Sunday, December 8, 2013

first draft -  excerpt from an essay in my book

I was profoundly affected by Cathy’s death as were all my sisters and brother. She was the eldest and we all worshiped her, looked up to her and knew her to be a special person, so pure and kind; we would remark that God mixed up his angels and humans one day and sent Cathy to earth by mistake.      

Cathy and I lived and pursued our careers together as roommates in Chicago, she in business with a firm on LaSalle Street and I started my fashion modeling career as a photographer’s model and runway model. Those were heady days, filled with fun and laughter. The energy of the city was palatable, you could taste it, touch it, feel it all day and through the night. Chicago could easily boast about their glamorous night-clubs. The Rush Street scene throbbed and shimmered with world-class entertainers. And the best and always the most fun: dinning in Booth One of The Pump Room at the Ambassador Hotel; restaurants were everywhere. Often, on Sunday mornings after brunch, we would hop on the Michigan Ave. bus to meet friends and spend a few hours at the Art Institute of Chicago; one of our favorite go to venues in the city; we loved taking out-of-town visitors to Field Museum of Natural History.

Chicago Theatre on State Street—that great street. And there was Oak Street Beach, where the stately Drake Hotel stood to our right, anchoring ‘The Magnificent Mile’, the sand warm under our towels as we gazed out on the gleaming lake, turning our bodies to catch the sun, clad  in our tiny bikinis,  and always, always on the look-out for eligible young men. God, we were young! Lincoln Park with its own zoo, within walking distances from our apartments; whenever we moved, we always stayed in the same neighborhood.  Oh, and I remember the ice shows at the Palmer House on Michigan Avenue, where mom and dad would stay when they visited Chicago.  

Our father had instilled in his children the love of baseball, but somehow, instead of choosing his beloved Chicago White Sox, we became Cub fans; boarding the steps of the Clark 22 or Broadway 36 bus at Wrightwood, we would head to Wrigley Field, step off the bus and almost immediately, each of us had a hotdog in one had and a beer in the other. I introduced my husband-to-be to the art of baseball and the way of the ‘Cubbies’. He loved his first ever professional football game and then he was astounded at how much he liked ‘authentic Italian cooking’, declaring early in our relationship how he did not care for Italian food. He was ‘American’ as my mother called all non-Italian beings, so how could he know, poor thing. (Povorino)



  



             

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Jennifer Lopez on the cover of "W"

The photo shoot took her back to the Bronx and 'the street where she lived.' Elizabeth Taylor, whose performance in 'Butterfield 8' inspired the photos are- of course - amazing!  My favorites are the black and whites - they remind me of the photographer, Victor Skrebneski's work in the 60's. Although that color shot in Marc Jacobs dress and bolero is definitely something to write home about!

Saturday, June 29, 2013

The Curse of the Three Piece Polyester Double-knit Pant Suit

If you recall, perfectly fashionable women started buying these monstrosities in the 1970's, I know because I was paid thousands of dollars to be photographed in them during my modeling career.  All my pictures in those double knits are stunning; accessorized beautifully, photographed in wonderful settings: at a restaurant, in the park and yet, I could never bring myself to actually purchase one. WHY? Because the fabric was not real - it was faux fabric.  Fabric must move with your body, feel good against your skin, the bust darts on the 'shell' should fall somewhere around your breast line. It is not a good thing that when one removed their pant suit, there was no need to hang the garment on a hanger, 'Look, I can stand it in the corner!'

But the worst thing about the look -- most women's derriere hung out beneath the jacket line, and women, if they ever checked themselves in a 3-way mirror, would be horrified.  Oh, and because women  were ladies, also bought into the control-top panty hose debacle,  Oh my Gosh. So the derriere was camouflaged into what? To appear as a shapeless footfall! All femininity was lost.

And now, another curse has come upon the land.  Leggings - I will skip over jeans and just insert this piece of conversation I over-heard. "I finally found a pair of jeans that would fit me."  My response would have been, Maybe, just maybe, jeans are not right for you.

But back to leggings, in reality, the so called leggins I am referring to are not leggings at all...they're TIGHTS, the same old thing we used to wear to our work-outs.  A whole on-line industry has emerged, TV shows and infomercials encouraging women of all shapes and sizes to don skin tight 'leggings' and 'just add a clever top.' Are they insane!

Have we lost all sense of appropriateness, of image and style, of what a flattering silhouette means? Yes, yes we have. 

 

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Somertime and the Living is Easy

When I think of summer I think of coral lipstick, coral reefs under ocean blue water; I think of a turquoise cotton blouse over a swimsuit and turquoise leather sandals with crystal beads and footprints on white sand. And then I think of  the 'First Time.'

Gently he kissed my lips; knowing it was my first.

www.thethreadsoflife.com

Monday, May 13, 2013

Only I can tell my story...

Sarah Polley, commenting on her documentary, "Stories We Tell" said, 'That's part of who we are as human beings.  We tell stories as well as we can but generally kind of sloppily even when we're trying our hardest."
As a writer of non-fiction, I am always trying hard to recall the scene, see the players, 'listen' for dialog, feel the sensations of the moment, and still I fall short.  We sometimes recall truth in  a way that the very people in our stories have no idea what we are talking about or did not 'see it that way'. In the end it's our story to tell, we must be brave warriors and solider on, ignoring those editors who tap us on the shoulder as we write.

Keep writing, my friends, remember that perfect paragraph you wrote this morning - you only get so long to admire it - go for the next one.

Later~~

Friday, May 3, 2013

BIANCA JAGGER - STYLE ICON

Michelle Persad recently reported: ‘if you look up the definition of “style icon”, we think there should be a photo of Bianca Jagger next to the term.”

I so agree, I checked out her style evolution on line, just to see, one more time, that white wedding suit she wore when she and Mick married. A white fitted jacket, notch collar over a long white a line skirt, and the hat! A stunning wide brimmed picture hat with flowing veil attached – ‘The Lady in White’.

Married in 1971, the Nicaragua-born beauty became one of the top style-setters of her day. I remember another hat she wore in the early 70’s; and was thrilled to see a close up of her wearing the black fitted cloche with a black veil to her chin and the highlight: a stack of snow white feathers attached to the crown and sweeping down almost to her shoulder.

It was also interesting to watch her transformation from the young glamorous woman to the classic, always beautiful woman she is today.

She is astounding, maintaining her youthful glamour for decades all through the late 90’s and then watching the subtle changes as she matured into a classic beauty—an interesting evolution of a generous and giving woman, who is known for her philanthropic efforts and ‘good works.’

Stylish beautiful, glamorous women like Sophia Loren, retain their natural grace through the years because when they reach their 70’s and beyond, they let  nature deal with the years and their advancing age, instead of trying to turn back the clock, which usually ends with disastrous results. And why do younger men want to be with these older glamorous women? Because they are interesting, have tons of stories to tell and as my photographer friend, Carolyn Collins, tells it, they show exuberance, and a flirty wisdom.

And where am I going with this?   

Beauty really does come from within.  

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Nancy Smith talks Dallas and J. R. Ewing

My invitation in the mail showed a picture of Nancy Smith and J.R. Ewing - The International Society / Dallas-Fort Worth hosted a wine buffet and presentation benefiting The International Society Scholarships. Guest Speaker for the event was, Nancy Smith, author, lecturer, and former Society Editor of the Dallas Times Herald and The Dallas Morning, who gave a spirited talk on the Glamour Days in Dallas. Included in her slide presentation were pictures of visiting Royalty, celebrities and the men and women who were helped usher in Dallas as an international city. Names like Caroline Rose Hunt, Jack and Nancy Hamon, the Brinker family, Stanley Marcus and dozens more. I remember her columns were filled with humor and style, not just reporting on events, but telling us stories about the people who made the news.  She has great charm and elegance and it always showed in her writing.  My career as a fashion model was part of all those Glamour Days and I loved seeing Nancy's smiling face in the audience, of course, it was always such an honor to appear in her columns, I still have the one where she told about my acting gig on one of the most popular television series in the world: 'Dallas'  We're going to have lunch soon, I'll bring it with me and ask her to sign it. Thank you, Nancy -     

Friday, March 15, 2013

Color, Color, Color Spring 2013

I usually start with Pantone Fashion Color Report, and I will get back to that later...
I want to start with Donna Karen's color pallet for Spring because the color descriptions are so, dare I say, colorful; really fun an intriguing!

butter is pale yellow
coral has a new name, it's passion
red becomes scarlet and Eve is her ivory/pink
light blue is called canvas but my favorite - Atlantic - for a dreamy dark blue
olive/gray becomes charcoal
Jazzberry is a beautiful fuchsia/plum and
Azurite a stunning blue gray

Colors and combinations of black and white for the new season are key.

Later ~ for the Pantone Report

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Donna Karan Saves The Day Again

                         
At a certain age some women begin to feel the glamorous part of their life is over—Nonsense!
Women/Glamour
The two words can’t be separated.
And I reject the following notions that women tend to fall into as they get older...
As in:
* Must appear sensible and responsible at all times, dress conservatively, don’t be daring, alluring, sensual etc. etc.
* You can wear that, you’re tall
* I’m too old to wear my hair long…although, I personally consider it a worse crime for a first time young mother to cut her hair because she now has an infant… My question: “Is your husband REALLY okay with that since he fell in love with you and your long beautiful gleaming hair?” I’m just askin’.
* Skinny jeans? Oh, I couldn’t do that
*I can’t wear hats
* False eye lashes? Come on!
* Dresses that actually fit the curves of my body…too scary
* Thigh high hosiery for me, for him? WOW
* What? Get rid of all my control top pantyhose? Really. What about my tummy?

Stop it. I am talking about the way your bottom looks in control panty hose. Let me try to explain…to be harsh about it if you stood in front of a three way mirror to check your back side in your trousers/jeans/slacks, it appears as though your bottom is miss-shaped.   In addition, your bottom has flattened out and its natural line is obliterated.
Burn them; shred them all, never to cover your beautiful derriere again—

Donna Karan sheer, toe to waist, panty hose in a nude color if  you must have a nude leg look, but do not want a bare leg.

Solution to that tummy of ours: waist cinchers and support undergarments can be found in every store.  

Stay well.
                                         See you next time…