Hot end of July, NYC

 I am in New York for a few days to visit my family. I like to contrast the fashion strategies of New Yorkers with those of the Parisians a month earlier, as they walk through the hot urban concrete jungle. More exposure of skin, more "shifts" (love the shifts), flat shoes (love the sneakers with dresses, heels are bad enough in more comfortable temperatures), and of course, the necessary sun shielding accessory, the hat.

 Inside...

 ...and outside McNally Jackson bookstore on Prince Street.

Stopped in Housing Works Bookstore on Crosby Street and picked up this classic volume...

                                                         

 Waiting to cross Canal Street















Always grappling with the ethics -- or lack thereof -- of the garment industry, as I peruse many shops and their summer sales, I am pleased that 1. I limited myself to two purchases, 2. they were made in consignment shops and 3. they are machine washable. American Apparel, whose labor practices are somewhat less awful than most clothing manufacturers, had a dress that I really liked, but it was dry clean only. I don't want to put the dry cleaning industry out of business, sometimes you need to clean something and it has to be done chemically, but nowadays fabrics for clothes that are meant to be worn often should be washable in a standard washing machine.

I was also on the search for a white short sleeved blouse. I saw many including a lovely textured one at Steven Allen on Elizabeth Street in NoLiTa.  They are pricey, but that is because they are made in the USA.

While I was in the hot city, I did manage to see the documentary on Nina Simone at the IFC on Sixth Avenue. What a talented woman who lived through desegregation and the civil rights movement, and was not afraid to be outspoken.

The film focuses primarily on her rise to fame in the 1950s and her political engagement in the 1960s. Lots of concert footage, but also footage from the civil protest, which, juxtaposed, evokes a strong argument for the political power of artistic performance.

This has been the summer of pop music. I've also uncovered some concert footage from the 1970s thanks to the extensive archives of the French television institute, l'INA. A French tv program known as "Pop 2", hosted by Patrice Blanc-Francard, showed concert footage from many of the great artists -- English, American and French -- from that era. We are nostalgic for these moments, these people, that sound and those values. Why? Because, when we despair that somebody who is a very rich obnoxious businessman is running for president, we can reminisce about a time when humans brought people together, rather than split us apart.