Out of Africa.
Between the years 1906 and 1939, a trickle, then a light rainfall, then a downpour, of Englishmen, Germans, Scots, and some remarkable women, began to fall upon the immense gorgeous plateau of East Africa.
Some came for a year, and stayed a lifetime. Some came to farm; or make a fortune; or to put something awful far behind. Don’t ask what.
All came to start life over again. Fresh.
Discovered they hadn’t been expelled from a Garden of Eden after all, but were just now entering one.
That first night they lay awake listening, hearing Africa, hearing for the first time how to hear.
And how to read a flattened blade of grass: who or what had passed through here; and exactly how long ago.
It was paradise. It lasted three decades. Days of laughing, dancing, talking all night; ostrich omelettes the morning after; walking thirty miles to see an ocean of oryx, a river of hippos; flying low over a sea of wildebeest; driving among elephants in a maharajah’s 3-axle Buick; great luxury; great simplicity.
We couldn’t bring back the era, but here are some of the clothes, judiciously updated for today’s Karen Blixen.
Italian-Style Safari Dress (No. 4038), below-knee cut of fine cotton with a bit of stretchy stuff, found in an uppercrust sporting-goods store in Milan. Box-pleated, button-flap pockets at chest and below waist. Topstitched collar, cuffs, plackets, et al. Self-belt with leather buckle.
Sizes: 4 through 16.
Color: Light Khaki, Brown buckle.
Price: $129.
Italian Leather Belt (No. 3154). Hand-cut Italian cowhide that’s soft and supple, not the thick, stiff kind. Silver-colored solid brass buckle. The 3”-wide belt has a curved shape, just like you do.
Sizes: XS, S, M, L.
Color: Dark Brown.
Price: $149.
- Items in bag: 0
- Total: $0.00
