accessorize with pitchforks and torches

The Grand Budapest Hotel is an amusing movie, a marvelously goofy send-up of a pretentious hotel of a certain age. As you probably know by now, the story takes place not in Budapest, but in a fictitious country, perched on forbidding mountains, amidst scenery reminiscent of the shrubbery around Dracula's castle. The fictitious country is called Zubrowka, which happens to be the name of a Polish vodka that is flavored with Polish buffalo grass. I'm told the flavor is crisp, pleasant and herbal, but it's unlikely that I'll find out personally. You see, Polish buffalo grass contains traces of coumarin, a blood thinner, and so the FDA won't permit it to be sold in the US. Faux Zubrowka is available, but it doesn't appeal.

Dracula's Castle is now, of course, a theme resort, and little boys beg to spend a night or two there to listen to recorded sounds of clanking chains, squeaking doors, hooting owls and assorted eerie moans and groans. As is usually the case when travelling in Eastern Europe, getting there is more than half the adventure.

For those whe enjoyed the movie (either the one about the hotel or the one about the vampires -- or both) and want to see more of Eastern Europe - A Theme Park of Colorful Peasants and Faded Aristocrats, but are working on a constricted budget, may I recommend the J.Crew website, where make-believe peasant gear abounds. Especially make-believe Transylvanian peasant gear.

For example, compare this blouse

to the blouses in these regional costumes from Transylvania

                       and these J.Crew jackets

with this peasant's Sunday best:

Below, left, black and white embroidery from Transylvania, 

and right, the same as interpreted by St. Laurent and Gaultier.

So now we know what to wear to the movies, or to the pastry shop!

Actually, I kind of predicted the reverse of this about-to-be-trendlet in this post, where I suggested that J.Crew was poised to dress vampires, who, since they live forever and apparently are becoming interested in fashion, are a great market. They just keep changing clothes. I suggested sportswear, as a change from what's available in the many ethnic enclaves of Transylvania. And look: instead of sporty preppy vampire wear, we have peasant-directed ordinary human wear.

In fact, there's a lot of worrying going on in the many small countries that share a border with Ukraine. Some worried US residents have cancelled summer vacations in their home countries, out of concern that - well, out of concern. "The Bear never takes just one bite," one acquaintance told me.