QC Loves: Photographer Ditte Isager
January 29th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
From Isager’s series, Horse Riders Journal, Fall 2011
Horse Riders Journal, Spring 2011
Fashion and dressage? Consider me signed up.
Loving this photography series by Ditte Isager.
Photographer born and raised in Copenhagen Denmark. Living in NYC since 2006. Shooting interiors, personalities, lifestyle and travel. The style is simple nordic. Working with contrast in materials, light, color and objects. Inspiration comes from the light in the Dutch masters, storytelling and effects from motion pictures and the style, character and layers of NY.
Rabbit Hole: Vintage Travel Posters
January 28th, 2012 § 1 Comment
In love!
A beautiful collection of vintage travel posters is currently available at Vintage Seekers. To view and purchase these and more, head here.
Desired Destination: Yosemite National Park
January 27th, 2012 § 2 Comments
Too amazing not to share. Definitely watch this full screen!
Via Project Yosemite.
Would you believe I was born and raised in California and have yet to visit Yosemite National Park? After viewing this, our very first national park (technically, as it was created in 1864, ahead of Yellowstone in 1872) has made a massive jump on my shortlist of Desired Destinations.
Have you been? Should I camp?*
*Please note that I have never once in my life been camping.**
**My Mother would beg to differ on this point (please see below). I shall respond by saying that spending a weekend in a massive RV with a microwave and cable television is not really camping.
The Arteries of New York City, 1941
January 26th, 2012 § 1 Comment
“Manhattan acts like a heart”
A lovely documentary by Encyclopedia Britannica Films on the myriad of transportation options to and from Manhattan available to the New Yorkers and New Jerseyans of 1941. Great images of commuters, the subway, trains, buses, Grand Central, the New Jersey ferry system and — the very best part — my office building on Fifth Avenue at the 5.27 mark.
As a native Californian, mass transit is still a relatively new development in my life, but come next rush hour I will definitely be thinking of the generations of Manhattan strap hangers that have come before me. I only wish the commuters of today looked just as stylish.
Commuting Through Time: New York
January 26th, 2012 § 1 Comment
A few places I pass by every day on my daily commute…
Grand Central Terminal
Fifth Avenue.
The “hidden” City Hall stop…
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
A Night at the Met
January 25th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I caught a lovely production of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca at the New York Metropolitan Opera tonight, and just wanted to share a few pictures I snapped. The opera house is one of my favorite places in New York, with its massive Chagall murals, starry dreamlike chandeliers and copious amounts of red velvet — the opera ends up being a bonus! I’m also hoping to catch Massenet’s Manon, starring Anna Netrebko — I saw her perform the title role a few years ago at the Los Angeles Opera and loved her.
Angela Gheorghiu as Tosca.
Vissi d’arte (I have lived for art).
Luciano Pavarotti as Cavaradossi.
E lucevan le stelle (When the stars were brightly shining).
Desired Destination: Siena
January 24th, 2012 § 3 Comments
Church of San Domenico, Siena.
With all the dispatches a few weeks back from Florence for Pitti Immagine Uomo, my thoughts couldn’t help but turn to the time I spent studying abroad in the same city. I loved living in Firenze, just off of Piazza Savonarola, in a tiny and charming apartment that originally served as servant’s quarters for a massive home owned by an old and aristocratic family. As I looked at the countless photographs of the peacocking at the trade shows, I couldn’t help but look past the — well-dressed, of course — men, to the city that was peeking around the edges, and remember what living in Tuscany felt like.
My latest Desired Destination is one of my favorite places in Tuscany: the tiny, medieval town of Siena. Approximately one hour south of Florence by car, Siena is noted for its sport, its fierce neighborhood loyalties, and its ancient history. The town is divided into seventeen contrade, or wards, each with distinct boundaries and identifiable symbols and animal mascots. While originally instated to provide military support and initially organized by trade, the contrade have evolved into extremely patriotic neighborhood associations: a resident of Siena will be baptized, married and eulogized, all within his or her contrade, and as you walk through the town, you’ll find the symbols prominently featured everywhere — as almost all contrade have declared rivals and allies, boundaries are very important. These rivalries reach a fever pitch during the Palio, a biannual horse race that has been run in Siena since the 14th century.
The symbol of Siena: Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf
Actually, this is Senius and Aschius, sons of Remus. (Thanks to Simon for the correction!)
“Legend has it that the city was founded by Remus’ sons Senius and Aschius who stole the statue of the she-wolf from Apollo’s temple. Senius rode a black horse, Aschius a white steed. Those colours form the city’s heraldic colour scheme black and white while the city emblem is the same as Rome – the she-wolf and breast-feeding twins.” Via.
Palazzo Salimbeni, piazza Salimbeni.
Headquarters of the oldest bank in the world, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena,
which has been in operation since 1472.
Piazza del Campo.
The Palio is run in Siena’s historic center, the Piazza del Campo. Spectators fill the Piazza to the brim, with wealthier spectators enjoying the view from balconies above. With layers of dirt packed over the stone, the horses and riders must complete three loops around the Piazza as fast as possible. Complicating matters are the Piazza’s sharp turns and the fact that the jockeys must ride bareback – injuries are frequent and it is not uncommon for horses to compete and win the race after discarding their graceless riders. At each race, ten contrade are represented, alliances are tested and rampant bribery is rumored, in this ultimate competition for bragging rights and glory that is much unchanged since it was first run in the 14th century.
Spectators in the Piazza del Campo, 1947. Photos by Walter Sanders for LIFE.
Each contrade brings their horse into their church for a pre-race blessing.
Horse racing not your thing? Fear not. Siena’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site assures that there is something for almost everyone, especially if you like art and churches. There are the beautiful secular frescoes in the Palazzo Pubblico and the amazingly elaborate Duomo di Siena to see. However, if you prefer to simply wander about the old winding streets, I wouldn’t argue. And definitely bring home some of the beautiful and brightly painted ceramics Siena is known for – contrade specific, of course.
For accommodations, turn to Hotel Certosa di Maggiano. Originally a Carthusian monastery built in 1394, the property changed hands and fell into disrepair until it was purchased in 1969 and eventually converted by Anna Grossi Recordati into the luxury hotel it is today. Surrounded by six acres of countryside and boasting one of the best restaurants in the world, chef Paolo Lopriore’s Il Canto, the Hotel Certosa di Maggiano is a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of Siena, conveniently located only one kilometer from the town.
Images via Hotel Certosa di Maggiano.
Currently closed for the winter, this darling hotel is set to reopen on March 16.
Perhaps I should book a room for when Pitti rolls around again in June…
Strada di Certosa, 82
0577 288 180
Remix: Il Palazzo
January 24th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Il Palazzo
Prada Fall Winter 2012 by Miuccia Prada
What Power Art Thou (The Cold Genius)
Aria from King Arthur by Henry Purcell, 1690
(Klaus Nomi’s version is even more famous)
Plaza
by John Foxx, 1980
Wants: Maslin & Co. Towel and Holster
January 24th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Who isn’t in need a zebra skin-patterned beach towel, complete with a lovely leather holster? This beach essential has just the right amount of exoticism for your next poolside safari, without having all the attendant guilt that a real zebra skin might give some — and I also bet the towel is a good deal more absorbent. Available in navy, beige and coral, it is the initial product offering of Maslin & Co., a new Australian-based label specializing in “well-crafted resort particulars.” Now, just think how perfectly striking you would be, perched atop this lovely towel. The cabana boys wouldn’t know what to do with themselves.
To purchase, head here.
You Beautiful Dames!
January 23rd, 2012 § Leave a Comment
The kind of extravagant and geometric choreography
only Busby Berkeley could be behind.
From Dames, 1934.
The Ivy Coed {Jil Sander Pre-Fall 2012}
January 23rd, 2012 § 2 Comments
Taking design inspiration from the mid-century American college student isn’t particularly innovative these days. In fact, it can sometimes seem like designers are perennially stuck in those hallowed years between childhood and adulthood, where the most pressing matters of the day are studying for a midterm or rushing the right house. Particularly if said years are spent in one of the more storied institutions, such as the colleges of the Ivy League. This was perhaps most recently and significantly evidenced by the recent reissue and popularity of Teruyoshi Hayashida’s 1965 book Take Ivy, a collection photographs of Ivy style, and its appearance in bookstores and J.Crew stores alike.
But here is where we shall take a step back, because we should note that the conversation above is truly about men and menswear (and perhaps menswear-influenced womenswear by extension). When was the last time we’ve seen the college coed honored, and not as a caricature — not as a girl in boy’s clothing — but truly female? Honestly, I cannot recall, sadly. Which is why the Jil Sander Pre-fall 2012 collection is so exciting to me.
For Jil Sander, designer Raf Simons has honored the collegiate woman. Not content to merely reproduce — the quagmire that menswear frequently finds itself mired in — Simons’s reinvention of familiar forms is refreshing and startlingly well-executed, especially in the case of outerwear. The presentation of the designs in a campaign that echoes Hayashida’s photographs, in group portraits that recall sororities and ladies’ clubs, is a stroke of genius and I couldn’t resist pulling up a few real ones. You know me.
SMU sorority, taken by John Dominis, 1951.
Alpha Kappa Alpha at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1946.
Vassar College.
Bryn Mawr. Taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt , 1956.
Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority at University of Kansas, Lawrence.
Taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1939.
Vassar College.
Vassar College.
Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, University of Kansas, Lawrence.
Taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1939.
Wellesley College, taken by Nina Leen, 1949.
Images via Vogue, the Vassar Archives, and the LIFE Archives.
Field Notes: First Snow
January 23rd, 2012 § Leave a Comment
A few moments from a very lovely and very snowy winter weekend in NYC,
captured via Instagram. You can find me at @quitecontinental.
Victoriana Dreams {Alexander McQueen Pre-Fall 2012}
January 19th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I’m not entirely sure what to do with myself.
My oh my, Sarah Burton’s 2012 pre-fall collection for Alexander McQueen is of the stuff my sartorial dreams are made of. Elaborate, dramatic and a bit Victorian at times, I especially love the nipped-in waists and full skirts. While definitely a bit too extravagant for application to my day-to-day wardrobe — hello, can we discuss that ethereal gown with the tulip sleeves? can. we. dis. cuss? – the inspiration here abounds. And truly, that’s all I ask from the House of Lee McQueen…
All images via Vogue.
Coming Attraction: Coriolanus
January 18th, 2012 § 1 Comment
Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in Coriolanus,
a modern adaptation of the tragedy by Shakespeare, with
Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave and Jessica Chastain costarring.
Opens January 20, 2012.
The Warlord Ascends
January 18th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
“Verily, among all the benefits which men derive from the favour of the Muses, none other is so great as that softening of the nature which is produced by culture and discipline, the nature being induced by culture to take on moderation and cast off excess. It is perfectly true, however, that in those days Rome held in highest honour that phase of virtue which concerns itself with warlike and military achievements, and evidence of this may be found in the only Latin word for virtue, which signifies really manly valour; they made valour, a specific form of virtue, stand for virtue in general.
And so Marcius, who was by nature exceedingly fond of warlike feats, began at once, from his very boyhood, to handle arms. And since he thought that adventitious weapons were of little avail to such as did not have their natural and native armour developed and prepared for service, he so practised himself in every sort of combat that he was not only nimble of foot, but had also such a weight in grapplings and wrestlings that an enemy found it hard to extricate himself. At any rate, those who from time to time contended with him in feats of courage and valour, laid the blame for their inferiority upon his strength of body, which was inflexible and shrank from no hardship.
He made his first campaign while yet a stripling, when Tarquin, who had been king of Rome, and then had been expelled, after many unsuccessful battles, staked his all, as it were, upon a final throw. Most of the people of Latium and many also of the other peoples of Italy were assisting him and marching with him upon Rome, to reinstate him there, not so much from a desire to gratify him, as because fear and envy led them to try to overthrow the growing power of the Romans. In the ensuing battle, which long favoured now this side and now that, Marcius, who was fighting sturdily under the eyes of the dictator, saw a Roman soldier struck down near by. He ran to him at once, stood in front of him, defended him, and slew his assailant. Accordingly, after the Roman general had won the day, he crowned Marcius, among the first, with a garland of oak leaves.”
Plutarch, Life of Coriolanus.
The basis of the Tragedy of Coriolanus by William Shakespeare.
Power Play: Prada Fall/Winter 2012
January 18th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
“Coriolanus has grown from man to dragon.”
“O, me alone! make you a sword of me.”
“I do beseech you,
By all the battles wherein we have fought,
By the blood we have shed together, by the vows
We have made to endure friends, that you directly
Set me against Aufidius and his Antiates;
And that you not delay the present, but,
Filling the air with swords advanced and darts,
We prove this very hour.”
As I delved deeper into the Tragedy of Coriolanus by Shakespeare, Miuccia Prada’s Fall Winter 2012 menswear collection debut in Milan last week felt perfectly spot-on, with its old-world, militaristic influences and dramatic staging — apart and aside from the appearances of actor/models Adrien Brody, Gary Oldman, Willem Dafoe, and Jamie Bell. While Style.com can give you a more in-depth look at the clothing, I felt Scott Schuman best captured the feel of the show in his moody and darkly-lit photos. Remarkably easy to envision any one of them demanding to be “made a sword,” is it not?
All images via the Sartorialist.
Text from the Tragedy of Coriolanus by William Shakespeare.
My Name is Caius Marcius Coriolanus.
January 18th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
“My name is Caius Marcius, who hath done
To thee particularly and to all the Volsces
Great hurt and mischief; thereto witness may
My surname, Coriolanus: the painful service,
The extreme dangers and the drops of blood
Shed for my thankless country are requited
But with that surname; a good memory,
And witness of the malice and displeasure
Which thou shouldst bear me: only that name remains;
The cruelty and envy of the people,
Permitted by our dastard nobles, who
Have all forsook me, hath devour’d the rest;
And suffer’d me by the voice of slaves to be
Whoop’d out of Rome. Now this extremity
Hath brought me to thy hearth; not out of hope–
Mistake me not–to save my life, for if
I had fear’d death, of all the men i’ the world
I would have ‘voided thee, but in mere spite,
To be full quit of those my banishers,
Stand I before thee here. Then if thou hast
A heart of wreak in thee, that wilt revenge
Thine own particular wrongs and stop those maims
Of shame seen through thy country, speed
thee straight,
And make my misery serve thy turn: so use it
That my revengeful services may prove
As benefits to thee, for I will fight
Against my canker’d country with the spleen
Of all the under fiends. But if so be
Thou darest not this and that to prove more fortunes
Thou’rt tired, then, in a word, I also am
Longer to live most weary, and present
My throat to thee and to thy ancient malice;
Which not to cut would show thee but a fool,
Since I have ever follow’d thee with hate,
Drawn tuns of blood out of thy country’s breast,
And cannot live but to thy shame, unless
It be to do thee service.”
Coriolan Overture by Beethoven
The Tragedy of Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
Whereto We Are Bound
January 18th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
“…think with thyself
How more unfortunate than all living women
Are we come hither: since that thy sight, which should
Make our eyes flow with joy, hearts dance with comforts,
Constrains them weep and shake with fear and sorrow;
Making the mother, wife and child to see
The son, the husband and the father tearing
His country’s bowels out. And to poor we
Thine enmity’s most capital: thou barr’st us
Our prayers to the gods, which is a comfort
That all but we enjoy; for how can we,
Alas, how can we for our country pray,
Whereto we are bound, together with thy victory,
Whereto we are bound? alack, or we must lose
The country, our dear nurse, or else thy person,
Our comfort in the country.”
Volumnia, mother of Coriolanus,
The Tragedy of Coriolanus by Shakespeare.
Scene illustration by Gavin Hamilton.
Style Icon: Anjelica Huston
January 16th, 2012 § 2 Comments
Spirit animal.
The number of girlcrushes that fondly claim the lovely Anjelica Huston must number in the majillions. I came to this realization after searching for images for this Style Icon post, and noticing the abundance of posts and the repetition of many well-loved photographs of Ms. Huston. So here, I’ve tried to offer a few new images to the mix, pulled mostly from her career as a model in Vogue via youthquakers and from a collection shot by Life Magazine on the set of her first film, A Walk with Love and Death, in 1969 (she’s 18 in the photos).
I have always loved the versatility and originality that Anjelica embodies. I love that she is a tall lady. That she is darkly handsome in a non-conventional manner. That she tends to make off-beat character choices. That she gets even more beautiful as she gets older. That she was involved with Jack Nicholson for over fifteen years. That she is a third generation Oscar winner. Ah, and her voice…
For further Anjelica love, check out Allison and Diana‘s posts.
You can also wander through the youthshakers archive.
Wants: Vanessa Bruno Crêpe de Chine
January 16th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Smartly tailored, but luxuriously draped, Vanessa Bruno has such a way with crêpe de Chine that I almost want to forbid anyone else from using the textile. Rather impressive when you consider that Bruno started her collection in 1996 at the tender age of 24. This romper and shirtdress are perfect examples of her virtuosity, and have me fantasizing about warm summer days when all you can bear to have on your body is the softest whisper of silk. With any luck, I’ll be in one of these pieces.
We really have to pause and ruminate on how good this striped shirtdress is. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’ve got a bit of a shirtdress addiction, and this really hits the mark. The boatneck, the placket, the tabbed sleeves, the drawstring waist and the pattern is simply gorgeous. Mariah is a lady who can never have too many stripes in her life. Stripes and shirtdresses, shirtdresses and stripes. Best of both worlds, really.
Visit La Garçonne to purchase the shirtdress and romper.
Asnières: The Home of Vuitton
January 12th, 2012 § 1 Comment
Home to Louis Vuitton and his family between 1880 and the 1970s, the house at Asnières is also the first and historical workshop of Louis Vuitton. At present, all the “rare and exceptional” Louis Vuitton products from the Leather Goods collections are made in Asnières, as well as all special orders. Located just outside of Paris, Asnières is also a “secret” museum of over 150 years of Louis Vuitton heritage not officially open to the public. However, I am told that if you ring them and ask very nicely, they might allow you to schedule an appointment for a tour. This gorgeous home and museum is at the top of my list of things to do when next I am in Paris, bien sûr.
Louis Vuitton Museum
17 Rue de la Comète
Asnières, France
Photos by Todd Selby, who visited the home in 2010.
The Travel Kit: The Illustrated Virago Book of Women Travellers
January 12th, 2012 § 2 Comments
Virago: vi-ra-go, noun
\və-ˈrä-(ˌ)gō, -ˈrā-; ˈvir-ə-ˌgō\
a woman of great stature, strength, and courage
The word comes from the Latin word vir, meaning virile ‘man,’
to which the suffix -ago is added,
a suffix that effectively re-genders the word to be female.
I recently received a copy of The Illustrated Virago Book of Women Travellers, detailing the stories of several remarkable viragoes throughout history, in their own words. Included in the compendium are excerpts from the writings of aviatrix Beryl Markham, Out of Africa author Isak Dinesen, Middle East explorer Gertrude Bell, and aristocrat Vita Sackville-West who was the lover of Virginia Woolf and served as the inspiration for Woolf’s novel Orlando.
Perhaps a coffee table book is not what you would consider an essential part of your travel kit, but one of the most important elements of choosing my next travel destination is the inspiration that draws me to a specific part of the world: be it through art, music, literature or fashion. My initial perusal of this lovely book has definitely lead me to consider a few unconventional destinations — a bit more off the beaten path — for my next excursion. If you like historical accounts of adventuresome ladies in foreign lands, definitely pick this book up.
The Illustrated Virago Book of Women Travellers
Edited by Mary Morris with Larry O’Connor.
Available in paperback on Amazon here, and a few can be had on eBay here.
~*~Further QC Travel Kit posts here.~*~
Coming Attraction: Red Tails
January 8th, 2012 § 1 Comment
It is with great excitement that I look forward to the release of Red Tails, the retelling of the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, on January 20. The film was produced by George Lucas, directed by Anthony Hemingway and stars Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American pilots in the United States armed forces and served in World War II, facing remarkable adversity and racism within the military as well as society at large. After African American soldiers were denied the opportunity to fly in World War I, Congress forced the War Department to begin training African American pilots in 1939, and forced the Army Air Corps to form an all-black fighter unit in 1941. The 99th Pursuit Squadron was formed in March 1941 and the unit was eventually expanded into the 332nd Fighter Group when the 100th Fighter Squadron, 301st Fighter Squadron and 302nd Fighter Squadron were added. The group saw action in Europe and North Africa, and are well-known for their excellence flying escorts for heavy bombers. The nickname “Red Tails” came from the distinctive red paint the pilots had applied to the tails of their planes.
The main reason for my excitement is my personal connection to the Tuskegee Airmen. My great uncle, Col. Edward Creston Gleed, served as the 302nd Fighter Squadron commander during WWII. He personally had two confirmed kills, while his squadron accounted for almost one third of the aerial victories recorded by the 332nd. He also served as operations officer for the 332nd. As you can expect, my family is exceptionally proud and very excited to see his story brought to life on the big screen. I can’t wait.
My Uncle Cres, on the far left.
The Falcon Hunt
January 8th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
In 1952, Halter Cunningham, a federal game warden and businessman, allowed LIFE photographer Peter Stackpole to come along on his annual fall falcon hunt on an island off of Maryland. Using the “medieval” method of pigeons attached to strings and hunters buried in the sand, Cunningham captured a number of peregrine falcons to attach identification bands to their legs, so that ornithologists could then study their movements. He then released all but one falcon back into the wild, keeping that bird to train over the winter months and then release the following spring.
To read the original article, Life Goes on a Falcon Hunt,
which appeared in the November 17, 1952 issue of LIFE, head here.
See more of the falcons at home after the jump.
Real Property Lust: Los Feliz Hacienda
January 8th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I attribute the fact that I feel an irresistible pull toward Spanish Colonial Revival style homes to my childhood in California and to a beautiful hacienda a very special former Mister of mine owned. There is just something about the dark wooden floors, gleaming white walls, hidden spots of beautiful tile work, wide open windows, wrought iron and streaming light that sings to me.
This home in Los Feliz, California, was gorgeous even before Commune Design (the design firm also behind several commercial projects such as the hotel design for the Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs) got their hands on it, but the finished product is quite amazing. The multitude of styles, colors and textures on display is the type of inclusive approach to decor that I find most interesting.
All images via Commune.
Which Dreamed It?
January 6th, 2012 § 4 Comments
Can I please live here?
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream –
Lingering in the golden gleam –
Life, what is it but a dream?
Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
This amazing editorial shot by Chris Craymer for the December 2011 issue Italian fashion and lifestyle magazine Amica seems to have taken all of my favorite things, put them in a blender and served it up nice and frothy with teeny pinch of oddity — just the way I like it. At once modern, Victorian, and Edwardian, this quirky family portrait makes me long to be added — Cousin Marilyn style — to all their gloriously fabulous adventures. Such a dream.
Of course, what seals the deal here is the appearance of the ever lovely Carmen Dell’Orefice. At 80 years old, Carmen is currently the oldest working working model in the fashion industry. Completely apropos when you consider the fact that she covered Vogue at the age of 15…in 1947. She also covers this issue of Amica, with an accompanying article inside celebrating her amazing career.
Carmen Dell’Orefice, Daiane Conterato, Grace G and Matthew Avedon
photographed by Chris Craymer for Amica December 2011
Images via TFS.
Rabbit Hole Revisit: paws22
January 6th, 2012 § 1 Comment
It had been awhile since I checked in with paws22 on Flickr, and I’m happy to report he’s still working away on his collection of some of the best vintage photographs I’ve ever seen. If you haven’t yet visited him, you really ought to. Head here.
All images via paws22.
Related:
Rabbit Hole Revisit: paws22 on Flickr
Down the Rabbit Hole: paws22 on Flickr
Coming Attraction: W.E.
January 5th, 2012 § 1 Comment
Very excited the release of W.E. is fast approaching. Financed, directed and co-written by Madonna, the film is primarily about the Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee for whom King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne in 1936. Ardently loved by Edward, yet fiercely hated by many (and a suspected Nazi sympathizer to boot), Wallis has long been an intriguing character to me. Scandal, indulgence, fashion, luxury and passion. The makings of a great story. I’ve also been hearing wonderful things about Andrea Riseborough as Wallis and I look forward to her performance.
I’ve never known one person so utterly possessed by another, as he was by her.
W.E. opens February 3, 2012.
Image via Life.
An Impossibility
January 5th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
“At long last I am able to say a few words of my own. I have never wanted to withhold anything, but until now it has not been constitutionally possible for me to speak.
A few hours ago I discharged my last duty as King and Emperor, and now that I have been succeeded by my brother, the Duke of York, my first words must be to declare my allegiance to him. This I do with all my heart.
You all know the reasons which have impelled me to renounce the throne. But I want you to understand that in making up my mind I did not forget the country or the empire, which, as Prince of Wales and lately as King, I have for twenty-five years tried to serve.
But you must believe me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.
And I want you to know that the decision I have made has been mine and mine alone. This was a thing I had to judge entirely for myself. The other person most nearly concerned has tried up to the last to persuade me to take a different course.
I have made this, the most serious decision of my life, only upon the single thought of what would, in the end, be best for all.
This decision has been made less difficult to me by the sure knowledge that my brother, with his long training in the public affairs of this country and with his fine qualities, will be able to take my place forthwith without interruption or injury to the life and progress of the empire. And he has one matchless blessing, enjoyed by so many of you, and not bestowed on me — a happy home with his wife and children.
During these hard days I have been comforted by her majesty my mother and by my family. The ministers of the crown, and in particular, Mr. Baldwin, the Prime Minister, have always treated me with full consideration. There has never been any constitutional difference between me and them, and between me and Parliament. Bred in the constitutional tradition by my father, I should never have allowed any such issue to arise.
Ever since I was Prince of Wales, and later on when I occupied the throne, I have been treated with the greatest kindness by all classes of the people wherever I have lived or journeyed throughout the empire. For that I am very grateful.
I now quit altogether public affairs and I lay down my burden. It may be some time before I return to my native land, but I shall always follow the fortunes of the British race and empire with profound interest, and if at any time in the future I can be found of service to his majesty in a private station, I shall not fail.
And now, we all have a new King. I wish him and you, his people, happiness and prosperity with all my heart. God bless you all! God save the King!”
Edward VIII – December 11, 1936
Let Them Eat Cake
January 5th, 2012 § 2 Comments
Found at Vintage Seekers: a small box containing a piece of cake from the royal wedding of Wallis and Edward Windsor on June 3rd, 1937 at the Chateau de Candé in Touraine, France. Only £1,500.00. Available here, if you were so inclined.
