Lets Bring Back Book

Valentine's Day is just around the corner - and many of us are cringing. If the present provides so little inspiration when it comes to expressing adoration for your paramour, why not look to the past?

While it's unlikely that modern hosts would appreciate a gun-wielding guest at their upcoming New Year's festivities, there are still plenty of sublime, old-fashioned, glamorous amusements that we can import from bygone eras to help us ring in 2011.

Typewriters and flyswatters for Grandpa or Dad, Victorian flip rings and tea sets for Granny and Mom, wax fangs and lips for Junior and Junior Miss -- there is something here to amuse everyone.

In 2007, I launched on this site ...

Vreeland's very appearance reflected her mantra that beauty could sometimes be strange and even alarming.