Another cocked-pinky white-wine sipping gallery opening.
Waiters pass around Pan-Eurasian mezes, faux for the faux.
Then I spot her in front of a large silver gelatin print, a verifiably authentic person. She’s wrapped in this sweater coat, a muted tapestry of possibly talismanic symbols from someplace I can’t recall ever having been.
Turns out they’re both from Bolivia, encompassing a multitude of worlds: tropical rainforests, surreal salt plains, snow-capped Andes. Her photos on the walls tell the story.
She points to an image of the Altiplano, the high mountain plain; you can almost feel the thin, cold air cutting your lungs like a knife. “That’s where I bought this coat,” she says.
“It’s the warmth from the alpaca. Helps you keep snapping a shutter at 20 below.”
Altiplano Sweater Coat (No. 3106), an unexpected thing made of soft, warm alpaca, 100 percent, with alpaca pom-pom trim. Hip length (no need for car-seat warmers). Band collar. Trim padded shoulders. Five self-covered, loop-closure buttons.
Add jeans and boots, and you’re outfitted for comfortable explorations from Chacaltaya to Chelsea, New York.
Women’s sizes: XS, S, M, L.
Color: Brown with stylized floral geometric in Rust, Taupe, Sage, Tan, and Black.
