Mary Yang | Student Life

This is the first installment of Cooking with Copy, a new column written by Student Life’s copy chiefs and food fiends, Lauren Cohn and Caro Peguero.

We’re sure you’ve visited Boosters Cafe and eaten the legendary pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes, unless you’re a pumpkin purist and order the batch sans chocolate. If you’re feeling extra bold, whip up a stack for yourself. Allow us to explain.

We are pumpkin enthusiasts and have tried two different recipes for your cooking pleasure. We suffered through the burns, the tastings and the multi-tasking to bring you the finest pumpkin treats. As you may have guessed, our first instinct was to mimic the culinary gold that is Boosters’ pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes. The recipe is perfect for those with full kitchens at their disposals. A quick Google search led us to the food blog “A Cozy Kitchen,” where we found the winning recipe. Next up was a speedy trip to Schnucks (the Richmond Heights location is open 24 hours a day, so you are never limited to Boosters’ breakfast/brunch-only hours!), and we were on our way.

Mary Yang | Student Life

Here are some tips to keep in mind during your pancake party.

DO:

1. Limit yourself to one or two pancakes on the griddle at a time.

2. Drop the chocolate chips onto each pancake one at a time instead of all into the batter at the same time.

DO NOT:

1. Leave the kitchen area after starting to cook a pancake and begin watching Laguna Beach. Not that we tried this or anything . . . but we have a feeling it would not end well.

2. Over-butter the griddle. You will be tempted to, but don’t do it.

Our second jaunt into the world of pumpkin consisted of making what is arguably the easiest pumpkin recipe in existence—the two-ingredient pumpkin muffins from the food blog “Sweet Verbena,” which we found during one of our procrastination sprees on Pinterest. This recipe entails combining a box of yellow cake mix with a can of pumpkin puree and is ideal for baking in dorm kitchens. To up the ante, we added 1.5 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice and half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips—totally optional but highly recommended.

As far as these muffins go, they were not our favorites, as the texture was rubbery. That said, our taste-testers enjoyed them quite a bit and they were gone from their platter within three minutes. Interpret as you wish.

Mary Yang | Student Life

So in order to progress into spring, we dove into the world of citrus and tackled another food trend, one so ubiquitous that it even appeared in this month’s Sauce Magazine, the burnt-broiled-blasted-bruleed grapefruit.

This easy-to-make morning brightener starts with a ruby red grapefruit sliced right down the middle. Next, loosen the grapefruit segments by cutting along their edges (This is much easier to do while the fruit is still cold than after it has been cooked). Finally, sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon liberally over the cut-side-up fruit and stick it in the oven until the sugar starts to brown and bubble. Be prepared to get a little messy, since much of the juice will need to be squeezed from the fruit after eating. It’s worth the mess, though, as we can hardly think of anything more satisfying on a chilly winter morning than the perfect tart/sweet combination of this warming yet refreshing citrus dish.

Delmar Loop fun facts

1. President Barack Obama tried Pi Pizza when he was in St. Louis in 2008. He liked it so much he called the chef to thank him personally and then flew three of the Pi Pizza chefs out to the White House in 2009 to cook for him.

2. A plaza made up of the sidewalk ripped off of the street to make way for the Centennial Greenway surrounds the new Chuck Berry statue, which is located across the street from Blueberry Hill and was installed this summer.

3. Pollstar ranked the Pageant the fifth-best concert venue in the world in 2011 and fourth-best in 2010. The ranking is based on tickets sold. The top 10 are: 1. Terminal 5, New York City, 268,973, 2. 9:30 Club, Washington, DC, 256,881, 3. House of Blues, Boston, 245,812, 4. Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium, 241,921, 5. The Pageant, St. Louis, 181,451, 6. First Avenue, Minneapolis, 174,639, 7. Ogden Theatre, Denver, 169,258, 8. Best Buy Theater, New York City, 165,002, 9. Metropolis, Montreal, Canada, 147,092, 10. Club Nokia, Los Angeles, 144,842

4. The Moonrise Hotel has the world’s largest man-made moon on its roof. It also was the first hotel in St. Louis to install solar panels – it has 60 feet of them. The panels store enough energy to power the moon and the top floor. It was also one of the first places in St. Louis to install a charging station for electrical cars.

5. The Delmar Loop is located in an area that used to be an amusement park, the Delmar Garden Amusement Park, which opened at the end of the 19th century. The Delmar streetcar “looped” through the corner of the park, giving the area its name. People could go to theatrical and musical productions as well as enjoy fine dining. The park also had at least three roller coasters.

Wei-Yin Ko | Student Life

“The Delmar Loop is a destination in St. Louis that is unlike any other area in that our street has the most international types of cuisine than any other place in St. Louis,” Jessica Bueler, the president of the Loop Special Business District, said. “It’s really an area that is all about embracing individuality and diversity.”

The Delmar Loop was founded in 1891 and started to thrive in the 1930s. When suburban shopping malls hit the nation in the 1950s, the Loop entered a decline.

Some residents of University City, however, refused to give up. Joe Edwards, the ponytailed owner of iconic places like Blueberry Hill, the Pageant and the Moonrise, believed in the area. He built Blueberry Hill in 1972 and in 1980 started to organize the local business owners. They created a special taxing district, the profits of which would go toward rejuvenating the Loop with amenities like more lighting and large flower pots. Developers were incentivized to work on the Loop in 1984, when it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Edwards started the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1988. Chuck Berry, the rock and roll star responsible for hits like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven,” received the first star.

“The Walk of Fame is a nice thing for St. Louisians, especially younger children. They can aspire to be good role models,” Edwards said.

The Walk now has 127 stars, indicating famous people from St. Louis. Some stars connected to Washington University include William Danforth and Howard Nemerov.

The Walk of Fame isn’t Edwards’ sole contribution to the Loop. He also helped establish the Planet Walk, a to-scale model of the solar system. This walk accurately indicates the distance between all the planets and provides informational postings about where each of the planets would be located, along with facts like how much you would weigh on that planet and which Roman god it is named after.

Edwards’ efforts paid off, and the Delmar Loop was named one of the 10 Great Streets in America in 2007.

Edwards’ next project is to bring back a vintage trolley as an homage to the trolley that made a loop along Delmar from the 1930s through the1960s. The trolley would run from University City Hall to the History Museum in Skinker–DeBaliviere.

2. The west half of the Loop is in University City and the east is in St. Louis. Everything on the University City side closes at 1 a.m., so if you’re not ready to go home from Cicero’s or Blueberry Hill you can go a couple blocks west to The Pin-Up Bowl or Eclipse Restaurant at the Moonrise Hotel.

3. Cicero’s doesn’t card at the door, so if you’re planning a big get together and don’t want to leave underage friends out, that’s the place to go.

4. Bear Bucks can be used at Blueberry Hill, not just for food but also for drinks.

5. Don’t forget about midnight showings of old classics at the Tivoli Theatre.

6. Forget Schnucks, you can buy tubs of hummus, baba ganoush and tabouleh at Al-Tarboush Deli.

Murray Close | Warner Brothers

Dumbledore’s Army (above) helped inspire the name of the new Wash U Harry Potter group, WUmbledore’s Army.

This form of muggle Quidditch, based on the fictional game depicted in the popular “Harry Potter” series, has yet to make a permanent mark on the Washington University community despite its popularity at other schools such as Webster University and Marquette University. This will soon change if sophomore Laura Desch has her way.

Desch is the founder of WUmbledore’s Army, a Harry Potter fan group that offers a unique way to bond with other students over a shared love of the bespectacled boy wizard. She created the group after taking part in Harry Potter Week, which the Congress of South 40 sponsored, in November 2010 and has already been contacted by the captain of Webster University’s Quidditch team for a possible match.

There is more to WUmbledore’s Army, though, beyond discussing all that is Harry Potter. The group is also an official chapter of the Harry Potter Alliance, a non-profit organization that works for human rights, equality and other world issues addressed and advocated in the Harry Potter canon.

“The Harry Potter Alliance is fighting for everyone. Values promoted in ‘Harry Potter’ need to be better promoted in the muggle world,” sophomore Cassandra Galluppi, a club officer, said.

The group has already taken action with the Alliance by participating in a campaign effort called Not in Harry’s Name. The campaign’s goal is to make Harry Potter chocolate Fair Trade and not reliant on child slavery. Members of WUmbledore’s Army were able to create a petition for the cause and send it to the distributor, Warner Brothers.

“The main idea [of the group] is taking ideas and what we love about the HP series and translating that to fundraising ideas,” Desch said. “We’re all good people. We want to do good in the world, and working with the HP Alliance was an easier way to communicate that.”

Such outreach ideas and efforts were some of the main reasons that freshman Archer Brock, the treasurer, joined the club.

“Having a Harry Potter club sounds silly and borderline nerdy, but it has evolved a lot into a community service thing, which I like. It’s something more substantial to bond over and something to aspire to,” Brock said. “You’ve gotten really familiar with the general idea and motives [of Harry Potter], and you can apply them to something you are less familiar with.”

The fun is not lost in the group’s pursuit of applying literary themes to social justice. Each group meeting tends to go over the allotted time period as members introduce themselves, say what Houses they are in, and play various Harry Potter-themed games. The members are very diverse, and sometimes the interest in Harry Potter is the only thing they have in common, according to Brock.

On Feb. 18, WUmbledore’s Army will be bringing the excitement that it experiences to the University community in the form of a Yule Ball, a semi-formal event. The location of the event will be announced by the group through their Facebook page and posters.

WUmbledore’s Army meets every Saturday from 1 to 2 p.m. in Shepley’s first-floor common room.

Fluent in three languages with an academic focus on metric phonology, the study of stress in phrases and sentences, Biggs’ has always been rhythmically focused.

Biggs’ linguistic skills attracted attention, and by 2003 he had had been dubbed “Dean by Day, Rapper by Night” by media pundits including Anderson Cooper. Donning a yellow button down and slacks, Biggs is seemingly the opposite of the egotistically flashy rappers bombarding the music scene today.

Following completion of an undergraduate degree in classics from Harvard, a Ph.D. in Romance linguistics, a masters in computer science, a business degree and a JD, Biggs is now working towards a masters in French law. Throughout his many years in academia, Biggs has also worked to develop his unsuspecting rap persona, Headmess, which began to flourish during his years as a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“My dissertation had a really sexy title: ‘A Statistical Analysis of the Metrics of the Classic French Decasyllable and Classic French Alexandrine,’” Biggs said while chuckling. “So the copies really just like flew off the shelf.”

While Dean Biggs pursued his studies in Romance literature, he collaborated with younger Californians in a number of different bands, including one named Hay Knuckle. Since Biggs was in his mid-twenties at the time, he admitted the age difference between band members made for interesting nights.

“It was very funny because I’d perform and they’d say, ‘we want to finish [the night] with your song,’ because I had this one song called ‘Bang Bang You’re Dead’ that was very hard and got a great response,” Biggs said. “But the problem was that I was already sort of a geeky old fart, so I was like ‘Dude, I can’t stay up that late.’ So, they would have me perform at the end of the first set, so I could go home, go to sleep and take my vitamins.”

Biggs continued to be successful outside of the Los Angeles scene and was signed as a solo artist with Requiem Records, a label owned by Mylene Farmer, the number one bestselling French female pop star at the time, or the “Madonna of France.”

“I remember my sort of period of superstardom when I got flown to Paris, and then I was picked up in a limousine every morning and performed my songs [in the studio] and then they drove me back home in a limousine,” Biggs recalled.

Biggs spent several months in Paris collaborating with Mylene on his premier record “Shade: Underbelly,” only to have it “die on the vine” before its release. Although American rap is commonly marketable to foreign countries, France had recently passed a series of laws mandating that an overwhelming percentage of music playing on their radios be only in French.

“So all of a sudden there was just this sort of chilling effect,” Biggs said. “We could have gone back conceivably and done the album in French, but it would have been terrible because the sort of ingenuity that you have in one language, well you’re a fool if you try and pretend you can do that in another language.”

Unable to sell his album in France and falling behind in his studies, Biggs returned to UCLA with a new shock of red hair—a requirement of all Mylene’s artists—and a determination to complete his Ph.D. After working as a night secretary, finishing his dissertation on metric phonology and marrying his wife, Biggs was soon hired at Houghton College in upstate New York where he taught French.

Houghton College was a small, conservative liberal arts school, enforcing a strict no dancing, no drinking, no gambling policy for all teachers, putting Biggs’ rapping career on hold for a while longer. After four years there, working for a time as head of the World Languages Department, Biggs was recruited by Dean McLeod to become an Assistant Dean at Washington University. Originally from St. Louis, Biggs accepted the offer, moved his family, which now consisted of his wife and three kids—eventually a fourth would be added to the clan—and revamped his rap career on the side.

“I was very secretive at first,” Biggs said. “I actually shot a video called ‘Rhythmry’ that had a certain Run DMC type of quality to it. I had a friend who said, ‘Hey man, this is how we think this video is going to work: You are going to be just a total loser geeky professor, right’—so a big stretch for me—‘and then you are going to pull up to a stop sign and you are going to see these gorgeous women and you are going to imagine what it would be like if you were actually cool and these women like wanted you. You are going to have crazy costumes too,’ so I had a Dalmatian suit, I mean every weird thing you could find.”

Through a series of fortuitous events, Biggs’ lawyer’s boyfriend, who worked for St. Louis’ Channel 4 News, re-launched him into the spotlight, and Biggs was branded “Dean by Day, Rapper by Night.” After Biggs was featured on Anderson Cooper’s show, the Associated Press requested to see Biggs, who had not performed since his UCLA days, in concert.

“I thought, well this will be interesting because I don’t have a band, and I don’t perform at night. The whole thing is kind of a myth.”

Biggs’ performance may have been a last-minute collaboration, but his music is clearly crafted over much longer periods of time. While “Rythmry” may be reminiscent of a stereotypical music video replete with images of seductively dressed women, corvettes and “bling,” Biggs’ rap lyrics reflect many years of schooling in the dynamics of language and a unique compositional talent.

“I think what became a driving force for me is how do you take this stuff that’s in these ivory towers and how would you apply it and make it actually sound good in a modern context,” Biggs posited as the goal of his rap projects.

“I remember my professor even saying once, ‘You know this rhythm sequence exists in no tradition of poetry. It’s never happened.’ Well, what would you think if someone said something like that to you?” Biggs paused for a moment. “You’d think, ‘I’m going to do that.’”

Biggs’ knowledge of the classics and metric phonology allowed him to create not only raps, but also puzzles within his raps. Perhaps the most complex of all the messages on his appropriately named album “Puzzles is Wrap,” an acrostic. When solved, the puzzle negates what the lines of sexual lyrics espouse, stating: “Don’t listen, it’s all lies, here is the truth, miserable and reviled, I’m marking time dying slow, abject and desolate and forsaken.”

Biggs’ influences range from Homer to vulgar French troubadours to Big Daddy Kane, Common and Eminem. He taught a Rap Through the Ages class for three years at Wash. U., but soon became bogged down with other responsibilities. Although Dean Biggs is well known for Headmess, he is also a respected figure on campus for his energetic, welcoming demeanor and involvement in various academic programs.

“You know, Biggs is a Ph.D., he went to Harvard, he has four kids, but he is still loving life,” Associate Dean of Students, Jill Stratton, said. “He’s pursued so many degrees, an undergraduate, a Ph.D., an M.S. in computer science, an M.B.A. and now a law degree. I told him I’d have no respect for him until he got a medical degree. Until after I said that I thought, ‘Oh my God, he may go do it!’”

Sharon Stahl, dean of the First Year Center, summarizes Dean Biggs in just a few words, “You know, he’s just a renaissance guy.”

His office shows no overtly visible signs of his Headmess years, but is rather organized and sparsely decorated, with a few law books scattered around and a small corner of his bookshelf devoted to his dear friend Dean James E. McLeod. On one wall hangs a framed medal and picture from one of the many marathons he has completed, and on the other wall rests a map of his swimming route across the English Channel. Following the path on the map with his finger, Biggs explains the bet; if he became a Rhodes scholar, he would swim the English Channel. He didn’t become the scholar, however he decided to swim the Channel anyway.

“What happened, interestingly, is it was like around hour seven, and I was like I’m toast, I’m all done, I have nothing left,” Biggs remembered. “Well, so I said, you know what, stay positive. You aren’t going to make it across, but it’s a pretty cool run that you are going to be able to tell your buds. So now that you lasted seven hours, don’t you think you could last 15 more? Just so you can tell your buds, ‘Hey man I lasted seven hours and 15 minutes.’ So then I made it to seven hours and 15 and I said, I could probably go 15 minutes more. And that’s what I did for the last five hours. I just always felt like I had 15 minutes more.”

Although Biggs retired his rap persona a few years ago with a final benefit concert, Headmess will make a reappearance this February, recording one more “silly” song and performing near Blueberry Hill. Biggs made it a point that any Wash. U. students are welcome to take part in this final video.

Whether Biggs is earning another degree, expanding the Undergraduate Research Department, caring for his family, or rapping at Blueberry Hill, he always seems to have 15 more minutes left in him.

Mixed prints
Some would consider this daring trend a faux pas. Mixing prints can be done in a non-comical way, however. GANT by Michael Bastian showed that certain patterns, such as plaids and stripes, can in fact work together. One hint for successfully pulling off this look is to keep one print bold and the other light.

Get shorty
This season, if designers have their way, men’s shorts will be short. Really short. GANT Rugger showcased not only short shorts, but also cropped pants for men. While these trends aren’t novel, they were very prevalent, especially on international runways. When it comes to wearing this trend, socks can range from mid-calf to barely there. I would recommend no socks for those who wish to don this trend.

Color statement
Bored with wearing blacks, grays and browns? Great, because this spring is all about bold, vivid colors. Ports 1961, among other labels, placed a big emphasis on white, especially in trouser form. Mango orange, cerulean blues and navy were common colors paired with white. The color blocking trend found on women’s runways has made its way to men’s runways and soon to plenty of stores. The goal isn’t to look like a box of Crayola crayons, but to wear multiple complimentary colors simultaneously. They need not all be vibrant; instead, pair neutral colors with a bold color this spring to update your look.

Sporty
Even if you’re not in the best shape of your life, this trend is one that just about everyone can pull off. Band of Outsiders and other brands featured athletic-inspired varsity jackets, mesh and drawstrings and lots of horizontal stripes on their spring runways. Be cautious when taking on this trend to avoid appearing like an extra for “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Instead of piling on every athletic thing in your closet, take a less literal approach to the trend and wear a charcoal gray jacket made of nylon or a hoodie in a bright color with an otherwise normal outfit.

The Southern gentleman
This trend may not appeal to everyone, however it is a nice one to take advantage of since ladies will perhaps find you more charming. The key pieces you’ll need to look like the ultimate Southern gentleman are seersucker and Sperry Top-Siders. There’s no need to rush and purchase a full seersucker suit. Rather, buy a piece, like a blazer, and incorporate it into your wardrobe.

Throw a blazer on it
Heading to class, a date in Forest Park or an art museum? Throw on a blazer. GANT Rugger placed blazers on a wide variety of outfits, from shorts to jeans to linen pants. They not only make you appear more put together, but they also keep you from looking boring and uninteresting.

The shoe game
If you don’t try anything new this season, be sure to upgrade your footwear to keep in line with the latest trends. Suede desert boots, bright sneakers and walnut-brown oxfords (with colorful laces for the avant-garde dresser) are three very popular footwear options that work for a variety of tastes and styles.

Cole Bishop | Student Life

Majestic Restaurant and Bar hosts trivia evenings in this room on select evenings.

The Central West End offers a variety of dining and entertainment options, from Indian food to movies at the Chase Park Plaza. Only at the Majestic, however, can one pit one’s wits against others’ in fierce cerebral combat. Quick! What do the letters CMYK stand for? How comprehensive is your knowledge of ’80s pop music? Can you make a pun at a moment’s notice? If so, the Majestic should be your bar of choice, and its Wednesday night trivia games a weekly pilgrimage.

The food at the Majestic is pedestrian but reasonably priced; its menu attracts regulars or anyone walking through the Central West End. It boasts Greek selections such as gyros and saganaki, a cheese appetizer served ablaze in a frying pan. The rest of the food, though, is typical bar fare. The patty melt arrived straight from the grill, the cheese still sizzling, and proved delicious. The veggie pita serves as an excellent choice for vegetarians.

The Majestic has a proud tradition and plenty of history behind it. The restaurant has been in the Central West End since 1951. My father, a medical intern at Washington University in the late 1970s, would grab dinner there occasionally. The restaurant’s location is best for residents of the Central West End, those with jobs at the University’s medical school, or anyone looking for a quick meal before a movie at the Chase Park Plaza.

On Wednesday nights, the Majestic comes alive with energy as the patrons organize into teams for trivia night. Team names vary from profane innuendos to references to local landmarks. Most of the teams act like seasoned veterans, laughing at each other’s jokes and trading the occasional good-humored insult. The first round consists of a dozen questions distributed on paper to every group. These questions are themed around something topical; last March, for example, the questions concerned a notorious Roman ruler’s assassination and kite flying. Later rounds are read to the groups over microphone. There are 10 rounds in total, and the scores get pretty competitive. Our group managed to remember some basic biology but failed to identify media from the ’80s.

The Majestic provides an adequate atmosphere for both trivia or a more quiet dinner. The bar serves a limited variety of American and imported beers. However, the restaurant prides itself on a variety of Greek wines. The decor is nothing special; expect wooden booths, tiled floors, condiments and sugar on the table, and large vistas of Greece or kitschy bas-reliefs that adorn the wall as you walk in. The service is eager to please and responsive to any issues that may arise.

All in all, the Majestic is a reliable choice for good food. On Wednesdays, it has an energy no bar in St. Louis can match. So whether you have a craving for Greek food or are desperate to put your knowledge of weird and obscure facts to the test, give the Majestic a chance.

Silent Party

This party is like those YouTube videos of flash mobs of people wearing headphones and hoodies and dancing in huge groups. There would be no music playing externally. Just a bunch of people, each dancing to the beat of his own iPod. It’d be fun. It’d be quiet. It’d be impossible to hear other people. It’d be an easy way to hang out with the people you’d rather not speak to. Nota bene: I do not actually advocate throwing one of these parties, because if someone intruded into the party, all of you would look incredibly lame. But if your RA is a stickler for rules and a little ReDD Flag happy, a party like this might be your only option.

Blacklight Party

Yes, it seems like everyone has one of these. And I have yet to go to one with a black light that is actually cool. It’s your move, class of 2015. Throw a party worthy of being called a blacklight party.

Cinema 2011

Oscar nominations were just announced, so what could be timelier than a costume party about every movie that was nominated (or unjustly snubbed)? Imagine the possibilities: Oh look, there’s the dog from “The Artist” and Lisbeth Salander making out! J. Edgar Hoover and Maggie Thatcher had a thing? Who knew! “Harry Potter” characters? How unoriginal. I really hope that the girls dressed up as “Bridesmaids” didn’t just have Brazilian food…

‘90s Nickelodeon Party

This one was inspired by my freshman floor theme. We all love ’90s Nickelodeon. There were so many brilliant shows and so many potential costume opportunities: “Cousin Skeeter,” “Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” “The Wild Thornberrys,” “Rugrats,” “Rocket Power.” You could mix and match, or you could just have one. Personally, I think a “Rocket Power” party would be awesome. Rock on with your bad selves, Wash. U.

John Schmidt | Student Life

The Cathedral Basilica has an impressive collection of mosaics covering more than 83,000 square feet.

Cathedral Basilica
The Cathedral Basilica, in the Central West End, boasts the most impressive collection of mosaics in the United States. From 1912 until 1988, artists covered 83,000 square feet of wall and ceiling space with tiny pieces of colored glass to illustrate religious scenes and stories. As one enters through the front doors into the narthex, the foyer or lobby of this cathedral, the mosaics immediately threaten to overload the senses. Here, against a shining gold background, is the life of Louis IX of France, the namesake of the city. Different narratives embellish the rest of the space in the Cathedral, from Bible stories to the lives of various saints to the Last Judgment. Impressively, the mosaics extend to the top of the central dome, more than 200 feet above ground level. Outside, the cathedral resembles a Byzantine cathedral, like the Hagia Sophia. Other striking features include the two rose windows and a baldachin, supported by marble columns, above the main altar. Below the cathedral in the crypts lay the remains of bishops who served St. Louis, as well as a small museum about the construction of the Cathedral.

Basilica of St. Louis, King of France
Right on the riverfront, this church used to be the Cathedral of St. Louis until the new cathedral’s consecration in 1926. The Old Cathedral, as St. Louis natives refer to it, was completed in 1834. In fact, until 1845, this church was the sole cathedral west of the Mississippi river. The Old Cathedral hardly resembles its successor. While the current Cathedral favors Byzantine architecture, the Old Cathedral favors the Greek Revival; it resembles a government building with a steeple, replete with Doric columns and a pediment. The tympanum bears the name of God in Hebrew letters, and Latin adorns the architrave. Inside, the church looks more like a Protestant parish, as its decoration is far more reserved than the typically ornate Catholic basilica. The interior is principally azure with white columns, pillars and rails. Unsurprisingly, the Old Cathedral is one of the most popular wedding destinations in St. Louis. Visitors should note the Old Cathedral’s marble altar and beautiful organ.

Courtesy of Flickr

Color blocking
Design houses such as Luca Luca remind us that this hot trend is back for yet another spring. One benefit of this blocking is that it’s not just for bold colors; color blocking can also be achieved with pastels and neutral tones. People with broad shoulders should refrain from wearing blouses in which the top half of the blouse is a different color than the bottom half. This draws the eye to the shoulder area, emphasizing the problem. Also, colors need not be placed in literal blocks on a garment. Rather, they can be placed strategically to emphasize your assets and deemphasize other areas.

A piece in tangerine
Pantone’s color of the year, tangerine, is bright, bold and playful. Of course if you find the hue overwhelming, purchase a small accessory and don it as an accent piece to a neutral outfit. Nudes and creams, white, black and plum are a few accent colors to pair with the hue this spring.

Femme peplum
If you’re in search of a silhouette that enhances your curves while keeping you chic and classy, the peplum is the trend for you! A peplum is a short, flared layer of ruffles attached at the waist that can be found in stores on dresses, shirts, jackets and skirts. As Dries van Noten showed, the flare of the peplum can be contrasted with sharp shoulders to create the overall hourglass effect. Also remember to keep the bottom half of your look slim to counter the flare at the waist.

Asymmetrical necklines and hemlines
Proper and neat is boring. When out shopping, look for tops with cutouts in the straps a la Zero + Maria Cornejo or necklines that are cut lower on the right or left side of the garment. As for hemlines, take a note from this spring’s BCBG Max Azria collection and search for light, flowing dresses with interesting long/short hemlines. Afraid that the front of your dress might look like it got caught in a shredder? Nicholas K showed that a monochromatic outfit can minimize the shredder effect while appearing effortless.

Get sporty
You don’t have to be a star athlete to try this spring trend. Rather, search for athletic-inspired pieces such as sleeveless tops and zippers in neon colors, nylon bags, jumpsuits with cinched-in waists, contrasting piping and bold stripes, and chevron prints. Rag & Bone even added drawstrings to blouses and bottoms. I’ve noticed that this trend tends to resurface around springtime, perhaps the time of year when many are hoping to change their habits and be more active.

Strappy black sandals
Both thick strappy sandals and minimalist sandals with a thin toe strap covered the runways of several collections for this season. If you don’t have a pair of strappy black sandals that fit your personal style, I suggest you get some ASAP!

Beauty simplified
Numerous designers including the design teams at Carven, Dries van Noten, BCBG and Diane von Furstenberg coiffed models with sleek pulled-back styles to let the clothes speak for themselves. Their models also wore soft nude and blush lipsticks, a combination suggesting youth and sophistication. Consider keeping your beauty routine simple this season for maximum impact from your outfits.