Wrapped in a Boa

Another striking piece from the Byzantium show (see also below). This 5th-century Roman ivory depicts not Eve (as you might imagine from the serpent) but Hygieia, daughter of Asklepios. These figures were worshipped by the ancients as healing demigods (and today the snake persists as a symbol of medicine when entwined around a staff).

Still . . . there's something not entirely hygienic about the way Hygieia's slithery friend is draped. All the more so in the Christian version, when the snake's Garden of Eden cousin is shown adorning Eve. The message is unmistakable. Behold temptation: a girl who cannot resist.

In fashion terms, over the millennia, the reptilian boa evolved into a feathery one, but the message is unchanged. Here's Sophia Loren, working one to the hilt . . .

It's a bit tragic, isn't it, that feather boas have been largely relegated to the Halloween/Mardi Gras/Valentine's-Day-if-You're-Lucky aisles of the costume department, because really, they're great. The downy waft around the neck captivates the eye of the beholder, adding a high-voltage glam factor to a simple LBD. 

One way to revive a boa and make it wearably modern: loose the excess by clipping it down to collar length. Toulouse-Lautrec shows how it's done here (ignore the absinthe-crazed model). 

Here's mine, an ostrich-feather version that hooks at the neck. Try a boa on this way, and see how it charms.

The Dashing History of the Fighting White Scarf

My friend Matthew Cobb's book The Resistance: The French Fight Against the Nazis, is due out later this year. I asked him whether it contained anything on clothing. He obliged with this description of the maquis--bands of resistance fighters working in the countryside, here under the leadership of Georges Guingouin . . .

Hiding out in the woods might have been fun in the height of the summer, but in the cold and wet of winter it became more difficult, and far more dangerous. The maquis needed to be safe – bare trees and snow made the men more visible – and they needed to be warm . . . Guingouin equipped his men with a winter uniform – leather jacket, sheepskin gilet, green trousers, thick socks, white scarf and helmet. Like all the maquis leaders, Guingouin wanted his men to be disciplined – giving them a uniform not only strengthened their feelings of solidarity, it also reinforced the popular impression of the maquis as a serious military force. 

What interests me here is the white scarf. This is a piece of kit most commonly associated with WWII aviators . . . dashingly worn by pilots looped around the neck, above a leather jacket. According to the wonderful men's vintage website The Fedora Lounge, the scarf was not just decorative but functional. Pilots were constantly swiveling their heads to scan for incoming foes. The scarf, typically silk, prevented chafing against the wool sweater and leather collar. 

Given the incredible bravery of these pilots and rebel fighters, it's unlikely that the gallant white strips would have been used with any frequency to signify surrender. But if you choose to wear one, it might, under certain circumstances, be an interesting option . . .

Rosamond Bernier, Fashion Icon

I had the privilege of hearing this great editor (for Vogue, in Paris), publisher (of L'OEIL, a fabled review of the arts), and finally lecturer (for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York) in the late '80s. No matter what her subject, she was effervescent and marvelously informed. And more to the point, dressed to hilt in a designer gown and jewelry that was not so much statement as exclamation.

Here she is in a brief excerpt from her last lecture at the Met, dropping names like there's no tomorrow, but what names! Carmel Snow, Oscar de la Renta, Fernand Leger, Balenciaga . . . plus a bonus tip on how to get haute couture at a bargain price.

The lesson for us mortals? I'm convinced her necklace is a two-parter; the triple strand of pearls with a huge brooch pinned on, to add that extra bit of oomph Bernier loved. If, like me, you can't get enough of her, also have a look at her YouTube video for Yoox, the online fashion retailer, in which she gives a masterclass in more subtle accessorizing.

Note the chiffon scarf softly looped at the neck, toned in to match the jacket, and the two brooches just south of her left shoulder . . .