From the moment Daisy Buchanan cried over the soft rich heap of Gatsby’s silk and flannel shirts in the fifth chapter of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s beloved novel made an indelible impression on the world of fashion. “They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds of coral, apple-green and lavender fabrics monogrammed in Indian blue.  “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such — such beautiful shirts before."

In the dim light of Panarchy’s Gatsby revival, I remember this scene with renewed sympathy. Girls flounced around in rosebud pouts, pin curls, sheer shawls, and dropped sequin waistlines.  Young Robert Redfords (a la Ralph Lauren’s 1974 film adaptation) rollicked in chartreuse duck trousers, bowties, and candy-colored suit jackets.

While some of the finer details of the period (the cloche hats, the parasols, the Eton crops…) were lost in the swing, the passion and spirit of the time were in full bloom.  Set in the endearingly dilapidated mansion of 9 School St., amidst the sparkling odor of jonquils and day-old beer, Panarchy’s night of Gatsby offered a fresh, “valley of the ashes” take on the Jazz Age.

A period remembered as much for its embellished yachting gear as for its casual, flattened busts, the active lifestyle of the 1920s inspired designers like Jean Patou and Coco Chanel toward a post-corset silhouette known as "Garonne," (French for "boyish").  Meanwhile, influence from Egypt, China, Japan and Russia encouraged reinterpretation of exotic headdresses like turbans, toques, and tiaras.  The result was diversity and flux—a nebulous compendium of fashion that Panarchy, like The Great Gatsby, represent passionately.

As the sequined, often historically ambiguous partygoers drifted in and out, I saw everything but the corrugated surface of the Sound--Daisy’s pale silks up against Myrtle Wilson’s saturated plums, gathers, slits, and pleats, knickerbockers and inspired hairdos.  One flapper in attendance looked particularly Louise Brooks (the original 'Queen of the Bob')! 

"Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!" (Jay Gatsby)