My parents infused my life with beauty and subsequently instilled a love of it in me.  I remember my father taking the time to show me the striking beauty of a single red tulip pushing its way through the snow in Wrightwood when I was nine.  I don’t remember anything else about that day.  It’s a hazy blur in my mind which is highly unusual for me.  If I can remember a single event of a day, I can generally recall the entire day or at least a significant portion of it.  Not that one.  I remember the tulip.  It looked like a rosebud standing poudly and a little fearfully in the snow.  I have a picture of it somewhere.

 

I remember them showing me the detail of the capital buildings in most American cities.  Have you noticed that they all look pretty much alike in general but the details are strikingly unique?

 

The California State Capitol Building

 

 

The Vermont Capitol Building

 

 

 

The United States Capitol Building

 

 

 

Even the Florida State has a hint of the dome!

 

 

All of the buildings I saw, even those without domes, still fit the feel of a “capitol building.”

 

Even if the neo-classical architecture of those older buildings don’t appeal to your personal sense of asthetics, I can’t imagine anyone not seeing that much time and attention to detail went into those older buildings.  They weren’t merely functional.  There was more to it than just how many offices you could pack into a city block. 

 

Even more sleek buildings like the Chrysler Building have asthetic appeal. 

 

          or       

 

 

It seems to me that in years past, function and beauty were not incompatible ingredients to life.  Houses were designed with carved molding, inset bookshelves, windowseats ad who knows what.  Bridges were beautiful.  BRIDGES.  No, I’m not talking about the quaint covered bridges of places like Vermont and Pennsylvania.  How about the bridges over the freeways of Los Angeles?

 

 

Then there were the clothes.  Detail seems to have abounded in every direction.  A womangoes to an afternoon party or a baby shower or to church and wore a dress, pumps, gloves, hat, necklace, earrings…

 

Today, I often read of or see women wearing shorts and t-shirts to church.  It isn’t that I’m against t-shirts or shorts for that matter but it does seem that in our desire for comfort and ease that we’ve lost our love for beauty.  Even  velour jogging suit has a certain amount of “style” to it in comparison to old sweats and a baggy t-shirt… and is just as comfortable.

 

What would happen if clothing designers today took outfits like this…

 

 

And made them out of comfortable fabrics, with built-in “support” if the design needed it, and easily dressed up or down?

 

Why are jeans and t-shirts the preferred garments by most people?  I think it is because they are

• sturdy  (last a long time)
• versatile
• comfortable
• forgiving (look decent on most shapes)

 

In 1908, just 100 years ago, people didn’t look for short-cuts at the expense of beauty.  This is why a jean skirt (preferrably as faded as possible and possibly ‘torn’) and a ’structured’ (I prefer the word tailored… I don’t like feeling like I’m wearing a building) blouse are considered dressy in some circles. 

 

I’d love to see new designers come forward and meld the beauty and attention to detail of the past with our need for more casual and our desire for comfort.  I’d love to see people show up for baby showers wearing a dress or pant outfit that is just as comfortable as a pair of jeans or a denim skirt but has some beauty to it.

 

I’d love to see the return of hats.  Maybe I’d learn what kind I can actually wear.  Maybe I’d learn why they went ‘out’! 

 

I guess that I just think that our desire for a more casual look has grown from casual to flat out lazy.  Don’t get me wrong,  I am as bad as the next gal! I wear my Wal-mart Croc knock-offs almost exclusively… including to the memorial service I attended yesterday.   I havent’ made finding a decent pair of shoes a priority.  I need to do that. 

 

I’m working on a more “together” look.  I’m working on finding a way to quit seeking the fast route and look for the beautiful one.  Don’t you sometimes get tired of the same old, same old?

 

I’d love to go back to old-fashioned glamour.  It seems that today glamour has been replaced by glitz.  What I don’t want to see, however, is a return to clothing that requires more maintenance than the wearer.  That was defintely a problem in the past and I’d rather see people spend time with people than spend time on the nurturing of their wardrobe.