| Life and Style |
Fragile, Flawed, But Still Lovely |
Away from Her is a startling and heart-wrenching
film by Sarah Polley starring Julie
Christie and Gordon Pinsent.
It debuted at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.
I recently saw it at the 2007 Atlanta Film Festival.
It has just been released across North America.
|
|
Julie Christie in Away From Her
|
| The film is based on The Bear Went Over the Mountain,
a short story by acclaimed Canadian author Alice Munro. (The story
is archived in the New Yorker Magazine Digital Collection.)
It is the multi-layered account of a marriage and its tragic finale,
as the wife, Fiona, portrayed by Christie, slips away into Alzheimer's
Disease. |
| It isn’t simple, and definitely not a TV movie-of-the week
with its sad story and brave ending. It’s a complex tale of
a tragic illness and its final toll on a long and complicated relationship.
Julie Christie, with her still achingly
lovely face and unadorned grace, made each incremental loss of independence
and dignity of her character that much harder to watch. |
| Gordon Pinsent, portraying her husband
Grant, is a man wracked by guilt, and tormented by loss and loneliness.
He experiences not only the guilt of a “survivor”, but
of a husband who had not always been all he should have been in their
marriage. |
| For all that, this film is beautifully and compelling made. I found
it difficult to watch and yet I would recommend it. |
| The portrayal of a hideous disease that steals your life from you
is interesting in itself. But a portrayal of a marriage that is in
so many ways good and yet the cause of so much regret and pain is
fascinating. It is also tragic. |
Marriage is not simple. I am not sure any long-term relationship
is. Perhaps it’s just that marriage allows for so little breathing
space during the tough times that so many marriages crack.
|
|
|
Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent , The final Day of A Marriage
in Away from Her - The Final Finale of A Marriage.
|
| I think it is so important that we all start to think more about
not only what we want from our relationships, but also what we have
to put into them to make them work. |
| I don’t have any magic answers, but I do see a lot of statistics.
According to the latest numbers in Divorce Magazine,
women, more often that not, are the ones doing the leaving. Also -
if you think you’re not likely to be married - the good or bad
news is that 95% of women do marry. Divorce rates are down to an all-time
low since 1981, at least among university educated couples. |
| I know that few, if any couples have made it through long-term marriages
without traversing a few rough patches. Most happy couples rely more
on compromise and acceptance than communication. Not that communication
isn’t important. It’s just that you can talk until you’re
blue in the face. Some things don't change. You have to learn to live
without resentment or you’ll become miserable. |
| I felt sad as I watched this film. I couldn’t think of a marriage
that would withstand all of it. The good marriages, I know, are good
because the partners don’t cheat – at least not for years
on end and not without a high price in the end. Again, according to
Divorce Magazine, well over 50 percent
of men and women say they would divorce over adultery. Weaker marriages
dissolve long before the infirmities of age set in. |
| I hope most of us will never have to deal with the heart-tearing
pain of losing a mate, inch by inch. It is dreadful and unfair. |
| Go and see Away from Her. It’s not
an easy film to watch, but it is real and thought provoking. If you
are married, it may make you feel very good about it all, even the
rough patches. If you’re not married, you may walk away with
a much better idea of what it’s really about. |
| Or, just go to see Julie Christie. She
is drop-dead gorgeous and much more inspiring than a whole of campaign
pro-age propaganda. Let’s hear it for the 60’s girl who
still swings to who her own beat. |
| |
|
|
| Fashion |
The Wardrobe Shrink Chats with DolceDolce
|
| International image expert Sarah Whittaker is
known as ‘The Wardrobe Shrink”.
She believes that the way many women dress doesn’t reveal their
best assets - or even their true personalities. Unfortunately, some
of the worst offenders don’t realize that their wardrobes conceal
rather than show off their true potential. |
| She has worked with international beauty makers, such as L’Oreal
Paris and Pantene, among others.
And she agreed to share her tips and insights with DolceDolce
readers in this exclusive interview: |
| DD: What is a wardrobe shrink? |
| Sarah: The Wardrobe Shrink is the nickname The
Times newspaper in London gave me. Essentially, my business
is about dressing people according to their psychology. I analyze
their personality, physiology and the way they come across to others,
and determine their ‘image type’. I have a system of 35
‘image types’ that I have developed that reflect the different
types of women. |
| DD: What are common reasons people have trouble
getting their clothing to reflect their real personalities? |
| Sarah: We are influenced so much by the world around
us - our peers, our families, our partners - that it can be hard to
look in the mirror and see our true reflection or what we really look
like. And, as women – unfortunately - we have become more critical
of ourselves; maybe we feel we are not living up to this idealistic
feminine role that the 21st century demands of us. Whatever the reason,
it is hard to dress your own misconceptions of yourself. Besides,
how do you keep up with the latest fashions when you have a new baby
or a demanding job? So, it is easier to say ‘I want to look
like that’ and just copy someone else, or to just wear a ‘uniform’
look that requires little effort when you don’t have much time. |
| DD: What are the most common problems most women
have in putting together a basic wardrobe? |
| Sarah: They think they must have lots of clothes
or variety of styles to create many different looks. Actually you
don’t. Your capsule wardrobe can start with a jacket, a skirt
and a pair of pants, and five tops – a cami, shirt/blouse, short-sleeve,
long sleeve, and knit. The idea is that each piece works with the
other pieces and sits within the same theme or ‘image type’.
They can be different colours and be patterned. But, if all pieces
work together, then you can create 10 basic outfits matching different
tops with either skirt or pant, and then create multi-combinations
by adding jackets or layering different tops or adding different shoes.
If you don’t shop to ‘build’ your wardrobe but instead
to just ‘fill’ your wardrobe, then you are always going
to have excess baggage and be overwhelmed. Also, if you try to create
a whole new look each season, your wardrobe will only have a shelf
life of 3 months! |
| DD: What is the worse thing women do to sabotage
their look? |
| Sarah: Wear too much make-up, with foundation being
the biggest crime! This is often because - without realizing it -
women dress what they consider to be their flaws. They want to hide
them, but end up emphasizing and drawing attention to what they least
want people to see. Heavy foundation is normally a sign of someone
who is unhappy with their complexion. And a long sweater is often
a sign of someone trying to hide their butt! But where you add more,
you increase the problem and draw attention to it. Women really need
to stop sabotaging who they are and instead dress their body shape,
their colouring, and their age - and not try to change these by dyeing
their hair the totally wrong colour for their skin tone, or wear the
same clothes as their niece, only to end up emphasizing the age difference.
|
| DD: Is it worse to dress too old or too young? |
| Sarah: That is a hard one. Both don’t do
you any favours. A woman does not want to look like a fish out of
water, and she does when she wears her Juicy sweats at the age of
45! You would never spot a French woman wearing something like that
while walking down the Champs Elysees, but
you will see people dressed that way on Sunset Boulevard.
A woman must appreciate that with age comes wisdom. We learn from
our fashion mistakes, which is what a woman in her 20’s is still
making, and which (by the way) when you are older, you know she is
making! It is a shame to see a girl miss out on her youth by dressing
older, regardless of how mature she is. Appreciating who you are now
is important. Such women as Jane Fonda and
Jaclyn Smith use their age as a style advantage,
not as a style disadvantage. Younger women - Scarlett
Johansson, for instance - use their style to communicate
their fuller figure and maturity rather than minimising them. |
| DD: What is the new way to dress for business? |
Sarah: Feminine cuts, the day dress, the heel,
colour - rather than fitting in with the men in the boardroom, it
is about standing out as a woman. Also, the suit is no longer the
requirement of the office. However, authority always is essential,
so don’t dress down. Instead, upgrade what you like to wear
- your jeans and tee included - with authority pieces such as an expensive
belt, a quality shoe and a classic handbag. Spend more on fewer pieces
that each say that you are worth it.
|
|
| H&M Chic and Accessible |
Photo by: Peter
Gehrke
|
| DD: Are there any foolproof tricks to dressing
rich on a budget? |
| Sarah : It is so easy to look great on a budget
these days with the likes of Target and Topshop
(London) stores. If you choose natural or quality fabrics, or the
neutrals (black, white, navy, tan), you will have a more lasting piece.
Also, if you stay away from faddish styles that can’t be worn
next season and heavy synthetics, you won’t give away the price.
Buy during sales; stores are always selling items for less. But don’t
make the mistake of buying something just for the price! |
| For more wardrobe therapy, check out Sarah’s website at www.insideoutprofiling.com
. |
| |
|
| Not registered yet to receive DolceDolce’s free
weekly email newsletter? Help us grow; sign-up
today, and forward
to your friends. Because life should be sweet. |
|
| Fashion |
White Out |
| Nothing looks fresher than a white bag with a metallic shoe! It
works for both day and evening. |
The two bags below are perfect for summer. One is a hot trend of
the moment - retro-chic and very sexy-hippie. The other is also sexy,
but with a restrained chic that will last for years and lend a certain
cachet to any outfit. What’s you mood? What’s your style?
|
|
| This bag from RKstores is fabulous fun with a retro line perfect
for shorts, minis, and sundresses. |
|
| |
|
| Michael Kors clean classic elegance
always |
|
| |
| Beauty |
DolceDolce Quick Tips |
| You’re skin looks blah and you have no magic mask at hand
to whisk away the grey? Not to worry. Take a tablespoon of brown sugar.
(White will work too, but brown feels creamier.) Mix it in your hand
with your favourite cleanser. Use it to gently and thoroughly exfoliate
your skin. You will glow. This really works. Sugar helps to heal small
blemishes, so you may want to leave it on a few minutes. Do not do
this on skin that has really broken out. Do not do anything to badly
broken out skin. If you are trouble by more than an occasional breakout
find a good acne doctor ASAP. |
If you get a spot on a washable garment and haven’t got a
spot remover pen with you, try your hand sanitizer. Some of them work
like charms. Blot the stain first with a clean napkin or tissue, then
apply the sanitizer and re-blot. It won’t make the stain worse,
and if you are lucky you’ll be good as new.
|
| Food |
Food as Art |
This week’s recipe will go fabulously with last week’s
Margaritas. It’s from one of my favourite Mexican cookbooks,
Fonda San Miguel, Thirty Years of Food and Art,
by Tom Gilliland and Miguel Ravaga, with text by Virginia B. Wood,
from Shearer Publishing. It’s a beautiful collection of original
recipes, with no resemblance to tired “Tex-Mex” clichés.
|
|
| It’s also wonderful for entertaining. The recipes feature
fresh and tasty ingredients that are unique and beguiling. Mix in
sumptuous photos of Mexican art, wonderful stories about the region,
and the authors’ love of them all, and this is the perfect gift. |
| |
Tequila-Cured Salmon Tostadas |
| Serves 8 (3 to 4 tostadas per person) |
| Four 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin and bones removed |
| 1/2 cup chopped cilantro and fine-grain sea salt |
| 1 cup silver tequila |
| 6 to 7 large flour tortillas |
| Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened |
| 1 teaspoon minced chives |
| 24 to 32 small pieces of pimento |
| 24 to 32 thin half-moon slices white or red onion (medium onion) |
| Lemon zest for garnish (optional) |
Put each salmon fillet into a non-reactive container; sprinkle both
sides with
cilantro and sea salt. Add up to 1/4 cup tequila to each container.
Seal and
refrigerate for at least 24 hours. (The salmon will keep for up to
two weeks.)
When ready to assemble the tostadas, preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Using a 2-1/2 inch round cookie cutter, cut cocktail-size rounds out
of the large flour tortillas, about 4 to 5 rounds per tortilla. Spray
a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and place the rounds on
the baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until crisp and golden, about
45 minutes. Set aside.
|
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese with
the minced chives. Set aside. Remove the fillets from the marinade
and pat dry. Using a very sharp paring knife, cut each fillet crosswise
into 6 to 8 wafer-thin slices.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on each tostada.
Curl the strips of salmon into rosettes and gently stuff a piece of
pimento into the center of each rosette. Place a rosette into the
center of each tortilla round and
garnish with a half-moon slice of onion and a sprinkling of lemon
zest.
|
| If you haven’t tried DolceDolce’s easy Margaritas, here’s
a quick link on our website to the recipe: DolceDolce
Margaritas. |
| Well darlings another week gone. So, go see a movie that may not
sound all that fun; I promise it will move you. Rejoice that divorce
is down from an all time high in 1981. And when all this is too much
to think about, hug your mother, your daughter, or your best friend.
Mix some Margaritas and make life a little sweeter! |
| Please remember, darlings, to sign-up
if you haven’t - we are free - and forward
t us onto a friend. Until next, week be safe, happy, and sweetly sane. |
| |
| Gracey Hitchcock |
| Editor |
|
| |
|
