Pre-Ramble: With New York Fashion Week behind us, it is only fitting for a design conscious blog to look back and recap some highlights. Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum and Michael Kors could be seen ring-side as collections of every stripe pranced by – floofy dresses, structured trench coats, floppy hats, geometric handbags and strappy calfskin booties from designers like Donna Karan, Alexander McQueen, Oscar de la Renta and Chanel. 

Cathy Horyn gives a review in the New York Times titled, A Sputter Here, a Spark There. I’m guessing this means that she thought some of the designers presented winning collections, while others, not so much.

As with other mediums of design – industrial design, graphic design, architecture – innovative fashion design walks the fine line between creativity (wow, that’s so edgy and cool) and commercial appeal (will a twenty-something in Iowa buy that?). This season, influential designers shredded and draped their way around the latest synthetic/organic fabrics to bring us “tribal gothic” and “young, fun, disheveled.” Apparently, the function and value of all of this lies deep in the human psyche, reflecting both the aspirational style of the wearer, as well as the essence of the cultural zeitgiest.

Frankly, whether it’s stars or stripes, … Armani or Mizrahi, … bohemian tie-dye or gold-studded leather… the runway scenario continues to mystify me. It’s not that I don’t appreciate all the inspiration, invention and craftsmanship that go into creating a high-fashion garment – I totally do.  And, it’s not that I don’t want to be stylish – I desperately do. It’s just that I repel fashion. I may as well be wearing an invisibility cloak. I’m able to manage a limited assortment of neutrals (black, white and gray), but try to add a “little color” and I feel like I’m popping out of a tiny car with floppy red shoes and a squirting lapel flower.

To that point, no discussion of recent runway trends would be complete without mention of the new leggy creatures strutting their stuff at this year’s Minnesota State Fair. Talk about animal print — Conan O’Brian’s white chocolate bust (with bacon hair) can’t hold a candle to what was going on in the livestock tent this season. Llamas, those long-necked pack animals from the highlands of Peru, ditched their trekking gear and donned “accessible American classics” for the fair’s annual 4-H Llama Costume Contest.  Lucky you – here’s a front row seat for the show:

The Take-Away:  Clearly, it’s all about attitude.  Models, and the designers who adorn them, must have a certain inborn sensibility, a panache, a plucky stance that tells the world that they – flashing the eau current fashion P.O.V. – are so all that.

Pre-Ramble:  Now that summer is on the way out and the days are getting shorter, there’s less time to dink around reading paperbacks and playing games.  Here, to assist with that issue, is a crossword puzzle from one of those new down-sized newspapers …  (as ripped off from Esquire Magazine, October 2009, p. 184).

The Take-Away:  Nothing like taking on a challenging word game to keep your intellect sharp and bring out that feeling of accomplishment!

Post-Note:  I know — this is really dumb.  I figure, if it’s stupid enough for Esquire, it’s stupid enough for me.

… (the answer is “I”)

Pre-Ramble: It never fails. I’m finishing up a stack of pancakes, reading the Sunday New York Times, when something awesome catches my eye.

I jump up, grab a pair of scissors, and cut out the article or photo or whatever.

My office is knee-deep in cut out, must-save newspaper and magazine articles. 

This week was no exception.  (See photo at right.)

For a second, I was convinced that someone had snuck into our house in 1994 and snapped a shot of my daughter’s room … except, upon closer observation, the wall color is way too neutral and there aren’t enough naked Barbies lying around. Apparently, the photo, called “Seo Woo and Her Pink Things,” is part of a Korean exhibit at The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston called “Chaotic Harmony.” Good title.

So, do you see the child — presumably Seo Woo – slumped against the wall (above right)? Yipes. How much pink nail polish can one kid really use?  How much allowance did it take to buy all this stuff?  Look how gigantic those tubes of toothpaste are in the foreground (front left)!  And, where in the heck is Seo Woo supposed to sleep?  (If this was my room, I’d be looking for a sensory deprivation tank.)

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?  I’m thinking that this probably isn’t all really Seo Woo’s stuff.  Look at those clothes HANGING UP in the background!  Look at the way those pencils are lined up …  There is definitely a mom behind this. Or a curator.

Ok, I don’t admit this to everyone. In fact, I may never have admitted this to anyone.  

Sometimes, … I will buy things for my two girls … that I secretly want for myself. It’s usually little stupid stuff, like tiny pink and green vinyl notebooks with a little tiny matching pencil. Or, there was the time I bought us all little matching silver bells with Beatrix Potter characters fused onto the top.  One year, Baby Gap had some pastel colored barrettes clipped to a piece of pale pink satin ribbon with a tiny golden jingle-bell at the end.  Never mind that my girls were too little to have any meaningful hair, they were never allowed to lay a finger on those awesome barrettes. To this day, the object de barrettes are hanging from their dusty satin ribbon on my office bulletin board.

The Take-Away:  There’s something about pink. 

Post Note:  The only thing better than pink, is pink and sparkly. 

Pre-Ramble:  So, I am totally tardy in weighing in on President Obama’s message to the nation’s schoolchildren yesterday.  The thing is, I am actually so stunned by the reaction of those who object to the president’s speech to students, even more so of those who object to the president addressing students at all, that I can barely pull my thoughts together. 

In his speech, President Obama draws upon personal experiences and makes the case for the role of education in a successful life.

He highlights education as the great equalizer and speaks to the challenges faced by young people in a media culture that often presents an unrealistic view of the world and can serve as a distraction from the knowledge, skills, habits and attitudes which would advance the likelihood of a successful future in it. 

The truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And, you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.”

What parent doesn’t want their child to hear that message?  What parent doesn’t want their child to work hard and stay in school?  What parent would rather take their child OUT OF SCHOOL, than have them listen to the president of the United States give an18 minute pep talk around the importance of education and personal responsibility?  (Are they as vigilant about what their kids are listening to the other 1,422 minutes in a day?) What parent doesn’t want their child to hear new ideas; ideas that might be counter to the ones that they hear at home?  What parent/American citizen doesn’t want their child to be more engaged in what is going on in their community, country and world?

Parents who don’t want their children to listen to the president talk about the value of education are, at the very least, missing a teachable moment — an opportunity to talk to their kids about the things that matter to them, to share their own perspectives on issues and invite their children to think for themselves about the things that are happening around them.

The Take-Away:  The more I think about it, the more I want my child to listen to that speech twice.

Pre-Ramble:  Hi all – it’s me, Daisy … I’ll be your guest writer for today, since Mom is still crawling around in the yard frantically pulling out dead annuals. … I continue to be amused by her pathetic attempt to keep some semblance of a garden growing out there.  Sure, living in a shady wooded area has its challenges, but I have to think that there is more than just a “zone issue” going on here. I’m thinking user error.

(You wouldn’t know it, but the former owner of our house was a Master Gardener and had left behind an entire phased plan for expansion of his grand vision. The first spring we were here, the grounds sprang alive with colorful groupings of exotic perennials. We aren’t allowed to mention that Mom accidentally pulled most of them out in year two, thinking they were weeds.)

So, whatever – that isn’t what I want to tell you about … I want to tell you about the VIP letter I received in the mail yesterday. You may recall my earlier post (Puppy Primer, April 15, 2009) wherein I offered a few pointers (I am part Pointer, afterall … ) to Bo, the Obama’s new dog. 

Well, lo and behold, Bo wrote back!!  Actually, the letter was probably drafted by some of Bo’s “people” and was signed by First Lady, Michelle Obama (the whole opposable thumbs thing). The letter was printed on a piece of crisp white paper that said “The White House” in blue letters at the top. Along with it was a card with Bo’s official portrait on the front (see above right) and some pertinent doggie info on the back. (Little known facts: Bo’s favorite food is tomatoes! (yuck) … And, even though he is a Portuguese water dog, Bo doesn’t know how to swim … !?)

The Take-Away: Like the Commander-in-Chief, Bo is a personable, responsive, well-mannered guy. I’m thrilled that he would take time out of his busy schedule (”making friends with foreign dognitaries”) to send me a note —