The Rake: Rake Appeal

Why My Novel Is Set in Minneapolis

Cristina Cordova — Sun, 25 May 2008 09:56:12 -0500

I lived in Minneapolis for a few years, some years ago, and during that time I came to love the town and the quaint Midwestern customs of its citizens. People smiled at you on the street—without asking for money. If you were lost, they gave you directions—without asking for money. They even assisted the elderly across the street; in DC, we use them as decoys for the onrushing traffic.

Milwaukee & Franklin Avenues

Cristina Cordova — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:27:16 -0500

The antithesis of Milwaukee Avenue—the Seward neighborhood's secret boulevard of late 19^th century homes—is the Cedars 94 apartment complex, located just across from Milwaukee on Franklin's north side. Where Milwaukee Avenue has dozens of brick homes with low front porches and gingerbread gables, the apartments have faded wooden shingles and a chain-link security fence. Where Milwaukee Avenue has forsythia, lilac, and crabapple trees along its center, Cedars 94 has cement courtyards and is bound by the roar of traffic from Franklin and Interstate 94.

Minnesota Couples: Beware IKEA!

Cristina Cordova — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:37:50 -0500

Sex. Money. In-laws. To the enduring litany of couples' dilemmas, I nominate a new entry: IKEA.

IKEA does not discriminate. IKEA'S troubling influence transcends race, religion and sexual orientation, requiring only two people in a relationship. Like all archetypal clashes of domestic life, it's wicked inevitability starts innocently enough.

Dress Up to Get Down

Cristina Cordova — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:06:51 -0600

The directive was simple: Pick an outfit for your sweetheart to wear to a hypothetical romantic dinner-on Valentine's Day, or any other occasion, for that matter. We proposed this to three reasonably fashionable folks, all with different ideas about what flatters the female form. Our guys-an intrepid television reporter and the owner of a women's boutique in Minneapolis's Wedge neighborhood-ventured to shops new to them, whereas our lady, a noted restaurateur, had her own suggestion (naturally): Could she visit a socially responsible eco-retailer?

Peripa-tech!

Cristina Cordova — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:53:39 -0600

This month, all sorts of lucky boys and girls are sporting shiny new electronic doodads, freshly delivered from Santa and other thoughtful gift-givers. It’s good timing: A hot-pink Motorola RAZR or aquamarine laptop does much to cut through the gray midwinter cloud cover, not to mention spruce up many a gloomy coffeehouse interior. In fact, around these parts, tech accessories are one of the few acceptable ways to incorporate fluorescents this time of year—especially if you’re in possession of a Y chromosome. Cell phones and iPods are only the most

Generating Thermal Energy

cristina — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:00:49 -0500

Here's a fashion idiom indigenous to Minnesota: The piles of hoodies, scarves, polar fleece pullovers, and down-filled jackets that are just now getting unearthed from the closet. It bears mentioning, however, that there are two distinct paths to dressing for the frigid weather. The less inspired might insulate with a giant, balloon-like university sweatshirt and deflect the wind with tear-away nylon track pants.

Men with Baggage

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

In the past hundred years, women have successfully appropriated menswear, from slacks and dungarees to business suits—but the exchange hasn’t exactly gone in the other direction. But lookit! Finally it has at least become socially permissible for men of all stripes to carry purses—or satchels, if you will, or just plain old bags. It’s only fair, after all: What guy doesn’t have a BlackBerry to pack, or a bottle of prescription drugs to tuck away until lunchtime? Trailblazing toters may have endured teasing, their attachés being branded with insulting names (“murse”?

Home and Away

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Top photo: Fifi Chachnil; bottom photo: Cristina.

FALL FASHION: New Standards, Vintage Style

admin — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Musicians Steve Roehm, Chan Poling, and John Munson have a knack for freshening up the classics. Here, the trio pays tribute to the old-fashioned practice of dressing for dinner, patronizing two St. Paul establishments with timeless style.

Neo Neon

admin — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Art of the Vine

admin — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Tranquility in a Tee

admin — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Tiny Totes

admin — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Chiropractors were the first to sound the alarm. Now, some women have answered by tossing aside their gargantuan handbags in favor of miniature versions. Clutches seem to be the most popular of these pint-sized purses; after all, they represent the natural progression from big to small, as their shapeless, hobo-esque forms echo that of the steadfastly popular duffel. Itsy-bitsy alpaca bags and billfolds with hand-stitched embroidery and beadwork are also popular around these parts, as are molded leather “box” bags and pocketbooks attached to shoulder straps.

Bo Peep Chic

admin — Tue, 29 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500

This year’s warm-weather looks are characterized by something that hasn’t been seen in a while: full frontal fabric. Or, at the very least, covered-up biceps, cleavage, and tummies, which had been laid bare by the tanks and slip dresses of previous seasons. But whatever the comforts and flaw-disguising advantages of these fashions, they also bear, for many, a significant downside: the sheer amount of lace, ruffles, and bows as embellishments. Indeed, some of the dresses paraded down runways could have been mistaken for extra-large christening gowns.

The Chill Shack

admin — Tue, 29 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500

“I made this so that my daughter Ayla and her friends from Watershed [High School] could have a place to hang out,” said Phil Vandervoort of his “Logville Café.” The café is a sort of a miniature shed/diner amalgamation, a rec-room that ascended from the basement and set up in Vandervoort’s South Minneapolis backyard. Its walls, made of cast-off goods from his sign-painting job, are a testament to his faith in the re-use philosophy—as are the used chairs scattered around the fire pit and the giant spools used for fencing.

To Stumble or Strut?

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Chic Street

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

It seemed like a bold move at the time, but when Ini Iyamba opened a second store—his Ivy Men’s + Design boutique at 1220 Glenwood Avenue—just this March, design devotees started buzzing about the potential of his new address. This street, which fans out from International Market Square’s nest of interior design businesses while brushing against such unseemly destinations as the Minneapolis Impound Lot, is the latest subject of urban renewal.

Messing About in Boats

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

This is about boats, so of course it’s about desire. The beautiful forms of boats arouse the longing to have one, and to go places you couldn’t without it.

My father had this bad as a kid. In the summer of 1932 in Duluth, he talked his friends into building the next best thing to a boat: a raft. Scavenging scrap lumber and driftwood, they dragged the stuff down to the shore of Lake Superior, nailed it together, then pushed the ungainly craft into the water and paddled out furiously with some old two-by-fours.

The Way We Wore

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The Drawing and Withdrawing Room

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Well Suited

admin — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Readying to Wear

admin — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

The Secret Garden

admin — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Meaningful Minimalism

admin — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

The End of the High Road

admin — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Guys and Paper Dolls

admin — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Real Men Wear Plaid

admin — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

A Kind of Hush

admin — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0600

The Sparkle Force

admin — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0600

Like Petting a Packaged Ham

admin — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0600