GREEN...AH! GREEN...SO MUCH TO SAY...

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

GREEN...AH! GREEN...SO MUCH TO SAY...

Freedom, nature and peace

 mystery


 poison

disquieting dreams

 a series of vivid, neat and often antithetic images surge if I evoke this colour.
Popular sayings are so contradictory:
 "Green with envy" on one side

and Verde Speranza as Italians say (green with hope) on the other

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More difficult still than electric blue to wear, it's seldom kind to complexion, even for redheads.

In haute couture, it's used with remarkable parsimony...

although some of the "great" historical fragrances have been inspired by this colour and are synonymous of freshness. They are still among the best in my opinion. Current fragrances, created with some kind of marketing frenzy, do not have the strength and character of  the historical ones.

With a few exceptions, of course.

 J.P.Gaultier, "l'enfant terrible" of high fashion  knows how to use green in his own and - usually unusual - original way

 

Even in lingerie, green does not appear to be very popular

You have no idea how long it took to find these photos (but it was worth it, no ?)

On the other hand, it seems to be appreciated in burlesque (which is quite telling). 

One of the dominant colours in nature: woods, forests, lawns, gardens, parks help us live.

Animals with green hide or skin can look just blending with their environment . They do so with great skill 

brrrrr !

I rather prefer fantasy animals in this case, such as

or the usual prince charming under the spell of the awful witch

euh...well...not all fairy-tales end as we wish...

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Green also inspired the name of one of the most destructive and addictive drinks much in fashion in the 19th century: absinthe. It was nicknamed La Fée Verte (The Green Fae) and later forbidden.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe
It inspired also a lot of literature (good and bad) and some beautiful advertising posters, mainly in Liberty (or Art Nouveau) style.

However, if you really want to drink something green, I'd suggest something healthier, or at least not that poisonous

Oh! just in case you happen to be in Paris, you should try the restaurant L'Absinthe in Rue du Marché St. Honoré. You can't find the absinthe drink there but you'll have one of the most delicious dinners in your life.

And desserts are just...just...mmmmh
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Green (in addition to brown) is the color of bottles that must preserve the qualities of fragrances, wines and beers but it's also just an interesting  and decorative colour for glass trinkets.

It can be found in a variety of lovely gems and stones, among which emeralds, tourmaline, peridot, tzavorite, olivine, chrysopase, demantoid, green sapphire, aventurine, jade, malachite...

It's also an ever-present (often abused) synonymous for healthy. I'm a vegetarian and as such, green can be said to be my colour too. I LOVE vegetables, all kinds of them. At the top of my list are salads made with little dressing (mainly vinaigrette) and grilled vegetables (very healthy ).

There would be so much to say still, but the post is becoming exceedingly long and, as I sink my teeth in a juicy green apple

and wait for grapes to become ripe

 I think this image is beautifully summarizing our subject, along with another poem by Luc Bérimont

SEUL PAYS

Je marche dans un pays vert

Plein de rivières, de collines

Un mouvement d'arbre illumine

L'aube, au sang végétal ouvert.

Je marche nu dans tes yeux verts

Sur des étangs d'aigues-marines

Où blesse un cri de sauvagine

Monté des brouillards de l'hiver.

Les larmes d'un nouvel amour

Eveillent les pays qui tremblent

Des siècles d'eau qui nous ressemblent

Une joie houleuse au long cours.

En cette heure d'avant le jour

Où bougent les sainfoins, les menthes,

Tu me tourmentes, tu me hantes

Tu m'ouvres mon vin de vigueur

Des vallées vertes dans mon coeur

(Luc Bérimont - Les Accrus)

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Goodbye till the next colour !