Questions and Answers

Last week I attended the two openings for the Seeing Gertrude Stein exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco and this week will attend the opening celebration at SFMOMA’s The Steins Collect (see the previous post for all the details on the shows.)

Seeing Gertrude Stein is a must-see, not only for GertrudeandAlice fans, but also for anyone who wants to get to know them better. As is usually the case at openings, the crowds were too dense to really see the exhibition (600 people had RSVP’d for the 2nd opening), so in the next few weeks I’ll be going back from time to time to get a better look.

During the openings I selected two favorite pieces and I’m sure that on future visits additional items will be joining this list. One of the pieces is a small, framed,  poodle made by Picasso out of what looks like either cotton balls or actual bolls of raw cotton. The small figure was to be a “companion” for GertrudeandAlice’s poodle, Basket. The other is a small passport photo of Alice from 1907, the year she traveled to Paris and met Gertrude.  I had never seen the photo before.  In it Alice is wearing a jaunty black hat proofing once again that Alice really was a “hat person!”

And that brings me to GertrudeandAlice and fashion,  One of the themes of the exhibition centers on their sense of sartorial style. Alice was more interested in the fashions of the day than Gertrude, but Gertrude knew how she wanted to present herself when it came to her dress and she did.  Once Alice entered her world, she assumed the role of Gertrude’s stylist and many of the photographs in the exhibition show Alice’s touches as a member of the “Fashion Police!”

As there is still a whole summer of events in San Francisco for GertrudeandAlice to rummage through their closets to find just the right outfits (and then there are the exhibitions in DC, Paris and New York City,) I thought I’d pick out a few items from an online retailer that might be to their liking.

First, for Alice a lovely print dress in bold colors and just a touch of the exotic:

With a hat and handbag, a bit flashy, but also very environmentally sensitive as recycled plastic is used in their creation:

Earrings that really make a statement and add a touch of glamor:

A shawl for unexpected cold evenings with lace trim to add elegance:

And for shoes–stylish heels influenced a bit by those worn by the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz:

So, Alice is set! Now on to Gertrude:

A beaded vest to be worn over a simple, but stylish blouse with only a tiny throwback to schoolmarm days:

A long black skirt with just enough Spandex to make it comfortable and slimming:

A rose brooch by Valentino to add sparkle to any ensemble:

A cap to add that slight Bohemian touch:

And sandals, a bit more Roman than Greek, but I’m sure Raymond Duncan will forgive us in the name of 21st century fashion:

Ladies, you are stylin’ !!

And for any fashionistas out there, all of these fashions really can be found on

pret-a-porter.com

Accompanying me to the first opening event was Gertrude’s cousin, Ellen Dennis Stein. Here she is with a touch-of-Gertrude in her attire with linen blouse and brooch as a tribute to the genius of Rue de Fleurus:

 

 

 

 

Tagged Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein, Seeing Gertrude Stein:Five Stories, The Steins Collect