Monday, June 3, 2013

Blue and Green Muses and ... Fan-O-Rama!

(*Late-Breaking Note from Jan about trying 
Google+Comments !!!
What an epic fail.  I've gone back to regular Blogger commenting, and in the process, lost your darling posts. Google+Comments won't, I find, allow many of you to comment, so it's outahere.  Many apologies ... and I hope you'll forgive me and stop back by!  I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog viewing.)

The best thing about style blogging is other bloggers. Their blogs are where I get to tap into the Collective-Style-Consciousness. Here's where I get to see what other women are thinking and doing. Blue and green combinations seem to be particularly prevalent in the aethers of the CSC right now, and two of the most memorable examples come from these great women: 


Beverly:  Going Green and Blue at her blog,
Beverly Like Hills
Curtise:  Visions of You in Shades of Blue  at her blog, The Secondhand Years

And here's what I did:


  ... one of my favorite summer dresses from Thakoon Panichgul's collaboration with Target.



 Cynthia Rowley ... big value acquired from TJ Maxx
Of course this isn't just blue and green, but a lot of that as well as some purple. These unusual color combinations feel new. Optical blends like these appeal to the wannabe
 Impressionist in me.

(Wearing my turquoise suede heels by Guess, 
snagged at TJ Maxx.)

And of course, here you've just seen the some of the fans I've been threatening to show you, and in last week's post, as well.
I bring you ...

Fan-O-Rama!

Folding hand fans. I began carrying them when we first moved into the eternal rice-steamer that is the South-Central US. That was in the menopause years, and although those are over, I rarely leave the house without a fan from spring until late fall. 
( Yikes! I sound ancient. Nonsense, I just got over menopause very, very quickly. That's what.) Even into the fall and winter, especially if I'll find myself in a life-at-armpit level crushes that short women sometimes experience.  

I love my fans. They're an accessory that's as much a part of my personal style as shoes and handbags. In future summery posts, I promise I won't bore you with every one, but I'll show you the ones that I think compliment my clothing choices.

Folding hand fans are light weight and small enough to put in all but the eensieist of handbags. They don't require batteries. They are most often made of biodegradable and sustainable materials. They can be bought at any price point, made DIY if you wish, and can make you much more comfortable when you're miserable without a doctor's prescription. I can use my little fan to keep from sweating away my makeup in 115 degree weather and 90 percent humidity. And that is power. It's control over my immediate environment.

And because they are driven by woman-power, you will burn a few calories when you use one. Not many, but every bit helps.

The ones you see above are part of my basic-basic everyday fan wardrobe. I can quickly come up with a fan to match or complement any outfit I own. I use one almost every night that I'm at the restaurant, especially in the summer. I even bought a bulk lot very inexpensive Asian party-favor fans to hand out to my woman customers when they drag themselves into the restaurant from our often triple digit heat. The style you see here comes in almost every color , and I bought these for under $2.00 each. They're fabric and bamboo, and if I lose one they're not a big deal to replace.
I got them here:  Oriental Decor  at their dot-com link*.  Their service has been consistently great, and their shipping fast.  

(*Not a paid or swag-induced add at all, just a personal recommendation based on experience. A quick Google will give you all kinds of options. You could spend the day and more looking at all the styles and price points.)

Louis Vuitton designed a line of lace fans a couple of seasons ago ...



at $2,515.  Just for the fan.  





(Marc is a LV fan Fan, it seems.)


Ralph Lauren used them as a motif in his flamenco inspired collection.




I'm not even suggesting that everyone run out and buy an expensive one or even a bunch of inexpensive ones. I just love pulling one out of my purse, instantly retaking control of the temperature of my own personal surrounding atmosphere. An on-demand cool breeze is no small thing in the misery of deepest summer.

The history of the folding hand fan that we know so well is long and fascinating. I won't give a complete history here, but you'll find links below that tell the story of this famous low-tech air conditioning system. You'll read about the lovely Asian fans of many countries, the flamboyant Spanish fan, the evolution of the romantic and elaborate fans we associate with English ladies of the Pre-through-Post Victorian eras. You can hop from link to link to your heart's content there.

It's my second best hint for a more comfortable summer, with love from me to you.

(I'm saving my best hot weather hint for later, so stay tuned.)

                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~

History of the Folding Hand Fan links

The Hand Fan: The Cell Phone of the 17th Century  ... from a link off the Purdue University site) 
Place de l'Eventail  ... lovely French site that goes for miles via links, for history geeks!

                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~


I'll be at the Peripatetic Patti's Visible Monday  ... join me with all the rest of her loyal FANS!
(I had to do it, and you KNOW you thought about it yourself!)




30 comments:

  1. NOTE FROM JAN regarding GOOGLE+COMMENTS ... Thanks so much if you left a comment the last couple of days! I had to turn off Google+Comments as it only allows members. Stupid policy. But your comments are gone. I'm forever apologetic, and thought they're gone from my post, they're still in my heart! Sloppily sentimental, I know, but true nonetheless.
    I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
    Come back soon ... I miss everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, but you MUST add a photo of Karl Lagerfeld with a fan! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Crap! You're quite right, and one with fan and Choupette.
      Wish I'd thought of the obvious, yet again.

      Delete
  3. Hey, I'm a fan of yours! But not quite what you had in mind I guess...So can we see you doing your fan dance too? Either of those pictures would be great as a gif.


    Thanks so much for your kind and supportive words, Jan. Heavens, I don't want to move to Detroit though! We'll see how it goes and if she really doesn't recover mind-wise, after the fall and hip operation...maybe a move to Chicago can happen. That is if we can figure how to get her out of the Detroit-based insurance she opted for rather than medicare...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As you know, it's never easy. I'm so sorry she's not doing well, but she is so fortunate to have you.
      Sending good luck, good health, patience, resources and some smiles your way. Hope you get as much as you need of all, as soon as you need it.

      Delete
  4. I'm happy to see that you have taken off google + commenting. There are a few blogs out there that have it, and I can not comment on their posts.

    Though we rarely, well never, get weather that's ever over 100 degrees, I still feel a desire to own a fan. An outing to Vancouver's epic Chinatown is in order.

    Thanks for showcasing blue and green. I'm all about playing with colour, and don't think I've shown any outfits with these two colours together. I adore the Monet-esque dress. Very pretty you are in it!

    Sue xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup ... as usual, I didn't research it well enough and jumped the gun. There are things about it that I like, but too much that I don't. Can't risk missing our chats, can I?
      Thanks for your nice comments, and extra thanks since I know you are so ill just now ... the bugs seem to be getting nastier every year.
      Sending feel-better-soon vibes your way ... get sleep! Drink liquids, watch sit-coms.
      Long distance cyber hugs to you, our Sue!

      Delete
  5. How fan-tastic! I love both of your outfits, but especially love the print on the second dress. Such lovely colors.

    I know living in the South, any stiff piece of paper or cardboard quickly becomes a 'fan'. Growing up, I remember churches always had those paper fans stuck in the pews. And my brother and I always got those cheap "Chinese" fold out fans from the arcades from the tickets we won.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the "fan" mail, Megan. (Sonmebody stop me or I could go on for days!)And for the sweet remarks. 'Preciate it.
      In the dark ages, when I was young, our church fans were pictures of Jesus (looking much more like Charleton Heston than a Jewish carpenter)and an advertisment for a local funeral home on the other. Ew.
      I'm liking my more modern (and at the same time traditional ... odd) ones much better.

      Delete
  6. Lovely dresses in blue and green. The first one is simple yet elegant combination; the second one has such a pretty print. Both look great on you.
    Love this part about fans. I too have a few fans at home that I brought from my journeys as souvenirs, mostly Asians.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Olga. Hope you have a wonderful trip home.
      Perhaps you'll pull your souvenirs out and put them to work!
      I'm glad you stopped by ... you're very welcome any time.

      Delete
  7. Fantastic! I love this whole idea. I never thought of bringing my own and color coordinating them to an outfit you have elevated yourself into the 'most clever' category of bloggers.
    Love these two colors together. There is something appealing in the 'new' prints that I love too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, thanks! So sweet of you to say. Yeah, it's pretty much for women our age. This is just me trying to make a virtue out of necessity.
      Have a great week, and drop by anytime!

      Delete
  8. YES to fans. It is so hot in summer and we have had humid days already this year. I may feel foolish putting a fan in my purse at home, but I NEVER regret pulling one out when it is too hot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kathleen, for reading. I thought you might be a fellow collector, but I imagine yours are as glorious as the rest of your accessories. Love to see them, sometime, in a post!

      Delete
  9. Fans are great, I used to carry one with me sometimes, when I lived in Lisbon. It gets really hot in the Summer over there... now not so much, in chilly England!
    Love the dresses! I got back from my trip to the Us last weekend and savoured the Target and Tj Maxx amazingness. I got a couple of dresses from the Kate Young collaboration at Target, reduced. Result! I also tried on the reversible jeans you showed here recently but they didn't have a size that fit me properly... It was disappointing. I was saying to my husband - they're so cute, I've seen them before at Jan's blog!!!! He probably thought I was crazy for being so excited about this lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to hear from you Mrs. D! Glad you had a good trip over, and are safe back home. We had a few pieces from the Kate Young collection, but nothing really rang my chimes. Didn't have what I think were the best pieces ... rats. Sorry about the jeans, but tickled that you remembered seeing them at my place!
      Thanks for stopping by ... you're always welcome.

      Delete
  10. Greens, blues and purples are delicious together, as worn by you in the photos above. I'm fascinated by your 'ode to fans.' What a great idea and a beautiful way to accessorize as well as alter one's temperature with a dramatic flair. Brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suspect you don't need them much in Denver! Thank you for reading, Judith, and for your kind words. As I mentioned, it's just me making a virtue of necessity. But I try to follow your lead in making the mundane as beautiful as possible! They do make my life more comfortable.
      I'm so happy you came to visit, and you're always welcome!

      Delete
  11. Hi Jan, I am so glad that you went back to the normal commenting system as I think it is annoying to have to sign up for a service that you don't have chosen just to being able comment! I would have done it for you of course, but I am glad that I did not need to. Now let me tell you that your outfits are lovely, the colors are great for you and I also love your dress!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I didn't realize that was the case. There were things I liked about it, but it's to restrictive for non-Googlers. So glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks so much for your kind remarks, and I'm always glad to see you stop by!

      Delete
  12. Hi Ha, thank for your lovely comment on my blog.
    Really, really like how you adapt the color mixture to your style and both dresses are fabulous but for me the Cynthia Rowley with that impressionist inspired print is a big winner!
    About fans, growing in the Spanish Speaking Caribbean; we used fans all the time no matter our ages because there is not such thing as central air conditioning.
    We especially wear them at church and at small gatherings.
    You also seed lots of older ladies in Miami that still use their fans and many young girls that match their fans to their outfit.
    Have a great weekend,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting information, Ofelia! I'm glad to know that they're being used these days! Thanks for taking the time to read, and to write me your kind words. I look forward to seeing more from you, and of course, you are always welcome to drop by!

      Delete
  13. Don't you look great in those jewel bright coloured dresses, so pretty, and I adore the fans! Like you I love my fans - yours enhance your outfits beautifully.

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    Replies
    1. I'd imagine you have an amazing collection, and it would be lovely to see some of it if you can fit any of them into your narrative. A lot of UK women tell me that they don't suffer from the heat like we do here, personal mid-life biology notwithstanding! Thank you for your kind comments. You're always welcome here, so stop by anytime. Enjoy your weekend.

      Delete
  14. Strange! I thought I'd commented on this post but it seems to have disappeared! Something about not being a fan of dancing with fans (which you have to learn to do in flamenco but finally coming round to start enjoying off late - Anyhow - wanted to say you looked fabulous in that Thakoon dress!

    ReplyDelete
  15. You look adorable in those lovely dresses, and I love your fans! I have one fan that was given to me by an author I interviewed who had written a book set in Japan. I love it, and often take it to church on really hot days when even the air conditioning isn't quite adequate!

    Cindy at Notes in the Key of Life

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  16. I LOVE this post... I am so inspired to find myself some of these dramatic and functional accessories! Thanks for sharing this inspiration!

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  17. Every woman needs a fan or twenty. So happy you had fun here ... I'm sure none of this is new you! I would have thought you had a drawer full! They certainly would suit you ... creams, and blacks and laces, and silver, gold certainly! Can't wait to see if you try them.

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  18. Oh how I love this! Somehow missed it when you originally posted. The blue and green combo tickles my color mixing heart! Sort of a color wheel look -- in a good way!

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