Grief, Action, and St. Catherine

For four years now I've been posting on (or around) November 25th about St. Catherine's Day--the day that celebrates the patron saint of archivists, couture house workers, and single women over 25. In years past I've gathered my friends, donned silly hats, and toasted to history, fashion, and life without husbands.

But this year, I haven't been feeling it. Since the election I've been more in the mood to wear a black veil than my 90s Blossom hat. I realize though that going into full Victorian mourning would only play into the conservative taunts that liberals are just being "dramatic" about Donald Trump's election. "Liberal Idiot Now Only Wears Black Crepe" the Breitbart headline would read.

Which is to say that all of this melancholy has got me thinking differently about Saint Catherine this year. Her legend tells the story of an educated woman from a privileged background who spoke out against persecution and injustice. For those of us who grieve the results of the election but have the privilege to possibly sail through the next four years mostly unscathed, we need to resist the lure of that comfort.

Of all the things Cathy is a patron saint of, the ones that resonate with me the most is her patronage of archivists and educators, couture house and millinery workers, and single women over the age of 25. So this year, rather than writing goofy prayers to a (most likely) fictional saint, I'm going to make some Catherinesq post-election pledges.

As a museum professional: I pledge to be inclusive in my collecting and seek out opportunities to tell stories about people who are underrepresented in museums. I pledge to remember that I do not preserve objects for their own sake but for the benefit of the people of the community. I pledge to not only tell the happy, triumphant stories of history but also the ones that are painful and difficult. I also pledge to not always be the storyteller, to step back and amplify other voices, and allow those voices to educate me.

As a person who loves fashion: I pledge to care about those to make my clothing, and the environmental impact of clothing manufacturing. I pledge to buy fair trade, to buy from companies that pay their workers a living wage, and support local businesses whenever possible. I also pledge to buy less, to care for the clothing I already have, and dispose of unwanted clothing as conscientiously as possible.

As a single woman who has the gift of free time and disposable income: I pledge to seek out concrete actions and activities that I can do, to sign up and show up, to push myself, and to also take time to recharge. I pledge to increase the annual amount that I give the charitable causes. I also pledge to be conscious of self-congratulation about any of my actions, thinking not in terms of "enough" but always seeking to do more.

St. Catherine's Day 2015

Back in 2013, when I first started posting about St. Catherine's Day, I wrote this modification of the traditional St. Catherine's Day prayer:

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid, And see that another Poehler/Fey movie one day gets made

Well, well, well, what have we here?

St. Catherine is looking out for us y'all!

So what should us archivists, educators, hat enthusiasts, and unmarried folks wish for this year? Here are a few I came with. I decided to break out of the rhyming format and just go free form. 

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid. Guide my eye and my hand as I pass over the hat collection in inventory. Give me compassion for the ugly and fragile, enthusiasm for those rich in provenance, and hope for those whose provenance is not yet known. And give me courage when facing hats with giant bird faces or weird fur appendages, for they are creepy, St. Catherine. 

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid. Deliver me from the temptation of joining Tinder. Unless I change my mind about that, then please be supportive and cool about it, St. Catherine. Either way, deliver me from dick pics. 

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid. Help me to find a winter hat that is warm but that won’t make Olivia embarrassed to be seen with me. Draw back my hand when I reach for that 1990s Blossom hat that always calls to me from the depths of the closet. 

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid. Impart thy wisdom on those who call me with donation offers. When there is a voicemail, let the connection be good, the description concise, and the phone number recited slowly (deliver me, St. Catherine from puzzling descriptions and garbled phone numbers). And let it not be a wedding dress. 

Amen.

Miss Fisher's FIC Mysteries

Once again, I skipped a week blogging and feel I need to offer an excuse. But that assumes that all of you dear readers hang on my every word and eagerly check each week for a post, and are lost and devastated when one doesn't appear (since there is very little to read or watch on the internet, so when one blogger drops the ball, the entertainment void is felt by all).

Fortunately I have a really good excuse. I spent all of last weekend watching Netflix.

Last week Olivia and I decided to try a new show which looked like it might be good: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. It quickly became clear that this wasn't just a "good" show, it was 100% up our alley in every way. Sassy, independent female lead, period setting with amazing costumes, attractive men in suits, and an ensemble of characters that are continuously delightful.

Not the least of which are Communist-leaning cab drivers, Burt & Cec

I realize this is going to sound like hyperbole (especially since I know MULTIPLE people who became parents this week) but there is nothing in this life quite like the supreme joy of discovering a new piece of entertainment--be it book/movie/TV show/play/music--that you love so much that you can feel your life getting tangibly better because of it.

Phyrne Fisher is just the role model we need with St. Catherine's Day right around the corner. She is fearless, fabulous, and sharp. In a strange way, I feel like she guided me into all kinds of awesome things this week.

First of all, I spent some time trying to figure out which 1920s pieces from our collection will be on display next year during the run of American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. This "looking for pretty dresses" part of my job is unfairly awesome, but was made even better because I felt like I was riffling through Miss Fisher's wardrobe.

I mean, I feel like she may actually own this coat:

And at the end of the week, I saw some long-term detective work of my own finally come to fruition. Fortunately I am not researching murders (although could be persuaded if a handsome, suit-wearing detective was part of the deal) but FICs. 

If only I had this team to help with all those mystery socks

MOHAI has a collection of hats from Chicago milliner Benjamin Green-Field, or Bes-Ben as his brand was called. Our first record of them is a handwritten note from the early 90s saying that they had been dropped off anonymously "many years ago." They were "discovered" again in 2007 and given an FIC number. 

Bes-Ben hats are wacky and fun. Google the name and you'll see what I'm talking about. MOHAI's set includes one with painted chicken legs. 

Even though the Seattle connection was unknown, the hats were displayed a few times and in 2011 they were featured as a "Thursday Hidden Treasure" on the MOHAI blog. What followed was amazing affirmation of why it is important for museums to use the internet to make their collections more public. A few months after that post, I was contacted by a woman from Chicago who wanted to know more about our Bes-Ben hats. I had to reluctantly tell her that I didn't have any information about the donor. She got excited about the mystery, and since she was looking at the business ledgers and records as part of her research, offered to help me. Over the next few years, as she had time and I had time, we exchanged information about the hats. Using the chicken feet as a starting point (shockingly, it was not a top seller) she was able to connect nearly all of the hats to a single Seattle-based client.

I spent time researching this likely donor and attempted to find contact information for her family. About a month ago I sent a letter to someone I hoped was her son. And YESTERDAY I got back a signed deed of gift. As I had hoped, he had shared the information and the images with his sister, so both children were on board with making the donation official. The sister even wrote a note saying that she recognized the hats as belonging to her mother. I literally bounded down the hallway when I opened the letter. This is the museum equivalent of solving a cold case murder. 

TRULY A ST. CATHERINE'S DAY MIRACLE

I have to admit, the woman in Chicago did most of the work so she may be the Phryne of this partnership. I guess that makes me Jack-- generally useful but mostly standing around looking great in a suit. Hmm...that analogy may have gotten away from me. What was I saying? Something about Jack looking good in a suit? 

YES.

And speaking of hats...if you are an archivist, educator, milliner, couture house worker, or unrepentant spinster, don't forget to celebrate St. Catherine's Day on the 25th! 

Happy St. Catherine's Day!

My first semester of grad school we had an assignment to choose a painting in a local collection and do a presentation about the clothing in said painting. I picked this altarpiece at the Met by Joos van Cleve:

Which has, over on the left side, this elegant figure:

At first I assumed she was a wealthy patron who had funded the altarpiece, but I quickly discovered that she was St. Catherine of Alexandria-- an educated, unmarried woman who was martyred for winning religious debates against the smartest men in town. When I gave my presentation, my professor also remarked that she is the patron saint of milliners and couture house workers, and that for a long time St. Catherine's day was a big celebration for the seamstresses in Paris. 

When you visit her Wikipedia page, you find that she is also the patron saint of unmarried women (particularly those over 25), archivists, educators, and librarians. She is most commonly depicted as fashionably dressed, with blonde hair worn "unbound" (aka down with no product / blowdrying necessary).

Sure babies are cute, but I'm trying to read over here

Basically the only way this woman could be more my saint would be if she was literally the patron of fashion historians in mid-sized cities. 

So I would like to make St. Catherine's Day (today, November 25th) a thing. Since she is fashionable and looks out for those who make fashion, obviously dressing up is required. Her patronage of milliners meant that hats were a big part of the celebration in France. So wear a hat or something cool atop your free-flowing, unbound locks-- and raise a glass to the archivists, librarians, and educators that keep our society running. 

Catherinettes in Paris, 1909

The last thing I need to get this holiday going is reclaiming the St. Catherine's day prayer. A lot of the traditional festivities seem to simultaneously celebrate and shame unmarried women over 25. There are several versions of the "I need a husband!" prayer that you can read on the Wikipedia page, but the most basic one goes like this: 

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid, And grant that I never may die an old maid 

Blech. Here are a few I've come up with:

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid, And grant that there be no moths in this jacket with gold brocade

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid, And grant that, just for being a woman, I am not underpaid

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid, And grant me the words to throw mine enemies some epic shade

St Catherine, St Catherine, O lend me thine aid, And see that another Poehler/Fey movie one day gets made