Rainwear

from tumblr

Daddy's money or fashion trumps? While verily I understand suffering for your art, some things are simply beyond male understanding.

For instance, take the photo below which appeared in Bill Cunningham's column in the NY Times 2 Sundays ago.

Bill Cunningham- NYT

In olden days rainwear protected the wearer from the elements. Kept one comfortable, dry, presentable for your next engagement, all the while looking if not stylish at least pragmatic.

Sartorialist photo

So what's Bill's gal gonna do? Her stilts might keep her out of puddles, but what's to save her from the cold, or splashes?

Boys may not have the sense to come out of the rain, but at least they dress for the occasion.

Toad

Salter's Suit

I saw this old photo of author James Salter on the New York Social Diary site several days ago. I tend to liberate white suit photos, even if the suits are in fact screaming yellow or khaki. In black and white who cares?

By Jill Krementz, June 1975

Take a close look at the jacket detail. Is this a safari suit? I'm troubled by the two flapped chest pockets, but love the cuff detail. I've never seen the likes of this on a suit jacket in real life. Have you?

Toad

Mudd Grove

watercolor by Joe McGauley

This is a bit of stretch but work with me. In our continuing exploration of Civil War era St. Louis Mrs. T and I visited Mudd Grove, an early 1850's pile in one of the area's first suburbs, home to one Henry Mudd.

An 1848 a cholera epidemic wiped out nearly 10% of the population of St. Louis. In 1849 a fire destroyed 400 buildings and boats along the riverfront. In reaction to the epidemic, cemeteries were closed, slums were torn down, laws were passed outlawing epidemics.

The fire brought changes to the local building code. The mayor owned a brick foundry and passed legislation banning wooden buildings, which not only changed the landscape of STL, but the influx of Italian brick workers changed local cuisine forever.

Those that could, made tracks to join the wagon trains heading west, or made arrangements to move to the newly planned suburbs. Local planter, politician and opportunist Henry Mudd saw the chance of a lifetime. Along with a consortium of swells, the ingenious Mudd plotted along with the Pacific Railway to buy up excess land along the RR's planned route west out of St. Louis. It didn't hurt that Mudd was county assessor at the time. The swells bought the land from the railroad, saved the best for themselves, and hired Scottish engineer James Kirkwood to plat what is now the city of Kirkwood, Mo.. The railroad offered new suburbanites an easy commute to their downtown offices. Their plan worked like a charm.

James Kirkwood came recommended by the Pacific. His claim to fame was having designed the Starruca Viaduct in eastern Pennsylvania, at the time the largest and most expensive stone viaduct railroad bridge in the world. Kirkwood liked it here, and stayed, later to become chief engineer for the City of St. Louis, eventually being replaced by poet Walt Whitman's brother, Thomas Jefferson Whitman.

Starruca Viaduct

Here comes the Civil War connection.

Our Mudd had a Maryland cousin, Dr. Sam Mudd.

Dr Sam Mudd

The good doctor was most likely a co-conspirator with one of his patients, actor John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed President Lincoln. Booth broke his leg in a fall during his escape after the assassination. Dr. Mudd set Booth's leg and provided help navigating the swamps around Chesapeake Bay to presumed safety in Virginia. 146 years ago today Booth was killed by US Cavalry troops while on the run.

In June 1865, Mudd was tried as a co-conspirator to the assassination, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Dry Tortuga's, south of Key West. In 1869, President Johnson overturned Mudd's sentence, who then returned to Maryland, practiced medicine, farmed and ran for political office unsuccessfully several times. He died in 1883.

Toad

A Royal Wedding Question

Ladies a royal wedding question or 2 please.

We've all attended weddings where too young children are given a ceremonious role,be it flower boy, or ring bearer. More often then not it's a disaster in the making. The kid freaks, so dad steps in, takes their hand and walks or carries them, which ruins the photos. It's not cute.

So imagine Kate's anxiety. Her maid of honor is her sister, Bill's best man's his brother. According to this month's Vanity Fair, her 4 bridesmaids are 3(2), 7(1) & 8(1) years old, while the 2 pages are 8 & 10. Making a 3 yo hike the main aisle (a not inconsiderable distance) in a packed Westminster Abbey with a touch of decorum, sounds formidable.

Certainly by now, the children have been shown the Tower, and the pit bad children are tossed into. Nanny has drilled the importance of family honor and the shame of failure into their little heads. If the kids run, they know to keep going, not stopping until at least the coast of France. Yet, somehow it's all going to work out just fine, and the wedding will be beautiful.

What I know of British weddings comes from having seen 4 Weddings and a Funeral twice, so here are my questions. In America, Kate would have asked several girlfriends to be bridesmaids, and Bill would have asked his fraternity brothers to be groomsmen. Is using children as bridesmaids a British, a royal, or personal choice? Or, more hopefully, is bridesmaid, in this case an honorific. Please tell me the kids won't really be subjected to walking the gauntlet?

Just wondering.

Toad

Happy Easter

Toad

Doc Ellis and the LSD No-No

Any Pittsburgh kids around? Remember Doc Ellis? Doc was a pitcher for the Pirates in the late 60's, early 70's, a free spirit, a product of his age. He pitched a no hitter one night in San Diego. Here's Doc's story of that special day. A throwback to simpler times.

Thanks Bunky,
Toad

square rigger

This is my Lands End Square Rigger canvas brief case. It is bar none the greatest bag ever. It will expand to accept anything put inside. Almost. It's durable, sturdy, practical.

I've had mine 30 years and it may have 50 years left in it. After writing about it last summer I discovered frequent guest contributor David Bagwell has one also. That's an endorsement if ever one was.

I tell you this because they are on sale. $30 US. Get 'em while their hot. Here. It will last your life time.

Toad