Women’s Lib and Women’s Canes
The novel La Garçonne by Victor Margueritte was first published in France in 1922, its English translation (by Alfred A. Knopf) following one year later. In a nutshell, after finding out that her boyfriend was a two timing toad, our tomboy flapper heroine decided to live her own life freely, as she pleased, and that included in the bedroom.
To quote the article on ‘The Bachelor Girl’, Margueritte, in his title, ‘addresses the somewhat ambiguous realm between definite gender roles, e.g. where a Judeo-Christian patriarchal society might place a free-thinking, free-living woman in its social strata.’
Indeed.
Poor Victor was stripped of his Légion d’Honneur for having even posed the problem. Arguably much less shocking in some geographical regions today,
it was a thorny subject at the time. It still is in Alaska, Arkansas, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan – and there we only begin the alphabet.
The film has been made four times and in 1923 was the first to be censored in France. Its most notable remake was in 1936 with Marie Bell in the leading rôle, Arletty and Edith Piaff.
It was considered shocking for a woman to cut her hair – the original flapper trademark. In one poster she smokes a cigarette. In the other she sports an elegant cigarette holder, whilst a background figure carries a cane. Emancipation? No, it’s but a straw inside the glass – but tantalisingly uncertain.
Today, from Madonna to the chic girl about town, every woman can wear a cane. There are styles for every taste – and there does not have to be a flavour of sugar and a whiff of Tchaikovsky to use them freely to match an elegant outfit!
Just as hat pins worked with the hat in times past and present, so should the cane with the fashion of today and the style of the liberated woman!
Alexandre Ciaux – We are the Next
Alexandre Ciaux is the designer of two models of cane.
Howard the First is, he claims, Art déco in inspiration. We are inclined to find it much more like a recorder without holes and rather belonging to the Shaker design in its proportions. His new cane, Exod is elegant and much more innovative.
According to his site, Alexandre Ciaux’ desire is to re-emblazon the accessories of the past and bring them up to date for today’s Dandy. Such accessories are not exclusively masculine, although the Dandy is, of course.
The self-made Dandy has his roofs in late 18th and early 19th century Britain. His aim was to imitate the aristocratic style of life although not originating from it. Attention to every detail is therefore a must to portray the true Dandy allure.
On the web site, the introductory text suggests that the Dandy was making his own body into a work of art. That is to miss the political point and oversimplify matters. However, the body of a dancer can be seen in this fine cane with it’s elegant form that does appear to spring from the hand as an elongation of it. It also hints at calligraphy in its timeless aesthetics.
'Expressiveness' by Zhang Ruitu (1570-1641)
This cane, we feel, is Art déco in its lines. It transcends time and influence giving of elegance with an after taste of Erté. A symphony (or greyhound) in black.
The cane is made from synthetic resin and would grace a well-dressed lady as a third stiletto equally well.
Other accessories the Dandy was wont to adopt and to which he paid much attention were, of course, his shoes. We humbly append a suggestion for one of M Ciaux’ publicity photos on the site, which is a bit lacking in that department. His cane, however, has an indisputable magic of its own.
Cane Spotting
The dedicated follower of fashion will love the history of h(is|er) cane as much as (s)he does the fashions of today.
One of the oldest museums in Russia is the world famous Armoury Chamber located close to the Kremlin’s Borovitsky Gate, Natalya Sidorova is a research staff member of the Moscow Kremlin Museums and we quote from her interview on the museum’s site.
“It was Tsar Peter the Great who laid the foundation for the museum. 1718, the Tsar ordered to arrange the exhibition and place the items in glassed-in cabinets.
Today the Armoury has quite a number of objects reflecting great reforms of Tsar Peter that affected all spheres of life of the Russian society. Some of them also tell us more about his personal talents and interests. During his lifetime the reformer Tsar mastered 14 different crafts. He was a skilful carpenter, a turner …
Judging by the inscription on it, ‘From the hands of the Reformer and the deed of his own hands’, the walking-stick of apple-wood …was also made by Tsar Peter.”
Rather nearer home, in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, there is a new, fascinating exhibition.
10th December 2008- 29th March 2009
Red wool coat from the wardrobe of Peter II, 1727-1730. © The Moscow Kremlin Museums
This sumptuous exhibition distils the essence of the grandeur of Imperial Russia. The uniforms of Emperors and officials of the Russian Court are on display. The earliest pieces date from the 1720s with elaborately embroidered coats and many more rare items from the wardrobe of Tsar Peter ll spanning a period of almost two centuries.
The Russian Imperial regalia, housed in the Kremlin Armoury.
Coronation uniforms and elaborate regalia of several monarchs are exhibited. Naturally, it is impossible to mention the ceremonial, the official and the military without the accoutrements of the sword and the cane. In this exhibition the crossovers between military uniform and court dress are explored. To quote the V&A’s own information on the exhibition,
‘European fashion and traditional Russian dress… will present the power and majesty of masculine uniform at its finest… many of the masterpieces are not yet exhibited [in Russia] for they are just coming out of the depths. In Russia, the interest in the Tsars’ ceremonial clothes is rather recent and, as we can imagine, rather political… Forty of these costumes, recently restored, have left the Kremlin’s collections to travel to London. From the decorative extravagance of the 1720s, closely reflecting French fashion, to the more sober outfits of the XIXth century, when the aim was to defend the national tradition, these outfits demonstrate the skill of the Russian artisans. Vests, lavish embroideries, elaborate uniforms, ermine capes as well as stockings and underwear (including watches and snuff boxes hidden in pockets) give a complete idea of the wardrobe of the masters of the Kremlin, from Peter II up to Nicolas II, the last Romanoff.
We invite any of our readers who wish to comment on canes at the V&A or, indeed, any other museum to write into our blog and tell us about your experiences, your viewings and your favourites.
The ‘Magnificence of The Tsars’ is not the only part of the V&A in which you will be able to look for canes. There are many areas of the museum, including its glass section where you will find fine examples.
In its Executive Summary, The Victoria and Albert Museum explains its aims, purpose and itself as follows.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is the world’s greatest museum of art and design. It holds the national collections of textiles, fashion, furniture and woodwork … jewellery, metalwork (including silver), ceramics and glass…the performing arts, and world-class collections of Asian art.
As the national museum of art and design, the V&A takes a lead in attempts to ensure that public collections acquire key heritage objects that would otherwise be exported. The Museum will also continue to acquire historical objects, which add to the overall understanding of our existing collections or challenge established understandings of a particular period, style…
The Fashion collection… is the premier collection in the UK and consists of European (mainly French and English) fashionable clothes and accessories for both sexes.
This bastion of design spanning the treasures of antiquity to the most contemporary style of today is, indeed, the cane spotter’s paradise!
From the Screen to The Ritz
Voted the most popular talent show on British television in 2008, Strictly Come Dancing was a national must. Fans came from every walk of life and every generation. It was a daily event for four months. The winners of the last series on 20th December 2008 were actor Tom Chambers and his professional dance partner Camilla Dallerup.
Tom freely admits that his idol is Fred Astaire. Whenever she could, his choreographing professional dance partner, Camilla, introduced touches of tap, levitating leaps, some elements of comedy and, above all, the Hollywood Fred Astaire elegance of the 1930s to their carefully prepared material.
Although the ballroom dancing show wasn’t the appropriate setting in which to use the cane as a dance accessory, we feel certain that it’s only a matter of time before Tom Chambers lands himself a movie role or theatrical part in which he can. He is most certainly a very talented dancer as well as actor. Indeed, in an interview after Christmas he put forward a suggestion to that very effect.
Photo: Bob Landry / Archives of LIFE magazine
It’s impossible to think of Fred Astaire without envisaging the cane. This illustration danced to the song ‘Puttin’ on The Ritz’ (written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film Puttin’ on the Ritz [1930]), is a perfect example. A cane was and still remains the ultimate accessory for the stylish look in high fashion.
Although Music Hall, Vaudeville and the Golden Years of Hollywood bring the elegance of dance routines with canes, chorus lines with canes, and many variations on the theme to mind, the story of dance with such accessories goes back a very long time touching upon and enriching every culture.
Fred Astaire and a chorus of Fred Astaires performing ‘Puttin' on the Ritz’ in the film ‘Blue Skies’ (1946)
Amongst a host of others, there has been the Egyptian dance cane. These were originally plucked reeds (bamboo) from the banks of the River Nile cut by field workers to accompany their dancing. There is not a continent or a culture without its sticks, batons or canes employed for this purpose.
Today, there are companies specialising in the manufacture of the cane for theatrical uses. These tend to be costume designs pieces and not of use for the real ‘Ritz look’ when the greasepaint is left behind in the dressing room.
Herucle Poirot, however, would not take a step without one of his numerous silver -topped ebony canes (and others) or his polished silver fresh flower holder to grace his elegant lapels.
Charlie Chaplin’s comic use of the cane has its roots in ridicule. Such an impoverished clown could never aspire to the ‘Ritz look’. That contradiction is the basis of what made his satire so brilliantly funny.
Fortunately there is a wealth of manufacturers today keeping the cane in its place as the ultimate accessory of elegance.
