At the Plaza Francia Fair

Flag

When you are traveling,  the longer you stay away from home, the more you begin to get used to where you are staying. It is usually in the beginning of your stay, while your brain is still making the adjustments, that you learn the most (about the people and the place) with great eagerness.

I went to three fairs while in Argentina and before each fair Dr. Anderson encouraged us to talk to the merchants and try to bargain with them- not shake them down- but make fair bargains with them.

I made great bargains at all the fairs but it was at the Plaza Francia Fair I was able to not only buy two shawls at a great price but to connect with the sales lady and learn the meaning of the indigenous people’s flag.

Each square and each color means something within the universe and more importantly, the meanings also have a lot to do with the women’s body. This is what I picked up:

the white square means the women

the yellow square means the children

the orange square means the youth

the red square means the men

the purple square means the knowledge of the Elderly people

the blue square means the knowledge of the cosmos or universe

and the green square  is the earth

The 7 colors represents the 7 days and in total there are 49 squares. 4+9= 13. The 13 represents the 13 months of the year of the original people. They don’t  / didn’t have 12 months.  It’s 13 months because each month has 28 days like the cycle of the women. There are also 13 bones in the column and 1+3 = 4 which stands for north, south, east and west.

The flag also stands for the elements of life: fire, water, air and the earth. The top of the flag stands for the head, the two sides  stands for the hands and bottom for the feet. In the original language, feet and earth meant the same thing.

The center of the flag stands for the connection of the earth to the unborn babies and the harmony of the earth and 4 elements.

I think I may have missed something in translation so I made a video of her teaching me and posted it on youtube.

Church Hats & More

Hats

Of course while I was in Argentina, I wanted to buy at least one hat. I found a small hat shop in San Telmo.

The name of the shop was La Fundamental and in the words of the apprentice who sold me my hat (the one I am wearing in the photo) it is a meaning close to the English meaning for the same word, but it’s also “funda”(cover)+”mental”(mind, from the mind) so the pun is “the cover of your mind”, because we sell hats lol.

I  was in love with the shop the moment I walked it. It had a lot of hats of all shapes, colors and sizes and I could see that more were being made. I not only liked the shop because of it’s merchandise but also because of the employees.

The young lady that is smiling with me name is Mon. She was so sweet and I felt we were friends for a long time.

She told me the owner of the shop was not there and she is an apprentice, learning how to make and mend hats from the owner.

When I emailed Mon and asked her if she remembered me, she replied ecstatically:  Of course I remember you! You took one of my first creations to New York, a city that I love and that has given me friends and family. I hope to go back there soon.

Of course when I travel back, I’ll make my way down to that fancy hat shop.

SAUD- High End Fashion from Argentina

SAUD

 

While I was in Argentina, I had the opportunity to visit SAUD, a very high end store located in the Recoleta Mall.   I did not have time to explore the entire mall but I knew I wanted to blog about  at least one store. I was drawn to SAUD because it reminded me of the stores on 14th and 34th Streets in New York City.

I walked into SAUD on an early Sunday morning. I was the only customer there and I was glad because I was able to talk with the sales associate, Juan, (who, thank God, spoke very good English) about SAUD and it’s designer.

Juan told me that the designer of SAUD is a 32 year old Argentine native name Marian Saud. She comes from a wealthy family of lawyers and other high professions.  She is a very well known designer throughout Argentina who dresses  a lot of famous people in Argentina like models and actresses.

He included that her inspiration comes from designers like DIOR and Michael Kors and her constant desire is to give SAUD an international image. Her dream, like all designers, is to have a store in New York and Europe.

He shared with me how hard it is to sell materials in the Rocoleta mall because SAUD is a very high end store and is the only one that offers that type of couture.

I tried to compare the store to Zara but Juan informed me that Zara in Argentina is very different from the Zara in New York. I then compared it to BCBG MaxAzia but he had never heard of BCBG. Now I am thinking that maybe SAUD can be like a Kate Spade? Not the style but maybe the price range?

Find out more about SAUD at www.mariansaud.com

Fruit Market

Fruit Market

 

I am excited because a Fruit Market just opened up on Tremont Avenue. This is the second Fruit Market. Hopefully it will change the people in my neighborhood eating habits and help them make healthy decisions. After all, there is not much of an excuse now, is there?

Hat of the Month

A week ago, my cousin who is a milliner and a seamstress,  Nandi J. Shuler, sent me an email. She was recognized in an UK newspaper for her first felt hat. She attended a two-day hat blocking course in Atlanta, GA in September and learned how to block a straw capeline and a felt hood.

According to the article, Nandi used to think that block hats were made on factory machines but when she found out she could learn the craft by hand, it perked her interest.

Apparently she took the hat blocking course taught by Jan Wutkowski in September and by the first week of October had already made her first felt hat (which is what she is recognized for).

When I saw my cousin in October, I was impressed by the hat she was wearing and asked her where she got it from; nevertheless, I was not really surprised when she replied ‘I made it’.

You can read the full article at www.HATalk.com.

CONGRATULATIONS Nandi!

Hat of the Month

Don’t forget to purchase my 2013 calendar for only $45.00.