A bit of Happenstance

I have a good friend, Sharon Mrozinski, who has a lovely shop in Wiscasset, (pictured in detail) far away on the cold North seaboard of Maine USA. It is a popular Marina for large yachts and apart from her folk art, tools and furniture, she has interesting costume items and some Ralph Lauren 'seconds' for her wealthy clients. One day, a chic English lady came in and asked about the smock-shirt that Sharon was wearing. She was told that it had come from an eccentric English dealer near Bath called Elizabeth, and with that, the chic lady drew a magazine cutting out of her bag (Hermes of course) and asked Sharon if it was all about the same person! Fame at last! She later came shopping here with her London -based decorator and I heard all about the strange coincidence. The smock shirts are what the French peasants used to wear every day for working. They were made of cream linen or hemp, entirely hand-sewn with finely gathered collars and cuffs, and I have bought and sold several hundred of them for film costume work. I have written more about them in 'Keep your shirt on...' For more about Sharon, go to http://www.marstonhouse.com/