Oh
to be twenty and rich and thin! Here I
am in one of the great fashion capitols of the world, gazing in wonder at
clothes I actually could have worn some decades ago—but if course I could never
have afforded them then. What ill-natured god decreed that when we are young
and slender we can’t possibly afford high fashion, and that when we are old
enough to have at least some money –
well, let us say I could never even stand, let alone walk, in Salvatore
Ferragamo’s shoes, and his lovely short dresses would look ridiculous on me.
Where and how I live, to “dress up” means we iron our jeans.
 |
| Italian Shoes - I yearn for these! |
But
I can look. Here are the shoes that I yearn for.
And
here are the ones Ferragamo made for Brigitte Bardot in 1966. You can buy them
for a mere 700 Euros. The matching red velvet purse is a thousand.
Ferragamo’s shop in Florence is on the ground
floor of a very grand palazzo and it takes up a whole block in the high rent
district of Florence. Just down the street are Gucci, Fendi, Dolce & Gabano
and myriad others.
 |
| Brititte Bardot's Shoes & Purse |
And
men’s clothing is not ignored. Italian suits bear no relationship to those worn
in New York or even in London. Jackets are nipped at the waist and snug through
the body. Pants are pipe-cleaner slim, tight, and stop around ankle length,
well short of the shoe. Which is, of course soft supple Florentine leather,
highly polished. When the Masterpiece Theatre series based on Michael Dibden’s
Roman detective character, Zen, was
shot in Italy, Rufus Sewell, playing the lead, had all his suits made to order
here, knowing nothing else would look right.
 |
| Men's Italian Suit |
But
here as everyplace else in the world, jeans are worn by more people than any
other kind of clothing, and what’s in the windows reflects only rarely what’s
being worn on the streets. Still, I can dream of lovely shoes the color of fall
leaves, and handsome young men in form fitting Italian suits.
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Following are my published novels. Go to my Goodreads page, to find more info and reviews.
To purchase one of these books, just click on the book link below and select the vendor of your choice.
"The Memory of Roses by Blair McDowell
is simply an incredibly lovely story. It’s also a love story, and a story about
finding yourself, and about closure. The theme running through the book is
“all’s well that ends well.” -- Marlene, Reading Reality
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"Delighting In Your Company is a unique paranormal romance that brings together island folklore, history, and mystery with an unlikely romance between the past and present that had me going through a torrent of emotions and made it impossible to put down." -- The Romance Reviews
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~ A robbery has taken place at her family home, and it is being investigated by her old flame;
~ Alyssa James who she barely knows, is about to become her new stepmother;
~ and Alyssa’s brother, Hugh James, is a charming Irishman who is intent on bedding and wedding the rich and beautiful Sayuri.
It’s a confusing and difficult time for Sayuri, especially when dangerous accidents happen to her father and herself – or are they accidents?
“I found Sonata to be a charming novel that left me laughing out loud
in parts and gnawing nails in others. It was a delight to read.” – Night Owl
Reviews
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Abigail's Christmas is a holiday story about Abigail who goes looking for a tree on Christmas Eve, and ends up with the man of her dreams in a sleigh in the Rockies --- with a wedding in the offing! Is it real? Is she dreaming? Or is it just Christmas magic?
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Blair McDowell