Life in the Sundance Catalog

Sometimes–like now when we in the United States have just doomed ourselves and the rest of the world to a four-year nightmare that promises to undermine and destroy any progress we have made for people, animals, and the land–providing the planet survives this siege at all, I want to run away to Never-Never land and never look back. Not knowing the way to that magical kingdom, and having no direct connection to Peter Pan, I’ve come up with my own version of escapism that gives me a break from the dreadful prospects that now await us on planet Earth

I’ve decided I want to live in the Sundance Catalog–or, rather, the world that is depicted there. It seems the Sundance people want me to live there too, judging by the number of catalogs they keep sending me, both by email and snail mail. This is one catalog I don’t complain about cluttering my desk or taking up space in my mailbox–in fact I always have a stack of them just waiting for me to revisit. It’s always an escape and a treat to just flip open the cover, usually alluring in itself, and go to this seeming land of enchantment, always finding beautiful people in beautiful settings wearing beautiful clothes, and without any of the cares of this world the rest of us inhabit. I know how superficial and vapid this sounds, really I do, but to me it’s like a mini mini-vacation, instantly available 24/7, no reservations required–and oh yes, it’s free…well, unless you start ordering, but that’s not what this is about.

The weather in Sundance-land always looks perfect–even when there’s snow. I left snowy winters behind by choice long ago, but none of them ever looked like the snowy scenes I see on the winter Sundance pages–no blizzards, no heavy gray skies overhead or messy gray slush underfoot, and never too-too cold (people appear just in layered tops and sweaters or sweater coats with colorful knit scarves, hats, and hand warmers–nothing for serious cold like down or fur, fake or otherwise (and if they ever show real down or fur, my idyll is over). The snow is never too deep–just deep enough to make you think snow is made just for fun and photo shoots. Everyone always seems so happy to be out in it, always so artfully put together–great color combos and unusual parings. And as an aside, no one ever ages in this magical world either, and it seems that the entire population is on the healthy food plan–no love handles or muffin tops on this crew. I wonder if once you land in this place you just are transformed, with no effort on your part, into physical perfection. Definitely another reason to go.

I love the houses, the interiors of the few that I’ve glimpsed on the catalog pages–not that they would be exactly my style under other circumstances, but they fit well with the landscape and general atmosphere of Sundance-land–rugged, straightforward design, lots of natural light, open space, rough hewn wood, no fussy frills or flowered flounces,

Even looking at the jewelry, of which there is an abundance, I can conjure up images of the settings where this ring or those earrings or that necklace would be worn, and it’s always in some western outdoor scenario with the requisite touches of movie-like perfection. It’s all part of the mini-vacation I take myself on.

And I know that this is truly a case of the way it seems is not the way it really is. If we were able to see all that went into making these pages look as they do, the illusion would be shattered–I’ve been on photo shoots, and often the goal is illusion. However, for my purposes now, I need a place to escape the realities of what is happening in the real world, including this country, and my easiest and most accessible choice is the Sundance catalog.