It's a hallmark holiday, but I see this mid-winter date as an occasion to celebrate whatever you feel like celebrating with whomever. Including just yourself.
As long as it has red in it.
I live in a cold region where winter can last up to six months, so a nice warm bright color like red can really cheer me up on another cold, grey day.
I bought that wool coat in White River Junction, VT at a consignment store that specialises in outdoor gear. It was a COVID purchase in that it was meant to be worn on many walks taken with friends, in the woods and in the streets around where I live. I love that coat, it has kept me warm and visible during many months of our pandemic. Thank you Woolrich for making this coat.
I bought the necklace in Glasgow during my visit to my daughter who lives there. It was also found in a consignment shop, on the best street in Glasgow in my humble opinion: Otago Street. It has used clothing, books, furniture and a very old cafe. The dress is new but rings of vintage (1920s?). My French cousin thought it looked Irish. It's by Côtélac, my favourite French designer.
In the winter in New Hampshire, I cross-country ski when the snow is good. My ski clothes are mostly hand-me-downs from my other daughter: the striped head and neck gators, the vest and ski pants. The long-sleeve Smartwool shirt I did buy new.
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I discovered artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp at MOMA in January. What a talented woman she was: she worked in all media, including watercolor, tapestry (as seen above), wood and beading. She was married to artist and poet Jean Arp, but she was innovative as well, and merits her own legacy.
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Meanwhile, while we are in the fiber arts, the streaming service, Kino Now, sent a delicious selection of "bad romance" films to mark Valentine's Day. Included in the list was this retro Italian gem from the 1970s, "The Seduction of Mimi," by Lina Wertmuller. I did not love the violence, especially the violence levelled against the women. But perhaps that was part of the point of the film (a weird approach to denunciating violence against women is making the protagonist uncontrollably violent? Is it genetic? Can men really not evolve?). However, the scenes in Turin in which the female inamorata played by Mariangela Melato is shown surrounded with handknit colorful sweaters and blankets was so delightfully nostalgic, I have to recommend it. Rarely does knitwear trigger a "madeleine de Proust" like effect in me. As a teenager in the 1970s, I didn't particularly gravitate toward hippie dippy homespun fashion. I might have knit for a few days...But the scene shot in an attic room, with skeins of wool draped over the rafters, the macrame throw on the bed, and the characters in those colorful sweaters made me laugh out loud, and feel the authentic bohemianism of an era. It was as though wearing handknit wool was going to solve all the world's problems.
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Happy Valentine's Day!
(cardigan sweater is also a hand-me-down from a friend)
