I Heart Fashion

King Henry VIII of England did not have one true love; rather, he had many; therefore, it is somewhat ironic that he was responsible for making February 14th a holiday. On the other hand, maybe it was fate that he initiated Valentine’s Day since he wed so often. Some of the marriages may have been for political reasons but others seemed to be for love’s sake. His royal highness, therefore, deserves to be thanked for gifting us with a day to honor love.

I have been in love with love since about the age of five. I have fond memories of trading valentine cards in school during Valentine’s Day parties. I also used to wish my last name was love or valentine or something heavenly like that because I was so in love with love. I became addicted to romance novels at the age of 11 and could often be found with my head buried in one as I grew up. I was the girl who was instantly drawn to the girl meets boy movies. 15 of my favorite romantic movies are listed below:

1. The Princess and the Warrior (2001)
2. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
3. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
4. Gigi (1958)
5. Notorious (1946)
6. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
7. Some Like It Hot (1959)
8. Picnic (1955)
9. The Enchanted Cottage (1945)
10. What's Up Doc? (1972)
11. The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
12. The Notebook (2004)
13. Before Sunrise (1995)
14. Jane Eyre (*)
15. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

*There are so many film and television versions that I struggled to pick just one.

I hope you share a few of your favorites with me. I enjoy discovering romantic movies of which I was not previously aware.


I finally removed myself from fantasy land as I became older but I still have a fondness for romance. This perhaps explains my affinity for the heart prints trend that is so popular currently. Below are a few items I recently spotted; some I can afford and others, well, a girl can dream.

Navy Blue Heart Print Shirt; Wallis Fashion; $58

Kate Spade New York Shoulder Bag; Bloomingdale's; $248

Anna Sui Silk-Blend Top; Stylebop; $242

Alice + Olivia 'Gigi' d'Orsay Pumps; Saks Fifth Avenue; $295

Lola Rose Shell Heart Scarf; House of Fraser; $49

 
It is rather fitting that I have chosen to incorporate fashion into my post about Valentine’s Day because not only am I obsessed with fashion but as I have, hopefully, substantiated I am also obsessed, although with a clear-headedness, with the notion of romantic love itself. If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you already know that I love fashion history to infinity so of course that is where my explorations began.

I have, with my usual obsession, found out some rather interesting tidbits about the impact of Valentine’s Day on fashion. I began my research by exploring the origins of the expression, “He or she wore his/her heart on his/her sleeve.” This well-known expression about the vulnerability of love originated during the Middle Ages when men and women drew names from a bowl to find out who their valentines would be. They would wear the names on their sleeve for one week. There must have been some anxiety associated with this practice. I imagine some of the young people dreaded the possibility of having to wear the name of a person on their sleeve to whom they were not remotely romantically attracted. A similar practice occurred during the 17th century when women wrote the names of their true loves on notes which they then wore either on their bosom or sleeves.

Gloves also have a connection to Valentine’s Day. They were traditionally given as gifts, during the late16th century by men to their ladyloves. I could not resist delving further into this tradition after learning that women strong-armed, in some cases, the men they adored into giving them the gloves. Women would utter the phrase, “Good-morrow Valentine, I go today; To wear for you, what you must pay; A pair of gloves for Easter Day.” Of course, if she received the gloves she was expected to wear them on, you guessed it, Easter Day. I guess that was one way to make romantic intentions known. I also discovered, during my research, that in England, gloves were reportedly given to a woman when a man proposed. If she wore the gloves to church this would signify her answer as yes. Who knew gloves were so vital to love connections? Today, there are many more love tokens available to gentleman to bestow upon their sweethearts thanks to design houses, such as Burberry, whom are as in love with love as I am based on the popularity of heart prints. Note: The heart print images in this post are courtesy of Burberry.com

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During the 1880s, Valentine’s cards were decorated with all sorts of items which are commonly used to embellish clothing and accessories: fringes, feathers, tassels, beads. Even more exciting, for woman back in the day, it was not uncommon for jewelry to be used to decorate Valentine’s Day. They really took Valentine’s Day seriously back then.

Valentine’s Day cards may not be personally decorated by the givers of the cards in as over-the-top manner as they were hundreds of centuries ago; however, the feelings which continue to prompt sweethearts today to dole out Valentine’s Day cards deserve to be acknowledged in a similarly expressive manner not just one day a year but throughout the year.

My Keaton Row lookbooks can be viewed at http://www.keatonrow.com/stylist/sharonpate. The lookbooks contain outfits but individual pieces can be separately purchased. The fringe bag below is a favorite piece from my latest lookbook, A Touch of Color:

Please contact me, at any time, by e-mail at sharon_pate@att.net or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/farfetchedbysp if you have questions.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I look forward to your comments about this post.