Happy National Cream Tea Day 2023!

Today is National Cream Tea Day in the UK! Observed on the last Friday in June, this is a day to celebrate a distinctly British tradition. This afternoon snack is associated with the West Country...especially Dorset, Somerset, Cornwall, and Devon. Tea is accompanied by sconces with butter, jam, and of course clotted cream,hence the name. Devonshire cream is clotted cream made in Devon wnile Cornish cream is made in rival Cornwall. And there is great debate about what order to to apply toppings to a sconce: the Devonians insist cream goes first followed by jam (and of course they would since they make one of the most famouse clotted creams in the world) while the Cornish believe the jam goes on first and then cream. Either way, a scone with those toppings is heavenly.

Photo by Liyster

However, in the United States, this Cream Tea is often confused for Afternoon Tea or High Tea, both of which are altogether different.

The website High Tea gives a wonderful history on how the tradition got started:

In the 19th Century, it was customary for the upper classes in England to have their evening meal rather late, say 8:00-9:00 pm. It was understandable then that one might become hungry in the late afternoon.

Sometime around 1840, Anna Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, complained of a “sinking feeling” and requested that some light food and a pot of tea (usually Darjeeling) be brought to her private living quarters to help ward off her mid afternoon hunger. This light food probably included bread, butter, and perhaps biscuits.

The idea proved so successful that it soon became routine, and the Duchess decided to invite a few of her friends to her private rooms for tea in the afternoon. A new social event was born in which the invited guests would have an opportunity to meet with friends, catch up on the latest news, discuss recent events, etc.

The service would normally take place in the lady’s parlour, or withdrawing room, or boudoir and be served on low-decorative tables. Hence this event also became known as “low” tea.

The light food served with afternoon tea gradually evolved to include more elaborate fare such as crustless finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and a final course of sweets and pastries. The idea was to provide easy-to-manage portions suitable for entertaining in a sitting room.

The Duchess was lady-in-waiting and a lifelong friend to Queen Victoria, whom she introduced to the idea and, in so doing, gained an influential supporter. The trend gained popularity, and it soon became a fashionable pastime of the upper classes. To meet this new demand, English china manufacturers, linen makers, and silversmiths began turning out fine accoutrements to be used in the service of afternoon tea.

As you can see, the Afternoon Tea, served between 3:30 and 5PM, is what is often confused for a High Tea. In the UK, High Tea is not something fancy but more of an actual meal that is served instead of supper. It includes much more hearty fare with meat, fish, and egg dishes. This evening meal is usually associated with the working class and is consuemd between 5 and 7PM.
But today is simple: enjoy a pot of tea with a sconce, some clotted cream, and some jam. Happy National Cream Tea Day!

https://www.creamteasociety.co.uk/

"A day in the water" by Christine and Queens

Wow, another exquisite song from Chris of Christine and the Queens. "A day in the water" is deceptive...it comes on soft but the persistent, lulling vibe is compelling, and Chris' vocals are penetrating even through the autotune. The narrative and imagery of the song is dreamlike, yearning, fragile. The extremely low ceiling and narrow space in which to exist (under water?) as well as the bandaged eyes all have an enigmatic sense, the meaning of which hovers at the corner of one's eye, just our of reach. His new album "Paranoïa, Angels, True Love" seems to be a giant leap forward in his career.

Do you want to spend a day?
Just a day in the water
Just a day like no other
Where nothing hurts your skin, yeah
Do you wanna know?
Do you want to feel the sun
But the sun from underwater
Nothing burning your shoulders
Nothing hurts within, yeah
Do you wanna know? Yeah

Deeper, and the deeper
Deeper, deeper that I go
Softer, it get softer
It get softer, softer, I don't know
Father, oh father, oh father
Oh father, let me go
I don't want it no more

I hear them talking about it
It sounds like the same old song
I see them worry about it
I'm so far ago, they can't be wrong
I know it's obvious
I'm flying from what I can see
So let mе be
Let me bе

Do you want to spend a day
(A day in the water)
And stay in the water
And then taking another
(Oh, I can't take no more, yeah)
Do you wanna know?
(Do you wanna know?)
You never know what it's like
To be just in the water
And it looks like a mirror
But it blurs it all, yeah
Do you wanna know? (Oh)

Deeper, and the deeper (Deeper)
Deeper (Deeper), deeper (Deeper), that I go
Softer, it get softer (Softer)
Get softer (Softer), get softer (Softer), I don't know
Father, oh father (Father), oh father (Father)
Oh father (Father), let me go
I don't want it no more

I hear them talking about it
It sounds like the same old song
I see them worry about it
I'm so far ago, they can't be wrong
I know it's obvious
I'm flying from what I can see
So let me be
Let me be

https://www.christineandthequeens.com/

Happy Pride Anniversary 2023!

HAPPY PRIDE ANNIVERSARY!

Fifty-four years ago today, a bunch of fed-up drag queens, hustlers, and assorted gay misfits at the Stonewall Inn in New York turned the tables on yet another unnecessary, unfair, harassing police raid. That resistance gave rise to a series of riots and ultimately to the birth of the modern gay activist movement. It seems like a long time ago, and while a few laws and minds have changed, we still have a way to go, and a lot more irrational fear, hatred, bigotry, and misconceptions to fight...especially considering the vicious wave of LGBT+--specifically Trans--hatred sweeping across our country.

We celebrate Pride Month and recognize Pride Day because it is a positive stance against the daily shame, social stigma, discrimination, and violence that the LGBT community still faces. In fact, a recent report from the policy research Williams Institute at UCLA showed that LGBT+ people in the United States are NINE TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN NON-LGBT+ PEOPLE TO BE THE VICTIMS OF VIOLENT HATE CRIMES. Gay youth are routinely kicked out of their homes and disowned by their families, gay kids and teens and young adults are routinely bullied or attacked or beaten and many end up committing suicide because they are told they are sick or going to hell, and many gay and trans men and women are attacked and beaten and murdered--sometimes in their own homes. That’s why Congress must pass the Equality Act to outlaw discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and stem the frightening tide of over five hundred anti-LGBT+ bills in state legislatures this year alone across the United States. 

Because the LGBT Pride celebration is about the right of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals to exist without being prosecuted, persecuted, attacked, or murdered, not about "not being straight."

So today, we thank and celebrate all the brave individuals at the Stonewall uprising and the ensuing riots for saying, "ENOUGH. I AM A HUMAN BEING AND I DEMAND TO BE TREATED AS ONE!"

While The Stonewall Inn was already part of the city-designated Greenwich Village Historic District, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, it became an official New York City landmark on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 in order to preserve the site and honor its historic importance. Most importantly, on June 24, 2016, the Stonewall Inn was named the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the gay rights movement.

There is a very nice, informative, and moving Wiki entry about the riots and the history leading up to them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots

Know Your Hats

Not mentioned and missed: a boater, a beret, a shako, a fedora, a deerstalker (!), a Phrygian cap, a flat cap and its brother the newsboy cap, a campaign hat, a toque, a bucket hat, a Cordobes hat, and bicornes and tricornes.

BEAUTY: Clothing--Paris Fashion Week Misc.

Well, Paris Fashion Week--and the entire fashion month--for men wrapped yesterday (London was a bust so it's really down to the week at Milan and the week of Paris). Here are some miscellaneous elements that caught my eye from PFW for Spring Summer 2024.

Burç Akyol continued this season's trend of sheer tops (extending it to pants and bodysuits!), exaggerated suiting, and sensuous wrapping with some exceptional pieces...his site biography says he: "FOCUSES ON ELEVATED ESSENTIALS OF THE WARDROBE, ADORNED WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SILKY REVEALING DETAILS AND BLACK SATIN FRAMINGS."

Yep.

Paul Smith had a fun trompe l'oeil moment...pants and vest were printed with sunlight slicing through Venetian blinds while a shirt was printed with a jacket!

Speaking of prints, Comme des Garçons SHIRT paired with the Andy Warhol Estate to put some of the artist's silkscreen paintings of celebrities on button ups, tees, and sweatshirts. You can see Elizabeth Taylor, Muhammad Ali, Marilyn Monroe, and of course the King of Pop Art himself.

Jun Takashi of Undercover said men’s and women’s fashion was getting ever closer, although his approach to design remains the same. "Fashion should offer hope in the darkness, and make us dream." His eclectic collection featured fabric that looked like antique tapestries, Aubusson carpets, and upholstery fabric from the 50s. But check out the studded tops on those amazing ankle boots!

Speaking of shoes, Armani showed some really beautiful sandals, a cross between a classic T-strap and an espadrille with knotted rope detailing on the side. In white and navy. *sigh*

And just like last SS '23 when Dolce and Gabbana and Armani showed wonderful double wrap belts (here), Hermès showed their version.

https://www.burcakyol.com/
https://www.paulsmith.com/
https://www.comme-des-garcons.com/
https://www.armani.com/
https://www.hermes.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dior Homme

After seven years at Vuitton, Creative Director Kim Jones OBE has been at Dior for five years now. But he is indeed a busy man, taking over Fendi's womenswear collections after the death of Karl Lagerfeld. His influences and sartorial language are studied and varied, so for this SS '24 collection at Paris Fashion Week, he looked back in the Christian Dior archives to past collections. He pulled from previous Dior Creative Directors  Yves Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferré, and Marc Bohan, and used a rattan cane pattern from Dior himself. We get here a sense of an old, venerable fashion house...through cuts, Jones invokes the 1950s explosion of fashion with "the new silhouette"  but expressed in menswear. Like many other designers now, we get a sense of elements that might be traditionally feminine applied in a neutral way. The thing that tickles me the most is Jones' bejeweled knitwear tops and jackets inspired by 1950s women's sweater sets which were often embellished with pearls, sequins and gold or silver metallic thread, and worn simply robed over the shoulders and not with arms in the sleeves. The silhouette, cuts, patterns, colors, and presentation absolutely have a charming retro vibe.

Collection aside, please please please do look at the video of the collection to see the incredible staging and wow factor of the startling, opening moments!

https://www.dior.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dries van Noten

Dries Van Noten is known as a master of pattern but his last few collections have been about color and cut. And this SS '24 collection at Paris Fashion Week continued that theme.

Of the collection, Van Noten said, "We wanted to make it a study of elegance. To make it very masculine. So we asked what is masculinity now? And how we can make elegance also young, and interesting to the young?... I think streetwear is one thing, and it’s fantastic, but I also think people want more ways to dress to express who they are, and to enjoy."

Indeed, we are seeing quite an adjustment to the vernacular of menswear across the board, from all designers. I think the parameters have shifted. It is no longer unusual to see a designer send a "skirt for a man" down the runway. They are now just called skirts: no one gasps anymore. And this season so far we have seen many designers who are playing with the contrast of suiting against a sense of flou with one-shouldered organza tops or sheer button-ups or pullovers (Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, EGONlab). This adjusted vernacular is the introduction of garments that used to be thought of as only for women, but scaled and fit for men. Here, Van Noten folds long skirts and tunic dresses into some truly stunning, loose and sensuous suiting options (I love the extremely generous cut of the trousers!). I adore how these suits are cut and how they are worn...with a slinky sense of sprezzatura. We see several sheer tops, silks, and even sequins (see the shirts in looks 12 and 25, and shorts in look 13--sequins in anyone else's hands could end feeling a little lurid but Van Noten manages to use them as beautiful texture) yet notice the fantastic use of wool herringbone! The delicious color palette (russet, plum, pumpkin, caramel, mustard, bronze) brings this all together. Masterful.

https://www.driesvannoten.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Yohji Yamamoto

I always love seeing a Yohji Yamamoto collection...the highly regarded and highly decorated designer is one of those elevated, iconic artists who are singular. While I love when a designer takes inspiration, or inspirationS from some wild, fascinating, interesting source, Yamamoto exists in a realm of his own mythology, much like Rick Owens. Yamamoto has his own sartorial vernacular and his own internal logic. His creations--Asian and Western elements combined into a future/retro (sometimes ecclesiastical) sensibility, layered and slouchy Bohemian-chic garments, flowing asymmetrical cuts, all awash with an insouciant, rippling sense of Romanticism worthy of any French Symbolist poet--are timeless, since they are not necessarily tethered to anything outside of their orbit.

So for this 2024 Spring Summer collection shown at Paris Fashion Week, Yamamoto showed his usual oeuvre with some variations on a theme. The self-proclaimed King of Black has been using more color in his collections the past few seasons and we see a bit of white and red here although his justification for the blood red is a little grim: "There is so much going wrong in the world; when I think of all these bad things I just think of blood." We also see prints in this collection which is not unusual but this time he blew up illustrations for art books spanning the Middle Ages to our current age. The prints become a beacon on the long, draping shorts and the flowing kimono-like coats. And to top it off, he introduced raw, unfinished edges and safety pins holding sections together on many garments. As fashion journalist Odunayo Ojo remarked in his Vogue review of the collection, "It’s very difficult to create unfinished garments that look well made. It’s a testament to Yamamoto’s design acumen that you can see the skill that goes into creating that balance between rawness and perfection." Well said.

Please do take a look at the video to see how the pieces move on the body when in motion.

https://www.yohjiyamamoto.co.jp/

BEAUTY: Clothing--John Alexander Skelton

Regular readers know I love clothing that has an historical sense, which can manifest in the silhouette, the patterns and cuts, and of course in choices of color and materials. It is why I love the work of Westwood, Yamamoto, Anne Demeulemeester when she was head of her own house, the swashbuckling collections of Galliano, even Armani in his refined luxury. But the work of John Alexander Skelton is extraordinary. Skelton (previously here--please do take a look at some incredible past collections), who was awarded the Sarabande scholarship granted by the Lee Alexander McQueen Foundation and graduated from Central Saint Martin’s with an M.A. in fashion men’s wear in 2016, usually works closely with weavers and mills across England to create handcrafted silhouettes that reference Dickensian/19th-century menswear such as frock coats and high-waisted trousers. Treatments like hand-dying, hand washing, and patching are recurrent features in his collections, lending a romanticism to his work which I just love.

So for his Spring Summer '24 collection, presented as a lookbook photographed at a community garden in the suburb of Herne Hill in south London, Skelton looked to nature. He said, "After last season, I kept thinking about people being connected to nature and how it might benefit society at large. I was thinking: How is that possible in a modern context?...If I’d tried to do a collection based on gardening quite literally, it would have been quite boring." So instead, we get oblique references to gardening with some lovely botanical wood-block prints and horticultural embroideries, as well as patterns that feel like a William Morris wallcovering. His usual dark palette is lightened here, and there is even a rather summery rose and white striped short set (look 17)! But we still have the frock coat cut, a plethora of buttons, and a wonderful mix of canvas, linen, silk, and artisanal linen. It feels historical but eclectically current as well. (Also: kudos to Skelton for using mature models.)

https://www.johnalexanderskelton.com/
https://www.instagram.com/skeltonjohn

BEAUTY: Clothing--Rick Owens

Rick Owens (previously here) is one of the most original designers working today, continually managing to create clothing that is at once disturbingly alien and comfortably familiar (who doesn't know a leather motorcycle jacket?) within a restrained vernacular entirely--and impressively--of his own invention. I will let his show notes for this Spring Summer collection shown at Paris Fashion Week speak:

SS24 LIDO MEN’S
THURSDAY 22 JUNE 2023, 12H30
PALAIS DE TOKYO, 13 AVENUE DU PRÉSIDENT WILSON, 75116 PARIS

WITH OUR WORLD CONDITIONS UNDER INCREASING THREAT, JUBILANCE SEEMS LIKE THE WRONG NOTE BUT MAYBE IT’S THE ONLY CORRECT MORAL RESPONSE? BEYOND BEING NICE TO EACH OTHER, ISN’T PERSONAL JOY WHAT WE ARE PUT ON EARTH TO DO? CONSIDERING JOY A MORAL OBLIGATION, I PROPOSE A GRIM, DETERMINED ELEGANCE, ALL IN A FORMAL, RESTRAINED, ALBEIT ADMITTEDLY DRAMA QUEEN, BLACK. HOW ONE HANDLES ADVERSITY IS WHAT DEFINES ONE’S CHARACTER.
STRICT STRUCTURED TROUSERS IN WOOL, SILK OR COTTON FAILLE ARE HIGH AND CINCH WAISTED AND SKIM THE LEG FLARING OUT TO DRAG ON THE FLOOR, AND ARE PAIRED WITH SILK OR LEATHER T-SHIRTS THAT WRAP AND STRETCH AND TWIST AND DRAPE AROUND THE UPPER TORSO.
CROPPED TAILORED JKTS IN GOTS CERTIFIED ORGANIC COTTON ORGANDY OR SILK GAZAR HAVE TRANSPARENT SILK ORGANZA LININGS TO REVEAL THE INTRICATE CONFECTION OF THE INNER CONSTRUCTION. SHARPLY EXTENDED SHOULDERS ARE CAUGHT WITH A SKINNY KNIT SLEEVE TO CONTROL THE VOLUME AND ELONGATE THE ARM.
THIS CONSTRUCTION IS EXTENDED TO COATS THAT CREATE AN IMPOSING SILHOUETTE WHILE BEING AIRY AND LIGHT AS A FEATHER THANKS TO THE MILLE-FEUILLE CONSTRUCTION OF THE THINNEST, LIGHTEST, CRISP LAYERS OF SHEEREST SILKS. SILK ALSO COMES IN WEIGHTLESS HABOTAI USED FOR SHIRTS, TUNICS AND ROBES THAT FLOAT AROUND THE FIGURE IN CONSTANT MOVEMENT. ALL SILKS IN THIS COLLECTION ARE WOVEN IN THE COMO REGION A FEW HOURS DRIVE FROM OUR FACTORY.
TAILORING ALSO COMES IN PURE WOOL GRAIN DE POUDRE WOVEN FOR US AS PART OF A CAPSULE IN COLLABORATION WITH BONOTTO, A 4TH GENERATION TEXTILE MILL FOUNDED IN 1912 SITUATED JUST BELOW THE PREALPS IN VENETO, ITALY. WOVEN ON 1950S JAPANESE LOOMS, WITH RWS CERTIFIED WOOL WHICH ENSURES A HIGH STANDARD IN ANIMAL WELFARE, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, EACH BALE OF WOOL IS TRACEABLE BACK TO ITS SOURCE. BONOTTO ALSO INCIDENTALLY HAS ONE OF THE LARGEST FLUXUS ART COLLECTIONS IN THE WORLD.
SHORTS, TANK TOPS, AND JKTS ARE MADE IN OILY CALF LEATHER VEG TANNED USING WOODEN DRUMS IN SANTA CROCE SULL’ARNO, TUSCANY, ITALY BY A SMALL FAMILY OWNED TANNERY WITH A LWG GOLD RATING. THE LWG CERTIFICATION ENSURES TRACEABILITY OF RAW MATERIALS, HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS, AND EFFICIENT USE OF ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION IN THE TANNING PROCESS.
FROM A CONTINUING CAPSULE MADE IN JAPAN, WE PRESENT LEATHER JACKETS MADE IN 1MM OIL WAX CALF LEATHER, TANNED IN TATSUNO, HYŌGO PREFECTURE AND SEWN IN ATSUGI, KANAGAWA PREFECTURE.
CUTOFF SHORTS AND CARGO PANTS ARE CUT IN 13OZ JAPANESE SELVEDGE DENIM, STONE WASHED, OVER-DYED AND WAXED AT OUR DENIM WASH HOUSE IN VENETO, ITALY USING ONLY ZDHC CERTIFIED PRODUCTS AND UTILIZING A WATER PURIFYING PROCESS THAT ENABLES THEM TO RECYCLE A LARGE PORTION OF THE WATER USED.
ALL JERSEY TOPS ARE IN GOTS CERTIFIED ORGANIC COTTON BY A MILL LOCATED 20KM FROM OUR HOME BASE IN CONCORDIA.
SILK BANDANAS COME PRINTED WITH AN IMAGE FROM RON ATHEY’S 2014 PERFORMANCE ‘INCORRUPTIBLE FLESH’. I HAVE KNOWN AND ADMIRED RON SINCE THE 1980S AND HAVE MARVELLED AT THE AESTHETIC HE HAS DEVELOPED AND FULLY COMMITTED HIMSELF TO SINCE THEN.
SHOES COME IN A SANDAL VERSION OF LAST SEASON’S SPLINT BOOTS IN A HEELED VERSION AND TWO HEIGHTS OF FLAT SOLES. THERE IS ALSO A TRIPLE STRAPPED HOOF SPLINT. LIKE HAVING LEATHER PILLOWS STRAPPED TO YOUR FEET.
I RECENTLY REALISED THAT FEW KNOW OUR LABELS HAVE BEEN HAND STAMPED IN OUR VILLAGE FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS BY GIORGIA MALAVASI, A RETIRED RELATION OF ONE OF OUR TEAM. HAND STAMPED LABELS WERE ONE OF THE THINGS I DIDN’T WANT TO CHANGE WHEN I STARTED PRODUCING MY FIRST COLLECTIONS INDUSTRIALLY IN ITALY AND WILL CONTINUE THIS TRADITION AS LONG AS THIS LABEL EXISTS.

https://www.rickowens.eu/