Friday, April 25, 2014

How the light gets in, cellulite, Dr Johnson, and tired of life in Toad Hall

I'm not sure how he felt about four men pretending not to concentrate on his nose, but concentrate we did. "That's how the light gets in," said I, as the waiter, whose nose it was we were examining, walked away. "There's a crack in everything," said David. "Leonard Cohen," said the Celt. "Er ... what?" said Scott, concerned with checking us in on Facebook and still disbelieving what he had seen across the restaurant – the light from the window through a hole in the waiter's nostril. I went for a smeary flash of diamond but David, opposite me, had seen the truth, the light, as it were, at the end of the septum. "Shut it down ... I'm embarrassed." said Scott. Shut it down we didn't, but David and I looked suitably guilty and sipped our cocktails whilst the Celt and Scott wandered off into the hinterland of Facebook, scampering back when the theatre that is lunch under the elegantly etiolated chandelier really began.


Though that light was the adamantine light of winter sun, light it was and as thought-kindling and gladdening as the early summer light that irradiates where I sit this morning – the breakfast table (breakfast is finished and the table cleared) by the kitchen window on the east face of the building.

I seem to do a fair amount of woolgathering whilst at table, be it a breakfast, dining or cocktail table. Perhaps, in the case of the latter it's the bourbon that effects a certain introspection, but whatever the cause, for me, light and contemplation go together.


I did quite a bit of contemplating last evening as I sat in the murk known as atmosphere in the lounge of the Ritz Carlton where friends, always well-dressed, had texted whilst we were at dinner, asking us to join them for drinks. Blazers and khakis, I thought, could pass muster so we went. The best that could be said of the lighting as we walked into the lounge was that it was softly dramatic – or, if one were not so generous, dim and ineffective. Poor lighting in restaurants and hotel lounges is so commonplace as to be unremarkable though the older I get the more irritated I am by the casual ineptness of it. As the Celt chatted with our friends, I sat, sipped and stewed over the scene – constantly, streaming through the puddles of overhead light on the way to the restrooms, came the most badly dressed throng I have ever seen disgrace an elegant hotel lounge.

"...... when a man is tired of Buckhead," I thought, mangling Dr Johnson's famous quote about London, "he is tired of life; for there is in Buckhead all that life can afford." And whilst not untrue, it is perhaps ungenerous, but I do wonder when t-shirts tank tops, running-shorts, exposed cellulite, neck tattoos, flip-flops and baseball caps become acceptable wear even for a crowd that puts its gymshoe-clad feet on cocktail tables in hotel salons?

Not quite as if Toad Hall had been taken over by the ferrets, stoats and weasels from the Wild Wood but shocking, nonetheless. I have little illumination to shed on the phenomenon but perhaps the Great God Pan could remove my memories "lest the awful remembrance should remain and grow, and overshadow mirth and pleasure!"

"Shut it down ... Transit umbra, lux permeant" 

21 comments:

  1. The horrors of modern day dress, or what is considered appropriate, really irks me too. Why are exercise clothes and sleepwear considered acceptable in public one wonders?

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    1. Chronica Domus, thank you. I'm all for comfort given my seemingly expanding waistline but despite it I have a uniform that's suitable for most of what I do in Atlanta – blazer, white or blue button-down shirt, gray slacks and black shoes. It takes me anywhere except formal occasions.

      I have no idea what people are thinking. I remember a while ago a young couple refused entry to a restaurant though she was immaculately dressed for a night out; he was in shorts and an undershirt. I'm sure he thought he looked fabulous.

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  2. Dear Blue,
    I am constantly shocked, repulsed, revolted, and enraged, and then ultimately depressed by what I see the cretins that clog the world around me wearing (or worse NOT wearing) when out and about. Not just at the expected supermarkets and the like, but also, as you note, at the better hotels, places of entertainment, restaurants, and (most notably) houses of worship. The standard cold weather garb for many of the parishioners at the pretty, ca. 1830 Gothic revival Episcopal church I attend is a hoodie sweat shirt, jeans, and sneakers. As one of the few men who regularly attend service there wearing a blazer, collared shirt, gray flannels, and polished leather shoes I sometimes feel as if I've dropped in from a different world entirely. Tell me, when was it decided that the supposed comfort of the wearer trumps the importance of dressing with respect for one's surroundings and the sensibilities of those that one sees when out in public?

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    1. Reggie, thank you. I know this is a subject dear to your heart as you have railed against slob fashion on your blog. If the decision that comfort trumps respect was made, for surely it was, then I have no idea when unless it is the influence of international "democratic" fashion (for the young) had deleterious effects every where.

      As you, I find my blazer, gray slacks, white or blue shirt, and black shoes (always polished, as you note for your own) perfectly acceptable for most of the events I attend.

      Nearby and within walking distance there's an old Atlanta restaurant where jackets are still required but increasingly jackets are not worn by the younger men despite their women looking like the bees knees.

      Further discussion and observations might be required.

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  3. They just have yet to discover the art of shopping, the pleasure of owning, and the benefits of looking well dressed...

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    1. Dean Farris, thank you. I'm not sure if you're right because, in my opinion, they have discovered the benefits of looking well-dressed but what they lack are the standards that you and I cleave to. Fashion can make fools of us all, if we're not careful.

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  4. You touched on another pet peeve of mine...the disparity between men and women's clothes when out for the night.

    There was a time when if a woman wore a little black dress, pearls and heels her male companion would be in jacket and tie. Then it was jacket, no tie, Now it's no jacket no tie and a short sleeve shirt in the summer...that is, if you are lucky!

    Oh, and btw, the light is just wonderful here OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER!!!

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    1. lindaraxa, thank you. There really is an observable difference between how the younger men and the younger women dress – at least, and I really hesitate to use this word, of a certain class. How old fashioned of me to suggest the phenomenon is class-baed but I really think it is.

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    2. lindaraxa, I accept your comment about light outside the perimeter but .... what do I say? Yes, I believe you.

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  5. I had tea in Browns a few years ago with an American trad-clothes-type-blogger. It was great fun, not least because I though he was going to blow a gasket at the declasse dress of the other patrons. Bless him, he thought the British were still stylish.

    Still, while there are people still using 'adamantine,' all is not lost...

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    1. ELS, thank you. We've stayed at Browns but didn't have tea – cocktails are more the order of the day for me and they make good ones in the bar. The good think about London and New York is that the after-work bar scene is full of people just out of the office so by default well-dressed or, at least, neatly dressed.

      I shan't refer your compliment about "adamantine" but if I were to, I might say thank you.

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  6. All I can add to this timely post is - don't get me started!

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  7. Will those ridiculous men still dress inappropriately once they hit 40 or 50? My hunch is they'll stay as they are now! Personally, I blame the Beatles, nothing was quite the same after 1963...
    KBO
    Herts

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    1. Herts, thank you. The answer to your first question is yes, judging by what I saw. I think the rot goes back further than 1963 – the ancient Greeks have a lot to answer for given their fooling around with democracy. Good thing, democracy, but clearly is not for everyone.

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  8. Adamantine. Elegantly etiolated. Woolgathering. Mirth. All so very lovely. But septum? I agree about the devolution of dress. But really who cares when it comes to the delicious fact all have ignored about the waiter's additional window on the world? I am a people watcher. I would have loved this!

    My almost 66 year old husband has the same uniform as you and agrees it works most of the time. He still recalls the advice he was given at a trust banking school about how to beat most of the people most of the time: Show Up. Show Up on Time. Show up on Time Dressed to Play.

    Now, back to the nose...

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  9. home before dark, thank you. Yes, only you have mentioned the hole in the septum. Everyone else has concentrated on the diminution of formality and respect for occasion – correctly, but the connection between the two has not been remarked upon. People watching is one of the great pleasures of life.

    The point to me about a semi-formal uniform is that it is suitable for all except the high points of life – weddings, funerals, divorces, court appearances, sentencing hearings, etc. My blazer and I are inseparable and it is so well-worn it needs relining and I cannot face it.

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  10. I was nodding in agreement on your admiration of the quality of light (something which I hold at #1 status in successful interior architecture) but then got very distracted on the clothing standard train of thought. Obviously, am in complete agreement. The pleasure derived from seeing clothing worn elegantly (as distinct from the sub-species of elegant clothing, a matter unto itself) is substantial and should never be under-estimated in the enjoyment of life, I firmly believe.

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  11. Glamour Drops, thank you.

    A subtle difference between clothing worn elegantly and elegant clothing and one not often noticed. Would that people wore what suited them and looked elegant rather than that which is just fashionable and frequently inelegant.

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  12. It is a never ending source of astonishment for me to see what people will wear out in public. Lighting is such a fine art in public spaces......

    xoxo
    Karena
    The Arts by Karena

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  13. Karena Albert, thank you. Lighting in public places such as restaurants and hotels lobbies is subjected to what is known as "atmosphere." Around 7PM all guests are plunged into dimness the likes of which one expects in a funeral home viewing room. Don't get it, but who am I?

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