As I've mentioned many times before, I'm a very dressed up person and don't need or want to wear jeans very often. Last week, however, I have shocked myself (and anyone else in the office) and worn them every day! I have never done that before in my life!!!! It just worked out that I was wearing them on Monday as I was going to the movies with my fashion friend who would be wearing them. Tue I could have dressed but I realized that Wed I was going out with my glam friend who would be wearing jeans and Thursday it was supposed to snow so it seemed best to wear jeans. So I acquiesced to the pattern and wore them Tuesday as well.
I wore all of my current pairs only once and I was surprised to realize that I had so many pairs of current jeans and that I could probably go 10 or 12 days without repeating but let me remind you that that will never happen. Although I enjoyed all the outfits I put together, including jackets from Galliano and vintage Donna Karan, I think Wednesday's outfit was my favorite. Bootleg jeans I got in Paris and fit like the proverbial glove, a ruffly white tuxedo shirt out over the jeans (which I also rarely do), a vintage black shrunken jacket (late 50's) sporting 3 rhinestone buttons, and a vintage pearl necklace that has it's own story-2 actually, which I will tell you in a moment, with Ralph Lauren black label high heel booties. The outfit was cool and elegant, casual but very polished. And my (gay) glam friend even said I was sexy!!
Ok. The pearl's stories. My gorgeous husband bought this necklace for me for my birthday a few years ago at the Pier Antique Show and I loved it on sight! It's about 10 strands of pearls that go around your back of your neck like a lariat and fasten with a rhinestone paisley that sits on the top of the breastbone. Hanging from that clasp are 10 more strands of pearls that cascade down, each ending in a teardrop pearl. It's a 1950's cocktail necklace from the days when women could still wear a cocktail dress or suit and it's tragic that we don't really do it anymore. I have the opportunity to do it every once in a while though not nearly often enough to suit my taste so I lamented ever wearing my gorgeous necklace. I was telling the story to a woman I used to work with who said, "how could you possibly be so dumb-wear it with jeans and a T-shirt". Well, we all know how I feel about that idea but I did start wearing it with wide leg jeans, a T-shirt, a shrunken jacket, and heels. Then yesterday, I came up with wearing it with a cocktail jacket, tuxedo shirt and jeans-I think it finally found it's real home in such an outfit.
This outfit and my glam friend went to the movies (The Young Victoria, which we loved!!!!!!!!!!!!! Though it was actually the second time I saw it as when I saw it with my fashion friend on Monday night the projector broke about 15 minutes before the end so we were given free passes and a refund) then to the bar at the newly opened Ace Hotel. We started at the Stumptown Roasters coffee bar. The coffee was rich and flavorful, gorgeous colors and watching the barista work through his process was fascinating. Since I was asking questions, he explained as he worked. Very fun! We brought our drinks into the lobby bar where we sat on deep (but not too deep) soft (but not too soft) sofas next to some really good looking and interesting people. Eventually the obnoxious waitress (who periodically stuck her condescending butt in our faces leaning over us to serve others but never once asked us if we wanted anything) started bothering us because we were sitting too long without ordering anything else. A charming and adorable manager came over and asked us if we wanted anything else and we ordered-my friend a beer and we shared a cheese platter. The room is cool, as these new hotels are. Walls and ceiling painted black but the gorgeous old moldings were still there. Fascinating but modern chandeliers (although I love old fashioned crystal chandeliers in a renovated space it would have been the obvious choice and I did like that the chandeliers were modern and still important) mixed with some of the original gas sconces. There was one area over the steps to the restrooms and gymnasium that we didn't understand. My glam friend thought it looked like a Nazi interrogation room-undecorated smooth black walls with single bulb sconces forcing one shaft of light down each wall-I can understand why he thought that. I thought it looked like unfinished plywood that they forgot to decorate. I thought about it for a few days and wondered what the hotel was before it was the Ace Hotel, thinking that that awkward space was something that needed to be covered up, but alas no, this was always a hotel. It was the Breslin before the Ace which is interesting since the new restaurant in the hotel is called the Breslin. Before that it was an old fashioned ladies hotel which makes perfect sense as it's on 29th St just west of 5th Ave and therefore just off the Ladies Mile. Apparently there was hotel after hotel on 29th St in late 19th and early 20th centuries, again making perfect sense. At that time, 5th Avenue between 14th St and 23rd St, part of what we call the Flatiron District was The Ladies Mile. There was shop after shop and little tea rooms where wealthy, proper, ladies could safely go shopping alone or in groups at a time in social history that women were not encouraged to do much alone. The Flatiron Building itself was a modern marvel in 1902 and the tallest building in the City as late as the 20's. At the time, Harlem was farmland, the country and 23rd St., 34th St., were the outer reaches of the city. As it is today, Manhattan was a draw for people all over the world and ladies could come shopping in this glamourous uptown neighborhood and even stay in a hotel.
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