January | 2011 | apfel ist apple

archives... January 2011

Stephen Jones Retrospective

In Antwerp, at the MoMu, we saw an excellent exhibit of the English milliner, Stephen Jones.

Hats have always been a fascination for me. And I own several.

Though not as many as my husband.

We both enjoyed the whimsy and theatricality of the exhibit. Not just the hats, but the way they were presented–on oversized pale lavender hat boxes perfectly replicated to match the boxes used by Stephen Jones Millinery today.

Some cleverly stacked to project videos of various fashion collections off their white tops.

The show is separated into four major themes: Adventure, Science, Rococo, and Glamour. With many sub-themes in equally interesting names like flying, spotlight, blossom, volume, shangri-la, contrast, home, north, and artifice. As retrospectives go, there was an incredible amount of work spanning decades.

Stephen Jones is an extraordinary talent.

It’s no wonder so many fashion designers employ him for their collections.

My favorite hat, which is perhaps an odd choice, is the silver turban (above), with a POW!-shaped eye patch to go with it. I feel like it would be such fun to wear to a party. Though I can’t say I’d have the courage to don it for anything other than a costumed affair.

Another favorite of mine is the French Onion Soup (above, left)

Some of the hats are quite literal.

But all are clearly well-crafted, and undeniably fun to view.

I hear it is a traveling exhibit, so if comes to your area, I highly recommend taking a look.

Cocktail Hour Wednesdays

We found out recently that the movers will not allow us to bring much of our liquor back to the US.

Which is sad.

But, presented us with an opportunity.

So, we have started these Wednesday night cocktail hours.

The first and second weeks, only a couple of people came.

But word got out.

Or, rather, we continued inviting people.

And last Wednesday, by 8:30, we had eleven friends drop by. All thirsty for pre-prohibition cocktails.

It was fantastic!
Perhaps we’ll see you for the next one. After all, we won’t be here too much longer.

Gent in Three Days… #4

Saturday at the Farmer’s Market

Though I intended to post this on Saturday, life took over and real live people with conversation and drinks and laughing and sighs took precedence over the virtual world of the computer.

This particular farmer’s market is neither robust, bulging with fecund edibles, promising the most luscious stews and fragrant roasts, nor is it sexy, with obscure and oddly shaped exotics from faraway countries and cultures.

But it is my farmer’s market.

Just steps from my apartment, it is familiar and reliable, like a favorite pair of jeans.

Most importantly, perhaps, it is reasonably priced. Such that I can fill a huge canvas sack to bursting for about €12.

This time of year, when the word brisk is hardly describes the feeling outside, the market is scarcely populated. By neither tourists nor locals. Some booths only show up to sell their wares during the summer.

So, I regret that I don’t have any photos of my favorite booth. The one I refer to fondly as ‘the meat lady.’ Even though it is really called Delikat Essen.

Unfortunately for me, she probably won’t return again until after we are gone.

But, in some way to give closure to this part of our lives and come to terms with the looming move, I felt a need to record this market.

Even if it is winter.

Flea Market Find

I picked this little beauty up at the Antwerp furniture flea market a couple of Saturdays ago.

Despite its outward dirty appearance, the inside seems to be clean. And the leaves that make up the aperture of the lens still function smoothly.

From what I can surmise, using wikipedia and camerapedia, this is an Ikonta A from the late 1920s. But, I have very little information on these old cameras. So please feel free to send me any further information, if you have it.