Rainy Day

I caught a cold from some of my students (this is one of the downsides of teaching). Thankfully, the student whose sister has swine flu didn't come to school for a week, so I know it's just a cold and it will pass. My mother, the nurse, always says colds are underrated and this comes from a woman who taught us to be strong in the face of minor illnesses (one reason why I never missed a day of school). So I didn't feel up to doing much today anyway, except grooming the cats (Peeps is in dire need of a comb out as her long shedding fur was getting matted) and cleaning house. My friend Jane was coming in for the weekend and I was excited to have her stay. I say "was" because she first called me today to plan our weekend--she wanted to go to the Lafayette 145 sample sale today (she's quite a bit older than me). Then she called to say her flight was slightly delayed. Five hours later, she had boarded and deplaned without leaving Pittsburgh, and by 4.30, she'd got her money back and was on her way back home.

So, I have a clean house and a nicely combed out Peeps but otherwise I have done nothing much other than drink Green and Blacks hot chocolate (expensive but lovely), talk on the phone and cough a lot. Maybe it's just as well given I didn't feel that great and my brain is so fried that any writing I did today would hardly be stunning.

I did, however, belatedly order Mum some plants for Mother's Day. She loves her garden the way I love Mayle so ordinary plants don't do it for her. She likes plants that are at the unusual designer end of things, which I respect, including old varietals and traditional old English flowers. Fortunately, England has a couple of great online plant retailers, like crocus.co.uk that sell plants that are a little bit special. I got her a lilac colored delphinium, a deep red peony and a plant that appealed to me called a mullein in a peach color with pinky-lilac centers. I've never even heard of mulleins so I imagine it is different and pretty enough for Mum, but hope that it works with her soil. I just wish I could be there with her, even though England's mother's day is in March. I have the best Mum in the world, you see, even though she'll never understand my obsession with clothing. That was one quality I didn't inherit from her--instead, both grandmothers can take credit for that.

Lipstick stain removal

I was just checking my sample sale finds as I was photographing some items to put up on flickr and I noticed a red lipstick stain on the bow of my ivory Jemeen (I have no idea why I didn't see this at the sale--chalk it up to being in a rush to buy and leave). Does anybody have suggestions about how to get this removed? Is it even possible? I'm wondering if the bow will have to be taken off if I can't get a cleaner to get the stain out. I am, of course, a little upset about this. But I guess the light in the showroom wasn't that great.

Mayle for Sale, Part X

SOLD

Insanity/Greed

I just noticed somebody has put a brown Billie Douce up on ebay--starting bid $2,699.00, buy it now, $2,859.00! The greed starts now. Clearly, this is one item that won't go for anything like this price--especially as there is another one up for $399 with no bids. If people are going to be greedy, they should at least be smart enough to check out the other listings to make sure they aren't charging ten times more than other sellers. This bag is not rare. No Mayle item could possibly go for that kind of sum--not even the rarest and most desired gown/bag/coat. From what I've seen, even at $399 this bag may not sell.

Trying to focus

I thought Mayle's closing would free me to write, but I didn't take into account my continuing desires (the clogs, a Billie bag, numerous dresses/jackets/coats that may one day appear on ebay). There's also the continued frustrations of the hunt--never before have I tried to buy items from a defunct business.

Moreover, there's the end of the semester malaise. My students are tired and I see it in their eyes and in their papers. Like Evan, I have spent a fair amount of the weekend grading. As I can only stomach so much decaf Sumatran, I've been treating myself to Green and Black's hot chocolate--it is so yummy but so much more expensive here than in the UK. But it seems to work--it gets me through my stash of papers. One more to go and I'm set for another week.

At this time of year, I realize that semesters are too long--students seem to be able to concentrate for about 10-11 weeks at a time and that's it. Today's technologies may even be eroding this as they encourage ever-shorter attention spans. So I'm fighting several battles here to get them to learn when even I feel that these last few weeks are best spent working on papers and reviewing material. Of course, that's not how survey classes operate so I am presenting new material to three classes of tired students (many of whom aren't coming to class) for the next two weeks. As their finals aren't cumulative, I stress that classes now are no less important than they were five weeks ago, but I think I'm losing that battle.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking about my new projects. Finishing the intro is going to be tough--it's the worst part of any book and I have to condense 50 pages into 15-20 while adding breakdowns for two new chapters (one on early feature films, the other on celebrity in Progressive era cinema) and summarizing a couple of relevant anthologies that were published since I wrote the original. Going back to this material is daunting and I've got to get beyond my mental block. Hopefully this week, I can dive back in.

In the meantime, I'm excited about a couple of new projects. The first is an essay on the female nude in 1910s cinema and its links to art, allegory, nation and uplift in a context of censorship, regulation and mass culture. The second is my book proposal on Femininity and Popular Film and TV (working title--one that needs to be made snappier, for want of a better word)--right now, this is the Hotel for Dogs of book titles--a description of the project, not its name. The proposal is written and now I need to work on one of the sample chapters, either the one on collective female protagonists or one on objects, consumerism and agency. Given my Mayle collections, the latter may triumph.

Of course, summer teaching looms. I'm teaching Celebrity and Public Speaking (two classes, not one) for most of June. Those will pay off some of my Mayle debts, I hope.

Meanwhile, I'm still looking out for those clogs.

Mayle Clogs

I wish I'd got the black star clogs in size 10 last Friday. Does anybody know if they had any left? I thought Jane had a bag full the other day and I am kicking myself now for not seeing if there were any in my size. Does anybody know how I could contact Mayle--or what is left of it? I'm going to email mayleonline.com but I know it is unlikely that anybody will see it for a while.

Why do these desires suddenly come upon us? Is it because this closing took so long or because we can't let go?

Sorry this is an unorthodox post.

Final Mayle

First of all, I'm sorry for the lack of posts this week. Mayle's closing was exhausting both emotionally and physically, and it happened to coincide with the last few weeks of the semester where things wind up (or down) to a frenzy. So, I've been remiss in posting and I apologize for that.

Perhaps it wasn't any surprise that Mayle's closing had one last, very brief coda. As some of you know, there were items at the sale that had to be pre-ordered, largely because they didn't get delivered in time for the first day(s) of the sample sale (mainly Fedosia coats, an item that unfortunately did not come in the size 10 I needed--it ran small so the 8 wouldn't work for me). Consequently, customers had to pick these items up from the store on Wednesday and Thursday before 1 p.m. when the lease expired and all remaining fixtures and stock were removed from 242 Elizabeth Street. In the meantime, it leaked that some stock was still available, leftovers from the sale. Minimal styles and sizes were left, but it turned out some black Rosamelias were available for $95. Without the ruffle, I figured it could work, so Elise put one aside for me. I had also wanted a Billie bag in dark leather, but these won't be in until May. Evidently when they get them in, somebody will call and we'll basically get what we get. I think I'm on a wait list. Fingers crossed I'll get one.

So, it was fitting that on Thursday morning, Monica, Cindy, Julie and I found ourselves at Mayle for the final time. I picked up a bag of items Kim had ordered and snagged that black Rosamelia for myself and a cotton Ilaria for Leanne (with an extra 30% discount). Monica, Julie and Cindy picked up a few final items. By this point, there were only 2 racks of clothing left (in the back area where the sale was held) and a few small boxes of accessories--brown suede Carribea bags, elasticated belts, madcap slippers, etc. No clutches or satin pouches were left, nor were there any Yves scarves.

The best parts were getting to see Elise one more time (as lovely, upbeat and kind as ever) and meeting Jane. They were both extremely gracious--when I got there at noon, they were just one hour away from walking away forever. Movers were about to come, boxes and files of paperwork, remaining clothing and other items were being packed up, yet they were happy for Monica and I to try on a few last items (even advising that we use the changing rooms for the final time). It was strangely normal--as though the store would suddenly be restocked with another collection of beautiful and inspired clothing.

I thanked Jane for all the pleasure her beautiful work has given me over the years. She was so nice--gentle, graceful, elegant and thoughtful. I was also struck by how beautiful she is--I've seen her before and I think she was stressed out because she was pretty but looked tired. This time (and, indeed, at the sample sale), she was glowing and looked so young and beautiful. I'm always cautious about meeting people whose work I love--my friend Sean always said, "Never meet the band." This maxim seemed wise and I followed it--no point having your pleasure in someone's work ruined if they don't come across as a nice person. Meeting Jane left a nice taste in my mouth--she seemed so wonderful and so thoughtful. As with my meeting with Laetitia Sadier from Stereolab last year, I left thinking how great it was that such amazing work was produced by somebody so amazing and so beautiful, not that looks matter, but both are breathtaking women. Given that Jane was coming out of what must have been a very tiring time (wrapping up the business, the sample sale and the store closing), I couldn't believe how radiant and stylish she looked in her jeans and checked rose cotton top (not one of her own designs).

So, my Rosamelia is now at Splendid Cleaners, per Marti's recommendation, having the ruffle removed. I will pick it up on Tuesday. It should be much more wearable that way and I hope it will be $30 well spent.

So I wonder where I'll find my next Mayle pieces? Consignment, ebay? I'll keep you posted for sure.