First Ladies of Skirts

A few years back when I was writing The Madcap History of the Skirt, my editor was adamant that I include a section about the fashions of America's First Ladies. I remember her saying: "People will love it, and it will SELL," words every writer wants to hear, but I was still cool on the idea. I wanted the book to be fun and cheeky and the first ladies seemed so…dry. But once I began my research I was quick to warm up to first lady fashion. I was looking at their dresses with an eye homed in on the evolution of their skirts, began reading about the inauguration dresses and was sidetracked for days. 
   So I was delighted to find this new video posted from the Smithsonian about the First Ladies exhibit at the National Museum of American History in D.C. (Best inexplicable, somewhat random cutaway line: "We're going to have to lower Barbara's purse.")

Can I just say that Lisa Kathleen Graddy and Sanae Park Evans have my dream jobs? Nearly 20 years ago I spent a summer interning in the basement of the Asian textiles department of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, cataloging and preserving antique textiles and fabrics and wishing I was riding my bike in the sunshine. Had I known that there were jobs like these—cataloging and preserving dresses like Michelle Obama's little number from Jason Wu—I might have stuck with it!
   I've seen this exhibition several times since I was a child, and I'm looking forward to seeing Obama's dress when I'm visiting in May. I wish they allowed

The Newlywed Kitchen arrived!

Today's mail held a particularly special package: My first copy of The Newlywed Kitchen, the cookbook I coauthored that strives to inspire couples to learn to love cooking together. It's wonderful to see a longtime idea come to fruition: I've often said this book is like a really long feature I always wanted to run in Seattle Bride Magazine, one that came from my dismay at learning that so many couples not only don't cook their own meals, but think of the kitchen as more of a battleground than a place of love. In fact, I remember interviewing one new bride and she said something like, "Oh, he would never let me in the kitchen. He yells at me if I chop onions wrong!"—words that broke my heart. As chef Duskie Estes, one of the many wonderful contributors to the cookbook, said so perfectly: "There are so many things to love about a person than how they chop a carrot."

Soon after I began thinking about couples and their often combative relationship in the kitchen, The New York Times ran an article about "alpha chefs," control-freak cooks who consider the kitchen their sacred ground and

The Hemline Theory is Back!

Two competing skirt lengths from Emilio Pucci FW10 collection test the hemline theory. Photo: Marcio Madeira / FirstView.com

I was delighted to see this article on yesterday's Wallet Pop about the history of economic upturns correlating with rising hemlines. The author, Amy Pyle, even pulled a snippet from my book:

Skirts functioning as a barometer for the economy is not a new theory. And as Seattle author Ali Basye points out in her book on the history of the skirt, it's a theory that had largely fallen from favor in the 21st Century because lengths vary so widely from woman to woman and day to day. In Chapter 4 of her book, The Long (and Short of It): the Madcap History of the Skirt, Basye points out that in the early 1970s, when "hot pants were the rage ... the advice at Dow Jones was 'Don't sell until you see the heights of their thighs!'"

Photo: Marcio Madeira / FirstView.com

Pyle is correct in writing that the idea of skirt lengths predicting economic upturns is more "legend" than fact. (Miniskirts, for instance, were still worn through the 1973–74 recession, and women literally protested in the streets against the coinciding introduction of maxi skirts!) 

The tables have turned

…and someone wrote an article about me for a change! I had forgotten to post this last week, but our local newspaper published a story about our house, which makes for an interesting subject only because the space is small (1,200 sq feet) and green-built. The author did a terrific job and the photographs are just beautiful. Big thanks to Colleen and Ben for making Todd and I seem way cooler than we are :)

BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER/THE SEATTLE TIMES

A long time coming...

Apparently, it took quitting my job at Seattle Bride to lift the so-called "wedding curse" (not really a curse at all) that had hit so many employees before me. Earlier this week Todd completely surprised me and proposed with a family heirloom ring my mom sneakily sent him a few weeks ago. So it's official: After all these years I am a Seattle Bride!

Todd popped the question in a booth at Tango, our old neighborhood hangout where we met three-and-a-half years ago, also during a Sunday happy-hour. It was very low-key, romantic and sweet. I hadn't even showered that day, had no makeup on, and was wearing jeans, sneakers and a flannel shirt—I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm a keeper :)

So that's the story. I have no idea what kind of wedding we'll have, but it will probably be sometime this summer, small and sincere. Stay tuned for news about this next adventure...

It did not happen on a starry night in Paris with the Eiffel Tower coming out of my head, but it was THIS romantic!

Bloggers on Alexander McQueen

Gary Graham on Elle

Image by Kelly Stuart

My favorite designer is back, this time on today's Elle blog (I think it's the best fashion-mag daily-blog right now), where he gives a peek at his Fall 2010 line and chats about his process and inspiration. The new line and the ideas behind it are fascinating, and there's a great video—and loads of gorgeous studio images by photog Kelly Stuart—that gives a little window inside the mind of Gary Graham.

Coincidentally, the peace T-shirt Gary created for the CFDA Fashion Fund contest went on sale at the Google Store today. I got one; will you?