A Legend in my Lifetime

In 1971, at the J.L. Hudson flagship store in downtown Detroit, my mom scored an exceptional dress on sale in the in the store’s swanky Woodward Shops. Designed by Pierre Cardin, the gorgeous cocktail dress was perfect for me to wear to a wedding reception to be held in Philadelphia’s Main Line area, and attended by old monied friends of the groom. It was actually my reception, after our wedding had taken place in Dearborn, Michigan that morning. That marriage lasted four months; it was ill-fated from the start, and I didn’t wear the dress that evening, because I didn’t attend my reception! That is a story for another time.

The dress was constructed from a turquoise silk chiffon and fully lined in matching silk. Sleeveless, with bare shoulders and a high neckline, the “mock turtleneck” style collar (with the classic Cardin keyhole opening at the back below the neck) was covered in silver metal tubes that also accented the waistline a bit. The dress flowed in a sexy but modest manner, skimming my torso, subtly cinching in at the waist, and ending several inches above my knee. I cherished that dress! Sadly, it was stolen during one of my later house parties along with some of my favorite jewelry.

That was my one designer dress by Cardin, although I owned a variety of Pierre Cardin-branded mass market, off-the-rack clothing and other items over the years.

Pierre Cardin lived a productive creative life, and died last month on my wedding anniversary (no, not the anniversary of my first wedding), December 29, 2020. I’m not sure that any of our emerging design talent can live up to his inspirational and creative genius. But I’m cheering them on, as I am sure he would.

Since I am in the process of creating a wardrobe inventory, I’m going to search the Pierre Cardin imagery and archives to find a photo of that dress! When I do I'll post it here, and add it to my “formerly owned” category. Meanwhile, this Pierre Cardin dress from the late 1960s is similar in length and neckline, but lacks the waistline embellishment on my dress. Its fabric is very different from my dress, but the overall effect is similar, including the banded hem — also seen in the second (black) dress below.

Pierre Cardin Haute Couture Lame Cocktail Dress w/Beading at Neck ca.1966

This dress is also evocative of mine, but with a different neckline:

Pierre Cardin Haute Couture Blue Silk Cocktail Dress w/Beaded Trim Ca.1966

The draping of my dress felt more like this hot pink dress, although mine was a mini-dress with a completely different neckline:

Pierre Cardin Hot Pink Pleated Silk Evening Dress c. 1977

More

Revisit Pierre Cardin’s Life in Pictures:  https://www.vogue.in/fashion/gallery/revisit-the-late-pierre-cardins-remarkable-life-in-pictures

How Renaissance Man Pierre Cardin Became One of Fashion’s Biggest Names: https://www.1stdibs.com/introspective-magazine/pierre-cardin/

His work continues: https://pierrecardin.com/en/

Hiatus

The overnight disappearance of Polyvore caused me to stop sharing my personal fashion and style selections online for quite some time. I continue to hope that Ssense will revive Polyvore, or that Yahoo! will buy it back. I have no doubt that thousands of users would pay to have their portfolios restored, and pay a monthly fee to continue to use the site!

During 2020, I didn’t purchase many new clothing items. Staying at home because of the COVID-19 restrictions has put a damper on fashion and style around the world. Inspired by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (and memories of my own past Christmas celebrations), I found a red tartan knife pleated, lined 100% wool maxi skirt on eBay (like new, no evidence of ever having been worn) to add to my Christmas clothing collection, and also bought a lightweight black boiled wool jacket from Eileen Fisher that I can wear with it — and with many other casual or business outfits— when my black velvet jacket might seem too fancy. Under either jacket, I wear a black jersey tank (also from Eileen Fisher) or a black cashmere sweater sans jacket. I love EF’s boiled wool jackets, and own three others: in red, forest green, and plum. In Hawaii, I am able to wear this outfit when I attend annual parties in Waimea or Pu'uanahulu mauka. It’s quite cool in December, sometimes quite cold, at those higher elevations.

It seems that I was trying to recreate my Christmas look from 1971. That skirt is long gone!

I looked seasonally appropriate on Christmas Eve in 1971,
even though I was miserably depressed at that time.
49 years ago!

I’m determined to reconfigure and optimize my wardrobe in 2021. Intending to eliminate fast fashion and unnecessary purchases from my behaviors, I only succumbed once to fast fashion last year, buying a couple pairs of nice Danskin leggings with pockets (in black and plum) from Costco. The skirt and jacket, plus those leggings comprise my total clothing purchases last year, so I feel pretty good. But I’ve resolved to avoid any fast fashion purchases in 2021.

Taking Inventory

At home in Hawaii, I wear casual summer clothing in natural materials (rayon, linen, and cotton) routinely. I own a vast collection of “resort wear” from Jams World — seemingly every pattern from the past twenty years of their collections, along with plenty of solids. I also favor linen items from Inizio, and have many pieces by Tommy Bahama and Tori Richards. Some of my large collection of Eileen Fisher clothing works in Hawaii, but most is saved for travel. Since I take good care of my clothes, nearly everything looks new but even moderate annual purchases cause closet overflow. 

This month I will turn 69! As part of my struggle to prepare to leave an “easy” estate after my death, I will embark (a second time because of the Polyvore disappearance) to take a full inventory of my wardrobe. I will try to purge items, with a goal of eliminating 10% of my clothes and shoes.

I intend to live into my nineties, and to continue to wear clothing that I love, but I don’t want valuable and vintage pieces donated or discarded because their value is unknown. That’s my primary motivation for making a new inventory. 

Stay tuned!