Monthly Archives: February 2010
British Couture vs. Paris Couture
British Couture vs. Paris Couture
It has always been accepted that Paris was and still is the centre of haute couture; and that Parisian couturiers were and still are the most artistic and innovative. This is largely true, but what is often not stressed enough is that during the Jazz Age many of the major couturiers active in Paris were British and that London has always been equally at the forefront of fashion, but was simply not as visible.
Who was Snow Ball?
Who was Snow Ball?
Snowball (Boule de Neige) gained a fabulous entre into the Parisian music hall by appearing with the glamorous Dolly Sisters in their 1927 revue at the Casino de Paris, Paris-New York. He appeared in several numbers including one where he partnered the Dolly Sisters and in another playing the banjo. He was described as an artist aged nine years old. A few years later Snowball re-surfaces in C.B Cochran’s show Wake Up and Dream at the London Pavilion in 1929.
The Parisian Institution of Maxims Restaurant
The Parisian Institution of Maxim’s Restaurant
One of the most important additions to the Parisian landscape in the late Nineteenth Century was the legendary Maxim’s restaurant. It has continued to shine as a beacon of excellence for over a century and has become a symbol of Parisian elegance and chic.
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Murrays River Club: A Rendezvous of Ragtime and Romance
Murray’s River Club: A Rendezvous of Ragtime and Romance
The American Jack May was instrumental in developing the nightclub scene in London shortly before the First World War and famously opened the legendary Murray’s Club in Beak Street in 1913. At about the same time, or shortly afterward. he opened a summer resort – Murray’s River Club – at Maidenhead that became the playground for the rich and famous.
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