Forgotten 80s: Etienne Aigner

 My friend Caroline shows off her Christmas loot in 1981. From her Flickr page.

The early 1980s were a wonderful time to attend public school in Virginia. At my rural alma mater, tucked-in oxford shirts with jeans were the unofficial uniform for girls, even in the absence of a dress code. But even as many jumped on the bandwagon of this classically swoon-worthy look, the item that completed the ensemble and truly separated “the chosen” from their imitators (and marked out those young women which uncool kids like me were supposed to stay away from) was the much-coveted Etienne Aigner belt.

The clever design Caroline was wearing. I used to wonder how that big A went through such a little hole.

Born in Hungary and inspired by Italian designers, Aigner (pronounced “AN-yay” by some, “aj-a-nay” by others, and “AG-ner” by just about everyone else) began crafting upscale leather goods in the late 1940s. Perhaps contributing to his eventual success among the preppy set, many of Aigner’s designs borrowed heavily from equestrian themes, resulting in the creation of the famous horseshoe-shaped “A” logo that began appearing on his products just as the company hit it big in the 1960s.

Aigner ad from 1969. Scanned from the book Shoes A-Z.

As theretofore casual styles went grownup in the 1970s and were gradually integrated into the upscale closet, Aigner wares rendered in their trademark oxblood red finish began taking their place in the collegiate wardrobe alongside similar leather goods from designers such as Famolares. By the time I arrived in middle school in 1981, Aigner’s skinny belts were more widespread than grosgrain D-rings and shell-clasp models combined, and at the risk of revealing myself to know far more about women's accessories than is healthy, as an observer I always found them much more appealing.

The most common model. Sometimes a small gold chain hung from the hook under the buckle.



This square-buckle variation was also popular.

If you wanted something a little wider, Aigner offered this handsome version.

As time went on, the designs became more ornate. This one with multiple logos spaced along the belt's length was fairly common.

This "logo that ate the product" predicted Hermes-style ostentation by 25 years, but somehow it never seemed quite as offensive.



Before long, matching bags were required reading for those in the know. This was a popular model, if not very practical.

Woven straw motifs were often integrated into the Aigner line. The coolest bags always had adjustable belt-buckle straps.

Hard on the heels of the bags, a line of loafers soon gained traction. One of our teachers had a pair of wedges like these.

One of my favorite Aigner stories is about the Spanish teacher in my freshman year of high school (she of the afore-mentioned wedge loafers) who used a student's bag as a prop one day, and pointing to the logo added, "See? Es de lettera 'A'...es muy famosa!"

Alas, like the Vera Bradley totes and North Face jackets of the twenty-first century, Aigner’s products eventually became a victim of their own success, and reached a level of saturation that re-positioned the brand in an unwelcome way. Abandoned by younger women in the mid-1980s in favor of trendier, more cutting-edge fare, the belts and shoes practically disappeared, leaving a glut of bags which largely found their way into the arms of the NASCAR grannies of the hinterlands. But also like Vera and TNF, the brand’s reputation has enabled it to survive, and it retains much of its cachet among the elite, albeit on a much smaller scale, and on much smaller items such as wallets. Although little spoken of at the time, the zeitgeist of its popularity a generation ago remains well-understood; search Ebay or Etsy for Aigner goods today and the word "preppy" as often as not appears in the description. Even today, Aigner sightings still make me smile, and although the name, like platform clogs, will never make a comeback that completely replicates its original context, it still brings back great memories.



A true classic never goes out of style. My friend Diane still wears a braided Aigner belt like this one.



Thanksgiving 1983, or, The Feast of the Ridiculously Good-Looking

I hope everyone had a joyous celebration yesterday.

I am truly thankful for my many blessings, including the readers of The Wide Wale.  :)

Laurie Holladay Interiors

Downtown Gordonsville.

I knew Laurie Holladay and I would be friends the first time I saw her setting up a display outside her furnishings store in Gordonsville, Virginia, on a chilly fall day about a year ago. She was dressed in an L.L. Bean-style barn jacket, a wool kilt held together with a safety pin, and navy loafers. From there, things only got better. Upon entering her shop, I encountered what can only be described as a feast for the senses.

Laurie hails from Princeton, New Jersey, where her parents Laural and Leonard LaPlaca established the well-regarded design firm Nassau Interiors in the late 1940s. From the beginning, lamps have been the family specialty, and Laurie’s husband Jim, whose roots in the Virginia Piedmont predate the American Revolution, works behind the scenes performing lamp repair and reconditioning. But lamps aren’t all.  From sofas and chairs to rugs, framed prints, and the occasional carryall, Laurie stocks nearly everything a person could want to outfit the traditional home, and knows where to get the rest.



I recently dropped in on Laurie during a very busy Saturday afternoon. As the music of the Grateful Dead softly played and happy customers browsed, I assembled this virtual tour with her gracious permission.

 

Selections from the sumptuous leather department.



Beautiful paintings...

...chairs...

...and paintings of chairs.

Muffy Aldrich should approve of these.  :)

Much of the genius lies in the variously-outfitted rooms, which allow one to imagine how things will look in the real world...

...and make the customer feel like they've stepped into a lovingly-decorated home.

Lamps are available completely assembled...

...or you can mix and match from a wide selection of stand-alone bases and shades.

As bedroom communities for Charlottesville, Gordonsville and Orange are home to many happenings.

Laurie's customers have as much style as the store itself. This nice young lady let me photograph her fabulous jacket...

...before going home with this equally fabulous satchel.

For my part, I went home with something new for the living room...

...and a smile from the charming proprietor.

Uncommon film

One of my favorite movies is an early Meryl Streep vehicle called Uncommon Women and Others. Produced for PBS in 1978, it’s based on a Wendy Wasserstein play about a group of Mount Holyoke College students wrestling with the expectations of tradition, family, and career during feminism’s second wave. Besides being a thoughtful treatise on its times and starring a multitude of great talent that also included Swoosie Kurtz and Jill Eikenberry (both of whom also appeared in the stage production with Glenn Close), it is also replete with seventies-era preppy eye candy, its angst played out in a wardrobe of oxford shirts, scrunchy turtlenecks, fair isle yoke sweaters, and corduroy blazers.

According to a recent Wasserstein biography, Uncommon Women unleashed a torrent of protest from Mount Holyoke’s more traditional alumnae when it first appeared on America’s television screens, for its frank discussion of sexuality and its depictions of drinking and recreational drug use. Personally, I never gave these matters a second thought when the film first crossed my path a couple of years ago, but sufficient fuss was made at the time to put the author, herself a Mount Holyoke alum, and the college in a difficult position.  Eventually, of course, it all blew over, and both the play and the film have stood the test of time to become well-regarded classics. All of my friends who were of prep school or college age at the time recall it fondly, and in our current, and arguably less liberated century, it only seems all the more profound. It's easily had on DVD, and well worth a look.

Stormy weather