concert prep--Next Concert on Sept. 30th!

I've been working long and hard on preparation for my next concert.  I've probably spent a hundred hours or more not only actively rehearsing, but also just THINKING about the subject matter and the songs.  I often say in my shows that the "problem" with cabaret is that the more you look, the more you find.  No matter how few songs I initially come up with when I start preparing, ridiculously soon I have far more possibilities than I could ever imagine.

The show is called "The Songs of Fashion", but really it's turned into more a rumination on how fashion impacts everyone's life.  Even if you're a fashion hater and your idea of getting dressed every day runs to a t-shirt and jeans.  Even if you're a Tibetan monk and wear only red robes.  Even if you're a corporate guy who chooses which navy blue, black, or gray suit to pair with which pastel shirt and which diagonally striped tie.  Even if no matter what, you're still choosing to wear something which conforms or doesn't conform.  Heck, even if you're a nudist, it's still a fashion choice!

On the most elementary level, I suppose, clothing exists to shield us from the elements and to speak of our place in society.  (And by "clothing" I mean not only the actual garments but also all the accoutrements: shoes, hairstyles, makeup, eyeglasses, jewelry, tattoos......whatever is on you before you go out the door.)  People are trained from an early age to make certain choices about clothing.  It should be clean.  If there are two of them (like shoes, socks, gloves) they should match.  It should be seasonally appropriate if you'd like to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  In many ways it is gender specific, although there seems to be less and less of that nowadays.  Then, there's the economics.  Thrift shop?  Walmart?  Penney's?  Nordstrom?  Ralph Lauren?  Every item from hair ribbons to insoles exists in multiple incarnations for every pocketbook.   Heck, there's even an app, or seventy, to help you with your sartorial skills, or lack thereof.

And then, after you're all put together to your own satisfaction, what happens?  Someone else expresses an opinion.  "Where did you get that shirt?", of course, is a question whose intent depends absolutely upon the inflection of the inquirer.   Kids learn pretty early to distinguish designer duds in their peer group, and are abetted in this by wily creative types who make sure their logo and/or name is emblazoned somewhere on each garment.  And don't even get me started about the athletic apparel markets......

So everyone is touched by fashion, whether they like it, accept it, or not.  The choices each of us makes broadcast something very elemental about us.  Do you prefer classic or trendy?  Designer or no-name?  Hairy or clean-shaven?  Functional?  Haute couture?  Hippie?  Debutante?  Nerd?  Artist?  People all around us are drawing conclusions about us every minute, without ever talking with us or even making eye contact, all based on what we are wearing.  They infer intelligence, economic status, likability, political leanings, sexuality, and a myriad of other characteristics.  Naturally these conclusions can be right or wrong, and those folks will never know.  They happen, nonetheless.

That's a lot of introduction for a 70 minute cabaret show!  I'd never use all that on the stage, because after all this is entertainment and not a lecture.  But it's the kind of stuff I've been thinking about for months now, and trying to distill into 15 songs and associated patter.  Who ever said art was easy?  HAH!

As a teaser, here are the lyrics for the opening number, "Style", by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn.  (Van Heusen, by the way, was born with the name of Edward Babcock.  He decided that wasn't a good name for a composer and picked a new one, taking the name of the famous shirt maker--talk about STYLE!!)   Go to my website, www.ellenciompi.com, for information about my concert, "The Songs of Fashion", and watch this space for more musings!         Love, Ellen

Oh, and PS: be sure to comment if you come visit.  I LOOOOOOVE comments!
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Some people dress 'cause they dress when they dress,
But some get dressed to get dressed.
Always be sure when you walk out the door
Your sartorial taste is expressed
From the tip of your toes to your head,
Don’t look like an unmade bed.

You've either got or you haven't got style.
If you’ve got it, you stand out a mile.
A flower's not a flower if it's wilted,
A hat's not a hat till it's tilted.
You either got or you haven't got class.
How it draws the applause of the masses.

When you wear lapels like the swellest of swells

You can pass any mirror and smile
You’ve either got, or you haven't got,
Style!

You've either got or you haven't got charm,
Style and charm sort of go arm in arm,
With mother of pearl kind of buttons,
You’ll look like the Astors and Huttons.
You’ve either got or you haven't got flair

Here’s the plot: flair is what keeps them staring

Your coat must have scads, scads of wide Scottish plaids

And your shoes must be real crocodile

You've either got or you haven't got,
Style!

You’ve either got or you haven’t got taste

It’s an art, so be smart and don’t waste it

If you flaunt a skirt like the flirtiest flirt

You can pass any mirror and smile

You've either got or you haven't got,
Got or you haven't got,
Style!