Hat's Off to Hats

On a little back street next to the 405, behind a two story high green wrought iron gate, hides an old fashioned factory store where hats are created.  Cascading through a rainbow of colors for autumn: rust, green, blue, purple, brown, grey and black, on walls and racks and tables, if you don't see a hat you like they will custom make one specifically for you.  Also offered are hand embroidered scarves, flower pins, jabats, feathered headbands, reworked vintage sweaters and cashmere scarves.  Behind the front desk is a hold tree where they'll keep a hat awaiting your final decision.  For the last twenty years Louise Green Millinery Company has supplied Los Angeles with vintage romance in the form of hats.

Hats provide warmth and protection from the elements but they are so much more. In a bygone era hats were tipped to say good-bye and taken off entirely when greeting a lady to show respect or flirt, when passing in the street, if the lady you are speaking to is a stranger or if you saw your wife. Tipping your hat to a man could be an insult in the wild, wild west. Ladies kept their hats on indoors unless wearing an evening gown and removed daytime hats at night. Men removed their hats indoors unless it was a public building. In a house of prayer sometimes head coverings were donned to show humility and sometimes hats were doffed to show respect. Hats worn to the theatre or the movies were removed if they obstructed someone’s view. Men put decoration on the left hand side of the head band and women put decoration on the right side. Etiquette, good manners and respect all tied up in scraps of fur, felt, feathers, leather and lace.

If you threw your hat in the ring you were saying you wanted to get involved. If you reacted at the drop of a hat you were impulsive. To make something magically appear you pulled it out of your hat. You could throw your hat in the air to celebrate and show happiness. Passing the hat meant you were collecting money, if you came to someone hat in hand you needed a favor. Secrets were kept under one’s hat and anything boring was old hat. Different hats signified different jobs. Home, no matter how humble was where you hung your hat. Today although the sayings remain very few of the hats do.

Women had garden hats, church hats and hats for special events that inspired conversation. Cloches, bonnets, bandeaus, berets, and toques were worn with pride. Men had bowlers, fedoras, top hats, panama hats, pith helmets and trilbies to cover the inevitable signs of aging. Little boys and girls tried on their parent’s hats and shoes to feel grown up. Different nations had different hats identified with them.  The fez, the chapeau, the tam o’shanter, the homburg, the turban, the sombrero and the Greek sailor’s cap were a few of these. Sadly enough today, public consciousness sees terror wearing a turban and controversy wearing a veil.

Hats signify jobs for firemen, cowboys, construction workers, baseball players, football players, pirates, police men, sailors, palace guards and Santa to name just a few. We use hats to tell the world which teams we root for and that we’ve graduated from school. But, sadly enough, except for baseball caps, hats are seldom seen on a regular basis in today’s world.

If clothes make the man than hats make a statement. Who could picture Abraham Lincoln without his top hat? It now resides in the Smithsonian. Fred Astaire’s top hat was flaunted with style and grace.  Frank Sinatra always said “Cock your hat – angles are attitudes.” John Wayne’s Stetson was auctioned off for $75,000 in 2007. Jackie O made the pill box hat famous and Princess Di loved hats of every kind. Villains wore black hats and heroes wore white, shades of gray were few and far between. John Wayne would never have worn a pink cowboy hat but on Dolly Parton it works.

The best character actors use hats to change how they are perceived.  Charlie Chaplin once said “I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat, everything a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large.” All the famous detectives had hats to suit their styles, John Steed’s bowler, Sherlock Holmes’ deerstalker, Philip Marlowe’s crumpled fedora, Sam Spade’s crisp one. Adventure heroes have theirs as well. Who could forget Davy Crocket’s coon skin cap, Indiana Jones custom fedora, and Crocodile Dundee’s trimmed with crocodile teeth and skin.

The world would be a much less interesting place without hats. Those who don’t wear them are missing out. I don’t believe in romanticizing the past as history, however, bringing forward and reinterpreting, refining, reintroducing old styles, timeless fashions, art and music only enriches the foundations of the present.

A Time Warp with a Syncopated Back Beat

One recent Sunday on the corner of Selma and Cahuenga there played a five man band, The Petrojvic Blasting Company by name. A trombone player, a trumpet player, a tuba player and a man playing the washboard were lead by an accordion player who sang and kept the beat by playing the drums with foot peddles. These gentlemen were dressed in brown with well shined shoes and fedoras slanted at cocky angles. Like a time warp with a syncopated back beat these musicians wouldn’t look out of place in an HG Wells saga or at a steampunk retro party.

It is somehow appropriate when times are hard to take a look back reevaluating foundations, embracing classics and seeking that which evokes feelings of safety and security. Looking back for a time when adversity was overcome generates strength to survive the present.

When society and institutions betray expectations it is natural to turn to the outlaw and the brilliant outsider to find heroes and inspiration. When people who are supposed to be trustworthy and dependable are caught in betrayal, freefalling individuals  prove their worth by starting over, overcoming adversity, saving themselves and succeeding beyond any expectations held before. Rather than being obsessed with money and corporate success priorities change stressing acting locally and focusing globally.

Looking to road trips, impossible quests and futuristic fantasy for temporary escape is natural. Examining the past and contemplating the future rather than dwelling on the ephemeral present provide distractions that allow forward momentum to build where otherwise seemingly overwhelming adversity tends to paralyze. A perception of positive progress is vital.  Even baby steps count.

Hollywood has Invaded

Early morning noises in the hallway outside the apartment. Masses of people coming and going, talking and carrying things into the building. The floor covered in rubber mats, the corners of the walls covered with cardboard protectors, thick black cables snaking along the passage and up the stairs, spot lights, reflectors, cameras, tripods, monitors and lots and lots of blue tape. Hollywood had invaded. Controlled chaos at it’s finest. Only in Los Angeles can an average person wake up with a camera crew outside their door on any given morning.

The filming in my building was for an educational commercial. They arrived with the dawning sun and left after it set. Every member of the crew knew their job and did it well. Even the Fire Marshal was experienced and knew what to expect and what was expected of him. When the wall wasn’t the right color they built a false one to set in front that was. When they needed laundry for a prop they brought in a basket full from a truck outside. Vases, flowers, knick knacks, end tables, mood music, tents, tables, chairs, snacks and more all supplied with precision by the mobile army in tractor trailers parked along the street.

When driving through Los Angeles corrugated yellow notices with black lettering can be seen attached to telephone poles, light poles and sign posts. The messages on them are sometimes precise “Crew Parking”, sometimes mysterious “NSY” and sometimes obvious “NCIS” or “CSI” or “U Betty” with directional arrows. On the buildings in the vicinity can be found taped “Notice of Filming” signs that describe what, where, and when something is being filmed. These white notices also list who is doing the filming, how to get in touch with them, permits, production parking, if equipment will be on the sidewalks or in the street and street closures. Whether it’s a commercial, a TV show or a movie being shot LA has it down to a science.

The earliest form of theatre was epic stories and myths passed down from parent to child around camp fires, religious festivities and celebrations. Theatrical forms evolved worldwide.  The need to creatively use the imagination is as basic to our nature as the need for food, shelter and continuation of the species. Instinctively, children create and share fantasy worlds as they play. Adults create fantasy worlds as well, something as seemingly mundane as Sunday dinner has it’s own rituals and decorations that make it “special.” Holidays, birthdays, school dances, graduations, are all made memorable and dramatic through the creation of transitory and fleetingly beautiful improvements to our environment, our behavior and our expectations and these are the events that remain in our memory when all else fades away. Shakespeare wrote “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” and we are. 

The evolution of drama from everyday life to Hollywood is fascinating, exhilarating and stimulating. Seeking something other than, something greater then the norm, obtainable even if only for a transitory moment, is a deep seated drive in humanity through all cultures on all continents at every social level. Access to today’s elaborate productions, instead of being under the exclusive control of the elite has reached the masses and what’s more, through advancements in technology, creation of what before could only be dreamed of is now also accessible. While the majority of what is created on an amateur basis is not extraordinary there are always the exceptions and those exceptions have an exponential and unique impact on society. The concept alone that everyone has a voice that can and will be heard if expressed is phenomenal and empowering on an individual basis and on society as a whole.  The belief that an individual can make a difference is profound and changes the way we live in a positive way.

Historically, even those societies who have embraced freedom of speech and expression as a right for their citizens, in a practical sense could not guarantee that the voices were accessible to society at large. Only those with access to outlets whether through educational, social or monetary status were actually heard. Today everyone has a voice and they can be heard.  If enough voices say the same thing they are perceived but the danger becomes that individuality and the unique voice can be overlooked and lost in the crowd. New problems now arising are the individual voice is drowned out in the flood, mass acceptance of inaccurate, unverified information can cause issues and dangerous microcosms of fringe society are encouraged in their psychosis by finding others with similar beliefs. The direction the next evolution of unique creative expression takes with Hollywood at the apex of the cresting wave can only be guessed at but too many people talking is better than too few and individual empowerment is awesome to behold.

Crossroads of the World

If you take a trip to 6671 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood you will come across a little mall called “The Crossroads of the World.” Sited next to the Eckankar Center where you can explore past lives, dreams and soul travel and a Catholic church. This mall was built in 1936.  In the middle of the mall is a building in the shape of a ship that sports a fifty foot tower toped by a revolving globe. Bungalows whose architectural styles are multicultural (Italian, Turkish, French, English, Asian, Cape Cod) run around the perimeter of the mall which also includes a wishing well and a light house. Throughout it’s long and sometimes scandalous history the Crossroads of the World has maintained a place in Hollywood  film history.

Many different places, at many different times, have claimed to be the Cross Roads of the World. This is the way Times Square markets itself and in ancient times people said “Omnes viae Romam ducunt” or “All roads lead to Rome” but it appears that Hollywood has become the new epicenter, the new crossroads of the world. No matter where they hail from, if a career in media is the goal, Hollywood is, at the very least a plateau that must be reached and crossed to achieve that goal and media born in Hollywood effects people world wide.

Just as the known world expanded when Rome conquered, Hollywood expands the world of perception every time new cultures, new perspectives and new technology are used to create innovative product for distribution. Our world view seems to expand in waves, an outgoing wave of physical exploration accompanied by a return of new knowledge. This knowledge becomes like a pebble dropped in water spreading outward in its turn, repeating and expanding exponentially.

There are crucial points in everyone’s lives, crossroads where we make decisions that alter our reality forever. Sometimes we recognize them as important decisions and at other times decisions are made and consequences reached without conscious choice. Nobody wakes up in the morning and says to themselves “I want to be a monster today” yet somehow monsters are created daily as are saints.  This is of course an exageration, as most of us are a little of both, but then, that's Hollywood.

There are legends about crossroads, some say that if you stand at a certain crossroad in the south at midnight you can sell your soul to the devil or if you are brave enough challenge him to a duel to win your heart’s desire.

History is rife with points where decisions were and are made that affect everyone.  Some potentially  catastrophic and some euphoric. The bottom line remaining that if no one had taken those chances, if no one had made those decisions to follow up on their ideas and dreams history would be static, advancement would cease and we would all be the worse for it. There is a quote by Anthony Robbins that, for me reflects the very essence of personal crossroads:

“You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget the past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don’t think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully.”

Personal crossroads, when many individuals converge in one place or at one point in time, with a common idea or dream or attitude have a way of accumulating and becoming greater than we could ever imagine.

Car Lovers Paradise

When first arriving in Los Angeles you realize that this really is a city of car lovers. Not just your average car but classic cars, antique cars, original one of a kind cars, high end cars, customized cars, they all can be seen cruising down LA’s major arteries on any given day.

The Peterson Museum  is devoted entirely to cars. The Concours D’Elegance is held annually on Rodeo Drive on Father’s Day, closing off the street to automotive traffic so pedestrians can better admire the beauty and fine lines of unique automotive machinery. Car shows and events abound in LA, some celebrating a specific model others hosting every kind imaginable. We love Low Riders,  T-Birds, Dodge, Chevy, Mercury, Mercedes, Lincolns and Cadillacs. Whether we are jamming out at the Cadillac Ranch, building it one piece at a time, whether it’s pink or black we do love our Cadillacs.

We love car chases, car races, and car thieves. We couldn’t do without our rebels and our bandits,  our heroes and our villains. From Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to James Bond, from the Bat Mobile to Christopher Lloyd’s DeLorean, from the Blues Brothers to the Men in Black  cars are part of our culture and ingrained in our spirit.

Cars bring back memories and inspire dreams.  Whether you’re looking for paradise or on a highway to hell  they can be the ultimate status symbol or the ultimate gauge of shallowness. They can evoke a season, an era or even a section of the country.

We are a wandering people, it’s in our blood or we wouldn’t be here. Road trips are teenage initiations and adult rebellions. Whether the ride is fast and dangerous, slow and short, or miles and miles of twists and turns we love to drive. Some times the journey is one way and sometimes we come full circle back to where we started. From Route 66 to Ventura highway from the Beat Generation to the Green Generation our romance and passon for cars has evolved with us and carried us not just down the road but into the future.

Halloween in West Hollywood

I was blown away as were several costumers hanging onto cement street dividers with inside out umbrellas, ties blowing in the wind (even though it wasn’t windy), and fallen leaves plastered to their pant legs. A mad swirl of color and sound threatened sensory overload as heads swiveled right, left, backward and forward, up and down, not knowing where to look first.

The Wicked Which of the West flew in for the evening and Sleeping Beauty’s Fairy Godmothers showed up in full costume, blue, green and pink with pointed hats and magic wands looking exactly as Disney pictured them except, unfortunately, they must not have had very much time to prepare for the ball, as they forgot to shave off their full beards. They were also much taller than I had imagined. Beards seemed to be the "in" thing this year as one bride showed off her gown and full beard and another young lady flipped things around by donning facial hair that wasn’t quite as authentic.

Snap, Crackle & Pop were there relaxing in a bowl of milk not showing their age at all. Michael Jackson showed up as did several other celebrities including Jack, Hugh Heffner, Ugly Betty, Amy Winehouse and Mr. T. Former President Clinton posed with a bruised and bloody Affordable Healthcare and Abe Lincoln enjoyed a stroll through the crowd. Tom Cruse showed up… several times… but he seemed to have forgotten his pants. Even Facebook, Myspace and Twitter showed up.

A Mario convention seemed to have descended on Hollywood as he popped up everywhere however Luigi was conspicuously absent. The Star Trek conventioneers were out numbered and lost in the crowd. Extras from horror movies mingled with Vegas showgirls who competed with Mardi Gras partiers.

Batman was there as was Robin (out of the closet and with a date). Dorothy came wearing her ruby slippers but stayed for the party instead of clicking heels homeward. Captain Hook and Peter Pan made an appearance as did Captain Jack Sparrow although Tick Tock the crocodile was no where to be seen or heard. Alice came through the looking glass with the Mad Hatter at her side and a couple of Tim Burton’s nightmares strode boldly down the street as Santa showed up with a pumpkin bag bringing up twisted thoughts of the Great Pumpkin meeting Jack Skellington poor Linus would freak.

Winged creatures flew in, in abundance from fairies to butterflies. There were Fuzzy’s, centaurs, a giraffe, a skunk, a cow and many other representatives of the animal kingdom not to mention the dogs who came in costume taking their owners for a stroll. A giant Man ‘o War jelly fish floated over the crowd with a diver swimming beneath while a blue alien wearing an orange and yellow half dress freaked out the crowd. There were a lot of bananas and a bunch of purple grapes celebrating after a hard day’s shoot.

Every era appeared to be represented from a beautiful ancient Egyptian goddess to four sequin covered disco maniacs from the 70s not to mention one wearing a polyester suit. A flapper who looked as if she’d popped in on a time machine looked right at home as the “Godmother” walked by (Al Pachino eat your heart out). Fred Flintstone and his neighbors joined us from Bedrock and Vikings sailed in to conquer.

There were many very tall women, some authentic and some not so authentic. (I would love to know who did their makeup as they looked quite beautiful and in some cases very classy.) Women wearing full body paint and not much else definitely left no question as to their authenticity and the artistry of their body work. Medusa joined the crowd with writhing, hissing hair as a snake charmer lured a cobra from its basket.

There was a definite police presence, however which officers were real and which were revelers could prove quite puzzling at times as the handcuffs seemed authentic in both cases. McGruff the Crime Dog and Ms. Sherlock Holmes were there just in case a mystery needed solving. Although some plastic masked participants in the crowd would have freaked out bank tellers if they walked in off the street, the one arrest witnessed was a handcuffed man looking down in sheepish embarrassment as he sat on a curb surrounded by police. Those very few who seemed a bit worse for wear had concerned friends helping them home and watching out for them.

The crowd of onlookers were as varied as the revelers. There were family groups with small children and grown men in diapers with pacifiers. Elderly couples with faces reflecting either the glazed look of trapped animals or grinning from ear to ear in awed amazement watched the crowd. A group of white men in designer jeans and white polos held up picket signs ranging from “What would Jesus say” to “We still haven’t seen the birth certificate”. The crowd flowed on with polite disinterest like an ever changing, evolving flood dividing around unmoving, inflexible rocks, isolated in the middle, as the stream surged past leaving them behind. A man in full dress uniform walked beside his buddy in a wheel chair and a heavily accented voice shouted at full volume “I LOVE AMERICA!”

There were stationary DJs spinning music as the crowd danced and a roving party with dry ice fog and laser lights making its way down the street. Magic acts  were on hand to thrill and amaze as comedians made the crowd laugh. Hot dog venders made a killing and the line at Starbucks was the most entertaining I’ve ever been in. The City of West Hollywood  pulled out all the stops for the thousands of adventurous costumed revelers who attended. The best view was enjoyed by those looking down from office terraces overlooking all the action. Stretching from West Hollywood all the way to Beverly Hills the experience was visually intoxicating. An overwhelming feeling of playful happiness pervaded the crowd as adults paraded like children up and down the boulevard.

If the West Hollywood Halloween Parade  wasn’t your style you could always go to the Whisky a Go Go where they had a séance to try and raise Jimmy Hendriks spirit from the dead but I, for one, was extremely glad I went. The experience was unforgettable.

Fun and Fans at the "Barbara" Streisand Charity Auction

The Barbra Streisand Auction held October 17th and 18th at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills raised funds for The Streisand Foundation  in New York which contributes to such causes as the Natural Resources Defense Council, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, Institute for America’s Future, People for the American Way, Center for Public Integrity, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Watch and Youth Arts USA.

Gowns Barbara Streisand wore for concerts were auctioned off.  There were costumes from “The Way We Were”, “Funny Lady”, “Nuts”, “The Mirror Has Two Faces”, and “Meet the Fockers” with a surprise anoucement that for continuity reasons, who ever purchased the jewelry from “Meet the Fockers” might be getting a call from Barbra asking to borrow them back for the sequel, "Little Fockers". There were portraits, some good and some not so good, almost life size cardboard figures of Barbra and a wooden letter “a” that she kept as a momento signifying the “a” she dropped from her name changing it from Barbara to Barbra. There were everyday items and antiques, tables, bookcases, fire place poker sets, antique commodes and ceiling fans (that sold, due to a bidding war for $7,500). Mementoes from all over the world included some exquisite Japanese netsuke carvings including a baby bird in an egg shell, a frog riding a whale, a man holding a cat and a hand holding a monkey. There was also a miniature replica of one of the chariots in the tomb of the Chinese Emperor Shi Huang from the Museum of Shanghai.

Many in the audience were avid fans with some even wearing concert T-shirts and hair styles from the seventies, shoulder length wings in front, cut shorter in back. Their knowledge of their idol was extensive and not to be challenged. It was a fun audience with bids also coming in from places as varied as Miami, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium and Canada.

Barbara Streisand is a singer, writer, actress, and producer. She is the number one selling female recording artist in the United States and is tied with the Beatles for “Most Albums Reaching Top 10 Status”, with only The Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra out pacing them both. Her career began in 1962 and has lasted over four decades. She has released 63 albums, 50 of which, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, went Gold, 30 of those going Platinum and 15 of those Multiplatinum, winning ten Grammys, two Oscars and numerous other awards including Kennedy Center Honors. With nine Number One albums, her latest album “Love Is the Answer” is listed at Number One on Billboard as of October 17, 2009, Barbra Streisand’s career shows no sign of slowing down.

Whatever your favorite song may be, People ; Evergreen ; The Way We Were ; You Don’t Bring Me Flowers ; I’m the Greatest Star ; Don’t Rain on My Parade ;Cry Me a River ; Happy Days ; Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair ; On a Clear Day ; and A Sleepin’ Bee just to name a few, their popularity is undeniable.   Perhaps part of the magic is that her beauty is not flawless nor is it dependent on surface perceptions but is based on talent, self confidence and an inner radiance that shines through when she performs.  She doesn’t let anyone dictate her actions, she doesn’t accept defeat or settle for less than the stars she aims for, but she herself is relatable and down to earth. She represents hope and dreams despite the odds stacked against us. She is both strong and feminine and her songs and vocals touch a universal chord that is basic and eternal. 

My one regret is that I was only able to attend the last day of the auction as once again Darren Julien presented a charity event that was both entertaining, fun and thought provoking for a cause well worth supporting.