A sophisticated, stylish cultural encyclopedia, Let’s Bring Back will celebrate forgotten objects, curiosities, pastimes, landmarks, and personae from bygone eras that should not have been left behind.
Sealing wax, quill pens, and telegrams ... the Orient Express and the Palm Beach sleeper ... fainting couches, quizzing glasses and zinc bars ... top hats, dressing for dinner, and the French caricaturist “Sem” (see the drawing at left) ... the bawdy bon mots of Tallulah Bankhead and Mae West, and the wildly eccentric styles of Diana Vreeland, Isabella Blow, and the Marchesa Casasti ... ambrosia, Tipsy Parson, and star-gazey pie ... there is clearly a sumptuous amount of delightful material to explore.
Comprised primarily of selections and commentaries by Ms. Blume, Let’s Bring Back will also feature contributions from fascinating tastemakers, historians, journalists, fashion experts, activists, and other luminaries.
Look for it in a store near you soon!
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One night, in a bygone era, the Oscar de la Rentas gave a dinner party. And at that party, the following exchange allegedly took place:
Swifty Lazar, famed literary agent, turned to the legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland and said:
“The problem with you, dollface, is that your whole world is nostalgic.”
D.V.‘s response:
“Listen, Swifty, we all have our own ways of making a living, so shut up.”
And then she punched him right in the nose.
You might think that this was a rather extreme reaction, but if you ask me, it was perfectly justified. For I, like Diana Vreeland, am an incurable nostalgist, and life is very difficult for this particular breed of creature these days. We can barely keep our noses above water, with all of this IMing and texting and Blackberrying and Tweeting and Facebooking going on. We have to fight hard to preserve our sepia-drenched outlooks.
I would have hit Swifty Lazar too, just to take a stand.
To be fair, I enjoy my iPod as much as the next person, and I do write for online publications, which is an undeniably contemporary diversion. Even ole’ D.V. admitted to the advantages of living in the age of penicillin.
But for all of the advantages of modern, whirring uber-connectedness, there are many instructive, old-fashioned rituals and pleasures that get lost in the shuffle or rudely shunted aside.
For years, Vreeland penned a renown, imaginative, and often-hilarious column titled Why Don’t You ...? for Bazaar magazine.
Let’s Bring Back is in part my homage to her work and worldview. Each Let’s Bring Back column is a list of forgotten or foresaken rituals, curiosities, objects, personae, and ideas that we should reintroduce into our lives.
Because untempered modernity can be such a bore.
The columns’ suggestions are at once frivolous and substantive; some are outright outlandish, and others poignant.
Above all, they are intended to celebrate the history of artful living—and remind readers to treat their own lives as high art.
Enjoy the features below, and make sure to weigh in with your own suggestions in the comments sections.
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Today’s adrenaline-pumped fashion shows are a relatively recent phenomenon. In eras past, designs were presented to clients at chic poolside presentations or at delightful little department store luncheons (Waldorf salad, rather than global outreach, was the order of the day). In this special edition of Let’s Bring Back, I look at the history of the American fashion show.
Christmas goose, ice skating parties, and fur muffs: a Let’s Bring Back list of delightful holiday-season nostalgia.
A special edition of my Let’s Bring Back column, honoring the Obamas’ first state dinner tonight. The Kennedys touted the virtues of aspic, the Franklin Roosevelts scandalized the polite world with an all-American entrée, and George Washington gave new meaning to the phrase “no frills.”
Fashion Week is underway in New York City, and American designers are showcasing their visions of the future. I’m watching the proceedings with great interest, but also thinking about celebrated designers of bygone eras, whose works once shimmered on runways. In this special edition of Let’s Bring Back ..., let’s wind back the clock and spend some time with Paul Poiret, Elsa Schiaparelli, Oleg Cassini, and six other colorful designers of yesterday.
Since moving into the White House, the Obamas have thrown poetry slams, hosted glittering galas, and planted a First Vegetable Garden. Michelle Obama in particular has ushered in new era of style and entertaining - and she’s chosen to include us in the fun. This special edition of Let’s Bring Back celebrates several of the White House’s most inclusive hostesses, including Lucy Hayes, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
This special edition of Let’s Bring Back—my recurring column that celebrates personae and rituals from past eras—looks at some of the twentieth century’s most prominent models, from Lisa Fonssagrives to Twiggy to Iman.
No anniversary should have to endure the saccharine waft of Hallmark cards and roses. Let’s bring back and reinvent traditional anniversary gifts. Here are some whimsical and unlikely suggestions, from cotton teepees to red silk parachutes.
Things would be so much lovelier if powder puffs, old theater marquees, and Surrealist fashion were still a part of our lives. Because nothing makes a lady of fashion stand out more than a lobster-shaped hat perched on top of her head.
These days, litigation is too bloody cost-prohibitive, and it takes so long. So let’s bring back duels, and get things done quickly and with great fanfare. Also due for a comeback: honeybees, elevator operators, and eloping.
This week, I’m wishing back hourglass figures, charm schools (because we all know someone who needs some education in this regard), and the Roman Gods (they were just so damn entertaining).
Who wouldn’t want to receive a telegram, bearing the news of an unexpected inheritance or some such? Let’s bring ’em back, I say — along with live-in butlers, subversive pamphlets, and curvacious fashion models.
Sex and politics are a time-hallowed, natural mix. So let’s bring back political cabarets. Garters and fistfights—what could be better? Fifteen things that deserve to be resurrected.
I’d give anything to re-open El Morocco or the Stork Club. Imagine those discreet curved leather booths, palm trees, and a wonderful old-fashioned ebony telephone on each table. Fondue, picnics, and the Carol Burnett show also make appearances on this eclectic list.
A man in a hat just looks so cool. Not to mention polished and confident. So let’s bring back fedoras. There was a time when no self-respecting man would leave the house without one. And while we’re at it, let’s wish back fountain pens, white tennis clothes ... and manners.
March 03, 2010
Vogue documents Ms. Blume’s latest fashion statement
January 20, 2010
New book deal with Knopf!
December 04, 2009
Curiously attired, Ms. Blume turns up in Vanity Fair
September 21, 2009
Elle magazine spotlights Ms. Blume
August 25, 2009
Today: Tennyson released in paperback!
Lesley M.M. Blume is an author, journalist, columnist, cultural observer, and bon vivant based in New York City, where she was born. Learn more about her after the leap.
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