Fashion – Writing New Jersey Life

Category: Fashion

Enjoy seeing “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” this year’s exhibition of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, through October 26^th. The exhibition examines Black style over a 300-year period via dandyism, a fusion of African and European styles, and how style has contributed to the development of Black identity. The exhibit defines a dandy as a person who “studies above everything else to dress elegantly and fashionably”. Zora Neale Hurston’s essay “Characteristics of Negro Expression” (1936) was the springboard for the twelve sections, or aspects, of dandyism that the exhibition presents. Following are a few highlights:

A Jeffrey Banks Ensemble [1980’s] and suit for Andre Leon Talley, “fashion icon,” “creative director and editor at large at ‘Vogue,’ and Paris bureau chief of ‘Women’s Wear Daily'” by Morty Sills (1986), the latter “bespoke tailor” mentioned in the film “Wall Street”:

Josephine Baker portrait by Teddy Piaz (1932) in a tailless tuxedo by Arturo Cifonelli; Ms. Baker, who fought in the French Resistance and wore a Free French uniform at the March on Washington with Dr. King, was the first Black woman inducted into the Pantheon with France’s other military heroes:

Louis Vuitton Ensemble by Pharrell Williams (2025), inspired by the Air Afrique uniforms revived in a collective by Lamine Diaoune; Air Afrique, with stylish uniforms by Dior, supported African art, films, and fashion, was an airline founded by eleven decolonized African countries in 1961 to promote “intra-African travel and culture development”:

“Tailcoat worn by Grace Jones” by Jean Paul Gaultier (2011-12) at the annual amfAR Inspiration Gala in Brazil in 2012. Ms Jones collaborated with both Mr. Gaultier and headwear designer Philip Treacy:

“Portrait of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas,” (1801), by Louis Gauffler depicts the father of the novelist Alexader Dumas; Thomas-Alexandre, son of a marquis and a mother who was a slave in Saint-Domingue (Haiti), he was the first Black to rise to the rank of General-in-Chief of the French Army; his imprisonment in a dungeon during part of the French Revolutionary War inspired “The Count of Monte Cristo”:

House of Balmain Ensemble by Olivier Rousteing (2023), black velvet coat with gold metallic braid embroidered with pearls and crystals inspired by a 19th-century French cavalry jacket paired with black track pants; Mr. Rousteing refers to those who wear and admire his clothes as “Balmain’s Army”:

Hat worn by Walt Frazier (ca. 2010) and ‘Jet’ magazine cover (1974); Mr. Frazier’s nickname “Clyde” came from the fedoras he wore that were reminiscent of Warren Beatty’s from ‘Bonnie & Clyde’; Mr. Frazier developed the Clyde line of sneakers with PUMA, still popular today.

Silk shirts by Joe Casely-Hayford OBE [1980’s], part of a series from the renowned tailor for whom the British Fashion Council Foundation have established a scholarship with Casely-Hayford. (britishfashioncouncil.co.uk):

“Maya Angelou Passport Ensemble” (2023-24) from LABRUM London by Foday Dumbaya, which represents Mr. Dumbaya’s immigration journey from Sierra Leone to London; inspired by Ms. Angelou’s ‘Passports to Understanding’ essay in “Wouldn’t Take Nothing from My Journey Now” (1993):

Andre Leon Talley Louis Vuitton trunks (1990) – The possession of luggage represents freedom and prosperity:

Guest curator and Barnard College professor Moncia L. Miller, author of “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” wrote the labels for the exhibition. Funding is by Luis Vuitton with “Instagram, the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, Africa Fashion International, founded by Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, The Perry Foundation, and Conde Nast”.

Some of the tailors and designers from or relevant to the exhibition, like Charlie Casely-Hayford, the son of Joe Casely-Hayford, shared their interpretations of dandyism for attendees of this year’s Met Gala.

Music in the Instagram post @kathleenhelenlevey: “Take the ‘A’ Train” by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. (Additional sources: Met Museum, apnews.com, vogue.com, nytimes, wiki, Andre Leon Talley @andreltalley, americainclass.org/RutgersU/Cheryl Wall, 1997, essence.com, casely-hayford.com, rolfpotts.com, esquire.com, barnard.edu, isac.uchicago.edu/museum-exhibit, @chrisroyerscollections IG, monacolife.net, airmail.news, amazon.com, us.puma.com)

The National Arts Club: In Love with the Arts

By Kathleen Helen Levey

On February 15, 2021

In Architecture, Art, Arts, Culture, Fashion, Travel

“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” Vincent Van Gogh

The National Arts Club earns a renown for its impressive art, engaging events, and a National Historic Landmark home in Gramercy Park, but its true vibrancy comes from its members. The Club members celebrate, promote, and educate others about the “visual arts, literature, film, architecture, fashion, photography and music” in the warm way of passing along a book that is too good not to share.

The Club that helps keep the arts alive in the city began in 1898 with Charles Augustus de Kay, the art and literary critic for The New York Times. Mr. de Kay’s goal was to look to American artists for inspiration rather than European, which was traditional at the time, and to encourage public interest in the arts and education in fine arts. With the help of philanthropist Spencer Trask, Mr. de Kay and fellow founding members like Henry Frick purchased the Victorian Gothic Revival mansion of Samuel J. Tilden, 25^th governor of New York, for the Club. Governor Tilden, who ended New York City corruption, most notably that of Tammany Hall, had bequeathed his fortune for a citywide New York Public Library. His stately home at 15 Gramercy Park South in the Gramercy Park Historic District was formerly two brownstones joined by a sandstone façade designed by Calvert Vaux, co-creator of Central Park. For the mansion’s exterior, Mr. Vaux used the Aesthetic Movement style that emphasized bringing beauty into all aspects of life, making it the ideal home for the Club. In a 2008 restoration, New York City-Brazilian artist Sergio Rosetti Morosini, active in the conservation of the city’s landmarks, added a bust of Michelangelo above the Club’s entrance. The interior includes magnificent stained-glass panels by artist John LaFarge, who had a studio in Greenwich Village, and a stained-glass dome by Scottish-born artisan Donald McDonald.

“Joyce Carol Oates,” NAC Medal recipient

The building is so elegant and distinctive that filmmakers and television producers have requested it for works like “The Age of Innocence,” “The Manhattan Murder Mystery,” “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1999), “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Billions,” “Gotham,” “Jimmy Choo,” and “Boardwalk Empire”. Even more distinctive is the welcoming of women as members since the Club’s 1898 founding. Historical name dropping of former members includes artistic greats like painters Cecilia Beaux, Frederic Remington, William Merritt Chase, George Bellows, Chen Chi and sculptors Anna Hyatt Huntington, Robert Henri, Daniel Chester French, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

With such names, one might mistake the Club as being pretentious, but members are there to share a genuine love of the arts. Crossing the threshold means receiving a friendly greeting not only from other members but long-time staff. The atmosphere is lively for the sociable and serene for artists at work. Dining amidst beautiful artworks, resuming again Tuesday with safety protocols, is another opportunity to connect. Lectures and events cover topics including art, fashion, fragrances, cuisine, dance and movement, film screenings, and concerts featuring jazz, classical, and contemporary music. In the past year, the Club has celebrated its fun traditions virtually with events like this month’s Bonnet Bash hat contest, the holiday concert with the Gramercy Brass Orchestra, the Halloween Gala, and Open House New York.

Membership includes worldwide access to other clubs. Additional membership perks allow access to meeting and event rooms, overnight accommodation, and Gramercy Park, the last private park in Manhattan, all the more relaxing for restricting photography.

Important traditions recognize lifelong contributors to the arts with the National Arts Club Medal and encourage new playwrights with the Kesselring Prize for Playwrighting. Medal recipients, whose portraits adorn the walls, include Anna Sui, Joyce Carol Oates, Frederica von Stade, Patricia Field, Claire Bloom, Ellen Burstyn, Toni Morrison, Nadine Gordimer, Lin Manuel-Miranda, John Turturro, Itzhak Perlman, Ang Lee, Salman Rushdie, Spike Lee, I.M. Pei, Tom Wolfe, Frank McCourt, W.H. Auden, Saul Bellow, Tennessee Williams, Roy Lichtenstein, Philip Roth, Mark Twain, Downing Vaux, Calvert’s son, and more. The Kesselring Prize awarded in honor of Joseph Kesselring, best known for writing “Arsenic and Old Lace,” presently honors playwright Mona Mansour. Selected new artists receive support as Artist Fellows which gives them a membership for one year to enhance their careers.

The National Arts Club has carried on gracefully during this past year underscoring the importance of the uplifting to inspire and connect us. Artists, too, are visionaries, who give us pause to reflect. In a place where a love of art, life, people, and the city all flow together, this nonprofit’s extraordinary and newly renovated galleries are free and open to the public daily, 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with reservations presently for safety. Additionally, gallery spaces are available for non-members. (Note: On view as of early 2022: “Art of the Abstract Mark,” Libbie Marks’ collage paintings, the “Will Barnet Student Show,” which welcomes new young artists, “Consequences: A Parlor Game,” which showcases the work of the National Academicians of 2021, and “A Century of American Landscape Art,” some landscape “treasures” from the Club’s permanent collection of more than 600 works of art.) Enjoy exhibition updates and Club news on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, which offers a virtual tour, also available on the NAC website.

“Benny Goodman,” NAC Medal recipient, by fellow medalist and Club member Everett Raymond Kinstler

While living in the city, I had the pleasure of being an affiliate member for a time through an alumnae group, which was an incredible experience. Later, I attended the most welcoming and cordial reception and tour, which included a view of The Players club for the performing arts next door, through another alumni association. A delightful lecture from curators from The Clark Art Institute and French National Heritage for the exhibition “Women in Paris, 1850-1900” marked the occasion of another memorable stop.

“Some Little Talk of Me and Thee There Was,” 1905-1909, by Harry Willson Watrous

On my most recent visit, which fell on Valentine’s Day of last year right before the pandemic began, the Media/Marketing Communications director kindly gave two talented British travel and cuisine writers and myself a morning tour. Such fans of New York City, the couple was here to celebrate his birthday. Having seen a number of the inspirational city sights on other trips, they asked me about a unique and wonderful New York City experience for which the only answer was, “The National Arts Club.” On every visit, I am thrilled by being in the company of people who also value what I love.

Valentine’s Day 2020 was a day of kindnesses, so in keeping with the true nature of the city. Though this valentine meandered en route for a while, it still arrives heartfelt.

(Sources: NAC website and social media, onthesetofnewyork,com, saxonhenry.com (member), the artstory.org, ny.curbed.com, tripadvisor.com, goodreads.com, Wiki)

Partial view of the Club’s historic brownstone home (2017)

The Garden of Friendship

By Kathleen Helen Levey

On February 1, 2021

In Fashion, Friendship, Gardening

A snow-laden winter garden may appear bleak, but beneath the earth beats the slow, steady heartbeat of hibernation. The emerging January light, perhaps the finest for photography, has a newborn clarity. January, associated with the Roman god of transition and beginnings, Janus, looks both forward and backward in his depictions. He takes the wisdom drawn from the past into the future, an investment much like the good faith planting of seeds.

With all of us keen for spring and the making of new memories, it is in the quiet time of winter that the groundwork for the miraculous happens. Looking back, we appreciate the qualities that initially drew us to friends, sustaining memories even though we may enjoy the beauty of snow and crisp, clear winter days while we wait “safely apart”. (Quotations marks convey the hope that these pandemic expressions will one day fade away from our collective memory.)

Wonderful friendships may have dubious beginnings. One friend who loved gardens and helped them flourish approached me across a middle school cafeteria during study hall. Certain I was in trouble, a fait accompli for the teenage mindset, it was quite the opposite – she worked in the school and needed a volunteer. Immediately, I admired her style. She always wore a colorful scarf, fabulous earrings, and/or a vibrant lipstick – that conveyed her appreciation for beauty. As a fan of Maureen O’Hara, I loved her red hair. This graceful woman and a gangly teenager may have seemed an unlikely duo, but the chemistry of friendship was there. Our friendship evolved like one of those lovely life surprises when your friends’ children also grow up to become your friends.

No friend was more loyal. We were each other’s cheerleaders during short hems, long hems, big hair, sleek hair, and regular to gel manicures. We shared scoops on everything from sales on bakeware to arts & cultural events. She rolled with my youthful Star Trekkiness as I did with her mystifying love of cats. (Kidding, cat fans.) No one topped her for the relish and rapid-fire sharing of news-breaking gossip divulged to her circle of friends, but like a skillful tightrope walker, she balanced airily far above meanness. She and her husband, also a wonderful friend, kindly extended themselves to many friends and former students for years.

My favorite story about her is one that I cannot share, but it involved her inventive and hilariously audacious sleuthing to help a wronged friend. (Will leave this to your imagination for now to preserve everyone’s privacy.) Nora Ephron once wrote about her disappointment that while dining out with family and friends that no one had told her that she had spinach in her teeth the entire evening. Mine was the friend of the gentle nudge or signaling nod who saved me from many awkward social situations like a slip hanging out. (Checked Macy’s online, and slips appear not to have fallen prey to COVID chic.) No one could ever even insinuate, much less say a bad word about anyone she loved in her presence, which was a rare gift to all of us as loyalties now change along with trending hashtags. Lest my friend, who became our family friend, seem too serious, it was our shared laughter that I most recall along with our second birthday celebrations together, being almost birthday twins.

In the way that both falling snowflakes on the face awaken us or the first spring breeze feels on bare skin, thinking of my friend brings home the pleasure of a garden. In her retirement, she volunteered at a beautiful arboretum among many nonprofits. She most enjoyed working in the garden away from the politics of the office, displaying perennial wisdom. Showing children how to appreciate nature and pass along beloved flowers, plants, and trees through generations was a true joy. Having grown up with a special magnolia tree, lilac bush, and weeping willow trees planted by and for family members, I can understand the deep-seated satisfaction of gardeners like my friend who grow flowers, plants, and trees anew from those passed down to them by parents and grandparents. These make a new place truly home, especially now with so many having moved. As for my friend’s own flowers, as a meal shared with friends tastes better, so the flowers in her garden were more fragrant and the petals like velvet to the touch.

Our family friend was a prolific reader with virtuosity in discussing authors and their works. My wish was to delight her by being successful with writing in her lifetime, but her love was not dependent upon any behavior or success – it was for who I was, her most generous gift. Though parting a few years ago was difficult, I was grateful to be here in the Garden State again to show her my gratitude and love while she was ill, small gestures along with those dedicated ones of her loving family and friends-like-family. Devoted to her husband and family, she summoned all her strength to live until her 50th wedding anniversary, which she did with great joy. Her life-affirming appreciation of God’s gift of nature’s beauty reflected a steadfast belief that we would all meet again.

Writing about my friend has brought long-awaited snow, a gift indeed. Next month, a visit to the arts, which my friend would have enjoyed.

(Sources: extension.umaine.edu/gardening, merriam-webster.com, Wiki)

Writing New Jersey Life

People and places of New Jersey…with some travels.

Category: Fashion

Highlights from “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The National Arts Club: In Love with the Arts

The Garden of Friendship

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