It's time for another instalment of Girl
Crush Sunday and I'm in a playful mood.
Today is a double helping and as I'm feeling a little frolicsome
let's not play it straight (no pun intended); instead, shall we put a little
twist on it?
First up...
I don't even know her name. But, in keeping with recent
conversations on here and on other blogs about the beauty and
infinite mystique of old photos, I want to offer a place to
'Secretary at West German Radio Station, Cologne'
as photographed by August Sander in 1931. Her androgyny is striking.
To my mind there's a resemblance to Brett Anderson, which is probably
why she caught my eye. There's more to this photo than shades of
Suede, though... something in her expression and the pose, the
loosely held cigarette, the dress, the haircut and of course the knowledge that
we have no more knowledge than this. I could hang a name on her:
Helga, or Claudia, Uta or Gertrud...? No, not Gertrud. Maybe
Dagmar? Her voice, surely, is deep and smoky, typically Teutonic. I can smell the
cigarette mixed with the faint scent of her fragrance – something
like jasmine, dabbed on her neck from a small, dark violet bottle.
She is intelligent, artistic, ambitious and self-reliant. Loves fashion, owns
a large dog. GSOH. Dirty laugh. She was perhaps none of those things, but the illusion is mine, and yours, to create.
Secondly...
Anne Hegarty
Dear Anne
Whenever I casually flick through the TV channels with a vacant mind whilst drinking
a cup of tea, I always
seem to stumble upon an episode of 'The Chase'. And, suddenly, I
find myself yearning to see you – you, only you, dear 'Frosty
Knickers'. I don't want to see the other 'Chasers', I want to see
the mischievous look in your eyes and the way you force your mouth to
turn down at the corners to maintain your steely superiority even though I can tell that you secretly long
to smile, to laugh, to say something kind. Perhaps you might say something kind to me if I were to blush at the question, "In what sport does Fanny Chmelar compete for Germany?"
Oh, dear 'Governess', there is something oddly compelling about
your schoolmistress demeanour combined with the impressively vast extent of your
knowledge that makes me want to stay tuned in to this cheap quiz show forever. Will you be
my 'Girl Crush Sunday'? Just for a laugh... that is, if I can make you do so, simply to hear you betray the tight bonds of your public persona with your Mancunian chuckle. I may not share your intellect but I know the Latin name for a wren, the capital of Slovakia and now, thanks to 'The Chase' I know that Fanny Chmelar is an alpine skier. We could have dinner together - do you like Thai? - and discuss the merits of the photography of August Sander...
