Après London-LFG and a Merkin Parcel

Whew! No surprise to me when I manifested the “no good vacation goes unpunished” phenomenon yesterday. I’ve long since given up on the proverbial first day back from vacation being anything but clearing email and opening regular mail. This trip was only slightly different in that my iPhone was fully functional for text-email and voice calls during my stay. I was anything but a slave to the virtual connection back to the office and the iPhone was really handy for GPS purposes and address searches. Enough about the damned iPhone.

Oh and before I forget it…thanks to whoever it was that suggested I bring back a bunch of inexpensive-random things for LFG. The suggestion was a hit to say the least. Candies that are unique to England-coins for her to share with friends at school-key chains and baubles to adorn her school back pack and finally a gift from a stranger. An antique baby doll from the mother of the toy soldier dealer on Portobello Road. She deals in high end antique dolls and was delighted to learn that she and LFG share the same first name and it’s spelled the same way. She insisted that I bring “L”FG a doll from another “L”- this one in London. Oh, and the Virgin Atlantic Passenger Travel Kits are always a hit back home.

My LFG weekend as always-was bliss. More so since I didn’t get to see her during the week and for some reason-she seemed excited to see me too. I realize that as this young lady continues to evolve, the competition for her free time will ever so increase. So I’m just taking it one grateful weekend at a time. Cashmere and cotton blend gingham shirt-New and Lingwood-half price.

Snow greeted me upon my return but fortunately not a crippling episode like before-just enough to make things pretty and wintry. My half price Polo overcoat came in real handy-breast pocket flap and all. 

Said pocket flap upstaged by a pair of ten year old Flusser "Genuine Peccary" gloves tucked in the breast pocket. The upcharge for peccary versus pigskin in a pair of unlined gloves is laughable. Marketing spin-who contrives such sh_t? And to those of you who gave me some shit about that little pocket flap treatment-stay tuned. I’ll address that issue in a separate post on polo coats. Also you seemed to have forgotten that I remain the quintessential fuzzy dice man ergo that kind of gaudy accoutrement is right down my dark ass alley.

Uggs and R.M. Williams shodding were appropriate for our weekend weather.

But at home-it was off with R.M. and into house slippers. Shut up.

My jet lag lined up nicely with the LFG bedtime routine. In other words, when she hit REM sleep at eight thirty I was right there with her. Comfort food defined our culinary endeavours this weekend manifesting in a chicken curry on Saturday night-this kid is crazy for a mild curry-and spaghetti on Sunday night. Anyone wanna swing by for leftovers? Both of these concoctions get better after settling in the fridge for a few days.

London was great but I get no greater level of joy in the world than from hanging with my kid. Sunday saw me with three women-I know, I know…you are wondering how a man with such limited attributes can draw in the gals like I do. I got no answer for you my friends. Other than maybe their parents were ready to get them out of the house for an afternoon and I was willing to pop for the price of a movie and popcorn. BTW the margins on popcorn are stunning. LFG’s friends are so diverse and I love it. Her gang is akin to the United Nations-in ethnic diversity only-not in irrelevance and international impotence.

Tragic update. LFG suddenly decided-as did her friends-that they required eyeglasses. So they popped the lenses out of the 3-D glasses and voila…the new Tom Ford eyewear collection incarnate.

Here’s LFG relaxing back home with The Rake. A magazine so well done that it can’t survive. Superb writing-great photography-excellent layout-the finest paper stock production. All the things that one would expect in a top tier magazine and in my irrelevant and not so humble opinion-all the reasons that it will fail. Print media is dying a slow death and unless you get circulation numbers out the ass-you can’t make it in the new media world with an old media vehicle. Thank you-this concludes my discourse on new media. Luca Rubinacci adorns the cover of this issue of the Rake. There is no more passionate sartorialist on the planet. I met him in London and will do a post on him sometime soon.

Now on to the mundane task of opening post London mail. LFG and I pick up my bundled mail being held by our buddy Ralph. There is a semi flat brown cardboard packet with a Merkin return address. I have to tell you that the sincere note and the contents just overwhelmed me. I love what Alan Flusser said about Richard Merkin in one of his articles and I loosely paraphrase…. “Coming upon Merkin in the street is like walking into a bazaar in Marrakesh-you don’t know what to look at first”. The same held true for me when I opened the parcel from Richard Merkin’s wife. Her words, written on his personal stationery were more than kind. 

She couldn’t have assembled a menagerie of tokens more emblematic of Merkin. Richard Merkin was a devotee of the finest things that one could happen upon on Jermyn Street or Madison Avenue and he was also a devotee of camp-kitsch and things borderline dodgy. My Merkin packet contained all representations. 

There’s a pair of socks from a London source. 

An old and delightfully patinated cashmere and silk scarf from J. Press. 

A monogrammed handkerchief with an appropriately large “R”.

A  pair of handmade red suede driving gloves. 

A red silk-white polka dotted pocket square. 

And finally on the kitsch-camp side of the menagerie-a rayon handkerchief with the greetings hello and goodbye in a plethora of world languages. 

I’m beyond humbled and gratified by the gesture and have already worn the polka dot square and the J. Press scarf. The other items are going to be framed together in a nice homage/assemblage.

I have a final Merkin tribute post brewing. It will focus more on his legacy as an art teacher and mentor to students during his over thirty year tenure as an art professor at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Ok, I’ve gotta get to work and make so 2010 dough. Onward, with gratitude for all my blessings but today I single out LFG and the kindness of the Merkin family.