OOO #41: Outfits, Ohio, and Other Things I Like

I thought it looked nice?!, my favorite building in Columbus, and a collection I still think about

Outfits

Why are you wearing those pink shoes with that blue outfit? It doesn’t match!

Ohio

On September 21, 1927, my favorite building in Columbus was completed. If you’re reading this on Wednesday, that building will turn 96 (!) tomorrow. This buildin was the tallest building in Columbus at the time of completion and remained so until 1974. It is beautiful, stylish, and stands out in the Columbus skyline. That building is, of course, LeVeque Tower.

I used to spend my high school vacations in Columbus, thanks to the hospitality and kindness of a dear reader, and seeing LeVeque Tower for the first time during one of those visits made me feel at home. I was so impressed by it as far back as 2008 that I took this very terrible photograph of it.

I distinctly remember thinking—that building looks like it belongs in New York, I’m going to take a photo of it. I hope my photographic skills have improved slightly in the last 15 years.

Because I am a woman who grew up in New York and loved The Great Gatsby (say what you will, but it’s a near-perfectly written novel), I obviously love Art Deco. The building is adorned with many sculptures of faces and figures, notably helmeted figures who I am choosing to believe are Athena as well as an image of Constantine. LeVeque Tower itself isn’t just a tower, but also has two 18 story wings jutting out northward and eastward. Each night, the tower is lit, like many buildings in cities throughout the world, with colors symbolizing a theme or holiday.

Today, LeVeque Tower has multiple purposes: It’s home to Hotel LeVeque, the Palace Theatre, apartments, condominiums (which were larger and better priced than I imagined), a restaurant and bar, and office space. This Instagram account catalogs what goes on at the top of LeVeque Tower and is worth the follow if you live here.

Other Things I Like

A couple of days ago, pieces from Rodarte’s Spring / Summer 2024 collection came across my Instagram feed. For New York Fashion Week, Rodarte selected some muses (some regulars, some new) to be photographed in pieces from the collection in front of iconic New York vistas: the steps of the Met, in Central Park, near the Brooklyn Bridge—you get the idea. While I like this collection and can’t stop looking at this photo of Kiernan Shipka, I can’t help but compare everything they’ve done to their Spring / Summer 2020 collection.

Rodarte (pronounced Ro-DAR-tay) is an American fashion house founded in 2005 by sister pair Kate and Laura Mulleavy. I first took note of their work in 2010 when they were involved in the costume design for the film Black Swan. My interest for them was revitalized in 2018 when the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC did an exhibition on their work. The photos throughout this section are from that exhibition.

Rodarte’s work aligns with my aesthetic: tulle and florals, juxtaposed draping and structure, vintage silhouettes, a mix of drama and dreaminess. Their best collection that best exemplified this, as mentioned before, was their Spring / Summer 2020 collection. Somehow their mix of 40s/50s Christian Dior and 1980s Christian LaCroix worked, and I was completely enamored with their portrait series. My favorites: Looks 30, 33, and 35. I have probably stared at that photo of Gabrielle Union for a collective one hour of my life, and it lives happily in my saved folder on Instagram, and if manifesting really works, you will see me wearing the dress Kirsten Dunst is wearing one day. Also, their choice to include a photo of January Jones and Kiernan Shipka together gave me a strong enough serotonin boost to get me through the early months of the pandemic; “Mad Men” really was a fantastic show.

That’s it! Have a great rest of your week.

P.S. …

I had forgotten about Rodarte’s “Star Wars” collection.