Three Kleinfelds Brides

Last Saturday, I went with my daughters to Kleinfelds to look at dresses for my youngest daughter who is getting married next August. This was my third trip to Kleinfelds, a phenomenon I first encountered 37 years ago.

Back in January of 1988 when Mr. Herr and I were planning our wedding, a very good friend, who’s still a very good friend, told me to go to Kleinfelds for my wedding dress. 

I am from Philadelphia, so Kleinfelds was a mystery to me.  In those days everyone in New York knew it was the place to go.  Remember, this was the Dark Ages, no Google searches, no Instagram, no Facebook. You were flying blind by word of mouth – and the mouths all said, “Kleinfelds, Kleinfelds, Kleinfelds.” 

Kleinfelds Bride I: Rachel’s Dress

Mr. Herr and I paid for our own wedding and we were on a very tight budget.   My friend told me that given my size I could fit into a sample dress and that would be the cheapest option.   I had a budget of $1000 and Mr. Herr told my Matron of Honor, who was going with me, that if she let me exceed the budget, she’d be on the hook for the difference. (When it comes to money, Mr. Herr always means business).

The original Kleinfelds was located in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.   It was opened by Isidore Kleinfeld in 1941 and sold furs and didn’t sell wedding gowns until the late 1960s. You can read Kleinfelds’ history on its  Website.   

When it started out, Kleinfelds began as a single storefront. Needless to say, the Bay Ridge location wasn’t the shiny and glamorous Manhattan showroom that we all know from Say Yes to the Dress.  That move didn’t happen until 2005. 

My friend kept her promise and wouldn’t let the saleswoman bring in any dresses that exceeded my budget. Nailed it! It was beautiful – and so very ‘80s. 

This is the dress I purchased.   It was $500. The Juliette Cap and veil were also $500.  I spent exactly $1000. We didn’t have a professional photographer, so I don’t really have a straight shot of it.  

 Notice the ubiquitous 1980s leg of  mutton sleeve.  Thank you, Lady Di!  Grown-up me would have had them take the shoulder up so I didn’t get gapping, but I was 25 and went to the fittings by myself, so lesson learned.

Fast forward about 15 years.  My daughters and I watched a lot of  Say Yes to the Dress while killing time between games at hockey tournaments all over New England.  That show’s profound impact on my family would show up two decades later. 

In the interim,  Kleinfelds evolved  and so has the approach to weddings.  

When Mr. Herr and I got married in 1988,  you booked the church, you booked the reception and about 6 weeks before the date you sent the invitations. 

There were no engagement photos on Instagram, no ‘Save the Dates’, no wedding websites and hashtags and no Pinterest where the wedding locales are always sunny and pleasantly warm, with no humidity.  

When I was planning my wedding, it was much simpler. I had my idea of the “perfect wedding,” but I wasn’t burdened by the social media’s expectation of a picture perfect Instagram-ready event.

Back then, the biggest problem I faced, besides my parents, was the seven toaster ovens we got as wedding presents.

Getting married is a big deal and we wanted God to be invited (the church) and to throw a great party afterward. We succeeded on both counts. Of course, the dogs ate the top tier of the wedding cake which we had brought home, but the dogs are a different post.  Here’s the cake.

Brides today face – unfairly and unrealistically -- a much heavier burden. FOMO, Pinterest, Instagram are instruments of modern torture for young women who face the wedding gauntlet. 

Don’t even get me started on the insane bachelorette weekends!

Kleinfelds Bride II: Sarah’s Dress

Our oldest daughter got engaged in 2018 and in early 2019 my daughters and I headed to, where else,  Kleinfelds? 

We thought this was merely an exploratory trip.  My daughter wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she had liked the dresses on the Anne Barge website and they were having a trunk show. 

As Sarah, went back with the salesperson, my younger daughter and I were sitting in the showroom and taking in the scene.  A dress caught my eye and when Sarah came back out, I asked the salesperson to take that dress back for her to try.   After trying several other dresses, that dress was the winner.

Kleinfelds Bride Three: Cheeky’s Dress

As some of you know from my Instagram a couple weeks ago, my daughters and I were back at Kleinfelds to shop for my younger daughter’s dress.   

Cheeky had a dream dress. Good news: makes it simple. Bad news: it cost, unfortunately, £15,000. Mr. Herr has lightened up in 37 years, but not £15,000-worth.

That meant we thought this was only going to be an exploratory trip because we weren’t sure anything would quite measure up, but Kleinfelds worked their magic, she said yes to the dress! 

Of course I can’t show you the dress.   You’ll have to wait until next August, but I can show you the dresses she said no to.

Close, but not quite right.

Too much going on.

Amusingly, the girl trying on next to us, saw this one on Cheeky, way too much dress on 5’3”, but the other girl was 5’10” so she tried it and it was her dress.

Too blue and the bodice too long.

Way too bohemian!  

After the wedding, I’ll show you the winner. Headline: Another happy ending at Kleinfields.

Now we have three  Kleinfelds brides.   

A Well Informed Guide to Needlepoint Nativity Sets

Nativity sets?  You’re thinking it’s the summer, who's thinking of Christmas now?!  Needlepointers are.  

If you want the next camel, Wise Man or Shepard ready for Advent(December), or if you want the next Christmas Stocking (Christmas stockings will be getting their own post) for Christmas Eve, well, you have hard stop coming up on September 1 and October 1.

Stitching your needlepoint is only half the job.   When you’re done it’s time for the “finishers”, the people who will take and make it into a stocking, ornament or stand-up figure.  

So this time of year I’m frantically trying to finish my Christmas stitching. 

I first learned to needlepoint in high school, but didn’t really finish any of the projects I started.  There were things like parties and boys, school  and other teenager stuff that got in the way. 

Later, when our children were very young I made a couple pillows, but frankly, in those days needlepoint was usually outside of my financial or time budget.   To the extent I had spare time, not much, I knitted (Stay tuned will get its own post).

In 2001 I opened a knitting and needlepoint store here in town.   That’s when I really started needlepointing.   

One of the most important parts of running a crafting store is making a sample — people are very visual.   They have a hard time looking at a canvas and seeing a finished Mary and Joseph.  

 I stitched my first Nativity scene as a sample for my personal use, but also for the store.   

I retired from the store several years ago — owning a retail store is one of the most demanding jobs you can have —but I’ve been a voracious stitcher ever since.  

Take a look at the picture below.   This is my first Nativity Set.

Yes, this is that set which I finished about 20 years ago.  It’s Nativity Set by Liz Goodrick-Dillon available here  or at your local needlepoint store.  If you look closely, it’s completely in basketweave(the simplest basic stitch), and also stitched primarily in a basic needlepoint wool.  It doesn’t use any fancy threads, embellishments or fancy stitches.  I was very much a beginner when I stitched this.  Every Christmas, we bring this set out of storage, place it on the living room sideboard and it is an important part of the Christmas festival at our house. 

You never know what traditions your children absorb or what they’ll want to continue. In 2012, when our oldest daughter was finishing college, I asked her if she wanted her own set and she did.  Her set is from Rebecca Woods. 

What didn’t occur to me in 2012, Is that I would have children graduating in 2014 and 2016 who would also want their own sets.  Here they are:

My older son’s is from The Silver Needle.  Please disregard the seasonally inappropriate window air conditioner in his apartment-it doesn’t exactly say the Plains outside of Bethlehem, does it?

Here is my  younger daughter’s which is also designed by Rebecca Woods

You can see looking at these newer sets that my stitching has evolved.  I’ve gotten more adventurous.   I’m using different and fancier threads, there are now embellishments. 

Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t wake up one morning and become a super needlepointer.  I’ve learned a lot and I’ve read a lot.  

My favorite book is The Needlepoint Book by Jo Ippolito Christianson. I have the original and the updated version.  I keep one in the Adirondacks.  It’s available on Amazon or used at ABE Books.

Whether you’re a needlepointing newbie or a ninja, the thing to remember is to not be afraid to try. If you don't like how something looks,  be willing to rip out the threads and start over.   It’s supposed to be fun. And, no one is grading you on it. Be happy, stitch away and don’t quit.  

Speaking of which, I can’t quit because I have a younger son who finished college in 2021.  I’m now working his set -  my final set until I have grandchildren and this is the set so far:

I’m working on the Three Kings now(as we all know they come from afar, in the East, so there’s no time to waste).

So Merry Christmas, a little early.

A Well Informed Guide to Grilling on Charcoal

Growing up, my father did all of the grilling on a classic Weber kettle grill.  Based on this, and the movies and tv that show men always gathered around the grill at picnics and backyard cookouts, I assumed that competently cooking meat over an open flame was passed on by the Y chromosome.   

Then I met Mr. Herr and he proceeded to turn all grilled items into blackened inedible hockey pucks.   

When faced with this challenge, I did what I always do:  read up and learn how to start a charcoal grill and cook recognizable, not raw, food on it.    

We’ve “advanced” to a gas grill at our home in Princeton, but that is cheating to my  mind, so I still use the  old fashioned kettle grill in the Adirondacks 

Charcoal takes a little more time, but doesn’t require you to drive around periodically with a propane bomb in the back of your car. That always made me nervous and is why our grill in Princeton is hooked to our natural gas. 

When grilling the old-fashioned way,  I use Kingsford Match Light Charcoal here.   It’s easier than having to deal with lighter fluid.   

To start you make a pyramid of charcoal using about 30-40 briquettes.

Once your have the pyramid, light it.

Leave the lid off and let the flames die back until all or most of the briquettes are ashy looking.  This takes about 20 minutes. 

 I usually use this time to get my meat ready.  Today, I made BBQ chicken breasts, but a lot of this is good for anything you’re preparing.

The key to avoiding burned chicken is to bring your chicken (or other meat) to room temperature.   This not only prevents carbonizing the outside of the bird, but avoids having  raw chicken on the inside.   

 I prefer bone-in, skin-on for grilling — it’s more flavorful.   

With chicken breasts, I cut them in half so that they cook all the way through without that charming hockey puck finish. 

After I cut the chicken breast, I pat dry the pieces with paper towels, which helps make a crispier skin when you’re done grilling. Once dry, I salt and pepper both sides liberally.  Don’t be afraid of the spices. Most people like a little party on their tongues.

Time for the multitasking to begin if you’re making fresh corn or pasta with pesto as a side. Now it’s time to put on a pot to boil the water you will need for them. Depending on how big your pot is, expect it to take 15 minutes for the water to boil. 

By the time the chicken is prepped and the water is on,  your coals should be ready.   Spread the coals flat with your tongs and then put the grill platform in on top.

I pop the lid on for a minute to let the grill platform get hot before I put on the meat.  That should give you that nice sear on the outside of your meat — just like on TV.

 Then I put the kettle lid back on while the chicken/meat is cooking.  Some people don’t, but with four dogs capable of clearing a counter, I worry they might try to clear the grill and don’t want burned noses — or lost chicken.

This also speeds the time it takes to get the chicken you want.

I cook each side for about 5 minutes per side before putting on sauce. 

This sequence is important, if you put the sauce on too soon it burns off and you get charred meat.

Americans have mystical opinions about their sauces. I don’t —I used store-bought sauce. Sweet Baby Ray's Original is my family’s favorite.  

 Just so you know that I’m not a slacker, I have also made my own, which is fun, but if you have a big family like I do or a generally busy life, you may not have the time. Using store sauce is not a deal breaker — remember, you’re not being graded on this.   

There is a technique to applying the sauce. Just squeeze the sauce out and smooth it over the chicken with a spatula, but a grill brush is bettter. I didn’t have one with me, so lesson learned: don’t get caught in the wilderness without your grill brush!

Once I’ve applied the first coat of sauce to one side, I flip the chicken  and apply to the other side.  I cook each sauced side for about two minutes.

While the bird was cooking,  I put my corn in and made a little fresh tomato salad and then sat down to my favorite summer meal.

Now, here’s a really important thing to know. Boil the corn for no more or less than five minutes. if you cook it too long, you get corn mush on the cob. Too little, you get crunchy corn pebbles.

Fun fact: the plates in this post are a mix of the sets that Mr. Herr and I bought before we met in 1987, so practically vintage for a classic summer meal.   Can you guess which set was mine?

Enjoy!