It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written about my adventures in craft, and the reason is that I’ve been too distracted — too distracted to write, too distracted to have something to write about. I always have an embroidery project on the go, but the going has been slow as my attention has been divided among many other projects and priorities. Slow progress used to make me feel guilty, because “being productive” is capitalism’s main commandment, which we are conditioned to obey in all things, including our leisure time, but no more. The joy of this phase of my life is being on my own schedule. I am currently in a passive, not actively creative season; sometimes, I like to think of it as a time of incubating ideas — looking outward and gathering inspiration (like a squirrel chasing nuts) and storing it for later. In practice, that looks a lot like spending all my free time walking, gardening, and reading.
However, I did commit to a major art market in September, so as much as I’ve been enjoying the dolce far niente this summer, a little bit of preparation was in order as well. I did not manage to add a lot of new work to my portfolio since the spring, but I did add a few pieces that make me pretty happy.
Continuing the floral bouquet theme I’d been exploring earlier in the year, I created this peony-and-iris design to capture 2 of my favourite flowers. I’m sad to say that neither had much luck in my garden this year … but a girl can dream, especially on canvas.
This abstract design was inspired by a beaded necklace I made years ago, along with the pattern of a Marni skirt I saw in an old magazine. I combined the two to create this limited palette hoop — a bit of a departure for me, but a direction I think has a lot of potential. It inspired me to go and look at my William Morris reference books, which then sparked another idea …
… specifically, this design inspired by The Strawberry Thief. It’s been a while since I worked on a hoop that was not “full coverage” (i.e. leaving portions of the canvas blank) and I was nervous that I would not like the result, but I think the coloured background works well in this context and complements the design.
Lastly, I revisited another older theme: Picasso-inspired portrait in French knots. This is one of the most laborious stitches, and while I love the tactile effect of covering an entire hoop in them, it takes FOREVER. But! I recently thrifted a vintage embroidery floor stand, and it was a total game-changer. Doing French knots without having to worry about holding the hoop steady at the same time is so much easier and faster. Don’t get me wrong; this hoop still took somewhere in the region of 30 hours to make, but I probably saved at least 10-12 hours from what it would have taken otherwise. I was so lucky to find this stand — it was brand new in the box (never assembled), solid wood, made in the US (likely in the 70s), and excellent quality. It’s very sturdy and easy to maneuver, and it helps me maintain a much more ergonomic posture while I work, which is a big win.
I’m looking forward to the market — I will be sharing a booth with my friend Josh of Prairie Trail Goods, and I am so excited for that — and hoping it will prove a good venue for me to connect with local yarn art lovers. And looking farther down the road, I am excited to get started on some new designs to get ready for what is usually my most “productive” season, November through February. Stay tuned!
Details: Chepe dress, Maguire shoes (both retail), Anna Paola bag (consignment), Warren Steven Scott earrings
Thoughts: It’s very very rare, these days, that I wear (almost) head-to-toe retail but here you have one of those unicorns. Winners got me. I usually only shop there for skincare, but I received some gift cards for my birthday just as they were running their summer clearance sales and I ended up having a good nose around. I found the black version of my “perfect blank canvas” dress and I could not resist getting it. Here’s the thing: I had spent a long time looking for a dress like this one — the cut, the style, the length, the fabric — before I found the original last year. I had been hoping for either black or white but, at the time, Winners only had it in navy. So I got the navy because, colour aside, it checked off all my boxes. And I have not regretted that decision even though navy is not one of my fave neutrals. It proved to be a good option for me, as it works well with lots of colours in my wardrobe. But black is still my OG so when I found this colourway … well, I just had to get it. I think this outfit shows what I mean when I call this my “perfect blank canvas” dress; it’s so incredibly easy to dress it up and down with different toppers and/or accessories. Speaking of the latter, peep those shoes. Now these were a total impulse buy, but as soon as I touched them, I had to have them. They are made from the most incredibly soft leather I have ever felt. I normally avoid shoes with a narrow peep-toe opening because they tend to cut into my feet and feel like torture … but not these ones. THE most comfortable sandals I own. And the colours are fun too!
Details: Ardene top (retail), Icone blazer, vintage skirt, Rafael Alfandary necklace (all secondhand)
Thoughts: It might seem bonkers to add more pattern to an outfit that features this skirt, but in fact it somehow makes a lot of sense. You just have to pick a good pattern. This one looks like it could almost be part of the skirt, so it works quite well. To keep the outfit from sliding into total pattern mayhem, I stuck with a plain white cropped tee as my third piece. Cropped tees — usually white, but sometimes black — have been my wardrobe MVPs this summer. They are the “glue” that holds together all my fun statement pieces.
Details: Glamorous top, Prairie Trail Goods cardigan, BDG jeans, Ralph Lauren belt, Coach bag (all secondhand)
Thoughts: Really leaning into a 70s boho vibe with this outfit, and I loved it. The mahogany brown accessories complement the pink and blue colour palette so well. The pattern mixing might seem a bit adventurous but it feels very harmonious thanks to the cohesiveness of that palette.
Details: Ardene top (retail), Lira jacket, vintage skirt, Hondo cowboy boots, vintage belt, Dooney bag (all secondhand)
Thoughts: I’ve been loving my cowboy boots so much this year, I bought another pair — this one. Now, I was hoping to find a brown pair (still looking!) but when this beauty walked into my life, so to speak, I couldn’t let it get away. It’s similar to the boots I already have, which are also grey and black, but the design on the shaft is different. For $30, I’m happy to have a second pair … especially since my daughter now wears the same shoe size and has started to, ahem, take advantage of that fact. Cowboy boots are hella expensive, so I’m considering this pair a hedge against future replacement needs. Anyway, since I love my boots so much, I’ve also started to wear shorter dresses and skirts again. In fact, I ended up buying this skirt specifically to wear with my cowboy boots. Is it too on the nose with the cowboy theme? Quite possibly. But it’s hella fun so YOLO yeehaw!
Details: Zara top, Pelican Cove vest, Brave belt, Ralph Lauren skirt, Coach bag (all secondhand)
Thoughts: You can’t tell from this photo but this top is actually dark green, not black. It’s important for me to tell you that because, IRL, that little detail made the outfit even better. Otherwise, what can I say about this? It’s my “climate control” three-piece outfit formula for summer days: crop top, vest, skirt. For me, the 3rd piece is a one of the easiest ways to make outfits look intentional, and in hot weather, vests are the ideal 3rd piece to incorporate extra colour, or pattern, or texture into an outfit.
Details: Ardene top (retail), Only & Sons jacket, Suttles & Seawinds skirt, Aldo shoes, Coach bag (all secondhand)
Thoughts: I was not kidding when I said that cropped white tees have been my summer wardrobe MVPs. Here, it plays a supporting role in a composition I would like to call “Juxtaposition”. The jacket and shoes are a different vibe from the skirt and bag, but I really enjoy the conversation they’re having. It’s unexpected, and unexpected is usually jolly good fun. As far as fashion goes, anyway 😉
Details: vintage dress, DKNY belt, Coach bag (all secondhand)
Thoughts: Funny story: I thrifted this dress for my daughter thinking that she would appreciate its fun, whimsical pattern. It was a bit of a risk, since she’s becoming increasingly picky about her style, but worse case scenario I knew that if she didn’t like it, I could exchange it (VV doesn’t do returns). I showed it to her at home and had her try it on, and she loved it. Great! I took off the tag and popped it in the wash. A week later, we’re getting ready to go for brunch and I ask her if she wants to wear it. She puts it on and decides she hates it. Gah! Pre-teens, man! It was too late to take it back to the store, so I guess this dress is mine now. It’s fine. Joke’s on her: it’s hella comfortable and perfectly breezy for summer. I’ll probably mostly wear it around the house, but it’s cute enough to take outside too. And I love cherries!
Details: Old Navy swimsuit (retail), vintage pants, Birkenstock shoes (both secondhand)
Thoughts: And now for something completely different … this is what I wore on a family outing to Voyageur Park in Devon. We had a lovely time hanging out on the “beach” by the North Saskatchewan River — the kids swam a bit, I walked along the shore and looked for rocks (which is almost as much fun as looking for seashells by the ocean), and we had a lovely picnic en plein air. This is a beautiful little spot, just a short drive from our house, and relatively quiet on weekday mornings/early afternoons. We will be going back again for sure. As far as my outfit, a wide brim hat is always a must when I’m going to be out in the sun (along with sunscreen, of course) and my plastic Birks are my go-to choice for outdoorsy shoes. I mean, I probably wouldn’t hike in them, but I can walk for miles and they’re great for sand/water. For my “cover-up”, I love these elastic waist, lightweight cotton pants because they’re breezy, easy to roll up or take off, quick to dry, and machine washable. And they just happen to coordinate really well with my favourite bikini.
If, like me, you are a Gen X / Xennial who grew up on a steady diet of Vogue and Vanity Fair, there is probably a not-insignificant folder in your mental Rolodex devoted to all things Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. There was a period of time, in the mid-to-late 90s, when CBK was the epitome of cool. But not, and I cannot emphasize this enough, Gone Girl’s Cool Girl:
“Men always say that as the defining compliment, don’t they? She’s a cool girl. Being the Cool Girl means I am a hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping, who plays video games, drinks cheap beer, loves threesomes and anal sex, and jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang while somehow maintaining a size 2, because Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl.”
CBK would never, ok? At least, she never appeared like someone who would – drink cheap beer, play video games, burp. She did not visibly strive to be accessible, relatable, accommodating. She had the world’s most eligible bachelor running after her. I think she might have even made him cry once, in public. I don’t know about the male gaze, but mine, for one, was absolutely riveted by CBK.
I was reminded of this by a recent conversation with a friend, who told me that there are two different biographies of CBK currently in the works. I am cautiously excited by this news. I add that caveat because I have little interest in a conventional biography of the woman; what I am hoping for – what I have been waiting for, all these years – is a proper deep-dive into the mystique and mythology of CBK. Her public persona is an incredibly rich text, deserving of astute, fulsome analysis. Someone like Anne Helen Peterson might do it justice. Here, you’re stuck with me, giving it a college try.
An almost heretical thought struck me recently: CBK’s style was actually kind of boring. Wait, don’t start throwing stones at your screen just yet. Hear me out. Or, rather, allow me to show you.
Yes, she looks lovely. Elegant, chic. She really nailed that 90s clean-cut minimalism – was possibly at its vanguard. But try to separate the person (and persona) from these outfits. Cover her face, and just look at the clothes themselves. These are boring-ass outfits, be honest. If I wore any of these outfits to work tomorrow, I might get a compliment, but absolutely zero people would still be thinking about them 30 years later. I actually recreated one of her outfits a few months ago – because it had been stuck in my head for about 30 years, and I finally had the pieces to make it happen – and I was shocked by how “meh” I felt wearing it. It wasn’t a bad outfit; it was just unmemorable on me.
Yet, somehow, CBK remains a fashion icon to women of my generation – and, these days, is being discovered by younger generations too. There are still so many articles being churned out that aim to teach us how to “dress like CBK” and, honestly, I am starting to think they are missing the point. What fascinates us is the aura of CBK – or, rather, that of her public persona – and her clothes are not, on reflection, the source of that fascination. Clothes did not make CBK interesting; she made the clothes interesting. Copying her outfits does not allow the rest us to enter into the magic circle.
So what was it – the secret sauce? Was it something as simple as our culture’s fixation with WASP-y, thin, conventionally attractive, blonde women? I’m sure it didn’t hurt that CBK was all of those things, but she wasn’t a unique exemplar of that type; few of her cohorts have been able to carve out a similarly enduring niche in the cultural Zeitgeist. What set CBK apart? She was a public figure for a relatively short time yet has remained a potent cultural/style reference for decades afterwards. Why?
Perhaps it all comes down to silence.
CBK entered the public sphere in the pre-social media era. The internet was barely in its infancy. Sure, there were gossip magazines and celebrity culture, but the public did not have the same level of direct access to famous people that it does now. CBK was constantly in the media – especially in NYC – but she was written about. She did not speak. I’m not sure she ever gave interviews and, if she did, they were perfunctory ones – not the kind of soul-baring exercises (premeditated, yes, but crafted to achieve the impression of authentic connection) that have become the norm in the last 20 years. In her silence, CBK became a projection screen for the narratives that fascinated and compelled society then, and now. Was she a willing participant in this – indeed, a moving party in the whole process? Honestly, I have no idea. She certainly appeared to hate the media’s obsession with her and her personal life, but whether that perception was genuine or manufactured – or maybe a little bit of both – who knows? This is the deep dive I need someone smarter than me to do!
Thinking about all of this, I realized that CBK is not an exception. Society loves silent women – women who, for whatever reason, can’t or won’t to tell their stories in their own voice. Society loves women whose stories it gets to tell. Just look at Marilyn Monroe. OK, maybe “loves” is the wrong word. Just look at Marilyn Monroe. Let’s put it this way, then: society loves to consume women whose stories it gets to control. Beautiful women, especially. We will probably never know what CBK herself thought about the stories crafted out of her silence. She will remain forever just so: frozen in silence, frozen in time. Timeless.
