If it’s not too much to ask, I hope you will take a little look at day #5 of Simplicity Week.
Relative Simplicity
Because simplicity has such a strong definition in people’s minds we tend to forget that it, like many other things, is relative. What is simple for one person is not for another. This is true of clothing and fashion, as I explored yesterday with ‘the little black dress’ idea. It’s also true of food, housing, emotions, science, art, intellectual pursuits, travel, sports and most any other human activity.
Missing Simplicity
Simplicity is missing when whatever you are doing, looking at or feeling is encumbered by distracting and indulgent elements. Simplicity is also missing when you have such a lack and want of substance that you can’t function. If you have too much you can’t see the tree in the forest. If you have too little you don’t have a forest and as a result you have no trees to see either.
Purity
It seems to me that, no matter where your idea of simplicity falls on that relative scale, it is primarily about purity. You can see the beauty if the expressiveness is pure. You can see the equation if the logic is pure. You can see the love when the intent is pure. You can see the culture if the authenticity is pure.
How complex is your simplicity?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote is a variation of one by Joshua Reynolds, 1723-1792, English painter who used his skill and networking savvy to create reputations for his clients that set off the modern idea of celebrity.
It’s here in black and white; day #4 of Simplicity Week.
A Definition
In many people’s estimation, the most visually iconic example of “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” is ‘The Little Black Dress’. If it is not simple, or at least appear simple to the eye, it will by definition not be a ‘Little Black Dress’. If it is too ornate, overdone, or fussy it might still be a black dress and it might still be little, but it will not be a ‘little black dress’. A little black dress is simple and in it’s simplicity it becomes sophisticated.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
The quintessential example is, once again, Audrey Hepburn. She starred in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ in the 1960s and her LBD (Little Black Dress) style became the instant example of contemporary style and sophistication.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s poster – 1961
Audrey Hepburn – Little Black Dress
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It didn’t start with Holly Golightly though. The LBD started with Coco Chanel. Before her the ornate, overwrought dresses of the Victorian era still said ‘sophistication’ to the general population. She (and others) changed that by creating dresses that were simple in line and decoration.
Original Coco Chanel drawing – 1926
Coco Chanel
Icon
And from then until now it’s been the standard of simplicity AND sophistication in fashion and design.
Grace Kelly – 1954
Jackie Kennedy – 1960s
Sophia Loren – Marilyn Monroe – 1960s
Little Black Dress – 1970s
Little Black Dress – 1980s
Princess Diana – 1990s
Taylor Swift – 2013
What is your favorite example of simplicity being the ultimate sophistication? It doesn’t have to be in fashion, it can be in any field.
It’s a beautiful thing that today is day #3 of Simplicity week!
Function
I saw a quote from Einstein the other day. Now, I don’t necessarily believe he actually said it, since a gazillion quotes are said to be from him that aren’t, but it doesn’t really matter. The quote is this:
Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury…to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best for both the body and the mind.
I disagree with it for a few reasons. One is nothing is ever ‘best for everyone’.
Form
The second reason is illustrated by this interaction from the movie, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ where a young woman is given a lesson in how her purely functional, non-luxurious sweater actually has its roots in choices made at the top end of fashion luxury. Take a look.
Form and Function
But I love the quote I chose because it allows for both form (beauty) and function (usefulness) to have it’s place in our lives and that if we focus on those two things, both equally valid, we can actually live a simple life.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by William Morris, 1834 – 1896, English writer, designer and artist. A founding participant in the ‘Arts and Crafts’ movement.
Some interesting links on his art, career and influence.
It’s the naked truth – today is day #2 of Simplicity Week
The Naked Traveller Nightmare
Have you ever had a travel nightmare where you are standing at a baggage claim naked waiting for your suitcase to arrive but it never does? It’s a variation on a school nightmare or speaking in public nightmare. I haven’t, but I have had waiter nightmares where I was waiting on people naked, and that was pretty embarrassing and fear inducing.
The Overdressed Traveller Nightmare
Why don’t we ever have overdressed nightmares? Can you imagine a person dreaming of being at a baggage claim with too much clothes on and too many bags? I can imagine it, but I can’t imagine them being filled with embarrassment or fear because of it. More likely they would be frustrated, tired and stressed rather than fearful or embarrassed.
Follow Through
Let’s imagine what would happen if these two people really did show up at the baggage claim like this. One naked with a small carry-on and no luggage, the other overdressed with too many bags. What would actually happen to them? The naked person would be in danger of cold, sunburn, cuts, scrapes, bruises, exposure to the elements, not to mention possible arrest, ridicule and/or unwanted sexual attention. He or she would be limited in where they could go, what they could do, and how they would move forward in life.
The overdressed person with too many bags would be in danger of also not being able to get where he or she is going, or having to pay a lot of money for others to help them get there. They would have to figure out what is appropriate to wear, where to store all the suitcases and the stuff in them. Choose what to change into depending on what event or activity they were going to. And of course cleaning all the clothes. They would worry about the clothes getting old, torn, wrinkled, out of fashion. They could worry about stuff being stolen or ruined. A lot to worry about.
Baggage of Life
Now, let’s abstract this idea out, using it as a metaphor for our emotional, psychological and historical baggage. We come in the world naked, it’s true. But we survive by putting on clothes. We survive emotionally and psychologically by putting on emotional and psychological clothes via life lessons. The question is how much do you continue to carry with you and how much do you leave aside as you go. One key to success is to practice giving up that which emotionally and psychologically weighs you down. The overdressed, overpacked traveler has not learned this lesson. Another key is to hold on to that which emotionally and psychologically is essential to your survival and protection within your world. The naked traveler with no luggage has not learned this lesson.
The path to a successful and happy adulthood is found in being a traveler between the two extremes.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Charles Warner, 1829-1900, American essayist. He is the actual author of the famous quote, “Everyone talks about the weather, but know one does anything about it.” It is commonly misattributed to Mark Twain, who was a friend of Warner’s and used this quote in a lecture.
I will eat my words if today isn’t day #4 of my Makeup Series.
“Makeup can only make you look pretty on the outside but it doesn’t help if you are ugly on the inside, unless you eat your makeup.”
Outside
I am a firm believer that our outsides matter. They matter because we are sensual creatures. By sensual I mean we have senses. We see, hear, touch, smell and taste the world around us, the outside of the world. We get our information, in large part, from those senses. Even the sense that might seem internal, hearing, is just as much about the outside of how a person’s voice sounds, as the actual words they say. For example, if they are said with a grating voice, the internal message of the words can be lost.
Inside
Let’s define ‘inside’ before we go on, shall we? By ‘inside’ I do not mean your liver or ovaries or lungs or spleen or testicles. I don’t mean your heart either. Not your pumping heart at least. I do mean your mind and the heart that resides in the middle of that. That mind and heart inside you matter more than your outside. It’s not all that matters, it is however, what matters most. It matters because outer beauty doesn’t comfort the afflicted. Inner beauty does that. Outer beauty does not feed the hungry. Inner beauty does that. Outer beauty doesn’t take care of an elderly parent, a sick child, a wounded soldier, a devastated town. Inner beauty does that. Outer beauty doesn’t show sympathy, kindness, patience, or forgiveness. It doesn’t love.
Your Inside Edge is Outside
Then what’s the use of outer beauty? Why pay attention to it? Think of it as the outer edge of your inside. It’s not separate from your interior, it’s just the part of your interior that is at the edge, the edge that connects you to other people. You care about your inside world of thought and meaning, then care about how those things move out into the world as well. It’s through your outside edge that it happens.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Audrey Hepburn, 1929-1993, Dutch born American actress.
During WWII, while living in The Netherlands, she changed her name to Edda van Heemstra to allay suspicion about her British roots (her father was British). The story goes that by the end of the war her and her family were reduced to eating tulip bulbs to survive.
She was known, and still is, as one of the most beautiful women in the history of film.
Audrey Hepburn – How To Steal A Million – 1966
And she knew how to use her makeup.
Audrey Hepburn Applying Lipstick Before Academy Awards Presentation – 1954
But she was much more average in outer beauty (as are most Hollywood celebs) than we often realize. She had circles under her eyes, and her other ‘imperfections’, as do we all.
Audrey Hepburn on Broadway in Gigi – 1951
But she was a total beauty because her outer beauty was the manifestation of her inner beauty, her mind and heart. That’s why she was just as beautiful in the photo below as she was in the photos above.
Audrey Hepburn, UNICEF ambassador in Ethiopia – 1988
I am coloring outside the lines in making today #3 of my Makeup series!
Lip Blind
When I was waiting tables in California back in the 80s and 90s I worked with a waitress who argued that lipstick should only go as far as the lip pigmentation, no farther. Unfortunately for her, her lip pigmentation discernibly changed before the edge of her lips. So she always had part of her lips with lipstick and the other part without. It was odd looking, to say the least. That was the one and only time I have ever seen that. More often, then and now, I have seen lipstick that goes well over the edge of the lips. If it’s just a bit over, to catch the light on the edge, that’s cool. But lipstick that is used to completely and drastically reshape the lips? That only works on TV, movies and beauty shoots where the photographer knows how to minimize the recognizability of that discrepancy. Otherwise people wonder why she didn’t wear her glasses when she put on her makeup, or why she thought it was a good idea to put her makeup on in the dark.
I am sold on the idea of making this day 2 of the Makeup series.
The Good
I once did an engagement photoshoot and part of the fun of it was going to the makeup counter before the official shoot with the woman and take photos of her getting her makeup done. I love taking photos of women putting on makeup so it was a real treat. She enjoyed the pampering process and looked like a million bucks afterwards. It didn’t transform her into someone else, it enhanced who she was into another realm for the day.
Here’s a photo from that shoot:
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The Bad
Yesterday I got a comment from an old friend on my FB page in response to my Makeup #1 drawing. It illustrates a different response to the makeup counter.
“When I was in my 20’s I went to Bloomingdales for a free makeover Sounds like fun, right? I enjoyed being pampered, but when all was said and done and they handed me the mirror, I freaked! Felt I looked like a clown and not myself. I literally ran home hoping I wouldn’t see a soul I knew.
She probably felt she looked like this:
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The Ugly
As much as I love makeup on women, there is one type I don’t like at all. That’s zombie makeup. Why? Because rotting flesh is gross, that’s why. I don’t like looking at it. I don’t watch any zombie movies or TV shows for that reason.
Who wants to look at this, anyway?
Nevermind, i don’t want to post it, it’s gross.
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The Hopeful
So, what is the makeup counter all about? The quote is right, it’s about hope. It’s a physical hope that one will be deemed attractive. Maybe by men, maybe by fans, maybe by yourself. It’s the emotional hope that you are worthy. Worthy of love, of affection, of lust, of passion, of attention. It’s the psychological hope that you look older, or younger, or wealthier, or sexier, or more intelligent, or more employable.
And finally, it’s a spiritual hope. Say what? Makeup has a spiritual component? Really? I say yes. It goes way back through history, the fables that prove time and time again that beauty equals goodness. Is it true in real life? I don’t think it is. But it sure is prevalent and subconsciously persistent in almost every culture , even among those who consciously don’t buy into the myth.
After all, you want to look like Cinderella,
Cinderella by Carlos via Flickr
and not her ugly step-sisters, right?
Why is that? Because they are ugly? No, because they are bad. And bad and ugly are intertwined. Be beautiful and you are not just beautiful, you are good as well. Isn’t that how the story goes?
Of course that’s a lie. But lie or not, it still remains a powerful force when looking in the mirror at the cosmetics counter.
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Drawing, photos (unless otherwise marked) and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Charles Revson, 1906-1975, American businessman – founder of Revlon Cosmetics
I am passionate about today being day #1 of my Makeup Series.
I Love Makeup
No, not on me, on women. It’s always been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. It’s decorating, emoting, expressing, playing, lying, pretending, truth-telling, covering, protecting, opining and exposing and since that’s pretty much what art is all about for me, I consider it art. Add to it that it’s being done on the canvas of a living, breathing, thinking person and it’s pretty cool.
I Love Passion
I also love people who are passionate about something. Whether it’s saving the world, being fit, learning or putting on a great party or anything else, I appreciate and respect passion. So, which do I love more?
I love passion more. And guess what? I am pretty sure most people feel the same way.
Can’t Buy Me…
So, I guess the quote above is saying you can’t buy passion at the cosmetic counter, right? You can’t just paint it on, it has to be inside you. And I think that is true – to a point. I do however also feel that how you present yourself to yourself and the world can move you towards passion. It can’t create it in you, but it can set the stage to maybe let it come out easier. Just as being in a conducive environment can bring out your passion, so can being in the right clothes, or putting on the right makeup.
Does makeup help you be more passionate? How so?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Yves Saint-Laurent, 1936 – 2008, French fashion designer
I swear to God it’s day #4 of ‘The Prostitute’ series.
Good Spirit, Bad Flesh
The drawing illustrates the idea that once upon a time religion walled off sensuality and sexuality to such a degree that the wall turned into an entire building that houses the prostitute. The spirit and flesh – one is good and one is bad. Indulging the flesh for procreation is allowed, but indulging the flesh for pleasure is of the devil.
Good Spirit, Good Flesh
But not long before religion did that, it built a different type of building to house prostitutes. In the ancient Middle East, Greece and Rome there were temples where sacred prostitutes had sex with believers and it was seen as divine and good.
A few questions:
How did it come to pass that religion built both types of buildings?
How does religion still contribute to prostitution’s existence, or does it?
Let your Napkin Kin know your thoughts on it.
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Question to yesterday’s answer:
Name the 10 actresses (and the movie they were in) who have won an Oscar for portraying a prostitute.
Today’s Trivia
One of the worlds first poem, ‘Gilgamesh’ (Babylon , 2,000 BCE) contains the first written account of prostitution. Gilgamesh gets a temple prostitute to seduce his rival, weakening him enough so that Gilgamesh is able to beat him in trial of strength. There is no death though. After the fight Gilgamesh and his rival, Enkidu, become best friends.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote By William Blake, 1757 – 1827, English Poet and Artist
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Prisons are built with stones of law, and brothels with bricks of religion
