HAPPY BIRTHDAY GERTRUDE STEIN

Photograph by Thérèse Bonney circa 1930.
 Copyright Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

I am always reminded of Gertrude Stein during this first week of February as she and I share a birthday — February 3. I love this photograph taken by Thérèse Bonney of Stein and Virgil Thomson reviewing the score for the opera he composed to her libretto, Four Saints in Three Acts. Conceived and written in Paris over several years beginning in the late 1920s, the opera premiered in Hartford, Connecticut in 1934 with fantastical sets and costumes designed by the American artist Florine Stettheimer. The photograph was shot at Stein’s much revered rue de Fleurus home and salon.  

DANCING AROUND THE BRIDE

I have just picked up Dancing Around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Duchamp — the catalog for an exhibition I very regrettably just missed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Described in December 2012 by The New York Times as a “favorite museum show of the year,” it examined the intersections and collaborations among the composer John Cage, choreographer Merce Cunningham, and visual artists Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg with the great Marcel Duchamp at the center of it all. We are talking about, arguably, some of the most exciting, profound and pivotal years in New York and in American art. Conceived and presented by curator Carlos Basualdo and contemporary artist Philippe Parreno, the exhibition contained over 100 works in addition to live performances. The catalog is full of seriously interesting essays by and about these artists and features a truly masterful chronology. While it certainly doesn’t replace the experience of the exhibition, I have to say, I am completely enthralled.

Dancing Around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Duchamp. (Philadelphia Museum of Art/Yale University Press, 2012) 

ANNIE DEAN, BLOGGER, THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

YOUR LOVELY WEDDING THIS TIME LAST YEAR AT THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK WAS BEAUTIFULLY CAPTURED IN TOWN & COUNTRY. ONCE YOU DECIDED ON THE VENUE, DID YOU CHOOSE THE DATE TO CORRESPOND WITH THE WONDERFUL CECIL BEATON EXHIBITION? 

Oh, man. There were so many things surrounding our wedding that were just drenched in good luck. I went to my best friend’s house in Connecticut to try on the wedding dress she’d found for me in Houston (before we were engaged!), not knowing that Peter was five miles away at my parents house asking for my hand in marriage. Peter proposed to me in my favorite spot in New York, not knowing I’d ever been there. We booked our wedding date not realizing it was the two year anniversary of our first date. And after we’d inked the contract with the museum, we learned that there’d be a Cecil Beaton exhibit installed within a few weeks, to be removed the day after our wedding. (As a matter of fact, it was later extended beyond that date.) I’m a huge fan of Cecil Beaton and the artwork fit our personal aesthetic perfectly. So no, we didn’t choose it. But we were thrilled about it! 

YOU ARE A LAWYER BY DAY AND A BRAND NEW BLOGGER BY NIGHT. DO YOU EVER IMAGINE A SHIFT IN THESE ROLES? 
My law degree is the most important investment I’ve ever made – both with my time and my money. It has given me analytical and logical reasoning skills that are incredibly valuable and that I wouldn’t otherwise have. For better or worse (and I’d argue better!), law school changes your brain. That said, I always thought the law would be the first step in my career. I’m a very energetic, visually creative person and I love being around people. It’s rare to find a corner of the law that caters to those priorities. So in other words: I hope someday! 

THE ESSENCE OF YOUR BLOG IS OF COURSE STYLE — FASHION, ENTERTAINING, ETIQUETTE AND SO ON. WHO IS THE MOST STYLISH PERSON YOU KNOW AND HOW DOES HE OR SHE INSPIRE YOU? 
I keep a close circle of very loyal friends who I admire outrageously. There’s not one most stylish person. But each person I love has his or her own superlative. I think “style” includes absolutely everything. Style is perspective. The only way to have style is to keep learning and evolving and staying inspired. I’m very lucky that my friends and family are a constant source of inspiration. And I’m always looking for new friends to learn from and swoon over! 

WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY? 
A truly joyous life to me would be partly fabulous clothing, excitement and chaos, full of challenges and problems to solve, enough time to be frequently surrounded by friends (and a home where everyone is always dropping in!), and at least one day a week of total peace with just my husband and my pup, an excellent book and a cup of something warm. I wouldn’t be disappointed if that cup were limoges. 

COMB OR BRUSH? 
Fingers! 

DO YOU LIKE YOUR NAME? 
I love it! I’ve always been a two name person, “Annie Dean.” Never just Annie. I want to give my kids strong names. It gives you a sense of confidence. 

FINISH THIS SENTENCE: MY AGE IS……………. 
27. 

WHAT’S FOR DINNER TONIGHT? 
Tonight is Sunday so Peter gets to pick any takeout he wants (we generally eat healthy and homemade during the week). I’m rooting for Indian!

www.anniedean.com

BALLET CLASS

photograph by Yuko Edwards www.yukoedwards.com

I went back to ballet class a few years ago after an exceptionally long hiatus — I estimate I was 13 years old and in the 7th grade when I had last pirouetted. Physically, it is one of the hardest things I have ever done. It demands and thus creates a tremendous awareness of myself and all of my parts, all at once. But what I think I value most is the inestimable amount of focus and thought ballet requires. It is exercise for the brain absolutely as much as it is exercise for the body. Coupled with the fact that it incorporates lovely music, sculpts muscles like nothing else, and is really quite a lot of fun — ballet, in my world, is now essential.

Posted 14 years ago by
Categories: dance

FRENCH FEASTS BY STÉPHANE REYNAUD


A few years back, just about this time in the deep of winter, I received as a birthday gift Stéphane Reynaud’s French Feasts. It was love at first sight. I will admit that I love all things French. And, I have a particular weakness for great design, heavy paper, beautiful photographs of food, charming illustrations, simple recipes using minimal ingredients, and the importance of knowing where and from whom your food comes. This collection of 299 traditional recipes continues to surprise and delight. I have only scratched the surface here because I just can’t stop going back to my favorites which include moules marinières, tarte aux oignons and crème brûlée, among many delicious others — not a bad thing, of course.

French Feasts by Stéphane Reynaud (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2009)   

WARBY PARKER

I have two items in my wardrobe that, literally every time I wear them, people (strangers) ask me where I got them. They are my silver and gold wingtip brogues from Venice and my Warby Parker glasses. If you don’t already know Warby Parker, you most definitely should. They are a web-based prescription eyewear company with twelve showrooms and one mobile showroom in a retrofitted school bus currently traveling the U.S. If you can’t make it to one of these locations you can order up to five pairs of glasses, free of charge including shipping and return shipping, to try on at home. Its just so smart!


In their own words, “Warby Parker has updated and refreshed classic vintage eyewear styles.” They have. My particular pair, similar to what is pictured above, is the Huxley in Crystal — a limited-edition style/color combination no longer available. All of the glasses are just $95.00 or $125.00 for those of us needing high index lenses. You can even buy a monocle! But the best part of Warby Parker has to be that for every pair of glasses you buy, they give a pair to someone in need. Watch this great video about this great program.
www.warbyparker.com

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