I’m still unpacking, sifting my daily outfits out of cargo bags and trying to find the perfect bed for my new room, but I had to weigh in with my tardy tuppence on The Gentlewoman, Fantastic Man’s petite soeur. You can read a brilliant interview with editor Penny Martin in the Scotsman which describes exactly why they don’t go for overly retouched photos:
“I’d feel really quite depressed if we put all this trouble into a thoughtful and careful way of making these women look great and people come away saying, ‘Oh, doesn’t she look good for her age’ or ‘isn’t she thin’ or ‘isn’t she cool’ or all those crushingly back-handed compliments. I just want people to say, ‘God, she’s great, I love her.’”
The magazine retains the same wry sense of humour that makes FM such a great read, and has the similar power to utterly absorb. A piece on Lynne Cox’s swim from Egypt to Jordan had me utterly transfixed for my entire lunch hour, as refreshing as going for a walk in the park and the images are delicious. The feature on hair knots above reminds me of one of my favourite scenes from Chris Marker’s cult fim La Jetee. The main character is on a time travelling date (can’t explain, just watch it) in a museum, and in one of the images the mystery woman lifts her hair to reveal a perfect nape. It’s one of those scenes that commits itself to memory as soon as you watch it.
Images: Gentlewoman circa 1926 Ballerina bun
