Sunday, April 28, 2013

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.

6 comments:

  1. these events that you and your husband go to sound like so much fun! and you look amazing in this dress!

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    1. Thanks! Yes, these events are quite a bit of fun and also very interesting as well.

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  2. Sounds like a fun event and I love the outfit. Classic at its best! How is the quality of the necklace btw? I've been pondering over it for months and yet to pull the trigger. I wish it was available in the stores (outlets) but never see one when I'm there.

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    1. Thank you! We had great time at the event, while learning a lot too.

      To answer your question regarding the necklace, I think I paid about $30 or less for it. Given the price tag I think the quality is nice, not spectacular, but reasonable all things considered. My husband actually liked it and he is pretty picky. I think J. Crew also makes a similar version that retails for about $98. I was wondering how that version vs. the outlet version compare with one another.

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    2. Yes, I've seen the $98 version at the regular store and the necklace first caught my eye when I spotted it on a sales associate at Kate Spade. She wore it very well with her outfit so I had to ask her. ;) $30 or less is a reasonable price for it. Did you get it online?

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    3. Yes, I bought it online. I'm not sure if they still have it available. They had a bunch last time I was at the outlet too.

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