I recently bought 2 seasons (43 shoulder-pad filled episodes) of Hart to Hart. Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers starred as the 80's jetsetters with a problem...everyone they knew, or even met, seemed to be involved in murder. Realistically, it must have got depressing after a while but, on the plus side, it had to keep the Christmas card list down.

This fascination with all things big-shouldered is making me (slightly) nostalgic. Though I was a mere child during this period I amassed a considerable collection of fashion advertising materials. My favorite...the Joseph girl. She was cool...sexy...popular...and independantly wealthy (this is a guess but none of her oversized sweaters or Alaia minidresses would have worked in a typical 9-5 environment). She was my ideal...my Holly Golightly, my older sister, my confidante.

I still use the Joseph ads (amongst others) in a closet...as wallpaper. That way, the Joseph girl and I get to spend some quality time together every once in a while. Two of the ads featured poems and, as Valentine's day is just around the corner, here is one of them. The Joseph girl and I give you...

A TALE OF LOVE One winters night so cold and black When wandering down the beaten track, Trying to catch up with her past She found she was going nowhere fast. She happened upon a broken heart In hundreds of pieces, torn apart. She collected the pieces she could find, But didn't know there was one she'd left behind. She continued home with them in her pocket, Found a box with a key so she could lock it.

She buried the box as deep as could be, And it grew into a weeping willow tree. However hard she tried to stem his fears She couldn't wipe away the willow's tears, And finding herself at the end of her tether Returned to the place she's found her treasure. She found a rose bush growing there, And picked a rose with utmost care. She gave him this gift upon the morrow, He took the rose and rose above his sorrow.