A French Open Hat

I like hats. Well I love hats. Not that I look stunning or handsome or pretty in them. They just lend so much character to a person. Sure it's a prop but so what's wrong with props? For me hats are playful and with the right hat you can become anything (at first sight!) But really we all need the sun protection so we might as well have fun with what might become a necessity soon.

My current hat I got in LA at the Grove. I was looking for a copy of all those hats the spectators at the French Open (tennis) had worn. The hats were off white, had a band of ribbon, were wide brimmed and made out of straw. And of course these hats when cocked at the right angle were quite dapper. I didn't get an exact copy but close enough. I guess I felt like I was following Parisian fashion even though I got it at the world's center of make-believe.

And you know this French Open hat thing is taking off. I've seen the hats in all different kinds of colors and on all different kinds of people: men, women, young and older. People seem to want to play again with hats.

So get yourself a hat and come out and play. We'll all be so dapper...

Not Serena's Night

Well, Serena lost a big one in the 1st round at Roland Garros  (a record breaker for her). Kathleen and I watched the match on tape, and it just wasn't Serena's night. Maybe she just couldn't rely on her serve or paint the lines like she usually does. And then there was the French crowd, who were vocally pulling for her French opponent. Or maybe as Kathleen speculated in a moment of new age color theory, her sea green outfit while beautiful was not a fierce enough color for winning a grand slam.

But regardless of the reasons for Serena's poor performance, after a second-set tie-break that Serena lost and that left her in tears, I think our American Champion realized she wasn't going to win this one. All that remained was saving face. And so she did; she played out the match like a champion.  She lost the match but not her dignity.

Little Known Roland Garros

Everyone knows about tennis and Wimbledon. Most know about the US Open. But only a few seem to know about the Austrailian Open (maybe due to the time differences). However, only the people who "follow tennis" watch Roland Garros (aka the French Open). Oh, I've heard that the French people can be difficult and that they don't like Americans. That may be so, but I love the footage of Paris, its landscapes and cultures. And most importantly, I adore the French people's sense of style.

Voilà---Let's play tennis, my friends...