Friends, Fans, & Followers:
I’m positively mental about enjoying the summertime. I love the hazy-hot weather, I love dining al fresco, and I love the decidedly languid attitude with which everyone goes about their regular business. And while I’ve occasionally been described as a bit shy, I must admit I fancy a bit of a summer-time ogle from time to time as well. I say that if a lovely woman intends to dress like she’s just stepped off the cover of Vogue, then far be it from me to avert my gaze (and besides, there’s a fine line between ogling and leering… leering is what old men do; ogling, on other hand, is the province of stylish young men – usually of Italian extraction, but in this case I’ll give myself an exception – while idling their Vespas at a city intersection). So, as luck would have it, an absolute lioness of a fashionista came padding by my workshop in the Flatiron last week wearing a fantastically flirty tank dress. And the young lady was positively delightful! Thrilled that I’d taken an interest (oh behave!), she proudly professed that she was wearing a tank dress by a fashion label called Tibi. I confessed that I’d never heard of it (shame on me, no doubt!) but apparently was quite convincing in assuring her that while a lesser man might have been drawn moth-to-naked-bulb-like to the way her asymmetric hemline danced across her lightly tanned thighs (ahem, is it getting hot in here?!), I – being the shy botanist that I am – was uncommonly and exclusively interested in the tribal print on her crepe de chine dress. You see, it was from the dark purple, soft lavender, limoncello yellow, and vibrant green colors on Sascha’s (you didn’t think I’d let her traipse past without at least getting her name, did you?!?) dress that I came up with your chosen Classic bundle B.
So, with Sascha in my mind’s eye, the centerpiece of this week’s Classic bundle is the lavender “Cool Water” rose. Why the growing community has decided to give this rose the title “Cool Water” escapes me, especially when the exquisite, velvety petals and full blooms of this rare rose make it so deserving of a more regal name. The grower of this particular varietal, Alejandra Farms of Sante Fe de Bogota, as you might have guessed, isn’t your standard Colombian flower-picker. Quite the opposite, they’re a small boutique operation dedicated to making their mark with unique rose cultivars despite the mechanization of all the agro-machines surrounding their tiny plot of land. Still looking for another reason to include them? Lavender roses have long stood for enchantment and love at first sight, which is a much more romantic way to label the look I first gave Sascha when she rounded my corner (“slack-jawed lust” just doesn’t sound nearly gallant enough!).
Next, the deep purple in Sascha’s dress suggested kale to me. Yes, the skeptics amongst you will be proven partially right when you assert that kale is just a common cabbage. While I concede that it is part of the family known for such leafy staples as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts (a genus known as Brassica), I contend that between its excellent nutritional properties (literally bursting with vitamin C, K, lutein, and assorted cancer-fighters) and the fact that instead of a head it produces purple leaves wrapped in a tight rosette, ornamental kale is a fine example of form and function making a particularly amorous couple. Of course, lest you think that I simply raided my pantry, I’ve also included intoxicatingly deep dark purple lisianthus flowers from Quito. This particular batch is of the double-form variety and they may resemble roses or peonies once bloomed. But what do they stand for? Traditionally, lisianthus represents appreciation or an outgoing nature, both of which notions seem to apply: Sascha, I’m convinced, very much appreciated my outgoing nature!
Lastly, to finish off the design and send it off for seamstress-ing, I’ve included delicate Lady’s Mantle flowers (known to botanists by its decidedly less marketing-friendly name: Alchemilla robusta). Just in from Holland, Lady’s Mantle is only available between April and June and this year, Icelandic volcano causing climactic mayhem and all that, they’ve been especially hard to come by. Why would I go through all the trouble to find them? Because I think the small, numerous, yellow-ish-green flowers are eye-catching, much like the thin spaghetti straps that held up Sascha’s dress!
So, if you’re new to my service, drain your bundle’s reservoir, free it of its cellophane wrapper, and then set it down in the included vase with enough room-temperature water to last the week. If you’re not new, I trust you know exactly what to do.
Right then, with this week’s bundle, consider yourself well-dressed!
Cheers,