Kathleen Marple Kalb's Blog, page 10
October 18, 2023
SWEATER WEATHER
We call it sweater weather, and in cooler climates, there are very few people of any gender who don’t have at least one favorite fuzzy piece that they look forward to bringing out when the temperature dips. But sweaters weren’t always a beloved wardrobe piece, especially for women.
Knitted garments are nothing new; archaeologists have found them in Ancient Egyptian tombs. But the first real, recognizable sweaters date from the fifteenth century, in the English Channel islands of Guernsey and Jersey. Initially, fishermen’s wives knitted sweaters to keep their men warm while they worked.
It’s no surprise that the garments, which looked a lot like the Irish Aran sweaters we see to this day, gradually spread though the cool parts of Europe: they’re practical and very, very warm. Also no surprise that people started calling them “Guernseys,” or “Jerseys.” Even now, “jersey” is still a British term for sweater, though “jumper” is more common.
From fishermen, it was a short jump to sailors, and Lord Nelson made the Guernsey standard equipment in the British Navy in the early 19th century. From the navy, they spread to the rowing sculls and the sports fields, as favored warm-up gear. When they arrived in the States, they got a new name, referring to their use: sweaters.
All of these sweaters, of course, are big, heavy, masculine affairs of thick wool.
Women started borrowing them in the late 19th century, just as they borrowed other male sports gear, and for a while, women only wore sweaters for outdoor activities requiring serious warmth. Adorable Victorian prints show women in heavy sweaters with coordinating hats and scarves ice-skating or throwing snowballs.
Women didn’t really start making the sweater their own until the turn of the 20th century and beyond. The first couture sweater was made by Lanvin in 1926, but Coco Chanel is far better known for making them a key part of her clean, modern style.
By the 1930s, the “twin set” that we know and love was invented. The combination of short-sleeve or sleeveless shell and cardigan was an almost instant classic. Simple, comfortable, and versatile, it was a look that went with just about anything. Better, it could be made in expensive cashmere, serviceable wool, or something in between, so it was within reach for many, if not most, women.
During World War II, more women made their own sweaters because of wartime rationing, and they often needed them to stay warm! After the war, though, ladies’ sweaters blossomed with the prosperity, and girly femininity of the time. This was the era of beads and bows and sequins. If your grandmother was kind enough to leave hers to you, treat them well and save them forever – they are quite literally priceless now.
Sweaters went through Pop Art and bohemian phases in the 1960s and 1970s, and the less said about 1980s neon the better…but they were very definitely here to stay. Whether it’s the classic cashmere twinset (your own or Grandma’s!) or the fuzzy house sweater that got you through the lockdown, everybody has their favorite. And some of us are even skilled enough to knit our own – or lucky enough to have a loved one who does.
And I’m wearing my favorite one right now!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
Knitted garments are nothing new; archaeologists have found them in Ancient Egyptian tombs. But the first real, recognizable sweaters date from the fifteenth century, in the English Channel islands of Guernsey and Jersey. Initially, fishermen’s wives knitted sweaters to keep their men warm while they worked.
It’s no surprise that the garments, which looked a lot like the Irish Aran sweaters we see to this day, gradually spread though the cool parts of Europe: they’re practical and very, very warm. Also no surprise that people started calling them “Guernseys,” or “Jerseys.” Even now, “jersey” is still a British term for sweater, though “jumper” is more common.
From fishermen, it was a short jump to sailors, and Lord Nelson made the Guernsey standard equipment in the British Navy in the early 19th century. From the navy, they spread to the rowing sculls and the sports fields, as favored warm-up gear. When they arrived in the States, they got a new name, referring to their use: sweaters.
All of these sweaters, of course, are big, heavy, masculine affairs of thick wool.
Women started borrowing them in the late 19th century, just as they borrowed other male sports gear, and for a while, women only wore sweaters for outdoor activities requiring serious warmth. Adorable Victorian prints show women in heavy sweaters with coordinating hats and scarves ice-skating or throwing snowballs.
Women didn’t really start making the sweater their own until the turn of the 20th century and beyond. The first couture sweater was made by Lanvin in 1926, but Coco Chanel is far better known for making them a key part of her clean, modern style.
By the 1930s, the “twin set” that we know and love was invented. The combination of short-sleeve or sleeveless shell and cardigan was an almost instant classic. Simple, comfortable, and versatile, it was a look that went with just about anything. Better, it could be made in expensive cashmere, serviceable wool, or something in between, so it was within reach for many, if not most, women.
During World War II, more women made their own sweaters because of wartime rationing, and they often needed them to stay warm! After the war, though, ladies’ sweaters blossomed with the prosperity, and girly femininity of the time. This was the era of beads and bows and sequins. If your grandmother was kind enough to leave hers to you, treat them well and save them forever – they are quite literally priceless now.
Sweaters went through Pop Art and bohemian phases in the 1960s and 1970s, and the less said about 1980s neon the better…but they were very definitely here to stay. Whether it’s the classic cashmere twinset (your own or Grandma’s!) or the fuzzy house sweater that got you through the lockdown, everybody has their favorite. And some of us are even skilled enough to knit our own – or lucky enough to have a loved one who does.
And I’m wearing my favorite one right now!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
October 11, 2023
FLY BOYS...AND GIRLS!
Whether your TOP GUN is Original or Maverick, chances are you appreciate a good bomber jacket. It’s hard not to look good in one, even if the closest you come to flying a fighter jet is the drivers’ seat of an SUV.
There’ve been flight jackets (the original name) pretty much as long as there’ve been flyers. The first jackets were created in 1917 for Army Air Corps crews, who needed some insulation in the unheated cockpits of early aircraft. Early designs went back and forth a bit, made of fur-lined leather, or shearling – with a zip or button front – and various cuff and hem designs.
In 1927, the Army adopted a standard style, the type A-1 flight jacket. The early model button down the front, but it had the ribbed collar and hem we recognize. In the 1930s, the A-2 was approved, with the jaunty zip front and fold down collar that set of generations of handsome flyboy (and girl!) faces.
During World War II, high-altitude flying created the need for heavier and warmer jackets for some flight crews…and lighter ones for others, so the nylon and polyester MA-1 was added to the lineup.
All moderately intriguing to military historians, but what matters to us is that when the flight crews came home from the war, so did their jackets. Civilian aviators quickly adopted leather jackets because they were practical, not to mention looking dashing for those pre- and post-flight photos. Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart were both frequently pictured in them, and folks on the ground soon started trying the look, too.
During World War II, the aviator’s bomber jacket and service khaki look became patriotic hotness at its finest, and it’s only become more iconic since. There’s a reason the costumer on Hogan’s Heroes chose the outfit for Bob Crane: before Hogan says a word, we perceive him as brave, appealing, and maybe a little reckless – exactly the sort of character you’re willing to ride with through some insanely unrealistic misadventures.
By the 1970s and 1980s, bomber jackets started showing up on punks and hip-hop artists, each adapting it to their own style. (There’s something wonderfully ironic about the thought that a skinhead and a rapper might agree on one thing: a black leather bomber – who says fashion isn’t unifying?)
Bombers, though, haven’t been just black leather or olive nylon for a long time. First embroidery and paint dressed up the basic flight gear – and then fashion designers started having fun with it. By the 1980s, people were running around in fuchsia sequined bombers, and the style had become more of a fashion standard than a callback to wartime.
Then TOP GUN took off, and good old brown leather aviator jackets were back with a vengeance. Since then, they’ve never really left – there’s a “bomber jacket moment,” every few fashion cycles.
Not just for the fellas, either. Amelia Earhart wasn’t the first woman to rock an aviator jacket, though it became her signature. None other than Marilyn Monroe wore one over an evening gown during a visit to the troops in the 1950s, doing the mixed-messages look decades before it hit the runway.
Marilyn knew iconic style when she saw it – and so do the rest of us who reach for bombers.
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
There’ve been flight jackets (the original name) pretty much as long as there’ve been flyers. The first jackets were created in 1917 for Army Air Corps crews, who needed some insulation in the unheated cockpits of early aircraft. Early designs went back and forth a bit, made of fur-lined leather, or shearling – with a zip or button front – and various cuff and hem designs.
In 1927, the Army adopted a standard style, the type A-1 flight jacket. The early model button down the front, but it had the ribbed collar and hem we recognize. In the 1930s, the A-2 was approved, with the jaunty zip front and fold down collar that set of generations of handsome flyboy (and girl!) faces.
During World War II, high-altitude flying created the need for heavier and warmer jackets for some flight crews…and lighter ones for others, so the nylon and polyester MA-1 was added to the lineup.
All moderately intriguing to military historians, but what matters to us is that when the flight crews came home from the war, so did their jackets. Civilian aviators quickly adopted leather jackets because they were practical, not to mention looking dashing for those pre- and post-flight photos. Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart were both frequently pictured in them, and folks on the ground soon started trying the look, too.
During World War II, the aviator’s bomber jacket and service khaki look became patriotic hotness at its finest, and it’s only become more iconic since. There’s a reason the costumer on Hogan’s Heroes chose the outfit for Bob Crane: before Hogan says a word, we perceive him as brave, appealing, and maybe a little reckless – exactly the sort of character you’re willing to ride with through some insanely unrealistic misadventures.
By the 1970s and 1980s, bomber jackets started showing up on punks and hip-hop artists, each adapting it to their own style. (There’s something wonderfully ironic about the thought that a skinhead and a rapper might agree on one thing: a black leather bomber – who says fashion isn’t unifying?)
Bombers, though, haven’t been just black leather or olive nylon for a long time. First embroidery and paint dressed up the basic flight gear – and then fashion designers started having fun with it. By the 1980s, people were running around in fuchsia sequined bombers, and the style had become more of a fashion standard than a callback to wartime.
Then TOP GUN took off, and good old brown leather aviator jackets were back with a vengeance. Since then, they’ve never really left – there’s a “bomber jacket moment,” every few fashion cycles.
Not just for the fellas, either. Amelia Earhart wasn’t the first woman to rock an aviator jacket, though it became her signature. None other than Marilyn Monroe wore one over an evening gown during a visit to the troops in the 1950s, doing the mixed-messages look decades before it hit the runway.
Marilyn knew iconic style when she saw it – and so do the rest of us who reach for bombers.
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
October 4, 2023
NOT SO DUSTY KHAKI
Jeans are James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. Khakis are JFK and Katharine Hepburn.
At least that’s how I’ve always thought of it.
Right or wrong, khakis and/or chinos, have come to be seen as the elevated comfortable slacks rather than the cool ones.
They definitely have a more complicated history than their blue counterparts.
While jeans trace easily and obviously back to the pants Levi Strauss made for miners, khakis go back to the British in India. As occupying forces tend to do, they took whatever pleased them, including a tan cotton cloth that was a whole lot more comfortable to wear in India’s climate than those red wool coats.
The name “khaki” comes from a Hindi word meaning “dust” or “dusty,” and when the British Corps of Guides started wearing pants made of the tan cotton, the name stuck. U.S. forces eventually signed onto the idea, too, in the 1898 Spanish-American War. For a long time, khaki was associated with military uniforms – during both World Wars, if a family said they had a “boy in khaki,” everyone would know it meant their son was serving.
The World War II service khaki is what ultimately brought the style to the masses: the boys brought them home and looked great in them – and clothing makers had a lot of leftover fabric to sell. Instant must-have. From that point, they never really left the civilian wardrobe.
It didn’t hurt that JFK, World War II veteran and male style-setter, was often photographed on deck or at the compound in them. Whatever Kennedy wore – or didn’t wear – worked for a lot of folks, regardless of politics. You may have heard that hatmakers blame his preference for going bare-headed for their decline (Probably unfairly, since he DID wear a top hat for his inauguration, after all!)
On the ladies’ side, Katharine Hepburn pretty much personified khaki style. For decades, her signature offscreen look was a pair of loose khakis and a white oxford, sometimes with a cashmere sweater tied around her neck. We’d call it quiet luxury now, probably, but it was just an icon being an icon: it’s the outfit she was comfortable in, and she wore it most of the time.
So khakis come into the wardrobe with some pretty elevated associations, and they’ve held onto them. There are still plenty of places where an outfit of jeans and t-shirt is unacceptable, but khakis and a polo is entirely appropriate, even though they’re essentially the same in comfort level. Khakis are “not-jeans,” for lack of a better description, and they read as just a bit elegant.
A quick word about chinos. There’s a long-simmering controversy over what the exact difference is between chinos and khakis, and whether it even matters. The issues range from tailoring to pockets to the variety of colors (some purists will say only a particular shade of light brown is a khaki!). One thing most seem to agree on is the fabric: while both are made of woven cotton, chino cloth is lighter weight and possibly smoother. After that, you’re getting into a debate like “Pop vs Soda” and good luck to you!
Whatever you call them, and however you style them, there’s no question that most people have at least one pair – if only because they’re the perfect not-jeans. Or maybe because you want to look like a WWII aviator. No argument there!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments.
At least that’s how I’ve always thought of it.
Right or wrong, khakis and/or chinos, have come to be seen as the elevated comfortable slacks rather than the cool ones.
They definitely have a more complicated history than their blue counterparts.
While jeans trace easily and obviously back to the pants Levi Strauss made for miners, khakis go back to the British in India. As occupying forces tend to do, they took whatever pleased them, including a tan cotton cloth that was a whole lot more comfortable to wear in India’s climate than those red wool coats.
The name “khaki” comes from a Hindi word meaning “dust” or “dusty,” and when the British Corps of Guides started wearing pants made of the tan cotton, the name stuck. U.S. forces eventually signed onto the idea, too, in the 1898 Spanish-American War. For a long time, khaki was associated with military uniforms – during both World Wars, if a family said they had a “boy in khaki,” everyone would know it meant their son was serving.
The World War II service khaki is what ultimately brought the style to the masses: the boys brought them home and looked great in them – and clothing makers had a lot of leftover fabric to sell. Instant must-have. From that point, they never really left the civilian wardrobe.
It didn’t hurt that JFK, World War II veteran and male style-setter, was often photographed on deck or at the compound in them. Whatever Kennedy wore – or didn’t wear – worked for a lot of folks, regardless of politics. You may have heard that hatmakers blame his preference for going bare-headed for their decline (Probably unfairly, since he DID wear a top hat for his inauguration, after all!)
On the ladies’ side, Katharine Hepburn pretty much personified khaki style. For decades, her signature offscreen look was a pair of loose khakis and a white oxford, sometimes with a cashmere sweater tied around her neck. We’d call it quiet luxury now, probably, but it was just an icon being an icon: it’s the outfit she was comfortable in, and she wore it most of the time.
So khakis come into the wardrobe with some pretty elevated associations, and they’ve held onto them. There are still plenty of places where an outfit of jeans and t-shirt is unacceptable, but khakis and a polo is entirely appropriate, even though they’re essentially the same in comfort level. Khakis are “not-jeans,” for lack of a better description, and they read as just a bit elegant.
A quick word about chinos. There’s a long-simmering controversy over what the exact difference is between chinos and khakis, and whether it even matters. The issues range from tailoring to pockets to the variety of colors (some purists will say only a particular shade of light brown is a khaki!). One thing most seem to agree on is the fabric: while both are made of woven cotton, chino cloth is lighter weight and possibly smoother. After that, you’re getting into a debate like “Pop vs Soda” and good luck to you!
Whatever you call them, and however you style them, there’s no question that most people have at least one pair – if only because they’re the perfect not-jeans. Or maybe because you want to look like a WWII aviator. No argument there!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments.
September 27, 2023
GOOD JEANS
If your post-pandemic return to hard pants started with a nice pair of jeans, you’re not the only one. But the very idea of a “nice pair of jeans” would be impossible – or downright heretical – for our grandmas.
Ever wonder how jeans went from workwear for miners to high fashion?
Jeans, or as Grandma knew them as a girl, dungarees, have been around for most of the last two hundred years, as hard-wearing gear for working men. The only women who wore jeans for their first hundred years were working pioneer women and the occasional outlaw.
During World War II, Rosie the Riveters started wearing them because they needed sensible work clothes and realized the fellas had been holding out. It wasn’t the first time: everything from boots to sportscoats to streamlined swimsuits originated on the guys’ side of the style ledger. Rosie handed over the jeans when the boys came home, but her daughters didn’t. From the 1950s on, teen girls often wore jeans at home. Never at school, though; most dress codes of the time banned girls from wearing pants – ANY pants.
The boys were already going heavily into denim, following the examples of James Dean and Marlon Brando, who set jeans, a white t-shirt, and a leather jacket as the template for cool that people of all genders still recognize today. By the late 1960s and 1970s, jeans became the standard base of outfits for both young women and men – but they were still often banned at school.
The change began in the late 1970s, with the first designer jeans. Women – and people who like looking at them – realized that a well-fitted pair of jeans is very attractive, and sometime even comfortable, and “good jeans” for going out were born. Once the idea arrived, it quickly became a standard. If you were a teenager anywhere from the early 1980s to the early aughts, you probably had your favorite pair, probably with a designer label.
Probably also carefully saved for nights out, and possibly never washed, depending on which jeans styler you believed. And, when super-slim fits were in, that pair might also have been a size smaller than your usual, and you might have had to lie down to zip the fly. (I know I did!)
You might wear those good jeans with a “going out top.” By the 2000s, fashion blogs spilled lots of ink on the piece – a slinky, sparkly, or spangly thing specifically intended to pair with jeans for date night.
Despite all that, it took jeans a bit longer to become standard office wear. It’s not really surprising that the white-collar world was slow to sign on – but it’s pretty amazing how long it took. The popular March of Dimes “Blue Jeans for Babies” fundraiser started as a way for people to pay for a break from the dress code by donating. Jeans were quite simply unthinkable for professionals for almost the entire 20th century.
You can argue – and I won’t disagree with you – that the pandemic pretty well killed any dress codes that remained in most of the world. While you still wouldn’t dare wear jeans to argue a case in court, or speak in Congress, good ones and a quality blazer will take you almost anywhere else. At this point, the world is just glad you’ve put on pants!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
Ever wonder how jeans went from workwear for miners to high fashion?
Jeans, or as Grandma knew them as a girl, dungarees, have been around for most of the last two hundred years, as hard-wearing gear for working men. The only women who wore jeans for their first hundred years were working pioneer women and the occasional outlaw.
During World War II, Rosie the Riveters started wearing them because they needed sensible work clothes and realized the fellas had been holding out. It wasn’t the first time: everything from boots to sportscoats to streamlined swimsuits originated on the guys’ side of the style ledger. Rosie handed over the jeans when the boys came home, but her daughters didn’t. From the 1950s on, teen girls often wore jeans at home. Never at school, though; most dress codes of the time banned girls from wearing pants – ANY pants.
The boys were already going heavily into denim, following the examples of James Dean and Marlon Brando, who set jeans, a white t-shirt, and a leather jacket as the template for cool that people of all genders still recognize today. By the late 1960s and 1970s, jeans became the standard base of outfits for both young women and men – but they were still often banned at school.
The change began in the late 1970s, with the first designer jeans. Women – and people who like looking at them – realized that a well-fitted pair of jeans is very attractive, and sometime even comfortable, and “good jeans” for going out were born. Once the idea arrived, it quickly became a standard. If you were a teenager anywhere from the early 1980s to the early aughts, you probably had your favorite pair, probably with a designer label.
Probably also carefully saved for nights out, and possibly never washed, depending on which jeans styler you believed. And, when super-slim fits were in, that pair might also have been a size smaller than your usual, and you might have had to lie down to zip the fly. (I know I did!)
You might wear those good jeans with a “going out top.” By the 2000s, fashion blogs spilled lots of ink on the piece – a slinky, sparkly, or spangly thing specifically intended to pair with jeans for date night.
Despite all that, it took jeans a bit longer to become standard office wear. It’s not really surprising that the white-collar world was slow to sign on – but it’s pretty amazing how long it took. The popular March of Dimes “Blue Jeans for Babies” fundraiser started as a way for people to pay for a break from the dress code by donating. Jeans were quite simply unthinkable for professionals for almost the entire 20th century.
You can argue – and I won’t disagree with you – that the pandemic pretty well killed any dress codes that remained in most of the world. While you still wouldn’t dare wear jeans to argue a case in court, or speak in Congress, good ones and a quality blazer will take you almost anywhere else. At this point, the world is just glad you’ve put on pants!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
September 20, 2023
HIGH HOLY DAYS
L’Shana Tovah!
Since the 1650s, Jews have been sharing that Rosh Hashanah greeting in New York, and celebrating the holiest time of their calendar.
It means “for a good year,” and – at least in my corner of the world – it’s a great way to greet friends and family who celebrate the High Holy Days.
The eight-day period begins with a celebration and ends in solemn reflection, with plenty of traditions along the way. If you’ve been doing something for five thousand years (Happy 5784!) you come up with plenty of good ways to celebrate.
Family meals (usually dinner) are a big part of this holiday, as for most Jewish celebrations. This time, there will almost certainly be honey and apples in some form; they symbolize a sweet New Year, so they’re a prominent part of the meal. Some people just dip apples in the honey – while others like apple cakes, pies and other treats. Or all of the above!
It’s also the time to bring out old traditional foods you don’t see the rest of the year. That’s how I ended up eating gefiltefish at my first Rosh Hashanah dinner with my husband’s relatives. Apparently, in the right hands, it’s sort of like a salmon croquette. This particular version, though, was both sweet and crunchy – and after the meal, my husband told me that nobody but one very elderly relative actually eats it!
I got points for being a good sport, at least.
As well as the private family events, there are religious services throughout the eight days – more services for the more observant, of course. Another popular observance is “Taslich,” the washing away of sins: people go to a lake or river and thrown in stones or bread to symbolize spiritual cleansing. In some parts of New York, people have seen their neighbors doing that for decades – or even centuries.
New York has had organized Jewish congregations since 1680 – and by the early 1800s, there were several large and visible groups. For a long time, though, the services were held in the style of the first group who arrived: Sephardic (Spanish and Middle Eastern) Jews, despite the fact that most of the congregants were Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews.
Whatever kind of service they went to, the congregation probably looked pretty sharp. New clothes for a new year are part of many families’ tradition, much as Christians buy new outfits for Easter. Dressing up for an important holiday is a pretty common human impulse, after all.
The High Holy Days end with Yom Kippur, a solemn day of religious atonement and reflection. Even less-observant families (mine!) will often take the day off work and disconnect from social media so they can spend the time fasting, contemplating, and making things right for the next year.
That’s not just getting right in the religious sense -- it’s also about getting right with the people around you. If you’ve wronged anyone, you’re expected to do your best to fix it.
By the way, if you’re wondering what to say to a friend who’s marking Yom Kippur, it’s better to wish them “a blessed atonement” than to wish them a happy one. It shows understanding and support on what is a very solemn day…and isn’t that exactly what a true friend wants to do?
Got a #Throwback Thursday idea? Drop it in the comments.
Since the 1650s, Jews have been sharing that Rosh Hashanah greeting in New York, and celebrating the holiest time of their calendar.
It means “for a good year,” and – at least in my corner of the world – it’s a great way to greet friends and family who celebrate the High Holy Days.
The eight-day period begins with a celebration and ends in solemn reflection, with plenty of traditions along the way. If you’ve been doing something for five thousand years (Happy 5784!) you come up with plenty of good ways to celebrate.
Family meals (usually dinner) are a big part of this holiday, as for most Jewish celebrations. This time, there will almost certainly be honey and apples in some form; they symbolize a sweet New Year, so they’re a prominent part of the meal. Some people just dip apples in the honey – while others like apple cakes, pies and other treats. Or all of the above!
It’s also the time to bring out old traditional foods you don’t see the rest of the year. That’s how I ended up eating gefiltefish at my first Rosh Hashanah dinner with my husband’s relatives. Apparently, in the right hands, it’s sort of like a salmon croquette. This particular version, though, was both sweet and crunchy – and after the meal, my husband told me that nobody but one very elderly relative actually eats it!
I got points for being a good sport, at least.
As well as the private family events, there are religious services throughout the eight days – more services for the more observant, of course. Another popular observance is “Taslich,” the washing away of sins: people go to a lake or river and thrown in stones or bread to symbolize spiritual cleansing. In some parts of New York, people have seen their neighbors doing that for decades – or even centuries.
New York has had organized Jewish congregations since 1680 – and by the early 1800s, there were several large and visible groups. For a long time, though, the services were held in the style of the first group who arrived: Sephardic (Spanish and Middle Eastern) Jews, despite the fact that most of the congregants were Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews.
Whatever kind of service they went to, the congregation probably looked pretty sharp. New clothes for a new year are part of many families’ tradition, much as Christians buy new outfits for Easter. Dressing up for an important holiday is a pretty common human impulse, after all.
The High Holy Days end with Yom Kippur, a solemn day of religious atonement and reflection. Even less-observant families (mine!) will often take the day off work and disconnect from social media so they can spend the time fasting, contemplating, and making things right for the next year.
That’s not just getting right in the religious sense -- it’s also about getting right with the people around you. If you’ve wronged anyone, you’re expected to do your best to fix it.
By the way, if you’re wondering what to say to a friend who’s marking Yom Kippur, it’s better to wish them “a blessed atonement” than to wish them a happy one. It shows understanding and support on what is a very solemn day…and isn’t that exactly what a true friend wants to do?
Got a #Throwback Thursday idea? Drop it in the comments.
September 13, 2023
NEW LOOK FOR FALL
Even now, when it’s a major fashion statement to put on actual pants, people still care about new clothes for fall. In the Gilded Age, the fall fashions were every bit as much of a thing as they are now…even if for a much smaller group of people.
In the poorest households, it was enough to have an outfit to wear and one to wash, but even a little bit further up the scale, new (at least new-to-you) clothes were important for autumn. Part of that was the change in the weather; in many heavily populated areas, especially in the U.S., autumn was the start of the cold part of the year. So everyone had to put on more clothing.
For better-off folks, autumn meant much more than going down to the secondhand store and picking up a few serviceable woolen pieces to fend off the chill. It often meant major wardrobe changes, and not just for the grownups. Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder will remember all of the talk of hand-me-downs in her books, and that was the rule for most large families. It would never occur to anyone to waste perfectly good clothes or shoes when there was a younger sibling who could wear them perfectly well – if not happily.
As for the adults, the further you moved up the economic scale, the more modish those new fall fashions became. Men’s clothes evolved less quickly than women’s, and even a dapper fellow might well keep his suits and coats for a few years – or more. A gent who could afford it, though, would at least have some sharp new shirts, and likely more, depending on how much he cared about such things.
Women, then as now, mostly had to care. A lady with any pretentions to status was expected to show up, if not in the latest modes, certainly in reasonably new and fashionable clothing. In the 1890s, with the waxing and waning of the leg-o-mutton sleeves and the up-and-down movement of the corset waist, that often meant major changes. But not necessarily entirely new clothes: those puffy sleeves could be cut down, and the hat re-trimmed in the new season’s colors. Surviving clothing shows plenty of signs of alteration, suggesting that many women (or their lady’s maids) kept up with style, even if they couldn’t afford full-out new wardrobes.
For someone like our opera diva Ella Shane, far closer to the top of the social spectrum than the bottom, fall definitely means new clothes. In her autumn outing, A FATAL FIRST NIGHT, she doesn’t have a lot of chances to wear them, since she’s on stage in doublet and hose most of the time. But, on several occasions, she happily sports a new violet velvet hat and takes exactly the sort of pleasure any fashionable female would. (Unless it’s her newspaper reporter friend Hetty, who has a deep grudge against hats because she’s been forced to write about them so much!)
We do get to see Ella in one lovely new dress: a lavender velvet evening gown with silver embroidery. She wears it for a pivotal after-show event…and a visiting friend is very impressed indeed. Because that, of course, is the other fun of the fall fashions: wearing them for an appreciative audience!
Have an idea for a #ThrowbackThursday post? Drop it in the comments!
In the poorest households, it was enough to have an outfit to wear and one to wash, but even a little bit further up the scale, new (at least new-to-you) clothes were important for autumn. Part of that was the change in the weather; in many heavily populated areas, especially in the U.S., autumn was the start of the cold part of the year. So everyone had to put on more clothing.
For better-off folks, autumn meant much more than going down to the secondhand store and picking up a few serviceable woolen pieces to fend off the chill. It often meant major wardrobe changes, and not just for the grownups. Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder will remember all of the talk of hand-me-downs in her books, and that was the rule for most large families. It would never occur to anyone to waste perfectly good clothes or shoes when there was a younger sibling who could wear them perfectly well – if not happily.
As for the adults, the further you moved up the economic scale, the more modish those new fall fashions became. Men’s clothes evolved less quickly than women’s, and even a dapper fellow might well keep his suits and coats for a few years – or more. A gent who could afford it, though, would at least have some sharp new shirts, and likely more, depending on how much he cared about such things.
Women, then as now, mostly had to care. A lady with any pretentions to status was expected to show up, if not in the latest modes, certainly in reasonably new and fashionable clothing. In the 1890s, with the waxing and waning of the leg-o-mutton sleeves and the up-and-down movement of the corset waist, that often meant major changes. But not necessarily entirely new clothes: those puffy sleeves could be cut down, and the hat re-trimmed in the new season’s colors. Surviving clothing shows plenty of signs of alteration, suggesting that many women (or their lady’s maids) kept up with style, even if they couldn’t afford full-out new wardrobes.
For someone like our opera diva Ella Shane, far closer to the top of the social spectrum than the bottom, fall definitely means new clothes. In her autumn outing, A FATAL FIRST NIGHT, she doesn’t have a lot of chances to wear them, since she’s on stage in doublet and hose most of the time. But, on several occasions, she happily sports a new violet velvet hat and takes exactly the sort of pleasure any fashionable female would. (Unless it’s her newspaper reporter friend Hetty, who has a deep grudge against hats because she’s been forced to write about them so much!)
We do get to see Ella in one lovely new dress: a lavender velvet evening gown with silver embroidery. She wears it for a pivotal after-show event…and a visiting friend is very impressed indeed. Because that, of course, is the other fun of the fall fashions: wearing them for an appreciative audience!
Have an idea for a #ThrowbackThursday post? Drop it in the comments!
September 6, 2023
MOM AND APPLE PIE
Apple pie may not be your favorite dessert, but most people like it well enough to eat a slice when offered one. It’s a classic, and beloved in all of its forms. Though, of course, everyone has their favorite – and you do not want to find yourself in the middle of an argument between the crumb-top and double-crust folks. Never mind ice cream versus sharp cheddar cheese.
Apple pie has been a thing for a very long time; we’ve have been eating it since at least the 1300s.
Geoffrey Chaucer, of all people, gets credit for writing down the first recipe, in 1389. But, like many other household staples passed down through the mists of time, it’s fair to assume that unsung women had been making it for a long time before that. Pie actually started as a way to preserve fresh fruit in a portable form. Early crusts weren’t supposed to be especially tasty; some were made of nothing but flour, water, and salt, with the idea that they might not even be eaten at all!
When the British came to the New World, they brought their pie recipes with them and so did other Europeans, including the Dutch and Scandinavians. At first, the local crabapples weren’t much good for pie, but they soon brought over cuttings and seeds from back home. Most of the apples went into mildly hard cider at first, because people needed something safe to drink, and cider was easier to make than the other possibilities, like beer or wine.
Still, once there were apples, apple pie wasn’t far behind.
This is probably the point where people really started caring about the taste of the crust – if you’re scratching out a life on a new continent with limited supplies, you’re not going to waste a crumb.
Nor are you going to feel obligated to save that pie for dessert. Meal times and menus were much different in the Colonial period, and even into the 19th century (another post for another day), and pie made a simple and filling breakfast, or an easy evening bite after a long day’s work. When people did get into the more modern idea of finishing a meal with a sweet, apple pie was sitting right there, looking tasty.
And it was sitting there looking just as wonderful when the advertising and newspaper writers needed a symbol of Americana. The first recorded use of “as American as apple pie” was in 1928, but it was a beloved symbol of the home front for soldiers in both World Wars. By World War II, the boys Over There said flat-out that they were fighting for “mom and apple pie.”
So what did mom put on that pie? Yes, we’ll wade into the cheese versus ice cream argument…just a little. I’m not picking sides, but cheese DOES have seniority; people in New England, especially, have been eating pie with cheddar for centuries. For most folks, ice cream has only been an option since the late 19th century. Still, it quickly became a very popular one. Pie a la mode, after all, translates to “pie in the current fashion.”
At least at my house, where the Professor prefers apple pie to birthday cake, the only bad pie is no pie.
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
Apple pie has been a thing for a very long time; we’ve have been eating it since at least the 1300s.
Geoffrey Chaucer, of all people, gets credit for writing down the first recipe, in 1389. But, like many other household staples passed down through the mists of time, it’s fair to assume that unsung women had been making it for a long time before that. Pie actually started as a way to preserve fresh fruit in a portable form. Early crusts weren’t supposed to be especially tasty; some were made of nothing but flour, water, and salt, with the idea that they might not even be eaten at all!
When the British came to the New World, they brought their pie recipes with them and so did other Europeans, including the Dutch and Scandinavians. At first, the local crabapples weren’t much good for pie, but they soon brought over cuttings and seeds from back home. Most of the apples went into mildly hard cider at first, because people needed something safe to drink, and cider was easier to make than the other possibilities, like beer or wine.
Still, once there were apples, apple pie wasn’t far behind.
This is probably the point where people really started caring about the taste of the crust – if you’re scratching out a life on a new continent with limited supplies, you’re not going to waste a crumb.
Nor are you going to feel obligated to save that pie for dessert. Meal times and menus were much different in the Colonial period, and even into the 19th century (another post for another day), and pie made a simple and filling breakfast, or an easy evening bite after a long day’s work. When people did get into the more modern idea of finishing a meal with a sweet, apple pie was sitting right there, looking tasty.
And it was sitting there looking just as wonderful when the advertising and newspaper writers needed a symbol of Americana. The first recorded use of “as American as apple pie” was in 1928, but it was a beloved symbol of the home front for soldiers in both World Wars. By World War II, the boys Over There said flat-out that they were fighting for “mom and apple pie.”
So what did mom put on that pie? Yes, we’ll wade into the cheese versus ice cream argument…just a little. I’m not picking sides, but cheese DOES have seniority; people in New England, especially, have been eating pie with cheddar for centuries. For most folks, ice cream has only been an option since the late 19th century. Still, it quickly became a very popular one. Pie a la mode, after all, translates to “pie in the current fashion.”
At least at my house, where the Professor prefers apple pie to birthday cake, the only bad pie is no pie.
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
August 30, 2023
ON THE ROCKS
It may be lemonade, soda (pop?) or something stronger, but chances are pretty good you’re going to have an iced drink on this unofficial last weekend of summer. And if you’re a history nerd like me, you might have wondered how people got their ice before the days of a good fridge with an icemaker.
Like so many other things we take for granted -- say, comfortable beds, indoor plumbing, and more than one outfit to wear -- iced drinks have been around for centuries, for the top end of society. The ancient Romans used snow from the mountains to cool their wine, and visitors to the Ottoman Empire were very impressed to be welcomed with what we’d recognize as slushies. But unless you had the money and power to force other humans to drag that ice to your house, you were going to be very happy with the water from the local spring, or the bottom of the well – which was actually pretty refreshing on a summer day, as long as you drank it right away.
It wasn’t until the early 1800s when a New England businessman named Frederick Tudor figured out how to keep ice cold for shipping, and started selling it to wealthy British folks in the Caribbean. Soon, a whole lot of other people realized that having ice was a great idea, and it became a major industry. As it grew, it became more accessible and affordable to the masses.
Ice harvesting developed into a major industry in New England, and the Great Lakes, and anywhere that got cold enough for thick layers of ice to form on bodies of water. It won’t surprise you to know that Norway was one of the other big producers!
Harvesting ice was exactly what it sounds like. In the dead of winter, when the ice on a lake, river or pond was as thick as it would get, crews would go in and saw it out in massive blocks, then load it into ice houses, to keep it covered in straw and other insulation until it could be shipped, usually by barge.
By the mid-19th century, the ice industry had moved well past the wealthiest, and many homes had some minimal refrigeration. Grandma calls the fridge an icebox because that’s the word her mother used – and Great-Grandma probably did grow up with one.
Great-Grandma, and her friends, relied on those ice boxes to keep dairy products and some other things cool, and certainly, if your Great-Grandma was anything like mine, enjoyed the occasional drink “on the rocks.” Iceboxes were common enough that when the winter wasn’t cold enough in Maine or Minnesota, there would be shortages, known as “ice famines.” It happened often enough that some companies went out of business, and speculators ruined themselves trying to take advantage of the following years. But ice had become an essential household item, and the daily visit from the ice wagon was a fixture of comfortable home life (just like the milkman) into the 1920s at least.
Reliable electric refrigeration finally did what ice famines couldn’t, and superseded the old icebox. But the next time you get a cold drink, take a good look at those ice cubes – and maybe add a splash of something in honor of Great-Grandma and her pal the ice wagon.
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
Like so many other things we take for granted -- say, comfortable beds, indoor plumbing, and more than one outfit to wear -- iced drinks have been around for centuries, for the top end of society. The ancient Romans used snow from the mountains to cool their wine, and visitors to the Ottoman Empire were very impressed to be welcomed with what we’d recognize as slushies. But unless you had the money and power to force other humans to drag that ice to your house, you were going to be very happy with the water from the local spring, or the bottom of the well – which was actually pretty refreshing on a summer day, as long as you drank it right away.
It wasn’t until the early 1800s when a New England businessman named Frederick Tudor figured out how to keep ice cold for shipping, and started selling it to wealthy British folks in the Caribbean. Soon, a whole lot of other people realized that having ice was a great idea, and it became a major industry. As it grew, it became more accessible and affordable to the masses.
Ice harvesting developed into a major industry in New England, and the Great Lakes, and anywhere that got cold enough for thick layers of ice to form on bodies of water. It won’t surprise you to know that Norway was one of the other big producers!
Harvesting ice was exactly what it sounds like. In the dead of winter, when the ice on a lake, river or pond was as thick as it would get, crews would go in and saw it out in massive blocks, then load it into ice houses, to keep it covered in straw and other insulation until it could be shipped, usually by barge.
By the mid-19th century, the ice industry had moved well past the wealthiest, and many homes had some minimal refrigeration. Grandma calls the fridge an icebox because that’s the word her mother used – and Great-Grandma probably did grow up with one.
Great-Grandma, and her friends, relied on those ice boxes to keep dairy products and some other things cool, and certainly, if your Great-Grandma was anything like mine, enjoyed the occasional drink “on the rocks.” Iceboxes were common enough that when the winter wasn’t cold enough in Maine or Minnesota, there would be shortages, known as “ice famines.” It happened often enough that some companies went out of business, and speculators ruined themselves trying to take advantage of the following years. But ice had become an essential household item, and the daily visit from the ice wagon was a fixture of comfortable home life (just like the milkman) into the 1920s at least.
Reliable electric refrigeration finally did what ice famines couldn’t, and superseded the old icebox. But the next time you get a cold drink, take a good look at those ice cubes – and maybe add a splash of something in honor of Great-Grandma and her pal the ice wagon.
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
August 23, 2023
PAINT IT ON
Anybody else resort to self-tanner for sleek legs with summer skirts? I’m owning it!
It may be vain to want to cover my gardening bruises and training-wheels scar, but it’s a lot healthier and safer than the sun. And it’s the modern version of a World War II invention, so I like to think of myself as following in Rosie the Riveter’s (bare) footsteps!
From about the 1920s to the mid-1960s, silk, and later nylon, stockings were an integral, and quite honestly, iconic, part of any woman’s outfit. They deserve a post or two on another day – watch this space!
During World War II, though, silk and nylon were needed for the war effort, so stockings became vanishingly rare and expensive. Women wore the ones they had until they shredded. And then?
Enter leg makeup!
Or, as the bottle in the Smithsonian puts it, “Leg Silque Liquid Stockings.” Makeup, often liquid, but possibly cream or stick, too, in a color and finish that faked the look of silk stockings. Pictures show women painting it on with brushes or dabbing it on with an applicator. Either way, it has a little bit of texture to give the illusion of a stocking. Women heightened the illusion by painting on seams (this was back when stockings had them!) with eyeliner.
Some ladies even got very creative and painted on a heavier texture for the stocking tops.
As those of us who self-tan our legs know, none of this was a party.
Liquid makeup would be insanely messy to apply, whether by brush or sponge, and really the cream or stick wasn’t much of an upgrade. Even with modern makeup technology, liquid formulas don’t dry quickly, and the heavier ones often smudge on contact. And if there’s anyone who doesn’t work for Cirque de Soleil who can get an even coat on their own upper back thigh, I want to meet 'em!
Plenty of reason, then, for a trip to the Leg Makeup Bar.
To encourage women to use leg paint, shoe and department stores put up little salons where helpful female employees would apply it for you, complete with perfectly straight seams. It wasn’t cheap, but it was affordable enough that many women would happily plonk down the money to avoid the mess.
One thing that’s not at all clear from my research is how the stuff STAYED on. Modern long wear foundation formulas can stand up to a fair degree of wear, but body makeup has always been a pretty messy proposition, which I can verify as a college summer theatre veteran. An educated guess would be some kind of improvised sealant, like a thin layer of hairspray. If there’s a reader out there who knows – or who has a Grandma Rosie to ask, please enlighten me!
Women didn’t put all this hard work and ingenuity into fake stockings just to look good. They did it to show their support for the war effort and the boys (and, as the conflict went on, girls) overseas. This was message beauty: giving the soldiers something to fight for – and telling the Axis powers that not only were we going to win, we were going to look absolutely terrific doing it.
Not a bad message even today!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
It may be vain to want to cover my gardening bruises and training-wheels scar, but it’s a lot healthier and safer than the sun. And it’s the modern version of a World War II invention, so I like to think of myself as following in Rosie the Riveter’s (bare) footsteps!
From about the 1920s to the mid-1960s, silk, and later nylon, stockings were an integral, and quite honestly, iconic, part of any woman’s outfit. They deserve a post or two on another day – watch this space!
During World War II, though, silk and nylon were needed for the war effort, so stockings became vanishingly rare and expensive. Women wore the ones they had until they shredded. And then?
Enter leg makeup!
Or, as the bottle in the Smithsonian puts it, “Leg Silque Liquid Stockings.” Makeup, often liquid, but possibly cream or stick, too, in a color and finish that faked the look of silk stockings. Pictures show women painting it on with brushes or dabbing it on with an applicator. Either way, it has a little bit of texture to give the illusion of a stocking. Women heightened the illusion by painting on seams (this was back when stockings had them!) with eyeliner.
Some ladies even got very creative and painted on a heavier texture for the stocking tops.
As those of us who self-tan our legs know, none of this was a party.
Liquid makeup would be insanely messy to apply, whether by brush or sponge, and really the cream or stick wasn’t much of an upgrade. Even with modern makeup technology, liquid formulas don’t dry quickly, and the heavier ones often smudge on contact. And if there’s anyone who doesn’t work for Cirque de Soleil who can get an even coat on their own upper back thigh, I want to meet 'em!
Plenty of reason, then, for a trip to the Leg Makeup Bar.
To encourage women to use leg paint, shoe and department stores put up little salons where helpful female employees would apply it for you, complete with perfectly straight seams. It wasn’t cheap, but it was affordable enough that many women would happily plonk down the money to avoid the mess.
One thing that’s not at all clear from my research is how the stuff STAYED on. Modern long wear foundation formulas can stand up to a fair degree of wear, but body makeup has always been a pretty messy proposition, which I can verify as a college summer theatre veteran. An educated guess would be some kind of improvised sealant, like a thin layer of hairspray. If there’s a reader out there who knows – or who has a Grandma Rosie to ask, please enlighten me!
Women didn’t put all this hard work and ingenuity into fake stockings just to look good. They did it to show their support for the war effort and the boys (and, as the conflict went on, girls) overseas. This was message beauty: giving the soldiers something to fight for – and telling the Axis powers that not only were we going to win, we were going to look absolutely terrific doing it.
Not a bad message even today!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
August 16, 2023
THEY SWAM WITH THEIR BOOTS ON
“She took the boots off when she went in the water, right?”
That’s what a friend asked recently when I showed her a picture of a 19th century bathing costume.
My first response was: “Boots? What boots?”
We already knew Victorian swimwear was a long way from even the most modest modern gear. Sure, there are a significant minority (including me) who wear legging swimsuits and rashguard shirts for modesty, sunburn protection, or some combination of the two. But nobody’s out there splashing around in several layers of wool.
With boots.
If you’re like me, it takes you a while to get down to the boots.
The rest of the outfit is wild enough. Well after the turn of the 20th century, women were still wearing full wool union suits with dresses over them, or long-sleeved dresses with wool stockings in the water. You’ll note two mentions of wool there – for good reason.
We associate wool with warm winter gear, but it was actually a pretty good material for swim stockings. In the right knit, it’s breathable and handles water well. Cotton, the other possibility, gets soggy and loses its shape pretty quickly. (Nobody would wear silk stockings in the water – if you could even get them, you’d save them for your best ballgown.)
Still, nobody wants to be running around in all those layers at the beach – and for sure not in the water. Long skirts and long hair looked nice, but you’ll note that almost as soon as women started swimming competitively, you start seeing bathing caps and more streamlined suits.
Now, about those boots.
They really WERE boots. I’d thought maybe it was just the way things looked in the illustrations or photos, but nope, women wore canvas boots at the beach – and you can still find them online!
Boots in general were the signature footwear of the time. Men, women, and children wore boots for almost everything outside the house. A woman might have a pair of high-heeled slippers for her fanciest evenings…but she might as easily wear satin boots.
So it’s really no surprise that women would wear boots to the beach. Swim boots were usually black or cream-colored canvas, with laces. Regular boots sometimes came in canvas, so that wasn’t really unique.
But the soles were. Unlike street boots, which had leather or rubber soles, swim boots usually had canvas soles. Overall, surviving models look a lot like boxing shoes, between the laces and the flat, thin sole.
The end result was a relatively light, flexible shoe that would provide some protection from any hazards in the water.
Note “relatively” light. You’d still be paddling around out there with a bunch of wet canvas laced to your feet. No wonder women ditched the shoes as soon as they started competitive swimming.
But swim boots live on today (beyond the vintage ones on Etsy!). Those water shoes you wear at the beach are direct descendants of them…if just a little cuter.
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the Comments!
That’s what a friend asked recently when I showed her a picture of a 19th century bathing costume.
My first response was: “Boots? What boots?”
We already knew Victorian swimwear was a long way from even the most modest modern gear. Sure, there are a significant minority (including me) who wear legging swimsuits and rashguard shirts for modesty, sunburn protection, or some combination of the two. But nobody’s out there splashing around in several layers of wool.
With boots.
If you’re like me, it takes you a while to get down to the boots.
The rest of the outfit is wild enough. Well after the turn of the 20th century, women were still wearing full wool union suits with dresses over them, or long-sleeved dresses with wool stockings in the water. You’ll note two mentions of wool there – for good reason.
We associate wool with warm winter gear, but it was actually a pretty good material for swim stockings. In the right knit, it’s breathable and handles water well. Cotton, the other possibility, gets soggy and loses its shape pretty quickly. (Nobody would wear silk stockings in the water – if you could even get them, you’d save them for your best ballgown.)
Still, nobody wants to be running around in all those layers at the beach – and for sure not in the water. Long skirts and long hair looked nice, but you’ll note that almost as soon as women started swimming competitively, you start seeing bathing caps and more streamlined suits.
Now, about those boots.
They really WERE boots. I’d thought maybe it was just the way things looked in the illustrations or photos, but nope, women wore canvas boots at the beach – and you can still find them online!
Boots in general were the signature footwear of the time. Men, women, and children wore boots for almost everything outside the house. A woman might have a pair of high-heeled slippers for her fanciest evenings…but she might as easily wear satin boots.
So it’s really no surprise that women would wear boots to the beach. Swim boots were usually black or cream-colored canvas, with laces. Regular boots sometimes came in canvas, so that wasn’t really unique.
But the soles were. Unlike street boots, which had leather or rubber soles, swim boots usually had canvas soles. Overall, surviving models look a lot like boxing shoes, between the laces and the flat, thin sole.
The end result was a relatively light, flexible shoe that would provide some protection from any hazards in the water.
Note “relatively” light. You’d still be paddling around out there with a bunch of wet canvas laced to your feet. No wonder women ditched the shoes as soon as they started competitive swimming.
But swim boots live on today (beyond the vintage ones on Etsy!). Those water shoes you wear at the beach are direct descendants of them…if just a little cuter.
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the Comments!
