What's in a Name?

In the March issue of Lucky there was a funny description of how nerve-racking it can be to come up with ever new ways of describing articles of clothing. Kim France challenged readers to submit their own captions for their shoe guide in The Lucky walk-in-our-shoes caption writing contest.

I particularly enjoyed their list of banned descriptives:
adorable
bling
fashionista
fave
fierce
flair
funky
groovy
indulgence
kooky
run, don't walk
shopaholic
the final word in
whimsical
food references used to describe nonfood item (as in "a delicious shade of pink")

On my own personal list there would definitely be some crossover. Bling, fashionista, fierce. Those all make me cringe. I've no problem with adorable (as long as it's not followed by the word "duds") and whimsical though--sometimes those ones are just too apt. We should all stay away from flirty and girly--two adjectives that will erode your self-respect and give you cooties.

I've been naming and describing all the clothes for Le Train Bleu for over four years now and I relate to the hair-pulling that Lucky describes but that's mostly just due to the fact that I'm normally writing those things long after I should have been in bed. I get a little unfocused and slap happy. And repetitive. Longtime readers, please forgive the duplicate Picnic at Hanging Rock references that always come to mind when the white dresses arrive with our Spring shipments.

See, clothes talk to me. They tell me stories. They remind me of movies and old lovers and things my Mom wore when I was a kid. They remind me of cool girls I see in cafes but have never met. Cities I've visited. Mixed tapes that my best friend made me in 9th grade.

I've come to realize that what I love most about fashion and also about my job, is the storytelling. For me the world of clothes and the world of retail is a world of waking dreams and memories and aspirations. Clothes fire up my imagination and imbue my days with fantasy.

So, here are some of my recent clothes-inspired daydreams from Le Train Bleu.

The Pâquerette Coat


This one is named after her:
She was one in a long line of Picasso's girlfriends (that serial lady-killer). She was also a model and worked for Poiret. Pâquerette is the French word for wild daisy and is also the name of a ballet created in 1881. You should know by now that I'm ever the balletomane and francophile.

The coat has a slight sheen that's subdued, almost faded. It smells like coffee and violet perfume and Picasso's damned infernal cigar smoke. The cut is feminine in a gamine way with delicate, slightly shrunken proportions. The color is a bit sombre, but like the goofy hat Pâquerette wore in the Cocteau photo above it has a lighter side in the over-sized buttons and
"fan" pleat on the cuffs.

The Radcliff Music Wonk Shoulderbag



Named after Ali MacGraw's character Jennifer Cavilleri in Love Story. She loved Mozart and Bach and the Beatles. She was a minimalist and a natural beauty. She would never be so frivolous as to spend over $100 on a handbag, preppy.


The Bon Ton Dress
I thought this dress, with its 20's drop waist and exuberant deco print, was like a modern interpretation of a colorful fashion plate from early 20th century fashion mag La Gazette du Bon Ton.


Aren't they having fun? They look like they just danced out of a box of candies.

Lili Marelene Jacket


Marlene Dietrich liked the tux jacket so much that she needed it in both Black and White, and so did I.


This style was really talking to me though and it was hard to settle on the name Lili Marlene. The tux jacket is so iconic and so many other cool dames have worn it so well. Don't worry, I'm not going to challenge you to a "Who Wore it Best" quiz but just as a quick hats off:


Time will tell if the Jane Birkin progeny will go down as iconic tuxedo artists in the annals of fashion history (I'll bet they will) but Bianca Jagger's name will always come to mind to me when anyone mentions "White tuxedo jacket."
A personal aside: when I was 16 I wore a black tux to my big brother's wedding (the following year I realized I was a girl). I'm sorry Joseph.

The House of Elliot Dress
The House of Eliott was a BBC series about two sisters who, against all odds, launched their own fashion label in 1920's London. This looks like it could have been out of one of their collections. The series and book were co-written by Jean Marsh who wrote and acted in the beloved Upstairs, Downstairs series. If you have never seen either, hop on over to amazon.