Nick and Nora

Nick and Nora are a crime solving married couple featured in Dashiell Hammett's 1934 novel, The Thin Man and subsequent movie, TV and radio spin offs which were inspired by the book. The glamorous Nick and Nora solve crimes, drink, exchange witty banter, and have a tremendous love for each other and their dog, named Asta.

Last night my husband and I were a little bit like Nick and Nora, sans the crime solving (although that would have been fun too). We went to a literary salon in celebration of Dashiell Hammett which featured lectures and discussion with his biographer and granddaughter intermixed with martinis and a fine mid century buffet of prime rib and other fixings, all of which would have suited Hammett's pallet nicely.

For this event I wanted to look like a noir femme fatale from one of Hammett's stories, such as the Maltese Falcon. As I don't really own too much which is representative of the 30s and 40s era of fashion, I decided to go with this Kate Spade fit and flare Carolyn dress. To class it up a bit, I wore my new pearl necklace which is from the J. Crew factory. The total effect of the ensemble might not be noir, but I thought it was "glamorous" none the less which would have been fitting of Nora who was a Nob Hill heiress in the novel. 

Even if you haven't read the Thin Man, you've probably heard of some of the other work by Hammett, much of which was adapted into movies, such as the Maltese Falcon.  I am in the process of reading these books right now (when I have time) and rediscovering some of the classic movies based on his work. They just released the sequel to the Thin Man novel, Return of the Thin Man which I am hoping to get to soon.