THESE DAPPER LITTLE DUDES are the life of any party. And they’ve been to a lot of them.
Their jaunty bow ties and impeccable grooming make them standouts at the get-togethers at my house. And since they’re as still as statues, they’re the perfect guests. They don’t tell embarrassing stories, spill red wine or hog the shrimp platter.
Bet you wish all your guests could be so well-behaved.
But if you’re asking, “What exactly are they?” the answer is . . . I haven’t a clue. If you know, please tell me.
All I know for sure is that since I acquired them a dozen years ago, these midget men perched on a party table have never failed to start a conversation–which makes them a social asset for sure.
I found the gents sitting on a shelf at the back of a now-defunct Oak Park secondhand shop. They’re made of clay, each 6 inches tall and identical in every way, then slightly altered.
Lined up side by side–there are five of them altogether–my men are weird to look at, yet oddly captivating. Everybody says so.
Someone–perhaps many someones–painted each of the guys with different colored hair, eye color and clothes. One of my men favors earth tones. Think he smokes a pipe? Another seems to be in a dinner jacket. I imagine he likes champagne and is a good dancer. The little fellow in the photo, the one with the green bow tie, is on his way to the prom.
Each visitor to my house has an opinion of how these men came into being. And they can’t stop themselves from speculating, which is what I mean about being a conversation starter.
My fantasy is that they were the wacky project of a women’s china-painting class back in the ’50s. Frustrated by their inability to turn their real-life husbands into their dream men, the ladies went to work on some guys who wouldn’t talk back.
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>>The origin of the word “dapper” is believed to be from a German or Dutch word meaning “strong” or “stout.”
>>Americans spend about $4.1 billion on proms annually. . . . In 2005, high school seniors spent on average $638 on proms: the dress, $300; hair, $25
and up; corsage, $18 and up; tuxedo and shoes, $50 and up.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary; news reports
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Read Ellen’s shopping adviser column every Thursday in the Tribune’s At Play section and join the conversation at chicagotribune.com/ellen. shopellen@tribune.com
