Category: Opinion

  • Observations on Truman Capote’s Swans

    Observations on Truman Capote’s Swans

    While working on new videos for the YouTube Channel, I decided earlier this year to start exploring and engaging with 40s-60s TV shows and movies. Explicitly, learning more about media portrayals during this period of time.

    Jumping in with both feet, I tackled the Feud: Capote vs The Swans , which is a snapshot of Truman Capote and his beloved “Swans,” the upper crust of mid-century cafe society. It was a study of (what I’ll be affectionally naming) “Champagne Problems” mixed with “Real People Problems,” which make for an odd marriage of relatability and horrendous classism.

    Finishing the show, I ran off to pick up two books which would help me understand the narrative better, because unfortunately, the show left me unsatisfied.

    Two books about Truman Capote stacked on top of each other. One has a shoe balanced on a pencil, the other has a woman with her chin in her hand.
    Books I picked up to read more about Capote and the Swans

    NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour summed up my thoughts perfectly (emphasis mine):

    If you were avoiding this because of his too much of a muchness, I would say, for me, there was not enough of an enoughness here. I wanted something dishy and filled with quips and banter and waspishness. But this show turns out to be very mournful and melancholic, and it’s about regret and self-loathing. … It was thrilling to get to watch these great actors portraying these icons of the New York social scene, who I had heard about but never entirely understood. But the television making was confounding. Essentially, all plot points happen in the first episode and a half.

    NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour, “Does ‘Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans’ ruffle enough feathers?”, FEBRUARY 16, 2024

    The Legend of Capote

    31 year old Truman Capote photographed by Richard Averdon. Black and white image of a shirtless male, resting his cheek on his arm.
    Truman Capote, Photographed by Richard Averdon in 1955

    It’s been forty years since Truman Capote has passed on and he’s comfortably recognized amongst legendary American writers like Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, and Mark Twain. His prose was beautiful, iconic, and tragic, influenced by his upbringing and unique lived experience as a gay man in the 1930s.

    Reading the inciting piece inspiring this season of The Feud, there seemed to be quite a bit of navel gazing expressed in his work, almost as if Truman was holding a mirror up to himself.

    The point is, the theme moving through your work, as nearly as I can locate it, is of people achieving a desperate aim only to have it rebound upon them – accentuating, accelerating, their desperation.”

    “Unspoiled Monsters,” Truman Capote, 1975

    While writing Answered Prayers, in the desperate striving for completing the piece, his work ultimately rebounded and lead him down the path towards self medicating with drugs and alcohol, committing social suicide.

    The outcome of it hints at the traditional narrative around the Tortured Artist, though on the heels of recent discourse around Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poet’s Department, the relationship between (financially) “well-off” people and the pain of manifesting art is actively being examined.

    Truman was a complex individual, whose relationship to his writing, beauty and spectacle, and the women who he surrounded himself with was something I’m not sure (from reading these books) he ever was able to find peace with.

    On one hand, in prioritizing the creation of his art, he threw his muses under the bus. On the other hand, he vastly underestimated how much these women meant to him and their practical role in his sense of self.

    Both books were painful reads as a result.

    WASP women of the era

    Black and white image of Babe Paley in her 1940 wedding dress, wearing a tiara and veil, holding a flower next to her head and leaning on a couch arm.
    Barbara “Babe” Paley photographed by Photographed by Horst P. Horst, Vogue, October 1940

    Reading “Capote’s Women” was like reading reality TV in paperback form. The featured women: Babe Paley, Gloria Guinness, Slim Keith, Pamela Harriman, C.Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill, and Marella Agnelli, all lead complicated lives, ultimately striving to find their footing in a life that had been outlined by social expectations of women in their class.

    Internalized misogyny was rampant, with them submitting to a prescribed life of external abundance while simultaneously suffering alone, unwilling to change their circumstance to maintain their lifestyles.

    Her whole life was about marrying a proper rich man and then having her daughters do the same. Education was not to be squandered on her. Best to ‘finish’ her lightly with a proper veneer of charm and no dangerous knowledge that might offend her husband.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    She spent her life creating this image that she had everything, but it was simply not true. Here was this woman envied beyond measure for her perfect life, when Truman was the only one who saw that her existence was a tragedy.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    Time and time again in these women’s stories was the reality that they’d been groomed to embody a certain life, maintain a certain role in their marriage, and do everything in their power to stay within their prescribed level in society. Even while aggressively seen as less-than and ultimately incapable of any other life.

    Even women of his class were in some measure inferior beings and largely interchangeable.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    As may be imagined, while WW2 and the Great Depression raged, the struggles of the world at large didn’t seem to touch them, insulated and gliding above the rest of society.

    There were many women from upper-class backgrounds out there marching with their sisters, exploring a far broader world than they ever could have as children of privilege. But Babe had been brought up to believe there was only one place for her, and it was not among such plebeian efforts.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    Additionally, the ease of moving through the horrors of the day seemed water off a duck’s back and it’s difficult to tell from either The Feud or “Capote’s Women” what their individual moral stance was on the painful tragedies occurring elsewhere.

    Gloria Guinness, as a Mexican woman, married a German count in 1935 and moved amongst Nazi high society. Pamela Harriman married the son of Winston Churchill, having parties and affairs amongst the air raids. By the time the mid-50s rolled around, they’d gone back to mingling in the same rich circles, seemingly (from the reading,) putting the past behind them as if it were a blip of an inconvenience.

    There’s an anecdote shared between the show and books which also illustrates the relationship to the larger family unit, specifically children as an accessory to marriage (but not much else.) When C.Z. Guest is asked about how her children were raised by a governess in 1977, she said to the Washington Post:

    …That doesn’t mean I never saw them. Of course I saw them. I went fox hunting with them.

    By extension, the ease of which these women moved through the courting process, marriage, affairs, and divorces is reduced down to it’s practical implications: how does this or that action contribute to long term security?

    It reminded me of the status of women through history, wildly dependent on male’s financial support to live in return for producing male heirs for the family. Cue Jane Austen’s infamous line from “Pride and Prejudice,” Chapter One

    It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

    Truth be told, the amount of unhinged stories in this book was shocking and a solid reminder that no matter the decade, era, or stratus in society, we’re not immune from finding a way to be sloppy and obnoxious just trying to get through life.

    Holding up Appearances as a Form of Control

    Back and white image of a young Lee Radziwill in her debutante dress, photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1951. She wears a gown with a large rosette on her chest, with one exposed shoulder, staring into the camera.
    Lee Radziwill photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1951

    Relating these women into the context of vintage fashion, it’s interesting how much they groomed themselves obsessively, exerting the little control they actually had over their food, clothing, and homes.

    A lot of them cultivated an image of themselves which could be admired and aspired to through multiple venues such as best dressed lists in magazines like Harper’s Bazaar or Vogue or in entertaining in their own homes:

    Truman knew this sort of beauty and perfection did not just happen. He saw Babe [Paley] as an artist who had created herself as an inspired work of living sculpture. In an era when soup cans and scribbles on a canvas were high art, why couldn’t Babe be seen as the ultimate piece of performance art?

    … [Babe] was akin to a splendid piece of art that [her husband] laboriously acquired and set out on his drawing room, a vivid symbol of his good taste, to be admired but rarely discussed.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    The hyper focus on how they would be perceived was astounding, in some cases leading to eating disorders purely for perceived social gain and control of their image.

    Anorexia was the swan’s occupational disease, and Lee [Radziwill] was obsessed with her weight all her life. … She had lost enough weight to present her new stylish, svelte image to the world.

    …In doing so, she upstaged Jackie [Kennedy, her sister] on her night of nights, which was clearly the point.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    Ultimately, though, they were all compensating for their internal isolation and sadness. Some of these women suffered nervous breakdowns, the humiliation of their husband’s infidelity and sex addictions, attempts at suicide, alcoholism, and financial dependence so crippling that there was no way for them to escape… even if they wanted to.

    Internal struggles aside, holding control of appearances was paramount to their lives.

    If by malnutrition, ensuring social currency, and doing everything in their power to maintain their class status was a top priority, it’s no surprise Truman Capote’s “La Cote Basque”, published November 1975, was rightfully a bombshell.

    Answered Prayers

    Black and white image of Truman Capote, photographed by Richard Averdon. The image is from the chest up, focusing on his face, looking straight into the camera with tired eyes.
    Truman Capote, Photographed by Richard Averdon in 1974

    The 1987 Editor’s Note in “Answered Prayers” is absolutely heartbreaking. In it, Joseph M. Fox (formerly the Senior Editor at Random House) reflects on the emotional and substance abuse spiral of Capote’s life after publishing “La Cote Basque.”

    What’s made abundantly clear is how publishing the work would fundamentally rock his world for the worse.

    When his biographer, Gerald Clarke, read the pages, he was aghast. … ‘You can’t publish this,’ Clarke told Truman flatly. ‘The characters are barely cloaked. Everyone you’re writing about will recognize themselves.’ … But Truman dismissed his concerns: ‘They won’t know who they are,’ he said with a wave of his hand. ‘They’re too dumb.

    – “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    As it turned out, he didn’t know what he was doing. … ”La Cote Basque” produced an explosion which rocked that small society which Truman had set out to describe. Virtually every friend he had in this world ostracized him for telling thinly disguised tales out of school, and many of them never spoke to him again.

    Editor’s Note, “Answered Prayers”, 1987

    Reading it today, the 33 page chapter is crude, disdainful, and absolutely cutting. In the marginalia of the book, I actually wrote “SPITE” in large letters as my initial impression.

    Black and white image of Slim Keith, photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1950. She wears a white long sleeve button up top, black trousers, and ballet flats. She leans against a wall and holds a piece of fabric in hand.
    Slim Keith photographed by Cecil Beaton for Vogue Magazine, 1950

    While it ties in elements of magical realism present in the surviving two chapters of Answered Prayers, it reduces the subjects it draws inspiration from to pure gossip and tabloid fodder.

    Marella Agnelli, who was not referenced in the chapter, sensed the disconnect in the years leading up to publication. She’d started to observe how Capote’s perspective was impacting their relationship, eventually cutting ties with him shortly after reading an early draft:

    Marella began to sense that something was wrong. Where was the writer she admired so much? This was shallow, trivial, and just plain nasty. Some of these people she knew, some she didn’t, but it was all the same. Everyone had seen Truman’s dark, petty side, but now it had taken over and consumed his writing.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    The story reduced the Swans to the gossip column in ways they couldn’t control. While they may have been featured as Best Dressed, or leading cultural icons for the world, the ease of which he trashed their personal lives was direct and revealing.

    He prioritized highlighting Women Attacking Women with information they had shared to him in confidence, weaponizing their inner worlds against one another. He also laid bare the painful stories these women attempted to conceal about their unfaithful husbands and shaky social standings to an audience who could point and laugh.

    Truman took a deliciously bitchy dig at a weak spot in each woman’s armor: their serial divorces. He referred directly to each woman’s multiple marriages, calling Gloria ‘Gloria Vanderbilt di Cicco Stokwski Lumet Cooper.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    For women who had lived in the lap of luxury, working hard to hold up a mask of composed elegance, exposing their failures to the public was voyeuristic and cruel (and not far from the arguments which could easily be made in today’s culture.)

    What made this revelation even more appalling was the gusto of which it was done, specifically with Truman Capote’s relationship to the Swans as his “source material.” Similar to the energy in which he ingratiated himself to Perry Edward Smith and Richard Hickock in writing In Cold Blood, he used what he’d learned in his relationship as a tool for his work. But as a result, had diluted himself into thinking this would have no consequence with these women:

    Despite the initial fall out, Truman was convinced that once the Swans realized how much they needed him, they would all come fluttering back. It did not happen.

    … As painful as it was for the Swans, they had husbands, lovers, other friends, and extensive social lives. They could move on. Truman could not. He needed these women more than he had ever imagined.

    “Capote’s Women”, Laurence Leamer

    After publication, Truman Capote spiraled into depression, alcoholism, and rampant drug use, being cut off from nearly all Swans. Between drunk appearances on talk shows (trigger warning: alcohol abuse) and going in and out of rehab clinics, he became isolated from remaining friends and never completed “Answered Prayers.”

    He died in 1984, nine years after publishing “La Cote Basque.”

    Takeaways and Ruminations

    Truman Capote and The Swan’s lives in general are extremely fascinating. The combination of “Champagne” and “Real People Problems” noted at the beginning of this essay felt consistent through out both the Feud and the books on which the show was based.

    While it’s difficult to identify with these larger-than-life people, the arch of their lives and relationships is actually remarkably tragic. Their wealth and standing in society didn’t negate their hopes, fears, insecurities, and betrayals. This definitely puts current society into perspective, nearly 100 years out from these people’s lives, especially within the context of social media putting people on pedestals.


    References

    1. Leamer Laurence: Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era
    2. Truman Capote: Answered Prayers
    3. NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour, “Does ‘Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans’ ruffle enough feathers?”, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
    4. The Washington Post, “C.Z. Guest: The Rich Fight Back”, 1977
    5. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
    6. Esquire Magazine, “La Cote Basque”, 1975
  • Why Slow Sewing = Sewing Better

    Why Slow Sewing = Sewing Better

    The virtues of slow sewing can definitely be a challenge if you’re used to whipping up projects FAST. 

    This is especially true if you’ve been sewing for a while. It’s very easy to get into a rhythm, working on projects back to back. After a while projects bleed together. Is there an opportunity for slow sewing that you’re not considering?

    Bianca cutting out pattern pieces at her workspace, using pattern weights and shears.

    But it made me think: if we’re churning out projects too quickly, are we enjoying the benefits of slow sewing?

    These are the tips I recommend to slow things down a little bit if you’re finding that the churn isn’t for you. 

    Machine sewing, Vintage sewing techniques and walkthrough | Vintage on Tap

    Ask yourself, why do you feel the need to rush the project?

    Seems straight forward, but it can be super easy for us to burn ourselves out without realizing it. 

    Burning ourselves out from sewing is not what we want.

    A few years ago when I started my YouTube channel, I was sewing up a storm every.single.day. It was to the point where I would finish work, and then get to the sewing machine right away.

    What I found was that my projects were not bringing me any joy. I was working on them so quickly. They all started to blur together. 

    None of them were special anymore. And then I would donate them to the thrift store without batting an eye.

    Once you have your Why to the question, you can start to put comfortable Slow Sewing parameters to the project.

    Maybe you don’t give the project a deadline. Maybe you take some time to do a more complicated finish on it, just to experiment.

    This way you can actually take your time and enjoy the whole process and enjoy what you make… even the parts that are kind of annoying because you had more time to actually work them.

    Learn how to sew with tutorials by Vintage on Tap, which walk you through the entire sewing process! | Vintage on Tap

    Ask yourself, are you cutting corners just to get the project out the door?

    This one is a tricky one, because in an effort to go fast, it’s easy to look for shortcuts. And by skipping steps, mistakes can easily be made. 

    Don’t get me wrong, not all shortcuts are bad. But it’s a slippery slope to defaulting to shortcuts always. Especially with no return to proper technique just for the sake of going fast. 

    This one is near and dear to me because I tend to go the slow route always… sometimes to my detriment. 

    But, I have a super simple example to highlight: Stay stitching. 

    Stay stitch neckline on Gertie Keyhole Blouse | Vintage on Tap

    Super simple, straight forward, not that big of a deal. But people skip it. Because they want to cut corners. And the neckline gets stretched out, the seams don’t line up, and in every single picture, the weird puckering is obvious. It was a simple mistake. A simple corner that got cut.  

    This tip is a reminder to ask ourselves why we’re sewing. 

    For so many of us, it’s NOT just to make something that’s “good enough”, but something that makes us feel like a million bucks. 

    Obviously, there’s a middle ground between shortcuts and doing everything by the book. Taking some time to consider WHY is extremely important. 

    If we’re cutting corners to go fast, why? What impact does it have on our actual enjoyment of what we’re making? Aren’t we all here to sew?

    Simplicity 8252, completed vintage and pinup dress| @vintageontap

    Ask yourself, is this a project you really want to stress about?

    Stress itself can play some mind tricks and if we’re going too fast, it can compound exponentially. 

    There’s a bunch of different reasons why we might stress over a project. The time component can make that problem even worse.

    A good example for me was a dress I made a few years ago for the channel, where I was cutting corners, stressing over a video deadline, and starting to actually resent the dress.

    In rushing and stressing and I accidentally cut into the bodice of the chiffon redingote of the dress. In a very obvious place. 

    Accidental cut into bodice of chiffon redingote due to not following slow sewing principles. Interfacing as an attempt to fix.

    I was furious with myself, the dress, and the whole situation. And it sucked.

    Even though the dress turned out ok, it wasn’t until that happened that I took a step back, took a deep breath, and realized that I was supposed to be enjoying the process.

    And I wasn’t enjoying the process. I wasn’t focused on slow sewing for enjoyment, only presentation for video. 

    How often are we stressing over something we’re making and make a careless mistake? 

    If you’re finding yourself doing this, it’s a good opportunity to take a break, get a glass of water, maybe walk around the block, get a snack, and reassess the project. 

    At the end of the day, none of us wants to resent our sewing by rushing it. Slow down, slow sew and savor the process.

  • Me Made May and the Who Made Your Clothes Revolution

    Me Made May and the Who Made Your Clothes Revolution

    Updated May 28, 2016:

    I can happily say that one year after I originally wrote this post, my feelings and opinions on the importance of Me Made haven’t changed. Rereading what I wrote served as a healthy reminder as to why I take this blog so seriously and why promoting hand made clothing is a life goal.

    Child labor sucks and puts a blemish on modern society’s “We’re Evolved!” point of view. For a lot of people, the issue of child labor is enough of a cause to try and reverse all the wrongs of the modern fast fashion industry. For me personally, its the mindless consumption that drives me up the wall- the idea that a SALE sign topper fills people with adrenaline and a high when the credit card purchase goes through. (Having worked in retail in a previous life, I can assure you that that “sale” isn’t really a sale.) A lot of articles have been written as of late about the constant sales and how even amongst retailers, its starting to harm their bottom line.

    The lack of value that is placed on a piece of clothing- and in turn the art of sewing- is unfortunate. I know plenty of people who would baulk at paying more than 20$ on a blouse. The usual cry is, “I can buy that for cheaper elsewhere!”

    Starting a watercolor piece | @vintageontap

    But, when it comes to Me Made clothes, I gladly pay more than that every time.

    Spending 40$ on fabric for a blouse + time and labour could easily turn a Me Made top into a 100$ blouse if I paid myself proper wages. But, its a sacrifice I am happy and fortunate to be able to make.

    This past year there was a great hashtag trending on Instagram, “Who Made Your Clothes?” If you haven’t had the opportunity to check it out the website of this great cause, please do so. I was happy to open my social media every day to see people discussing this and for awareness of the issue to be raised amongst so many consumers.

    As for me and where I stand, my goal last year was a start. As of this update, most of my clothing is Me Made. My last garment purchase was a pair of Hue tights which were made in the USA. I endeavor to keep making conscious decisions like this in the future.

    Me Made May 2016, Who Made Your Clothes | @vintageontap


    Originally Posted May 2, 2015:

    I, Bianca from Vintage on Tap, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’15. I endeavour to wear Me Made items at least 3 times a week for the duration of May 2015′

    Wait, what?

    If you haven’t heard of Me Made May, it’s a lovely self challenge that promotes the appreciation of the handmade garments seamstresses make for themselves. The challenge has been out in the blogosphere for about 5 years and draws hundreds of participants who post on Flickr, Pinterest, and Instagram (#mmm15)

    For each seamstress, the MMM15 challenge means something different, but the purpose is the same: incorporate handmade items into your daily rotation, wearing less RTW and (eventually) phasing those items out.

    The concept is something I’m extremely passionate about. The ease at which fashion is disposable is astonishing: while fads come and go (and no doubt I love seeing what’s “in” right now)– the idea that there are so many people around the world who are bending over backwards for that 5$ top boggles my mind. Sweatshop conditions for millions of people around the world is agreed upon to be unethical: but walking the walk is hard when you just need to pick something up real quick for that one thing you got invited to.

    We all fall prey to that discounted pair of jeans- I am definitely not above that- but if one less garment made in deplorable working conditions is in my regular rotation, then I am doing what I can do from here. Ultimately we vote with our wallet when it comes to these sorts of things– its important to at least be aware of who made your clothes or where they came from. And frankly, I’d rather spend my money on the raw materials to make fabulous clothing for myself. I’ll undoubtedly buy some sweater someday, somewhere that wasn’t ethically made- no doubt about it- and I’m sure all my readers will, too. But raising awareness and being conscious of those decisions as they happen- and conscious when you’re replacing them with something vintage or Me Made will help offset those habits. Its all about doing what we can when we have a choice.

    Speaking about the challenge specifically, it will be interesting for me because I have a bunch of really random pieces of clothing in my wardrobe, all of which I made for random reasons. Incorporating them into a daily wardrobe will certainly be tricky, but it can definitely be done.

    Recently I was linked to a Coletterie wardrobe challenge that was posted in 2014 and really hit the nail on the head for how I’ve been feeling about my struggles to complete a strong closet. A lot of the clothes I’ve made previously have been all over the place, not flowing together and being cohesive enough to evolve into a functioning collection of pieces. If you haven’t checked out the Coletterie series of posts, I highly recommend them! [May 10, 2016: I actually started doing this wardrobe challenge and you can read more about that here]

    Either way, fostering the curiosity of who made your clothes is a small step.

    All it takes is looking at the tags in your clothes every once in a while and deciding that maybe next time, you want to know who made your clothes.

    Invest in a quality piece instead that was made in a place that doesn’t exploit child labor or continually takes advantage of poor working conditions. Just one piece at a time.