BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS: NATIONAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY

 

65F5FA3A-A0DD-4A39-B7D5-75E9AA4FD24AEvery day is Independent Bookstore Day to me, at least every day is “Book Day”! The above photo is almost my to be read stack….and I think it is short!  I thought I would just do a short post of what is on my list.  I never do negative reviews, so you may see a title that doesn’t get space on my blog or in reviews.  Being a Pollyanna, perhaps, but too many to read, to read books I don’t enjoy.  With a minimum (and yes, it is a minimum) of 12 fashion/lifestyle books per year for nenasnotes The Fashion Book Club plus everything else I want to share…it becomes a bit overwhelming and I’m not a full time book reviewer….well here goes!

I’ve written about my life long book obsession and now I have the privilege of doing book reviews and recommendations on nenasnotes.  And nenasnotes The Fashion Book Club will celebrate its first anniversary in May!  Where do the years go…I can’t answer that for you.

I have been so fortunate to have The Book Stall as my partner for the monthly nenasnotes The Fashion Book Club.  They are fabulous with their cooperation and the staff is extraordinary in their knowledge and helpfulness, (they are not a sponsor of this blog!)  I want to start taping my conversations with the authors to share with all of you in some format, probably a nenasnotes podcast….stay tuned for further details, a great way to begin year two!  If you are interested in learning more about nenasnotes The Fashion Book Club you can leave your email in the comment section of this blog or email me at nenasnotes1@gmail.com.

The April book selection was the just released Yves Saint Laurent: The Biography by Laurence Benaim, the first originally written in English.  A very long and minutely detailed accounting of Saint Laurent’s life…filled with quotes from those who knew this iconic designer.  It chronicles his life from birth to death and was sanctioned by Saint Laurent’s late partner, Pierre Bergé.  My group loved Saint Laurent’s life timeline as well as notations at the back of the book.  It isn’t a one day or one weekend read, extremely through and one that will enhance your growing fashion library.  The only negative from my group is that it isn’t illustrated…they do like “pictures” to emphasize the text…I can’t disagree since we are dealing with visual items….clothing and interiors.  I hadn’t planned on ending my first year with a Saint Laurent biography having begun the journey last May with Loulou & Yves: The Untold Story of Loulou de la Falaise and the House of Saint Laurent by Christopher Petkanas, who discussed his wonderful book in conversation with me.  I profiled the book on the blog last May.  I would highly recommend you read both being the fashion savvy readers you are!

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Next month’s selection is the newly published POINT OF VIEW: Forty Years in Fashion by Tonne Goodman and yes, it has “pictures”!  I haven’t read it as yet…looks fabulous. The cover alone makes it a must have, stunning!

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What am I reading right now and will review in detail…Ruth Reichl’s new Memoir Save Me the Plums…so far I am absolutely loving it and highly recommend you put it on you To Be Read list, I know you will love it too.  Reichl is an engaging, brilliant and beautiful writer.  Do you miss GOURMET as much as I do?!

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Here are some my upcoming books in no particular order…full disclosure, I purchase many (all my fashion/lifestyle books), am given Advance Readers Copies (ARC) to review, and also use the Chicago Public Library…I’ve been a Library hound since birth!!!!  I, of course, prefer to have a book in my hands but often my ARC’s are ebooks.

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Yes, I do read a “cozy” now and again….clears the mind and I like a series when doing them, often I turn to Laura Childs.

I’ll post reviews on each….obviously it will take a bit of time to do them all and this is just the tip of the TBR pile…I obviously need to take a deep breath and jump in….bear with me!

This Books Books Books post, like all my book posts, is underwritten by an anonymous sponsor.  If you are interesting in supporting nenasnotes please contact me for detailed information.

FASHION FOREVER: THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PEARLS

 

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I have always been enamored with pearls and their association with fashion but there is so much more to them…the history is fascinating…from natural pearls to cultured, from Haute Couture, to Opera, to Royalty, to Art, to Romance, and on and on….whether a single strand or a extravagant bib the pearl has so many interpretations….let’s look at some.

The natural pearl is harvested by mostly female ame pearl divers in Japan

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Natural pearls…

”Cultured pearls are real, genuine pearls that are formed inside a living oyster with human intervention. When a nucleus is surgically implanted in the oyster’s flesh, the oyster recognises it as an irritant and begins to coat it with smooth layers of nacre. Over time, the growing pearl gets completely covered with the beautiful iridescent substance we call nacre, or mother-of-pearl. All pearls sold today are cultured pearls, with the exception of vintage estate jewellery and heirloom pieces that are more than 80 years old.“

“Natural pearls, on the other hand, are formed naturally by free-range “wild” oysters living at sea without any encouragement from humans. When a natural irritant such as a fragment of shell, a scale or a parasite becomes lodged inside an oyster or mollusk, it gets coated with layer upon layer of nacre. Contrary to popular belief, grains of sand do not form pearls. If sand were enough of an irritant, our ocean floors would be littered with millions of natural pearls! Natural pearls are actually very rare, mostly because pearl-producing species of mollusks were nearly hunted to extinction with most natural beds of pearl-bearing oysters depleted by over-harvesting in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, natural pearls are extremely rare. Only 1 in about 10,000 wild oysters will yield a pearl and of those, only a small percentage achieve the size, shape and colour desirable to the jewellery industry.” Source: Raw Pearls

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Kokichi Mikimoto

“Mikimoto learned that Akoya oysters produced the best pearls. He explored methods of introducing a particle into the flesh of the oyster to stimulate secretions of “nacre” that build up in hundreds of thousands of layers, creating a lustrous pearl. He overcame many failed experiments and challenges of nature, from oyster-eating octopi to a disastrous “red tide” of bacteria that threatened the survival of his oyster beds.” Be sure to go the Mikimoto website, linked here, for the extraordinary story of the originator of the cultured pearl. Source: Mikimoto Pearls

Pearls in history….

A mosaic….

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Queen Elizabeth I

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Whoopi Goldberg hosting the Oscars several years ago…gowned as Queen Elizabeth I

Vermeer’s The Girl With The Pearl Earring

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A bejeweled  Maharajah

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Georges Bizet’s Les Pecheurs de Perles, The Pearl Fishers….one of my favorite opera’s, of course the highlight, the duet, it is definitely my favorite operatic piece!! https://operaq.com.au/news/the-pearlfishers-duet/

Queen Victoria…

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Mata Hari probably wearing Paul Poiret….

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A couple of showgirls in costume…..

Of course, Gabrielle Chanel…..always mixing real and faux

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Lagerfeld for Chanel….love these!!!

I’m obsessed with this look from the 1930’s

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As well as this one…

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The iconic Audrey Hepburn in the iconic black dress and pearls in Breakfast at Tiffany’s

First Ladies and their “pearls”….cultured and faux….

Diana….

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Liz with Queen Mary’s beyond exquisite La Peregrina pearl sold at auction for $11.8 million

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Liz with more pearls…..

Marie Antoinette’s pear and diamond pendant sold at auction for $32 million

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Something in a tiara perhaps from the English Crown Jewels….0371ED77-015F-4DBF-A285-08AA77FBA8DB

Gloria Vanderbilt at home…

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The modernity of this classic on Rihanna…

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Masses of pearls

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The elegant embroidery of Lasage for a Haute Couture piece…

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Nena in a treasured Adolfo jacket with wide pearl beading around neck, down the front of the jacket and on the cuffs…the beading,  Photo courtesy of the Nena Ivon Archives at Columbia College Chicago

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A few more books, one non-fiction the others fiction.

All photos, unless otherwise noted, from Pinterest photo credits unknown.

WEDNESDAY MUSINGS: RUBIES

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Yesterday’s post on the book Death Among Rubies got me thinking about gems and rubies in particular.  I know more about diamonds and emeralds, my two favorite gems than I do about rubies.  Let’s investigate together, shall we!!

I found that rubies are often more valuable than diamonds and are in the same category as sapphires.   They are graded with the same four C’s as diamonds, color, cut, clarity and carat weight.  They are also valued by where there are found, the most prized are from the Far East.  They are the July birthstone and are said to be a symbol of love and passion…obviously with their depth of color. Just a teeny overview of this incredible stone.  Isn’t nature a wonder….look at what rock can produce, extraordinary!!!

imageA ruby in its natural state.

imageExamples of cut stones.

If you have not visited the Grainger Hall of Gems at the Field Museum it is a must see.

imageNatural ruby crystals in marble in the Grainger Hall of Gems at the Field Museum.

The Field Museum was (and still is) one of my most favorite museums anywhere (my other Chicago favorite is the Art Insitute but all our museums are amazing).  I remember as a child going with my parents and all areas were exciting to me but the two exhibitions I always had to visit were the butterfly collections and the Hall of Gems. Both were jewels in my mind.

imageFrom the Field Museum bookstore.

The Hall of Gems, as well as the entire Museum, has seen extensive changes since my childhood but it still features not only exquisite gems and jewelry but also gives the visitor an in-depth education of the story behind the stones using all the technology we have today.  http://www.fieldmuseum.org

imageNinety carats of rubies set in platinum encircled in diamonds on a diamond chain from the Grainger Hall of Gems at the Field Museum. I’m starting to love rubies!!!!

imageElizabeth Taylor’s famous Cartier ruby and diamond necklace and earrings gifts from Mike Todd in 1957, Van Cleef and Arpels ring from Richard Burton in 1968.

imageNew York City Ballet performing the Rubies Suite from George Balanchine’s ballet Jewels. I was extremely fortunate to see the premiere in New York in April 1967.  It is a stunning piece.  Along with Rubies, the other two acts are Diamonds and Emeralds.  The next time I saw it performed was at Ravinia many years ago.

imageThis is how I envision the dagger from the pages of Death Among Rubies, a horrible way to use such a magnificent piece.

What is your favorite gem?  Do share.

All images from Pinterest photo credits unknown.