A poem from the poetess

'Poetess' may be a somewhat outdated word but I like it for the same reason that I like three-piece suits, women who wear their hair in chignons, and pith helmets. This is one of my favorites, by Edna St Vincent Millay.

We were very tired, we were very merry-
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable-
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.

We were very tired, we were very merry-
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.

We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed, 'Good morrow, mother!' to a shawl-covered head,
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, 'God bless you!' for the apples and the pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.

(Taken without permission from Collected Poems, c 1950)

Things I liked: Vionnet

I'm almost embarrassed by how hard I'm falling for the new Vionnet. The project of former Valentino president Matteo Marzotto, the label is now designed by the former Prada designer, Rodolfo Paglialunga. It's a little odd to see a French classic taken over by Italians but they're doing a fine job. It's the kind of thing glittery older women wear to the Opera, and it never fails to give me a little thrill.

McQueen's last masterpiece

Alexander McQueen's vision spanned from 18th century historicism to fantasies of science fiction and the future. It was a lot to take in, and his shows often left me puzzled. That said, the 16 looks shown in Paris three weeks after his death were wonders of artistry and technical skill. It's as though he wanted to prove himself one last time before saying goodbye to a world he no longer cared for.

Also, Israel?

It is not a happy time for American-Israeli relations. Joe Biden's recent visit to the country went up in flames after the ill-timed announcement of another round of settlement construction in Jerusalem. I think it's time to reevaluate our alliance with this country, which is less of an alliance than a joining at the hip.

Why, precisely, does the United States need Israel? I understand that the Jewish people need a home, but they've got it. It's a done deal. With most of our allies, disagreements are allowed, even expected - with France, for example, most of the time we don't agree on a thing. Yet when it comes to Israel, you would think disagreement is treason.

If Israel were in trouble, I might be concerned for its safety - but it isn't. It has the best military in the Near East, plus an arsenal of a few hundred nuclear weapons. Perhaps the Lebanon war didn't go so well, but war in Gaza was a smashing success. The Jewish state is hardly in mortal danger.

I'm also puzzled by the $3 billion in aid we give to Israel every year. Why does a prosperous country need this kind of assistance? What do we have to show for it? And why don't they have any manners?

What I did with my weekend

I thought I'd share some pictures of my weekend. You can see me in the last one, though I'm very small, among the white and red jerseys in the first row.

Givenchy fail

It's the Paris collections. Some of them are good, some very bad. Though I had my hopes up, one of those that failed was Givenchy.


Describing his pre-fall collection, I wrote that the designer, Riccardo Tisci, is "unpredictable and sometimes a mess; his work smacks of immaturity, as if a thousand hasty ideas had bubbled to the surface without reflection." Unfortunately, this season's outing was a particularly bad mess, as he seemed to be trying for a marriage of frumpy ladies' suits with sexy lace and bare skin. The result was incoherent, to say the least.


The show opened with lots of pantsuits, which may be what comes to mind for him when he thinks 'commercial', followed by some lace and feathers. It was the kind of inanity that Tisci falls back on when he runs out of other ideas. There were also some terrible looks for men. Perhaps we are witnessing the devolution of this house from cutting edge to comical.

Things I liked

Maria Cornejo has a way of creating dresses that drape equally on both sides of the body; an interesting technique, since most draping crosses the body from one side to the other. Her clothes are modern and simple yet alive with a human touch, free from the sterile minimalism I detest.


This look is from a new line called Reed Krakoff. I like how unpretentious it is: a long black skirt, a great-looking leather coat, and the sweater is just the thing don't you think?


Sophie Theallet, the French designer transplanted to Brooklyn and former Alaia assistant, makes such pretty dresses. This is one of them - I love the drama of the bow at the waist, the exposed shoulder.


For the longest time, I didn't think much of Peter Som. It was a few seasons back, during the financial crisis, that I first took notice: maybe it's because he almost went out of business or I don't know why, but he seemed to go a little crazy and I loved it. Look at this dress: though obscured by a jacket and a hat, it's the prettiest thing I've seen all week.