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What Would You Ask? The Interview Thread

skyvue

Call Me a Cab
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2,221
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New York City
I have, over the years, gotten the opportunity from time to time to interview people who were from or whose work was related to the Golden Era, and I'm sure I'm not the only Lounger who finds him- or herself in that situation now and again.

So this thread is intended to allow those of us who do get to conduct such interviews to hear from the rest of you what questions you'd like to ask of our interview subjects.

First up -- Lesley M. M. Blume. The following is from her web site:

Lesley M. M. Blume is an author, journalist, columnist, and cultural observer based in New York City, where she was born. She did her undergraduate work at Williams College and Oxford University, and took her graduate degree in history from Cambridge University, where she was a Herchel Smith fellow.

Ms. Blume has authored three critically-acclaimed children’s novels for Knopf. Upon the release of her third novel, Tennyson, reviewers and critics placed her in the same class as writers Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, and Truman Capote (“Brilliant, unusual writing.”—The Chicago Tribune). Ms. Blume’s first collection of short stories, Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins, and Other Nasties, was published on September 14, 2010.

As a journalist, Ms. Blume began her career at The Jordan Times in Amman and Cronkite Productions in New York City. She later became an off-air reporter for ABC News Nightline with Ted Koppel in Washington, D.C., where she helped cover the historic presidential election in 2000, the 9/11 attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and countless other events and topics.

Now writing full-time, Ms. Blume has covered culture, media, politics, and fashion (and sometimes the thorny politics of fashion) for many publications, from Vogue to Slate; she covered the business side of the fashion industry for The Big Money, and is also The Huffington Post‘s contributing style editor. In November 2010, Chronicle Books will release a book by Ms. Blume based on her popular Let’s Bring Back column for The Huffington Post.

Ms. Blume was recently hand-picked by Vogue as a founding member of the Vogue 100, an organization of “influential decision makers and opinion leaders known for their distinctive taste in fashion and culture, [and who] personify the rising influence of women over the past several decades.” Her individualistic personal style has been showcased in many magazines, including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle, and Women’s Wear Daily.

She lives in Greenwich Village with her husband and their French bulldog, who was a featured character in Ms. Blume’s bestselling book, Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters.

Sadly, most of her heroes and heroines are dead or fictional. They include but are not restricted to: Diana Vreeland, Marlene Dietrich, Isak Dinesen, Katharine Graham, Zero Mostel, Royal Tenenbaum, the Marchesa Casati, Oscar Wilde, Elsa Schiaparelli, Anthony Blanche, Flora Post, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lee Miller, Edith Wharton, and Collette.​

It's Blume's book Let's Bring Back: An Encyclopedia of Forgotten-Yet-Delightful, Chic, Useful, Curious, and Otherwise Commendable Things from Times Gone By that I'll be focusing on in our upcoming interview. It's a compilation of her Huffington Post columns, with contributions from such luminaries as Kate Spade, Nora Ephron, James L. Brooks, Arianna Huffington, Ted Koppel, Daniel Boulud, Jonathan Adler, Letitia Baldrige, and Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant.

As described on her web site, Let's Bring Back is "a sophisticated, stylish cultural encyclopedia of nostalgia, Let’s Bring Back celebrates forgotten objects, curiosities, pastimes, fashions, words, landmarks, and personae from bygone eras. "

I chatted with Blume last week at one of her book events, and found her delightful. She's a kindred spirit, no doubt, and I think will make for a very engaging and interesting interview. I've got several questions at the ready, but I'd love to hear what my fellow Loungers would like to ask her, too. I can't promise that all submitted questions will make the cut, but I'll do my best.

So ask away!

lbb.jpg
 

skyvue

Call Me a Cab
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Heh. Excellent question, Lizzie. I asked her that last week, and she was unaware of the Lounge. But I gave her the URL, and she seemed intrigued. Perhaps she'll pay us a visit. I'll try to expand on your question a bit, asking her if she finds pockets of like-minded people in her actual and virtual travels.
 

scotrace

Head Bartender
Staff member
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14,392
Location
Small Town Ohio, USA
"Have you ever visited the Fedora Lounge web forum? Do you know there's a worldwide community of enthusiasts dedicated to exactly the sort of thing you describe in your book?"

That's the question. And I can't help but think that if the author did any kind of reading/researching on the net, she would have landed here over and over. That's not boasting; it's the reality of Google searching. It would be impossible to look this stuff up and not find The Fedora Lounge several times a day.
 

CharlieB

A-List Customer
Messages
368
Location
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
That's the question. And I can't help but think that if the author did any kind of reading/researching on the net, she would have landed here over and over. That's not boasting; it's the reality of Google searching. It would be impossible to look this stuff up and not find The Fedora Lounge several times a day.

True, but how many links do you ignore from a Google search because the text just doesn't strike your fancy?

Perhaps she thought it was a link to a physical night club!
 

skyvue

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2,221
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New York City
Scotrace, I've gotten the sense that you think Ms. Blume is ...what, an imposter? Someone who stole good ideas and/or info from the Lounge? If I'm wrong, by all means, correct me, but that's the impression I've gotten from your post here and the thread you started about this book a few days back.

I love the Lounge and spread the word about it whenever I can, but I harbored a fervent interest in life as it was lived in the first half of the 20th century for more than two decades before I ever discovered this community. I have no reason to believe Ms. Blume wasn't telling the truth -- why would she lie about such a minor thing?

People feed their vintage interests in so many different ways. I've learned much, if not most, of what I know about the vintage life from my devoted interest in old movies, but I've been intrigued to learn in my time here that many other Loungers, to my surprise, have little very interest in classic motion pictures. My first reaction was to assume those Loungers weren't giving old movies enough credit for sparking their interest, but upon further consideration, I realized that it's entirely possible that it was a beloved older relative or neighbor, an interest in vintage fiction, a collection of old magazines, or any number of other factors that sparked and fed their fascination with vintage topics and not the movies.

So, in my opinion, there's no reason in the world to presume Ms. Blume has ever visited this site (and, if she had, there's no reason for her to deny having done so--she would lose no legitimacy or cachet over such an "admission").

That said, if anyone wishes to submit a question for Ms. Blume, please do so sooner than later. If not, no worries -- I've got a couple of other interviews in the works that I think will be of interest to Loungers.
 

scotrace

Head Bartender
Staff member
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14,392
Location
Small Town Ohio, USA
You've caught me out. I'm protective of what we have here, no doubt. My reaction to the Vanity Fair spotlight piece should have been more welcoming. It will, after all, interest more folks in the things we hold dear - and that's good for The Fedora Lounge.

I'm quite certain the author is sincere, has done her homework, and knows her stuff, no matter how she did her research. I hope she'll become an active member. I'll be sure to seek out her book.
 

skyvue

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,221
Location
New York City
You've caught me out. I'm protective of what we have here, no doubt. My reaction to the Vanity Fair spotlight piece should have been more welcoming. It will, after all, interest more folks in the things we hold dear - and that's good for The Fedora Lounge.

I'm quite certain the author is sincere, has done her homework, and knows her stuff, no matter how she did her research. I hope she'll become an active member. I'll be sure to seek out her book.

I hope she will, too; she'd be a good addition to the community. Do give the book a look at a bookstore or online; I think you'll be impressed.

I immediately checked for two personal favorite "bring backs" -- calling movies "pictures," and the use of telephone exchanges -- and both were included in the book, so that was good enough for me to take the plunge.

I don't agree with everything in the book, of course -- lists like this, even book-length ones, always include items one disagrees with, as well as omitted examples one would like to have seen included, but I've found few of the latter so far.
 

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