I bought these cute new notebooks from Thomas Paul on Swirl, just days before they became Daily Candy Deals – which by the way I was totally bummed about. I left the set of notebooks in my closet for a while because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use them or not. I always think that the quest for a good notebook is grounds for good writing to go into said notebook. So before even thinking about writing a word in any given notebook, I have to feel it out, even down to the examining the spine, stock of paper and type of lining – just to feel comfortable committing my thoughts to this new collection of pages. I don’t know, it’s silly. It’s almost like some sort of writer’s superstition I have, but without fail my notebook judgment is always accurate. Anyhow, the first thing I wrote in my new handy dandy notebook was about the word ‘Retrophile’. I wrote it after looking at a post on Who What Wear. I never heard it before but I thought it was such a great word to describe me and probably so many other girls. I thought about the countless amount of women who have certain habits that surround around fashion, items, and developed habits from decades that they have never experienced but are dying to know about. I’ve always been one of those people that have had their head in the clouds wondering what life would have been like in some other time and some other place. So, this is for all the lady retrophiles out there that fantasize in black and white and could definitely appreciate some Sarah Vaughan.
Sure, she appreciates a good film by Goddard but she really takes a liking to the Italians like Fellini. Wanderlust flutters about her when she peruses dreamy objects at antique shops. Her favorite filter on Instagram is Earlybird, but her love of a good fashion aesthetic makes her play with Brannan, once and again. She loves the look of a good cat-eye eyeglass. And the fuller her skirt, the happier she is. When she finds a good Ferragamo from the 60s larger than a size 7, she grabs it even if it means to squeeze because it will look wonderful in her collection. She secretly believes she will have her romantic Disney storybook ending one day. She can spend the entire weekend on a quest for the perfect clip-on button earring as long as the price is right. Coffee table books are not only home decor for her, they’ve become very good friends. But if you would ask her other friends to describe her, they’d say she’s an old soul, with passion deep and an imagination high. There’s a grace to her that simply cannot be learnt. But she attributes it to the hours spent watching post-Depression, black and white musicals, and the years reading the works of famous female novelists. Her favorite food is cupcakes, the sweeter the better. She believes that long gloves are a suitable accessory for any occasion. She daydreams in colors of cotton candy pinks and blues, and often in shades of sepia. She appreciates a good trunk or briefcase in leather and studded in brass. She doesn’t mind the smell of moth balls when it comes to digging for sartorial treasures from yesteryear. When she walks down the street, she has the strut and poise of a silver screen goddess. She’s super sweet and knows how to carry herself like a true lady. She is the pleasure to love, incredible to know and absolutely impossible to forget.
Resources:
Thomas Paul
Youthquaker, Vogue Magazine 1965-1975
Who What Wear, The Retrophile Gift Guide