Arm Partying

Suzy Solidor, 1932

Jacqueline Goddard, 1932

Man Ray knew a good arm party when he saw one. He famously photographed Nancy Cunard, heiress turned political activist, wearing her armloads of African bangles  (below). It also seems that Ray had a thing for the Chanel bracelets, above. He photographed both Suzy Solidor, and Jacqueline Goddard wearing the same ones.

Nancy Cunard, 1926

Madonna was arm partying back in the 80s (link) …

Indian women have been at it for

thousands of years.

Shy Bride

Nautch Girl

A Damsel Bedecked in Jewelry

In South Africa, arm partying is not

just for women …

Guys arm party too (as I hear they are 

starting to do in the US, as well).

These young men of the Ndebele tribe 

engage in serious partying

on their initiation day.

While the current incarnation of the timeless trend, was popularized last summer by the blogging Man Repeller, Leandra Medine (who also coined the phrase), the party apparently continues to be going strong.

Megan, of New York Diaries instructs:

Put as many bracelets on your wrist as you desire…throw in a watch (or two)…the more the merrier! And don’t worry about matching…that’s the fun part!

And then there was this item on WSJ.com:

Q: I notice that lots of women who are into fashion have these stacks of bracelets, sometimes with watches. They go way up their arms sometimes. This is a new trend that I want to start trying. How can I get the right mix of bracelets, and can I wear them on both arms at the same ... (To continue reading, subscribe.)

Now did someone actually write to the WSJ asking for fashion advice--would someone really do that? Or did the Journal invent this question--would they really do that? I’m still trying to figure out which of these alternatives is more disturbing.

Sorry to be such a party pooper …

Man Ray photos via auction sites.

Black and white Ndebele photos by Constance Stuart Larrabee photos via Smithsonian .

The Gift of Ganesh

I received this very lovely, but confounding brass ganesh thing from my aunt who recently returned from India. I say “thing” because I don’t know what it’s called. A central Ganesh, the Hindu diety who is the Remover of Obstacles, is sitting in the center of six pods, which are also adorned with Ganesh figures.
The center Ganesh unscrews …
and the pod lids can now be opened to reveal little wells filled with intensely vibrant colored powder.




While trying to learn more about these powders, I discovered that just this past Monday was Holi, which means Festival of Colors. It’s the Hindu holiday of Spring and celebrated in India with the boisterous communal application of all kinds of color (powder, paint, colored water). There are lots of images out there of the festivities. Below is a small sampling of the many photos of Holi at boston.com.

Money Counts

A friend brought back these rupee coins from India recently. Great example of "show don't tell." What's not so great is the reason--literacy rates in India. The rates vary tremendously between genders, classes and regions. Overall literacy for men is 76%, while the rate for women is 54%. Regionally, the rates vary from a high of 91% in Kerala to 47% in Bihar.