The hilariously faceless woman
Sharing my love of humor in fashion and art.
I always wanted to grow up to be like any of the characters in L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series, but two stick out in particular: 1) Mrs. Blythe, mother to Anne’s love interest and eventual husband, Gilbert Blythe; 2) Faith Meredith, John Meredith’s first daughter and Anne’s future daughter-in-law. Why? Because both were known for their love of laughter, and Faith, too, a free-spirited children’s literature version Joan of Arc-ness.1 I think I even considered naming my daughter Faith Meredith Hyun!
All that to say, I’m glad that I laugh a lot these days. It’s one of the things that helps me realize when I am truly in love with something. For example, I find great humor in fashion. Most everyone has likely seen French designer Martin Margiela’s iconic “Tabi” boots and/or ballet flats with the big toe wedged apart from the four smaller toes. But have you seen the clear sneakers version of this?
A total riot! Especially imagining the wearer’s socks as well.
Another good laugh is Balenciaga’s “Blackout” bag. Coming off the heels of 2001’s bag that launched a thousand bags, the “City,” Balenciaga released the “Blackout” some fifteen years later. I just about died in Barney’s SF when I saw the new version.
Here is the “City” pictured first, on the arm of it-maker herself, Sienna Miller:
Fast forward through 9/11 + the dot-com bust + housing bubble + Great Recession + the iPhone + Céline + President Obama, and you get:
What an amalgamation!
Fashion can be humorous in print as well. Here is the model Nadia Vodianova as Alice from “Alice in Wonderland,” styled by Grace Coddington and photographed by Annie Leibovitz in 2003. It has to be one of the most imaginative fashion shoots of all time.
Incredible. Not only are the dresses and environs lovely, but Ms. Coddington also brings out the individual designers’ personalities though the story. If I (or anyone) ever get to writing a fashion textbook on the early aughts, this shoot would definitely be on the cover. The depth of talent, history, iconic modeling and the Internet kind of make for a Germany-and-classical-music sort of moment for me.
Which brings me to the main point of this post, which is to share some great artwork by a French duo made up of photographer Pascaline Dargant and artist Caroline Denervaud called the Heidies. I came across their work shopping for art on the Tappan Collective, and had my first true ROGL moment. It’s likely something having to do with a woman once again, and a faceless one at that. But unlike “Christina,” the Heidies’ woman is always in control of her person and her place, until she’s of course hilariously not:
One of my all time faves, with the gallery info with it:
Pink dress! And one more: The next four are part of a series called Les Boudeuses:
LOL, truly. Check out The Heidies’ website for more of their collection. It is all so feminine, smart and fun!
Thank you for visiting.
Rainbow Valley, the 7th book in the series, is one of my favorite books of all time. I might think it is even more important to read as an adult.
