the 20th century. And as formal or old-fashioned as some of the attire may seem, most of it goes surprisingly well with the 19th century’s most enduring fashion legacy, a special kind of trousers invented in California by a man named Levi Strauss.
Maybe you’ve heard of them?
I have a nose infection. Yeah, a nose infection. It's pretty painful.
Earlier today I went to the doctor and got some antibiotics. Here are some photos of the damage.
Here, you can see it protruding a bit on the right side.
As my European adventure comes to a close, a lot of people have come to me with questions about how I made the move abroad and how they might be able to do the same. When I was applying to grad school two years ago (I can't believe it's been two years!) and doing some research on how to do so, I found online resources surprisingly slim. That is why I've decided to construct of list of helpful advice to potential expatriates. Remember: only 13% of Americans have active passports. Expats are among the few and the proud.
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From the outside, making the move to Europe may seem a lot harder than it actually is. Logistically, it really is very simple — a job or university placement, a visa, and some money. Psychologically and emotionally, it may be a bit more challenging but what it really boils down to is one question: How bad do you want it?
Personally, I left long-term employment, a four-year relationship, my family, my friends, and my dogs (with my mom). I'd be lying if I said these sacrifices were easy — they weren't — and I'm well aware that some people are not prepared to do such. It taught me that I could accomplish anything with hard work and sacrifice. The only bounds are those which we impose on ourselves. Of course, this excludes ridiculous concepts such as walking through walls, telepathy, and making myself invisible. My point is, if you put in the effort — that is, if you jump through all the necessary hoops, incur the debt, and make all the sacrifices — it will most likely happen. Honestly, even though I'm, $35K in the hole after my year-and-a-half studying abroad, I wouldn't trade my experiences (or my master's degree) for the world.
Now, let's get down to the practicalities. The following is a list of helpful advice and tidbits I've learned and collected ever since moving to Glasgow in September 2008.
Visas.
They're
expensive and you can't apply for them until three months before you
actually come here. With that, you have to provide proof of an offer
from the university, proof of an accommodation offer (don't live in
student housing, I'll get to that later), and proof of funding.
"Uni."
Take time with your application and, specifically, your cover
letter. I truly believe that my cover letter and my portfolio are what got me into so many universities in the UK. Well, that and the collegiate thirst for exorbitant non-EU tuition fees. At any rate, I wasn't exactly a bad undergrad but I did have a
few instances where I kind of effed up — a semester of snoozing through Chemistry or a summer of boozing through Biology. If you're like me, your cover
letter can help clear up these blemishes and even set you apart from the rest of the application masses.
Housing.
Don't live in
student housing. Even though my anxious mother begged me to "play it safe" and even though it really did seem like a good idea at first, in the end it was a mistake.
Sure, I met my future flatmate Alissa through dorm life and, through Alissa, my boyfriend Nick, but all and all it's expensive, intrusive, and you'll feel like you've regressed a decade. Trust me, you'll
save so much money by staying in a hostel for the week after you arrive
(you really only need a couple of days, really), going on Gumtree (look
under the "Flats to Share" section), and finding a cheap place. Nick did this and found a flat within a day. I know that an ingrained American paranoia says that meeting roommates online is just asking to get chopped up into the little bits but it's safe, I promise. Really, almost everybody does it like that over here.
Stuff.
Conveniently, most accommodations in Europe are furnished, unlike many places in the States. That means all you really need is a bag of clothes and some toiletries (or not, after all it is Europe).
Funding.
This is a doozy. I went through
Sallie Mae for my Stafford and Grad PLUS loans. I wouldn't recommend
getting the Grad PLUS because the interest is very high. Instead, get a
job when you get here. Like, immediately when you get here. It'll save
you a lot of debt.
Jobs.
In order to get a job in the UK you
need to acquire a National Insurance Number (NIN). It's not hard to acquire but you will have to undergo a
phone interview. Which brings me to...
A phone.
A "mobile," as
it is called in the UK. Avoid pay-as-you-go. People will tell you that
this is a good option, and it would be if you were only staying for a
three-month spell. Just get on a year plan. You'll save money, trust me.
Money.
The dollar is weak. We know this. That means you basically have to save double stateside, which
sucks because when you first get here all you'll only think in dollars. When I first moved here I was such a cheapskate! "I'm not paying £2 for a carton of milk – that's almost $5!"
Once you get in the pound frame of mind and stop using your dollars from back home, you'll see that everything is relative.
Travel.
Do
as much as you can. You'd be surprised how prison-like UK towns can
become when you don't have a car. That's why it's important to get out every once in a
while, catch a Ryanair (Europe's discount airline) flight, and go somewhere cool. Only thing about Ryanair
is that the deals seem really good, save the fact that they always fly
into airports outside of major cities and you always end up spending
about what you would've spent if you flew EasyJet from a major airport.
Not feeling altogether healthy today, so have been lying a little upon my bed. I have the blinds open and a crow is spending large amounts of time sitting on the lamp post outside my bedroom window and looking in at me. It flies away and then returns to take up its post again. I am not overly superstitious, but I am starting to get a little spooked out by the damn crow. I would indeed like to stone the damn thing.
Look you saggy bag of black feathers take your business somewhere else! SHOO!
Yesterday Mr FD and I experienced two ends of customer service - the good, the bad and the bad was ugly.
As mentioned in a previous post, Mr FD and I have been in the process of buying a car for the company that Mr FD is currently setting up. He started some two week ago on this process and he told everyone involved that he needed the car to leave on an extended trip last Monday. He just wanted the basic car, happy to choose from the colours on the show floor. Wanted no extras - oh except floor mats which now cost $180AUS for 4 rubber floor mats! Mr FD made call after call, repeating his need and his deadline. No one listened. They all heard what they wanted to hear, and then covered up with excuses of "fax didn't arrive" , "missed the deadline and head office won't process until tomorrow" and "they are out of the office and I'll leave theme a message" . Where do you leave the message? On the toilet wall of the business next door?
Anyway, we finally got the call to collect the car. We made an appointment for 2.30pm. When we arrived our saleswoman was nowhere to be seen. She was out on a test drive with another customer, even though we had an appointment and knew Mr FD had to leave that afternoon on an extended trip. A number of salesmen walked by us without even acknowledging that we were human and breathed. Eventually we made enough noise to be noticed and demanded to be served. A very junior member of the team took us through signing the papers and then she found a poor salesman who had a leg in a cast and couldn't make an exit to go through the car with Mr. FD. I made little effort to make small talk with Junior Girl as she kept up this charade of our Saleswoman returning at any moment, weeping over her unintended absence. Oh yeah.
An hour later we are driving out of the show room and Saleswoman appears. She throws herself in fron of our car and reefs open Mr. FD's door and screams "Congratulations " as though we had just given birth and not gone into spasms more of heart breaking debt. Then she plants a big lipsticky kiss on his cheek, something that normally would have his heart go into overdrive. THEN she runs to the otherside of the car and reefs open MY door, and rubs her cheek against mine. I take particular note of her name badge and facial features to add her to my stick list. I had never met this woman before, Mr FD had only ever spoken to her over the phone. Not a word of "sorry" even though "I knew that you were driving an hour to get here, and had an appointment with me, and were short of time". Nope, She had our money and she was onto the next sale. Customer service? I think not. Next company car, and there will be one or two or three, won't be bought from her.
On the other side, earlier that morning, a real estate salesman left his comatose mother to drive over an hour to bring some papers to us for signing as he knew Mr. FD needed to sign them before he left yesterday. [We are renting warehouse space]. While we were signing, the LOVELY [HANDSOME] Salesman received a phone call to inform him that his mother had just woken from the coma. She had been involved in a car accident a day or so previously. So this man spends 3 hours away from his possibly dying mother as he knew how important his role was in the next step of Mr FD's business. [If we had known before the meeting we would have gone to his office]
Wait there is a 3rd tale of service. Mr FD is in the seed business, pasture seed mainly. He had bought some seed and organized for it to be sent to a depot for delivery. Yesterday morning there is a knock at our front door, Mr FD goes outside and there is a delivery truck driver outside. The delivery man says "Got a pallet of seed, here for you, mate." They sent the damn seed to our residential address despite Mr FD making it obvious the residential address was for billing purposes only! The poor delivery driver had in fact alerted his office that they were sending him to a residential address with a pallet of seed, but they wouldn't listen or double check the details, so the poor delivery driver drove across town only to be told that "yes, that is right, this is the wrong address", and to have to drive back across town to the depot.
So not only are they giving bad customer service to their customers but they are giving bad customer service to each other. Your co-workers deserve as much as your customers, if not more.
To me, it is easier to do the right thing, and to do the right thing first time around than to do to the pretence dance. And if MR FD asks you to help him make a deadline - just remember there is a Flamingo Dancer with a stick list standing behind him.
[Stick list : list of names of all the people I am going to hit with a stick one day soon]
Daughter1 just sent me the following quote of the day. Needless to say I agree with it!
'Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of sh-t.'
"If i could open my arms, and span the length of the isle of Manhattan;
I'll bring it to where you are, making a lake of the East River and Hudson.
If i could open my mouth, wide enough for a marching band to march out;
They would make your name sing, and bend through alleys and bounce off all the buildings."
What was your favorite class in high school? (And no, lunch doesn't count.)
The last one on a Friday.
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