Hermes

Stock Market Prediction

August 26, 2015 by Robert J. Avrech 6 Comments

We have been investing in the stock market for over thirty years.

Our portfolio is diversified. We hold individual stocks, CDs, bonds, and an array of mutual funds. Our biggest holding is Apple which we started buying back in 1990.

Our philosophy has been to invest in solid, brand-name companies that manufacture products we understand. A few of the companies we own are: Boeing, Baxter, Caterpillar, Disney, Google, Amazon, Chevron, Pfizer, UPS, Eli Lilly, Burberry, Hermes, Tiffany, and Elbit.

Elbit?

Friday Fashion: The Past is the Present

March 9, 2012 by Robert J. Avrech 8 Comments

: The great Hollywood costume designer Orry-Kelly with Ann Sheridan.

Seraphic Secret likes to check out the latest fashions, scouting for beautiful but modest clothing. We don’t believe that women have to reveal acres of flesh in order to appear and feel attractive. In fact, the opposite. The more chaste the surface, the more mystery and depth.

This season, it’s kind of obvious that designers have been marinating in Hollywood movies. Everywhere we see ladylike silhouettes that bring to mind the irreverant slink of Jean Harlow, the confident stride of Carole Lombard, and the animal heat of Marlene Dietrich. Also making spectral appearances are Hitchcock’s tailored blondes: Tippi Hedrin, Kim Novak and Eva Marie Saint.

We’re delighted to report that scores of design houses are featuring elbow length leather gloves, a sure sign that those who make fashion are determined to revive the classic look of the proper and elegant lady who sweeps into a room—think Loretta Young—then tugs off her gloves a finger at a time before sitting down to tea.

As always we refuse to feature pants suits. They are never feminine, rarely flattering, and fall into that black hole of fashion inhabited by sad sights such as Hillary Clinton.

Here are a few looks that made us sit up say “Mazal Tov.”

Friday Fashion: Bags, Spring 2012

February 24, 2012 by Robert J. Avrech 10 Comments

In 1956 while pregnant with Caroline, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco was photographed in New York City by Life Magazine carrying a black crocodile Hermes bag, which she used to cover her pregnancy. After this picture was published the bag became a fashion hit and was renamed the Kelly bag.

A woman’s handbag is more than a place to dump the oh-so-necessary tools of everyday life. For Grace Kelly her bag was momentarily a shield. For most women it is a highly personal world that contains secrets which the male of the species cannot begin to imagine.

As a fashion item, the woman’s handbag, in its multiple guises—satchel, shoulder, hobo, tote, clutch and evening bag—allows the woman to project personality and status in one easy glance. There is no better way of accessorizing an outfit than with a handbag.

For Spring 2012, the best designs are simple classic forms, highly structured with minimal adornment. For the devoted bag lady, here are Seraphic Secret’s picks for Spring.

Friday Fashion: Bag Ladies

October 28, 2011 by Robert J. Avrech 5 Comments

bag ladies dietrich hermes luggage — Marlene Dietrich's cowhide luggage set by Hermes. Dietrich did not pack light. When she traveled overseas she even brought along her Rolls Royce and chauffer.

Freud famously queried: What do women want?

Poor Sigmund, he was so wrapped up in his theories (and cocaine) that he was incapable of looking at flesh and blood women and seeing the obvious: Women want shoes and handbags. Usually, but not exclusively, in that order.

Here are a few of the latest fashion offerings in handbags that, in our opinion, are as good, if not better, than the clothing they accessorized.

Chanel-2012 conch handbag — Chanel's conch clutch caused the NY fashionistas to drool. Put it next to your ear and listen to the sound of a cash register chiming because this puppy cost the earth.

Bag of Tricks

July 8, 2011 by Robert J. Avrech 10 Comments

In Rear Window, 1954, Grace Kelly’s elegant Mark Cross bag emerges as something of a major character, a twin symbol of desire—Kelly cooly snaps opens the bag, unfurling a fetching neglige—and the domesticity Jimmy Stewart finds so intimidating.

Women’s handbags are more than repositories of oh-so-necessary possessions but a reflection of a woman’s priorities in life, a clue to her values.

The various bags my wife Karen has carried throughout our married life have endured as objects of practical magical. When one of our children scraped a knee in the playground we all rested easy because Karen just reached into her bag and out came a tube of antiseptic and band-aid. Sun too strong? No problem. Karen has sun-block. Headache? Tylenol in a little plastic pill box . Hungry? Fear not, Karen’s got an ample stash of chocolate power bars and pistachio nuts. And always, a thick band of soft tissues when pollen aggravates various allergies.

When we were dating the very first present yours truly bought as a birthday gift for Karen was a butter soft leather shoulder bag from—I splurged wanting to impress—Saks Fifth Avenue. Flattened, beat up, long ago retired, the bag sits in Karen’s closet, a cherished relic of our shared history.

A woman’s handbag is not just an accessory but a trusted companion with whom she trusts intimate secrets.

Here are a few bags that are not only practical—price aside—but beautiful, classic designs.