cockeyed optimism IS brat— with ‘a little touch of REVOLT’!

— Arnold Scaasi, Chet Baker, Ed Sullivan, Fashion, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pauline Trigère, Ray Ban, South Pacific (musical), Uncategorized, United States

Harmay dress

Arnold Scaasi, The Butterfly Dress

Who in the world is Nellie Forbush? She was the naive nurse in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s smash hit South Pacific, which premiered in 1949 and won a Pulitzer in 1950. Ensign Nellie is hickish, wide-eyed, and in love with a middle-aged French plantation owner whom she meets on active duty while in the South Pacific. The original “Cockeyed Optimist” is sure things will work out and love will endure. So it seems somewhat ironic and prescient that while thumbing through my sizable collection of vintage Broadway Playbills today, she spilled across my desk.

I think Nells is the perfect heroine for three weeks turned on its head. Project 2025 has rung alarm bells with more than half the electorate. The utterly bizarre RNC Convention saw the nomination of Vice President nominee and Appalachian hillbilly JD Vance—who this past week committed political faux pas by denigrating—and infuriating— middle-aged cat ladies with disparaging remarks that could not be digitigrade back. The disastrous Presidential Debate added fuel to the fire while the nation reeled from the shocking assassination attempt on former President Trump. President Biden’s stunning decision to step down as incumbent only stirred the pot further, paving the way for the rocket-like ascension of VP Harris. And let’s not forget pop culture sensation Charli xcx’s election influencer endorsement “kamala IS brat” spurring Harris’ meteoric rise—indeed a spectacle to behold.

I feel (and you may agree) that it is about time to hold up one perfectly shod kidskin gloved hand (when not using both to solidarity scroll IG), step forward with our silk-stockinged, stiletto-ed heels, and shout in a fierce tone, ‘I Understand The Assignment!’

It would seem we all need ‘a little touch of REVOLT’!

My latest favorite fashion accessory to block the ever-beating AZ sun has been my Ray-Ban Meta Skyler sunglasses. They shade my eyes and give me a unique view. So, in this spirit, I will share in this blog a fashion report titled ‘a little touch of REVOLT’! from the South Pacific Playbill dated October 6, 1958, written by Barbara Blake with illustrations by Pauline Trigere, Arnold Scaasi, and dress label, Harmay– during an era when the country reached a zenith of conservatism and post-war prosperity. M-Ad men ruled Madison Avenue. Cocktail and country club culture reigned supreme. The booming middle class enjoyed their new-found leisure in tidy Levitt homes—an aspiration for many. The big-finned Caddy from Detroit was crowned “Motoring Majesty.” Marcella Borghese’s advertisements enticed “For the woman who selects her cosmetics like precious jewels…”

Roll gently back through the decades…before Lululemon, New Balance, and microwavable dinners. Harken to when the end of the day meant dinner together, and perhaps Chet Baker on the turn table or Ed Sullivan on the black and white tube. Drink in those twilight hours announcing the end of a work day, slide effortlessly into the evening wearing your brocade-plumed slippers and loungewear and enjoy a few hand-mixed classic cocktails….perhaps a world that didn’t really exist in such retro-perfection but one in which my mind’s eye is in sharp focus. Agree, yes?

Then, follow me to my well-appointed home bar and let me stir up your favorite beverage over ice; what will it be tonight?

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Fashion Report: ‘a little touch of REVOLT’!

“Call us Nellie Forbush if we don’t see waistlines–yes, and hemlines, too–edging back to what was a happy norm in this country for seasons on end! The waistlines, often nipping big, full skirts, already are present (see in sketches here, where American fashion leaders are heading). And, regarding hems, we’re willing to stick our little necks out with the prophesy that doom is looming for the short-short skirt.

For the latter revolt in the bud, we’re inclined to give less credit to Paris, where the house of Dior is leading a drop-the-hem movement, than to the dismal discovery that, even in America, legs are simply not what they used to be in the days when Dancing Daughters charlestoned their heads off every night, and luscious stems–perhaps for that very reason–were a dime a dozen. Already the smartest women we know (and we’re talking about “mother-wit” as much as fashion-sense) are letting down, just a little, hems that were raised to knee-height only a short while ago. What a year it’s been for little tailor around the corner!

All right, we’ve been accused before this of cockeyed optimism. But remember the chemise? And how we said, “Don’t look, and it will go away?”

–Barbara Blake

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Perhaps we can all take Barbara’s and Nellie’s forward-looking perspective, my dear friends, and lend a little cockeyed optimism amid caterwauling and prophesies of doom and gloom. While the current landscape may seem fraught with challenges, with our collective unity, we can defeat threats to democracy and overcome, once again, as Americans have done throughout our existence. After all, it is We The People, and fate is firmly in our hands. America, as this article illustrates, was always full of pluck and independence—not looking for cues from others…. We reinvented ourselves and our looks, raising and lowering the hems when we decided. This attitude and nature—it’s in our very cut and drape…

Ponder this over your cocktail of the evening (better if served in ‘Nick and Nora’ vintage-inspired glassware), which is the classic Rob Roy…appropriate for the zeitgeist of the moment; the Rob Roy is made with scotch and sweet red vermouth. Named after redheaded Roy MacGregor, Scotland’s Robinhood, the drink imparts a subtle smoky taste due to the scotch base. Also known as a Scotch Manhattan for the substitution of scotch for bourbon. Combine two or three parts scotch with one part sweet vermouth, a dash of Angostura bitters, and garnish with a cherry. Substitute orange bitters for the Angostura for a Highland Fling (sounds like fun, ladies, no?!) and a dash of Drambuie, making a Bobbie Burns. 

Slip on your favorite peignoir, and cheers…Chin up, steady your gaze, lipstick on luscious lips and off teeth… a deep breath, hug your cat, and forge ahead. 

Until we meet again…

Pauline Trigere’s dragonfly silhouette

 

Ray-Ban, Meta Skyler