the sparrow

Vogue August 2012

Isn't this dress divine? Alexander McQueen. His spirit is definitely alive and well is this world that he has left behind. Thank goodness. The dress is a whisper of THE dress with its fitted bodice, lace, and full-tulled skirt. I'm not so sure about the styling with the shoes having the buckle shackles around the ankle. But I suppose with the rest looking so airy that it could cause Marion to float above the rest of us ... she needs to be tethered and buckled down.

Vogue August 2012

Another look that I love is this coat (it's also on the cover). I don't want to call it purple, that's not a word that sounds extravagant enough for the beauty of this color.  And in velvet! When I was a kid, we had tickets to a taping of the children's show, Bozo's Circus. I wanted to look my best for the chance that the camera would catch me in the crowd. I owned beautiful crushed velvet culottes with shiny golden buttons sewn on the front like sailor's trousers. To top it off, I had a sweet cotton blouse patterned with little violets. The sleeves were piratous and a 70's floppy dog eared collar framed my chubby face. Naturally I wore white knee socks and my scruffy brown school shoes. They may have been buckled?! My hair was Mary Janed, and all of my freckles were at attention. I was ... in my best. Odd that I was just thinking of cleaning out my closets and wondered what I would give away that I would regret giving away later ... like the purple velvet vest that I had several years ago. oh, that was a vest. Not that I owned many, and I bought it solely because of its' color and the luxuriousness of the fabric. Why did I give that up? Wouldn't it be great if I could make this coat as one of my fall purchases! My own dark violet (better than purple, no?!) velvet trilogy: culottes, vest, coat. All together, too much. But one at a time ... perfect.

I also love that it is Marion Cotillard who wears these fabulous frocks. She is so quintessentially French. And I love all things French ... I first saw her, as did many Americans, in the film La Vie En Rose for which she was awarded an Oscar. That movie ... that movie. I saw it with a couple of friends and I was so moved by Cotillard's performance that I was literally frozen in my seat. They were ready to drop their popcorn boxes and go, and was mesmerized. I so deeply felt the story that was told that I was ... overcome with grief, I suppose. Of course I've seen many biog films that were moving, but this transcended movement. It wasn't only in the story of Edith Piaf, but in how Cotillard was able to capture her. Piaf was called the sparrow. I read that a sparrow is a small, plump, brown-grey bird with a short tail and stubby, powerful beak. Yes, Edith Piaf was not a magnificent bird to look at, but she certainly had the powerful beak, her voice. Cotillard, who is a so pretty, gave a magnificent performance as she transformed into that small, unremarkable bird, who could sing so commandingly.

I haven't seen the new Batman. And her face on the cover of Vogue is married to her part in the movie. I watched the last release and, quite frankly, I couldn't get help but giggle whenever Batman talked. What was that strange whisper all about? Yeah, the Joker, Heath Ledger, was scary as heck, but Batman's voice ... was really distracting. Ah, but Marion Cotillard stars in it ... I may have to see it.

What will the woman who became the sparrow bring to the bat?