this is the best thing to wear for the day

My friend Leslie and I went to see the final performance of Grey Gardens a few weeks ago – my apologies to you if you missed this show, as it was fantastic. Christine Ebersole was brilliant! It’s based of course on the cult classic documentary, Grey Gardens by David and Albert Maysles. The film examines the mother daughter relationship of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Little Edie – the aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

These “staunch characters” live in absolute squalor in their mansion in East Hampton – we’re talking dozens of cats that use the home as their litter box, raccoons that live in the attic, and eat through the walls. It really is a train wreck - you can’t stop watching. More important though is that while the Edies are beyond blown, their story is sadly touching. Both of these women are endearing – particularly Little Edie, whose revolutionary sense of style - the magnificent head wraps and versatile use of clothing continues to awe and inspire. One of my favorite scenes in this film is when Little Edie explains the reasoning behind one of her outfits.

“This is the best thing to wear for the day, you understand – because I don’t like women in skirts, and the best thing is to wear panty hose or some pants under a short skirt, I think. Then you have the pants under the skirt and then you can pull the stockings up over the pants, underneath the skirt – and you can always take off the skirt and use it as a cape – so I think this is the best costume for the day.”

Another favorite scene is Little Edie's infamous flag dance. A random search of youtube revealed the clip below, which begins with the aforementioned quote. Little Edie and Madonna - fabulous!